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On 11/8/2003 at 12:26 AM GG  wrote:


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Source: The Patriot-News - Carlisle, PA

County sells woman's farm over $572 tax bill

http://www.pennlive.com/news/patriotnews/index.ssf?/base/news/10682010242625
41.xml
or http://tinyurl.com/u5ro

County sells farm to recoup $572 in taxes

Friday, November 07, 2003 BY DIANA STRICKER For The Patriot-News

An 89-year-old woman could be evicted from her home of more than 50 years
for missing one tax payment of $572 on her South Hanover Twp. property.

Helene Shue's red farmhouse and 41 acres of land along Route 39 -- about
two miles from Hersheypark -- were appraised at $800,000, said her nephew,
Jeff Arndt. The property was sold in September at a sheriff's sale for
$15,000.

Arndt said he and his aunt were not aware that the county was seeking to
recoup a portion of the 2001 taxes until an anonymous caller tipped him off
Monday night.

"He told us the property had already been sold," Arndt said. "The Lord laid
it on his heart to tell me about it."

Arndt has hired an attorney, and filed a legal challenge of the sale
yesterday. The petition states that the taxes were paid in full every other
year, including this year.

Dauphin County's tax bureau made repeated attempts to collect the 2001
payment before selling the property, said Jennifer Kocher, a county
spokeswoman. Several notices were sent seeking payment, and two notices
were posted on the front door of her house, Kocher said.

"There's a very strict procedure we must follow that includes 12
notifications," Kocher said. "We followed the letter of the law to a T."

The $572 owed in back taxes represents part of what is owed for 2001,
Kocher said. County records confirm that Shue paid all her subsequent tax
bills in full, she said.
. . .

The property is near land being developed for residential housing.

. . .

Arndt said he worries that other older homeowners could lose their homes in
a similar fashion. "We need to make this known to the public and we need to
get the legislators in on this," he said. "There are other people who have
to be protected."



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