Yerke seeks dismissal of junkyard lawsuit

BY MEGAN REITER
STAFF WRITER

The Covington Twp. supervisor chairman is asking a judge to throw out a case against him alleging operation of an illegal junkyard.

Winship Road resident Scott Van Fleet filed suit in October against Chairman Thomas Yerke — who is his neighbor. In the suit, Mr. Van Fleet claims Mr. Yerke has about 70 junk cars on his property and also burns piles of trash, which affects Mr. Van Fleet’s recreation business, Van Fleet’s Grove.

Attorney Paul J. Walker filed nine objections to the suit Dec. 19, asking the court to dismiss the compliant against his client, Mr. Yerke. Four of the objections deal with the way Mr. Van Fleet tried to serve Mr. Yerke paperwork regarding the compliant. Initial paperwork “must be served by the sheriff,” Mr. Walker wrote in his objections, not by certified mail or by a constable, two methods Mr. Van Fleet originally tried.

“If you’re going to engage in this (legal) process, do it right,” Mr. Walker said.

He also said if Mr. Van Fleet has a problem with Mr. Yerke’s property, he should take issue with how the zoning office is handling any ordinance enforcements — not with the supervisor.

“If this is a violation of the zoning law, go through the zoning office first,” Mr. Walker said.

In regard to asking the township to step in, Mr. Van Fleet said he has “exhausted that end of it.”

“When I did go in front of the supervisors, they told me it was grandfathered in,” Mr. Van Fleet said of Mr. Yerke’s alleged junkyard.

All he’s asking the court to do, Mr. Van Fleet said, is determine whether Mr. Yerke has an illegal junkyard so he can determine which step to take next on the local level.

Mr. Van Fleet’s immediate step is to respond to Mr. Walker’s objections, which he believes are too vague to have merit.

“They’re general,” Mr. Van Fleet said. “They’re not specific in anything.”

Mr. Van Fleet and Mr. Yerke have been at odds over the supervisor’s plan to build a pavilion on the Moffat Estate for recreational purposes.

“Tom Yerke’s a very progressive guy. ... Van Fleet saw that as competition,” Mr. Walker said, adding he is not being paid by the township.

His personal feelings for Mr. Yerke have nothing to do with the fact the supervisor chairman is allegedly not following township ordinances, according to Mr. Van Fleet.

“It’s elective enforcement in our township — that’s what this is all about,” he said.

Efforts to reach Mr. Yerke on Monday were unsuccessful.

Contact the writer: mreiter@timesshamrock.com


NEWS SOURCE