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FairWarning.org
Tallahassee Democrat
Robert Barnhart, right, and his wife, Kimberly. Barnhart claims he was fired by Lamar Advertising in August 2011 when he refused to continue poisoning trees that blocked the view of Lamar billboards. He has been granted immunity in a criminal investigation, and has sued over loss of his job.
Robert J. Barnhart was a crew chief for a billboard company, and a soldier in a war on trees.
Trees were the enemy if they spoiled the view of a billboard. On days of an attack, Barnhart, 27, would arrive by dawn at Lamar Advertising Co. in Tallahassee, Fla. After removing the magnetic Lamar logo from a company truck, he would set forth with a machete, a hospital mask and a container of what he described as a "pretty gnarly" herbicide.
It was all about being fast: Hack into the roots or base of the tree, douse the wound with herbicide, and get out of there. The Lamar executive who gave the orders, said Barnhart, called it "a hit and run."
Barnhart’s account, detailed in court papers and in statements to investigators, is the focus of a criminal investigation. It also is the basis for a whistleblower suit in which Barnhart, who through his lawyer declined to be interviewed, maintains that he was fired because he would not keep poisoning trees. His claims are supported by sworn testimony from Barnhart’s former supervisor, Chris Oaks, who admitted that he, too, had illegally poisoned trees before Barnhart took over in 2009 as poisoner-in-chief.
As long as there have been billboards, trees have been getting in the way. And billboard companies have been removing them — sometimes legally, sometimes not. News archives are replete with accounts of mysterious tree disappearances near billboard sites. Usually, no one gets caught, due to lack of evidence or to officials failing to aggressively pursue those responsible.
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North Carolina Department of Transportation
Poisoned trees near a billboard for a topless dance joint in North Carolina in 2006.
Fewer trees means more viewing time for motorists, and more money for billboard operators. A 500- foot clearance in front of a sign creates more than five seconds of viewing time for a motorist going 60 mph.
It’s uncertain if the Tallahassee tree-poisonings were isolated, or reflect a pattern at Lamar. The Baton Rouge, La., company has nearly 150,000 billboards, more than any other U.S. outdoor advertising firm.
Barnhart and Oaks said they acted under orders from Lamar’s former regional manager, Myron A. "Chip" LaBorde, who ran company operations in Florida and Georgia and was past president of the Florida Outdoor Advertising Association LaBorde died of pancreatic cancer last summer.
Hal Kilshaw, a Lamar vice president and chief spokesman, declined to discuss the criminal investigation, but said "cutting of trees or poisoning of trees without the required permits would be contrary to company policy."
Charges in the tree-poisoning case could be filed soon. Meanwhile, another tree-killing binge in the Florida panhandle has also drawn attention. In that episode, billboard operator Bill Salter Outdoor Advertising cleared more than 2,000 trees from public rights of way to enhance views of its signs.
Florida transportation officials acted "in flagrant violation of the law" in issuing permits for the cutting, a grand jury found in January, because, among other things, they did not require Salter to compensate the state for the loss of the trees, valued at $1 million to $4 million. The permits were issued to Salter after a state legislator, Greg Evers, intervened by making calls to the state Department of Transportation. The agency is currently negotiating with Salter for repayment.
Tree pruning also happens routinely, and legally, by arrangement between billboard operators and private landowners. The industry has lobbied for state laws to allow tree-cutting along public highways under certain conditions. According to the Outdoor Advertising Assn. of America, the industry trade group, 29 states, including Florida, have "reasonable" regulations on clearing vegetation that blocks views of signs. The group says on its website: "The OAAA discourages vegetation control that is not in compliance with state and local laws and regulations."
However, environmental groups have criticized these laws, asking why publicly owned trees that provide beauty and shade should be removed to accommodate advertising signs. Though billboard companies pay for the cutting, critics say permit fees and compensation for destroyed trees do not meet the real cost to taxpayers. Moreover, they note, in states that permit vegetation removal, illegal cutting still takes place.
Lamar’s Kilshaw said his company’s record is good. "We have over 150 offices, we have thousands of employees, we’ve been in business over 100 years," he said. The record shows Lamar is "doing the right thing almost all the time, almost everywhere."
'An honest, legitimate mistake'
In 2008, Lamar was sued by the state of Connecticut after the company and a tree service trespassed on state land and removed 83 trees along Interstate 84, including oak, spruce, maple and birch trees up to 37 inches in diameter. They "swept a swath of destruction," said then-Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, "obliterating a vital environmental buffer protecting homeowners from noxious noise and views."
The problem was that Lamar had a permit to trim — not cut down — trees. It also felled trees outside the permitted area.
Florida Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement
An oak tree in Florida allegedly poisoned by Robert Barnhart. The tree "had signs of dying and chop marks near the base," said the report by Florida investigators.
It was "an honest, legitimate mistake," Kilshaw said, adding that a state transportation official had observed the work without raising objections. But a judge found Lamar liable in October, 2010. In lieu of paying damages, Lamar agreed to fund a replanting program for an estimated $181,000.
In 2009, Lamar was forced to pay about $182,000 to an irate Ohio couple for illegally felling 34 trees on their property to improve views of a sign.
The dispute began in the late 1990s when, according to John Blust, he and his wife rebuffed Lamar’s offer to plant a sign on land they owned in the Dayton suburb of Beavercreek.
A neighbor proved more obliging, and the billboard went up there. But it turned out that the Blusts’ trees were in the way. They lived a few miles from the property, and did not learn of the destruction of their woodland until alerted by a cousin.
Blust told FairWarning that he sought compensation, and "If they had sent me $3,000, it would have been all over." But a Lamar executive "laughed at me over the phone from Baton Rouge, Louisiana," said Blust, who then decided to sue.
A jury awarded the Blusts more than $2.2 million in punitive damages. Appeals dragged the marathon case into 2009, when an appeals court ruling led to Lamar paying damages and attorney fees.
"In that case, our contractor made a mistake," Kilshaw said, "and simply went across a property line, and we ultimately paid on that."
For his part, Blust, 76, said he was "satisfied that I caused them pain. Did we make a lasting impression on the management of Lamar? If they’re still cutting down trees, I guess we didn’t."
What is unusual about these episodes is that someone got caught. More often, over the years, the culprits remained unknown or were not aggressively pursued by authorities.
For example, a 1985 report by the General Accounting Office cited dozens of incidents in Georgia of illegal tree cutters acting with impunity, including a case in which about 500 trees were poisoned near three signs along interstate highways.
In Louisiana, said the GAO, "over 2,000 feet of vegetation and trees were cut and cleared to enhance the visibility of two signs. We counted over 900 stumps from destroyed trees at this site."
In a 1996 deposition, a former billboard company tree trimmer testified that he had cut down and poisoned trees in the Los Angeles area for many years, usually without the owners’ consent. The former employee, Fred Jackson, worked until the late 1980s for two large billboard companies, Foster & Kleiser and Patrick Media, that eventually merged and were absorbed by Clear Channel Outdoor.
Jackson said he occasionally was confronted about what he was doing, and would make up a lie. It might be "‘I’m working for the Edison Company,’" Jackson testified. "That was a great one."
More recently, illegal tree clearing near billboards and "supergraphics’’ — giant ads draped on buildings — has been a problem in Southern California, said Dan Freeman, an official with the state Department of Transportation, or Caltrans.
"The billboard industry — well, my impression of them is they’re kind of lawless," said Freeman, Caltrans’ deputy director of maintenance for Los Angeles and Ventura counties. "They pretty much do whatever they want."
"We’ve been victim a number of times to people who come in the middle of the night, with a chainsaw, and just kind of clear cut the area immediately in front of one of these supergraphics or a large billboard," Freeman told FairWarning.
"And, of course, we call them," Freeman said, referring to the sign company, "and they say, ‘We have no idea who could have done it. My, what a terrible thing.’ They don’t own up to it. We have had a very, very difficult time in getting traction on prosecuting them."
The right to be seen
Billboard companies have sometimes claimed an inherent right to have unimpaired views of their signs. If revenues go down because of public trees, they have argued, public agencies should pay damages. This has been a hard sell.
For example, a Tennessee appeals court rejected an industry lawsuit against the state department of transportation over its failure to maintain unrestricted views of roadside signs.
"It is true that wild vegetation, as well as that planted by the State, has and will have a normal tendency to grow taller," said the 1979 ruling. "Plaintiffs seem to insist that the licensing of a billboard confers some special right of visibility or imposes some special duty upon the State to maintain visibility of the licensed billboard. No authority has been cited or found to sustain this novel theory."
In 2006, the California Supreme Court rejected claims of billboard operator Regency Outdoor, which had sued the city of Los Angeles, claiming it lowered the value of its signs by planting palm trees for a beautification project.
"The right to be seen from a public way…simply does not exist," the Supreme Court ruled. "Regency cannot claim unfair surprise from the plantings. Local governments have long planted trees along roads for aesthetic reasons, to lessen the burdens of climate, and for other salubrious purposes."
So the industry has turned to state legislatures to establish the right to be seen. Under laws or regulations of most states, billboard operators can legally cut back trees and other vegetation along state and federal highways. Typically, they must pay for a permit, file a work plan, and either replant or pay for lost trees.
The Outdoor Advertising Assn. of America failed to respond to interview requests, but in an email described vegetation control as "a common, longstanding practice along roadways for the sake of safety and visibility."
Once state rules are in place, billboard companies often lobby state legislatures to relax restrictions and expand the freedom to cut. In the past year, for example, the industry pushed through such changes in Georgia, North Carolina and Wisconsin.
In Georgia billboard companies won more freedom to clear trees, though the new law is tied up in a court challenge. The industry’s legislative success followed years of cultivating lawmakers. From 2001 through 2010, billboard owners and the Outdoor Advertising Association of Georgia contributed at least $467,522 to candidates for state office, according to a report by the advocacy group Scenic Georgia.
The Outdoor Advertising Association also did some wining and dining, last year hosting 34 Georgia legislators and two board members of the state Department of Transportation at a golf outing at the Reynolds Plantation resort, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
A Georgia Department of Transportation spokeswoman said that in the past five years, the agency has completed investigations into 20 complaints of illegal tree cutting, and collected about $203,000 in compensation.
In North Carolina, the industry-backed law passed last July expanded the cutting area to up to 380 feet on each side of billboards — up from 250 feet before. This translates into extra viewing time of 1.5 seconds for motorists approaching billboards at 60 mph. State transportation officials estimated that up to 200,000 trees could be removed in the next five years as a result.
From 2005 through June, 2011, billboard interests donated at least $206,000 to state legislative and gubernatorial candidates in North Carolina, according to a report by the nonprofit group Democracy North Carolina, and research by FairWarning.
"They’ve got a lot of money, and it’s amazing how cheaply legislators can be bought," said North Carolina resident Charles Floyd, a retired University of Georgia business professor who has written extensively about the billboard industry and is critical of the new law.
Even in states such as North Carolina that provide a legal means to enhance billboard views, incidents of illegal cutting and poisoning still occur. In some respects, loosening restrictions is the path of least resistance, reducing the number of violations and need for enforcement.
"If you legalize vandalism,’’ Floyd complained, "that helps out a lot.’’
Since July, 2006, the North Carolina Department of Transportation recorded 88 incidents of illegal tree removal near billboards, according to agency data reviewed by FairWarning.
The cost to the state was $923,000 under a formula based on the size of lost trees. Of that amount, records show, the state was able to collect only about $39,000. Without admitting liability, Lamar paid $18,487.50 to settle one of the cases.
Criminal probe in Florida
Soon after Barnhart filed his whistleblower suit, he led state agriculture officials to an oak tree he claimed he had poisoned next to a CVS pharmacy in Tallahassee. When the lab results came back in October, they revealed a herbicide, Triclopyr, in soil and vegetation samples.
Florida Department of Transportation
The stump of one of more than 2,000 trees allegedly cut by a billboard company in northern Florida. According to a grand jury report, state officials issued permits to cut the trees "'in flagrant violation of the law."
He told officials it was one of seven to 10 trees he had illegally poisoned since 2009. Sometimes, he said, he used a machete before pouring in the poison, other times drilled holes in a tree, and on still other occasions he simply cut them.
Barnhart has been granted immunity by the state attorney in Tallahassee. Asked to comment on the criminal probe, State Attorney William Meggs said his office is continuing to gather information.
In a deposition taken in the whistleblower case, Chris Oaks, Barnhart’s supervisor, confirmed Barnhart’s account. Oaks admitted to poisoning trees himself under orders from his boss, LaBorde.
Oaks, 35, claimed he initially balked, saying he thought Lamar must first get permits.
"And he told me, he said to just jump over the fence and do what needs to be done and kick a little dirt over it," Oaks testified, referring to LaBorde, "and if you don’t know how to do that, I’ll take out my gun and I’ll shoot you in the head."
Oaks said he figured LaBorde was joking. But "I felt then that I needed to do what the man was telling me for fear — not for death, I didn’t really think he would kill me, but I did feel like it was threatening to my job," Oaks said.
"I just want to get it clear that none of this was me," Oaks said. "I did not want to do any of this."
Barnhart said fear of getting caught on a surveillance camera and, according to his lawyer, pressure from his wife led him to come forward. Barnhart said that after suffering a back injury and going on light duty, he told managers that he would no longer poison trees when he came back. In August, he says, he was fired.
Lamar contends it never fired Barnhart. The company’s response is less clear cut on the other alleged violations, such as criminal mischief and illegal handling of poisons.
"Any act or omission by Lamar was done in good faith," the company said in court papers. "To the extent that the actions of any Lamar employee were, in fact, in violation…, those actions directly violated Lamar’s corporate policies and procedures and were, thus, beyond the course and scope of their employment."
FairWarning is a nonprofit, online investigative news organization focused on public health and safety issues.
Support for this story came from the Fund for Investigative Journalism.
Leave a Comment:
This stinks to high heaven. Billboard companies destroying public property with impunity. And yet you can bet your bottom dollar that these companies would gladly sue the pants off anyone who might cut down one of their butt-ugly billboards. Probably the best response is to boycott any company who advertises on billboards; loss of revenue will force companies to pull their ads from billboards, which in turn will put pressure on the billboard companies to clean up their act.
A corporation commits illegal acts in the name of profit, buys politicians, and spits in the face of the public while doing it. Next in the news, politicians lie and dogs bark.
It would be tragic wouldn't it if the same forces that cause the death of all of these trees started attacking the billboard posts. If Lamar isn't careful, an exotic virus could be introduced into the United States that attacks billboards. These viruses have a tendency to spread quickly too.
Gee...that would be so sad and too bad...hope the billboard virus arrives soon.
Yes and every politician who voted in favor of these sign nazis are guilty of being bought and paid for...Look and see who voted for this slaughter...then vote their cheap butts out of office...
900 trees lost just to view 2 stupid freakin' signs for a few seconds longer. Are you frelling kidding me? They probably would care a lot if suddenly our air was, y'know, precious, and we needed it to breath, since trees create Oxygen.
Oh wait, they are important like that.
Still, this would just create new industries! New jobs! They could sell canned fresh air for you to breath, since these crazy morons cut down all the trees! They already sell us clean drinking water, since their toxic dumping destroyed natural water...
Whenever I see a billboard that's my cue to NEVER buy from that advertiser. Simple.
In the past it was easy to down billboards. They are now very difficult to destroy.
We are told that we can trust corporations to do the right thing without regulation?
Trees are our enemies....Thier the main cause of forest fires!
"Remember, only you can prevent forests." ---USAF, 1968
If I were a land owner in one of these areas, I'd "spike" my trees like the activists in the North West. That would make cutting them down a bit hazardous! And for the poisoning, there could be some narco-trafficer style booby-traps to discourage walking around my posted, fenced, private property. "Oh I'm sorry officer, I have no idea where they came from. Maybe it was just kids playing a joke".... Ya heard!
They won't have that problem here in Texas...our state legislators are anti-environment and for sale to the highest (and lowest) bidders.
Seems former regional manager "Chip" LaBorde died from something poisonous also (cancer)...just desserts IMO.
Amazing how we are not allowed to have cellular conversations while driving because of attention deficit all the while billboards are allowed to take our attention away from traffic. Hmmm.
(Illegal) I'm starting to see this word a lot. Some people in our Government don't know what it means.
The meaning of this word must be passed around so everyone will understand what is wrong is wrong.. just like cutting trees, aliens, etc.
Please cut paste everywhere...
illegal
1. forbidden by law; unlawful; illicit
2. unauthorized or prohibited by a code of official or accepted rules
sandtrich - Great post and agree w/you.
The mantra of the Republican Party "We can always trust the American Corporation To do the Right Thing. Regulation impedes Business".
Sadly, this is another example of how Corporate America feels they are "above the law" and do not have to live within it.
Cutting down the trees makes the alphabet game easier to play.
Liberals ethic code. . . still waiting. Don't like the Constitution? Sue somebody. Tie everything up in the courts where it matters little if the truth is discovered. Just what can be proven by the deepest pockets. Liberals are like Bart Simpson: nobody saw me do it. I'm innocent. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. No morality, just personal expedience.
This has been done since the 50's. It was actually worse then, because bill boards were easily 2 - 3 times the size they are now.
Instead of poisioning the trees, why aren't they and the Government getting together and hiring people who need a firewood source to cut them down instead?
With all the forms of advertising available now, I can't believe billboards are really needed. I guess some people look at them - I've never paid any attention to them. I'd like to see them all go away as they are just ugly. And no tree should be have to die for an ugly billboard.
I'd like to see Lamar really pay for this.
Rabble rabble... Republicans... grrrr... Corporations... Argghh... Profits... Let's get em... Rabble rabble...
If an individual company is bribing politicians and members of management AND culpable employees are engaging in illegal activities then that company should receive a hefty fine and the individuals responsible for making those decisions and those acting on those decisions should face criminal prosecution. This solution is representative of conservative thought; it's called individual responsibility. Punish those who are responsible. The problem with you liberals is that rather than saying let's find who did this and make them pay (which I think most rational people would agree is justified) you instead generalize. OMG, OMG, OMG the sign company's killin trees... come on guys let's go get Walmart, they're not unionized and make too much profits. The sign company in Florida wiped out a couple's trees... this is why I hate Big Oil... Big Pharma... Big Agriculture... Big Coal... Big Insert Industry Here. It's absurd and a perfect illustration of why your ideology is juvenile at best. Yes, the sign company should be held to account; no, this is not an indictment against the Capitalistic system. Individual responsibility.
DB Akron.............................Why aren't the sign companies and the government getting together and hiring people who need a firewood source to cut the trees down? You're kidding, right?? Because the owners of the trees don't want them cut down. The sign people and the government don't own most of the trees. And most people like trees. Do you really think the sign people and the government should make these decisions, and not the owners???
Do what Hawai'i does. Don't allow any billboards.
JQ..............But the Repugs don't want to punish those responsible. They're BUSINESS for god's sake. Can't stand in the way of businesses, right?. And companies cannot be held accountable for individual responsibility....because they're not people (individuals). But you and your kind think they are. Unbelievable. Can you even begin to grasp this?
@ Cactus Manning:
CactusManning
"Liberals ethic code. . . still waiting. Don't like the Constitution? Sue somebody..."
Huh? Wow...as a "Manning", I find your gratuitous, anti liberal jibe rather thorny...Cactus. Talk about taking a pot shot, and it's not even very well aimed. What the heck have liberals and frivolous lawsuits got to do with corporate pirates hacking down (and poisoning) trees they have no right, by law, to touch, on another person's property? What's your point? Who's the bad guy in your scenario? (shaking my head)
Julie...........That is so great. Tell us how you guys did that. No billboards, I love that.
LaBorde died of cancer last year. I hope it was very painful for him, and sorry that he did not suffer long enough!
Roadside Billboards are a blight, almost a type of social cancer, in the U. S. . You hardly ever see them in other countries, but here, they litter the highways like giant cigarette butts.
Of course, Lamar executives claim that the records show they follow all the laws..., that's because all their illegal Tree-Assassination activities are controled and executed completly off-the-record. Duh! ... you don't keep records of your crimes!
And of course, the politicians in Georgia and the Carolina's are easy to buy-off anyway. All it takes is a six-pack, pizza, and the expenses for him to have a date with his own sister.
As far as Mr. Kilshaw, Lamar Executives, and anyone with the Outdoor Advertising Assoc. goes..., the best punishment for them was described by in the movie "Heavy Metal":
Hanover Fiste: He's nothing but a low-down, double-dealing, backstabbing, larcenous perverted worm! Hanging's too good for him. Burning's too good for him! He should be torn into little bitsy pieces and buried alive!
Florida transportation officials acted "in flagrant violation of the law" in issuing permits for the cutting, a grand jury found in January, because, among other things, they did not require Salter to compensate the state for the loss of the trees, valued at $1 million to $4 million. The permits were issued to Salter after a state legislator, Greg Evers, intervened by making calls to the state Department of Transportation.
Senator Greg Evers, REPUBLICAN - FLORIDA - TEABAGGER
Honors and Awards
Can you believe his award from 'FLORIDA FORESTRY ASSOCIATION' simply amazing.
It is a puzzlement how you created an anti-liberal screed when the focus of the story was the destruction of public and private property. I always hear from conservatives about the importance of obeying the law and protecting property rights...especially private property (although they seem to generally be less concerned about public property rights). I am not a tree-hugger by any stretch, but the whole cycle of plants make oxygen/chemicals must be handled judiciously/treat the land well because it's our livelihood makes sense to small/family farmers who tend to be more conservation-minded than the big corporate megafarms because we actually live/breathe where we work, and the drinking water in our wells is closer to the chemicals that go into the soil. Still, the Supreme Court said corporations are people, so golly, gee whiz, is anyone surprised that they can buy more politicians than the public or small private landowners? Corporate hog farms in north Missouri (Premium Standard/Smithfield/etc.) have managed to evade most responsibility for the air/water damage to surrounding small/private/family farm landowners. This story is just another example of the cycle--Corporations complain to their political handmaidens about how regulations are awful/terrible/very bad & pay to loosen regualtions in the name of jobs/profit, and the public/private landowners learn that regulations do no good because nothing happens to the violators...but somehow you make this out to be about how awful the liberals are, the lack of moarlity amonst liberals, and conflate it with the stupidity of a cartoon character.
DB Akron: Are you serious? The solution is a joint venture with the government to give firewood to people who might need it, so a private entity can gain profit? What do you think this is, the oil industry?
If the company did what they are being accused of, then they should be fined to high heaven.
Signs and billboards have been under attack for many years as pollution. They are and they are ugly,too.
I would recommend to Lamar signs to forget those roadside monstrosities and attach their signs to beautiful wind turbines litter the countryside so they won't be quite as ugly.
P.S. You won't have to worry about any trees either, that's all been taken care of already. Can't have any ugly tree block the wind! Think Green (when it is convenient)
Poison the Earth; poison oxygen releasing; poison the atmosphere, poison exhaled water, poison clouds; poison the habitat/homes, food, shelter, cover and nurseries of the strands in the web of all life; poison every reason man breathes.
Science maintains, the most vital evolutionary event in history was the appearance of trees and plants on the land. Our terrestrial ecosystems [forests, hardwoods, grasslands] cover only 30 percent of Earth's surface, but support the vast majority of all life.
Trees release oxygen and exhale water vapor that cool leaves, the soil and the surrounding area. Trees and plants provide cooling clouds and shade the Earth from the heat of the sun. Deforesting or cutting down trees heats up and dries out the climate. Even ancient, human tribes understood, when they removed trees the climate heated up and dried out.
Billboards? Man is the only animal so stupid as to kill his only nest!
Back in the day, before the interstates, the billboard problem was much worse. So much so, that it inspired e.e. Cummings to pen a short poem: "I think that I shall never see, a billboard lovely as a tree. Perhaps, unless the billboards fall, I shall not see a tree at all." Looks like maybe the trees made a comeback. Yay trees.
Vincent-970634 You are absolutely right about the definition of the word illegal. The problem isn't that the government doesn't understand the word, it's that the don't understand moral or responsible. If they pass a law, it is no longer illegal. That doesn't make it right, just legal.
As far as I'm concerned, they can do away with billboards completely. They are a hideous at best. We should set up citizens' coalitions to wine and dine legislators. I agree they are incredibly cheap to buy; if each concerned donated $1 or even 50 cents, we could buy every legislator out there.
Just a thought - when I was reading about the golfing party, I was thinking that the phrase should be 'whine and dine' when trying to buy a legislator's vote!
Paul.
.so you think billboards should be attached to wind turbines? really? First of all ..billboards are meant to reach as many as possible . that is why you see so many off a highway.
Saying that, just how many people will see the signs that you suggest? I have to take a couple of hours to get out of the city to get into the countryside where the turbines could be. We don't have them around near out countryside. And if we did. I don't think I would like to see a billboard on that either. I get out of the city to drive around the beautiful country side.
However, I do not agree on the means of destroying the trees just to put up a billboard. That is gross.
BOYCOTT the Companies that use LAMAR.
Since hurting them financially seems to be the only way to get their attention
He ought to have that put on a sign. A big, ugly one, near the NC capitol.
Itsabouttime and others don't have anything of substance to say without bringing a political party, which really has nothing to do with the subject, into the mix. It's so easy to say "x did it" that even a caveman can do it.
And we wonder why our planet is getting hotter and hotter.
im not saying cutting down tree's to see stupid billboards is SOLEY to blame, but you can extrapolate that reality a thousand times over on other things...
we cut down the very things that afford us clean, breathable air...that help cool our planet, and keep cities from turning into bakeries.
we reap what we sow...
and seriously, has anyone EVER responded to a billboard sign? ever?
I see them all the damn time, and never think "oh i need to exit quick, that billboard just enticed me too much!"
In Delafield Wisconsin along scenic 2 lane Hwy 83 a car full of teenagers on lunch break took a car without permission and ran head on into a car and then crashed into a 100 year old oak tree at speed exceeding 80 miles per hour. the community response was -amazingly--- to cut down the trees. local authorities wanting to show sympathy to the parents of these kids and they went along with it. the beautiful trees were sacrificed so an accident like this wouldn't happen again. well within a year it happened again -same scenario different trees---several kids killed-alcohol involved. This time the trees were spared. we need the trees along highways. they provide protection from snow drift anchor the soil preventing erosion and are just plain beautiful. time to start respecting nature --we need more trees and no more billboards-they are just plain ugly!
But without a billboard how an I gonna know where to get free saltwater taffy with 10 gallons of gas. Or that world famous pecan roll and the authentic Navaho jewelry. Stop the trees. They're invading my right to gawk and be easily swayed by shiny objects so I drive like an idiot.
JQ individual they are NOT. The Supreme Court ruled they are the same as individuals and have the same rights. Therefore the whole corporation should pay the penalty not part of it. As an individual entity that has rights it can not be separated anymore than someone that murders someone and has his hand put in prison for the crime. The entire company is part of the whole and should either be fined or put in prison(which includes ALL employees not just part of the company)
How stupid to poison those trees, and a what a waste! I mean, why not cut them down instead, and make a nice profit on the firewood?
Possibly the best way to hurt Lamar is to contact legislators who have passed bills banning use of cell phones, and ask them why they don't ban billboards, as they create a more dangerous distraction than cell phone use does.
When you're driving down the highway at legal speed limits, a billboard is visible for a very short time, even with trees removed. We are not all speed readers, so we will subconsciously slow down, possibly creating the recipe for a highway-speed wreck, or we might swerve just a tiny bit, losing control of our vehicle. Everyone I know agrees billboards are a thing of the past, with any information we need on our PCs or Smartphones. Billboards are dangerous.
Hypothetical:
City plants a Jacoranda Tree at curbside. Known for root system doing havoc. Buckled the sidewalk, had to replace sewer line, constantly breaking my irrigation lines, caused my hedges to die.
For 2 years I begged the city to let me remove/ replace it with another, less invasive tree.
Finally had enough...for anyone else in this situation. I exposed 2 of the roots in my yard, drilled 1" holes, and filled them for 3 days running with concentrated Roundup. Killed the roots on my property which was my right. Also took care of the tree. Once it was completely dead, I again contacted them and said dead tree was a hazard to traffic. Said they had no money in the budget...I offered and cut it down. Planted a red maple.
Replacing the sewer, the many irrigation repairs, etc...cost over $6,000. Would it be right or wrong if I REALLY did it?
Shouldn't 'Lamar' be compelled to replace the trees which it had killed?
Wouldn't hurt if they were made to remove a few of their scenery blocking billboards too.
I'm not arguing that a company is an individual that can be held to account as an individual; that's absurd. As it pertains to this article, when I say individual responsibility what I really mean is that each individual (or "respective" for those who are struggling with this) company can and should be held to account if it can be proven they violated law; so too can and should their management. From what I have read (albeit, a one-sided, media-litigated hit piece) it sounds like Lamar needs to be punished for those violations of which it has not yet been punished. My response was to the tiresome liberal diatribe that permeates throughout intellectually bankrupt blogs and comment sections that seems to suggest the legitimate misdeeds of one company constitutes a free-for-all lambaste session on all things corporate. Whether we like it or not everything is political and philosophical. While this story at face value elicits genuine disdain for those individuals (people this time) responsible making these decisions and carrying them out, I am not now furious with entirety of corporate America, I am not now angered by Big Business as a whole and I do not now hate all politicians due to their working with Business. To think in this fashion is unforgivably simpleminded. When someone or some entity does something wrong or illegal then they as individuals (or individual entities) should be punished by law. Do you disagree with that? A reasonable person will not disagree. For those of you who are genuinely upset by this specific circumstance and demand justice for this specific circumstance I agree with you. For those of you who get aroused at the prospect of a new opportunity to attack America's propensity for free enterprise and individual choice, responsibility and opportunity... GTFOOH
Forloff -
Kids are even more distracting than signs, so is food, and music, and bumper stickers, and antenna balls, and beautiful scenery. Cars themselves can distract. We should ride trains.
Where do you think the poisons used go, other than in the trees? They leech into the ground poisoning other foliage going into the soil, poisoning wildlife as well... possibly ending up in drinking water. This is a serious crime, unless you don't mind that you and your children are being poisoned. This has been going on for decades, so thousands, if not millions of us could have been ingesting poison for decades as well. Since the poisons used being done in covert ways, who knows what kinds of chemicals are used. Perhaps this is why people who live "healthy" lifestyles are developing cancers, or possibly the culprit behind the cases of autism in children? WE only have one planet, will we wait until it's too late before we stop doing really stupid things in the name of expediency and greed?
Sounds like a bunch of Republicans that own businesses and say we don't have to follow the law. There shouldn't be any laws these laws were made by Democrates who cares about stupid trees we have corporate money on our side no one can afford to take us to court as John Boehner hands him a chain saw from his hardware store to cut the tree down. Remember it started with Bush let the banks watch themselves, let big oil take care of themselves business need fewer rules. Look where it got us and now they want to do it again
See CHARGER12 for ^^^^ Exhibit A... or like Z on this thread
Tom 176, I'll do you one better. My former town decided to resurface the street, replace the curb, and repair the sidewalks on my block. I had two beautiful 60 year old and 80 foot tall maple trees in front of my house. My neighbor had two identical trees. I noticed one day they painted big orange x's on all four trees. They wanted to cut down all four. I fought with them for months. The trees were not hanging low over the street. So they would not have interfered with the heavy equipment they were using. They did the curbs by hand so again no interference from the trees. My sidewalk had one 4 foot square piece replaced because one corner was raised about a quarter of a inch at the expansion joint. My fight saved my neighbor's trees. She was a 85 year old widow and she planted her trees when she and her husband had her house built. My trees were cut down. They waited until we left for work cut them down and hauled way the wood. In their place they planted two 8 foot tall maples. The street needed to be resurfaced but the curb in front of both houses was good and the one piece of sidewalk did not need repair. A year later I tried to get a stop sign on the corner to make people slow down as the street was being used as a short cut to avoid a stop light a couple of blocks over. The city said no to the stop sign. Their reason was "stop signs cause air polution and the state only allows them to have a certain number because of that." Now which do you think? Stop signs cause air pollution or that two 80 foot tall maple trees remove tons of pollutants from the air every year. The thing that really pissed me off was three years before they cut the trees down I tried to get the city to trim the trees. They said that even though they were on the parkway (city property) they were not responsible for the trees. I was because they were my trees. So I bought a pole saw and trimmed them up.But when they decided to cut them down they were their trees on their property.
s-1489198
Wake up it was sarcasm. The point was everyone complains about a company killing trees to protect their interest but never says word about the enviromental greenies destoying the environment when it is for something that feeds there agenda. i.e.
That's quite an obtuse diversion there, Paul. Perhaps those wind turbines are ugly. Perhaps they also mitigate pollution, among their other graces. That would seem to me to be pretty green, and with a bit of thought, you might even be able to extrapolate further along those lines, instead of pummeling your agenda into the discussion.
It's hard to see the forest for the trees, if you've already made up your mind.
Think deeper, amigo.
"Signs, signs, everywhere a sign. Blockin' out the scenery, breakin' my mind."
We should all go plant a dozen trees in front of every billboard that Lamar and Bill Salter owns.
"I think that I shall never see
A billboard lovely as a tree.
Indeed, unless the billboards fall,
I'll never see a tree at all."
---Ogden Nash
Great Post! Love the creativity of using a great song and to go plant trees!
The 1958 Bonus Act was replaced with the Highway Beautification Act signed by President Lyndon Johnson and has been chopped to pieces with ammendments since it's enactment in 1965. Lady Bird Johnson was instrumental in the forming of the original legislation but the act is unrecognizable now. How sad.....
I don't know where to start. Killing trees for billboards? What the #@#@ is wrong with these people. I know, I know, money. Trees clean the air. Maybe that's the plan. If you poison enough trees, people get sick, they see a billboard selling medication, hospitals, spiked water, doctors, etc. More sales for people who use billboards, more billboards, more poisoned trees. There are some really sick people who would do this. Throw them in jail, don't just fine them. Throw the bums in jail.
I hate billboards. They're a blight upon this country. Alaska bans them; wish we did so down here, too.
Save a tree burn a billboard. I'm so tired of driving down the road and seeing billboard 'litter' all over the place, some nearly on top of another. Give me the trees any day of the week. By poisoning the trees all around haphazardly, who knows what damage is being done to the areas around it including wildlife and the water table. Throw the money grubbing selfish fools in prison after fining them a heavy penalty for what they are doing. Nothing teaches better then losing money.
This will continue until fines are large enough to cut into their earnings. $2.2 million for a two-decade-old lawsuit? The other fines mentioned were mere pittances, as well. At this level, fines for removing trees are simply a cost of doing business. They make much more money by being able to charge for the additional viewing time they can bill for.
By and large, the most beautiful cities and towns I've visited have had significant restrictions on the height of signs. Visual pollution is a blight on a community.
Virginia restricts billboards to a certain distance off the road. I wish we could get billboards outlawed everywhere.
While I will never condone the killing of life giving trees, kudos must be given to the "nagging"of the wife. He knew he needed to tell, she convinced him he had to. Planting replacement trees is a great idea, how about a fast growing poplar? Or an ivy planted at the base of the billboard to climb and cover it? Works for me!
We had some laws pass not too long ago restricting billboards. There were some put up before the laws took affect, in order to be grandfathered in, but I've seen very few new ones along the highway since. Only the oldest ones are low enough to be concerned with vegetation, so at least we shouldn't have too much illegal clearing going on here. (I hope.)
More trees fall on the ground and rot in ONE YEAR than are used in the USA in 10 YEARS. Common knowledge. Money will win over nature every time...get over it.
So that makes Lamar's illegal actions legal? Oh, come on.....
If you don't like O X Y G E N, go hook yourself up to a carbon dioxide tank and see how well you do. On average, one tree produces nearly 260 pounds of oxygen each year. Two mature trees can provide enough oxygen for a family of four, but by all means cut em down and "Get over it"
Does anyone remember the days, back before the parasitic Billboards were born, when advertising companies paid farmers and others who had buildings near the roads, to paint their advertisements on the sides and roofs of their barns and such?
There was one on a barn roof, near where I grew up, and to this day, I still would like to see Jesse James Caverns someday, but have no desire to stop at 'South Of The Border' at all.
Kind of makes you wonder which was/is more effective advertising.
Follow the money when it comes to billboard companies! On every level, too! City, county, state, federal!
Billboard companies are among the oldest and meanest companies which bankroll the greedy politicians who represent themselves rather than We the People.
This is sickening that trees would be poisoned or chopped down for a lousy billboard that spoils the view when driving by. What else surrounding the poisoned trees became affected by this??? Wildlife, other trees or nearby streams possibly??? I'll always remember this now when driving and seeing dead trees along interstates.
Still not convinced that greed is taking over?
Excellent article. Excellent reporting. Thanks MSNBC and FairWarning.
This is what we get from the Republican Party: More concern with the "rights" of the billboard companies than with our need for fresh air, less distraction on the highway for safety reasons, and just the aesthetics of daily life. Time to boot the Republican tools out of office. They clearly don't care about you and me, just the wealthy country club elite who wine and dine them and contribute to their campaigns. I thought the best "tell" in the article was "it’s amazing how cheaply legislators can be bought".
I bet you that some of the Democrats have also taken the money to sell you out ......Greed has no political barriers...all of them are on the take they don't even try to hide it any more its like the normal way to do the public's business ...Its the new Americas pay to play attitude...
I agree. Both Democrats and Republicans are nothing but greedy. Politicians=Greed....pure and simple. Nothing will stand in their way, not trees, animals or their tax-paying constituents. The new American life.
I would rather look at beautiful trees than an ugly billboard any day!
No, it's time to boot them ALL out of office starting with the POTUS and going all the way down the list. Then establish a legitimate third party. I am sick of hearing republican this and democratic that. I want to start the American party, a party for all Americans who are sick of the stagnant two party idiot system we have now.
Oh, and one more thing. We should run our elections like the French do with NO POLITICAL ADVERTISING! Then the average man/woman can afford to run for office. As it is now only the rich can run for a seat in D.C.
Please. I'm a liberal but there's no need to pin this on Republicans. I'm sure plenty of sleazy politicians from both parties look the other way on this issue. Although I must admit that those who would sneer about "tree huggers" over this article probably identify themselves as "conservative". :-)
You've got to be kidding!!
"FAIR WARNING" and the "FUND FOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM" are far-left groups that gather donations to PAY for biased and dishonest "news stories" to be planted on given subjects.
The fact that MSNBC is working with these LYING SCUM is further proof (as if it were needed) that NBC lacks even a shred of integrity and objectivity.
These people are not JOURNALISTS. They are partisan political operatives on the payroll of some of the most liberal wack-jobs in the country. And, naturally, the greasy fingerprints of the CONVICTED CRIMINAL, George Soros, are all over this attempt to deceive the public.
I guess your name says it all, MIGHT HAVE JUST AS WELL TYPED IT ALL IN CAPS.
foolishness: Your name tells who you're voting for? You sure hate "facts" , don't you..??
Disgusting greed by Lamar. They should be fined to the fullest extend. Vile company.
A fine is not enough. They should be thrown in jail.
It was an underhanded operation, but as a forester I want to know who had the pesticide/herbicide license required by law to do the "hack-n-squirt" poisoning. and yes this application is called hack-n-squirt. Private companies use it for hardwood control to insure their forests are all conifers out west anyway.
When all the trees have been cut down, when all the animals have been hunted, when all the waters are polluted, when all the air is unsafe to breathe, only then will you discover you cannot eat money.
your talking about china and the wealthy chinese are coming to the United States. We are next!
in a capitalist society, money trumps everything even people, and they know who controls the money will eat the last bite if it comes down to what your saying
People are selling their kidneys for money now. Mmmmm .... kidney pie.
You can't eat money...but you can eat rich people. You have to be careful about the preparation, though...they spoil easily.
I'm going to have to say that I personally have shot at tresspasser's with a shotgun to try to intimidate them and not kill them to no avail. 200 yrds. away doesn't make for hardly a peltering of shot from that gun. Maine doesn't allow bill boards to clutter the roadside, but they have allowed some pretty big wind turbines to be put up in some scenic places, which I think is worse. I think nthe company and the man responsible for the tree slaughter should be held liable in civil and criminal charges and spend a little time in time out to get his head screwed back on tight(I hope).
Recognizing capitalism has limitations is like saying man is not perfect. So you live in an imperfect world and expect to find a perfect government? Even if the perfect government was discovered, imperfect people would be running it. Capitalism is the best system today... The End.
You would think it was ediable considering how much the Berrie administration has been giving away!
What?
In the 1960's and 1970's there were so many billboards that you couldn't see anything else while driving down the road. There were laws that got rid of a lot of those billboards. Now the creeps are coming back? No! Outlaw all billboards and similar garbage. (except the nice blue "Exit Services" signs that replaced so many billboards.)
Lamar owns those too. They are called interstate logos. The article is slanted - Lamar does more for wetland conservation through donation than anything they allegedly have done to increase the view of billboards. They have saved THOUSANDS of trees and animals.
"Lamar does more for wetland conservation through donation than anything they allegedly have done to increase the view of billboards." Well I'd certainly appreciate a link to any article outlining all the good works this company has 'allegedly' done. Even if they have, does that excuse the damage they have done in other places? It all balances out? The property owners cited in the article probably don't think so.
Yep, you can crap on other people all week long...as long as you make a nice donation to your church on Sunday.
Bid deal, the us is cuts down thousands of trees a day. Get a grip, what do you think your house is made of ...trees, same with pencils, paper and so on.
Yes, but they arent using these trees to build homes, make pencils, or paper....they arent even getting permission from the people who own the land before they destroy the trees! They are going onto someone's private property....no matter how you swing it, it is against the law!!
My favotire were the "Burma Shave" signs placed just at eye level on fence post! They were very poetic and fun to read!
I remember the Burma Shave teaser signs. They were fun, small and no where near billboard size. Have to admit that the only actual billboards that I like are the South Of The Border signs running through the Carolinas. Let those stay until the trees overtake them. All the rest of the billboards should be dismantled and recycled into something useful.
Florida has it's share of billboards but through their charitable tag program, they are trying to preserve the trees. Maybe someday legislation will be enacted that will eradicate these roadside eyesores but as long as we have
DickRick Scott in the governor's mansion, it will be a while.http://www.treesarecool.com/treetag.php
I'm sure President Romney will make sure any signs his cohorts have up will be seen by all. I'm guessing this is one of the regulations he feels is unneeded and will probably mandate that states don't have the right to regulate what happens on federal highways. I see another law suit ahead of us feds vs. state again.
And you know this how? If anyone is against "regulations" it the republican party from top to bottom.
Uh, Kathleen if you read Confussed's post again you'll see that he/she said that Romney would feel the regulations against billboards are unneeded. Your statement about Republicans being against "regulations" shows how Confussed knows this.
Scum. Move the Billboard!. Now I will not buy anything advertised on billboards that have dead tree's in front.
You know, I've seen that here in PA and often thought how sad, I wonder what killed those trees. So maybe it's more wide spread.
REmove the billboards. They are a a blight and I only read the to ensure that I never do business with a company that advertises on them.
Kathleen, Do you really have any doubt that this is a widespread practice? Amazing how Lamar has every excuse in the book for the few times they have actually been caught. "It was an honest mistake", "our contractor made a mistake", "we simply went across the property line". Really? So after being refused the right to erect a billboard on a given property, you "mistakenly" trespass on THAT SAME PROPERTY to "accidentally" remove 34 trees? The jury had it right the first time. The ridiculous drawn out appeals that ultimately reduced the penalty to a virtual slap on the wrist is shameful. This company is exactly what is wrong with our political process. Politicians are owned by the largest contributor; they don't care a bit about us. And this applies to ALL OF THEM, in ANY PARTY! Throw them all out!!!
I think calling/contacting the companies that are advertised on Lamar billboards and telling them we won't support any company that is involved with such a corporation that is well known to poison trees and the environment and then actually doing it. That is capitalism, hurt their wallet, but most people forget or find it too inconvenient to actually follow through. This though also is something that the government should step into, they are trespassing, destruction of property, polluting the land, apparently threatening employees to do illegal things and much more. This isn't just about regulations because what they are doing has nothing to do with that, what they are doing is illegal. They need to be put out of business by making billboards illegal. Contact your Congress personal and let your feelings be known.
I hate driving through the country somewhere thinking how beautiful it is and then pops up an ugly billboard ruining the view. I hated billboards before this now I really despise them.
It takes a tree two years to undo what one car emits, passing by. Why kill that which protects us? I don't want any of the stuff that's advertised on billboards, or the internet, or that comes out of my mailbox. It's all worthless junk. I divested myself of "possessions" long ago, and I sure don't want them back.
Recently, I found a really nice house at a price I could afford, and then I found out that it was only discounted as long as I kept a 30 foot billboard on my land. Forget it. I'd rather sleep in my truck, on a logging road, than pay someone to advertise their wares on my property. (At least Weyehauser replants).
dont worry when romney and the gop take over you can probaly cut them all down and even sell the wood for a profit
Not a troll: Thanks for the 'comfort', but I wouldn't want to give them the egregious % profit they'd make. Frankly, I think a lot of people would agree that this "Age of Consumerism" is dead.
Companies will have to scramble to deal with that. Our "economy" has been based upon greed and thin air for 4 decades. I'm glad that it is falling apart. We'll survive, reinvent ourselves, and America will continue to be beautiful, as long as we watch our politicians like a hawk, and make the effort to regulate and reform. If nothing else, we're learning the lesson that we can't depend upon anyone but ourselves.
What is known as "trickle down" economics was known in the 1800's as "Horse and Sparrow": Feed the horse enough oats, and what comes out the other end will feed the sparrows that follow. I don't think that most of our citizenry knows that. If they did, they'd be highly indignant. Meanwhile, if one runs out of oats, the horse no longer processes them, and both the horse and sparrow starve. It's high time we stopped feeding the horse, and found a more direct and empowering way to survive. We had it, 40+ years ago. We can do it again, and with better results. "Once burned; twice wary".
D*ckhead.
How is this connected to Romney? Or every single Republican?
Stop the blatant hyperbole and bullsh*t.
gimmeabreakoradrink-1132383, the part of your comment that isn't calling another user a 'D*ckhead' is fine. Stick with that.
You're suspended for a day for violating #1 of the Code of Honor.
...
19 deleted, Howmanyfingers with a complaint about the relevance of the news. Not the place - this just gives it more traffic. If you think a story needs more eyes, feel free to seed it - or, like you did, comment on it.
Seams to me like a chainsaw works as good on a sign as it does on a tree. Not that I want to give anybody any Ideas.
:)
the thing is montana the bill board company most likely will get some kind of token fine and a slap on the wrist, but if you cut down their bill board you would proabably get 10 years to life, I think even the kids who paint on them and get caught do time, dont mess with the wealthy!!
Be a shame if nobody could figure out who did it.
Around here many of the signs are on large metal bases, so I don't think the chainsaw thing would work. But it's a nice thought.
ClearChannel is the worst offender around here. And I would like to personally shoot every single one of those LED signs that flash and change advertisers on a rotating basis.
They are mostly made of metal. Good luck with that.
Also... the article leaves out how much Lamar has done through donations to nature conservation societies. In fact, just recently they save thousands of acres of wetlands from coastal erosion. Dunno if cutting down a few hundred trees outweighs saving thousands. Just saying....
Bring a cutting torch and cut those billboards down or TNT them.
@derek.hinch
You work for Lamar, don't you? You'd have to be an employee to sit there and say "So what if they're illegally killing trees! Look at what they're doing over here! Aren't they great?"
No, the good doesn't outweigh the bad. They broke the law. A good company would comply with the law and save the Wetlands.
Ha Ha Ha.... I think an old fashioned cutting party is in order. Ooops, you mean we didn't have permission to remove that road-side distraction? You mean we are on the WRONG property? Sorry....
probably fix a few billboards with my sawzall.wouldnt take long either.
maybe we can sponser the blades you will need
I am surprised by this story and it makes me wonder. Is the herbicide used one that is residual or is banned? Will the loss of trees affect air quality and wildlife? Could this be one of the reasons that we have been having so many wildfires? I will be watching the developments of this story.
Kathi! Check the wiring and tin foil in your cap,take your meds and lay down for a while! I'll watch out for the Armadrillians while you sleep! Everything is going to be ok! Don't forget,take those meds!
Kathi, Kathi, KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!!!!! maso98 must not realize all the destruction herbicides and pesticides have done to our earth and our children because they do evaporate into the air that we breath and end up in the water we and our animals drink. These are the animals we then eat.
maso98, get your head out of the sand and become realistic. One of these days we will have to build domes over our cities to grow trees and the foods we eat and protect our children from the damages outside the dome. If you don't start taking of our precious earth now, I won't allow you to enter my dome and you and yours can live 'happily' out where the pesticides and herbicides are.
I think all billboards should be banned. Not only do they pollute the landscape, they are also a distraction while driving just as much as talking on the phone is. My husband seems to veer to the right when he is looking at them. It scares the heck out of me.
The most destracting of all are billborads that have a political message. While driving to Michigan last year we noticed that some billboards seem to be almost twice the size of all the other's Those billboards were those carrying extremely nasty messages. Those were ads were of Rush Limbaugh. It also seemed as though every other billboard was of Rush Limbaugh. I would guess that Clear Channel owned those.
the poisioning part bothers me much more, probably much cheaper and much less chance you get caught using that method rather than the more ecological way of cutting down a tree and using it for firewood, then too the tree dies and you have some ugly dead tree to look at when you drive down the highway and a safety hazard as the tree or its limbs could fall on a person or go into the highway and cause accidents
Ask them if they care! Throw them in jail.
I think that I will never see
A billboard lovely as a tree
And now unless the billboards fall
I'll never see a tree at all
Good point, Not a Troll. Of course most states and/or counties will remove the dead trees at the expense of the tax payers because they can be a hazard. Lamar broke the law and has shown a complete lack of respect for public land and private land owners. If I cut down my neighbors trees because they obstructed my view I'm sure I'd go to jail. Just like I would if I intentionally impeded the view of one of Lamar's signs.
So glad I live in VT.....not one billboard here!
And NH also has very limited billboards. Strong laws I guess.
Alaska bans them, too.
None in my home state of Maine either...unless the business being advertised owns the land upon which the billboard sits. That makes it a personal property issue. This eliminates ALL of the commercial type billboards that these companies place everywhere which are a major eyesore IMHO.
Novel idea: MOVE THE BILLBOARD
Love their names: oaks, kill-shaw, la-board.
I had NO idea this was happening. Whistle-blowers rock!
We can only hope that every large, fast growing plant that exists plants itself in front of every billboard in the country. If we can't stop that visual cancer (the billboards) on our roads, maybe at least we can block them.
VOTE THE LEGISLATORS OUT IN NOVEMBER!! You can stop the billboards if you REALLY want to. Join a group to make yourself heard by the Senators and Reps. Tell them: PUT PEOPLE FIRST!!! They campaign. So can YOU!
FYI to all the companies who advertise on billboards I have never purchased a product because I saw it on a billboard. I suggest the companies use their advertising dollars elsewhere.
If I see it on a billboard, I will no longer buy it.
Jim, I'm with you on not buying from billboard advertisers, also billboard signs time has come and gone they do not get people to buy what they are trying to sell, and they are an eyesore, a lot of people today shop via the internet.
Do you let the companies know you won't buy from them because they advertise on billboards? If we make them realize that their advertising choice is actually hurting their business, not helping it, they'll probably start thinking twice about using billboards. No business wants to waste their $ on something useless, let alone something that actually drives customers away.
Bubbacat I started looking for companies that advertised with this agency so I could start letting them know I will not buy their products. Haven't found a comprehensive list yet, but still looking.
JimTN, you are a perfect example of what I'm talking about when I say: Get up and find a way to help stop the killing of trees just so one or 2 can see another ugly billboard.
The nations were angry; and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging
the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your saints and those
who reverence your name, both small and great--and for destroying those who
destroy the earth." REV 11:18
Religious Psycho!
Vegains--Prince speaks from REV. You should listen and take cover if you think this is all for not.