BY JAMES LOEWENSTEIN
TOWANDA - Gas drilling activity is resulting in an increase in crime in the borough, the borough police chief said on Monday.
The issue came up at Monday's Towanda Borough Council meeting, when borough council member Bob McLinko asked Police Chief Mitch Osman whether the "extracurricular activity in the borough, along with population increase, has resulted in problems."
By extracurricular activity, McLinko was apparently referring to drinking at the bars in Towanda.
Osman replied that police calls have gone up as workers in the gas drilling industry have moved into the county, "especially the severity of the calls."
In the past, you could probably predict which nights would be quiet in town, the police chief said.
"We can't do that any more," he said. "It's definitely busy."
Council members said they would be in favor of using federal grant money to hire an additional police officer.
Osman said with a laugh that he could use two additional police officers.
The borough had recently applied for a federal grant to hire an additional full-time police officer, but was not awarded the grant. The grant was to have been funded with federal economic stimulus money.
The borough will be automatically considered when the next round of grants for police officers is awarded by the federal agency, Osman said.
James Loewenstein can be reached at (570) 265-1633; or e-mail: jloewenstein@thedailyreview.com.
22 posted comments
Nobody is saying this area is free of drugs, but that's a moot point. Our drug problem is our problem. Nobody is blaming the drillers. But to use that as ammo against locals who disagree with drilling is proof that the pro-drilling crowd is just grasping for anything they can use to make their cause look better. Traveler- this area may not be a cesspool yet, but the damage has started. From the well failure in Susquehanna county, to the acid spill in Wysox, then another well failure outside of Canton... not to mention the accidents that havent been reported... the drilling has only just begun and we already have multiple serious incidents. It may not be tomorrow or next week, but I have no doubt that the area as we know it, both environmentally and economically, will be destroyed by drilling. Don't say nobody warned you.
Those of you who hate this area are welcome to leave. Heck, you might even get a jump on the evacuation of this area when the drilling turns our land into a giant cesspool.