Dispute between
two Benton city
residents headed
to jury trial


By Misti Drew
Tribune-Courier Reporter
mdrew@tribunecourier.com

BENTON – Tina Stewart and neighbor Alice Goheen have been at odds for the past three years.

And while neighborly disputes are not uncommon in rural areas such as Marshall County, this particular disagreement has taken on some pretty uncommon ground.

According to Stewart, the dispute began several years ago when Goheen accused her of having a portion of her driveway located on the Goheen’s property.

“We bought our house from my famly ten years ago and have been maintaining that part of the property the whole time,” Stewart said. “That was the first we had ever heard it might not be our land.”

Stewart said with the age of the subdivision, most property owners’ land division follows the natural tree line. She assumed her property line was the same.

“The driveway was already here when we bought the house,” Stewart explained. “We never even thought about the possibility that it might not be ours.”

However, after making the allegation that the land did not belong to the Stewarts, the Goheen’s had a survey commissioned which confirmed the Stewart’s driveway to be partially located on the Goheen’s property.

Immediately following, Stewart said the Goheens began parking in and blocking their driveway entrance.

“They spray painted our walkway and wouldn’t let us pull up in the driveway,” Stewart recalled. “It took us a year to get a hearing in court to get them off the land and have a jury trial set.”

The Goheens were ordered to stay off the property, pending the hearing.

Stewart said it was at that time the Goheens began posting signs and balloons throughout their yard, and on the exterior of their house, stating their protest.

Many of the signs referred to the Stewarts as “squatters,” a term that describes someone or something occupying an abandoned or unoccupied space or building without permission.

Other posted signs quoted Bible scriptures such as “though shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house” and sent warnings to the Stewart family. “Squatters will pay a very large sum to the Goheens for stealing. We warned you.”

Yet another sign invited the community to the upcoming court date concerning the dispute. “Everyone’s invited to a jury trial on July 7,” the sign said.

Others made mention of the jurors themselves.

“Attention Squatters – Marshall County homeowners will not be in favor of land thieves. Think about it carefully.

“Who does a jury consist of? Only the hardworking Marshall County citizens who buy their land, pay their taxes and don’t very likely appreciate land thieves such as yourselves.”

But the signs have been just a small part of the publicly displayed dispute said Stewart.

“They will put chairs in our yard when we are trying to mow so that we can’t cut our grass, and they tell my daughter she should enjoy parking her car in the driveway because she won’t have the car for very long,” an exasperated Stewart said.

“We have always mowed all the way over to the driveway and slightly beyond,” Stewart continued. “It was never an issue before now.”

But the Stewart’s do say they acknowledge there was an error made somewhere along the way and say they offered the Goheen’s $1,000 for the five-foot strip of disputed property.

“The Goheen’s attorney sent us a letter telling us they would accept $10,000 for the land, not the $1,000 we had offered,” Stewart said.

As it seems the two parties have come to an impass, a jury will have to decide whether the Goheens have a right to the piece of property they have maintained for the past ten years, or if ownership lies in default with the Goheens.

While all of the signs of protest have recently been removed, the dispute seems to be far from over.

Of the posted signs, which the Stewarts’ say they consider to be harrassment, Benton Chief of Police Tracy Watwood said there is little law enforcement can do.

“Unless there are specific threats being made, there is nothing we can do. This falls under a civil category of which we have little jurisdiction over.”

Watwood said in civil disputes, contacting an attorney is a person’s best option for resolution.

Editor’s note: Alice Goheen was contacted regarding this story, but did not return calls for comment.