Harry Nickels is a free man today.

The 81-year-old West Salem Township man was released from jail Wednesday by Mercer County Common Pleas Court Judge Thomas R. Dobson. During the hearing, the World War II veteran claimed he had been jailed illegally since Monday morning, the first day of his 30-day sentence for violating the township sewer ordinance.

"It was a personal vendetta against me," Nickels said.

What ultimately landed Nickels behind bars began in 2000, when he was ordered to tap into West Salem Township's new sewer system.

Ten years earlier, Nickels had installed a new septic system at his home at 36 Evergreen Road. "That just about broke me," he said, explaining the cost drained his savings.

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