A2O-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 4, 1992 Burned (Continued from Pago reality —139 cattle, 38 horses and countless smaller animals had burned in the flames. While shock of the tragedy reverberated nationwide and even further, the anger smoldered at home. Aftershock When the smoke cleared, ques tions rose to fill the air—why the Amish, who did this and will they strike again? With this last added fear, sparked by rumors of threats of more fires the upcoming weekend, Mifflin Countians pre pared to protect themselves. Some bought dusk-to-dawn lights, some kept stable lights on all night, some kept vigil in the bam, while others patrolled the roads. But with suspects under watchful con sideration and a heavy snow blanketing most farm lanes, the county signed with relief as the following weekend passed with out any reported incident. Battling the Blazes The evening of the 14th proved \ «*. x >■ \ *'**■* i’S>'!^ On a cool day, the sky threatening to rain, volunteers work on the six Mifflin County Amish barns destroyed In one night by an arsonist. Coming to help with tools in hand, the Mennonlte Disaster Service from Lpnca»t»r provided invaluable help. Mostly coming up daily by van loads, a bus brought volun teers this day, dropping a few off at each work site. With the rafters going up, the roofing crews were scheduled to do their part the fol lowing day. One barn was completed two weeks after the fire, and the other five bams will soon be finished. Bams Rebuilt to be a firefighter’s nightmare. The Belleville Fire Company fought the first bam fire but noticed smoke coming from the neighboring bam. Crews from nearby towns prepared to assist with the first fire but were soon called out to the other fires. With in 90 minutes, 24 fire companies from 4 counties responded to six bam blazes and other attempted fires. Cement bucks from Juniata Concrete hauled water while Snedeker & K.V. Oil companies supplied fuel for the emergency vehicles. The Salvation Army supplied food. Cleaning Up A 1) By Monday morning, clean-up began and, because of the incredi ble response, volunteers cleared most of the damage and had dug footers on three of the farms. More than 300 volunteers, many from the Mennonite Disaster Ser vice, helped. Donations to the “Big Valley Bam Fire Relief’ Fund, started at the Kishacoquillas Valley Bank, will go towards pur- This Is one of the farm lanes traveled by arsonists to bum the bam on the farm in the background. The FBI Is Investigating to see if Amish civil rights have been violated. chasing building materials. Estimates to replace each bam are set at $50,000 with all volunteer labor, not including livestock, machinery or equip ment. As of April 1, the fund at Kish Bank totaled over $400,000 and is closing in on the half a mil lion dollar mark. The tremendous response from the community, state, and even nation has been incredible, almost overwhelming to the Amish. Churches donated Sunday morning offerings; restaurants gave fbod- pick-up trucks brought in loads of potatoes. The Mifflin County Extension Office is accepting donations of hay, livestock and equipment. Ag businesses, seed and fertilizer companies are replacing lost sup plies needed for spring planting. One pony at Keisters Middle burg Livestock Auction was auc tioned off 63 times for a total cash donation of $5,797. Fund-raisers include talent shows, chicken bar beques, and street fairs. Penn State Resolves Ag Land Issue v VERNON ACHENBACH JR. Lancaster Farming Staff UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre Co.) The beef is still at Penn State University. Cutbacks in state and federal support to Pennsylvania State Uni versity and efforts to increase the efficiency of research work within the university’s College of Agri cultural Sciences resulted in dis persals last spring and summer of some dairy and sheep breeds from the college facilities. University expansion plans caused concern among beef cattle producers that the expansion would rob pasture from die PSU beef cattle program and force addi tional dispersals. But such is not necessarily the case. Dr. Erksine Cash, a professor with the Department of Dairy and Animal Sciences, within the Col lege of Ag Sciences, said that the beef catde research has not been threatened and that a deal has been worked out between the different interests within the university that has left the cattle program intact, if not better off. At issue was the loss of 93 acres of pasture. It is true that the department lost those acres of pasture, according to Cash, but they were able to retain a third of that and received compen satory funds which ate targeted for investment to make the reduced acreage at least as usable as the previous 90 acres. From a historical perspective, numerous interests have sought Penn State land, a federal land Even the children responded. A “horse” fund for students at the Armagh, Brown and Union Elementary schools and the Indian Valley Middle School, exceeded its goal of $9OO enough to buy one horse for neighbor Isaac Yod er whose farm they pass every morning on the way to school. Instead, they raised over $4,000 —enough to buy a team of horses. FBI Because the victims hold simi lar religious beliefs and adhere to similar lifestyles, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating the possible “hate” motive. Additional charges can be brought against the suspect(s) for a violation of Civil Rights statutes if the Amish were targeted. ** Until then, the rebuilding and healing must go on. grant institution, for pim&ses other than agricultural research. Over the years, land has been taken out of agricultural use for a variety of reasons buildings, sports fields, housing, the Rl 322 bypass to allow better flow of traff ic to the Penn State home games; hospital construction, etc. The more recent demands for land has caused concern among some beef cattle breed organizations. The 90 acres have been targeted for use in a hospital expansion and for construction of a research cen ter at the University Park campus However, the action will not cause a problem, according to Cash. “The land issue has been resol ved. The university, the college and the department are pudng up the money for the department,” said Dr. Cash. He said that what is planned is a slight downsizing of the research herds and the installment of fenc ing and watering systems so that more intensive pasture use can be done. Cash said that those concerned with the beef cattle research at Penn State should not be it will not be affected. “The college was able to free up 30 acres of land and the research park initial phase is taking 92 acres out of production, but by going to a more intensive system and doing a better job with what we have, we think we will be all right,” Cash said. The compromise provides for (Turn to Pago A2B)
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