Story .. KY Post

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She took a teenager's ball that was in her yard and wouldn't give it back. Now 89 year-old Edna Jester is facing charges.

"I said go ahead and arrest me. Handcuff me if you'd like, because I said I'm not guilty of anything," said Jester, who lives in the Cincinnati suburban community of Blue Ash.

Blue Ash Police arrested Jester for petty theft on Thursday after taking her teenage neighbor's football that was in her yard.
The incident was caught on tape by people across the street who support Jester.

"Taken down and interrogated, a (near) 90 year-old lady. It almost hits home like this is the United States, this can't happen and this is absolutely ridiculous," said neighbor Kevin Pike.

Kelly Tanis has five children and said Jester has taken balls from her children before. So she called the police.

"This time it was a ball that my son had just bought with his own money. He works and he makes his own money, and he bought that ball ,and six days later she took it."

Blue Ash Police said they didn't want to arrest Jester; they just wanted her to give the ball back.

Jester said that wasn't going to happen.

"I was giving it back sooner or later, but not right now so they could make a laughing stock out of me," Jester said.

Neighbors said the issue of where the kids should and shouldn't play has been ongoing for quite some time.

Jester was offered a chance by police to sign a ticket promising to appear in court, but she refused. Right or wrong, she is due in court on Nov. 12.

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hehe. To think of all the elaborate plans we made to get various balls back from our cranky old neighbours next door when we were kids.

I wonder if I could still have the ball back one of our neighbors took.

Now I understand why I am so willing to return toys that ended up in our yard.

When we owned a house, all the neighborhood children played in our yard. It was well lit and they never worried about us keeping their toys.

I have toys of my own and do not need to keep things that do not belong to me.

To think she could have them charged with trespass if they went into her yard, on a repeated basis, to retrieve the football.

I am totally gobsmacked.

Are you gobsmacked that she won't give the ball back?

See I'm gobsmacked that they called the police. LOL POLICE? No wonder the cops whinge about having their time wasted because people are getting their neighbours arrested for things like this .

If I were the cranky old woman, and I just know I will be one day , I wouldn't give the ball back either after they called the police. I reckon they'll hardly chuck her in gaol and she'll become a cult hero down at the senior citizen centre.

Ok, I am gobsmacked that the Police were called. Good grief. Major crime in the city...lol.

Then, I am gobsmacked that they could not apologize to the women for continuously causing the ball to go into her yard and then failing to respectfully ask for the return of the ball. Would it have been so hard to do so?

I am already a cranky old woman so I agree about not returning the ball as the Police were called. I mean really, did they do an all points bulletin and arrive with sirens blaring? What a waste of time and effort.

Frankly, I would not be surprised if there were more to this issue. It sounds like this is an on-going feud that never should have happened.

People need to lighten up.

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People need to lighten up

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That about covers it. I think everybody involved needs to re-think their lives, somehow.

There is a fellow in my town who lives across the road from a soccer field. He has a sign up in his front garden, "We do not return balls." Not only does he not return them, he slashes them with a machete. No wonder he has the reputation for being mean and petty. Yeah Jorge, I'm talking about YOU!

This has been all over our news here in Ohio. There is more to the story ie the fact that these 'innocent kids' have purposely harassed this woman for years and are egged on by the mother who is whining about her *poor son spending his own money*. The neighborhood kids purposely throw things into her yard, including far more than a ball, leave them for days, and then wait for her to complain. She obviously got fed up enough and decided to make a point.

Jerry Springer where are you when we need you ! This sort of stuff gives Americans a bad name but sadly happens everywhere. When Jerry was on TV here at least it made people aware of the pettiness and stupidity neighbours can go to. Jerry hasn't been on for ages and personally I miss it (if only to hear the outstandingly crazy names some people have)

Well, this story was on our local news last night. The elderly woman is quite a gal.

I had a feeling there was more to this story. After all, if the ball keeps ending up in her yard, one would think it was being done on purpose.

I can understand her position. We lived one place where some neighbors used our yard to play football. They had room in their yard but, apparently, felt tearing up our flowers and lawn was acceptable. We finally moved when they started driving across the lawn and using our driveway as a trash can.

Some people just don't have enough to do so they seem to spend their time attempting to make others as unhappy as they are.

Talk about a frivolous case.

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I had a feeling there was more to this story. After all, if the ball keeps ending up in her yard, one would think it was being done on purpose.

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The poor woman - if this is true [ that she's been harassed by her neighbours all this time] no wonder she's turned snarly on them. It's tragic that her last days have to be filled with this sort of common bickering.

From my working days I know that here it is an offence to keep the ball but you need not return it immediately, you can do it at your leisure, at a time suited to you. I suppose if they came and asked you would either need to tell them to come at a more suitable time or give it to them. You cannot just keep it forever.

The boy next door is forever kicking his ball, in fact more than one, into my garden and regularly breaks the glass in my greenhouse. I sometimes wait until I have several before throwing them back. His father repairs my greenhouse.