Ok I saw this in the local paper on Wednesday Dec 6 so yall get it shared with you
Councilman wants to arm Cherry Tree for self-protection
By Daniel Lovering
The AP
Cherry Tree- In this tiny community of clapboard houses nestled along the banks of a Pennslyvania river, many residents own guns for hunting and self-defense.
But a local councilman inspired by steps taken by an Idaho town, has proposed an ordiance that recommends all households keep the weapons and ammunition to ward off would be burglars and prevent crime from creeping into the area.
Council members in Cherry Tree, a bough of about 430 people, are to meet today to discuss the Civil Protection Ordinance put forth by Henry Statkowski, a 59 year old retired US Army master sergeant and Vietname veteran.
Talk of the proposal which also seeks to offer firearm training at the borough hall, has elicited cautious support and bitter rebukes from area residents, many of whom commute to jobs elsewhere.
Gun control advocates say such a measure would risk putting guns into the hands of criminals and increase gun violence.
Statkowski maintains the ordinance would keep crime down "way down" in Cherry Tree, a quiet village where streets are marked with wooden sighns and residents say crime is largely limited to drugs, vandalism, trespassing and speeding drivers.
"This is rural America" Statkowski said in a phone interview. "You want to break into someone's house here you might not like the consequences."
The ordinance is meant to be a proactive measure to complement the borough's police force, which consists of a handful of part-time officers who also have day jobs, Statkowski said.
"They can't be everywhere," he said. "When you need help, you need it now."
Statkowski said he decided to float the idea after learning of a similar ordinance passed last month in Greenleaf, Idaho, a town of about 850 residents where an estimated 80 percent of adults own guns.
That ordinance asks people in the pacifist Quaker-founded town who do not object on religious or other grounds to keep a gun at home in case they are overrun by refugees from disasters like Hurrican Katrina.
Statkowski acknowledged that Cherry Tree, a one time logging center about 70 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, does not have a crime problem.
As written by the Altoona Mirror
so...how bout dem apples?
