Molovinsky And Morning Call Tumble Over Wehr's Dam

The Morning Call has declined to print the following letter, and a longer version of it.

The basis of the letter in question is centered on assumption of a result not yet known. We are declining to print the letter because it contains at worst faulty logic, at best an assumption. Please include this reasoning when you ‘go public.’   The Morning Call

The South Whitehall Commissioners never expected the voters to approve the referendum this past November to retain Wehr's Dam, especially when they had associated it with a possible tax increase. They thought that they could accommodate the Wildlands Conservancy in demolishing the dam, with no political consequence to themselves. In July of 2014, the Commissioners gave the Conservancy permission to conduct a study of the dam, which was intended to justify its demolition. The engineering firm for the Conservancy then claimed that the dam was leaking under itself, at one small spot. On February 13, 2015, the DEP wrote the township; "The Wildlands Conservancy has recently brought to our attention that there is some confusion relating to the current condition of the Wehr's Dam..." For the Commissioners to have granted the Wildlands Conservancy permission to interface with the state was improper. The dam is the historic property of the township residents, not an outside party. A subsequent study of the dam by another engineering firm could not confirm the above referenced leak. It is now necessary for the Commissioners to put aside their agenda of accommodating the Wildlands Conservancy, and honor the results of the referendum. They must change their Park Master Plan, which still calls for the dam's demolition. They must now advocate for the dam with the state DEP, and correct any misconceptions about its condition.
Michael Molovinsky

ADDENDUM: FEBRUARY 3, 2017. Although, The Morning Call has declined to print my letter(s), they claim that they will now inquire and report on the Township's intention in regard to the dam.

photocredit: molovinsky

ABOVE REPRINTED FROM FEBRUARY 2017

UPDATE JUNE 15, 2018: Although its been almost two years since the referendum, the township hasn't applied one dab of cement to the dam. On the contrary, last October they tried to breach the dam by having a contractor pull a tree trunk over it. The township has not said or written one word about the dam since the referendum. The new township magazine(summer 2018), which features capital projects in the park, doesn't show or mention the dam. The Morning Call never did make any inquiries or write one word about the dam since the referendum. The dam sits in a state of benign neglect, waiting for the state to accommodate the Wildlands Conservancy and condemn it. Only this blog defends the dam, its magic, and the voter's wishes.

UPDATE MAY 21, 2021: I have been fighting to save Wehr's Dam and the conspiracy against it since 2014.  This conspiracy was comprised of powerful components against it, including Commissioner Tori Morgan, The Wildlands Conservancy, and anti-dam sympathizers in Harrisburg's governing agencies. The Morning Call has declined to print my letters for five years.  The referendum was never intended to pass in the first place with inflated costs, it only did so because of the residents' love for their iconic dam. The Wildlands submitted the dam to absurd scrutiny, including a scuba diver in three inches of water. The state DEP accommodated the Wildlands, by ignoring their own previous low-hazard guidelines for the dam. The township public works never defended the structure with the state. 

Because of opposition to the Ridge Farms development,  the board of commissioners is becoming more transparent and responsive to the public.  A Morning Call reporter has reached out to me inquiring about the dam, I'm hopeful that an article may be finally coming.  Regardless, saving the dam remains a mission of this blog.