Noise dispute leads to obscene graffiti
BY ANGELA GARY
A lengthy dispute over noise coming from Mike’s Down Under bar in Jefferson has apparently led to an obscene message painted on the side of the building which houses the bar and restaurant. And the owner of the business, Mike Carron, reportedly told police he’s the one who painted the words to “send a message.”
“F… you Retard!” was painted in black letters on the building. It is located on the side of the building that houses an insurance office. Carron’s restaurant and bar are located in the same building.
The statement faces the residence of Bobby Patterson, who has filed numerous complaints about noise coming from the bar. Patterson filed a police report Saturday about the painted words on the building.
According to the police report, Carron was notified by a dispatcher that someone had spray-painted obscene graffiti on his building. Carron told the dispatcher that he had painted the graffiti, according to the police report.
“Mr. Carron told me that he spray-painted the message and he just wanted to send Bobby a message, but that he did not think it was against the law,” the officer wrote in the report.
Monday afternoon, the first two words of the statement had been painted over with only “retard” remaining legible. By Tuesday morning, all of the words had been painted over.
At the Jefferson City Council meeting Monday night, city manager John Ward said the city attorney and district attorney had been contacted about the matter. Ward also said the city is looking into the town’s noise ordinance and the matter would be on the agenda at the May council meeting.
At a city council meeting two weeks ago, Patterson and another neighbor of the bar complained about the noise level. At that meeting, Len Sturkie, who lives one block from the bar, said the noise from Mike’s has caused a “negative quality of life in my residence.” He said it has caused the “windows of his home to rattle.” He added that the noise is “impossible to ignore.”
But Carron said he checks the noise level to make sure it is under the city’s 60 decibel maximum.
At the earlier meeting, Sturkie and Patterson both asked that the decibel level maximum be lowered.
