The city council met on the evening of May 8th for a show cause hearing on Ed Raper’s nuisance property at 522 G Street. City Attorney Betsy Samuelson opened the hearing with a timeline of correspondence with Mr. Raper, indicating that he was served with an abatement notice on March 26th. He responded on March 29th requesting a show cause hearing to prove he was trying to rectify the situation. The initial hearing date had to be postponed when Raper was unable to be served notice; he was served notice of the May 8th show cause hearing on April 25th. Although he had requested the hearing, Raper did not attend.

After World War I, the poppy flourished in Europe. Scientists attributed the growth to soils in France and Belgium becoming enriched with lime from the rubble left by the war. From the dirt and mud grew a beautiful red poppy. The red poppy came to symbolize the blood shed during battle following the publication of the wartime poem “In Flanders Fields.” The poem was written by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, M.D. while serving the front lines.