February 6 – While there is no Chambersburg Borough Council meeting this week, other committees will conduct business.
The Parking, Traffic and Street Light Committee will gather tonight at 7 p.m. in Council Chambers and the Planning and Zoning Commission will meet tomorrow night at 7 p.m. in the same place.
Allen Coffman, borough council president, spent the beginning of last week in Washington, DC, with the American Public Gas Association, of which the Chambersburg Borough is a member.
The group met with some Senators and Representatives. Congressman John Joyce was one, however, the group didn’t see others.
Coffman said, “We did not have any audience with the Casey office. We reached out to them. They said we’ll get back to you. They never did. We also reached out to Fetterman’s office. Nothing at all came back from them. If that’s the kind of response we’re going to see from these guys over the remaining time that they’re in office, it’s not too much. Very seldom will I bring politics up when we talk, but this time I have to bring it up because the Democratic Party is definitely against natural gas and it’s something that we have to have in our arsenal, so to speak, for a lot of different reasons.”
A bill that would ban gas stoves has cropped up in several different cities recently.
Coffman said, “They are after your stove. That’s very, very clear. One of the questions that’s been raised is about inside air quality. That’s become one of the things that they’re trying to fight it with, claiming that the inside air quality in people’s homes that cook with gas is not what it should be. The worry here is asthma. Studies have been done in areas that use primarily gas stoves and areas that were primarily electric stoves. It turns out that in the areas that they checked, the people that had the electric stoves had a higher incidents of asthmas than those who did not.”
One of the main pushes to do away with gas stoves is because of health concerns.
Coffman said, “I think most people that are using gas stoves probably do have a vent in their kitchen and if they do, that’s a good thing and that probably gives them better air quality. A lot of the things that come off of cooking is caused by the cooking process itself, the oils that are used, the food that you’re cooking and that gives off particulates. That’s what their argument is and that’s the direction they’re going. Although they say they’re backpedaling it now, that’s really what they want. It’s just another step to keep us at home.”
Pat Ryan of NewsTalk 103.7FM pointed out, “Think about your gas water heater. How about your propane? Couldn’t be too far around the corner.”
In Chambersburg, the police department has a video out about pedestrian safety. Be sure to check that out here: https://franklin.crimewatchpa.com/chambersburgpd/21193/post/cpd-public-service-announcement-pedestrian-safety
Additionally, illegal parking against traffic has come up.
Coffman said, “I just got a call just a couple days ago about that. It is against the Pennsylvania law of the motor code. Could be an increase in enforcement on that, but as you know, we do have a busy police department. It is against the law. I’d remind people to park the way you should park on the streets.”
It doesn’t matter if it’s a one-way street or a two-way street, a car must be parked the way traffic flows. For the agendas for the upcoming meetings, click here: https://tristatealert.com/meet-you-at-the-meeting-2/
