The Tyrone Area School District and Snyder Township have moved a step closer to resolving issues regarding police patrols in areas of the township near the district\u2019s buildings.
\nA meeting that was attended by district, township, Tyrone Hospital and Tyrone Borough officials was held earlier this week regarding the question of police protection.
\nThe district shared a written opinion from its solicitor, Cynthia Yeager, on the issues of jurisdiction if Tyrone Area District officers are used to patrol the area. Snyder Township supervisor Buddy Daughenbaugh has been working with the district and others to try to come up with a solution.
\nDaughenbaugh approached Tyrone Borough at a recent council meeting. The borough indicated it could not logistically provide police service during the time period requested and said it lacked manpower to fulfill the request. Daughenbaugh explained to council that the school district would pay for the services. The borough suggested Snyder Township hire a part-time police officer. It also designated a council member to represent the borough at meetings on the issue such as the one earlier this week.
\nSnyder Township supervisor Charles Diehl expressed disappointment with the borough\u2019s decision.
\nDiehl told The Daily Herald on Thursday, \u201cwhy won\u2019t Tyrone work with Snyder or anyone else. They don\u2019t know what intergovernmental cooperation is. They said they didn\u2019t have enough staff, (but) they have part timers. The school was willing to reimburse (for the services).
\n\u201cI can\u2019t understand it,\u201d said Diehl. \u201cIt\u2019s for the benefit and safety of everyone, whether it\u2019s Snyder or borough residents. I just can\u2019t believe it.
\n\u201cI\u2019m for this as long as it can be worked out. I\u2019m a firm believer in intergovernmental cooperation- the sharing of services.\u201d
\nPolice coverage is being sought specifically during the time of student arrival in the morning and dismissal in the afternoon. The area in question is not on school property but is in Snyder Township. The proposed area of coverage does not go into Tyrone Borough borders.
\nTyrone Area Superintendent Dr. William N. Miller said, \u201cOur attorney had shared with us that we have statutory authority, which we thought we had five or six years ago.\u201d
\nHe said the district has the authority whether or not the township has a police force provided it enters into an agreement with the township. Currently, Snyder Township does not have its own force, but is covered by the Pennsylvania State Police.
\n\u201cThe state police could still be called in if needed,\u201d said Dr. Miller. \u201cThey still patrol all these different areas, but they\u2019re not readily available.
\n\u201cThe school district does have the power to enter into an agreement with Snyder for concurrent jurisdiction,\u201d said Miller. \u201cBy the fact that they do not have (a police force) the district would be authorized to exercise police powers within limited geographic areas.
\n\u201cWe\u2019d have to have a joint concurrent agreement outlining the geographic areas,\u201d said Miller. \u201cThat was a point of discussion (at the meeting).\u201d
\nThose designated areas would need to be agreed upon by the township and the district. The proposed zone or district includes the Tyrone Hosptial area on Clay Avenue to the Oak Grove Cemetery.
\n\u201cThe borough will not be directly involved,\u201d said Miller. \u201cHowever, indirectly they could be. The problem of students smoking, littering or loitering could perhaps move to the territory of the borough.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t see it (going into effect) officially probably until the beginning of the next school term,\u201d said Dr. Miller. \u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019ll have any issues but, we need to agree on the designated areas.
\n\u201cWe need to have ordinances passed connected with this,\u201d he said. \u201cFor instance, no loitering, etc. Fines need to be attached to it so there is teeth for kids loitering or littering etc. in those areas.
\n\u201cAfter we\u2019ve agreed upon everything, we need to run this past the local magistrate and the district attorney,\u201d said Miller. \u201cWe want to make sure this is in line so it will be upheld. We\u2019ll be tested right away on that.\u201d
\nMiller noted a Pittsburgh case regarding whether or not a district police officer had jurisdiction off campus. Miller said in that instance he understood their (the district\u2019s) authority was not upheld because there was no agreement with the district and the municipality.
\nMiller noted, \u201cthat\u2019s the key. Everyone is very content with where we are and what we propose to do. It\u2019s in the best interest of everyone involved. It\u2019s going to protect the kids and the people who drive back and forth to the hospital.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s been an issue that\u2019s been unresolved for years,\u201d said Miller. \u201cWe\u2019re very thankful to Buddy Daughenbuagh for taking the lead to get this accomplished.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re not there yet,\u201d said Miller. \u201c We do have the concurrence of our attorney and Snyder Township\u2019s attorney. They both agree that this will work.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Tyrone Area School District and Snyder Township have moved a step closer to resolving issues regarding police patrols in areas of the township near the district\u2019s buildings. A meeting that was attended by district, township, Tyrone Hospital and Tyrone Borough officials was held earlier this week regarding the question of police protection. The district […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news-in-the-tyrone-pennsylvania-area"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=41524"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41524\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=41524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=41524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=41524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}