Realtors Opt For Choices (American Flag Display Causes Dispute)

The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (Southern California) ^ | July 3, 2007 | Will Bigham, Staff Writer

[truthkeeper]

CLAREMONT - There will not be a sequel to the mini-scandal known in some circles as "Flag-gate." Claraboya residents, many of whom were engaged in a fierce neighborhood dispute over tiny American flags during last year's Fourth of July season, have pledged to behave themselves this year.

Tom and Nancy Telford, the two neighborhood real estate agents who planted flags last year in their neighbors' front yards with Nancy Telford's business card attached, left off the business cards this year, and mailed out a postcard to their neighbors giving them an advance opportunity to decline a flag.

Last year, after the Telfords distributed the flags, they kicked off a neighborhood dispute that escalated to a level that none involved could have anticipated.

Steven Llanusa, then the president of the Claraboya Homeowners Association, removed all the flags and threw them in a Dumpster, arguing that the flag presentation was an advertisement - a violation of the rules of the association.

Llanusa's actions prompted 10 residents to file theft reports with the Claremont Police Department, and the Telfords mounted a brief campaign demanding Llanusa's ouster from the association position.

[Psycho_Bunny]

If they had a business card attached....and they put them in their neighbors yard....this isn’t a “flag” issue.

[truthkeeper]

That’s why I posted it. :-)

[truthkeeper]

BTW, we’ve gotten these planted in our neighborhood for about a zillion years. Anyone else?

[doug from upland]

Claremont is next door. A haven for the libs in my generally conservative area. This was a good idea to put out flags, but perhaps it shouldn’t have been done in conjunction with advertising. How about doing it as an American?

[truthkeeper]

I’m with you.

[doug from upland]

I always like it when the head of a homeowner’s association is put on the hot seat.

[Clam Digger]

HOA’s are SCARY! No way will I ever live under the rule of an HOA.

[YOUGOTIT]

If the SOBs do not want an American Flag then they should be put on the rail and tarred and feathered out of the country.

[VR-21]

A local realtor has done this for years in my neighborhood. I thought the flags were a nice touch, and the business card didn’t bother me at all. In fact I used the e-mail address on the card to thank the realtor for the flag.

[the OlLine Rebel]

“...threw them in a Dumpster”

You !$#$!#$ bastard. Little flags are easy to burn the proper way if you don’t have a way to dispose of them.

[Vision]

Steven Llanusa, then the president of the Claraboya Homeowners Association, removed all the flags and threw them in a Dumpster, arguing that the flag presentation was an advertisement - a violation of the rules of the association.

“California is Uninhabitable” Ping!


Let me know if you want on or off the list.

[the OlLine Rebel]

Good for you. I don’t really care if it has advertizing with it.

[gracesdad]

“If the SOBs do not want an American Flag then they should be put on the rail and tarred and feathered out of the country.”

So do we tar and feather every single person who doesn’t fly a flag on July 4, or just the ones who are offered and decline it?

I hope you’ve got a lot of tar and feathers.

[mtbopfuyn]

Simple - move and then display all the flags and Christmas lights you want.

[Thrownatbirth]

I always like it when the head of a homeowner’s association is put on the hot seat.

As luck would have, the moron is on the school board, too.

[horse_doc]

A realtor does this in my neighborhood a couple of times a year. It a very cynical advertising scheme, and the day after they are put out, the whole place is littered with cheap, Chinese-made faded plastic flags.

There's nothing patriotic about it - it shows as much respect for the flag as stitching a flag to the bottom of your jeans, or printing a flag on a throw-away grocery bag.

And yes, I do fly a heavy, quality, American-made flag on all flag holidays.

[isthisnickcool]

We had a house in a subdivision that was deed restricted. Some fellow down the street on the corner put up a fairly large pole and an American flag. He spent a lot of money on it and even had spot lights. It was a very professional job.

This was clearly in violation of the deed restrictions. His house was on the corner on the main drag coming in to the subdivision and eveyone driving in to the subdivision could see the flag.

We lived down the street and could see the big American flag waving in the wind. There was no way to miss it!

He clearly violated the deed restrictions so something had to be done about it. We had no choice. So we got together and agreed that we could not have people putting flags up like that again. Then we told the guy he had violated the deed restrictions but we loved that American flag more than we loved enforcing the deed restrictions. We drank a few beers with him and that was that.

[gdani]

If the SOBs do not want an American Flag then they should be put on the rail and tarred and feathered out of the country.

I don't want anyone who doesn't live in my house putting or posting *anything* on my property. Simple as that.

[horse_doc]

Little flags are easy to burn the proper way if you don’t have a way to dispose of them.

Actually, they aren't. These little advertising flags are made of a cheap vinyl material. They will melt, I guess, but nobody does this. 99% of my neighbors toss them in the trash. They fade in the sun to a nauseating shade of pink, after about a minute. Within a couple of days, they aren't even recognizable as flags.

It is what it is - a cynical, shoddy, advertising ploy, that leaves a bunch of trash in its wake.