Letters to the Editor 06-17-1997
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By -
- Accident - Farm Ground
Accident
Editor, Times-Union:This letter concerns the accident that happened June 7 at 1:28 a.m. at the corner of Cook and Sheridan streets. My husband and I happened to be up at that hour, as was our neighbor. We all heard him fly by our houses ] and I mean fly. Why is it that he wasn't charged with reckless driving, driving through a stop sign and fleeing the scene of an accident? Evidently, we have to wait until someone is killed before any action is taken. The man had no license, no insurance and no plates. Yet he was let off with a slap on the hand. Is this how our city is going to handle people who could easily have taken an innocent life? This wasn't justice and it certainly wasn't a joke. I for one am tired of the court system being so lenient on dangerous individuals.
Kathy Saldana Warsaw
Farm Ground
Editor, Times-Union:Let me tell you a short story to illustrate a point.
Two brothers inherited 60 acres of farm ground. It was located near a small town. It was valued at $1,000 per acre for a total of $60,000. One brother was a farmer, the other was not. The farmer brother purchased the other brother's share for the farm (30 acres) for $30,000. The nonfarmer brother took this $30,000 share of the farm and purchased a small commercial building nearby.
Twenty years passed. Both brothers were at retirement age and wished to sell their properties and move to Florida to enjoy the fruits of their labors and investment.
Due to natural appreciation (and inflation) the commercial building was now worth $90,000 (just par for the course of 20 years). During the same period the farm ground appreciated some, but not nearly to the extent of the commercial building and was now worth $1,500 per acre ] the going price for farm ground, for a total price of $45,000 for the 30 acres that was purchased.
A local builder, however, was interested in buying the 30 acres of this farm ground to build homes on as it was ideally located for this purpose. The farmer brother had anticipated this probability at the time of purchasing the land from his brother. The builder offered $3,000 per acre for the 30 acres for a total of $90,000. So far so good. But now enter the zoning and plan commission. There was no reason to deny a zoning change from agriculture to residential other than the fact that this was prime farm ground.
Now the question arises as to just who owns this property? Who took the risk of investment and put a good share of their hard-earned money into this property with the reasonable expectation of creating a nest egg for retirement? Is it the farmers' duty to preserve the ground for growing crops for the benefit of the masses, or do government bureaucrats have a legitimate right to do so by denying a zoning change, thereby preventing the farmer from realizing a legitimate return on his long-term investment? How would you feel if you were in the farmer brother's shoes? The answer is obvious. Do we have a communist form of government or do we have a free enterprise democracy? If the government is going to take control of the land for the benefit of the general public whether it be for growing crops or for a public highway, in a democracy, the government must compensate the rightful owner for taking his property for public use. This is called eminent domain.
My parents, who were farmers, left a small amount of acreage to me and my brothers and sisters as an inheritance. In this day and age it seems as though most people have absolutely no respect for property rights in rural areas. They continually trespass, hunting game animals, trapping, hunting mushrooms, dumping trash, even helping themselves to firewood and cutting down trees, trampling fences, defacing "Please Stay Out" signs, etc.
It angers me to hear nonowners of farm ground complain that "we" are losing "our" precious farm ground. Do they think they own it? Also, if it is so precious, why is the government paying thousands of farm ground owners in Indiana some $40 per acre of farm ground by planting it to trees? Also, if it's so precious, why aren't farmers able to pay a competitive price for the ground?
I believe there are a lot of people who need to get their head on straight and try to understand what it means to live in a country that is supposed to have a free enterprise system of government called a democrary ] not communism.
Dale E. Mock North Webster
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- Accident - Farm Ground
Accident
Editor, Times-Union:This letter concerns the accident that happened June 7 at 1:28 a.m. at the corner of Cook and Sheridan streets. My husband and I happened to be up at that hour, as was our neighbor. We all heard him fly by our houses ] and I mean fly. Why is it that he wasn't charged with reckless driving, driving through a stop sign and fleeing the scene of an accident? Evidently, we have to wait until someone is killed before any action is taken. The man had no license, no insurance and no plates. Yet he was let off with a slap on the hand. Is this how our city is going to handle people who could easily have taken an innocent life? This wasn't justice and it certainly wasn't a joke. I for one am tired of the court system being so lenient on dangerous individuals.
Kathy Saldana Warsaw
Farm Ground
Editor, Times-Union:Let me tell you a short story to illustrate a point.
Two brothers inherited 60 acres of farm ground. It was located near a small town. It was valued at $1,000 per acre for a total of $60,000. One brother was a farmer, the other was not. The farmer brother purchased the other brother's share for the farm (30 acres) for $30,000. The nonfarmer brother took this $30,000 share of the farm and purchased a small commercial building nearby.
Twenty years passed. Both brothers were at retirement age and wished to sell their properties and move to Florida to enjoy the fruits of their labors and investment.
Due to natural appreciation (and inflation) the commercial building was now worth $90,000 (just par for the course of 20 years). During the same period the farm ground appreciated some, but not nearly to the extent of the commercial building and was now worth $1,500 per acre ] the going price for farm ground, for a total price of $45,000 for the 30 acres that was purchased.
A local builder, however, was interested in buying the 30 acres of this farm ground to build homes on as it was ideally located for this purpose. The farmer brother had anticipated this probability at the time of purchasing the land from his brother. The builder offered $3,000 per acre for the 30 acres for a total of $90,000. So far so good. But now enter the zoning and plan commission. There was no reason to deny a zoning change from agriculture to residential other than the fact that this was prime farm ground.
Now the question arises as to just who owns this property? Who took the risk of investment and put a good share of their hard-earned money into this property with the reasonable expectation of creating a nest egg for retirement? Is it the farmers' duty to preserve the ground for growing crops for the benefit of the masses, or do government bureaucrats have a legitimate right to do so by denying a zoning change, thereby preventing the farmer from realizing a legitimate return on his long-term investment? How would you feel if you were in the farmer brother's shoes? The answer is obvious. Do we have a communist form of government or do we have a free enterprise democracy? If the government is going to take control of the land for the benefit of the general public whether it be for growing crops or for a public highway, in a democracy, the government must compensate the rightful owner for taking his property for public use. This is called eminent domain.
My parents, who were farmers, left a small amount of acreage to me and my brothers and sisters as an inheritance. In this day and age it seems as though most people have absolutely no respect for property rights in rural areas. They continually trespass, hunting game animals, trapping, hunting mushrooms, dumping trash, even helping themselves to firewood and cutting down trees, trampling fences, defacing "Please Stay Out" signs, etc.
It angers me to hear nonowners of farm ground complain that "we" are losing "our" precious farm ground. Do they think they own it? Also, if it is so precious, why is the government paying thousands of farm ground owners in Indiana some $40 per acre of farm ground by planting it to trees? Also, if it's so precious, why aren't farmers able to pay a competitive price for the ground?
I believe there are a lot of people who need to get their head on straight and try to understand what it means to live in a country that is supposed to have a free enterprise system of government called a democrary ] not communism.
Dale E. Mock North Webster
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