Clarksville business causes controversy with slogan - WSMV Channel 4
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The slogan and name of a new tire store is making several of the people who live nearby uncomfortable.
The owner said he is looking to be unique, but it has plenty of people taking sides.
Hell Yeah Used Tires opened several months ago near a school in Clarksville. From its name to the store's slogan, which references used rubbers, it caught the attention of at least one father.
"My job as a dad is to protect my children and make sure that they're getting the right education inside of life and inside of their school," said father Benjamin Syfried. "And they have the right to free speech, but when you run a commercial business - especially being close to a school - you do have responsibilities to community."
Syfried's three children attend Norman Smith Elementary right next door.
"I don't like my children seeing it, and they do every day," he said.
Syfried checked out Clarksville's city codes, but it turns out the sign doesn't break the rules.
"There's no city ordinance that is available to regulate signage unless it is physically mounted in the ground or on the building," Syfried said. "I know that it's a loophole being exploited."
Hoping for common ground, Syfried called the store last week and spoke with the owners.
But that, apparently, didn't go well at all.
The owners, who said no to an on-camera interview Monday, told Channel 4 News they did not intend for the name or the slogan to offend, only to stand out.
And it does, it seems, for at least one wrong reason.
"Our children need to be innocent for as long as they can be innocent, especially being an elementary school there," Syfried said. "And to have somebody just blatantly throwing that out there is taking a little bit of that innocence away from kids."
The owners of the tire shop mentioned a possible solution that would drop the 's' on rubbers.
Syfried said he has his own solution. He will launch a petition to change city code in Clarksville to try to have the sign removed.
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