A judge ordered a haunted maze to follow the restrictions in its temporary business permit, at least until a full hearing on the issue.
For now, the Douglas County farmer operating a haunted maze will have to comply with restrictions placed on him by the Douglas County Commission.
Richard Strong lost the first round of a court fight Friday morning when Douglas County District Judge Michael Malone granted a request by Douglas County for a temporary restraining order against Strong.
If Strong wants to open his haunted maze between now and a final court date at 11 a.m. Oct. 5, he will have to put up a $500 cleaning deposit with the county and close by 8 p.m. each night. A third restriction requiring a chemical dust treatment of the road was waived Wednesday night by the county commission.
As of Friday evening, Strong hadn't been able to get the deposit down yet.
"We're closed down for the weekend and quite possibly the rest of the year," Strong said.
He wasn't sure whether the maze would be open next week, saying "not dark, not haunted, not fun," but he hadn't made up his mind.
"We're not closed for the season yet," he said. "We will wait until the 5th (of October)."The county is suing Strong and his mother, Virginia Strong, saying they are violating the county's zoning rules by operating their haunted maze at 1919 N. 1500 Road without following the county's restrictions.
County-hired attorney Andrew Ramirez said the situation is not "David and Goliath."
Rather, Ramirez said, county officials have tried to find a way to allow Strong's business within the temporary business regulations, which don't specifically mention crop mazes.
"The county is not opposed to fun." The county is not trying to shut him down," Ramirez said. "We're trying to bend the rules for his benefit."
But Strong and his attorney, Price Banks, said they are being asked to get a permit that other similar operations are not.
"The county has singled out my client," Banks said.
Banks would not identify specific people.
"You just have to go into that neighborhood and look around and see what's going on out there," Banks said.
Schaake's Pumpkin Patch is near Strong's farm, as is Pendleton Country Market, both of which sell directly to the public. County Administrator Craig Weinaug said the two farms sell produce and therefore fall under the rules governing agricultural businesses.
Malone's ruling, Banks said, effectively shuts down Strong's haunted maze. Even if he opens, closing at 8 p.m. will kill his ability to make money, he said.
"It's a little tough to have a cornfield maze by flashlight in the daylight," Banks said.
Ramirez argued in court that allowing Strong to operate the maze in violation of his business permit sets a bad example.
"Every day that the event is ongoing " undermines the credibility and police power of the county to regulate activities," Ramirez said. "The way the defendant has proceeded with this is an attack on the process."
Strong said he didn't mean any disrespect to the commissioners.
"I don't think I was breaking the law," he said. "I just didn't believe it applied."
Ramirez told Malone that it did, saying the maze amounts to a haunted house. The failed cornfield in which it is built is incidental to the operation, he said.
Malone must have found the argument convincing.
In a statement that may foreshadow the Oct. 5 ruling, he said the use of a cornfield for a haunted maze does not constitute an agricultural use.
Strong said he is being punished for using his imagination to try to salvage something from his failed crop.
"That's what I get for being different," he said.
-- Kendrick Blackwood's phone message number is 832-7221. His e-mail address is kblackwood@ljworld.com.
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