Farmer faults powerline work cleanup

By BRUCE A. SCRUTON

bscruton@njherald.com

STILLWATER It is an irony that has Stillwater farmer Lia Chammings laughing as she complains.

While she is still arguing with Public Service Electric & Gas to properly restore her hayfield off Mount Holly Road, a bale of hay from another part of that same field won first place at the New Jersey State Fair.

Last year nearly four acres of that hayfield were peeled back and thick black plastic tarps were laid down, along with drainage pipes and a layer of quarry processed stone, to create a road and construction areas, as work began to dismantle 85-year-old transmission towers and build new, 185-foot-tall towers.

Chammings, a Township Committee member, is a hay, grain and forage farmer who grows crops on several properties in town for several owners.

Along Mount Holly Road, however, are the fields of Partridge Ridge Farm, owned by her family and producing some of the best hay in the area, good enough to be sought after by horse owners whose animals require a better mix and quality of grasses.

It was the thought of construction in those fields that caused Chamming to become public with her concerns.

As the work progressed, there were issues with protecting migrating amphibians in the spring seeking out the wetlands that cross the hilly property.

There were also issues with access gates being left open or unlocked, allowing trespassers into the back areas that previously were inaccessible to their off-road vehicles.

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Farmer faults powerline work cleanup