10 —Lmcasttr Fanning, Saturday, September 8,1970 Comments The conflict between private land ownership and public needs is highlighted on our front page this week. Joyce Bupp’s story about sewage treatment in York County concerns a classic land-use con frontation. The York Sewer Authority is con sidering the condemnation of prime farm land to be used in the spray irrigation of treated sewage effluent. There are unanswered questions about this method of sewage disposal. Short-term studies have shown that heavy metal buildups should not be a problem in soils receiving sewage effluent. Recently, though, public health problems have been emerging decades after the fact of exposure. Soldiers exposed to A-bomb blasts in the 40’s and 50's are dying of cancer. The daughters of mothers treated during pregnancy with DES, a female hormone, are contracting a rare form of cancer. This last finding is one reason the FDA has banned the use of DES as a growth stimulant in cattle feed. Nobody knows for sure if DES in cattle feed will give people cancer. But is it worth the risk? SELF PORTRAIT Lesson for September 9,1979 Background Scripture Exodus 14 through 15; Deuteronomy 26:5-11. Devotional Reading: Psalms 106:1-12. TO GET LIVESTOCK EQUIPMENT The moving and handling of livestock is a very important practice in this part of the state. We have thousands of livestock farms and there is a lot of traffic between farms and other public places. Producers who have the proper equipment to handle their livestock with RURAL. ROUTE e 3 Private ownership vs, Publw interest A little girl was observed to be working diligently at a drawing. “What are you drawing?” her teacher wanted to know. “It’s going to be a picture of God,” replied the little girl without looking up. “But no one knows what God looks like,” her teacher said. “Well, they will when I’m finished!” was her terse reply. Only a child or a fanatic could speak with so much confidence, for “What is God like?” has been one of the enduring questions which human beings have asked from the beginning of time itself. This question has been NOW’ IS THE TIME J minimum stress, will do better in the market place with' less losses. I'm referring to loading ramps, cutting gates, and head gates. All of these can be made on the farm or pur chased from commercial concerns. To handle and treat livestock without this equipment usually means more excitement, bruises, and loss of weight. Become equipped to do the job properly. TO BEWARE OF SILO GAS 'This is not a new thought but is still very important. There is great danger around silos this tune of the Nobody knows for sure if any harmful results will follow from heavy metal concentration on land that’s sprayed for decades with sewage effluent. It's probably safe to use crops grown on that land for livestock feed. But it's not beyond the realm of possibility that more research findings could indicate that such land should not be used for food production. This concerns the farmers whose land is under con sideration. It should concern them. It should concern all of us. Of more immediate concern to the farmers is the loss of farmland that's been in the same families, in some cases, for generations. The Authority says it may lease land, rather than buy it, but it would still control the land. Spraying would be determined by the needs of the sewage treatment plans, not by the needs of the farmers who are working the land. Inevitably, there would be times when the treatment process would leave the land too wet for fieldwork at critical points in the growing cycle. The York County farming community is upset about the prospect of using farmland for sewage the source of much speculation by philosophers and theologians, not to mention the rest of humanity. One result has been the development of a profile of divine attributes, so that we speak of God as being omnipotent (all powerful ), omni-present (everywhere present), omniscient (all-knowing), and so forth. Who Is Like Thee? The ancient Hebrews rarely, if ever, spoke of the attributes of God. They thought of God, not so much m terms of what he is, but of what he does. Abstract words such as “holy” and “transcendent,” meant little year when they are being filled. During the fermenting of the com into silage there is often gases given off; many of these are dangerous and can kill both man or beast. Therefores, everyone working around the silo filling operation must be alert for these gases. They may be present during the filling process and for 10 to 14 days after filling. Most of these gases are heavier than air and have a smell similar to laundry bleaches, (similar to chlorine) Don’t take chances by going into a partly filled silo, without using the blower, or working ' v ' to them. Their concept of God was almost totally' dependent, not upon speculation, but upon ob servation. They focused their theology upon the acts of God, the things they saw him doing in their midst. From these acts, they saw emerge a portrait of the Lord. In a sense, we might say that these were “self portraits,” because in his acts God revealed himself to his people. Thus, when Moses and the people of Israel, upon the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea, sang then: songs to the Lord, they asked that question which was older than the patriarchs them near the silo chute following the filling operation. Gas masks and respirators should be used when the work has to be done. TO IDENTIFY JOHNSON GRASS AREAS Too many farms in this part of the country have some control problems with Johnson Grass. This sorghum-like grass grows very rank and will take over a field in a very few years. A few plants this year without control will result in hun dreds of plants in the area next year. Farmers should mark the area of infection so that treatment can be ap- By Tom Armstrong treatment. They’re upset about the loss of control over their farmland. And yet, there’s a clear need for more sewage treatment facilities in York County. In cases like this, the needs of the public, or at least what elected officials perceive as the needs of thepubhc often prevail. The issue is not between private interest and the public good. Private ownership and control of property has always been considered, in our society, to be in the best public interest. That historic fact has been mangled of late in the meat grinder of condemnation proceedings. The confrontation in York County is not the first of its kind. It will not be the last Pnvate landowners, particularly farmers who haven't the financial resources to wage legal war on those who would take over the control of their properties, may find themselves involved in ongoing battles to preserve their individual rights. That kind of battle is not necessarily a losing fight. But it is a battle that must be fought, selves; “Who is like unto thee, 0 Lord, among the gods?” (Exodus 15:11). And the reply they made to their own questions was centered, not in speculation, but in discerning what God had done for diem; “. . .terrible in glorious deeds, doing wonders,” It is in God’s deeds and wonders that they see who and what he is. , With A Mighty Hand In Deuteronomy 26 we find a ritual of thanksgiving and praise that is focused upon the mightly acts of God. As they place their offering m the hands of the priest, they are to recite a list of the wonderful acts by which God plied properly. On fields where small gram was harvested. The re-growth of Johnson Grass can be sprayed with Roundup when 30 to 36 inches high. In com fields the treatment should be next spring before the corn is planted. Some at tention to the control of Johnson Grass is very im portant. TOSECURE WOODSUPPLY Many home owners are planning to use more wood for heating purposes this winter. This is a national trend resulting in a strong demand for all kinds of wood. Prices are also reflecting this increased Farm Calendar Today, Septembers Bucks County Farm Tours Woodsmen’s Festival at the Green Tree Fire Station, Milton Grove, Pa. York Interstate Fair today through next Saturday. Monday, September 10 Saturday, September 15 Southeastern 4-H District 4-H District horse show at dairy show at Kutztown. Lancaster riding club. has saved and sustained .and you shall them: “ rejoice in all the good which the Lord your God has given to you and to your house.. (Deuteronomy 26:11). Today we continue to ask, “What is God like?” and the speculation of our God-given minds is always a valid means of discovery and revelation. But the approach of the ancient Hebrews is no less valid and helpful: we can still discern who and what God is as we observe and interpret what we see him doing in the self portraits he continues to paint upon the fabric of human experience. demand. Woodlot owners might be m a position to do some tree culling and thinning and realize some extra income from the area. It’s not too early to be get ting this wood on hand or to do some cutting. Since dry wood will give better results than green wood, it will be best to have the wood sup plies cut and drying before cold weather arrives. In my farm visits in recent months I have noticed more and more larger wood piles in the rural areas. Wood' is a replaceable natural resource and deserves some attention in production as well as marketing for fuel saving purposes. Friday, September 14 p a> Egg Marketing Association meeting at the Sheraton-Conestoga Village, Lancaster, beginning at 7 p.m.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers