Article Courtesy of Bay News 9
Published April 19, 2006

For months, Stacey Kelley of Tampa has been fighting with her community association to keep a "support our troops" sign up in her front yard.

Kelley said she wanted the sign up to welcome her husband, Pvt. David Kelley, home during a mid-tour leave. But the homeowner's association, the Westchase Community Association, told her to take the sign down, saying it violates community sign rules.

    

Kelley appealed, and the homeowner's association said she could display the sign at the community's swim and tennis center.  Kelley asked if she could keep the sign in her front yard temporarily, just until her husband's 15-day leave ends. The association said no. "Now I really want it to stay up until his deployment is over," Stacey Kelley said Wednesday. "Until we move back to Colorado, which should be soon, hopefully December or the beginning of next year." David Kelley returned home on leave Wednesday and said he

stands behind his wife in the fight. Kelley said they're getting a lot of support from fellow soldiers in Iraq.

"You're telling somebody they can't show support for, not even just their family, but for anybody else that's there, that's away from their family and personally, I think they're going about it in the wrong way," David Kelley said.

The Kelleys said they don't plan to let the dispute ruin their short time together.

"The army's motto is 'Hurry up and wait' and then 'Always say hello just to say goodbye,' so we're used to it," Stacey Kelley said.

The couple plans to head to Orlando for some R and R, but they will be back for a party planned in David Kelley's honor by their Westchase neighbors.

Meanwhile, the sign stays up while attorneys for both sides try to resolve the issue.