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Signs- Everywhere A Sign

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acclaro View Drop Down
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    Posted: Apr 01 2014 at 9:44pm
The word is "non ambivalent."  Non ambivalent, meaning easy to understand its meaning.



By Michael D. Pitman

Staff Writer

BUTLER COUNTY —

Middletown City Schools was ordered by the city of Middletown to remove several signs promoting the district’s combination bond issue and tax levy that were improperly placed around the city.

About 10 signs asking for support of the district’s 4-mill bond issue and 0.26-mill permanent improvement tax levy were found either in the right-of-way or on city-owned property (some were placed in Smith Park and the Robert “Sonny” Hill Jr. Community Center), according to city officials. A letter requesting the signs be moved was sent to the school district.

School district spokeswoman Gracie Gregory said Monday the signs are in the process of being moved.

“We had some overzealous volunteers who were just excited and didn’t know that the signs weren’t to be placed in those areas,” she said. “They just wanted to make sure they got them up in some prime spots.”

Among other rules, Middletown’s zoning ordinances indicate signs cannot be placed in city parks, within any street or highway right-of-way, obstruct any view, or cause confusion of any traffic sign, signal or device. And signs are permitted to be erected 30 days before an election, though Planning Director Marty Kohler said the city’s law director indicated that’s probably too short of a window and recommends that be extended.

Other political jurisdictions have different rules and enforcement of their rules.

Robert McIntyre, Fairfield Twp. zoning administrator, said typically political signs aren’t permitted in the right-of-way or on state highways, but they are permitted to be erected within 60 days of an election and must be removed seven days after. However, the only violation that the township will involve itself concerning campaign signs are obstruction-related — line of sight issues for motorists and blocking any traffic signs or signals.

“We don’t turn a blind eye to it, but … I’m not going to chase candidates,” he said. “The only time I’ll call a candidate is if a sign causes a visual sight impairment … that they look down and see a sign and it blocks sight of oncoming traffic.”

Sharon Smigielski, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Transportation District 8, said state law does not permit signs of any sort along highways or in the state right-of-way. She confirmed that a sign supporting Butler County Commissioner Cindy Carpenter, who’s running for re-election, was improperly placed along Hamilton-Middletown Road, which is also Ohio 4, in Liberty Twp.

“If said signs are causing sight distance issues, and if brought to ODOT’s attention, they will be removed by ODOT personnel and stored at the county garage where the owner can pick up,” she said.

The Ohio Revised Code really prohibits political signs from obscuring traffic signs and signals or blocking a motorists’ line of sight, said Benjamin Bates, associate professor of communication studies at Ohio University in Athens. Campaign signs on the sides of roads and in yards are seen by some as visual pollution and by others as a straw poll on the popularity of a candidate or issue, said the political advertising expert.

The amount of trust or faith a potential voter places on campaign signs is dependent on his or her involvement, Bates said. It can have what’s called a “bandwagon effect” or be seen as a necessary evil in a campaign.

“In terms of voter education, they’re not very effective if you’re trying to learn where a candidate stands on the issues,” he said. “But it can serve as an index of how much support a candidate has in a particular neighborhood or area of town.”

Bates said for the “low information voter,” campaign signs can be effective because it tells them who is running and who has the most support. But for the “high information voter,” campaign signs aren’t going to sway them.


'An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.' - Winston Churchill
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VietVet View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote VietVet Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Apr 02 2014 at 6:10am
"School district spokeswoman Gracie Gregory said Monday the signs are in the process of being moved."

“We had some overzealous volunteers who were just excited and didn’t know that the signs weren’t to be placed in those areas,” she said. “They just wanted to make sure they got them up in some prime spots.”

YEP, I BELIEVE YOU MS. GREGORY. "OVERZEALOUS" AND "EXCITED".....YEAH, THAT'S THE CULPRIT.

NOW, HOW ABOUT THOSE SIGNS BEING PLACED BEFORE THE TIME PERIOD ALLOWED? CAN WE ADDRESS THAT NEXT?

LET'S SEE IF THE ILLEGAL SIGNS ARE TAKEN DOWN AS FAST AS THEY WENT UP. WONDER IF THAT OLD "OVERZEALOUS" AND "EXCITED" FEELING WILL OVERWHELM THOSE VOLUNTEERS GOING THE OTHER WAY.....



AND WHILE WE'RE AT IT, JUST HOW MANY "SPOKESPERSON'S" DOES THIS DISTRICT HAVE ANYWAY? SEEMS THERE'S A NEW ONE EVERYTIME SOMETHING OF MONUMENTAL IMPORTANCE IS ANNOUNCED.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE PERSON WHO APPROACHED THE CITY ON THIS.......I'M A LITTLE SHOCKED THAT THE CITY PEOPLE EVEN RESPONDED AND TOOK ACTION ON THIS REQUEST. IT IS AMAZING THAT THEY ADMITTED TO BREAKING THE LAW. THE TENDENCY OUT OF CITY HALL IS TO NOT LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE.
I'm so proud of my hometown and what it has become. Recall 'em all. Let's start over.
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acclaro View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote acclaro Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Apr 02 2014 at 7:30am
I assume several individuals made calls to the city; for the record, not I, the signs are not effective.

Sadly, there is no opposition group, if so, they could have placed signs in the school properties prematurely where the levy supporters have their signs up for the past week or so.

Many schools, for this reason, don't want them up on school property as they also have to make room for those that disagree. Organization is what lacks each election cycle. The additional difference between Springboro and West Chester. There are voices, each side, equally powerful.

Why is Kohler spokesperson for city law department. Who cares right.

http://www.ohioschoolboards.org/sites/default/files/OSBALevyActivitiesFactSheet.pdf  
'An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.' - Winston Churchill
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over the hill View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote over the hill Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Apr 02 2014 at 9:05am
Well I believe our grass roots effort to point out this indiscretion , disregard for the law had a lot to do with finally making Donham Abby see the folly of there ways. Don't stop now let them see we ARE watching.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote over the hill Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Apr 02 2014 at 9:10am
Marty Kohler can't be the voice for anything. He has messed up sooo many things for the city that no will take him seriously or even want to listen to him. JMO
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote VietVet Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Apr 02 2014 at 10:57am
acclaro:

"Why is Kohler spokesperson for city law department"

I'll take a stab at the answer....

Because Leslie Landen, YOUR city law Dierector, is on a leave of absence taking voice lessons for the upcoming The Voice program perhaps?

Note for those city leader supporters monitoring the forum .......

DISCLAIMER:

This was an attempt at humor and not in the least, a slight toward YOUR city law DIErector's moonlighting job as a lounge singer.

Reference: See You Tube - "My Town" and past Christmas videos.
I'm so proud of my hometown and what it has become. Recall 'em all. Let's start over.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote VietVet Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Apr 02 2014 at 10:59am
Originally posted by over the hill over the hill wrote:

Marty Kohler can't be the voice for anything. He has messed up sooo many things for the city that no will take him seriously or even want to listen to him. JMO


over.....that sounds like the qualifying criteria for termination to me. Wonder why Gilleland and company retain his services?......but then again, I wonder why the city retained her services for so long.
I'm so proud of my hometown and what it has become. Recall 'em all. Let's start over.
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Richard Saunders View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Richard Saunders Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Apr 04 2014 at 11:59pm
During my travels around the city earlier this week, I noticed that the school levy supporters had begun putting out yard signs well ahead of the thirty day legal limit.

One yard sign in Anita Scott-Jones's yard is not only early, but also within the public right-of-way of Central Avenue. One would think that Councilperson (and former vice-mayor) Scott-Jones, who often boasts of her legal prowess, would know better.
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acclaro View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote acclaro Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Apr 05 2014 at 10:06am
No one cares about adhering to the ordinance. In fact, most of the signs ORDERED to be moved that were in right of ways and were causing some danger associated with moving eye contact while coming into intersections were still intact yesterday.

ASJ is not a legal eagle but certainly knows what the ordinance states, but the prosecutor and law director don't care to enforce it. For those submitting the city tax form, its acceptable to just put it in 30 days late; put on form, 'it was too early to submit it by April 15, decided mid May was more convenient."

Shame on ASJ and others.  
'An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.' - Winston Churchill
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aflatkey View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote aflatkey Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: Apr 22 2014 at 9:05pm

fellow blogers,

there are ways to legally repeal land tax funding of public schools.
http://www.ohioconstitution.org/2012/05/07/westerville-taxpayers-move-to-repeal-march-tax-increase/
On May 7, 2012 taxpayers for Westerville Schools, with the representation of the 1851 Center,commenced circulation of an initiative petition to repeal the 6.71 mil tax increase narrowly approved in March after taxpayers defeated a similar measure at the November 2011 general election.

The Westerville effort marks the inaugural action of the 1851 Center in assisting taxpayers in using a previously obscure section of the Ohio Revised Code to lower their school district tax burdens, while forcing Ohio school districts to control spending and reign in labor costs rather than raising taxes. this is only the beginning of what citizen taxpayers can do with in the law to raise awareness that school funding threw property tax is unconstitutional.

it is only rational thinking that gave our forefathers the idea that you could not have equal taxation with out equal representation.

the current  bureaucracy is tainted in many ways besides  the fact that it dose not “provide for a thorough and efficient system of common schools funded by the state threw contributions from all tax payers, not just tax paying land owners.

DeRolph v. State was a landmark case in Ohio constitutional law in which the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the state's method for funding public education was unconstitutional. Handed down on March 24, 1997, the 4-3 opinion said that the state funding system "fails to provide for a thorough and efficient system of common schools" as required by the Ohio Constitution and directed the state to find a remedy.

Abolish the property tax for the school system!! its unconstitutional !!

Vote no on may 6 if you want to START making a change in the current system!!

 

Visit

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Middletown-Ohio-Vote-NO-on-Issue-3/784089358269325?ref=br_tf

 

and like the page to show support of your constitutional freedoms in Ohio.

 

please don't hesitate to tell me your opinion as

 

Brevity is the soul of wit  

 and with out laughter over the kinks in society anarchy might prevail.

and that's the rest of the story , good day ( Paul Harvey 1946)
aflatkey
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