Reader's Corner Contributions to Lancaster Farming's “Header’s Corner" are welcome. The article that follows was written by Wendi List, a senior environmental studies student at Manheim Central. Many years ago there was a wind that swept across the state of Pennsylvania and deposited a seed deep in the earth of Lancaster County, As the seed matured, its roots permeated the soil and made it fertile and fruitful. A man and his family then settled on this land and farmed it, he called himself a farmer. This fertile soil, the seed of agriculture, became a vital resource to the farmer and the nearby community that had since settled there, for through its fertility it provided the countrymen with food, clothing, shelter and security. Historically, the community depended on the farmer, and the farmer was dependent on the community. Manheim developed as such a com munity. It was a small town surrounded by abundant farm land and protected by the people who depended on it. This in teraction between the farmers and the community is a stable relationship even today. It is largely responsible for the organization of the Chiques Creek Watershed Project, for damages to both farm land and borough properties led to the initial movement of this existing en vironment project. What is a watershed association such as the one beginning in Manheim’ The Chicques Creek Project Explained YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW, EVEN DURING A FERTILIZER SHORTAGE. You count on a lot of things to give you a good return. From expensive farm equipment to the right amount of sunshine. But this year more than any other, your fertilizer investment is going to make the difference. Right now were all struggling against the fertilizer shortage. So the quality you use becomes even more important than the quantity. And Royster is doing something to help you get the best. There’s still no way we can promise you’ll get all the fertilizer you want. But this year, we’re manufacturing more Bonanza Crop Specials. It’s our finest fertilizer. And it’s your insurance that you’ll get the greatest return on every dollar invested. Bonanza Crop Specials are supercharged with specific definition of such an organization is very simple, however, the implications of such an association are rather complex. First of all. a watershed comprises all the land that is drained into a specific stream or river. In Manheim, we arc speaking of the Chiques Creek and the Rife Run tributary. The watershed association is entirely a local project, not a government project, with as little political procedure as possible. It is an active organization made up of the people who live where the problems exist. They are concerned in dividuals who realize we must not exploit our environment, but protect it from the deterioration that has existed for over two hundred years. We can no longer do what our ancestors have done when faced with the depletion of their resources: abandon our farms and homes and pioneer new lands. Too many people are gambling with the environment we presently occupy, and not enough people are striving to preserve it. An environment is a vulnerable process, if it is healthy and pleasant, just introduce a corrupting species and its natural balance will easily be destroyed by the human, animal and industrial wastes that contaminate its waters and soil, by the erosion and run-off when it blocks streams with the deposition of sediment, and by the indiscriminate commercial and residential development that defaces all aesthetic values. There will also exist the inability for the environment to support 500 Running Pump Road, Lancaster PA 17601 Phone 717-299-2541 Call Royster for the name of your nearest dealer .micronutrients. Because some crops use higher amounts of one or more micronutrients than others. And sometimes an area is deficient in certain micro nutrients. That’s why we make Specials for every major crop in every market we serve. And that’s 13 crops in 20 states. Our Bonanza Crop Specials are such a valuable investment we even wrote a booklet about them. To get yours, write Marketing Services, P.O. Drawer 1940, Norfolk, Virginia 23501. Or better still, visit your friend in the fertilizer business. Your Royster dealer. He’ll help you make a good fertilizer investment. Because he knows when you put good things into your land, you expect good things back. m / Company / wildlife and to store adequate water supply. The association functions to overcome the deterioration and protect our own interests and those of our descendants. The watershed project is working to conserve our natural resources, to practice good environmental stewardship It functions throughout the natural boundaries of the watershed, which could drain only a few hundred acres or many square miles. The area involved in our study is Manhcim and northern Lancastcr- County. This is approximately 250,000 acres located above the present White Oak Dam, north of Manheim When the project was first undertaken, our basic challenge was erosion, flooding, and the protection of the flood plain, on which Manheim directly lies. The Manheim Borough Council first submitted an application appealing for assistance under the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act to Pennsylvania’s State Soil and Water Conservation Commission. The program’s objectives were to prevent flood damage and to improve economic lease. The type of watershed treatment would be dam sites, and technical assistance was believed to be needed. There are many agencies and available help which can deal with the complex organization of a watershed association. However, today the protection of our vital resources is so urgent, for every day the increasing population makes more demands on our environment, that the problems often exceed the scope of the agencies. The agency’s power is often hindered by political restrictions and the Lancaster Farming. Saturday, March 8,1975 problems do not stop, for they have no political boundaries. Neither does an association to any great extent and it is for this reason that a citizens’ action is more effective, and the agencies arc only used for technological knowledge and for counciling. Manhcirn Borough first held a public meeting before the submission of the application. This is a most important step in any organization, for its success is in direct proportion to the amount and degree of public involvement, At present the project is co-ordinating a conservation education program, involving en vironmental students. Students write news articles, some are constructing models of the watershed, others are collecting data such as water quality analysis, flow measurements, water table records, etc. A lot of this work is done by chemistry students. Students in the environmental class of Mr. Flick and Mr. Wenger at Manheun Central High School, were in volved in a field trip to collect data for a county-wide survey on the Chiques Creek, material that will certainly be used for the association’s educational goals. The approach of the educational program is completely constructive, it is for improvement, a broad educational crusade. Hurricane Agnes was the decision-making event for this project. It clearly demonstrated the flood situation during the summer of 1972. The total damage cost was approximately 1.5 million dollars. These damaging floods must not continue. We must place proper checks on our environment or suffer the consequences. Youth Calendar Saturday, March 8 York County 4-H Fun Night at the 4-H center in Bair - 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, March 12 12 - 15th 4-H Expo at the Park City Shopping Mall. Friday, March 14 Manheim FFA Banquet at the Manheim High School cafeteria beginning at 6:45 p.m. Upcoming Events Tuesday, March 25 Thomasville 4-H meeting at the 4-H Center in Bair. Wednesday, March 26 Lampeter-Strasburg Future Homemaker’s Easter Egg Hunt for the faculty’s children at 4:00 p.m. AT HOME If you re an average homemaker your feet cam vou about 10 miles a da\ and take 1 500 tons of jolts An active child takes 30 000 steps a dav a distance equal to twelve miles Most healthv people are comfor table in a house when the tem perature is 68 degrees About seventv percent of all homemakers suffer eve defects COMPLETE mi PAINTING WE USE BRUNING QUALITY PAINT AND IT DOES STAY ONi" AERIAL LADDER EpUIPMENT: * Modern and Efficient Method * Reasonable Prices * Spray On and Brush In Method + Sandblasting if Necessary FOR FREE ESTIMATES WRITE DANIEL S. ESN (C RALPH MILLER) SPRAY ON AND BRUSH IN PAINTER BOX 350 A RONKS PA 17572 9
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