At the end of an otherwise routine Crothersville town council meeting on Aug. 5, fireworks erupted.
Hugh Pasley of Moore Street took town councilman Jamy Greathouse to task for not keeping up his property.
“We take a lot of pride in our homes and the town has rules about grass, vehicles, and unkept properties,” Pasley told Greathouse. “And your place looks like hell.”
“With all due respect,” Greathouse replied, “everyone has a story that you don’t know about.”
Greathouse, who lives at 218 West Street, later acknowledged that his grass is high because of wet weather and a broken lawn mower which is waiting for a part to arrive. Additionally vehicles with overgrown grass and shrubs around them are in view.
“Why don’t you hire someone to mow it?” asked Pasley. “There’s a guy who does lawn mowing right next to you,” he said pointing at councilman Chad Wilson.
“With all due respect,” Greathouse repeated, “ everyone has a story you don’t know about.”
Greathouse acknowledged that the town safety board has sent him letters that he is in violation of town ordinances and that he is incurring fines for violations.
According to clerk-treasurer Danieta Foster, Greathouse has been fined $350 since last year but has not paid any fines for the violations.
“If I don’t pay the fines it goes on my taxes,” Greathouse said.
According to Jackson County Treasurer records, the last time Greathouse paid property taxes was in Oct. 2023 and he currently owes $1,441.95. Unless that amount is paid, his property is scheduled to be on the county property tax sale on Oct. 17, according to the county treasurer’s office.
“But until you clean it up, we have to look at it,” said Pasley. “Why don’t you just clean it up?”
“It’s not fair to those of us who take pride in our homes for a town council member not to have any pride,” said Pasley.
“I don’t think you understand what the community is expecting,” said Lenvel ‘Butch’ Robinson, a former town councilman told Greahouse. “Everyone needs to be treated the same, I’d really like to see you clean your place up. You are a town council member.”