Cactus or comment? Vent cover now gone

RIVERTON — A homeowner has removed the vent cover that he claimed was abstract art of a cactus and neighbors interpreted as a rude hand gesture pointed their way.

"We're just glad that it's down and over with," said Sharon Easton, who lives up the hill from Darren Wood's house and had a full view of the covering.

The Eastons and Stan Torgersen's family had been in a yearlong dispute with Wood and considered the image a direct message to them.

Wood sent a statement to The Salt Lake Tribune on Wednesday that said his "decision to place the controversial cactus would have made sense to only those involved.

"We as a family are looking forward to seeing this chapter of a third-grade spat come to a close," Wood said, adding that total costs of the construction interruption due to his neighbors' complaints reached $25,000.

The Eastons' and Torgersens' conflict with Wood began as a dispute over site excavation work.