AlO—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 3,1981
Lancaster Farming says...
The time has come for the Com
monwealth to stop wasting money
acquiring land and start investing
funds in saving it.
Today 12.7 percent of the acreage
in Pennsylvania is tied up by the
Game Commission, State Forest, or
State Park departments. While that
doesn’t count federally owned land,
it still represents a 'ot of ground m
the state.
Obviously one function of any
forward-thinking government is to
preserve open spaces If it weren’t
for the City of New York setting aside
the land now known as Central Park,
it's likely there wouldn't be an acre of
open space on all of Manhattan
Island.
But enough is enough
The Game Commission, which
already owns over one million acres
of land in Pennsylvania is gobbling up
additional land at a rate of 22,000
THE “CORRECT”
DISCIPLESHIP
January 4,1981
Background Scripture:
Matthew 5
Devotional Reading:
Colossians3:s-17.
Before each one of these
columns is written, I spend
some time reading and
TO PRACTICE FARM
PONDSAFETY
No doubt most farm ponds
have been a very popular
place during the past week
Ice skating is a very en
joyable form of winter
recreation and most ponds
will attract skaters of all
ages. Pond owners should be
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reflecting upon the
“Background Scripture”
assigned by the Uniform
Lesson Committee.
Sometimes I have to wrestle
with the passage for quite a
while before I find the
perspective from which I
will reflect and write. Oc
casionally, however, my
reaction to the prescribed
scriptural passage is one of
extreme discomfort.
What Christ Expects
That’s the way it was this
week with Matthew 5. The
familiar words which I have
read and heard so many
tunes fell on me as an ac
cusation. How many tunes
I’ve waltzed through these
passages with a fleeting
prepared to rescue anyone
who breaks through the ice
In most ponds there is a part
that does not freeze as fast
and the ice is thinner ; this is
especially true with spring
fed ponds. Rescue equip
ment such as a wooden
ladder, wooden boards or
planks, or an inflated in
nertube with rope attached
should be at the pond. If they
are kept in a nearby
building, it may take too long
to make the rescue. The idea
that another person can go
Enough is enough
acres per year over the past three
years
Acquisitions of state park and
forest land continue at a slower rate
There are at least three negative
aspects to the constant acquisition of
land by the state
For starters, the wrong land is
being saved first There is no big
rush of developers to develop rocky
hillsides, backwoods timber stands
or hilly brush While these lands
eventually may fall prey to
developers, it is the open flat areas
farm lands that are the prime
target for building
Why not use the same money that
would go to buying up Game Land as
incentive payments for farmers to
keep land in agriculture 7
It would be a shame if hunters
some day are forced to chase deer
through farmers' fields because all of
the wooded mountain land is gone,
but it won’t be r> c harl 3C having
appreciation of their beauty
and depth. I’ve loved the
analogies, “You are the salt
of the earth” and “You are
the light of the world” (Matt.
5:13, 14). But somehow this
week the verses im
mediately following them
leaped off the page at me:
but if salt has lost its
taste, how shall its saltness
be restored 7 It is no longer
good for anything except to
be thrown out and trodden
under foot by
men (5 13b,c)
A city set on a hill cannot
be hid Nor do men light a
lamp and put it under a
bushel, but on a stand, and
it gives light to all in the
house (5 14b,15)
As I read these verses it
out on the ice and pull the
victim from the water by
hand is not a good practice;
in too many cases both
persons will end up in the
cold water. Be prepared for
farm pond rescues at all
times.
TO BE PREPARED
WEATHER-WISE
Winter storms continue to
kill folks throughout the
country. Deaths from
automobile accidents, over
exertion, falls, and carbon
monoxide poisoning often
appear in the news media
The first step in preparing
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farmers reduced to cultivating rock
slides because the prime agricultural
land is sprouting buildings.
Second, the Commonwealth pays
no tax on state park land and only 39
cents per acre on game and forest
land.
Money goes 13 cents each to
county, township and school tax
Although recently increased, this
pitance in no way matches the tax
paying capacity of any other acre of
land in the Commonwealth.
ft would be naive to suggest the
state increase its tax on itself And it
could be carping to say the Game
Commission’s proud boast about
operating in the black might not look
as good if the Commission paid its
full share of taxes
Still, wouldn’t it be more fiscally
responsible for the state to save the
land that will pay back the highest
return in taxes first, perhaps using
occurred to me: That’s what
you’re supposed to be but
are you’ Am I really “the
salt of the earth”’ Do I bring
a unique Christian flavor to
the lives of those around me’
Or do I simply reflect the
values of my society?
And am I a “light” for my
world? Or do I simply
contribute to its darkness?
What difference does it
make that I am a Christian.
Then there’s my church is
it the distinctive “salt” and
“light” Jesus expects of his
followers’ Or is is simply
just another institution that
perpetuates itself with a thm
religious veneer’
What The World Sees
There are standards by
for these severe acts of
nature is to be informed by
the Weather Service and to
become familiar with
weather terms. A storm
“watch” means that severe
weather may be coming into
your area. A storm “war
ning” means that severe
weather is headed your way
and immediate action should
be taken to protect life and
property A "blizzard” is the
most severe of all winter
weather. This means a
considerable accumulation
of snow, strong winds, and
very cold temperatures The
BY CURT HAULER, EDITOR
which we can fmd answers to
those disturbing questions
and we need look no further
than Matthew 5. Read this
chapter and then ask
yourself: what is the picture
of disciple of Jesus Christ
that is drawn here? Read the
Beattitudes and ask yourself
whether that is a portrait
your community sees m you,
your church and Christen
dom. While Christians
haggle over “correct”
Christian beliefs, see what
Matthew 5 says about
discipleship: “Let your light
so shine before men that
they may see your good
works and give glory to your
Father who is in heaven”
(5 16). The “light” and the
“salt” are not so much
objective is to be informed
and to be prepared for the
worst.
TO CHECK FOR
FEED WASTE
Feed grain costs are a big
factor in all livestock and
poultry operations. In ad
dition, it appears that gram
costs may go even higher in
the next few years This
means that feed efficiency is
very important in making
any profit. In this article I’d
like to call attention to the
feed that is wasted on too
many farms In some cases
it is faculty feed bunks and
Farm Calendar
Today, Jan. 3
Mid-Atlantic Grange
Leaders Conference,
Embers Motor Lodge,
Carlisle Concludes
today
Tuesday, Jan. 6
Farm tax meeting, Embers
Restaurant, Carlisle, 9.30
a m
Bth Annual Cornell Dairy
Days, Morrison Hall,
Ithaca, N Y Concludes
tomorrow
the income from that acreage to save
the rest?
Third, we would argue that game
lands, while open to all of the people,
actually benefit a relative handful of
the population.
Farm land, on the other hand,
while owned by few, benefits
everyone.
The widespread state parks and
game lands are one of the joys of
living in Pennsylvania. They should
be maintained for posterity as they
are today. But again we would say,
enough is enough
Commonwealth tax dollars would
be better spent saving the land most
endangered by creeping develop
ment, the land which will return the
n.ost to the tax pool; the land which,
in the final analysis, will do the most
good for the most people.
That land is the state's agricultural
base
distinctive beliefs as they
are distinctive acts of love
It’s not enough for a disciple
to refrain from killing, but
also anger and hate
Truthfulness and purity
carry the disciple beyond the
law and moral codes. Love
and magnanimity define
“correctness” more than
any doctrine or creed.
Is this what my neighbor
and my world see in me and
my church?
(INDIA & NEPAL, “A
Spiritual & Cultural Jour
ney,” with Larry Althouse,
March 20 to April 10. For
information. write New
Dimensions Center, Ist U.M
Church, Ross & Harwood
Sts., Dallas, TX 75201)
troughs; in other cases it is
the self feeders that are not
adjusted properly and too
much feed is let down at a
time Operators are urged to
inspect their feed bunks and
feeders to be sure that all the
feed is getting into the birds
or the animals; feed is too
high priced to have it going
any other place Some
automatic feeders that are in
outside feedlots allow strong
winds to blow the grain away
from the feeding bunk; m
this case a windbreak may
help put the gram where the
(Turn to PageA37)
Lancaster County tobacco
show. Farm and Home
Center, youth judging at
10 a m., adult judging at
1 30 p m.
Northeast Weed Science
Society, Philadelphia
Sheraton, 9 a.m. Con
tinues through Thursday.
Stray voltage meeting,
Union Grove School, Rt
625, Terre Hill, two miles
north of Rt. 23,7.30p.m
(Turn to Page A 34)