The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1909-06-03
TO INCORPORATE TOWN
Residents Of Leighton Ask Court
For Privilege. j

n Probably few people outside OF tn,
Il legal profession understand the dill
n ference between the classes OF c.tie
and towns and villages, but the resi-
Il dents OF the village OF Leighton, II
4 the west part of Mahaska county, un
4 derstand fully enough the advantages
Il OF the one and disadvantages of th'
i other to become divided upon the pro
\ position of naving their village chang
4 ed to an Incorporated town, and |
\ hot contest is expected to result ovel
the application for the incorporation
l of the Town of Leighton in a petition
! which has just been filed with tht
i clerk of the district court by Geert
Stouwie and twenty-five other resi-
| dents OF the village, through their at
torney, C. Yer PIoeg. They have in
! cIuded within the boundary lines o.
their proposed town all of the terri
/ together with its several additions
1 The application reveals an alleged pc
| culiar situation in regard to the legal
4 ity of the plats of the additions to the
village, and 1t will in all probability
| develop new wrinkle in the famous
| school house proposition which has
| been in litigation in the local and SUI
preme courts for a numDer of years
The proposed incorporation will be
opposed by certain residents of the
territory described in the petition
and they have employed Attorneys
John F and w. r. Lacey and Burrell &
! Dewitt to present their claims to the
court. The date for nearing has been
set for August End. $780, ~
The law authorizing the plating
and organization of villages and the
making additions thereto in Iowa was
repealed several years ago. Under
1t the original plat of Leighton, was
| made and recorded, but since its re-
peal several additions to the town
have been made and plated. 1t Is
claimed that this may have been done
without authority of law. 1t is the
intention of the petitioners for the in
corporation of the town to make the
plats of these additions Legal and to
permit of further additions to the
town and to provide for other privil-
eyes to which incorporated towns
are entitled under the law. The con-
nection with the school house propo-
sition is also interesting. The ntiga-
ton which has been carried on to a
great length is over the location OF
the school house. The old school is
located just outside and east of the
village plat, but within the school dis
triet while the proposed location tor
the new building is north of the town
and also outside the village plat, but
side the town the law provides that
the consent of property owners with
in a certain distance of the proposed
location must be secured before a
school building may be erected. I'm
der this provision objections have
been entered to the plans OF the school
board for the building of the new
school north of town and they were
enjoined by the district court from
proceeding further with the work. On
account of the change in the laws re-
garding villages the outside district
could not be taken in as part of the
town, but in case the proposed school
sites were included within the limits
of the proposed incorporated town the
school could be erected without the
cnnSant nf anUnna ~ votad for NV a
majority of the residents at an cleo
ton held for that purpose. This same
condition would apply to either the
old or the proposed new location OF
the school building, as both are with
out the village plat. .. j.,