By Connie Burcham, Powell Tribune
A Halloween display gone wrong has upset some Park County residents.
The situation was brought to the attention of the Powell Police Department by Jessica Ursuy.
At the center of the discord was a dummy dressed in full sized overalls with the head of a scarecrow, dark in color. The dummy was on its knees, hands cuffed behind its back and a rope around its neck.
Powell Police Chief Roy Eckerdt said officers responded to the call and talked to the residents.
“In our visit with them they said it was intended as a Halloween decoration. The mask of a scarecrow then went to a teddy bear head,” Eckerdt said.
Since then, following a significant backlash on social media, the entire figure has been removed. The residents told police it was to have been the first step in a larger display.
Ursuy, and others, were not convinced. She wrote, “I reported this because I don’t think it was any sort of Halloween decoration. There (weren’t) any other Halloween decorations, pumpkins in or around the yard or house. I refuse to believe that it was some Halloween prank. Even if it was, it was absolutely disgusting. People of color, which includes myself, don’t feel welcome and/or safe when I see something like that on someone’s yard.”
Eckerdt said this sort of incident is uncommon in Powell, and his department doesn’t believe there was ill intent.
