Posted on 10/15/2014 7:33:56 AM PDT by dware
LENOIR CITY, Tenn. – A Tennessee woman who fell behind on her yard work was cited by code enforcers and has served a stint in jail over her overgrown yard.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Yes! That's one exception to my earlier statement. I have been looking at small pieces of property that are vacant lots. Problem is, my wife says no because they are in the mountains, high elevation, stuff like that. Sounds GREAT to me. Unfortunately, she keeps saying if I do, I'm going alone. HA!
Holloway says she’s been cited by code enforcers in the past, while her husband was serving overseas in the military. She says she fell behind on the yard work again this time because of personal, family issues.
Code enforcement officers directed all questions to Police Chief Don White, who oversees the department. He did not immediately return calls from Local 8 News.
Judge Vann set a follow up hearing for November to check up on the progress. He suggested he might add on more jail time if the city isn’t satisfied with the clean-up.
Sounds like this city needs some new leadership.
Here is more detail with a photo.
http://www.local8now.com/home/headlines/Lenoir-City-woman-sentenced-to-jail-for-having-a-messy-yard-279202621.html
The trouble is all the arrogant people voting for and supporting the nanny state.
You will find many so-called conservatives supporting onerous rules on property as a way of keeping away the “undesirables”.
i live in an intercity neighborhood in Houston. We have reasonable rules that don’t bother me at all.
The only one I knowingly break is also a Houston city ordinance. We are supposed to have only 3 dogs and I have 4.
If you turn me in I will find you and you will be sorry!
:)
Lol. My biggest issue, I believe, is being born about 150 years too late! I would be so much more happy crossing the plains to homestead here in Colorado and live the life of a mountain man. I've been trying hard as I can to live the mountain man existence, but it's not easy to do anymore with all the requirements, regulations, ord's, etc.
I did just read the article. Code Enforcement should never be put under the Police Department it has too much potential for abuse. I do know some cities do have such an arrangement but a person still has a right to appear a hearing before a code enforcement board to plead their case. Compelling her to appear before a judge with a possible levy of jail time is way overboard.
I don’t know about Tennessee but in Florida code enforcement boards are quasi judicial, with those appearing before it being given due process rights such as being permitted to submit or examine evidence and cross examine or call witnesses. The accused party also has the right to appeal the findings of an administrative board such as a code enforcement board to a court of law. So their rights are taken in to consideration through out the proceedings.
So are those same rights given to a person who is told to appear before a municipal or circuit court judge for a violation of a property maintenance ordinance? Is a person given a chance to respond and defend themselves? Or is it handled as though no finding of fact is needed and the only question being how the law is to be satisfied?
I can see the potential for overzealous police and judges to really go overboard if it is the latter. I call jail time for an overgrown yard overboard. But I also think throwing people in the hoosegow for an overdue library book is a bit much too.
I was born 74 years ago, right here in Houston. We had a cow, a horse, chickens etc. I don’t miss those things but if I had to live without my Tahoe, my computer, my cell phone and especially air conditioning in the summer, I would be a basket case.
Now see, I already do without cell service (I have a 3 year old smart phone that I use to pick up wireless here and there, along with GPS - love my back country navigator - but no actual service on the phone), I no longer own an actual computer, and while I'd love to have a Tahoe for the 4 wheel capabilities, I prefer an older beat up Toyota because they can go anywhere, and I tend to get myself in some pretty hairy 4 wheeling situations, and it don't hurt when I happen to run the side panel into a rock. Otherwise, I'd like to get a horse or mule to take with me on prospecting trips. Somehow I'm just more at home and closer to God when I'm out in the middle of nowhere, sitting next to a campfire and sleeping in a bushcraft type shelter. Air conditioning? Shoot, we got all winter to stay cool! =)
Thank God everything is under control and we can go after the real criminals in society.
That’s 6 hours more confinement than any Ebola case worker has received.
Before this, I've always lived on wooded property. In my mind, nature is much better looking than artificial landscaping. I keep mine as natural as possible, and pay someone to hack down the grass (probably weeds) every week. My point....if you know your surroundings, you can figure out if the rules are okay for you. This family has kids...why couldn't they do the lawnwork?
Quite frankly, that's no ones business. I was a home owner at one point. I was also working frantically to keep up with the payments, and had a job in Ohio while I lived in WV. I was on the road a lot. Working upwards of 70 hours per week, with little down time. On one day I happened to be home, looking at my lawn that had grown maybe 2 inches longer than it normally was, when a County employee showed up. With a cop. It's not your home, no matter how much you pay on the mortgage, or in property taxes, and despite what the deed says, IT'S NOT YOUR PRIVATE PROPERTY.
Yeah. I’m in Tennessee and have a house on 22 acres out in a county (pop 11,000), about 14 miles from the nearest town. I don’t need any permits to do anything except if I hook up to the electrical or water. I can do pretty much anything I want there. I’m afraid the way this country is going that won’t last forever, but it might last out my lifetime.
IF her story is true and her husband is indeed deployed and I lived in that town, I'd be more than happy to take care of the ground work for her until her husband returns...........
I'm surprised that there isn't any veterans organization offering her assistance.......
I think photos of the overgrown yard would be appropriate in order to make any argument either for or against her........
Check out the 39 second point on the video at the local news site......LOL!
Not surprising, the property had been cleared by the time the news crew had arrived..........
And here I had offered to help with the lawn care if I was in that area, assuming her husband was military deployed when all along, he's back home now...........
But if she was an illegal alien they’d overlook her yard.
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