The Return of Snowzilla

Snowzilla returned this year, even though authorities in Alaska issued a cease-and-desist order to prevent his appearance.  The gigantic snowman appeared just before dawn on one Billy Powers' front lawn, Tuesday.  Powers denies having anything to do with it; he insists Snowzilla simply surfaced once again.

Powers, the father of seven, and his kids began building the snowman three years ago.  With each passing year, Snowzilla grew by feet, as the Powers children collected snow from neighboring yards.

In 2005, Snowzilla rose to 16' and had a corncob nose and two eyes made out of beer bottles (beer goggles).  This year, Snowzilla is an estimated 25' tall with a black scarf.  While the giant snowman delights some, he incites others, and city officials deemed him a public nuisance and safety hazard.  Mostly, they objected to the traffic he drew.

The mayor's office defended their decision, stating, "This property owner has repeatedly ignored city attempts to find ways to accommodate his desire to build a giant snowman without affecting the quiet, residential quality of the neighborhood.  This is a neighborhood of small homes on small lots connected by small streets.  It can't support the volume of traffic and revelers that are interested in Snowzilla."

Further, they claim Powers "appears to run a junk and salvage operation from his home and has violated land-use codes for 13 years."  They claim he owes the city some $10,000 in fines.  While they refused to take further action until after Christmas, Powers says it's the city that's been obstinate, not him.  He says he has never been confrontational and the city's demands have gone on and on and gotten 'goofier' as they went.

The OddBlog sides with Mr. Powers and finds the city of Anchorage corrupt; their intention is to cash-in on Snowzilla and, failing to do so, are attempting to blackmail Mr. Powers through the courts.  This is another case of the American judicial system being abused by those controlling it and should be stopped.

© C Harris Lynn, 2008