Cecil Whig Letter to the Editor - Not Printed

I have been a strong advocate for the agricultural industry in Cecil County in my support of agricultural preservation programs, expanding allowable agricultural uses, promoting value added farming, supporting the farm museum and nominating a representative for the agricultural community to serve on the Economic Development Board. In the August 22 edition of the Cecil Whig, the picture on page A11 indicated that Cecil County Farmers protesting SB 236 also posted a sign “Please Stop Broomell”. Wayne Stafford, President of the Cecil County Farm Bureau, assured me that it was not one of their signs. I was later told by a fellow Commissioner, Robert Hodge, that this was the same sign which Cecil County Patriot, Ron Lobos, has used in other locations. For the record, I do not support the State’s mandate on the Tiers map and I have advocated a map which reflects the adopted 2010 Comprehensive Plan and would like to see more of the Tier 4 removed and placed into Tier 3. The map which the Patriots and the Cecil County Business PAC support selectively removes portions of Tier 4 in an arbitrary manner and includes portions of Commissioner Hodge’s property on the Elk Neck Peninsula. The Planning Commission at their August 20 meeting agreed with my proposal that we use a policy that is fairly and equitably applied in the Tier 4 area and tasked Planning and Zoning to come up with those policies.