Al4—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 17,1980
Lebanon Co.
BY SHEILA MILLER
MT. ZION - “We’re far
from done fighting, even
though it’s coating us
thousands of dollars,” said
Kenneth G. Grumbine after
hearing the decision of
Bethel Township Zoning
Hearing Board members on
Wednesday.
The Wednesday evening
meeting at the municipal
building in Fredericksburg
found close to thirty people
listening to the arguments of
three lawyers involved in
Grumbine’s appeal that the
subdivision plan of Paul and
Mary McCorkle be disap
proved.
The three board members,
after hearing a lengthy
disortation by the Grum
bine’s attorney,
unanimously voted against
the Lebanon County farmer
in favor of the subdivision
plans.
The townhip hearing came
about as a result of a ruling
by Lebanon County judge G.
Thomas Gates on April 17.
After having been told by
the zoning board that it did
not have jurisdiction to hear
the appeal of the Grumbines
on the approval of the
subdivision plan, the
Grumbines decided to take
the local township zoning
board to court.
All witnesses were served
subpoenas and were present
that Thursday morning, but
they were never called on to
testify. After a recess, Judge
Gates ruled that “Mr. and
Mrs. Grumbine alleged that
they are aggrieved by the
action of the governing body
of Bethel Township in ap
proving the development
plan of the McCorkles.
Therefore, their appeal to
the Zoning Hearing Board
was proper under the
Municipal Corporation Code
above referred to, and the
Board erred in refusing to
hold a hearing.”
The Grumbmes and their
attorney packed up their
piles of paperwork and
waited for May 14 for the
hearing they requested
months and one courtcase
earlier.
The formal rulings by the
township do not seem to
discourage the Lebanon
County farm family,
however.
Kenneth and Pauline have
been fighting this neigh
boring development for over
a year and a half. They’ve
attended township meetings
and planning meetings each
month, hitting sometimes
two meetings a month in
order to stay on top of the
situation.
The Grumbines told
Lancaster Farming the
trouble started in July, 1978,
when the neighboring farm,
owned since 1955 by Lydia
Muth, was sold to McCorkle.
According to Grumbine,
McCorkle, called a gen
tleman farmer by some,
bought the 14 acre property
for $78,500, and would have
probably run it up into the
sloo,ooo’s.
Grumbine said a number
of his friends told him he
should buy the little farm
when it went on the block,
but he said he didn’t feel it
was worth the price.
Grumbine, in his 50’s, and
his father before him, far
med the small farm and was
familiar with what it could
produce.
“I was hoping someone
who wanted a farmette
would buy it, and keep it as a
farm,” he said. “Mrs. Muth
wanted to keep the land in
farming—she wouldn’t even
sell her children lots.”
But McCorkle, who is a
home builder (Hi the side,
bought the property and
started planning an eight lot
housing development. The
plans for septic systems,
erosion control and storm
water management were
submitted to the township
and the Lebanon County
Planning Commission for
review.
The plans did not just
breeze through, said
Gmmbme, because he and
his wife fought the
development, sometimes
single handedly.
They watched and wit
nessed a civil engineer domg
the percolation tests for the
lots, said Gmmbme. “We
talked to John Divmey while
he was there, and he told us
the holes all failed for
conventional and sand
mound sewerage disposal.”
farmer fights for equal rights
Not satisfied with the
report of that engineer,
McCorkle hired a new firm.
Surprisingly, the report did
an about-face and now the
test holes passed.
The new engineering crew
did not condone the
“inquisitiveness” of
Gmmbine, however, and
ordered him off the property
while they did the testing.
“They put up no trespassing
signs, but I watched them
through my field glasses. ’ ’
According to Gmmbine,
he watched the new crew for
four hours, and after they
initially filled the test holes
with water, no more was
added in the three and a half
hours they were testing.
From die start, Gmmbine
said, he tried to work with
the Soil Conservation Ser
vice’s Karl Hellerick “so
that McCorkle would keep
his water on his side, but
Hellerick wouldn’t
cooperate. He said he’d
cooperate with the
developer, but not both of
us.”
Grumbine had cooperated
with the former owner,
Lydia Muth in 1976 when
they installed a diversion to
control water from his fields
and her garden.
Grumbine had worked
with SCS in 1960 when he got
their help in installing tile
drainage in his meadow.
“Now, what good has
draining that meadow done.
'All the water from the
development comes across
the road and makes my
meadow a swampy mess,”
said Grumbine.
“My wife does 99 percent
of the milking by herself.
That’s the reason why we did
the tiling in the first place, to
get nd of the mud so the
cows wouldn’t be dragging
their bags through it. She
has to wash each teat and
wipe each one with a
IHINKOFITASAGUSS OF WIDER
THAT WONT BREAK OR GO DRY.
Simple, bnght ideas make Shenandoc
products better Like our valves and ti
For proper dependable watenng, the
simply has to work full time So cur hit
sensitive water level control makes sui
water doesn't go down And fewer me
parts mean there's Jess chance of it brt
down Then there are the little
ences we build in like heavy duty
frames and stainless steel troughs that
our waterers so durable And your job
so easy
Kenneth and Pauline Grumbine, R 2 Myerstown, survey the stone ditch that
brings water from the McCorkle retention basin (behind the red barn) along the
property line and finally dumps it into a culvert under Long Lane. The water
keeps the Grumbine's pasture and area in front of the barn a “muddy mess” for
their cows to walk through.
I
“We don’t h*
looked over their hi
separate towel. But with all
their water, what - was the
use?”
Grumbme is not only upset
that the water is making his
meadow back into a swamp,
\
I
t 1
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of dairy cows, housed downstream from the dam
he said he is also afraid it Grumbme bam, with both
will get mto his bam. emergency spillway and
The retention basin that pipe outlet aiming toward
was installed on th > Me- his building like a gun.
Corkle property outlets Since the retention basin
directly toward the (Turn to Page Al 5)
EQUIPMENT, INC.
’III