Dear Editor
We have lived in Neilburg for 63 years and have played an active part in the community. We have a farm and a herd of purebred Speckle Park Cattle.
For the past 45 years we have occupied the SE 1-45-26 W3. To be a good Samaritans, 35 years ago we sold an 11-acre subdivision of our land to the Village of Neilburg . They dug a dugout for their water needs. No one knew where the boundaries were or cared. Over the course of time, corrals and shelters for our cows have been built. We have paid the taxes for the past 35 years for the Village of Neilburg for the 11-acre parcel of land they purchased. We have grazed our cows on that property without problems.
Until this past fall. The 11 acres of land was surveyed. The village now wants to build a retaining pond on that parcel. This will not solve the flooding problem that has plagued us repeatedly over the last few years. This will wipe out our farm. This retaining pond will be 75 feet from our doorstep. The village of Neilburg is prepared to move in with large machinery to knock down all our corrals where we are in the midst of calving out our herd. We have grandchildren living here. An 11-acre retaining pond this close to our doorstep is just too much curiosity for youngsters.
We feel our voice is going unheard. We have tried to reason with the town of Neilburg and exchange different land further north and west of the property. They have led us with false hope and pretences that they are willing to settle with us. We are about to lose our farm site and will have no where to calve out our cows. This is going to create extreme hardship for us to house our cattle as well as finish calving with no facilities. All from a town we grew up in.
It is impossible to build new corrals this time of year. Not only that, it will cost us a lot of money. We might as well sell the whole herd which we have spent our life trying to build! And also devaluate our farm.
Community support is something small town people are proud to be a part of. Betrayal is a better way to describe our feelings. All of this from a community we have supported and cared for all our life.
Dale and Lynda Chibri
Neilburg
