Headlines
Bed Sheet Banners No Longer Allowed in Oxford
By Alyssa Schnugg
News Editor
alyssa.schnugg@hottytoddy.com
The Oxford Board of Aldermen approved a change to a local ordinance Tuesday that will ban bed sheet banners from hanging on homes in residential and commercial areas.
The board voted unanimously to add the words “bed sheets (tarps or other large expanses of material) ” to section 7.2.5.2 of the city’s Code of Ordinances that currently reads “Pennants, spinners, streamers, balloons and similar devices shall not be permitted upon any property or attached to the exterior of any building, upon any pole, tree or other structure.”
The debate came up a couple months ago when Alderman Janice Antonow said she wanted to prevent the handmade bed sheet banners that are often put up during football season when it’s a home game and often times contain vulgar messages.
Antonow had previously suggested banning anything from hanging off the house, which would have included the American flag. If a flag was on a pole, then it would no longer have been considered a banner.
There is no distinction in the city’s code between a flag and a banner. The city cannot regulate content.
However, the suggestion was made in a work session last week to simply add the words “bed sheet” to the existing section. The Planning Department included the word and presented the change to the Board Tuesday.
After the vote, Alderman Ulysses “Coach” Howell stood up and took out his Saints banner and said he was happy he could still hang it from his house since it was not a bed sheet.
Antonow playfully replied, “Well, if you think you’ll have a need to hang it,” teasing her fellow aldermen, which invoked several chuckles.
The aldermen tabled other technical changes to the city’s code for temporary signs after Aldermen Rick Addy said he felt the allowed size for temporary signs was too large and should be reduced. The current ordinance allows the signs in some zoning districts to be 32-square feet.
“It should be reduced to about 24-square feet and even that seems big,” he said.
| Mon, Nov 4 |  | vs Long Island University | W, 90-60 |
| Fri, Nov 8 |  | vs Grambling | W, 66-64 |
| Tue, Nov 12 |  | vs South Alabama | W, 64-54 |
| Sat, Nov 16 |  | vs Colorado State | W, 84-69 |
| Thu, Nov 21 |  | vs Oral Roberts | L, 100-68 |
| Thu, Nov 28 |  | vs BYU | W, 96-85 OT |
| Fri, Nov 29 |  | vs 13 Purdue | L, 80-78 |
| Tue, Dec 3 |  | @ Louisville | W, 86-63 |
| Sat, Dec 7 |  | vs Lindenwood | W, 86-53 |
| Sat, Dec 14 |  | vs Southern Miss | W, 77-46 |
| Tue, Dec 17 |  | vs Southern | W, 74-61 |
| Sat, Dec 21 |  | vs Queens University | W, 80-62 |
| Sat, Dec 28 |  | @ Memphis | L, 87-70 |
| Sat, Jan 4 |  | vs Georgia | W, 63-51 |
| Wed, Jan 8 |  | @ 23 Arkansas | W, 73-66 |
| Sat, Jan 11 |  | vs LSU | W, 77-65 |
| Tue, Jan 14 |  | @ 5 Alabama | W, 74-64 |
| Sat, Jan 18 |  | @ 17 Mississippi State | L, 81-84 |
| Wed, Jan 22 |  | vs 13 Texas A&M | L, 62-63 |
| Sat, Jan 25 |  | @ Missouri | L, 83-75 |
| Wed, Jan 29 |  | vs Texas | W, 72-69 |
| Sat, Feb 1 |  | vs 2 Auburn | L, 92-82 |
| Tue, Feb 4 |  | vs 10 Kentucky | W, 98-84 |
| Sat, Feb 8 | | @ LSU | 7:30 PM SECN |
| Wed, Feb 12 |  | @ South Carolina | 6:00 PM SECN |
| Sat, Feb 15 | | vs 17 Mississippi State | 5:00 PM TBA |
| Sat, Feb 22 |  | @ Vanderbilt | 2:30 PM SECN |
| Wed, Feb 26 | | @ 2 Auburn | 6:00 PM TBA |
| Sat, Mar 1 |  | vs 12 Oklahoma | 1:00 PM TBA |
| Wed, Mar 5 |  | vs 1 Tennessee | 8:00 PM TBA |
| Sat, Mar 8 |  | @ 6 Florida | 5:00 PM SECN |