Posted on 09/16/2005 6:37:00 AM PDT by ShadowDancer
Neighbors Find Obscenity Mowed Into Lawn
Parents Worry For Children Who See Message
POSTED: 3:09 pm EDT September 15, 2005
UPDATED: 5:14 pm EDT September 15, 2005
OMAHA, Neb. -- An Omaha man mowed an obscenity into his lawn, and now his neighbors are upset because they don't want their children to see the nasty language.
The homeowner, who neighbors told Omaha TV station KETV has the last name Miller, cut a two-word expletive into his front lawn after being warned by the city about excessive grass and weeds around his house. The phrase is about 30 feet long across his yard.
"I saw the neighbor's yard with some derogatory statements mowed into the yard," said neighbor Traci Tunzer.
Tunzer said she's been hoping her neighbor would mow the long grass in his yard, but she's upset by the way he decided to mow it. Tunzer said there's a school nearby.
"I have three children, and two of them will definitely know what that says. It worries me," she said. "We don't want our children to be around that kind of stuff."
Down the hill, neighbor Bernie Horstmeyer said he is in disbelief.
"When I first saw it, I saw the big 'U,' and I had to back up just to see if that's what it really said," he said.
Horstmeyer and other residents said the homeowner was warned by the city about excessive weeds and tall grass in his yard. They said the expletive could be his response, or just a prank.
"I don't know if he got turned in (or) why he did it. Or he's just bored and decided to mow it," one neighbor said.
City officials couldn't verify the homeowner's name. No one answered at his front door, and further attempts by KETV to contact him were unsuccessful.
City prosecutor Marty Conboy said little can be done legally about the yard.
"There really is no criminal law that covers these kinds of vulgarities," Conboy said.
Conboy said it would be different if the homeowner threatened city employees by saying the expletive, but on the lawn, it's a passive statement protected by the 1st Amendment.
"As much as you might shake your head at what kind of reasoning is involved, it's not prohibited," Conboy said. "A person who wants to make a statement in public, that doesn't invoke a violent response, is protected by the constitution."
Conboy said he is "disappointed" that someone would use his 1st Amendment rights in such a manner.
City codes dictate that lawns taller than 10 inches can be ticketed, but Parks and Planning officials said that unless the grass that formed the expletive met that criterion, there was nothing they could do to force its removal.
So sad. You may want to check county statutes.
In some areas, you can mow it yourself then send him a bill. If he doesn't pay, take him to small claims court. May not be worth the effort, but would be nice to see a small claims court judge smack him around.
When I was a young teenager, my parents, for some stupid reason, got me a chemistry set. Me, the mad scientist who tried to create a laser with the Erector set, a light, 4 magnifying glasses, and 2 borrowed rubies from my mother's jewelry case.
I created this blue liquid that made plants grow like crazy. For 6 weeks, if you applied it once, they would grow like gangbusters. If you didn't reapply, then it died.
This jerk started screaming at us one day for playing too loudly in the playground next to his condo. So, I mixed up several batches of blue stuff. And we wrote "A$$HOLE" on his lawn (though, we used 'S' instead of '$'). The next day, he came out with the hose to wash off this blue liquid off his grass. How dare someone spraypaint his grass like that. So, of course, the grass started growing the next day, on cue. Out came the lawnmower. Then the next day, and so on. Eventually, it died. And so he now had it burned in his lawn. He sodded. Because he'd washed the chemicals into the ground, of course, the sod started growing really furry the same phrase. And then a few days later, it died too. The next day, there was a For Sale sign up.
Paul
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