Betty Perry, the woman who was arrested for not watering her lawn, has finally resolved the matter with a ‘no contest’ plea and a $100 fine. Apparently Betty agreed, also, not to sue Orem City for what happened.
Allow me to list the items I find absolutely ridiculous about this latest news:
Orem City spent many thousands of dollars pursuing this case. Could they not have predicted the end result? The pursuit of this case could never have worked in favor of the City.
Orem prosecutors required her to pay a $100 fine, as if to pour salt on the wounds afforded her by Orem City police officer Flygare. This was the only way to ’save face’, and unfortunately serves to make the prosecutor seem even more of a bully.
Orem City required her to agree not to sue them. This can only be interpreted as a blatant admission of wrongdoing and outright fear for the money and shame a jury trial would cost The City.
Boy am I glad this is over and we can all go back to our beautiful city and enjoy watching the snowplows throw brown sand all over everything, watch potholes growing by the hour, and prepare ourselves for another upcoming scorching summer. A summer during which we will all struggle to hold a balance between a green lawn and water conservation.
No problem, really. I tolerate the sand because I know it helps bring safety to the streets. The potholes are annoying, but with snow, ice, plows, and heavy traffic, I can understand the damage, and know that it is nearly impossible to get every one taken care of. As for the brown grass; I don’t like it either, but have come to the realization that we live in a desert, and things go brown every once in a while. It’s what makes spring so wonderful.
