8 Dallas Post
Dallas, PA Thursday February 13, 2003
Short day’s journey on the ice
Ice fishermen Don Hunter and Scott Nico
A i
sia spent a recent weekend day testing the waters at Harveys Lake. Accompanied by
their faithful companion, who seemed unimpressed with their persistence, they trudged across the ice before setting in.
POST PHOTOSICHARLOTTE BARTIZEK
Lehman police
(continued from page 1)
With the change in coverage,
the 911 call center dispatches
all third shift evening calls Sun-
day through Thursday to a
state police officer in charge of
six other municipalities in addi-
tion to Lehman. Prior to the
change, Lehman had one officer
patrolling 24 hours a day, sev-
en days a week.
Jones said if it wasn’t for the
Lehman police department pa-
trolling the area the night his
business was robbed, the bur-
glar may not have been appre-
hended and a cash register
drawer returned.
“Lehman was driving by be-
cause of a burglary in Sweet
Valley. He saw a car pull out,
the (gas station) door open and
heard the alarm,” said Jones.
He said the police apprehended
the burglar down the road,
where the cash register drawer
was found in his trunk.
“I'm just concerned about re-
sponse time,” said Jones.
“They’ll have to prioritize the
most important things. You
may have to wait an hour while
your house is being burglar-
ized.”
Trooper Tom Kelly, communi-
ty relations officer for State Po-
lice Troop P in Wyoming, said
that is the most common con-
cern he hears from communi-
“When we found
out the police
were going to be
cut, we took
extra precautionary
measures.”
Bob Jones
| ehman business owner
ties faced with losing their po-
lice coverage.
“Some days we could respond
and it could take two minutes.
Another day it could take 30
minutes,” said Kelly.
He said © response - time de-
pends on how each call is clas-
sified. He said the state police
use codes that correspond to
severity, one for the lowest pri-
ority and three for the highest.
For example, he said, a bur-
glary that has already occurred
is not high priority and a caller
might have to wait a while. For
a burglary in progress, though,
Kelly said troopers would come
immediately with lights flashing
and sirens on.
Kelly said Lehman is part of a
zone that includes Lake Town-
ship, Plymouth, Larksville,
Jackson Township, Pringle, and
Harveys Lake. At least one state
police officer has always cov-
ered these areas to assist mu-
nicipal departments and cover
municipalities that don’t have
their own police, such as Lake
Township.
When one municipality or
multiple municipalities don’t
have their own police coverage,
such as Lehman and Lake
townships, Kelly said the state
trooper covering the zone tries
to stay in those areas.
But, he said, calls that could
come in from any one of the
municipalities within the zone
take precedence over patrolling.
Lehman being added to the
state police’s coverage for two
shifts a week, doesn’t, accord-
ing to Kelly, mean additional
state police will be added to the
zone during those times. Kelly
said if the number of calls rises,
more troopers would be added.
“Nobody wants to see a local
department succumb. It means
a larger work load for us and
people resist us because they
don’t want to lose their depart-
ment,” said Kelly.
In the meantime, Jones has
installed a security camera at
his gas station. “When we
found out the police were going
to be cut, we took extra precau-
tionary measures,” said Jones.
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The Connection
HL cops
(continued from page 1)
rity number and what munic-
ipality they work for.
Officers John Richards, John
Young and John Edwards all
were certified in other munici-
palities before coming to Har-
veys Lake, Boice said. But
none, according to reports, were
recertified once they started
work for Harveys Lake.
Once an officer is certified,
the commission sends a notice
every two years to the munici-
pality that recertification is re-
quired. It is then the police
chief's responsibility to confirm
his officers’ status and return
the notice.
Richards and. Young . have
since left the department, Har-
veys Lake Borough Council
President Betty West said. Ed-
wards is still listed as a bor-
ough employee but was de-
ployed to Turkey with the mili-
tary.
Ironically, the certification
process was tightened several
years ago after then Harveys
Lake chief Lionel Bulford failed
to take or pass some require-
ments. But the regulations at
that time did not lay out a
process by which certification
was proven, and Bulford suc-
cessfully challenged attempts to
remove him. That situation led
to the training commission pro-
mulgating the specific rules and
regulations under which the
present controversy erupted.
Boice defended Harveys. Lake
Police Chief Jeff Butler, saying
Butler is an on-the-road chief
who responds to calls during
his shift as well as tackling pa-
perwork.
“It (the situation) gives us a
chance to take measures to see
that it never happens again,”
Boice said.
Butler did not return a t
phone call seeking comment.
The certification issue first
emerged in late January when
it was learned two working Har-
veys Lake officers were not cer-
tified. Charles Musial and John
Mendygral are still on the de-
partment’s roster but are not
working. or ‘being paid pending
the resolution of their situation,
Boice said.
3
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