The Mail-Journal, Volume 19, Number 26, Milford, Kosciusko County, 14 July 1982 — Page 16

THE MAIL-JOURNAL—Wed., July 14,1982

16

APC rules former landfill site unsuitable, residents forced to vacate

By GARY LEWIS A 22-acre and a 17-acre tract of land south of Warsaw was ruled not suitable for residential use by the Area Plan Commission Basing its decision on potential health hazards, the commission approved an application of the Kosciusko County Zoning Ordinance by the area planning office. The commission announced it will seek a court injunction to force the residents presently living on the land to vacate the area. Three mobile homes are presently located there. The title holder, Max Montell, attended the July 7 meeting. Bretk Walls, one of the residents living in one of the mobile homes, is buying the land under contract from Montell. The third resident on the property is contracting a section of the land from Walk. Those three residents and a fourth. Dave Paoge who is leasing part of the property, will be forced to leave the area located on the east side of CR 450 W and one-half mile south of CR 525 S in Seward Township. The unanimous decision was based on an on-sight inspection of the area made by Dan Richard, director of the area planning office and two staff members The Indiana State Board of Health sent the commission a letter which urged the board to revoke the residential use status because of hazardous material buried there. The area was once used by Lakeland Disposable, .Claypool, as a dump sight. The commission’s decision came after lengthy discussion by a number of residents who live near the area The discussion centered mostly around the possibility that hazardous waste material exists in the soil. Chairman Ron Baumgartner told those in attendance that “we <the commission! don't want to end up with a Love Canal.” Green Thumb training seminar held On Thursday. July 8. there was a green thumb training meeting held in Rochester for 180 Green Thumb workers from 19 surrounding counties Four Kosciusko County Green Thumb workers attended the meeting They are working at the Cardinal Center Council for the Retarded of Kosciusko County, the Tri-County Fish and Wildlife Area Green Thumb. Inc., is a community service employment program which provides part time meaningful work for low income persons 55 years of age and older in the rural areas of the state. Green Thumb is funded under Title V of the Older Americans Act and is sponsored by National Farmers Union. Nationally, Green Thumb operates in 45 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, providing over 17.000 jobs. In Indiana, there are 700 men and women whose average age is 67. working in 81 counties The workers may work for tax supported institutions and some nonprofit organizations doing a wide variety, of essential worthwhile services that local sponsors otherwise could not afford For further information, please contact Indiana Green Thumb. P O Box 687. Seymour. Ind 47274 or phone < 812 > 522-7930

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Perry Hathaway, who lives one-quarter of a mile away from the area, spoke on the possibility of contamination of the underground water supply if water wells are dug in the area. “My concern now is that it (the dump sight) is near there (the residences). Let’s not allow pollution,** he said. Ron Prater, who lives across from the property, said be has protested to the state board of health of what he felt was illegal dumping practices several times. He showed the commission members a photograph showing a truck dumping a liquid material right beside one of the mobile homes on the property. Another resident in the area, Kathy Beery, addressed the commission her concern for the possibility of physical damage to human beings coming in contact with any of the substances in the soil. “I can’t understand why anyone would want to live on that property,” she said. She told the commission that her baby, born two years ago, has Down’s Syndrome “I have to wonder if that (the dump site) had something to do with it,” she said. A commission member asked if she had any tests made on the water supply to her home and she said she never had any tests made since the birth of the child., An inspector for the State Board of Health, Tom Fitch, said that all dump sites in the state must have approval of the wastes deposited at the dump site. He said he was not familiar with this particular case and the person who investigated the area for the State Board of Health, Regina Mahoney, was on a leave of absence. A state law was enacted in 1980 which prohibited the building of a residence within 600 feet of a site. That law, said Fitch, only applies to an existing landfill site. Since the site in question is no longer in operation, and the site was closed before the law was enacted, it doesnot apply. “Unless there is a local covenant, there is no restrictions,” he said. County health official Carroll Sherman said “from the county standpoint there is no regulation that says you can’t build near hazardous waste.” A soil map of the area in question showed that the composition of the soil in the area Steve Boeder of the Soil Conservation Service, said the map was technically inaccurate because the land was altered and asked the commission that the soil map not be used in making a determination in the matter. Richard told the commission that regardless of the legal question involved —a possible postmortem on the deed to the land — they could deny it. “We got a really serious civil matter." he said The question the commission should address, he said, is “should this land be used for residences?” Section 3.8 of the Kosciusko County Zoning Ordinance states that “no land shall be used or structure erected where the land is held unsuitable for such use or structure by the Area Plan Commissions by reason of flood ... or any other feature likely to be harmful to health, safety . . . (and) welfare of the county.” In other action, the commision: • Agreed to grant a 60-day continuance to two continuance cases involving property owned by Larry Heckaman. The commission rejected in an earlier meeting a petition to rezone 7.5

acres from a public use district to a residential and another 7.5 acre tract for preliminary plat approval for a residential subdivision. Both areas are located east of SR 13 near the Maxwelton Golf Course. In the June meeting, the APC granted a continuance after the county commissioners voted to have the commission to re-examine the petitions. Heckaman needed the continuance in order to complete engineering plans. The APC will hear the petitions at its September 1 meeting. • Denied a petition to rezone part of 1.12 acres from light industrial to commercial. The petition was made by Joe Baker as an ..gent for the Peoples State Bank The property is located on the northeast comer of the intersection of SR 15 and CR 1150 North. Baker wanted the area to be rezoned so he could establish a residence there. A special exception status is available under the commercial status but under the light industrial status the exception does not apply.

t - BBi I -———— * W w K ■ — — POAGE’S HOME — Dive Poage’s trailer is one of three the Area Plan Commission has ruled must be moved from the area. The APC made the decision based on a determination by the Kosciusko County Plan Commission staff that the soil is unsuitable for residential use. (Photo by Gary Lewis) Resident of dump site says he has been treated unfairly

By GARY LEWIS “The dump wasn’t there that long from what I knew and I figured if they allowed the ground to be sold for private use it couldn’t have been too bad off. At least that’s the way I felt at the time.” That’s the story of one of the residents of the former landfill site located south of Warsaw on CR 450 W. Dave Poage’s mobile home is one of three that will be forced to vacate the area when the attorney for the Area Plan Commission files for a court injunction to remove the residents. Poage, 28, and his wife Cindy live in the trailer with their six-month-old daughter. He knew the area he purchased in 1978 from Max Montell was a Lakeland Disposal Inc landfill. He even

■’kfruk- • ‘ 4 . ■ *"• *“ - j4l X' . w-K. ' ? * v.. ’ bhMAHT <s•> ' ‘. ■ J ' .t, • Wk» -A- • - - TEST WELL — Thto Is awe «f a aumber of test wells asedty the State Board of Health to determine soil composition of the Lakeland Disposal Inc. landfill. The APC has ruled that the area not be used for residents. (Photoby Gary Lewis)

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• Accepted the final plat for the South Etna Estates, located west of SR 19 south of Etna Green. The commission was waiting for proper access roads to the highway before the plat could be approved. All roads must be approved by the highway department before the 23 lots can be developed. • Changed an earlier decision that a cul-de-sac be constructed at the end of a proposed extension of Charles Bird Lane off of SR 15 south of Milford. The property, owned by Byron Ulrich, has received preliminary plat approval for a number of the lots. The original decision was made in order to limit traffic from the Grass sub-division to the highway. • Tabled two rezoning petitions of an agricultural district to a residential. The first was a petition by Lynn Hinesley of a five-acre tract of land in Tippecanoe Township and the other was a case involving a 2 and one-half acre of property in Plain Township by Robert D. Maish.

heard some stories about chemicals being dumped there But he never dreamed it would come to this. “I bought the ground with the assumption it would be a place to live. You know, I wasn’t worried about hazardous waste and leaching and this sort of thing at the time.” said Poage. “I bought it so I’d have a little room,” he said later. “All these things came to light more or less after I moved up there,” he added. Lakeland Disposal, Inc., received a construction permit from the Stream Pollution Board in 1974 for the 39-acre tract of land and a operating permit was issued in 1975. Lindsey sold the business in 1976 to Steve Shambaugh and the permit was transferred to his name. » The APC decision was made to

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protect anyone living in the area from the possibility of hazardous waste dumped in the area by revoking the residential zone status. According to a 1977 letter from the Stream Pollution Board. Lakeland Disposal Inc. was instructed to immediately cover all hazardous waste materials deposited in the landfill and to cover the waste with a minimum of 12 inches of soil. Poage said he had some mixed feelings about purchasing the land for his mobile home. He felt be knew what kind of risk he was taking. “I look at it this way, 1 didn’t buy the land with any use in mind as far as growing crops or anything like that,” he said. ‘‘l knew it wasn’t prime land for anybody to buy. I’m not a farmer ... I wanted a residence,” said Poage. His main argument is that the APC’s decision to remove his family from the area is unfair. He feels the commission’s concern for his safety is unfounded since he has lived on the land since 1979. “I think it is a little late to be worried about my safety. I’ve lived there since 1979,” he said. “I feel that somebody up there has been asleep at the switch and doesn’t want to take responsibility for things that have happened in the past,” said Poage From his earnings at the Packerton Saw Mill, Poage invested all of his money into the five-acre piece of land that his landlord at the time, Max Montell, told him about. He moved his trailer on the site in 1978 and didn’t move his family into the trailer until 1979 when work on the well and septic tank were completed. Poage doesn’t believe the area poses a threat to his family. Many of his neighbors fear possible contamination of the water supply due to improper dumping of hazardous waste. He is planning on fighting any action the APC takes to remove him from the property. Poage claims he has the proper permit for the site even though the Plan Commission’s ordinance administrator, Cinda Overmyer, said in the APC meeting last Wednesday that the commission could not find the proper permits for his mobile home. Another mobile home was reported to have been revoked shortly after it was issued. “I guess right now I’m going to hurry up and wait,” he said. “Os course I’m going to fight. I will wait and see what they decide to do ... I think I’ve got a case for myself to stay here simply because I’ve been there for so long,” said Poage.

E ; ‘l*l B pMI iff JBL jgju I \ .-EHL'' TOTAL DAMAGE TO TWO VEHICLES — An accident at 8:58 p.m. on July 8, at the intersection of CR 1400 N (County Line Road) and Old Road 13A, resulted in extensive damage to two vehicles. Ron Spunar, 17, 11093 CR 50 Syracuse, told State Trooper Tom Perzanowski he was headed east on CR 1400 N and stopped at the stop sign before pulling onto Old Road 13A. Because of high corn he believes he failed to see the oncoming car, driven by Robert Lindemuth, 24, r 3 Ligonier, who was headed south on 13A. The 1976 four-wheel drive Ford pick-up truck driven by Spunar turned onto its side, and the 1981 Mercury Zepher station wagon driven by Lindemuth was pushed into a yard. Damage to the Spunar vehicle was estimated m 11.500 and to the Lindemuth vehicle at 85,000, or total damage to both, according to state police. Lindemuth suffered pain in his lower back and cuts to his forehead and was transported by the Syracuse Emergency Medical Service to Goshen Hospital. Spunar was also taken to Goshen Hospital for treatment of lacerations and bumps on his head. (Photos by Sharon Stuckman) For America’s Forest s Facts From the U.S. Dept, of Agriculture Forest Service | The Forest And Your Home

The most important market for timber products is home building and maintenance. Production, upkeep and improvement of housing consumes between a third and a half of all softwood lumber and plywood, plus substantial volumes of hardwood plywood, panels made of wood particles and insulation boards such as acoustical tile. Despite the present stagnant market caused by high interest rates, the Forest Service projects a demand for single family units rising again to two billion annually during the current decade. During the same period, multi-family dwellings may comprise about a

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quarter of conventional housing but another large increase is forecast for the mid-1990’s as the second generation effects of the post-World War II “baby boom” are felt. A lot of wood is also used for home repairs and improvements. During the 60’s and 70’s, Americans spent between 815 and S2O billion for upkeep and improvement of their homes. Forecasters expect that the annual expenditure for upkeep and improvement will hit the $36 billion mark by 2030. With proper handling of our woodlands, we can hope there’ll be enough wood on hand for our homes today

Mtnd tomorrow and for the Tiomes of generations to come. But there won’t be enough for the future unless we begin working now to make our forests more productive and our use of its wood more efficient, j j the Forest Service (1 reports.

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