WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-Homeland Security Runs Afoul with Franklin Farmer

Homeland Security Runs Afoul with Franklin Farmer

Franklin, Vermont - September 26, 2009

Owners of an historic Franklin county dairy farm say federal stimulus spending that was supposed to save the economy could put it out of business.

"We get the copters several times a day," said Brian Rainville. "This is a regular occurrence now. They're protecting the nation's borders."

Rainville says stepped-up security surveillance by US Border Patrol choppers is new since 9/11. He knows because his family has run its 240-acre dairy farm in Franklin, abutting the border for 63 years. What isn't new is the quaint Morse's Line microport located 700 feet from the front door of the Rainville farmhouse. This 75-year-old building is one of many microports along the nation's borders. About 25-thousand people a year will enter the United States through these portals.

This spring the Department of Homeland Security developed plans to replace the old port with a new modernized and expanded edition -- using about 14 million dollars of federal stimulus money -- and about ten and half acres of the Rainville farm. "At no point has my family been asked to sell land or has there been any discussion about how this ten and one half acre taking of property -- as it looks right now -- will impact a family farm," Rainville said.

Rainville says his family welcomes a new port, but they only learned about it after the plans were drawn up, and never consulted in advance. If they had been, he says they would have explained that the property the government plans to take is cropland critical to the farm's financial survival. "Stimulus funds are being used to smother our dairy farm. What on earth is going on?" He said.

For now Rainville is still waiting to hear from Homeland Security or any other government agency about plans to buy the farmland. He says his family believes the acreage could be worth at least 500-thousand dollars.

Homeland Security officials were unavailable for comment Saturday, but Senator Patrick Leahy says he is looking into the matter.

Brian Joyce - WCAX News