Cook: The church of the lawn-mowing servants

David Cook

WALKER COUNTY, Ga. – Soon after Dianne Whitlow lost her husband, she began to lose her yard.

Trees and limbs fell during storms and tornadoes. The grass grew and grew. And the weeds. And poison ivy. Trash found its way into her yard. Her deck collapsed. Over time, the small Rossville farm became too much for the 68-year-old Whitlow to manage on her own.

In an effort to clean up the town, Rossville, Georgia, officials told Whitlow – and others, too – that unkempt, overgrown yards would result in fines. Fines, around $100, could double and triple if gone unpaid.

What was the widow Whitlow to do?