Harrisburg looking to curb violence
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">HARRISBURG – The city of Harrisburg plans several measures to prevent incidents like a recent shooting in the parking lot of a city bar, Mayor John McPeek told concerned citizens Thursday.
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">At about 11:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 3, police responded to a shooting in the parking lot of Los Amigos on East Raymond Street. McPeek ordered the bar closed for 48 hours, and said he was looking into ways to prevent similar incidents in the future.
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Thursday night, during the citizens' comments portion of the city council meeting, Harrisburg resident Sabrina Stout – a mother of a 4-year old and across-the-street neighbor to the bar – asked the council what actions were being taken regarding the shooting and preventing more violence.
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“I realize that Los Amigos can't control what their patrons do after they leave, but I feel like Los Amigos should lose their liquor license, and I hope you do, too,” Stout told the council members.
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">McPeek said he and city attorney Todd Bittle had met with two of three brothers who own the business. The third brother is supposed to be in Harrisburg Feb. 20, and a meeting on either Feb. 21 or 22 is planned, McPeek said.
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“They don't want to be in the liquor business,” he said. “They want to either shut it down or turn it into a Mexican cafe. I hope they turn it into a Mexican cafe.”
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">McPeek also said he has been meeting with the owners of Harrisburg's two other bars, Town Square Pub and Sisco's Bar and Grill, to work out additional preventative measures for potential problem customers.
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“We're talking about some sort of process by where if a person is kicked out of one place, they're banned from the other two places,” he said.
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Stout said she was concerned that if Los Amigos did shut down, another bar would move in to the location. McPeek vowed that would not happen.
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“There won't be another bar there,” he said. “Ever.”
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Also at the meeting, four longtime Harrisburg city employees were recognized for their many years of service. All four are likely to retire in June, McPeek said, and he presented them with commemorative plaques.
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Those recognized were Sheri Mathis, with more than 36 years of service; Greg “Oz” Ozment, with more than 41 years; Rick Garnett, with more than 20 years; and Curt Mugge, who McPeek noted had “exactly 19 years of service.” Together, the four employees have more than 116 years of service working for the city.
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“When I first got on the council, I was told this guy – Greg Ozement – was the only person who knew where every water line in the city was without having to use GPS,” McPeek said.
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Before the council broke into closed session, McPeek had kind words for the employees recognized.
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“I'm happy for the service to the city of Harrisburg these workers have provided,” he said. “There's 116 years of on-the-job education we'll be eventually losing, and that's going to be hard to replace.”