Don't like the Pranke? You're Bowring!

Laughed my Hugh Jass off....

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Halloween tombstones offend neighbors

Nancy Bowring is among a dozen neighbors off Mill Road in Centerville who thinks a Halloween display has unacceptable sexual puns. "I just find it offensive," Bowring says. "I think it clearly crosses the line."

"Yeah, maybe it's inappropriate. I think it's funny," said Heather Pranke, who put up the display. "We haven't done anything wrong. There are no swear words. They are strictly names."

The tombstones have names that allude to sexual organs or acts. The names include: Mike Hunt, Ben Dover, and Phil McCraken -- among others.

The mayor of Centerville said she will be working with the council Tuesday to see if the city can forcibly remove the tombstones. City officials are determining if the the decorations violate the city's nuisance ordinance.

Pranke has refused to take down the display. She says her immediate neighbors have never complained.

"If you don't like it, don't look at it," said Cindy Bohm, she lives next door to Pranke's home.

But at least ten residents from the area have filed complaints with the city this year, and police were called last year to ask Pranke to voluntarily remove the tombstones. She did not.

"When it's right on the street and their (our children's) bus goes right by it, we don't have much to say," said Bowring. Her concern has been her children, who have begun to ask her about the tombstones and the name's meaning.

"An 8-year-old is not going to understand what that means," said Prankle.
But 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS found some children did understand the meaning.

"I like Hugh Jass the best," said AJ Knollmarer, 11 year-old.

Despite the complaints, Pranke said she will keep the tombstones up, until the city forces her to take them down.