Posted by sexingthecherry (anonymous) on June 4, 2008 at 1:52 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I think a key part of cleaning up graffiti is providing an alternative. There should be graf-friendly spaces for people who want to practice their skill without breaking any laws.

I know this is kind of not the point of most graffiti. People who vandalize are making a statement, legal or not. The most vicious folks aren't going to want to have an allotted space for their paint, but I don't think that's what we see in Emporia most often. Most of the time, I would bet that it's just a bunch of kids who want to play with spray paint. I'd rather they do it someplace safe, than in a tunnel somewhere where they risk inhalation or getting hit by a car. I think it would help if graffiti was recognized as a valid art form--that has a right place and a wrong place to be performed.

Posted by madpoet (anonymous) on June 4, 2008 at 3:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Tell the rail companies it's art. You should see some of the rail cars which come through Emporia covered with graffiti. I don't know how much it costs to clean them. If you pick a wall for them to paint on they'll still rebel and paint elsewhere.

As for the lawn mowing. Yeah, it's an eyesore for a yard to get tall and overgrown. But come on! $500+ to mow it? What a rip off! With the cost of gas not to mention the near constant rainfall lately, some are probably falling behind. What about elderly or disabled people who can't mow and with the rising cost of EVERYTHING can no longer afford to hire it done? Does the city just shove a sign in the yard or do they attempt to find out if there's a reason the yard is not mowed? Are we in a communist camp here or what?

Posted by sexingthecherry (anonymous) on June 4, 2008 at 3:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)

That's what I'm saying--it has a time and place. Have you seen some of those pieces? They're phenomenal.

Posted by jayhawker (anonymous) on June 4, 2008 at 4:29 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Golly, Cherry, you and I don't see the world through the same eyes, literally or figuratively. I don't see phenomenal art pieces on the sides of trains, I see vandalism. I also see the failure of the family and society to teach young people about respect and boundaries. Is the concept of respect for the property and rights of others, as well as that for our sacred national symbols, lost? I am very concerned about our future.

Posted by TacoBellB (anonymous) on June 4, 2008 at 4:52 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Just when I thought it couldn't get any more ridiculous! Graffiti as art? Give the kids a place to spray paint? Gosh Cherry - all they have to do is go out and buy themselves a canvas and spray paint whatever they want of what they OWN - if it's their property - go for it. If it is not their property and owned by someone else then they should realize there are consequences. Let me guess - you think the government should provide kids with items to paint as well as the paint because otherwise we are "shushing" their freedom of speech?! Guess what - they can take art class in school.

Posted by hickory (anonymous) on June 4, 2008 at 5:20 p.m. (Suggest removal)

How about the people who mow their yard and bag it, and then dump their bag on city property? Are they above the law, because they are a business owner? Next time you drive north on graphic arts road, look to the left on the south side of the bridge. That fence line is city property and the property owner on the west side of the road dumps all his grass clippings on it. Why is this business owner allowed to trash up the right-of-way?

Posted by justamom (anonymous) on June 4, 2008 at 5:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)

The lawn mowing fine of over 500$ is ridiculous. Obviously these people do not have the funds to either 1) Purchase even a 100$ push mower, 2) pay the extreme gas prices to run that mower or 3) have the financial means to pay a lawn care company. The city of Emporia needs to help those who are in need of assistance instead of hurting them. It is easy for some to say that they should step up and ask for assistance from neighbors or friends, but really in all honesty it is not that easy. It is hard to admit to someone that you cannot even afford the 10$ for gas. Its actually quite embarassing.

Maybe the city could put some of those offenders who need to work off community service hours to work by operating a low cost lawn care program for ones who qualify. It would be very easy to allow people to apply for and recieve some small assistance. Surely the city of Emporia has someone working there smart enought to commandere this.

Emporia needs to work together to help those less fortunate; even when it comes to yard maintenance.

As for Cherry's comment about giving them a place to "graffitti" PLEASE...these kids who are just out to have some fun spray painting need to realize that they are destroying public property and should be punished to the full extent of the law. There does not need to be a place for them to do this. They already have one, it is called their home! I agree that they should be purchasing their own supplies and doing this at their own home. My son is a very amazing artist. He has never once expressed his talent by vandalizing. Get real Cherry...

Posted by gold66801 (anonymous) on June 4, 2008 at 6 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I got an idea why dont you put those bums sitting in jail out here mowing and cleaning up emporia>???????????????????????????????

Posted by emporian (anonymous) on June 4, 2008 at 6:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Maybe you can explain to me where the city would get the money to help people mow their lawn? I thought a responsibility of owning a house was yard work.

A $500 fine is a detterrent. If you make it a fine small this city will continue to look horrible. The city fines a cost effective way to deal with some urban blight (read it isn't costing you a thing as long as you keep your yard mowed) and people complain about that too.

Posted by justamom (anonymous) on June 4, 2008 at 6:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Emporian: i can just about bet you that the ones having difficulty mowing their yards are not home owners. They are more than likely renters. I also agree that $500 was probably set to be more of a detterrent, however the sad thing is that there will be some Emporia citizens who unfortunately will be charged that $500 fine.

I am unsure of exactly how the city of Emporia could come up with the funds to help these people. It was not meant to be an answer, only a possible solution worth looking at and taking into consideration. Simply an idea.

Posted by zander (anonymous) on June 4, 2008 at 9:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I agree with some of the posts above. There is a lot of clean up in the city like the graffiti and such that should fall back on the offenders. The court should require them to perform community service and paint over the graffiti and then some.

As for the mowing, yards are mostly turned in by neighbors and then mowing orders are posted in the yards. Then the city is required to give the owners time to comply with the order. If that is not done, a certified letter is sent to them and more time is given to comply. By this time the yard is not a foot high but maybe 2-3 feet tall. Now, it is no longer just putting a little mower to it by the contractor but using heavy equipment with possible damage to their machines, themselves and others. There are snakes and rodents to deal with along with hitting gas lines, water lines, and other utilities and junk that stick up that can't be seen.

If neighbors, family and friends notice someone they know has a tall lawn, they need to ask that person if they need help or better yet just step in and help them out and mow it.

Posted by sexingthecherry (anonymous) on June 4, 2008 at 9:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I don't know why so many people construe my post as condoning vandalism. It is wrong to vandalize. Absolutely. But some of the pieces vandals create are works of art that most people cannot fathom being able to make. They involve very real artistic skill. Unfortunately, the criminal act degrades the art. I don't know why so many people are opposed to a public place for art--we have murals all over downtown, why not another kind of art? ESPECIALLY if this public space deters people from vandalizing, thereby ultimately saving the city some money. Sorry I offended so many people by having a new idea.

Posted by disgruntledcitizen (anonymous) on June 4, 2008 at 9:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Most of these mowing orders are not going to the elderly who aren't in good health or the people who can't afford gas, it is going to all the houses that are sitting empty with the way the housing market is right now. I would venture a guess that 50% or more of the mowing orders are going to a house with a for sale sign in it or a house that is due to get forclosed. People don't care that it is making emporia look like a slum town. Also for the people that say they can't afford to mow, I bought the gas for my push mower last year and still have half of it left (it's only a 2.5 gallon can), and I mow atleast every week to week and a half. It doesn't cost a lot to mow a yard and mowers get good gas mileage and the big yards that take riding lawn mowers are not usually the problem when it comes to these mowing orders. To me, it's just part of having pride in your yard, your house, and your city, to keep it clean and looking decent. Like Emporian said, this $500 for not mowing your yard is more of a scare tactic than anything to get these people to mow their yards. I would think that taking maybe an hour tops and maybe $2-3 dollars to mow your yard would be a little easier on the pocket book than a $500 fine, if you do get the fine than it is no one's fault but yours. JMO.

Posted by acricket (anonymous) on June 4, 2008 at 9:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I live in a town where we look after our neighbors. If we see that a yard needs mowed we check out to see the reason. We all need to be more caring and remember we may need help someday too. I remember what my parents always told me, be thoughtful of others treat them as you would want to be treated. It will come back to you 10 fold and more. Where did all the kindness and Love go. And most of all do it from the heart and don't keep track of who has helped more.

Posted by methusla (anonymous) on June 5, 2008 at 12:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I would like to pose a question to anyone who might be able to answer it.
Since the parking from the sidewalk out to the street curb, and the patch of ground from the rear property line out to the alley technically belongs and is owned by the City of Emporia can I legally charge the City of Emporia $1500 each and every time I have to mow their property ?
Seems only fair to me !

Posted by methusla (anonymous) on June 5, 2008 at 12:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I just thought of another question I need answered.
If an owner of a house with yard that needs to be mowed has died and noone now owns the offending property, then who will have to pay the $500 fine for mowing, the City, the County ?

Posted by USNretired (anonymous) on June 5, 2008 at 8:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Whatever happened to kids mowing lawns instead of vandalizing property? I have seen the graffiti art in Long Beach. It is urban blight passed off as something else because the parents are afraid of their own kids and the gangs that use this crap to make statements to each other.

Posted by rami (anonymous) on June 5, 2008 at 9:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I agree, the grafitti is ridiculous. Someone actually climbed onto the Senior Center building just to tag the sign!

I lived across the street from a house a few years ago that was for sale, I knew the owner lived out of town at the time and had no family here, so when her got a mowing order on the yard I decided to mow it for him.
Kindness seems to elude some people if they would rather waste energy complaining about the yard instead of being neighborly*spelling?* and helping out.

Posted by emporian (anonymous) on June 5, 2008 at 9:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)

It goes on the property's taxes, so someone will pay it. The $500 fine is levied by the city. The mowing is done by a private contractor.

Posted by jayhawker (anonymous) on June 5, 2008 at 10:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Methusla: Emporian is correct. The cost would be assessed as a tax which creates a lien on the property. Ultimately, the tax would be paid when the property is sold either to a buyer or a tax sale.

Actually, the city does not own the land from the sidewalk to the street. The property owner owns the land all the way to the middle of the street. The City has an easement only. However, that easement creates a legal right to enforce the City's code on the property owner. It has been that way for many decades. While it may sound unfair in some respects, it is the only way to balance the needs of the community to have sidewalks and streets and the rights of the property owner.

Posted by Observation (anonymous) on June 9, 2008 at 3:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Gosh, all of this hub hub about mowing your lawns. Have you ever thought about just killing it so nothing at all grows there in your yard? Salt is cheap. I bet it would do a number on that nasty old grass that gets over a foot tall. Surely it would at least stun it so that it would stay under 12 inches. Personally I think that grass that is 11 inches tall is kind of ugly too. I think no grass would look better than 11-inch tall grass, but they don't ask me when they make those silly ole grass height rules. And no grass would keep the vandals back away from spray-painting your house on rainy days too. The problem probably is that the City might require there to be grass in your yard. I don't know.