—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, Oct 23, 1976
24
Agriculture-Industry banquet features award winning diver
LANCASTER - The
Agriculture Committee of
the Lancaster Chamber of
Commerce will sponsor the
Sixteenth Annual
Agriculture-Industry
Banquet at 7 p.m., on
November 11, at the Farm
and Home Center, 1383
Arcadia Road. Stanely
Musselman, chairman of the
Chamber’s Agriculture
Committee, notes that
Lancaster County has a very
strong and stable economy in
Land
[Continued from Page 23]
in the Governor’s interim
report that a graduated
income tax might replace
the present real estate tax
structure. The idea is “to
spread the tax load evenly.”
Concluding his presen-
tation, Munson said that all
of the concepts (im
provement of cities,
preserving farmlands,
managing flood plains, tax
reform, regulation of large
scale developments, and
direct state investments,)
are all inter-related.
George DTlio, chief
planner of the Lancaster
County Planning' Com
mission, was next on the
program.
“We’re looking at land-use
now as one entire county,”
the civil engineer announced
while holding up a large map
of what the Garden Spot may
look like by the year 2000.
While explaining what steps
are being now to plan for
growth, D’llio emphasized
that the proposals are
written on paper - “they’re
not concrete or steel.”
Changes probably would be
made within the present
proposals, studies are still
underway, and meetings
such as this one are being
called to get ideas and
responses from local
citizens.
“The significance of these
meetings is that we’re here
to receive your ideas on
basic problems,” DTlio
declared. The goal is having
a greater input of ideas on
how to handle land-use
considerations at the state,
county, and local level.
In a question and
discussion period following
the formal portion of the
program, the question was
raised as to why it wouldn’t
be possible for houses to be
Land use hit
MOUNT JOY, Pa. - State
Senator Kenneth Brandt,
Elizabethtown, attended a
land-use meeting here on
Thursday, night, expressing
some reservations about the
program.
He warned the small
audience (just 15 people,
with most of them being
students) that the land-use
recommendations could
become law much sooner
than they realize or believe.
According to official
spokesmen of the interim
policy report, there’s no
definite timetable for the
program, but Brandt says
otherwise. “Their objective
is to have something before
the state legislature within a
year,” he told Lancaster
Farming in a telephone
interview on Friday mor
ning. He further said that the
comparison to other counties
in the United States. This is
due in part to the blending of
agriculture and industry.
Consequently, this night
prior to Farm-City Week is
set aside for members from
both the agriculture and
industry communities to
convene for an evening of
fellowship and relaxation.
The featured speaker of
this year’s banquet is
William “Smokey” Roberts,
local underwater diver and
use
built in-the woods at proper
intervals - suggesting that in
this way.houses could be
built away from farmlands
while still preserving the
beauty and ecological values
of woodland at the same
time. Munson and D’Hio
quickly responded that-the
problem would primarily be
one of “support” - meaning
water, schools, police, etc.
Also, the cost of such homes
would be prohibitive to most
families.
Inquiring various times on
the concept of transferring
“development rights,” the
audience found out that the
idea would “spread land
profits and prevent a
developer from buying
cheap and selling dear.”
Also, this concept would
definitely have an effect on
the price of housing units.
“They’d go up,” Munson
answered unhesitatingly.
A doctor’s wife and
resident of the southern
Lancaster County area
commented firmly that “the
land should be made to
support itself.” Both she and
several others in the group
were of the opinion that if the
farmer received a better
price for his products, he
wouldn’t have the temp
tation or pressure to sell his
jand. “Raise farm prices so
the farmers can afford to
stay in business,” the lady
declared. In her remarks she
cited a Penn State Univer
sity study which allegedly
concluded that once the price
of land surpassed a value of
$lBOO per acre, a farmer
starting out could no longer
make ends meet. The value
of an average acre of land in
Lancaster County is pegged
at just under $l7OO, with
many sections of the County
commanding prices much
higher than that.
land-use proposals, as
they’re written now, could
very well be the final ones,
like it or not. Brandt feels
that some changes still need
to be made, and urges far
mers to speak up.
The Lancaster County
legislature also charged that
the state planning and
development people are
“going all put” to tell about
their plan, but are by
passing the farmers. As
evidence of this, he noted
that the current meetings
are being called during the
farmers’ busiest time of
year. On top of that, he
added, “many of our far
mers are currently involved
in the promotional project at
Park City.”
“Zoning is a very viable
land-use tool, that’s the way
it should stay - locally,” he
concluded.
photographer. Roberts is the
owner-operation of the
Diver’s Den and a partner of
Berghman’s and Roberts
Productions. As an un
derwater diver and
photographer, he is in
ternationally known for his
work in commercial
productions and undersea
research for both private
and government bodies. He
was the recipient of the
“Diver of the Year” award
This is one of the many markers placed at the
ends of each mall telling the shoppers which area
of farming was represented in that section of Park
City. •
SIXTEENTH ANNUAL AGRICULTURE-
An opportunity for rural and urban people to share in an evening of fellowship
Guest Speakers;
Agriculture - J - Robert Kindig, Pres., Lane. Co. Daily Herd Improvement Assoc.
Business -
Featured Speaker -
Program -
Entertainment - Lancaster High School Stage Band
Reservation Form - return to
Enclosed is my check for ticket(s) at $5.50 per person, for the 16th Annual Agriculture-Industry
Banquet, 7:00 P.M., November 11,1976 at the Farm and Home Center.
NAME(S)
ADDRESS
(City) (State) (Zip)
Your ticket(s) will be sent to you by return mail. After November 4, please pick them up at the
Chamber of Commerce office. Please make your check payable to the Lancaster Chamber of Com
merce.
dersea explorer Jacques
Coasteau.
Roberts will present his
own 16-minute color film
entitled “Truk Lagoon”,
which depicts the exquisite
beauty of this underwater
ship graveyard where the
Allies sank over 100 ships of
the Japanese Fourth Fleet.
Over the years, nature has
transformed the twisted
metal into exotic .gardens of
delicate, _soft coral,
inhabited b ned brilliant
INDUSTRY BANQUET
Sponsored by Agriculture Committee of the
Lancaster Chamber of Commerce
7:00 P.M., Thursday, November 11, 1976
Farm and Home Center
Wilson D. McElhinny, Pres., Lane. Chamber of Commerce
William Roberts, Underwater Diver and Photographer
Color Film: '"Truk lagoon"
Mr. Stanley Musselman
Chairman Agriculture Committee
Lancaster Chamber of Commerce, 30 West Orange Street
P. 0. Box 1558 Lancaster, Pennsylvania 17604
(Street)
As is customary, there will
be brief addresses from
representatives of the
agriculture and business
community. Chamber
president Wilson D.
McElhinny, president of the
National Central Bank, will
represent the business
community. Representing
the agriculture community
will be J. Robert Kindig of
Conestoga, Rl, president of
the Lancaster County Dairy
Herd Imrpvovement
Association. Entertainment
for the evening will
be provided by the 20-piece
Lancaster High School Stage
Band.
Advance reservations are
required for this event.
Banquet tickets are $5.50 for
the full course dinner and
may be purchased at the
Lancaster Chamber of
Commerce prior to the
event.