A word to the wise ...
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.
I guarantee you, if I or anyone else so much as stepped on her lawn, let alone mowed it, she would have us arrested for trespassing. Not all people are normal.
Ok seriously I have seen him out there trimming the curb grass with a pair of scissors. Not those grass sheers but scissors....LOL
If there are only about 50 leaves he goes around with a little white bag and picks them up by hand.
LOL
sounds like youre both lucky to have good neighbors. Thats a rare treasure.
BTW, what I meant in my previous post was...while I'm laying the smackdown, I'd tell ya, "your ass is mine but your soul belongs to God"
That counts as evangelizing doesnt it?? ;)
A word to the wise ...
My neighbor behind me for the first couple or three years decided he would mow his back yard twice a year whether it needed it or not. After a couple of years of listening to my wife complain, I just adopted his plan .... in that after he mowed it nice and short, that evening after dark I would spray it with $20 worth of roundup. Made things easier for both of us. We've been operating like that for about 15 years now.
Hahahaha, I've done that.
LOL, I believe I did get that impression from your remarks. But from the sound of it, your yard is maintained a whole lot better than the man who was the original subject of this thread.
And hopefully the homeowner will be armed when he catches you trespassing.
I have one nice neighbor and one really @$$#*le neighbor.
AH neighbor used to complain when we didn't pick up the kid's toys in the backyard, then they complained that we let our shrubbery grow so that they couldn't see in to our backyard (actually their complaint was that our shrubbery was growing over into their backyard). I said that if our shrubbery was growing over into their yard they could trim it themselves. They said, "No! It's growing outta your yard! You gotta trim it!"
And on and on...
I was so happy...when their son was busted...for using crack.
Looks like some neighbors should have minded their own business in the first place. They wanted the grass cut - they got the grass cut. Be careful what you ask for......
Wow, we were only joking. Sounds like you guys have a real nut case on your hands.
You wouldn't really shoot someone who was in your yard and not endangering your life in any way .... would you?
Hey...at least he didn't use a chemical spray cannister of Roundup to write his note.
Actually so have I, but not to that extreme.
This is a great way to ask for your house to be egged.
I think so. We just joked about in the past until the fence incident and the police being annoyed. I have seen the police there twice so far over the fence issue.
Was considering writing a letter to the Village about wasting police resources on a trivial matter.
Do you feel lucky?
LOL.... I was BORN lucky!
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