TOWN 2 EVICT OLD HORSE AFTER 32 YEARS on FARM

"Peter Rabbit" is an old horse who was born on the property in question, and he has been living there peacefully under the care of the same loving owner, Harley Scott, for all of the past  32 years of the horses life!  Now that the area is being open to development, the "town fathers" want to "all of a sudden" enforce a 20 year old  ordinance against "livestock" in that town. Amazingly, Peter Rabbit was on that property even before the ordinance was created! Nevertheless, the town fathers are ordering him off!  Guess also the "town fathers" never heard of the defense available to Mr. Scott, of the claim of "condonation," - which means that they condoned the horses presence there for so long that it is too late to start enforcing the ordinance on him. Moreover, since the horse is so old and couldnt have that much longer to live, and forcing him to move from the only home he has EVER known might be detrimental to his well-being, ...issuing a varience would be the proper and humanitarian thing to do.  What is the problem here? Why do the town-fathers want Peter Rabbit off the land so bad, so quick and so all of a sudden? Wasent Peter Rabbit  there on that property even  BEFORE the "annoyed" city-slicker neighbors moved in? In fact, as mentioned above, he was there even before the ordinace so the ordinance DOES NOT or SHOULD NOT even apply! Here is the rest of the story:

HICKMAN, Neb.

Talk about your one-horse town. This burg of 1,084 residents is just that.
But some folks don't want that distinction. They want an aging horse named Peter Rabbit, who lives in a pasture in town, gone for good.
Other folks say the horse should stay, despite an ordinance that bans livestock inside city limits.

"I feel bad for the poor horse. He's probably going to die soon anyway," said Jamie Cox, who manages the town bar, Sadie's Place. "As long as he's being taken care of, they should leave him alone."

Hickman, once a sleepy farm town, has become a bedroom community for the capital city of Lincoln and is one of the fastest-growing cities in Nebraska. With houses having sprung up around Peter Rabbit's pasture, Mayor Jim Hrouda and five of the six City Council members are determined to enforce the livestock ban. Shortly after a council meeting Tuesday, the horse's owner, 76-year-old Harley Scott, was served an eviction notice that orders the animal off the land.

Scott said he has no intention of complying with the Sept. 15 deadline. He faces the prospect of being fined up to $100 a day if he's convicted of violating the ordinance.

Longtime council member Robert Harms said the livestock ordinance dates to 1988. He said allowing Peter Rabbit to stay would make it difficult to keep other livestock out.

Scott said he has raised Peter Rabbit since the brown Morgan-quarter horse crossbreed was born in his pasture in the spring of 1976. Scott said there have been horses on the land since his father bought 40 acres in 1935. Only about four acres remain in the family. The rest has been sold to developers. His land was annexed in 2006, but Scott said no one said anything to him at the time about having to give up the horse.

Scott said Peter Rabbit, who is as healthy as a 32-year-old horse can be, is too old to move. Horses have a life expectancy of 25 to 30 years. "He could drop dead today," Scott said. "I would prefer to have him remain as stable as he is and be able to enjoy his life. I like to go out and pet him. It's just a matter of feeding and petting him."

We, Friends of Equines and Friends of All Animals and of the People Who Love them, DEMAND of  the Hickman Town Fathers: 

LET PETER RABBIT STAY ON THE LAND HE WAS BORN ON AND LIVED ON AND WAS LOVED ON BY HIS OWNER FOR THE LAST 32 YEARS!

LET PETER RABBIT STAY UNTIL HIS DYING DAY!

It is only the right thing to do, but of course, you should know that!

Signers we urge you all to contact the Hickman Mayor and all city councel members to let them know your feelings on what they are putting poor old Mr. Scott and his old horse Peter Rabbit through. This is an outrage and we must let them know the world is watching this case!  

Here is the telephone # to the Hickman City Clerks Office:

(402) 792 - 2212

You can state your complaint with the clerk but be sure also to ask for a list of the councilmembers names so that you can leave a message on each and every one of there answering machines. This should not be too difficult since they only have five (5) or six (6) councilmembers.

Here also is the City Managers email addy; you know what to say to him;

CityManager@ckt.net

Here also is the number for the Hickman Area Economic Develpoment Association (HAEDA) whom we suspect is behind the push to remove Peter Rabbit off of his land. You can call them also to voice your outrage!

HAEDA: (402) 792 - 2212  

City of Hickman Website: http://www.hickman.ne.gov/

Thanks for caring signers! Together, WE CAN make a difference!