Residents feel terrorized by neighbor's year-round hostile holiday display

Homeowners on Fairley Road in Ross Township, Pennsylvania, say their neighbor Bill Ansell is terrorizing them year-round with his hostile anti-Xmas spirit. Ansell, an electrician, has a display on his yard that features a beheaded choir, a hanging Mickey Mouse and a urinating Santa Claus that lights up at night. Neighbors Chris and Joanne Hebda said they have had to stare at the unpleasant decorations for the past six years. Fairley Road is a unique cul-de-sac; a circular street with Ansell's house right in the middle, surrounded by six other homes. That makes it hard to avoid his handiwork.

“There was a Virgin Mary here, and he placed a knife through her head, right there on the edge of our driveway,” Joanne Hebda said. “I thought it was a terroristic threat.” To make matters worse, his neighbors say, Ansell also tacked up profane signs all over his house attacking the township and neighbors personally. Years ago, Ansell's home was known for its lustrous lights and dazzling display that attracted many onlookers. But one Thanksgiving, Ansell's neighbor Pamela Heck was so blinded by the lights that she asked him to turn them off while her family had dinner. “It was very unpleasant between us after that,” Heck says From that minor dispute grew a war, according to neighbors. At night, they say he blasts floodlights into their windows. They all feel trapped. Friends and family won't visit them, and worst of all, they can't sell their homes.

Two years ago, Ansell told a local TV station: “I used to have a beautiful Xmas display, they hated it. This is my display now. I don't think it's against the law to exercise your right to have your own display.” The Fairley Road homeowners say they are at their wits end. They have repeatedly called police and complained to the township Board of Commissioners, but so far say they have seen little done. Ross Township has fined Ansell for local code violations, and in a statement the Ross Township said they have "taken and will continue to take appropriate legal action." “The Township has taken and will continue to take appropriate legal action,” said Grant Montgomery, president of the Ross Board of Commissioners. In August 2014, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, upheld a court order requiring Bill Ansell to clean up his yard and take down the vulgar signs.

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To date, Ansell has not complied and township officials won’t say if and how it will enforce the order. The Hebdas said they have repeatedly complained to the township Board of Commissioners, but so far haven't seen anything done. The lack of action is what frustrates the neighbors most. For years, Ross Township has done nothing more than fine Ansell for the debris and signs on his property. But, he has not paid any of those citations. There is currently a 6-month-old court order demanding that he clean up his yard, which he has also ignored. The local government won't say how it will specifically enforce the rules, and the Hebdas aren't waiting around to find out and will be renting their home out for much less than it should be. “It's a move for, you know, for our lives ... to have normalcy again,” Joanne Hebda said. “I had to cash in my retirement. There's no hope here in some ways, and there's no one to help us,” says Chris Hebda.