Controversial Roadside Stand Giving Food Away Saturday
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
PIERCETON -ÊPhil Tom calls it a finale to a difficult summer for his vegetable stand.
But for Washington Township Trustee Rex Alley, Tom's plans to to set up his food stand north of Pierceton at the corner of Ind. 13 and Old Road 30 one final time this summer at 9 a.m. Saturday could be the last straw.
A week ago, Alley filed a lawsuit in Kosciusko Circuit Court to prevent Tom, an area farmer, from selling fresh food at the intersection. The lawsuit was the latest in growing tensions over the vegetable stand.
But on Saturday, Tom said, he won't be selling the produce. Instead, he's going to give it away.
The giveaway is a goodwill gesture to his customers. And, he said, he needs to unload the food - approximately a ton of potatoes and bags of squash, green beans and other fresh produce - before it begins to rot.
The feud started this summer after Tom began using the northeast corner of the intersection in a spacious grassy area between the road and a township cemetery.
Alley claims Tom is trespassing. But Tom has paperwork showing that where he sets up is actually part of the state right-of-way along the state highway. Wooden stakes were put up designating the property line between the cemetery and state right-of-way.
Tom says there is no state law that prevents food vendors from using state rights-of-way.
Saturday's giveaway, Tom claims, is not a way of playing games.
"I'm not trying to get back at anybody," he said.
Alley was not available for comment Thursday night or early today, but a spokeswoman in the township office said they've received "many" complaints about the food vendor.
The spokeswoman said some of the callers contend that the vending operation has blocked one of two entrances into the cemetery and that it has interfered with funeral processions.
Fueling the fight has been a farmer who lives to the north, Tom said. Apparently he and a few others are bothered by Tom being so close to a cemetery, Tom said.
Tom said he doesn't think it is disrespectful to work near the cemetery.
The issue is a sore point for the sheriff's department and the prosecutor's office, both of which have heard complaints and arguments from both sides during the past summer.
For several years, Tom sold his wares at the old wishing well along Ind. 13 near North Webster. But, he said, he decided to move the operation this summer for safety reasons. Conditions at Old Road 30 and Ind. 13 are safer and there is more room for motorists to pull over, he said.
Tom said he's been harassed all summer. He found a dead skunk and nails thrown on the site. Police have repeatedly questioned him.
"I never dreamed that all summer long we would be harassed like we have been," he said.
A week ago, a series of traffic signs that prohibit "standing, stopping or parking" were erected by the state near the spot.
On Wednesday, he said, a sheriff's deputy threatened to arrest a co-worker. But Tom said Thursday he had been given an assurance from Sheriff Al Rovenstine that he would not be arrested.
Rovenstine said there will be a police presence Saturday morning, but is unsure what will happen.
Rovenstine said he is not seeking a warrant for an arrest. He said he is unsure whether a warrant might be sought by another agency.
"It's been touchy," Rovenstine said.
The fact that Tom won't be selling the food could be an effective loophole around the injunction, Rovenstine said.
Saturday's giveaway is a way of saying thanks to his longtime customers, Tom said.
"I gotta get rid of this stuff. Rather than let it rot or feed it to my cattle, I wanna see somebody benefit from it. So if I can help benefit people, bless their hearts, that's what I want to do." [[In-content Ad]]
PIERCETON -ÊPhil Tom calls it a finale to a difficult summer for his vegetable stand.
But for Washington Township Trustee Rex Alley, Tom's plans to to set up his food stand north of Pierceton at the corner of Ind. 13 and Old Road 30 one final time this summer at 9 a.m. Saturday could be the last straw.
A week ago, Alley filed a lawsuit in Kosciusko Circuit Court to prevent Tom, an area farmer, from selling fresh food at the intersection. The lawsuit was the latest in growing tensions over the vegetable stand.
But on Saturday, Tom said, he won't be selling the produce. Instead, he's going to give it away.
The giveaway is a goodwill gesture to his customers. And, he said, he needs to unload the food - approximately a ton of potatoes and bags of squash, green beans and other fresh produce - before it begins to rot.
The feud started this summer after Tom began using the northeast corner of the intersection in a spacious grassy area between the road and a township cemetery.
Alley claims Tom is trespassing. But Tom has paperwork showing that where he sets up is actually part of the state right-of-way along the state highway. Wooden stakes were put up designating the property line between the cemetery and state right-of-way.
Tom says there is no state law that prevents food vendors from using state rights-of-way.
Saturday's giveaway, Tom claims, is not a way of playing games.
"I'm not trying to get back at anybody," he said.
Alley was not available for comment Thursday night or early today, but a spokeswoman in the township office said they've received "many" complaints about the food vendor.
The spokeswoman said some of the callers contend that the vending operation has blocked one of two entrances into the cemetery and that it has interfered with funeral processions.
Fueling the fight has been a farmer who lives to the north, Tom said. Apparently he and a few others are bothered by Tom being so close to a cemetery, Tom said.
Tom said he doesn't think it is disrespectful to work near the cemetery.
The issue is a sore point for the sheriff's department and the prosecutor's office, both of which have heard complaints and arguments from both sides during the past summer.
For several years, Tom sold his wares at the old wishing well along Ind. 13 near North Webster. But, he said, he decided to move the operation this summer for safety reasons. Conditions at Old Road 30 and Ind. 13 are safer and there is more room for motorists to pull over, he said.
Tom said he's been harassed all summer. He found a dead skunk and nails thrown on the site. Police have repeatedly questioned him.
"I never dreamed that all summer long we would be harassed like we have been," he said.
A week ago, a series of traffic signs that prohibit "standing, stopping or parking" were erected by the state near the spot.
On Wednesday, he said, a sheriff's deputy threatened to arrest a co-worker. But Tom said Thursday he had been given an assurance from Sheriff Al Rovenstine that he would not be arrested.
Rovenstine said there will be a police presence Saturday morning, but is unsure what will happen.
Rovenstine said he is not seeking a warrant for an arrest. He said he is unsure whether a warrant might be sought by another agency.
"It's been touchy," Rovenstine said.
The fact that Tom won't be selling the food could be an effective loophole around the injunction, Rovenstine said.
Saturday's giveaway is a way of saying thanks to his longtime customers, Tom said.
"I gotta get rid of this stuff. Rather than let it rot or feed it to my cattle, I wanna see somebody benefit from it. So if I can help benefit people, bless their hearts, that's what I want to do." [[In-content Ad]]