The Labor Day Knucklehead Award Marathon Part Twelve

Our Twelfth winner today is the Palm Beach Post's Managing Editor, Bill Rose. He gets the award for the following.

ROYAL PALM BEACH — Some months ago, Jeff George discovered that his neighbors were bothered by the roaring engine in his 12,000-pound Ford F-650 monster truck. So he did what he thought any amiable neighbor should: He cut the exhaust pipe, ratcheting the noise to a higher level.

"I did that for the neighbors," he says, a slight grin crossing his face.

In the quiet community of Saratoga Pines, where lawns come in deep shades of green and are professionally manicured, you're likely to find driveways with Buicks and neighbors walking Chihuahuas.

But George, 26, a self-described millionaire with the physique of a bodybuilder and a hubristic temperament, is not the Pleasantville type.

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Sure, there were late nights when George felt it better to dispose of his fast-food wrappings in his front yard instead of a garbage bin. And his one-time icky green pool that caught the attention of the health department. And the times when his grass would have drowned a dwarf.

But George, whose home is owned by his twin brother, Chris, says he gets "really busy sometimes and I don't live there full time."

To George, who has been arrested five times in the past eight years on charges ranging from assault to disorderly conduct, rules are pliable.

In his world, being contrary comes as second nature.

So, when responding to the more than $15,000 in code violations he has racked up for infractions ranging from illegally parking his behemoth of a truck in his driveway to leaving stacks of tires in his front yard to having an algae-filled pool, George leans back and flashes that slight grin again.

I blogged about Mr. George previously in this post. Why did the Palm Beach Post report this immature bozo's self proclaimed nuisance's actions as front page news? The Palm Beach Post's Ombudsman C.B. Hanif addressed me and other readers who thought the article about George was either unnecessary or shouldn't be front page news.

Managing Editor Bill Rose gives the editors' perspective on all three and has the last word.

1) "Putting the story of Mr. George on the front page in no way glorifies him," Mr. Rose said. "This was a huge flap in Royal Palm Beach. That's why it's news. We cover neighborhood disputes all the time and some of them make the front page. This was a particularly outrageous example. What we do in such cases is gather the facts and present them and let readers make up their minds. We took no stand whatsoever on whether Mr. George is right or wrong."

This article doesn't glorify what George does? Wake up Mr. Rose, this feeds his ego. George will continue with his antics so to be front page and knowing the Post, you'll do it for him. Yes a flap is news, but this is person who would be considered a troll on the internet. You don't feed the trolls, and that goes for Jeff George too.

For giving full press coverage to one immature idiot, The Palm Beach Post's Managing Editor Bill Rose is our 12th Knucklehead of the Day.

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