BY SAUNDRA AMRHEIN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
OXFORD -- Everything from lives to business contracts have been threatened in the Oxford water tower controversy.
City officials learned Wednesday a Hamilton subcontractor hired to erect a fence around the tower before it can be demolished pulled out of the job after clients warned they would cancel their business.
The news comes five days after council members received death threats and eggs were thrown at their homes in protest of the demolition of the tower, an Oxford landmark for 76 years.
City Manager Mark Roath said the demolition's primary contractor, a Pittsburgh firm, has found a substitute fencing company and next week's razing will not be rescheduled.
"I'm not so concerned about the future of this project," Mr. Roath said. "I am concerned, however, with the level of intolerance shown by a few."
Meanwhile, police questioned suspects about death threats, as residents remained puzzled how the rusting hulk generated such anger.
Vandals threw eggs and left threatening notes at the homes of Mayor William Snavely and three council members over the weekend, warning them to stop the demolition.
"I don't know why people are so attached to that rusty old piece of steel," said Todd Henson, 31, a graduate of nearby Miami University. Police made no arrests but lifted fingerprints off evidence left behind by the vandals, Mayor Snavely and police officials said.
The other three council targets included members Ken Bogard, Vanessa Cummings and George Goodell.
William Stitt, spokesman for the Tower Project Committee, a grass-roots group that lobbied to save the tower, advised vandals to "cease and desist."
"The time has come to stop the protest and let the city get on with what they want to do," he said.
The notes left by the vandals said: "Democracy has failed. The peoples (sic) wishes have been denied. You have been punished. Save the water tower or die."
Despite the notes' accusations of tyranny, 60 percent of voters approved tearing the tower down in a nonbinding referendum in November. Council voted 4-2 early this month to hire the Pittsburgh company to do the job.
The rusting 135-foot tower sits on High Street in the business district.
While some will applaud the demise of what they consider an eyesore, its admirers are far-flung.
The tower was long a popular gathering place for residents and students at Miami University, said spokeswoman Claire Wagner.
Cyrus Young, 54, who has lived in Oxford for 29 years, said his son was upset when he heard about the tower's fate.
"He said, "They can't tear down the water tower.' Of course he lives in Chicago and doesn't pay taxes (here)," Mr. Young said.
