jfe Vo-ag class at Lampeter-Strasburg gathers beneath FFA chapter banner following ** “historic” case concerning farm fences. Principals in FFA farm fence case include, from left, “attornies” Randy Houser, Joe Rohrer, Michelle Dean “Judge” George Myers, and “attornies" Mark Heiser and Barry Harnish. Look For The Right One! Vertical-Shaft Pump USED EQUIPMENT 1000 Gal. Badger Vac. Tank 1500 Gal. Clay Vac. Tank 357 Hawk Bill Spreader Tank 3250 Gal. Calumet Truck Mount Spreader Tank 4500 Gal. Calumet Spreader Tank w/Big Tires -1 yr. old (LIKE NEW) "UMO MIME EWNEHT IS OUR ME BUSOESS” F. ERNEST SNOOK RD3 - Box 84, Mifflinburg, Pa. 17844- Phone: 717-966-2736 Pumps any size lagoon with 2:1 slope wall so you don’t need docks or loading platforms. Delivers 5,500 gallons per minute. Driven at 540 RPM from tractor PTO. Heavy-duty 25-inch impellor. 25’ length, with optional extension to pump the deepest pits. Loading pipes and hydraulics included. Also Available In Stock CALUMET DISTRIBUTOR Open Pit Pump Tank Models S-3250, S-4500; injectors available. (Continued from Page Al) the weathered face or hands of someone who spends most of his tune outdoors, the ag audience started to feel more at ease with his opening words. The judge continued: “A fence is not a building. It is not a structure to house livestock; it only encloses them. “Therefore, setback requirements that apply to buildings do not apply to fences. “The State Legislature in Act 1981-43, the Ag Security Law, recognizes the importance of farming and in protecting agriculture against nuisance or dinances preempts these local statutes.” With even deeper tones and conviction, the judge becomes a bit philosophical: “When city folks move to rural areas, they must endure some of the hardships of country life in order to be able to share in the harvest of some of its fruits. “Just as the florist must endure the thorns of the rose in order to enjoy the fragrance of its flowers. “Therefore, I have decided that the farm fence shall remain and the case brought by the township supervisors against the farmer is dismissed.” Various cheers and other ex pressions of approval break forth from the audience. Was this a real court case? No, it wasn’t. But it could well be. The courtroom scene was enacted this week in a vo-ag classroom at Lampeter-Strasburg High School taught by Dick Yencer. “We teach so much theory and abstracts that I try to get the kids involved in the real world as much as possible,” Yencer explained. “We read about this fence controversy that’s taking place in Lancaster County and decided to conduct a thorough research of the matter and a court case. WATER WASHERS for I log. Poultry & Veal Animal Confinement Operations Warwick Hot and Cold Water Washers deliver over 2000 psi of profitable cleaning power for your toughest jobs. Our patented diaphragm pi can’t be damaged by runnu dry' '^/^/^vwvrwickl AUTHORIZED DISTRIBUTOR - SALES & SERVICE FARMERSVILLE EQUIPMENT RD 4, East Farmersville Rd., Ephrata, PA 17522 Located in the Village of Farmersville, Lancaster County 717-354-4271 Lancaster Farming, Saturday, May 21,1983-A35 Farm fences “The only problem was trying to get some of the kids on the non farming side. Some of them had to be talked into it.” The vo-ag class researched the controversy that involves com plaints by suburbanites against a farm neighbor who has reinstalled a fence around some adjoining pasture after the land had been open for a time. The township has construed its zoning oprdinance to say that a fence is a building and thus subject to setback requirements from roads and property lines. Needless to say, this would affect a lot of farm fences that have been erected since the ordinance went into ef fect in 1976 in the township. The judge for the vo-ag court case was George W. Myers, of Willow Street, principal of the Lampeter-Strasburg Middle School. Although he admits he’s not a “sitting judge,” he has some qualifications. He’s a former vo-ag teacher and still manages farms for absentee landlords and is well familiar with suburban-rural controversies that can arise. His son, George Myers Jr., is a corporate lawyer and over the weekend the two consulted as the students’ briefs were reviewed. And, besides Myers was an MP after World War II and was a guard at the Nuremburg War Crimes Trials. And a number of years ago, he taught the parents of some of the class and was well familiar with their commitment to agriculture. And the vo-ag class took their roles quite seriously as the farm fence trial was conducted. “Today, it was only a game,” teacher Yencer explained. “But who knows- five years from now, some of these future farmers may wake up and find themselves involved in just such a situation.” Available with electric or gaso line power and a complete line of special application accessories INC.
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