Snowzilla Declared a “Public Nuisance”. Decapitated.
When you consider all that Alaska is known for these days – (political corruption, mostly), it’s the little happy things about living in Anchorage that make all this humiliation bearable.
One such bit of holiday joy is a 16-foot snowman that appears in the Airport Heights section of town every year. Dozens of kid-hours are spent in the creation of this iconic symbol of seasonal joy, who has lured camera crews from far-off lands who are intrigued by this Goliath of the frozen north. He was lovingly dubbed “Snowzilla.”
In just three short years, Snowzilla attracted a devoted legion of fans who would bundle the kids in the car and do a drive-by every year. A visit to Snowzilla quickly became a holiday tradition of…well…large proportion!
However, not all of Snowzilla’s neighbors were feeling very charitable about their giant frozen neighbor. And this year, Snowzilla was officially declared a “public nuisance and safety hazard.” And he got whacked. Literally.
My city is a murderer.
I guess none of those people who decided to complain were ever children. I guess they never saw Frosty the Snowman. And if they did, I bet they never cried. Whatever the reason, the “not in my backyard with your damn holiday cheer” crowd has won the day, much to the dismay of the young at heart here in my fair city.
(insert Frosty the Snowman music)
“He led them down the streets of town right to the traffic cop;
and only paused a moment when they heard him holler, “Stop!”
For Frosty the Snowman, had to hurry on his way,
But he waved good-by sayin’ “Don’t you cry, I’ll be back again some day.”
(and add the new verse) “Unless he lives in Anchorage, in which case the traffic cop becomes a City Code Enforcement Officer, and Frosty will be declared a nuisance and decapitated in front of the children who brought him back to liiiiiiife…..”
I like the original version better.
Farewell, Snowzilla. Wishing you a cold and frosty holiday season…wherever you are.
With all the snow jobs we get from SP, you would think she could have saved Snowzilla. For is she not the White Witch?
AKM I read about this earlier this morning. Why I read your online paper before my own is a mystery to me! LOL
Public Nuisance my Aunt Fanny! Very sad when people just have to suck the last bit of joy people may get in the very long winter months.
I have to ask do they ticket super decorated houses to and make them cease and desist? Hmmmm sounds like a case of snow people discrimination to me!
“lured camera crews from far-off lands who are intrigued by this Goliath of the frozen north”
Maybe someone was jealous of the attention he was getting?
The charm of Alaska as ‘The last frontier’, was that it was the one place left where rugged individualists could go, to be left in peace! If too much snow, all in the same place, is a safety hazard (thankfully not a fire hazard) then it’s time to move to the North Pole….while there’s still time.
I read about this this morning. This is just so sad…
Oh, what a shame he got whacked!
Some people have nothing better to do with their time than try to make someone else as miserable as possible. It’s ridiculously petty!
…and the Ice Queen said, “off with his head!”
My fellow KCHS alumnus Billy Powers has been a thorn in the side of the Municipality’s Barney Fife building officials for a while. I’m sad to see it come to an end.
I have faith that he will find some way to continue the good fight. Keep after ‘em, “Pete!”
Who did the dirty deed ???
Ho in the world do they get the top third of the snowman all the
way up there, and the second one too for that matter??
Is nothing safe in Sara’s reign? Where should we deposit the coal?
Surely this is part of the War on Christmas! Has someone told the conservatives? They’ll have that snowman back up in a jiffy.
Any word on Palin’s grandchild?
OT but here goes
“PALIN: The biggest mistake made was that I could have called more shots on this: the opportunities that were not seized to speak to more Americans via media. I was not allowed to do very many interviews, and the interviews that I did were not necessarily those I would have chosen. But I was so thankful to have the opportunity to run with John McCain that I was not going to argue……………………….”
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=29994
Unbelievable!!! A Public Nusiance? How so?
I’m with you Proud Community OrganizerWA (12:08:23) :
“……….Very sad when people just have to suck the last bit of joy people may get in the very long winter months.
I have to ask do they ticket super decorated houses to and make them cease and desist? Hmmmm sounds like a case of snow people discrimination to me!”
Don’t those busy bodies have anything better to do than to ruin a little bit of innocent fun? What was so offensive about the giant snowman?
I thought he looked pretty cool, not to mention impressive.
Proud Community OrganizerWA (12:08:23) :
I agree! Maybe we should all drive by to offer our condolences. Or would that cause a nuisance? better not, I guess, I don’t want to get the owner in trouble. sigh…
I say revolt! lol……make another Snowzilla where someone can’t condemn it, perhaps outside of town but close, in fact someone or group could charge a small fee or better yet! food donation for charity groups, they could take turns running it…….heck make a whole family of them or a snow village, lol…….let the sour pusses and old crabby apples stay away…….
Anybody get a video ??? If so – post it on you-tube with the phone # of the grinch at his/her desk……….mess with good clean fun for the kiddos….ya gonna hear about it !! you betcha!!
. . . think of Snowzilla as the opposite of Burning Man . . .
off topic, reply from Mike Doogan re Alaskans for Truth.
Sorry this response took so long, but I wanted to make sure that all of your often-identical emails had reached me, and to do a little research on a couple of points you made.
First, let me thank you for writing. Citizen participation is important to this process, and I’m glad you took the time to make your views known.
Second, there is not much that can be done to satisfy your requests or demands or whatever they are. More on that in a moment.
Third, I intend to move forward with legislation to prevent a re-occurrence of some of the problematic behavior that has arisen from the mess commonly called Troopergate. That legislation will define more closely what is a public document and seek to prevent public officials from shielding their communications by using private email accounts, and the state from stifling public access by charging an arm and a leg.
Now, back to point 2. To review your demands:
n Censure the governor. There is, in fact, no formal censure motion available to the legislature. In our dealings with the executive branch, we have two tools: the budget and impeachment. We could, I suppose, pass a resolution telling the governor she done bad, which would be worth about as much as the paper it is written on. And I have to tell you that such a resolution would be unlikely to pass. Legislators would be reluctant to make the governor mad for a gesture.
n Seek contempt charges against the governor’s husband and state officials who ignored subpoenas. Again, we have no contempt-of-the-Legislature powers. We’d have to go to court. Since the Senate Judiciary Committee did not go to court to enforce the subpoenas, I doubt the courts could find those who ignored the subpoenas in contempt. Again, I suppose we could pass a resolution, but I don’t think there’s much more we could do.
n Hold hearings to see if the governor committed perjury in the statements to the Personnel Board’s lawyer. The legislature is not an arm of either the executive or the judiciary. I doubt we could get the appropriate parties – the Personnel Board and Mr. Petumenos – to act on a perjury claim, or that we have standing to ask the court system to do so.
n Call for an independent investigation of the attorney general in re: witness tampering. I believe it is Rep. Les Gara who raised the witness tampering issue, so you should be in touch with him to see what, if anything, is happening on that front.
Something more may happen on any and all of these fronts once the legislature convenes. But I believe the new Senate President, Gary Stevens, has said the Senate is prepared to do nothing more on these issues. The House could act alone on resolutions, but I doubt the Republican majority is willing to act against a woman who could be their party’s presidential nominee in four years.
That’s where it stands at the moment. Again, thanks for writing.
Mike Doogan
weelll, at least there’s still the old swimming hole.
Snowzilla Declared a “Public Nuisance”.
Decapitated.
……………………………………………………
Those murdering crinches , such a shame !
Snowman Law…..grinchy.
empish…..re: off topic, reply from Mike Doogan re Alaskans for Truth
Distillation of Doogan’s reply:
1) We can’t do anything.
2) We won’t do anything.
Thanks for sending it on for our review, empish! Way to keep their feet to the fire!
Humbug.
Could you declare SP a Public Nuisance and make her go away too?
Hmmmm…..
If only Snowzilla had a shapelier figure, some designer eyewear, a beehive upswept hairdo, a red jacket, some tattoo lined lips, and a wink for everyone who drove by, this may not have come to pass…….
yeah.. those grinches.. sheesh. How could they forget childhood?? maybe the snow plowers could just deposit the snow into a similar shape….
I think that is just sad.. cus the Snowzilla seems like a very cool thing. Glad I at least got to see the photo..
It’s a terrible shame. The children are the ones that suffer the most. Some people
are just a-holes by nature.
NEW THREAD ALERT (about whistleblowers and such).
Wish we had a # for the guilty grinch office…….is it 1-800-bah-humbug ?!?!
I think people are misunderstanding what the problem with Snowzillla was. It wasn’t the snowmen, it was all of the gawkers making the street unpassable to the neighbors. I don’t think many people want to leave next door to a major tourist attraction. The real shame is that the city couldn’t realize that Snowzilla was beloved by so many and a goldmine for free season publicity and find a public place to errect him where he would not clog traffic.
Elrond Hubbard has it right. It’s that damn war on Christmas the conservatives have been telling us about. Someone call Bill O’Reilly!
Fran – obviously you are correct…….but a tradition is a tradition…….if the Snowzilla police knew they were gonna crush SO many childrens expectations……..the least they could’ve done is give fair warning and /or made other arrangements……………meanies !!
Support Snowzilla
Snowzilla is no more. Municipal officials in Anchorage, Alaska have given a cease-and-desist order to builders of the giant snowman that made appearances the last three years in an east Anchorage neighborhood.
Show your support and build your own Snowzilla and send in the pictures to supportsnowzilla@gmail.com and we will show them on http://www.snowzilla.org
Go to http://www.snowzilla.org now!
There was a Santa Clause on Santa Clause Lane south of Santa Barbara which was purchased by a company further south on the same freeway, and now he has sunglasses. There was a holiday run from Santa to the beach a couple of weekends ago. Maybe they could have relocated Snowzilla and done a promotion so people could see it, but not making the road impassable. Not very creative.
I hope Snowzilla says hello to the tree from my yard that my landlords stole and gave to the Mayor of our town for his “Mayor’s Christmas Tree.” Yes I know that this is a charity thing, but the landlords did not ask us our opinion, just told us it was happening and then proceeded to tell us that they saw the tree as an “eyesore” in our yard. So they cut it down and gave it to the Mayor? Oh and while they were here to watch “our” tree go away(which they did not in fact inform us the timing of I might add) my husband just happened to be home, these people that we have rented from for 5 1/2 years did not know my husband from Adam and wanted to know if he was in fact from the paper because he was taking pictures. Isn’t that sweet? So the Mayor has a tree for a few weeks, but we are out a tree that has been there for who knows how long. And they did literally make my daughter cry, several times, last time was just a few days ago because she misses the tree. And so do I quite frankly. And it was on the North side of the house so now it is COLDER in here.
Guess being Grinches is Never out of season. No matter how many times they try and remind us on the TV box that this year we should try and keep the “spirit” of the season in mind. There always seems to be those bah hum bugs out there that have to ruin it for everyone.
So I am working extra hard this year to spread holiday cheer and just good feelings where ever I go….donating and what not as I can.
I wouldn’t want that thing in my neighborhood either! Imagine having camera crews and strangers all over your neighborhood. The city was right on in putting a stop to it.
And I think they should have limits on uber-decorated houses. They, too, are an eyesore and a public nuisance. Blinking lights at all hours – ugh.
Gee – Just love the you-tube commercial of the loud-ass snow machine…….got tired of watching……anything cool happen at the end ?? Fall thru the ice maybe ???? Send it to Todd………I’m sure he’ll be “stoked”……….
AKM is right YCMTSU! Decapitate Snowzilla! (but Barbie lives on, perhaps in “House’s” mind to be president in 2012!) Some kiss ass landlord, whose mayor has cruised the neighborhood and declared “I want that tree for my Christmas tree” and landlord just cuts it down, all of a sudden its a “eyesore” !!! How many tree are up there anyway in Alaska?
There is a a lot of work to be done up there, it seems corrupt, contempt & basically a “do nothing” attitude up there except for a few courageous souls.
I think Anchorage is a fairly large city, my city is not too big, but at least 2 neighborhoods decorate all the houses, and cars stream through, family’s walking taking pictures. Signs are put up Warning of traffic disruptions. Why couldn’t they do that for Snowzilla, or the people just can’t hack it for 2 wks a year? Maybe we should tell Bill O! Look at what all you rebubs did for Christmas???
Once a year the kids and visiting relatives marvel at creativity celebrating Christmas……..do the Nativity displays at the church bug you curmudgens also??…….call 1-800-bah humbug !!
a nonny mouseNo Gravatar (18:09:15) :
I wouldn’t want that thing in my neighborhood either! Imagine having camera crews and strangers all over your neighborhood. The city was right on in putting a stop to it.
And I think they should have limits on uber-decorated houses. They, too, are an eyesore and a public nuisance. Blinking lights at all hours – ugh.
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Ugh! Where can we send your 2 lumps of coal to?
Sorry to sound like a grinch, but as one who lives a couple blocks from the former home of Snowzilla, I am glad to see the city put a stop to it. Our community council has been frustrated with this homeowner for years. He is a packrat that not only has a house that is in total disrepair, but fills his yard with piles of salvageable junk. I’m not talking a little pile in the back corner like many us may have. I’m talking everywhere! A rusty dump truck in the front yard was actually useful in screening the ugliness.
The city has warned him repeatedly to clean up the yard. When he failed to comply a few years ago, the city did it for him and sent him the bill. Did he get the message? No. He paid, then proceeded to fill up the yard again. This past year the city repeated the process. He presently owes $2900 in back property taxes, and the yard is again amassing junk.
I pity his immediate neighbors who must endure his obsessive behavior, and even more so if they try to sell their homes. Trust me, none of you would want to be in their shoes. Were he living in rural isolation in the middle of a 160-acre homestead, no problem. Instead he is on a 7500 sq ft city lot.
Admittedly, Snowzilla improved the looks of his place as it hid some of the eyesores, but it did create traffic and noise problems. I just wish he’d put as much energy year-round into fixing up his place as he did looking for notoriety.
AKaurora…”I just wish he’d put as much energy year-round into fixing up his place as he did looking for notoriety.”
It may not necessarily have been notoriety. It may have been his one chance all year long to do something that felt good and made others (maybe not the neighbors) feel good. It has been my impression that some of the most rundown houses put their Xmas lights up the earliest and leave them up the longest. Sad, somehow.
…But, I can understand your frustration as you have elucidated in your post.
………take up a collection and move him to Wasilla……….he won’t need a permit thanks to Sarah……and he’ll blend right in.
I know this is late, but why should the property owner have to take down a snowman because his yard is in disrepair during the non-winter times? Plus, it’s an issue of private property rights. Perhaps someone with a clean yard can pick up on the new tradition of building a Snowzilla elsewhere.
As to the question of how the top and middle levels are put on, consider how folks in Bethel, ME, build their snowman – this year a massive structure named “Olympia” (after Senator Olympia Snowe” – which includes arms constructed of 28 foot trees. Yeah, it is that big. World record is what they claim. Around 200 feet tall.
After reading about this fella…..who has OCD obviously…..he and the city are in pissing contest that really has no winner.If it were another person who had a nice yard and paid their taxes……..we would not even be talking here about this………
Akoura:Admittedly, Snowzilla improved the looks of his place as it hid some of the eyesores,
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One mans “eyesore” is another’s “Christmas tree” as reported by a mudflatter his/her landlord chopped their tree down for the mayor.
*****
austintxNo Gravatar (07:09:17) :
After reading about this fella…..who has OCD obviously…..he and the city are in pissing contest that really has no winner.If it were another person who had a nice yard and paid their taxes……..we would not even be talking here about this………
He’s having enough problems.
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EXACTLY! If this guys home was “shiny brite” there wouldn’t be a issue. Who knows he might be disabled, whatever, if he owes back taxes (and who would know unless they actually checked!)
Live and let live, thank god he’s not a renter, b/c y’all run him out of town. Merry christmas!
I had occasion to visit a neighboring property to Power’s home a few days ago. His new start of “Snowzilla” spills onto the sidewalk and into the public street. This neighborhood has little on-site parking, so homeowners must park on the snow-cramped street, creating a 1-lane thoroughfare in front of his home at the best of times. There is so little room in Power’s front yard to begin with, and he has it crammed with junk cars and debris. Add a 16′ snowman, and there is absolutely no fall zone for this thing that wouldn’t involve a crushing ice mass falling into the public street or neighboring yards and houses. I’m all for the Christmas spirit, but you have to see this site and really use your brains and think about what happens if this falls on a kid, a neighbors house, parked cars, etc. The city is right.
Who wants to join me in sending Snowzilla’s neighbor’s lumps of coal for their stocking’s?
Someone says “oh he doesn’t have all his junk in one little place like everyone else” ugh, that pretty much says it all, snowzilla’s homeowner isn’t like “Everyone else” And for the “sky is falling” what if this happens and that happens? It up to people to keep their children or cars away from what they perceive as a unsafe place. Meaning you should pretty much garage your car and keep it there, b/c the roads are really unsafe places.
I see many trees in the picture that are quite tall, if loaded with snow could quite possibly fall on a car, a neighbor’s house, so better cut all the gosh darn tree’s down, just in case.
No AKM right…. For Frosty the Snowman, had to hurry on his way,
But he waved good-by sayin’ “Don’t you cry, I’ll be back again some day.”
(and add the new verse) “Unless he lives in Anchorage, in which case the traffic cop becomes a City Code Enforcement Officer, and Frosty will be declared a nuisance and decapitated in front of the children who brought him back to liiiiiiife…..”
Lumps of coal delievered to Anchorage…..via “Bah humbug!”
Whether or not the city was right since it is already done is now sort of a mute point. They did it.
But it will be interesting to see what Anchorage has welcomed in the way of people applying for permits to build snowmen or decorate their homes within the city limits to make sure they too are not the next house policed in some way or another for having been on the wrong side of their neighbors or the city!
By lacking compassion and creativity in their solution, they just opened up a big fat can of paranoia on the part of those citizens who may not feel inclined to receive a pass from the city on anything for being different in anyway!
It is sad but not surprising!
SP in Wasilla managed to work around city codes and somehow did not get shut down. Yet an eccentric man who may or may not have some extenuating social/personal issues which might constitute a need for community support is treated like a nuisance rather than a human being!
Even sadder is that people use to move to Alaska because it was the one place that did not behave like the lower 48 with over-legislation and a nasty spirit toward its fellow man. It is taking people like AKmuckraker to keep the national arena from believing that the state has totally lost its mind!!
It is stuff like “Snowzilla” and “Govzilla” that make what used to be a great place to get away to in need of the make over those seeking change and truth are now fighting to achieve.
(Rant off)
Ok reading on Alaska Dispatch this stands out:
Billy Ray says. “My old house is a rough old house. I’m a welder and I’m a blacksmith. I have hobbies. I’m on the poor-boy program here. I’ve had beyond the normal amount of stuff in my yard. I admit that. But this issue with the city is all because one of my neighbors has made it her career to cause me problems.” Alaska Dispatch’s headquarters aren’t far from Billy Ray’s home and we can attest to the fact that more than one neighbor doesn’t care for his yard or Snowzilla. On the other hand, this is Anchorage, Alaska, as Billy Ray says. Residents aren’t particularly known for keeping up their yards.
I had parents like that. If they didn’t like someone they would harass the hell out of them, calling the city, the police anyone, until they could get them to move…Yes move. People need to MYOB!!!! Billy, who can I send the multiple chucks of COAL to????
UPDATE: Snowzilla Reborn
Snowzilla rises from the dead
There wasn’t a picture of the rebirth, yet!!
Yeah! Like the phoenix rising! Go Snowzilla, and the elves that helped!
Bah humbug to you coal eaters!
Does the dump truck run ??? If so…..run out to the infamous turkey farm and fill that sucker up with turkey poo and park it right on the shared property line with Ms. Hall Monitor…..is there a rule against storing fertilizer for spring planting ??
I wonder … and I am really wondering, I have not formed my own opinion yet.
If it had been a giant Jesus snow sculpture instead of a snowman, or a sprawling snow nativity scene, would the neighbors have still complained? Would the city officials have handled the matter in the same way?
Sarah has Joe the Plumber …….we have Billy Ray….let’s get it on!!!!!