The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1951-03-15
ORANGE TOWNSHIP
LANDOWNERS LINE
UP AGAINST PLAN
Representative of Highway De-s
partment at Meeting Here
Monday Night
Impossible to Run Four Lane
Highway Thru Town, Lo-
cal Group Is Told

Orange township objectors joined
forces with Bluffton businessmen in
protesting re-routing of the Dixie
highway in the immediate Bluffton
vicinity, at a conference with off
cials of the state highway depart
ment Monday night in the town hall.
Voicing disapproyal of a high
way proposal to route the Dixie thru
their farms in by-passing Bluffton,
spokesmen for the Orange township
group said they preferred that the
highway be continued on its present
route.
Protest committee Of the Bluffton
Businessmen association also pre-
sented its objections to visiting Off
cials of the highway department,
seeking to retain the existing Dixie
route through downtown Bluffton as
a benefit to local business firms.
HEAR PROTESTS
Present for the highway depart
ment at the meeting, arranged by
the Businessmen's association, were
Walter Neidhart, division engineer,
and Robert II. Sheik, head of the
planning engineering division.
In addition to explaining the en-
gineering decision to bypass Bluffton
with new four-lane highway, de-
partment officials said public hear
ing relative to the new route will be
held sometime in June, and that
formal protests should be made at
that time either in writing or orally.
Final decision in the matter will
be made by director of the state
highway department in consultation
with federal officials, inasmuch as
/ the national government is party
to planning for new federal routes.
ALTERNATE Routes POSSIBLE
An alternate route, part of the
state highway system, could be ar
ranged through Bluffton even though
the four-lane highway misses the
town, the local group also was told.
This would keep Bluffton in close
contact with the main highway, and
permit state assistance in maintain
ing streets over which the route
passed.
Sheik also told the local group that
he did not feel Blutfton business
places would experience any percept-
ible loss of business as result of
the rerouting, because the improved
road would attract a decided heavier
flow of traffic, much of which would
come into Bluffton.
Decision to bypass Bluffton was
made largely because a four lane
highway is required, and it would be
impossible to route it through the
town on that basis, particularly in
the business district, without moving
buildings.
ROUTE NEAR Town
The proposed new route would be
nearest Bluffton where it crosses the
Bentley road south of town, the
highway spokesman said. At that
point it would be less than 100 yards
east of the Nickel Plate railroad,
and then would angle across country
to meet the present route at the
curve on the old Welty farm where
Gideon Steiner now lives in Union
township.
South of .Bluffton, the route would
closely follow the railroad all the
way to Beaverdam, then jog around
Beaverdam to the east.
Local electors also were told that
the state hopes to have plans for the
road completed by early summer,
with a possibility of starting on the
new route by fall.
ORANGE DIRECTORS
Spokesman for the Orange town.
ship objectors was Albert Vermillion,
through whose farm the new Dixie
route would run. Other Orange
township farms affected would be
those of Harry Bertsche, Cloyd
Bracy 1.-THE old John Ewing far7m)
and Archie Hartman. In Union
township the new route would pass
through farms of less Welty and
Roy Rogers, who also were reported
to unfavorably regard the re-routing
plan.
Bluffton was represented at the
meeting by the businessmen's pro-
test committee headed by Armin
Hauenstein and Ed Conaway, CO.
chairman; members of the town
council, Mayor w. A. Howe and
City Solicitor John Romey.
Hauenstein presided at the session,