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RUSS HALL

I am aware of the situation existing between some of the Voith’s neighbors, the Village of Angelica and the Voith family through newspaper articles, second hand information, general observations, and one visit that I made to the Voith property in the spring of 2002.

Though I have had only that one occasion to be on their property I left not understanding why anyone would have a problem with Mr. & Mrs. Voith, their children or their animals.

In the spring of 2002 I spent approximately 2 ½ hours at the Voith home. During that time my 10-year-old daughter, my wife, and my self along with Mr. & Mrs. Voith and their children spent time in the house and yard, as well as the upper part of the property that I/we accessed from High Street.

We used sleds dragged by 2 of their cows to haul compost from the compost pile to my trailer. My daughter and the Voith’s youngest daughter played with the cows and with Roy the goat.

I/we also were in the buildings used to house the animals and supplies. I saw nothing in or near these buildings that caused me to have any apprehension, in fact I allowed my daughter to play in and around the area while we were there.

During our visit I saw absolutely nothing to cause me alarm. The house was clean and orderly inside and out. The animals were clean, apparently healthy, well behaved and gentle.

The land was well kept and did not look unattractive from Main Street. The High Street part was enclosed with a combination of fencing and trees, and did not look unappealing. The buildings were in good condition and looked no different than any other outbuildings commonly located in and around the area.

The compost pile and the area used for the animals (High Street) did not have any overbearing odors, at least none that I could detect over the farm smell coming from the dairy farm directly across the street.

The only unpleasant part of our visit was the way I/we were treated by the rude lady who lives directly across form the Voith’s gate on High Street.

The Voith’s have taken obvious measures to conceal any “farm like” materials from the Main Street view such as constructing a solid fence at the top of the hill.

Anyone not familiar with the situation would see nothing but a country house, and an occasional docile animal/pet giving rides to children and other such activities.

Since the animals are not commonly housed or maintained in an area visible from Main Street the only way that anyone would know that animals are present on that property is by a chance sighting, or if they spent hours peering out their windows and/or patrolling the area.

Russ Hall