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Woman’s Survival Garden Seized and Destroyed by Authorities
#1
Apparently, it is now illegal to grow your own garden in some states.   tinyok
Denise Morrison from Tulsa, Oklahoma, was growing her own food and herbs to treat her diabetes, high-blood pressure and arthritis after she became unemployed. Unfortunately, the local code enforcement team showed up at her house and forcibly removed her entire survival garden, even though she "went by the book" on how she planted it.

So...  Has the self-reliant lifestyle now become a crime in America?  It appears so. 


Quote:A woman from Tulsa, Oklahoma is suing the city’s code enforcement teams after they illegally cut down her entire survival garden. Denise Morrison, who started the garden after becoming unemployed, had over 100 medicinal and edible plants in her front and back yard.

She told local Tulsa reporters that she started her garden after becoming unemployed as a way to feed herself and treat a variety of medical issues. Instead of relying on government handouts, this woman took matters into her own hands and decided to become self-sufficient. She filled her yard with things like, fruit trees, berries, nut trees, and a wide variety of edible and medicinal herbs. She used these herbs to treat her diabetes, high-blood pressure and arthritis.

All her hard work ended when the local code enforcement team showed up to her house and forcibly removed her entire survival garden.

[Image: beforeaftergarden.jpg]

Morrison says that she tried to explain how everything in her yard followed the local code enforcement rules. You see, she had problems with these people in the past and this time she was determined to do things by the book.
She obtained the local ordinances and followed every rule to the tee. She made sure that everything in her garden had a purpose, and that her garden looked its best at all times. Local ordinances stated that no plant could be over 12-inches tall unless they were being used for human consumption.
Morrison made sure every plant in her garden could be eaten, but that didn’t matter to the city. They could care less about what the law actually said; they were determined to take out her garden. “Every word out of their mouth was, ‘we don’t care’.” Morrison said.
Over 100 plant varieties were removed by the code enforcement team, leaving her with no way to feed or medicate herself. They took almost everything, including a number of her fruit and nut trees. She told local reporters in Tulsa, “I came back three days later, sat in my driveway, cried and left.”

What liberty will they take from us next?


Quote:While this case is extremely sad, it’s also becoming more and more common throughout the country. From “nuisance abatement teams” that have been forcing Off-Griders in California to hook back into the grid, to the heartbreaking story of Andrew Wordes who took his life after code enforcement teams seized his home, this country is making it harder and harder for self-reliant people to live on their own land.

While some dismiss these cases as localized issues, I believe they’re part of a larger movement to control anyone who dares to live a self-reliant lifestyle. I think evidence of this can be seen in the federal government’s attempts to regulate small farms out of existence, their use of the EPA to seize private land, the formation of the Department of Homeland Security’s Green Police Force, their attempts to seize control of the Great Lakes, oceans, and waterways, and their use of organizations like The National League of Cities to take control of local governments.

Source

Coming soon to a yard near you!
Are you people out there waking up yet?  Do I need to scream any louder to get your attention?!   mediumhey

The government wants to OWN us, tell us every little thing we can and can't do... even on our own land. 

That's okay, just sit there and go back to flipping through channels on your mind-control box, while "they" strip away your rights!

Don't say I didn't warn you!   smallnotamused
#2
(06-27-2016, 10:13 PM)Mystic Wanderer Wrote: Apparently, it is now illegal to grow your own garden in some states.   tinyok
Denise Morrison from Tulsa, Oklahoma, was growing her own food and herbs to treat her diabetes, high-blood pressure and arthritis after she became unemployed. Unfortunately, the local code enforcement team showed up at her house and forcibly removed her entire survival garden, even though she "went by the book" on how she planted it.

So...  Has the self-reliant lifestyle now become a crime in America?  It appears so. 


Quote:A woman from Tulsa, Oklahoma is suing the city’s code enforcement teams after they illegally cut down her entire survival garden. Denise Morrison, who started the garden after becoming unemployed, had over 100 medicinal and edible plants in her front and back yard.

She told local Tulsa reporters that she started her garden after becoming unemployed as a way to feed herself and treat a variety of medical issues. Instead of relying on government handouts, this woman took matters into her own hands and decided to become self-sufficient. She filled her yard with things like, fruit trees, berries, nut trees, and a wide variety of edible and medicinal herbs. She used these herbs to treat her diabetes, high-blood pressure and arthritis.

All her hard work ended when the local code enforcement team showed up to her house and forcibly removed her entire survival garden.

[Image: beforeaftergarden.jpg]

Morrison says that she tried to explain how everything in her yard followed the local code enforcement rules. You see, she had problems with these people in the past and this time she was determined to do things by the book.
She obtained the local ordinances and followed every rule to the tee. She made sure that everything in her garden had a purpose, and that her garden looked its best at all times. Local ordinances stated that no plant could be over 12-inches tall unless they were being used for human consumption.
Morrison made sure every plant in her garden could be eaten, but that didn’t matter to the city. They could care less about what the law actually said; they were determined to take out her garden. “Every word out of their mouth was, ‘we don’t care’.” Morrison said.
Over 100 plant varieties were removed by the code enforcement team, leaving her with no way to feed or medicate herself. They took almost everything, including a number of her fruit and nut trees. She told local reporters in Tulsa, “I came back three days later, sat in my driveway, cried and left.”

What liberty will they take from us next?


Quote:While this case is extremely sad, it’s also becoming more and more common throughout the country. From “nuisance abatement teams” that have been forcing Off-Griders in California to hook back into the grid, to the heartbreaking story of Andrew Wordes who took his life after code enforcement teams seized his home, this country is making it harder and harder for self-reliant people to live on their own land.

While some dismiss these cases as localized issues, I believe they’re part of a larger movement to control anyone who dares to live a self-reliant lifestyle. I think evidence of this can be seen in the federal government’s attempts to regulate small farms out of existence, their use of the EPA to seize private land, the formation of the Department of Homeland Security’s Green Police Force, their attempts to seize control of the Great Lakes, oceans, and waterways, and their use of organizations like The National League of Cities to take control of local governments.

Source

Coming soon to a yard near you!
Are you people out there waking up yet?  Do I need to scream any louder to get your attention?!   mediumhey

The government wants to OWN us, tell us every little thing we can and can't do... even on our own land. 

That's okay, just sit there and go back to flipping through channels on your mind-control box, while "they" strip away your rights!

Don't say I didn't warn you!   smallnotamused

That my friend is a sad story and one that should make even the biggest pacifist's blood boil.
#3
@"727Sky" 

Isn't it though?  And to think we have this going on in the U.S. now is just is beyond belief... for me. 

I've shared this story on Twitter and Face Book in hopes of raising awareness.  I hope the people here will share it too.
This type of thing is unacceptable, and we need to put a stop to it! 

People need to make their voices heard, write letters to their state leaders, protest, splash it in the media... do whatever they can to put an end to this type of control.

I hope the woman wins her law suit and sends them a message that they can't do us this way and win!   minusculeredtantrum
#4
Sad to say, but when the sheep decide to live in the confines of the city sheepfolds, they have to abide by the sheepfold's rules - which unfortunately are written by petty little bureaucratic folks with delusions of adequacy. Napoleon comes to mind as the prototype - short, squat, entirely inadequate, and possessed of far too great an opinion of himself.

They should consider becoming free-range sheep instead, like me. out here, the numbers are more in your favor, and with a judicious use of the landscape, it's damned near impossible for the bad guys to develop enough numbers to surround you, making it possible to pick them off one at a time before they reach a critical mass. The bad guy types out here - especially the governmental sorts - are acutely aware of this fact, and tend to keep themselves more in check.

A city ain't no kind of place to try to raise a farm. It's bad enough to have a mother-in-law try to tell you how to plant when you've done it all your life... now imagine dozens or hundreds of her in the form of "code compliance" folks... it makes ya want to shudder just a bit. Ain't no wonder so many city folks wind up in jail - too much pressure there to make 'em snap!
Diogenes was eating bread and lentils for supper. He was seen by the philosopher Aristippus, who lived comfortably by flattering the king.

Said Aristippus, ‘If you would learn to be subservient to the king you would not have to live on lentils.’ Said Diogenes, ‘Learn to live on lentils and you will not have to be subservient to the king.’


#5
@"Ninurta" 


Quote:Sad to say, but when the sheep decide to live in the confines of the city sheepfolds, they have to abide by the sheepfold's rules -

See, the thing is, she DID abide by their rules, and they still destroyed her garden.  I don't care where you live, if you follow the rules as they state them, they have no business doing this!

It pisses me off! smallfit
#6
Woman Sues City Of Tulsa For Cutting Down Her Edible Garden


The Lady filed a civil rights lawsuit this week, accusing the inspectors of overstepping their authority.


Quote:TULSA, Oklahoma -

A Tulsa woman is suing the city's code enforcement officers after she said they cut down her garden with no cause.

Denise Morrison said she has more than 100 plant varieties in her front and back yards and all of them are edible and have a purpose.
She knows which ones will treat arthritis, which will make your food spicy, which ones keep mosquitoes away and treat bug bites, but she said none of that matter to city inspectors.

Last August, Morrison's front and back yards were filled with flowers in bloom, lemon, stevia, garlic chives, grapes, strawberries, apple mint, spearmint, peppermint, an apple tree, walnut tree, pecan trees and much more.

She got a letter from the city saying there had been a complaint about her yard.

She said she took pictures to meet with city inspectors, but they wouldn't listen, so she invited them to her home so they could point out the problem areas.

"Everything, everything needs to go," Morrison said they told her.

When she heard they wanted to cut it all down, she called police. The officer issued her a citation so it could be worked out in court.
She said she went to court on August 15, and the judge told them to come back in October. But the very next day, men were cutting down most of her plants.

They even cut down some of her trees -– ones that bore fruit and nuts -– and went up next to her house and basically removed everything in her front flower bed.




They claim they received a "complaint"

Um, can they do that, destroy one's property that is within the city ordinance code, over a supposed complaint???

Wonder if that was real or just a bullshit excuse to do as they please.

If she goes to trial, hope the truth comes out and if someone did make the complaint, their name is revealed.

Just cannot believe they would violate this Ladies rights, over some busy body nosy whiny neighbor.



And I hope she brings a strong case forward and she wins!!

a.k.a. 'snarky412'
 
        

#7
Thanks for that article, @"senona" .

So, all this over a "complaint"? 

Sigh... it just keeps getting worse.

(Walks off screen feeling drained and hopeless. As a sensitive, I need to stay away from these types of articles. )   mediumfacepalm
#8
(06-28-2016, 03:18 AM)Mystic Wanderer Wrote: Thanks for that article, @"senona" .

So, all this over a "complaint"? 

Sigh... it just keeps getting worse.

(Walks off screen feeling drained and hopeless. As a sensitive, I need to stay away from these types of articles. )   mediumfacepalm



Not sure if I believe the "complaint" excuse myself.

They sure were quick to destroy her garden over one complaint, instead of really taking the time to look things over, review the city ordinances and talk to the neighbor about it.

Which is why I hope it does go to trial, then the truth of the matter can come out.
And if the authorities were in the wrong, I hope she wins some money in return for the hassle and destruction of her herbs/food.

a.k.a. 'snarky412'
 
        

#9
We received this link from Rikki Bramley on Facebook

It appears to be an older story too....

Judge Throws Out Tulsa Woman's Lawsuit Over Edible Garden


Quote:Mar 20, 2013


Her attorney, Jeff Nix, said the judge based the decision on the city's horticulturist, who claimed Morrison's plants weren't edible. He plans to appeal, but said he's also encouraged Denise to replant her garden, bigger and better than ever.

"They picked on her because she stood up to them, but they have not seen anything yet," Nix said.

Morrison said code enforcement doesn't clean up all the abandoned houses that are boarded over, causing an eyesore, because there's no money in it. She said she believes they issue citations to home owners because the city wants the revenue. She is hoping for victory on appeal.

"If this ruling is allowed to stand, anybody in this city, growing anything anywhere in their yard, it can be ripped out when the city is in need of money," Morrison said.

The City of Tulsa said they thought the judge hit his decision out of the park.

It said, in part, that the city did not act unreasonably in their abatement of Morrison's property, that the city went to great lengths to explain to Morrison what conditions needed to be remediated and repeatedly attempted to reach a resolution before taking action.


And you can read The Judge's Ruling Here




We have some friends who live just out of the city limits, have been for over 35 years, and yet have been battling the city for the past 2 years over trivial stuff like inoperable vehicles.


And many thousands of dollars later, they are still being "fined" for stupid shit.
So much for that being YOUR private property. smh


Only thing we can figure out, is either they rezoned that area and are policing it.
Or...or someone wants their property.

Also, with new younger members on city council, they may frown upon how things are now compared to the old timers, and want to "clean up" certain areas.

Times are a changing folks.

a.k.a. 'snarky412'
 
        

#10
@"senona" 


tinyangry ARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!

That sounds about right!  I've run into some judges that need to be kicked out of office for being a bully too.  I'm sure he is in the pocket of some higher-ups who have him under their control.

The legal system sucks... no other word for it.  Everything is back asswards from how it should be. They are SUPPOSED to be there to see that justice is done and it's fair, but they are only there to see that big business doesn't lose in court.

Pfft!!!  I'm outta here! smallnotamused  Not going to let this ruin my day.
#11
(06-28-2016, 03:10 AM)senona Wrote: They claim they received a "complaint"

Um, can they do that, destroy one's property that is within the city ordinance code, over a supposed complaint???


Are you kidding? An entire nation's history is being erased because of a complaint!

I have seeds from our gardens back years ago, and I don't even know if they will grow or not, but I keep hoping someday I can have a chance to find out.

I'm betting it was the codes that govern how your yard looks that got her livelihood destroyed. If your grass gets too high here where I live, they stick a sign in your yard that says "VIOLATION OF CODE."  Not sure what the fines are, as I live in an apartment. All the yard decisions are up to the guys who get paid to mow. Of course, when they trim bushes I'd rather they not make them look dead for about three months from cutting them back so far!!! When I had a yard and landscaping, you couldn't tell when I trimmed my bushes. I made sure no bare branches were longer than the new growth I left. It gave the bushes a much softer, natural look instead of the "low-flying helicopter" approach!
#12
(08-23-2017, 03:15 AM)Spirit Scribe Wrote:
(06-28-2016, 03:10 AM)senona Wrote: They claim they received a "complaint"

Um, can they do that, destroy one's property that is within the city ordinance code, over a supposed complaint???


Are you kidding? An entire nation's history is being erased because of a complaint!

I have seeds from our gardens back years ago, and I don't even know if they will grow or not, but I keep hoping someday I can have a chance to find out.

I'm betting it was the codes that govern how your yard looks that got her livelihood destroyed. If your grass gets too high here where I live, they stick a sign in your yard that says "VIOLATION OF CODE."  Not sure what the fines are, as I live in an apartment. All the yard decisions are up to the guys who get paid to mow. Of course, when they trim bushes I'd rather they not make them look dead for about three months from cutting them back so far!!! When I had a yard and landscaping, you couldn't tell when I trimmed my bushes. I made sure no bare branches were longer than the new growth I left. It gave the bushes a much softer, natural look instead of the "low-flying helicopter" approach!



Speaking of codes/ordinances --- not sure if It's the Parish or State but here in Louisiana there are laws on the books stating "no inoperable vehicles" allowed on property. It doesn't matter if it is private property or not either.


We live in a 5th wheel & stay at RV park. A while back our F350 truck quit running and we've run out of monies to go any further for the time being, trying to get it to run again. Where it sits is mostly gravel but there are a few patches of grass sprouting up. The guy who cuts the grass complained and we were given a 3 day warning before city came &towed it.

So we go to Lowe's and buy a cheap $30 electric weed eater. We got some people to help push the truck so I could cut the sparse grass under it. 
And the guy on loan mower who helped push it back when I got done come to find out,  was the one who made the complaint.

Needless to say, we haven't heard anything else about the truck. Not yet anyway.
And yes, I got my weed eater on ready. Ha

Nothing like being forced to put vehicle in storage paying out extra money.
However, one of my co-workerz who lives in MS. said if need be, we could have it towed to their place. Said they don't have that crazy law to worry about.
(We're on the MS/LA border )



Our friends on the north side of town, who have lived there for over 30 yrs without any hassle, have been fighting the city officials for 2 yrs now. Paying fines and lawyer fees.

It's crazy any more, or at least around here anyway.

a.k.a. 'snarky412'
 
        

#13
Seriously? Is this what the nation is coming to? If so, the communists have already won!

A "Code Violation" sign on my lawn? Pffft! 1), they'd have to cross the "no trespassing" signed boundary to put it there, a violation (and a pretty dangerous one) all by itself, and 2) if they succeeded, I have a can of grill lighter fluid and a Bic lighter, and I ain't even a little bit afraid to barbecue the shit out of their cute little sign if they leave it on MY property, because if they do, it's suddenly MY sign, and I'll do what I damned well please with it.

Inoperable vehicle? That'd be a really unhealthy day for any tow truck driver that came and tried to move it if it's on my property. I'd consider that to be common theft, and act accordingly.

Of course, folks around here already know how I am (and most of them are just the same way), so they leave me alone for the most part. I don't bother them, they don't bother me, and we all get along pretty well. The guy next door works on all manner of loud-ass dune buggies and the like, roaring at all hours of the night, and I don't bitch about it. it's HIS place, he can do as he damned well pleases with it. None of my business. Likewise, I can go up on the mountain behind my house and do enough "zeroing" with my loud ass weapons to make it sound like a young war is starting, and he don't bitch about that, either. We get along because we don't bitch and whine.

I believe the rest of the nation could learn a thing or two from us grouchy, curmudgeonly hillbillies, and if they did learn it, we could all play together nicely.


.
Diogenes was eating bread and lentils for supper. He was seen by the philosopher Aristippus, who lived comfortably by flattering the king.

Said Aristippus, ‘If you would learn to be subservient to the king you would not have to live on lentils.’ Said Diogenes, ‘Learn to live on lentils and you will not have to be subservient to the king.’




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