Man's battle with UP goes back to '02

Les Glastetter has been at war with the railroad company since August 2002.

"Here are the records to prove it," said Glastetter gesturing to a box overflowing with photographs, maps and correspondence in his home. His extensive files chronicle a legal battle that started over drainage but has now extended to 1,000-foot-wide section of Glastetter's property that abuts the railroad. Union Pacific seized this property in May 2005 through eminent domain.

Glastetter felt slighted by even the phrasing of UP's offers. "You see this?" he said indicating an acquisition document. "An undeveloped slough. That's their definition of my land."

But Glastetter thinks he has caught UP in a mistake. With the help of a surveyor, he determined that UP erroneously acquired only 1,000 feet of his property and needs more to complete the project. The land UP acquired to build a service road along the eastern edge of Glastetter's 28 acres does not extend far enough to reach County Road 209, he says.

Glastetter, a self-employed contractor, took advantage of this oversight by erecting a shed and fluorescent orange flags to demarcate the 924 square feet along the railroad that still belong to him.

"I'm trying to recover my losses," he said. "It's my land, and I can do whatever I want with it, so I put the shed there."

Glastetter is eagerly awaiting further condemnation proceedings with the county. He also has a jury trial set for April contesting the $35,000 paid for the other portion of his land. Union Pacific is counterfiling, claiming the figure was too high.

Glastetter is also pursuing a federal trial charging that UP's failure to maintain drainage and ditches has flooded his land and lowered his property value.

"There are culverts in place meant to drain the water, but you can see they've been blocked up," said Glastetter.

-- TJ Greaney