A Canton man accused of burning a cross in front of his home as part of a Halloween display has pleaded guilty to having a disorderly house.
Shane Helson, 36, says he wanted to make his annual yard display more authentic and set fire to the T-shaped wooden stand that holds up his scarecrow so it would look more weathered.
Municipal Judge Mary Falvey fined Helson $100 and ordered him to complete 75 hours of community service. He is also barred from burning any more crosses on his display.
If Helson violates any conditions set by the court, he would have to serve 30 days in jail.
Helson is white, as is next-door neighbor Stephanie Blankenship. But her husband is black, and Blankenship says they have had problems with Helson and his roommate before and she feels intimidated.
anthropophagous
Archive Audio Images RSS FeedThis is just a collection of things I think are neat.
A general overview of 'things I think are neat':abandonment/the post-industrial midwest, anarchism (syndicalism, insurrectionalism, etc), race/ethnicity (esp. defining/constructing the boundaries of whiteness), gender, class (talking/thinking about class generally seems to be an underrated activity), health care (access to, the experience of obtaining, etc), art, science fiction, punk music, conservative talk radio and anthropology (which probably incorporates almost everything else about people).
