BRIGHTON
BOX 336
BINDERY (CO
Ta
Vol. 91 No. 13
by Tom Mooney
Enforce existing gun laws, avoid
any further ‘‘gun control”
legislation, and make it clear that
people who shoot and kill will be
given the death penalty.
That was the consensus among
several Back Mountain police
chiefs this week when asked their
views on whether or not ‘there
should be any additional controls on
private ownership of guns and on
whether or not the.death penalty
would have any deterrent value in
gun-connected crimes.
At present, Pennsylvania law
allows private ownership of vir-
tually any kind of gun, with the
principal restriction being a
requirement of several days wait
while the seller has the buyer’s
record checked and registers the
gun. As far as punishment is con-
cerned, the state suspended capital
punishment some years ago,
leaving convicted gun-murderers in
prison.
said Kingston Twp. Chief of Police
Paul Sabol of present gun-control
laws. He said he does not see the
need for any additional regulations,
with the key being strict enforce-
ment of rules that try to keep guns
out of the hands of those likely to
misuse them
Chief Sabol expressed strong
views, however, on the value of the
death penalty as a deterrent in
crime situations. ‘“‘I believe in
strong punishment for serious
crimes,” said the chief, explaining
that, as he sees it, the sureness of
punishment will make would-be
wrongdoers stop and think about
whether or not what they're about
to do is worth it.
Can the state justifiably kill
someone, though, because he
himself has killed? ‘‘He forfeits his
life,”’ said Chief Sabol, repeating his
statement for emphasis, on the
“rights” of the convicted. ‘When
you take another’s life, you forfeit
your own.”
Dallas Borough Chief of Police Ed
Lyons agreed entirely with Sabol.
“Let's put some teeth into the gun
laws that exist today,” he said,
claiming that the present protective
laws are apparently just not being
enforced.
Chief Lyons also agreed that the
death penalty is important, serving
as both a deterrent to crime. and a
symbol that ‘violent crime will
simply not be tolerated by society.
“I’m a complete advocate of the
death penalty in cases justified by
the competent level of authority,”
said Chief Lyons. ‘It should never
have been stricken from the books.
The problem is in a lot of the big
cities, where you have people who
have no respect for the law. Once
the penalties are more severe, I
think you’ll see things start to cool
down.”
Lyons, would be violation of rights
and privileges of people who use
guns properly. ‘‘In rural and
suburban areas like this,’ he ex-
plained, “‘young people are taught
to use guns properly and to respect
them. You would be penalizing the
wrong people if you make it illegal
to own guns privately. Why should
we pay the penalty?”
Chief Lyons blamed ‘‘namby-
pambies”’ and ‘‘do-goodniks” for
and for what he called ‘‘laws that do
too much to protect the suspect.”
He cited the U.S. Constitution’s
guarantee of ‘‘the right to keep and
bear arms’’ as a basic American
concept and said that he and other
sportsmen-hunters consistently
support publicity and lobbying
efforts to fight what is considered
restrictive and unconstitutional gun
control.
Dallas Twp. Chief of Police Carl
Miers was unavailable for com-
court cases for a period of time.
Kingston Township will be
starting a two week spring clean-up
beginning Monday, May 4. The
clean-up will run for two weeks
only; there will be no second round
made on any street. The following is
the schedule:
Monday, May 4-Highland Avenue,
Terrace Avenue, Skyline Drive,
Hillside Street, Spring Garden
Street, Clearview Avenue and
Westmoreland Hills.
Tuesday, May 5-Staub Road,
Carverton Road from the Checker-
board to Route 309, Hill Street,
Hickory Street, Maple Street, Elm
Terrace, Cliffside, Post Road, Holly
Street, all of Midway Manor, Manor
Drive, Crane Road.
Wednesday, May 6-Oak Street,
Lewis Avenue, Heller’s Grove,
Grove Street, Orchard Street, Rice
Street,
Lehigh including Division Street,
Echo Valley Trailer Park.
Thursday, May 7-Youngblood
Avenue, Cedar Avenue, Wood
Street, Hillcrest Street, Goeringer
Avenue, Beech Street, - Franklin
Street, Chestnut Street, Elinore
Street, Longdale Avenue, James
Street, Ridge Street, Summit
Street, Layou Street, Inman
Avenue, Glenview Avenue.
Monday, May 11-Ferguson
Avenue, Spring Street, Brook
Street, West Center Street, Druid
Hills, Harford Avenue, Lawn
Street, North Lehigh Street (dirt
section), Evergreen Street.
Tuesday, = May 12-Pioneer
Avenue, Roushey Street, Perrin
Avenue, East Mt. Airy, School
Street, West Mt. Airy.
Wednesday, May 13-Rose Village,
Armstrong Drive, Village Drive,
Collins Avenue, Mary Street,
Williams Avenue, Lincoln Street,
Melrose Avenue, Grace Avenue,
Holcomb Road, Wellington Avenue,
Kenilworth Avenue.
Thursday, May 14-Davis Street,
Stafford Street, Zinn Street, Von.
derheid Street, Johnson Street,
Warden Avenue, Sutton Road,
Church Road (Trucksville), Knob
Hill.
Friday, May 15-Bunker Hill Road,
Dug Road, Atherholt Drive, Car-
verton Road from Checkerboardto
Eighth Street, Brown Manor,
Carverton Heights, Mt. Olivet
Road, Krispin Road, Church Road
(Carverton), Sickler Road, Eighth
Street.
Property owners should not wait
until’ the day their street is being
picked up. Please place the items on
the curb before the scheduled day
because the crew may be ahead of
schedule. Weather conditions may
affect the schedule. Crews will not
pick up the following: washers,
dryers, refrigerators, television
sets, hot water heaters, furnaces,
stoves, or large appliances. No tree
stumps, mattresses, bed springs,
tires, or household garbage. Crews
will take small appliances, ie.
toasters, can openers, irons, radios,
etc., any yard cleanup and brush
(no trees, please).
This is a limited pick-up due to the
West Side Landfill not being able to
accept our clean-up items and the
distance it must be hauled to the
East Side Landfill.
TR
by Tom Mooney
The dispute between Jackson
Twp. and the American Asphalt Co.
will probably not be settled for a
long time yet, according to town-
ship solicitor Atty. Blythe Evans.
Speaking at a meeting of the
Jackson Twp. supervisors last
week, Atty. Evans reported that
American Asphalt’s challenge to
the township’s 1979 zoning ordi-
nance was still before the township
zoning hearing board, with further
testimony for both sides expected
on May 4 and 5.
But even if the testimony stage
concludes shortly, said Atty: Evans,
the losing side will probably appeal
through the court ‘system. That
procedure could take several years.
Basically, American Asphalt is
contending that the township’s 1979
zoning ordinance threatens to drive
about 40 percent of the acreage
allowed before the new zoning law
was adopted.
The township, for its part, con-
tends that American Asphalt has
sufficient land for up to 80 years of
mining and is unjustified in con-
tinuing to mine in land since re-
zoned for other purposes.
American Asphalt is asking the
zoning hearing board to grant it
‘‘non-conforming use’ for its
mining operataions on the land
since re-zoned. Company president
Bernard Banks said the procedure
is essentially that of a business or
structure being allowed to remain
in an area where it no longer meets
the zoning laws because it pre-dates
those zoning laws.
The dispute centers upon some
100 acres which American Asphalt
calls its ‘‘reserve’”’ land and which
the township now classifies as
agricultural or residential.
The original Jackson Twp. zoning
law, drawn up in 1965, classed more
than 170 acres as ‘“M-1"’ or mining.
Amendments to’ the ordinance,
and the 1979 ordinance reduced it to
about 75 acres. American Asphait
continues to conduct mining and
quarrying on some of the 100 or so
acres re-zoned and believes itself
entitled to the non-conforming use
rights to continue to do so.
Atty. Evans both at the hearing
and at last week’s supervisor
meeting argued that American
Asphalt has mined an average of
150,000 tons of material per year
since the early 1950’s and, at that
rate, has enough land remaining in
its 75 zoned acres to supply 80 years
of mining.
Banks took issue with Evans,
contending that the 150,000 figure is
unreasonably low, since the small
mining operations of the 1950’s drag
the average down. At the com-
pany’s present mining rate of about
350,000 tons per year, he continued,
American Asphalt has only a few
more years before the land gives
out and the company has to cease
“I’m very much in favor of the
space shuttle. I believe it is about
time the government spent money
on something worthwhile,” Liz
“It is a great step forward for the
for it,” Ron Van Why,
“I’m in faver of the Columbian—
everytime we do something like this
it means progress. We learn
something new such as in medical
advances,” Merle Staff.
“I think it is a good idea to try
another venture into space,” Ron
Bonsick.
Back Mountain residents sur-
veyed by a Dallas Post reporter
echoed the same tone of pride and
optimism as President Reagan in
his message to the astronauts of the
Columbia space shuttle.
Most believed the long wait and
the $9.6 billion is well worth the 541%
hour, 36-orbit flight the space
shuttle will open a new frontier for
industry, science, astronomy and
national defense.
Those who were willing to
comment voiced their approval of
the Columbia’s flight into space,
America’s first manned space
launch in almost six years.
Like NASA, local residents are
hopeful that the success of the
Columbia will overtake Russia's
lead in space development. -