clash between First Amendment rights, property rights and blight has Garden City officials seeking advice from its attorney.
Neighbors in the 7010 block of Deering were shocked to find their neighbor?s home defaced on Tuesday. What was more startling was the fact that the homeowner was the person who spray painted her own home.
There-in lies the unusual quandary as neighbors wait for the visual pollution to disappear.
?We have requested our prosecutor issue a bench warrant for maintaining a public nuisance because graffiti is a public nuisance,? said Garden City Department of Public Services Director Kevin Roney Friday. ?Obviously, we aren?t going to tolerate this.?
The message ?Jesus raped me? is just one of several scrawled across the front of the home of Gina Fournier.
Fournier could not be reached for comment, but an online search showed that she is a former English teacher at Oakland Community College who used her home to lash out against both OCC and her feelings about religious institutions she dealt with.
Her statements are metaphors but neighbors are taking the graffiti messages literally.
The home is located two blocks from Garden City Mayor Randy Walker?s home in the 6900 block of Deering. Blight is more than a pet peeve for Walker, who regularly goes on blight patrol with Garden City Police Chief/City Manager Robert Muery.
But this matter apparently goes beyond regular code enforcement. Walker said that Muery is now consulting with the city attorney.
?We are not happy about this,? Walker said. ?We are looking into it to see if we can do anything about it because it is her property. It?s not illegal to damage your own house. It?s not like it was done by someone else. She did it to her own.?
But it also bothers Walker.
?I wouldn?t want it in any part of Garden City,? he said. ?It?s apparent to me that she has some kind of issue going on.?
sbuck@homeetownlife.com