An apparent Halloween decoration that created an online hubbub among some Salisbury Township community members has been removed, township police said Tuesday.
On Saturday, Noel Clark posted a photo of the decoration — a dummy hanging from a noose in the parking lot of the former Mountainside Restaurant & Lounge at 2720 South Pike Ave. — on her Facebook page. In the post, Clark asked, "What is fun and decorative about this image?" and urged friends to report the decoration to township police.
The hanging dummy, unaccompanied by other Halloween-themed decor, could be construed as a form of intimidation by passersby, Clark wrote. "There's no context to it. Seems like its intent is to send a message of intimidation."
Sgt. Don Sabo said police received a complaint about the hanging dummy two days ago and sent a patrol officer to check it out. The restaurant is vacant, so police contacted a real estate agent handling the property's sale, he said.
Shortly thereafter, the decoration was removed from the property, said Sabo, who described it as a scarecrow. A resident who lives nearby had put it up for Halloween, he said.
"It was gone this morning," Sabo said.
The resident is not facing any criminal charges and the case is closed, the sergeant said.
In her Facebook post, Clark said of the hanging dummy, "It is not only offensive it is a safety hazard. I have seen several accidents almost occur because people are so shocked by what they are seeing that they become distracted."
The post drew more than 50 comments, most from folks who agreed with Clark's negative assessment of the decoration. Gretchen Bartholomew commented, "Part of a Halloween display or not! It's not cool! Someone should cut it down! I would complain to the police department! That is NOT OK!"
Bartholomew later noted that she called police, who initially told her they'd received other complaints about the hanging dummy "but because it's not actually hurting anyone there is nothing they can do..."
Clark's post also drew the attention of a local blog, lehighvalleywithlove.com, which asked readers to share their thoughts on the decoration.
Precious Petty may be reached at ppetty@express-times.com. Follow her on Twitter @precpetty. Find Lehigh County news on Facebook.
