5 years

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November 13, 2007 - November 13, 2012

It was 5 years ago to the date on Tuesday, November 13, some would say coincidentally while others may say providentially, that the Earlville Village Board has continued the harassment of one resident who was given written permission from the Village of Earlville to keep small animals for the lifetime ownership of their property.

In 2007 the Village Board passed Local Law #1 of 2007, a law that deliberately targeted only that one resident in the Village from keeping his rabbits and chickens. Two years ago they brought up repeal of the law, but voted to keep the law. Now, November 13, 2012, they again refused to repeal this spite law.

Several of the Earlville Village Board continue to paint this resident as the "bad guy" in this whole issue. This law banning most every animal except horses from the village was passed for no legitimate reason. The resident is a model citizen and was doing nothing wrong. And he continues to be blamed for this spite law. It is because of him, they say, that the rest of the Village is not allowed to have animals. Obviously the Village Board is to blame since they passed the law and they have the power to repeal it. The model citizen and resident, they say, is hurting himself and his family because he is exercising his rights and fighting this injustice. Again, obviously it is the Village Board that is hurting not just this resident but all of the Village residents because they passed a restrictive law targeting one person that was doing nothing wrong.

The Village Board is now blackmailing this resident to renegotiate the terms of his animal ownership in order for them to drop the harassment and repeal the law. He has spent over $10,000 of his and his family's money, plus countless hours of personal time, to defend his rights against this tyrannical action, while the Village Board continues the legal action that doesn't cost them personally. They play their legal political harassment game while making the Village residents pay for it through their taxes, all the while restricting all of the residents from having their choice of animals.

The latest Earlville Village Board is somewhat on their way toward finding solutions to problems that were created by previous Boards under the administration of two other mayors who disgracefully resigned from their positions. There was hope they would clear up this one. In fact the resident was promised by Mayor Excell that he would work on it and should just be patient. But now they have told him otherwise. The Village Board is more interested in a lawsuit, making a spectacle of the Village of Earlville, wasting residents' tax dollars on attorney fees, and going to court instead of settling this as fellow residents and neighbors out of court. And the model citizen and resident has gone out of his way to discuss this issue with the mayor and board, only to be shouted down, silenced, insulted, and ignored.

This is another public call for the Village of Earlville Mayor and Board to put an end to this 5 year resident harassment and Village embarrassment, repeal the law, and drop these ridiculous charges unconditionally. Do what is right. Everyone wins if this law is repealed. But the Village will clearly lose in many ways if they don't.

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