Trending: Sheriff Cancels Valentine's Day Freeing Men of Romantic Obligations

By Deb Belt

As much of the south and east coast grapples with a nasty winter storm, one sheriff has decided to let last minute Valentine's Day shoppers off the hook.

The Oconee County Sheriff's Office in Georgia has a tongue-in-cheek message on its Facebook page canceling the most romantic day of the year. It's all in the interest of public safety, we presume.

Notice that the delay only applies to the men of Oconee.

The Facebook message says: The Oconee County County Sheriff's Office announces that Valentines Day has been CANCELLED from a line North of I-16 to the Georgia/Tennessee border. 

Men who live in the designated "NO VALENTINES DAY ZONE" are exempt from having to run out and buy lottery scratchers and Hershey bars from the corner stores until February 18, 2014, due to ice, snow, freezing rain.
The post has gone viral, with stories on every media site from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution to "Good Morning America"  and the British Broadcasting Corp., says the sheriff's office.

And more than 100 residents have chimed in to say thanks. Or to scold men who didn't plan ahead and have presents purchased last week.

David Lavender writes: "Thanks Sheriff office now the stress has been relieved."

Not everyone waits to the last minute to search for a Valentine's Day presents, says Sarah Danis. "So lucky that my new hubby Michael was ahead of the game and brought me flowers before the storm!"