Religious signs in front of Plymouth house rankle neighbors

PLYMOUTH, Mich. (WJBK) - A Plymouth man has turned his front yard into a billboard to the dismay of his neighbors.

In one neighborhood there are manicured lawns, beautiful homes and one house you can't miss. It is making neighbors mad but there isn't anything they can do about it. 

"We invested in some beautiful blinds this spring because it was absolutely devastating every morning and see 'Heed the warning or perish,'" said neighbor Vicki Nicol. 

They wake up every morning to a rotating collage of strongly worded signs.

"When you have words like heed, perish, death, those are threatening words," Nicol said. "But I can't say anything about that."

The signs have multiplied since Vicki Nicol and her husband asked James Cischke to take a big one down last summer. 

"He simply said he was sorry we were offended but said this is his right," Nicol said.

The city of Plymouth has a limit on sign size but not quantity. Cishke's wife is the city treasurer there. 

To get in line with ordinance, he remade the signs to be 4 square feet and under.

Cischke didn't want to go on camera but says his message is about protecting the Bible and the U.S. homeland.
 
He says he would rather offend his neighbors than not warn them about the consequences of not following the Bible. 

"Everybody comments why does the city allow this," Nicol said.

Nicol isn't alone in her fight. She got 100 signatures to petition them and spoke alongside other neighbors at the city commission meeting this week.

"Hey let's have a conversation - that failed," she said. "I tried to go through the diplomatic routes, that has failed." 

Mayor Oliver Wolcott says they hear the resident's concerns; they are continuing to review city ordinances. He adds there are a lot of dynamics to this one.