Sharkie
02-15-2005, 02:38 PM
From the AJC:
Lee Wharton was looking for his dog.
He found a judge, instead.
Henry County Magistrate Court Judge Judy Hayes ordered Wharton earlier this month to pay a $300 fine, not including $108 in court fees, for violating the 2 1/2-year-old county sign ordinance.
Wharton's crime: He put lost-dog signs on utility poles. And when he found out the signs were illegal, he refused to take them down.
Wharton, 25, moved to Henry County about a year ago and said he didn't know the rules. He thinks the penalty was excessive and that the judge and code enforcement officers were insensitive to his plight.
"The issue isn't really the fine. It's the principle," Wharton says. "They should have been more lenient."
That makes the judge growl. Hayes says she could have slapped Wharton with a $500 fine. Fewer than 10 people have been convicted of violating the ordinance, designed to control business signs, and all got the maximum fine, the judge said. This was the first case of a lost-dog sign.
"I did feel sorry for him," Hayes said. "He lost his dog."
The dog in question, Kino, is a mixed labrador and American bulldog that Wharton got about two years ago. "He was like a child to me," said Wharton, an appraiser for the Clayton County government.
In mid-December, Kino ran away. Wharton began his search.
If he'd put up "stake signs" on private property, he would have been in the clear, according to the county code enforcement department. But Wharton put about 400 fliers describing the lost canine on stop signs, mailboxes and utility poles, Hayes said.
Jeremy Gilbert, the county code enforcement officer, told Wharton that signs on utility poles are a no-no and that he should take down any other signs.
That didn't happen. Gilbert gave Wharton a written warning.
Wharton, Gilbert said, told the officer to take down the signs himself.
"I wanted to find my dog," Wharton explained in an interview. "I felt the code enforcement officer should have been using his time more responsibly instead of hassling me about a lost-dog sign."
Wharton went to court. He pleaded not guilty but was convicted by Hayes. Wharton paid the $408 fine. In Gwinnett County, the maximum fine could have been $1,000; in Cobb County, $300.
Meanwhile, Wharton still is searching for Kino.
But he's not putting up any more signs.
Lee Wharton was looking for his dog.
He found a judge, instead.
Henry County Magistrate Court Judge Judy Hayes ordered Wharton earlier this month to pay a $300 fine, not including $108 in court fees, for violating the 2 1/2-year-old county sign ordinance.
Wharton's crime: He put lost-dog signs on utility poles. And when he found out the signs were illegal, he refused to take them down.
Wharton, 25, moved to Henry County about a year ago and said he didn't know the rules. He thinks the penalty was excessive and that the judge and code enforcement officers were insensitive to his plight.
"The issue isn't really the fine. It's the principle," Wharton says. "They should have been more lenient."
That makes the judge growl. Hayes says she could have slapped Wharton with a $500 fine. Fewer than 10 people have been convicted of violating the ordinance, designed to control business signs, and all got the maximum fine, the judge said. This was the first case of a lost-dog sign.
"I did feel sorry for him," Hayes said. "He lost his dog."
The dog in question, Kino, is a mixed labrador and American bulldog that Wharton got about two years ago. "He was like a child to me," said Wharton, an appraiser for the Clayton County government.
In mid-December, Kino ran away. Wharton began his search.
If he'd put up "stake signs" on private property, he would have been in the clear, according to the county code enforcement department. But Wharton put about 400 fliers describing the lost canine on stop signs, mailboxes and utility poles, Hayes said.
Jeremy Gilbert, the county code enforcement officer, told Wharton that signs on utility poles are a no-no and that he should take down any other signs.
That didn't happen. Gilbert gave Wharton a written warning.
Wharton, Gilbert said, told the officer to take down the signs himself.
"I wanted to find my dog," Wharton explained in an interview. "I felt the code enforcement officer should have been using his time more responsibly instead of hassling me about a lost-dog sign."
Wharton went to court. He pleaded not guilty but was convicted by Hayes. Wharton paid the $408 fine. In Gwinnett County, the maximum fine could have been $1,000; in Cobb County, $300.
Meanwhile, Wharton still is searching for Kino.
But he's not putting up any more signs.