Auburn supervisor faces challenge
Published: October 28, 2009
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share thisIn Auburn Township, Republican incumbent Berton Hollister faces Democrat challenger Daniel Strohl, in one of only two township supervisors’ races in Susquehanna County that has a pair of candidates squaring off.
The main issue for both candidates is the maintenance of township roads, particularly the dirt roads, of which Auburn Township has in abundance.
There are approximately eighty miles of dirt roads in Auburn Township, and the gas industry has had an effect on the condition of the dirt roads, as has rainy weather and increased home construction.
According to Hollister, Chesapeake Gas has "quite a few" wells underway, and there will be quite a few more coming.
"We've no complaints with this gas company," he said. "They have been very good about fixing and maintaining the dirt roads."
But, he added that the township is seeing a great deal of change recently with the coming of the gas industry, and that in the next couple of years, it is going to be something else compared to what it has been like over the 33 years he has worked for the township. He has been a supervisor for 28 of those years, and was a laborer before that.
Hollister was the leading vote getter in the May Republican primary but 15 more than voted for him there cast write-in ballots, so he knows there are significant concerns.
Daniel Strohl, who is new to the supervisor race, says that he hopes to draw upon his 20 years experience running a farm tractor and farm machinery business.
"I think I can handle road construction and maintenance, hopefully better than it is being done already," Strohl said. "Doing what I do, I spend a lot of time driving the dirt roads, going out to farms, and I have some ideas on how they could be improved.”
He added, “Everyone seems to say that more money would have to be spent on improving the dirt roads, and I think they don't need to spend more money, but just to do a better job with existing township equipment, through smarter grading of dirt road surfaces, and moving the ditches away from the roads, so that the water is further from the surface, rather than making the roads narrower."
Strohl said that he had no particular issues with the quality of service provided by the current supervisors, but felt that he could provide a change, since the supervisors have all worked for the township for 30-35 years. "I think I'd have more motivation for change, and energy to get things done."
