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Heritage
Remarks by Molly Henderson
delivered at the 84th Annual LCDC Corn Roast on
August 18, 2007
Hello everyone! Thank you for
coming out on this beautiful summer day. Thank you to all
who put this event together and put their time, effort and
energy into making this another successful Corn Roast.
This is the traditional
kick-off of the political season for the Fall, the end of
summer and the beginning of the school year. I ask you to go
back to your first day of school in Junior High. We have
been assigned the dreaded yearly essay of "How I Spent My
Summer Vacation".
Well, what I did on my summer
vacation was to take a history tour of some of our nation's
beginning sites, to put into focus the places, names, and
times we learned about on one or two pages in our U.S.
History books. Places like Fort Ticonderoga, Fort William
Henry, and Saratoga - in New York state's beautiful Hudson
River Valley. All of the sites had wonderful and helpful
staff and Rangers. The National Park Service is a division
of the Federal government of which we should all be proud,
While at these historic places
I thought about how these events related to us today; how do
they relate to me and what I do each day. How do they relate
to what happens in Lancaster County?
Simply put they relate through
one word: Heritage.
The Lancaster County
Comprehensive Plan, mandated by our State Government, has
five spokes to it. One is devoted to the heritage of our
region. Our heritage is our past, history and what we are
about: * hard work * agriculture * industry * the foundation
of our county, region, state and country.
This is why we must continue
to be mindful of preservation - our heritage.
Some examples of our
safe-keeping are: Here at Long's Park, Henry and Catherine
Long gave the City of Lancaster 71 acres for the people of
the city to use for recreation and relaxation. Lancaster
County is number one in the State on Farmland Preservation
and we believe number two in the nation. I am proud to be a
part of the Board that ensured this. I do, however, have
grave concerns about the effect on our heritage of a 4 lane
Route 23 highway going through some of the most productive
soil, not only in our county and state, but in the nation
and quite possibly the world.
Realizing the importance of
historic sites, individuals and governments have set aside
areas for the future use and dedication. Saratoga
Battlefield in New York State is one such example: In the
late 1920's the Governor of New York, a Democrat by the name
of Franklin D. Roosevelt set this area aside as a New York
State Park to be protected. In the 1930's, the President of
the United States, a Democrat by the name of Franklin D.
Roosevelt set this area aside as a National Park for the
entire nation to enjoy and look to as one of the foundations
of our heritage.
Here in Lancaster County we
need to preserve and cherish our heritage.
I ask you, can you bear to
imagine the image of a 4 lane highway coursing through the
land where British General John Burgoyne surrendered to the
American General Horatio Gates? Saratoga changed the outcome
of the American Revolution, and thus, the history of the
World.
Heritage is important. What we
have in Lancaster County is important.
I ask you to look to the
future and support our candidates this Fall.
August 18, 2007
Paid for by Molly
Henderson for County Commissioner
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