Quote :

"IRSeriousCat All American 5367 Posts user info edit post maybe tdub could finally do a good service which could lead to positive publicity. i say we openly support this man and his cause. make it be known that they are at fault and demand they take responsibility for their actions instead of extorting the man."

How did that work out for you? Now it looks more like the man is extorting the town.

Quote :

"Since the Kelo decision, Pfizer (the company that teh city was trying to get to move in on the property), decided to close down the project and leave town. So all that stuff that the city bought from it's owners and sold to Pfizer looks worse now. There's an adandoned office building and some empty land."

i heard about that from glenn beck...i would have sympathized with the situation if i had heard it from someone who's not a d-bag. IIRC Pfizer still owns that land and can either build on it later or sell it back to the town. Either way I wouldn't complain about an empty lot, just sucks that some people had to leave their homes for nothing.

[Edited on December 4, 2009 at 10:51 AM. Reason : -]

12/4/2009 10:50:07 AM

^^ It does seem like he has gone from being a legitimate champion of the 1st amendment to just being another leech.

If the town actually offered to fix the flooding problem, then I don't see how he has anymore room to complain. And I like how he dodged that question on the Fox News interview.

12/4/2009 11:42:02 AM

Sure he's a leach, he's hoping to get a cash settlement out of this lawsuit. He doesn't care about his front lawn anymore. Doesn't invalidate his point: you should be able to paint whatever message you want on your own property...ESPECIALLY if it is political or controversial in nature.

If Cary had ignored him, the story would have died and the community would have realized that he's just an angry old looney. But instead they tried to muzzle him, so now they get negative publicity on national television and a constitutional lawsuit. That's life here in these United States.



[Edited on December 4, 2009 at 12:32 PM. Reason : .]

12/4/2009 12:16:01 PM

Wow, FOX did the worst coverage of this story yet.

"So the town came by your house, and they destroyed your property, and that upset you a lot?"

What a fucking joke.

12/4/2009 12:48:00 PM

Quote :

"If Cary had ignored him, the story would have died and the community would have realized that he's just an angry old looney. But instead they tried to muzzle him, so now they get negative publicity on national television and a constitutional lawsuit. That's life here in these United States."

There are, in nearly every city, limitations on free speech. Whether or not sign ordinances inside the town of Cary are, or are not constitutional, has nothing to do with the issue here. This guy doesn't give a crap about his rights with regards to free speech, and if he'd given a crap about his property rights, he would have been complaining during the public comment phase of the is project, which I assure you, there was one.

He wants a pay day, it's been fairly well documented by his own town councilman and others... even if local and national media is attempting to turn it into a David and Goliath farce. Clearly the town didn't try to muzzle him, or they'd have been fining all along, instead of this "if you don't clean it up we'll fine you" crap.

See anyone else, with any other sign about anything else political or otherwise try and get away with that. I'm quite sure you'll find that the town will be very quick to jump on you. They're bending over backwards to try and help this guy out, but he won't accept anything less than them buying him out. I sincerely hope they don't, it sets an atrocious precedent.

12/4/2009 1:25:58 PM

i just feel bad for the neighbors who have to live next to this douchebag and his tainted house.

12/4/2009 1:35:04 PM

I stand corrected then. The citizens of Cary deserve the government they have.

12/4/2009 1:54:24 PM

Quote :

"Doesn't invalidate his point: you should be able to paint whatever message you want on your own property...ESPECIALLY if it is political or controversial in nature. If Cary had ignored him, the story would have died and the community would have realized that he's just an angry old looney. But instead they tried to muzzle him, so now they get negative publicity on national television and a constitutional lawsuit. That's life here in these United States. "

Actually... it does invalidate his point.

He doesn't have the signs for shits and giggles, he was trying to fix his issue. Cary offered to fix his issue that he created his sign for, but now he wants nothing less than for them to buy his house.

And contrary to what his lawyer was saying in that piss-poor Fox News interview, I bet the town of Cary would have made anyone take down a sign that violated their ordinance.

The town of cary isn't trying to silence him, they are trying to fix the problem they created, the guy got greedy, and now they are just responding to complaints.

If the town ignored him, it would make things more difficult if they ever tried to get any other signs that are against their ordinance restricted.

Assuming there is a precedence that allows towns to have sign size ordinances, I don't see how the town of cary can't prevail in a lawsuit.

12/4/2009 4:32:09 PM

The citizens of Cary deserve the government they have.

12/4/2009 4:36:16 PM

I wouldn’t be surprised to learn though that someone in the cary leadership is getting kickbacks from the company that was pushing the constructions.

12/4/2009 7:10:31 PM

I saw this on tv this morning at a local restaurant and everybody was all look nc is on tv again for some retarded backwards shit.

12/4/2009 7:15:36 PM

Quote :

"The citizens of Cary deserve the government they have."

12/4/2009 7:16:31 PM

Today we are all screwed by the town of Cary.

12/4/2009 8:16:18 PM

how long before townfolk start throwing rocks at his house

12/4/2009 8:17:05 PM

Quote :

"if he'd given a crap about his property rights, he would have been complaining during the public comment phase of the is project, which I assure you, there was one. "

according to public records, he was one of the first people to sign off on the ROW agreements and utility easements. If you have a legitimite beef with the construction, the one thing you DON'T want to do is wait until the project is finished and then start bitching.

12/4/2009 8:18:32 PM

It's still up there.

12/15/2009 10:06:12 AM

From the interview:

Quote :

""Isn't the real issue here that your house was damaged...""

Quote :

""All they want to do is get the sign down. Nothing has been mentioned about fixing my house or anything.""

Wait, what?

12/15/2009 10:24:27 AM

Quote :

"according to public records, he was one of the first people to sign off on the ROW agreements and utility easements. If you have a legitimite beef with the construction, the one thing you DON'T want to do is wait until the project is finished and then start bitching."

Given that, you'd think they'd push the 'this is not what I was told' line more... His argument gets thinner and thinner the deeper this gets, and the longer it goes on.

12/16/2009 2:52:13 PM

More on the Lawn Chair War that was mentioned earlier in the thread:

http://www.burbia.com/neighbor-lawn-chair-war-moral-dilemma

12/16/2009 4:57:40 PM

ANY UPDATES ON THIS SITUATION

3/9/2010 10:07:10 AM

still there as of last week or so

3/9/2010 10:25:35 AM

Quote :

"I bet the town of Cary would have made anyone take down a sign that violated their ordinance."

There's an old guy with Civil War cannons on High House Road who would beg to differ.

3/9/2010 11:02:52 AM

^ that guy has cleaned up his yard quite a bit

3/9/2010 11:09:10 AM

I drove by there last night...
He has spotlights on it.

[Edited on March 9, 2010 at 12:21 PM. Reason : f]

3/9/2010 12:21:17 PM

i used to work close to that mans yard and i have always wanted to see if he would let me wander around and take pictures of his stuff.

3/9/2010 1:44:05 PM

what's he going to do if you take pictures? call the police? it'll take a while for Wake SO to get out there.

3/9/2010 1:46:44 PM

WTF are you talking about WSO for. Its in the heart of cary.

Quote :

"There's an old guy with Civil War cannons on High House Road who would beg to differ. "

he used to shoot cannons and shit back in highschool (before they built that church accross the street

3/9/2010 1:52:16 PM

Because his house is not in Cary. It is a doughnut hole. He is surrounded by Cary but refused to be annexed or whatever.

[Edited on March 9, 2010 at 1:56 PM. Reason : ]

3/9/2010 1:56:22 PM

DO WHAT????

3/9/2010 1:58:25 PM

^when they annexed that part of Cary either he refused to be annexed and doesnt have to follow the same BS ordinances Cary has when it comes to ascetics or he was there first before the laws and therefore was grandfathered in underneath them and doesnt have to follow them.

its one of those

some one drive by and take pics of this others guys house. it def sticks out. Yard is overgrown like a jungle almost IIRC....

3/9/2010 2:53:58 PM

where is this story at. Id like to read up on that shit

3/9/2010 2:55:51 PM

Although it doesn't say when it was, nor does it list a reference:

Quote :

"The town recently annexed an area containing the home of an eccentric gentleman of some local fame whose yard contained an antique cannon and an abundance of signs and posters expressing his opinions. In a rare compromise, the town council said the man was allowed to keep his yard's ornamentation as long as he did not add to it further."

http://en.allexperts.com/e/c/ca/cary,_north_carolina.htm

Which is consistent with Wake Co. property tax records (he pays Cary taxes).

Another interesting bit of info:

Quote :

"And Cary’s most recalcitrant critic and enthusiastic cannoneer, Charles Dreher, Sr., pronounces his name “DREER,” which seems to fit his outlook on life. But things are rarely as they seem. I was fascinated to learn that Mr. Dreher, whose accent could have come from the North Georgia hills, is actually a son of Ohio. Even Cary’s most unreconstructed southerner is a Yankee. "

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0106/feature7/assignment1.html

3/9/2010 4:07:05 PM

Quote :

"what's he going to do if you take pictures? call the police? it'll take a while for Wake SO to get out there."

ummm, im not dumb enough to trespass on a man like that.. hes crazy. did you see where i said wander around...i want to walk around in his cool stuff.

3/9/2010 4:09:32 PM

6/21/2010 7:10:48 PM

http://www.wral.com/news/news_briefs/story/7825847/

OMG I passed that house yesterday morning around 9am and there was no message I remember wondering what the hell that big tarp was for.

Quote :

"Cary, N.C. — A Cary homeowner who is advertising his love for the town in big, bold letters is in violation of the local sign ordinance, town spokeswoman Susan Moran said Monday. Keith Ramsey painted the message, "We love the Town of Cary" in white letters on a black tarp along Southwest Maynard Road over the weekend. Ramsey lives within a block of William David Bowden, who has battled Cary officials in court for almost a year about a message Bowden painted on his home that criticized the town. Bowden claims a road-widening project left his once-arboreal yard, at 305 SW Maynard Road, void of trees and with a steep slope that funnels rain water into his home. Assistant Town Manager Mike Bajorek said the town has attempted to negotiate with Bowden but has been unable to reach a satisfactory solution."

6/21/2010 7:14:06 PM

Quote :

"A Cary homeowner who is advertising his love for the town in big, bold letters is in violation of the local sign ordinance, town spokeswoman Susan Moran said Monday."

Cary is completely fucked beyond all repair.

6/21/2010 8:23:55 PM

I thought it was a given Cary is fucked beyond all repair

6/21/2010 8:30:25 PM

Quote :

" Cary is completely fucked beyond all repair. "

They're enforcing the town ordinance, just like they did with "screwed by the town of cary" guy. The law applies to everyone.

6/21/2010 10:02:52 PM

Quote :

"Cary is completely fucked beyond all repair. "

having rules is bad



they cant be in a lawsuit againt the other guy while turning a blind eye to this...

[Edited on June 21, 2010 at 10:13 PM. Reason : .]

6/21/2010 10:13:07 PM

DOWN WITH RULES, WE NEED ANARCHY

6/21/2010 10:17:52 PM

^^^I drove by a few weeks ago and the message is still there.

I don't know how good of a job they are doing enforcing the ordinance. Maybe the only thing they can do is fine the guy. Not sure whether the guy hasn't paid fines, the town isn't making an issue of collecting them, or what.

[Edited on June 21, 2010 at 10:20 PM. Reason : -]

6/21/2010 10:19:35 PM

maybe he is contesting the whole thing in court and they are not allowed to levy any fines until it is resolved

6/22/2010 7:40:34 AM

The town hasn't forced the issue and collected the fines, because, at this point, since it's a daily or weekly accrual, they'd be effectively putting him on the street.

6/22/2010 8:27:30 AM

bttt

12/7/2010 6:35:18 PM

Thanks for bumping it man, I though it was too far gone.

Anyway...
Dude won his lawsuit. Cary violated his first amendment rights. All fines suspended, no word yet on how much money he'll get.

12/7/2010 6:40:56 PM

Quote :

"Cary, N.C. — A homeowner has been awarded $1 in damages after the town of Cary tried to fine him for a spray-painted message on his house, according to papers filed in federal court Wednesday. The ruling also permanently banned Cary from enforcing its sign ordinance against the message "S-----d by the Town of Cary” that David Bowden painted on his home in August 2009. The town had threatened to fine Bowden, but the American Civil Liberties Union sued on his behalf, saying the message is political speech. Bowden said that he is frustrated by years of unsuccessful negotiation with Cary after construction on Maynard Road that he claims led to drainage problems in his yard and home. In the past, he has said that he wanted Cary to buy his house."

1/20/2011 9:58:09 AM

Good for him that $1 will more than pay to have his house painted lol. Hope it was worth it!

1/20/2011 10:00:19 AM

$1? Seriously?

1/20/2011 10:00:23 AM

They censored "screwed"?

1/20/2011 10:01:55 AM

fuck the town of Cary

1/20/2011 10:12:42 AM