The latest news  on the beekeeping ban in Crestline Ohio is that they
will do a final reading of the ordinance and vote on it on Monday,
July 26.   At this time we can all help fight this by sending letters
of support to the local newspaper,
the Crestline Advocate,  P.O. Box 226
Crestline, OH 44827  [log in to unmask]  The deadline for
being published before the next city council meeting is noon 7/19 CDT.
for reference :  From The Plain Dealer
Cleveland, Ohio

Beekeeper stung by town's law on hives
Sunday, July 04, 2004
Michael Sangiacomo, Plain Dealer Reporter

Crestline, Ohio- Bees and their keepers are not welcome in this town,
which mystifies and saddens the only beekeeper in town.

"I can't help but take it personally when a whole law is aimed at me,"
said David Duncan, a beekeeper for more then 20 years.

City officials admitted that the law, which could take effect this
month, is aimed at Duncan.

"A person who lives close to Duncan is allergic to bees and asked the
city to outlaw beekeeping," said Mark Milliron, assistant safety
director of Crestline, a city with about 5,000 residents west of
Mansfield. "We realized we had no legislation about beekeeping, so we
drew one up."

City Council gave the proposal a first reading last week. It must pass
two more readings before it can become law. After that, anyone
harboring bees in the city would face minor misdemeanor charges and
fines.

"This is just so ridiculous," said Duncan.

"I have two or three hives at my home and 20 in a two-acre property at
the city limits. The rest of my hundred hives are spread out around
the area. My bees pollinate backyard gardens and trees all over the
city.

"Getting rid of my hives is not going to protect this person who is
allergic to stings. What about feral bees? Wasps? Yellowjackets? Those
are the insects that are more likely to sting a person."

Milliron said the ordinance would not allow Duncan to keep his bees
under a "grandfather clause" - a provision that would allow an
operation that predated the law to continue after the law took effect.

Milliron said similar ordinances exist in a handful of other
communities, including Willoughby. No bee complaints have been filed
in Willoughby since the ordinance was passed in 1983.

"Crestline's ordinance outlaws all bees," Duncan said. "I'm allergic
to cats; should we outlaw all cats? Wouldn't it be wiser for the one
person who is allergic to bees just to keep medication with her at all
times? Wouldn't that be smarter?"

Jim Tew, the bee specialist at the Ohio State University Honey Bee
Laboratory in Wooster, said the bees will not follow the law.

"I'm very disappointed to hear this," he said. "Eliminating the city's
only beekeeping will not stop bees, wasps and other stinging insects
from coming into the city. I wonder if the city realizes how important
beekeepers are to the state's agricultural economy?"

Duncan said if the law is passed, he would move his hives out of the
city.

"It just does not make sense to me," he said. "We have a person in
town with a pet wolf that escaped its yard and chased a kid on a bike
last week, and no one says a word about that. But I have a couple
beehives, and they pass a law against me."

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-- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and  other info ---
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