Power-mad HOA

A woman in Pagosa Springs, CO has put up a wreath shaped like a peace symbol. In her mind, a symbol of the season, and her hopes for a more peaceful future. But the rest of her subdivision have decried it as an anti-war statement (like that's a bad thing?) or even...satanism! (Um, just what is the color of the sky in their world?)

Some residents who have complained have children serving in Iraq, said Bob
Kearns, president of the Loma Linda Homeowners Association in Pagosa Springs. He
said some residents have also believed it was a symbol of Satan

"Three or four" residents in the 200-home development complained. Ooh. A huge issue, obviously. But the real travesty of this situation is that Kearns, the HOA president, is apparently on an enormous ego-driven power trip and he wants the wreath down. Here's what really frosts my cookies:

Kearns ordered the committee to require Jensen to remove the wreath, but members refused after concluding that it was merely a seasonal symbol that didn't say anything. Kearns fired all five committee members

Oh-ho! He "ordered" them to make a specific decision, and then when they didn't comply, fired them. Over "three or four" complaints. While I sympathize with the family with a child in Iraq, why is a peace-symbol a threat? How on earth does it minimize their child's involvement? And people wonder why HOA's despised.

If my HOA demanded that I take down a peace-symbol wreath, I'd pay the fine. And believe me, next year's display would be even more controversial.