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IN THE NEWS Lakemoor gardener hires lawyer to fight ordinance By JILLIAN DUCHNOWSKI - jduchnowski@nwherald.com Sandy Bressner — sbressner@nwherald.com Tina Asmus has been at the center of controversy in her Lakemoor neighborhood for displaying planters made out of recycled toilets in her front yard. Asmus has hired an attorney. (Sandy Bressner (Photographer)) LAKEMOOR – A Lakemoor woman is prepared to defend her potty planters in court if the village fines her under a nuisance ordinance. On May 29, the village gave Tina Asmus 30 days to clear out two old toilets that she used as flower pots near her front porch before citing her under the “Public Nuisances Affecting Peace and Safety” ordinance. Asmus hired an attorney last week, but village leaders said Monday that they didn’t plan to back down. “I understand that everyone doesn’t share my taste,” Asmus said. “But it’s my property, and I pay taxes on it, so I should be able to display what I want in it.” Village President Todd Weihofen said the warning was among more than 100 sent out as part of a larger effort to improve the village’s image. Other warnings involved junk vehicles and boats left in yards and tall grass. “Most people are complying,” Weihofen said. “They were given a
30-days warning. We were trying to be as decent as we could to give
everyone a fair chance.” “We’re trying to clean up our image and get our town to move ahead,” Weihofen said. “We’re an incorporated village.” Asmus said she had no plans to change what she considered artwork, and her attorney, George Kililis, said they planned to challenge the ordinance’s constitutionality because it was vague and too broad. “Our position is clear,” Kililis said. “She is violating no
ordinance whatsoever.” If such a challenge is successful, Weihofen said the village
would write and pass another ordinance. |
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