LOCK HAVEN -- Clinton County Commissioners Jeff Snyder and Angela Harding encouraged residents to reach out to their legislators to implore them to take steps to protect children in schools.
Their statements, made during the board's voting session Thursday morning, come in the wake of a mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
Snyder said the solution to avoid tragedies such as the one that occurred in Texas, is through better security at schools. He asked that residents reach out to their legislators to encourage them to avoid getting bogged down "in thinking about gun control laws. That's not going to solve the problem."
"I think that we have to think about security in our schools. Legislators go to work everyday and they have armed security at their buildings," he said. "I'm asking that the public insist that we have security at our school buildings."
"I think that it's sad that, as a community and as the public, that is what it's coming to. But it's also a tragedy that we have to fear for the safety of our children; and wonder at the end of the day if they're going to come home safely," Snyder continued.
Snyder stressed that he didn't want this issue to be drowned out. "They (the legislature) certainly didn't get bogged down on debating how they were going to fund (security) in their buildings," he said. "As parents, grandparents, please take a stand and let your legislators know how you feel about this. And don't allow them to make it something that it isn't. It's a security issue."
Harding said she would refute Snyder's statement, noting that it is a more multi-faceted issue.
"While I agree with my fellow commissioner's statement about school safety… I also think there are people in our communities and in our nation that do believe that further regulations are necessary to make sure that weapons of mass destruction are not getting into the hands of people who should not have them," she said.
Harding said, while she is a supporter of the Second Amendment and gun ownership, "we as a nation need to look at the guidelines, the training, the age limits and the different things and laws that could possibly prevent something like this from happening in the future."
Harding acknowledged that nothing can ever stop evil or people from doing bad things. "But I think that our legislators need to look at many facets of this issue and not just school safety," she said.
"We hear about mental health, we hear about video games, we hear about nuclear families. We hear all of these things that are supposedly part of this problem. And all of those things need to be addressed one at a time," Harding continued. "It's not a blanket solution. I want to encourage, like my fellow commissioner said, to contact your legislator. But I think that we need to be realistic that this isn't just a one solution issue."
In other business:
-- Board Chair Miles Kessinger offered his congratulations to local high school graduates. "I wish you well in your future endeavors and hope that you are able to find employment and remain in Clinton County," he said. "Please be careful, whatever you do as far as graduation parties, and please be safe."
-- The board approved a contract between the county and Marc A. Decker Esquire and Decker Bradburn for legal services in Children and Juvenile Probation at an hourly rate of $75 per hour. The contract is effective May 24, 2022 to June 30, 2023.
-- The board approved the allocation of 2022 Liquid Fuels Funds to Avis Borough ($25,000) for paving of West Central Avenue and Dunnstable Township ($45,000) to pave Big Plum Run Road. Kessinger noted liquid fuels funding was down this year due to limited travel because of the pandemic.
-- The board approved an agreement between the county and Central Mountain's ATV Association Inc. The agreement sees the association assuming responsibility for future maintenance of the Bloody Skillet Connector trail near Renovo following its construction.