Why would the Greene Township zoning board approve all the variances for Penn-Mar Ethanol?

Maybe they thought, "We can always say it was to preserve national security." Wrong — ethanol added to gasoline cuts our gas mileage by 10%. We'll be using more gas.

Maybe they said, "We'll approve it; let the younger generations worry about the plant." What kind of legacy is that to leave?

Or maybe they just had outside pressure. They probably don't care that their decision could adversely affect our community forever.

How do you get to be a zoning board member? Could they be appointed by the supervisors? We put our trust in these people and they turn their backs on us like we weren't there. They changed those variances as if it was nothing. They're probably home now, laughing. They should stick to deciding how many cows can be on an acre of land.

Our next great hope will be the Greene Township supervisors. Their standard answer is always "Penn-Mar Ethanol complies with our restrictions. We can't do anything."

The restrictions were changed so they could comply. We ended up complying with Penn-Mar. That's terrible. We deserve better. We're being degraded by our own officials.

I keep seeing all the Greene Township supervisors standing as one and saying, "Penn-Mar Ethanol: Stop this plant."

Then I wake up.

Jay Miller

Chambersburg

Originally published June 10, 2005