Smith Will Take Signs Down

Mike Smith is taking his flags down, but not because he was found guilty of violating the city's sign ordinance. He says he's taking them down because of complaints from customers and employees of Murphy's Auto Repair, which is behind Smith's business. They are the people who filed the complaint with the city about the flags being a hazard when they pulled out from the driveways into East Main Street. District Judge Dominic Cercone said he's had plenty of time to read the ordinance since the citation was issues. Smith was fined $50 and has 30 days to appeal Cercone's decision, and he hasn't decided yet if he'll do that. During this afternoon's hearing, Smith admitted that the flags that were flying when he was cited on July 18, were not the American flags that have been up since then.