Tonight Channel 7 News did a short segment about my website and the neighborhood dispute it portrays.

There are some points that I'd like to clear up.

The "Mercers" said they agreed 3 years ago to keep their children inside after 6:30pm on weekdays. In reality, they agreed to keep their children off of the play equipment after 6:30pm. There was no restriction on the children being outside or playing anywhere else.

Jeff and Donna Mercer > Are you Guilty of Lying? Lying vs. Truth: What does the Bible Teach?

The Mercers neglected to mention how many times they cheated on the agreement over the years.

They cheated so much that last spring (2003) I unilaterally offered to extend the weekday time to 7:00pm in exchange for them actually honoring the agreement. They took the 7:00pm and then started pushing that limit too.

Jeff Mercer has even admitted to me that one of his daughters has a "screaming problem" on May 22nd, 2001 and confirmed it again on June 23rd, 2004.

See The Cheating Chronicles.

They said my "demands" were "unreasonable". Is it unreasonable of me to expect them to honor a mediated agreement? An agreement they agreed to and signed?

The Mercers said they "asked" for a further extension in May of this year. This is not true. In 2004 they simply stopped honoring the agreement. Sometimes the children were out on the play equipment until 8:00pm. When I asked Jeff about it, he replied that I needed to be "flexible" and "reasonable" (ie: do it my way).

He then announced they were extending the time to 7:30pm. There was no "asking" involved. A few weeks later he told a police officer they wanted 8:00pm as the weekday cut off time.

The news segment said that I responded by putting up the website after being asked to extend the weekday times. I put up the website after the Mercers continued to allow the children to use the play equipment on Sundays and after 7pm on weekdays, sometimes to 8:00pm. And now, they have been out screaming on the play equipment until after 9:00pm. Our conversation about the agreement this year was on 4/28/2004, and the website went up on 5/31/2004. I allowed plenty of time for the Mercers to reconsider.

I only want 8.33%... Just one daylight hour per weekday where I can use my backyard and have my windows open.

Their whining emotional pleas to the camera were designed to take the attention away from their failure to honor a mediated agreement and their bad decision to put that playground only 8' from my home.

The Mercers have allowed our real names to be aired during the news story. The Mercers have allowed some of the images of their children on my website to be broadcast and posted on the Channel7 website.

I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to my neighbors, who have expressed frustration and concern over the dispute. Please remember, I am the only resident who has to deal with a noise issue like this from another neighbor. I've offered the Mercers more than one possible solution to the problem, all have been rejected. They have refused to mediate, negotiate or offer potential solutions of their own.