Vulgar Vegetation

An Omaha, Neb., man has a rude message for his neighbors — mowed right into his front lawn.

"When I first saw it, I saw the big 'U,' and I had to back up just to see if that's what it really said," local resident Bernie Horstmeyer told Omaha's KETV-TV.

The two-word, seven-letter, very common expletive stretches about 30 feet across the man's front yard.

Neighbors said the man, identified only by the last name Miller, had long put off mowing his unruly lawn, until the city recently gave him a warning. The pithy phrase appears to have been the result.

"I have three children, and two of them will definitely know what that says. It worries me," neighbor Traci Tunzer told the TV station. "We don't want our children to be around that kind of stuff."

Unfortunately for local residents, the lewd lawn is entirely legal.

"As much as you might shake your head at what kind of reasoning is involved, it's not prohibited," explained Omaha city prosecutor Marty Conboy (search). "A person who wants to make a statement in public that doesn't invoke a violent response is protected by the Constitution."

City officials said the message might eventually violate local ordinances — but only after the grass forming it reaches 10 inches tall.

— Thanks to Out There readers Karen C. and Jennifer S.

Tasty Treats Don't Distract Drug Dog

WABASH, Ind. (AP) — A driver stopped for speeding tried to distract a drug-sniffing dog by throwing dog biscuits from his car, state police said.

Troopers stopped Jong H. Kim, 23, of Overland Park, Kan., along U.S. 24 last Wednesday, but reported that they called for a Wabash County Sheriff's Department dog after he appeared to be very nervous and at one point vomited.

As the dog walked around the car, Kim threw dog biscuits and debris out the window toward the dog in an apparent attempt to distract it, police said. The dog nonetheless indicated the possible presence of illegal drugs in the car.

Kim refused to leave the car and had to be pulled out by officers, police said.

Troopers reported finding about 75 grams of marijuana hidden in the car. Kim was being held Friday in the Wabash County Jail (search) on charges of marijuana possession, resisting law enforcement and drunken driving.

Prison Warden Loses Keys

JACKSONVILLE, Ill. (AP) — Prisoners at the Jacksonville Correctional Center (search) spent four days on lockdown after an assistant warden lost a set of keys.

The set of about ten keys, which was still missing last Friday, included a master key that opens doors to cell houses and two prison wings.

The "high minimum security" institution of 1,400 male inmates was locked down over the weekend of Sept. 9-12 after a search failed to turn up the keys.

"We don't believe this poses a serious threat to the safety of the facility," Illinois Department of Corrections spokesman Sergio Molina said.

The keys could have been lost between April 8 and Sept. 9, Molina said. They were not necessarily lost at the prison and were authorized to be taken home, he said.

The master key also provides entry to prison work camps at Greene County and Pittsfield, he said.

An assistant warden reported the keys missing last Friday. He had given the keys to another employee on April 8 because he was being temporarily reassigned to the department's headquarters, Molina said.

Both employees remained on the job. The department was investigating and disciplinary action was possible, Molina said.

Women Fight for Right to Go Topless

MORAVIA, N.Y. (AP) — Four women arrested after going topless on a downtown street last month say they didn't break any laws and want the charges against them dropped.

The women, each charged with exposure, were to appear Tuesday night in village court. If convicted of the violation they each face 15 days in jail and/or a $250 fine.

Charles Marangola, the attorney representing the women, said he's filed a motion to dismiss the case, maintaining that a 1992 state Court of Appeals decision allows women to go topless anywhere a man can.

"This thing should be dismissed outright," he said. "But if it isn't and these young ladies are found guilty at a trial ... if we have to go to the Court of Appeals, we will."

But Cayuga County Assistant District Attorney Charles Thomas said his office isn't convinced that the 1992 ruling gives blanket permission for women to go topless. Thomas said that in addition to the nudity violation, he'll argue that the women interfered with commerce.

The four women — Carol Clarke, 54, and Barbara Crumb, 61, both of Branchport; Claudia Kellersch, 40, of La Jolla, Calif.; and Madeleine McPherson, 40, of Rochester — were arrested Aug. 11 outside a grocery store in this village of 1,600 just south of Owasco Lake, 40 miles southwest of Syracuse.

Compiled by FOXNews.com's Paul Wagenseil.

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