Posted on 06/27/2002 2:01:02 AM PDT by fella
Posters Perturb City Thu, Jun 27, 2002
Signs Have Been Seen Around Town
By Jeff Niese
The Morning News/NWAonline.net
FAYETTEVILLE -- City workers have taken down 23 anonymous posters around town since Saturday that depict caricatures of President Bush and refer to his administration as a "Tower of Babble."
The posters have aggravated city employees, not because of the posters' message but rather because they've had to spend hours removing them from traffic utility boxes and the city's right of way. The satirical posters have left some people guessing as to their message. Police and city officials say they do not know who is responsible for putting the posters up.
"They spent 3 1/2 hours getting them down Saturday," said Richard Cochrac, in the city's Public Works Department.
The posters were first reported to police Friday by a passerby who spotted a poster at College Avenue and Sunbridge Drive. Police reported it to the Public Works Department, which removed it later in the day.
The department took down eight of the posters Saturday along Gregg Avenue near the intersections of Appleby Road and Shiloh Drive in the northern part of the city. City crews also took down 15 of the posters Monday near the downtown square. A couple of the posters were reportedly glued to the cement wall at the corner of College Avenue and Rock Street where the Fayetteville High School's mascot, purple bulldog, is painted.
Richard Long, the mayor of Johnson, said there are a couple of the posters at the Joyce Street and Wilkerson Street intersection.
Fayetteville ordinances do not allow handbills, fliers or signs of any type to be posted in city right of way or on city property.
Although city employees often remove yard- and garage-sale signs, the latest posters are different because of their political subject and the number that have been encountered around town.
The 2-foot by 3-foot poster features depictions of Bush, Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge and Attorney General John Ashcroft. Phrases referring to the terrorist attacks last year are on both sides of the caricatures.
A few of the statements include: "Be afraid, be very afraid. More terrorist attacks coming, just go shopping. Shop until they drop dead."
The poster also equates Ashcroft and Ridge to former FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, who was known for keeping extensive files on people.Sgt. Shannon Gabbard, the police public-information officer, said the department wants to know who is putting the posters up, although they seem to be breaking no laws.
"We don't see anything where there is potential for a crime," Gabbard said.
There are laws against broadcasting false alarms. The posters, however, do not list specific threats and, therefore, do not meet that criterion, he said.
Gabbard said they have made contact with the FBI about the posters.
Some people on Wednesday said they were puzzled as to the posters' meaning.
"It made me wonder what in the world it was," said Jessica Allen, 23, of Fayetteville.
Allen said she has seen the posters while driving. "I didn't look at it real closely, but I didn't really think it was appropriate," she said.
Katy Widder, 24, of Fayetteville also said she saw the posters only in passing.
"I never really saw what it said. I have seen them all around the place," she said.
Heidi Widder, Katy's 22-year-old sister, said she thought the posters referred to something else.
"I thought it was a band," Heidi Widder said.
Chris Selby, who runs Clunk Music Hall on College Avenue, said he does not know of any local bands called "Tower of Babble."
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