Township residents Diane and Bill Ganssle have been cited by Abraham Hoffer, Property Maintenance and Housing Inspector, because their backyard birdfeeders might attract those dirty, disease-carrying, cheese-stealing vermin.
Ganssle denies she's ever seen a rat on her property. "There is enough government control in this country," the obvious rat lover complains. "We don't need rules for birdfeeding in our township which will ultimately cause our birds and wildlife to suffer."
Sounds like the tea party.
This story requires a full blown investigation. The Ganssles have agreed to let me visit their birdfeeders and report back to you on their terrible danger they present to the community.
Besides, I might know some of the rats.
9 comments:
You have to be kidding!!! I guess just about everyone has a kooky neighbor.
Bernie
How do you find this stuff? The photos are adorable.
But let the Monahan property and others on Green Pond Rd sit and rot away!
I'm suprised Bethlehem Township has sufficient staff to investigate bird feeding complaints, must be nice. I would be interested to hear the Code Official's side of the story.
Sounds like the neighbors have had enough of the multiple bird feeders and the vermin it attracts, and they do. They most likely complained. The Code guy verified the complaint and told the birdfeeders to clean up. They probably did not and got cited. Feeding birds can be nice but get out of control. I for one don't want to live next to a vermin infested house because of birdfeeding. Its dirty, disgusting, and a public health issue. I would be willing to bet that the inspector did the right thing based on the facts. PS: If the people were cited and did not properly appeal, they are looking at paying the fine. Looking up the ordinances it appears that these are criminal charges and not zoning like the Lehigh Township case. Bernie you should be able to look this case up on the Docket Sheets if a citation was filed. Keep your property clean and you will not be cited comes to mind.
Life is so precious and so short to be wasting time pointing fingers when there are fingers pointing back at yourself. The property being cited is immaculate and very well kept. Feeding the birds has been their hobby for years with no neighbor complaints. If the neighbor now has a problem with deer poop in his yard, then he should put a very tall fence around his yard to avoid the deer entering. He should also look to his wood pile for attracting rodents. I am sure there are many more pressing issues that the Township Board could be doing to better serve their constituents!
I actually know the area and have never seen so much as a sign of rodents. The comment before last is obviously from one of the complaintants. I'd wager the non existent rodent problem is a smokescreen for their dislike of deer poop in their yard. Oh, and a deer isn't a rodent. Claiming the property as a rodent infested mess is a blatant lie, and the fact that they wont just be honest and admit their real issue is the deer, proves that even they believe their complaint to be ridiculous. I'd also like to know why they were given five days to bring the feeders up to code or face a $1000 a day fine when code(which is vague) says you have 60 days to comply or face a MAXIMUM fine of $300 a day. Must be nice to have friends in high places when you want to complain.
I have a few questions. First, there's a bird feeder code? REALLY? Is the issue mice or deer? If there's a bird feeder code, why are stores allowed to sell illegal bird feeders? Is there going to be a big illegal bird feeder bust at Lowes? I want to make sure that I'm not there that day. If there's a rodent issue, has anyone checked that wood pile? Finally, if someone files an actionable complaint against you, claiming that you are drawing in rodents, wouldn't they have to have evidence that there are rodents? Is there a mouse down at the police station in lock up right now?
Good living God! Am I actually reading about people complaining about bird feeders?!?!?! I wonder the result if the people complaining put this much energy into more important issues in our society today....?
Is the issue deer or rats? Either way, what person has the time to stand outside their window and watch bird feeders all day long for violations? I'm going to venture a guess and say that if the Ganssle's invited anyone to come to their home and see what is there, it can't be so much of a mess to be creating these issues to begin with.
What if we take the bird feeders down for a little while and see if the problem persists...? How about that? Then we can determine if it's truly the bird feeders? Should the Ganssle's have to do this? No. But if it will appease the childish neighbors who have nothing better to do with their time than police bird feeders all day, then I say go for it.
The legal system needs to be a looser pay system. If we're going to rant and rave over bird feeders and the animals that they may attract, then there should be some level of compensation for those who had to go through this non-sense if found "innocent"; in this case the Ganssles's.
I have the perfect punishment. Make the complainants stand at the intersection of a busy road with signs on them that read, "I didn't get picked for kickball when I was little and therefore am angry at society".
....sigh....I think I'm done now. There's 10min of life I will never get back because of bird feeders. Who would have ever thought?!
Hang in there Ganssle's. Maybe next week they'll complain about something else.....like watching paint dry takes to long.
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