Clearfield Borough Council members say they're canceling Thursday night's meeting and closing borough offices for the rest of the week due to "multiple ongoing threats directed at elected officials, Borough staff, and their families."
Borough officials posted Thursday to social media saying residents who need borough assistance should call (814) 765-7817, and that additional information regarding future meetings will be shared at a later time.
"It’s a sad day for our amazing small town," said Mason Strouse, Clearfield's mayor, in an email to WPSU.
Strouse did not share further details on the messages, but said that people can disagree without threatening or harassing elected officials, staff and their families.
"We should all expect better from one another as a community," Strouse said.
Ryan Sayers, Clearfield County's District Attorney, said a specific council member received a "harassing and vulgar" message, but that it did not contain threats.
"Threats to public figures and officials are incredibly concerning matters and taken very seriously by law enforcement," Sayers said in an email to WPSU. "Such threats have no place in our civil society! With that said, if a public official is going to claim a threat has been made, then such a threat needs to have actually occurred."
This comes at a time of high tension in the community as Clearfield Borough and Lawrence Township work to dissolve the Clearfield Regional Police Department, although Sayers said the message did not contain a reference to the police department.
Lawrence Township’s Board of Supervisors met Tuesday night and set an official dissolution date for the Clearfield Regional Police Department by December 31, at the latest.
Earlier this year, a Clearfield County judge put a hold on the dissolution until an amicable decision could be met.
Jeremy Ruffner, one of Lawrence Township’s supervisors, said he still disagrees with dissolving the regional police department. But, he said Clearfield Borough council members are continuing the push to disband.
“So in an effort to protect the former township police officers and the citizens of Lawrence Township, the township Board of Supervisors have to begin the process of reestablishing the Lawrence Township Police Department," Ruffner said.
Ruffner and other supervisors also approved a motion to no longer attend joint meetings with Clearfield’s borough council. Ruffner said those meetings would have been “unproductive” and ended with arguments.
Police officers currently in the regional police department have to submit a letter of interest to work for Lawrence Township by June 1. Clearfield Borough officials are also asking for letters of interest for its own independent police force. That was supposed to be one of the agenda items at Thursday night's meeting before it was canceled.
