Mow the Lawn or Go To Jail

[Cryozombie]

CANTON, Ohio (AP) - City council members in Canton have approved a measure that's grabbed widespread attention in recent weeks.
Homeowners in the northeast Ohio city who don't mow their grass now face stiffer penalties - including a possible 30-day jail term.

Brilliant lawmaking. Brilliant. Hey, if you are in Jail for 30 days and the grass isnt mowed cuz, well, you are in jail... can they keep you another 30?

 

[MBuzzy]

In my little community they put these really nasty "mow your grass now" signs in your front yard. I mean BIG HUGE BRIGHT Yellow signs that basically say "IF YOU DIDN'T ALREADY NOTICE, THIS PERSON DOESN'T MOW THEIR YARD!!!"

 

[Makalakumu]

In my little community they put these really nasty "mow your grass now" signs in your front yard. I mean BIG HUGE BRIGHT Yellow signs that basically say "IF YOU DIDN'T ALREADY NOTICE, THIS PERSON DOESN'T MOW THEIR YARD!!!"

If one of those signs ended up in my yard, I'd put up a staked outline of my yard and mark it with signs that said, "Native Prairie Restoration." Then, I'd write nasty letters to the editor that would paint the "mower-nazis" as a bunch of nature hating monsters who'd love nothing more then to see me run a lawn mower over a nest of chirping prairie chicken chicks.

 

[MA-Caver]

Ya know, yesterday my step-sister gave me 10 bucks to put in her 5 gallon gas can so she'd have enough gas to put in her riding mower to finish out the yard she started on but ran out of gas.
I went to get $10 bucks worth and put in about 2.6 gallons of gas (10 bucks )... she said she doesn't know when she'll be able to afford to cut her grass again because she put $65 bucks in her vehicle earlier that week.

Thankfully we haven't in my neck of the woods gotten to where folks are putting up "MOW YOUR LAWN" signs.

Gas prices are affecting that too. You'd think folks would understand that by now.

SIGH

Oh, my parents pay this guy $40.00 every two weeks to cut their yard (and weedeater and all that). Last year the man charged them $20.00. Makes me wonder if he's going to up his prices before the end of summer?

 

[Cryozombie]

I use an electric mower.

 

[theletch1]

We have two acres that need mowing. One acre we keep neatly trimmed as "yard", the other acre we use as a combination garden and "wildlife refuge" that only gets cut when the guy that own the apple orchard we live in comes through with his tractor. Yeah, the price of gas in affecting that too. The higher the price of gas goes the more folks will get fined for not mowing their grass. The higher the price of gas the more taxes the government (local, state and fed) will get from it. Hell, looks like a win/win for the gov't and another getting the shaft for the little guy.

 

[arnisador]

I think a law like this is OK if it's based on civil penalties...but jail time? It's nice to be able to penalize someone for having a 10 foot tall jungle in their from yard in a small suburban area, but sending them to jail seems a bit much to me. I imagine it'd be used sparingly.

 

[MBuzzy]

Probably just more of a threat than anything.

 

[terryl965]

Yea forget about the drug dealers and real criminals, those damm lawn people are the real problem. I say lock them away for ever.

 

[Archangel M]

We have two acres that need mowing. One acre we keep neatly trimmed as "yard", the other acre we use as a combination garden and "wildlife refuge" that only gets cut when the guy that own the apple orchard we live in comes through with his tractor. Yeah, the price of gas in affecting that too. The higher the price of gas goes the more folks will get fined for not mowing their grass. The higher the price of gas the more taxes the government (local, state and fed) will get from it. Hell, looks like a win/win for the gov't and another getting the shaft for the little guy.

Perhaps there will be a new boom in the old fashioned manual push mower.

 

[BrandiJo]

When I was living in Iowa, if your lawn got out of control and you ignored the notices that they sent out the city would come mow your lawn for you... with a huge freaking bill attached to it. I knew a person who got into drugs and decided that his lawn looked good how it grew naturally... when the city stepped in and mowed it after 2 months they charged him somewhere around 300 bucks for it. Granted his yard was large but back when he was a stable person my brother would mow it for 50... He didnt pay the fine, didnt pay his house payments and let his guinea pigs run wild in the house (several dozen of them) so by the time it all hit the fan the state condemned his house and he went to rehab and is now working on getting back a normal life.

But to go to jail for it sounds a bit harsh to me.

 

[exile]

Perhaps there will be a new boom in the old fashioned manual push mower.

This is what I use, a wonderful Scott 20" wide spool manual, for a couple of reasons...

First, it's nice and quiet—I hate the racket of a gas mower (can't they make the buggers quieter??) and so I can't really in conscience inflict it on my neighbors. Second, there isn't that horrible gasoline stink every time you mow the lawn. Third, it's a lot of work, and counts as serious exercise and calorie-burning exertion. Finally, it's much less of a big production to do touch-up work in between full scale mowings—the manuals are much lighter than their gas-powered bretheren. All in all, I'm much happier with my Scott than with a gas-powered version. It makes mowing the lawn pleasant enough that I'd be in no danger of getting a rap sheet in Canton ...

 

[FearlessFreep]

When I was living in Iowa, if your lawn got out of control and you ignored the notices that they sent out the city would come mow your lawn for you... with a huge freaking bill attached to it. I knew a person who got into drugs and decided that his lawn looked good how it grew naturally... when the city stepped in and mowed it after 2 months they charged him somewhere around 300 bucks for it. Granted his yard was large but back when he was a stable person my brother would mow it for 50... He didnt pay the fine, didnt pay his house payments and let his guinea pigs run wild in the house (several dozen of them) so by the time it all hit the fan the state condemned his house and he went to rehab and is now working on getting back a normal life.

But to go to jail for it sounds a bit harsh to me.

Which just proves that not mowing your lawn is a gateway to more serious crime

 

[Kacey]

I use a gas mower because when I bought it, I couldn't find an electric I liked. I mow my grass every 1-2 weeks... and I freely admit it's overdue at the moment; every day I've been off that I could mow it, it's rained, so I have an excuse. I intend to mow it tomorrow, unless the forecast is right and it rains before I get to mow it; I won't start too early on a Sunday in case people are sleeping in. My neighbors could complain... but thankfully, there's no covenant in my area, and they all know that I've done a lot of landscaping since I moved in - so I doubt any of them would. I do cut my grass as high as my mower will go; taller grass uses less water because it provides it's own shade.

I understand ordinances that require upkeep/maintenance... but I think jail for noncompliance is counter-productive; how can you mow in jail? And why should the city/county/state pay for your incarceration when they could just massively overcharge you for mowing it themselves? :idunno:

 

[Makalakumu]

Another idea is to just get some sheep. Three or four should do the trick. When a lamb is born, slaughter the oldest and feast on grass fed mutton. When I visited New Zealand, this was a common arrangement.

 

[FearlessFreep]

Another idea is to just get some sheep. Three or four should do the trick. When a lamb is born, slaughter the oldest and feast on grass fed mutton. When I visited New Zealand, this was a common arrangement.

I knew there was a reason I had six kids








(ok, I admit that was wrong on so many levels, but it just came to me...)

 

[elder999]

What's a lawn? :lol:

 

[Edmund BlackAdder]

1 word

astroturf

 

[FearlessFreep]

1 word

astroturf

xero-scape

 

[Drac]

For awhile our city would mow your lawn and then BILL you for it...I have no problem with locking up those are are too LAZY to mow, and I'd like them to go on better..Aside from doing 30 days they should be let out during the day to mow the lawns of the many vacant houses awaiting sale..Cleveland makes their jail guests pick up trash..