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When Warrant Officer Randell Hettinger comes home from the war, he could have new neighbors - 4,800 feeder hogs living about 1,300 feet from his front door.
That is closer than normally would be allowed - and much closer than Hettinger would like. But while he has been serving in Iraq, his home in Missouri has become the target of another battle.
On one side is the Penn family, which wants to build an indoor hog farm a quarter-mile from Hettinger's house in Knox County in northeastern Missouri. The county requires a buffer of at least half a mile, but the Penns say Hettinger's house is legally vacant. Hogwash, say Hettinger and his parents. The house has been in the family for four generations, and Hettinger was living there last year before being sent overseas.
To try to resolve the case, county commissioners will conduct a hearing Friday before deciding whether to issue a permit to the Penns to build the hog farm.
Hettinger "is in a war zone or dangerous area," Commissioner Mike McGinnis said. "I wouldn't want to be over there. This is what is making it such a difficult decision."
According to a March 28 letter from the Knox County Commission, the evidence was running against Hettinger.
Full Story: http://www.kansascity.com/105/story/594750.html