The Clymer Borough Council voted on the local Sheetz request to sell beer at last night’s meeting.
Due to the public hearing for Clymer residents on the Sheetz request last month (May 22nd), no further public comments on the issue were heard, despite some resistance. When it came time to vote, council president James Marsh and members Joseph Krolick and John Buterbaugh voted in favor of the request, while Brietta Mighells, Steph Brilhart, and John Hughmanic voted against, resulting in a tie. It fell upon Mayor Dennis Clawson to break the tie, who voted in favor of the request. But as Clawson explains, the decision wasn’t easy:
“Listen, this whole thing, I’ve given it a lot of thought. From the time I wake up, my waking hours, I’m weighing this both sides, trying to be very neutral and not biased. You know, I have to be unbiased, show no partiality whatsoever. And after a lot of deep consideration, I’m thinking about– We live in a democracy. We have our freedoms here. This is one of the reasons we live in a free country. This is one of the reasons I went to serve my country. And under those freedoms we also have a freedom for trade, for commerce, for business. And I can’t understand why we should deny one business something, when maybe another business would come to this community and then we would be in a position – do we approve that or not? […] I just have to be fair. And in a democracy, I chose that we have to support all business, not just pinpoint them on an individual basis. And I think– I guess that’s my reasoning why I voted the way I voted.”
In other news, the council voted unanimously in favor of a request by The American Legion Post 222 to name the bridge that crosses Two Lick at the east end of Clymer after Lance Corporal Joshua T. Twigg, who lived in Clymer as a boy, and attended Penns Manor High School until he entered the U.S. Marine Corp. He served in Afghanistan until he lost his life on September 2nd, 2010. The Post now intends to send a formal request to Senator Don White.
Lastly, Assistant Secretary Anita Johnston reminds residents that they may subscribe to the Swift911 emergency notification system at clymerpa.com to receive local alerts by phone, email, or text.
