A Good Neighbor
By Paul Jacob
Sometimes little things mean a lot.
Like a sticker with the slashed out words EMINENT DOMAIN ABUSE that Ron Kohr wore at a sewer authority meeting in York, Pennsylvania.
Kohr is protesting the authority’s attempt to condemn part of a farm so it can build a sewer line a little more easily. But it’s not his own farm he’s fighting for. It’s Bob Rebert’s, who says the demanded easement will make it harder for him to earn a living. Rebert is thankful so many fellow farmers showed up at the meeting.
Ron Kohr has been fighting for his own land, too: Lauxmont Farms, part of which York County condemned a few years ago to make way for . . . a park. It’s all about “historical preservation,” never mind what the Kohr family wants to do with the land.
The Kohrs wanted to subdivide and build houses. They sold some of their land to a developer for that purpose. Before the developer could proceed, though, county officials tried to buy the parcel on which the homes would be built. When they couldn’t, they condemned the parcel -- after permits to build had already been granted! The developer and Kohr himself have been fighting this eminent domain abuse in court.
So here’s Ron Kohr, fresh from defending himself against an assault on his own property rights. Yet still taking the time and trouble to speak out on behalf of a fellow victim of eminent domain.
Mr. Kohr is something pretty special: a good neighbor.
This is Common Sense. I'm Paul Jacob.
