Tuesday, February 01, 2000
Cease-fire asked in Mason-Deerfield
BY KEVIN ALDRIDGE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MASON — Her message was a simple appeal: Can't we all just get along? Even if it's only for the next six months?
Newly elected Councilwoman Charlene Pelfrey wants a halt to the war of words that has been raging between Mason City Council and Deerfield Township trustees. Mrs. Pelfrey last week urged trustees and council members to consider a six-month “cease-fire.”
“The occurrence of frustration and friction between growing, expanding, adjoining communities is a common thing,” she said. “The only difference being that in the past few years, our dirty laun dry is embarrassingly and increasingly on full display on a weekly basis for our residents,
businesses, potential businesses and neighbors to read, groan, avoid and snicker at.”
For almost a decade, Mason and Deerfield have feuded over everything from annexations of tax-rich township land to cemetery plot rates. Distrust and disdain have prevailed over cooperation and friendship, while both governments have helped fill Warren County's court dockets.
Strained relations between the county's two largest communities were exacerbated by Mason's annexations of Paramount's Kings Island and Procter and Gamble Co.'s multimillion-dollar health-care research center on Mason-Montgomery Road. Bad blood led to the dissolution of the Mason-Deerfield Joint Fire District as well.
Township Trustee Larry Backus, who met with Mrs. Pelfrey over coffee a week ago to discuss issues, agreed that both governments should strive for improved communication and relations for the betterment of the region. He said he would welcome the opportunity for Mason and Deerfield to change course.
Trustees, in particular Mr. Backus and Bill Morand, have developed a reputation for writing stinging columns in local newspapers that often take Mason Council, the mayor and city manager to task. Similar viewpoints appear regularly in the township's quarterly newsletter, Deerfield Digest.
After finding out about Mason's plans to build a water twoer in the township, for instance, Mr. Backus said, “This is nothing more than one of Mason's Pearl Harbor-style sneak attacks against the township.”
And when Mason withdrew Kings Island from the township after 30 years, Mr. Morand responded, “This blatant disregard to commitment and the truth has happened time and time again. This is a petty, mean, small-minded thing that they are doing.”
Mason officials haven't been as publicly critical of trustees, choosing instead to focus their comments on the thousands of taxpayer dollars they say the township is costing with legal challenges.
Mr. Backus said “keeping the peace” is a two-way street and would not guarantee that his editorials wouldn't resurface if Mason's actions warrant a public response in his view.
“We have a duty to our residents to see that the truth is known,” Mr. Backus said. “But at the same time, I don't want to undermine any positive efforts to improve things.”
Mrs. Pelfrey said a break in the “mudslinging” is likely to reveal that while politicians may squabble, the animosity does not spill over into the community.
“Our little ones play together. We share parks, schools, roads, restaurants, ball teams. We worship in the same churches. We are all neighbors,” she said. “There are no fences between us. We are one community.”
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