Harms, National Guard misunderstanding goes viral

An incident at Harms Excavating and Landscaping in Sparta last Friday involving a tractor-trailer delivering food to local National Guard soldiers has gone viral, but the situation isn't what it appears to be.

According to Sparta Assistant Police Chief Jeremy Kempfer, Harms and the National Guard have had previous incidents in which National Guard vehicles from the armory used the neighboring Harms lot.

"There's been an ongoing issue between Harms Excavating and the Guard," Kempfer said. "Vehicles would turn around in his parking lot and would block the entrance to his business."

Kempfer said the situation began on June 9 when the tractor-trailer bringing food to the armory was late.

"It showed up late at night and was unable to be unloaded," Kempfer said. "The driver parked on the north side of Harms's lot."

Kempfer noted that a week prior to the incident, National Guard officials and Harms Excavating and Landscaping owner Jeremy Harms had come to an agreement that Guard personnel would not use the business's lot.

"Harms arrived that morning and blocked (the tractor-trailer) in with his equipment," he said.

Kempfer said he was contacted by one of the members of the National Guard that the incident was going on and he was able to talk to Harms to get the equipment moved and the delivery made.

"Harms didn't know there was food in that truck per se," Kempfer said. "He was out working a job and the Guard wasn't able to get ahold of him."

Kempfer added that the tractor-trailer is from a private company not affiliated with the National Guard and the driver was from Washington state.

"He had no idea about any of this," Kempfer said about the driver, referencing the agreement between Harms and the National Guard. "He pulled over to wait until morning to deliver and that's what happened."

In the time since the incident, Harms Excavating and Landscaping has been the target of negative comments and reviews by various users of social media that questioned the business's patriotism by blocking the tractor-trailer in.

"The Facebook thing is unfortunate," Kempfer said. "When I left, things seemed to be pretty good. Harms was notified to put signs up in the future notifying people they can't park there."

Kempfer said the situation was resolved in about 25 minutes.

"The Guard always wants to have a peaceful relationship with him because they are neighbors," Kempfer said. "As far as I know, other than the Facebook issue, everything has been resolved.

"Everybody has a clear understanding and I think steps have been taken by both Harms and the Guard that this doesn't happen anymore."

The Herald Tribune contacted Lt. Col. Brad Leighton, public affairs director for the Illinois National Guard, for comment and the following statement was released:

"This is a misunderstanding that has rapidly escalated to its current state and gained the attention of the Illinois Army National Guard leadership. Illinois Army National Guard leaders plan to meet with the property owner as soon as possible. To be clear, Illinois National Guard trucks and equipment should NOT be using private property to park or turn around their equipment. We do not believe the soldiers who have done so knew that they were using private property. We will do a better job of communicating this to our soldiers and to those that service our training area. We are going to implement some measures to ensure our soldiers do not use this property in the future, including signs and instructions. We understand the landowner's frustration and ask his patience as we address this issue."

Messages left at a number for Harms Excavating and Landscaping were not immediately returned.