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| By R. Jonathan Tuleya, Staff WriterJune 27, 2004SADSBURY -- An anonymous letter mailed to every household in the township is proof the conflict between the townships supervisors and a group of dissenting residents has not subsided. An organization calling itself JFI Partners -- short for Just For Your Information -- mailed more than 1,000 copies of the document from Harrisburg to residents on June 12. In it, JFI outlines what it calls the results of a completed investigation by the Pennsylvania Ethics Commission against Sadsburys supervisors Chairman "Joe" Ralph T. Garris Jr. According to a copy of the document obtained by the Daily Local News, JFI purports the state found Garris had violated ethics rules three times. Garris says the information is false. "This thing is so bogus," Garris said. "The ethics commission did a thorough investigation on me and they found me innocent. I dont know what else I can say." Well, sort of. After speaking with Garris, the Daily Local News obtained a copy of the 13-page ethics commissions ruling released on March 26. It stated: "We (the seven ruling members of the commission) determine that the consent agreement submitted by the parties sets forth the proper disposition for this case." Garris was ordered to pay $800 to the state as part of the agreement. "Compliance ... will result in the closing of this case with no further action by this commission." A lawyer for the state ethics commission refused to discuss the ruling, citing commission policy. Confronted with this information, Garris admitted he had paid the $800 to the state. He also said he had been "exonerated" of any charges related to the investigation. Garris also maintained that the letter is inaccurate. The letter and ethics commissions report both listed three "violations." For each violation, the state determined Garris either "unintentionally" or "technically" broke ethics rules. The letter residents received did not include the words unintentionally or technically. Garris committed the violations, according to the ethics report, when he participated in decisions to hire an auto repair business owned by his son to maintain township vehicles. He also violated rules, the state said, when he participated in decisions to hire his daughter Lisa Myers to work as the townships part-time secretary and treasurer. The state found Garris not in violation of a fourth charge, when Sadsbury originally hired his daughter in 1997 as the townships part-time secretary and treasurer because "such actions occurred beyond the statute of limitations." Garris, a Democrat, has been a township supervisor for 23 years. He is up for election in 2005. If he can find out who mailed the letter, he said, he plans to pursue legal action. "I have every intention on suing them," Garris said. "Its ridiculous and Im really getting tired of it." State Rep. Arthur D. Hershey, R-13th, of Cochranville, has gotten involved. Last week he sent a letter to local newspapers, including the Daily Local News, that called the original letter a fake. "I just wanted the public to know," Hershey said in an interview on Thursday, "it wasnt any government agency that sent that out." He was concerned the Harrisburg postmark would lead residents to assume the letter came from an official source. Hershey inquired about JFI Partners to the states small government committee, which, he said, could not confirm the existence of such an organization. A reporter for the Daily Local News searched the Internet and statewide phone directories for "JFI Partners" and "Just For Your Information Partners." Neither produced any results. However, while the sender appears to be fictitious, Hershey stopped short of calling the contents of the mailing a fabrication. Like Garris, the state representative also suggested the motive for the missive is the zoning dispute. "Rural townships have unknowingly violated the ethics commission from time to time ... and they dont realize it," Hershey said. "The only time it gets brought to their attention is when some person gets jealous of another persons position (in the township)." Hershey further dismissed the dispute as "just one of those little country township things." The feuding in Sadsbury stems from the townships support of a zoning change for a proposed residential development. Arcadia Land Co. has proposed building a 461-unit residential development on an 80-acre plot the company owns south of Sadsburyville. In order to do so, it needs the land changed from light industrial to residential. The current zoning would allow Arcadia to build 440 multiple-family units in the residential district. In April, Sadsburys zoning feasibility committee voted in favor of recommending the zoning change. There have been community protests to the action. İDaily Local News 2004 Reader Opinions: Name: George Molnar Date: Jul, 13 2004
Name: Aliah Ammon Date: Jul, 9 2004
Name: George Molnar Date: Jul, 7 2004
Name: George Molnar Date: Jun, 30 2004
Name: Aliah Ammon Date: Jun, 30 2004
Name: George Molnar Date: Jun, 28 2004
Name: Aliah Ammon Date: Jun, 28 2004
Name: George Molnar Date: Jun, 27 2004
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