New Dawson mayor sets agenda for action
DAWSON – The borough’s first female mayor wasted no time before she began contacting her male peers about a regional police force and other matters. Although Barbara Wilhelm was only appointed to the position of mayor on Nov. 11, she has already spoken with Everson Mayor Tim Shomaker and South Connellsville Mayor Pete Casini and intends to talk with Vanderbilt Mayor John Addis Jr. to see about resurrecting the idea of a regional police department.
Wilhelm, who previously served on council and as council president in the 1980s, said, “I think we could all benefit from a regional police department. If we could get with South Connellsville, Dunbar and Upper and Lower Tyrone townships and Vanderbilt borough, we should be able to come up with some good funding for a regional police department.”
Wilhelm, a 35-year resident of the borough, said Shoemaker and Casini have already given her some good ideas that she needs to work on before making the ideas public.
“(Former Dawson mayor) Henry (Livingston) has been giving me some pointers on how to handle things,” said Wilhelm. “I understand that Dawson can’t change overnight or even in one week. It takes time for change, and a lot of hard work before you see change.”
Wilhelm, 63, said if all goes as planned, police officer Roger Adams will continue working for the borough until the end of the year.
“Councilwoman Donna Martin and I met with Roger on Nov. 14 to discuss several issues,” said the mayor. “Roger agreed to hold off on retiring or resigning until the end of December. He also gave us the names of some men who might be interested in helping us.”
Wilhelm said Adams explained that he’s just too busy to continue working for the borough as police officer and code-enforcement officer.
“I can understand that,” said Wilhelm. “He has a lot of jobs, and, let’s face it, Roger isn’t getting any younger.”
Wilhelm was appointed to her position by the borough’s vacancy board, which is comprised of council members and one outside member, James Rearick Sr.
Wilhelm said she appreciates the vote of confidence the board showed her.
“I want to make Dawson a town people can enjoy living in and visiting. I also want to thank council and the people of Dawson for their confidence and support,” she said.
Wilhelm, the mother of three children, Terry of Oklahoma; Bob of Lancaster; and Elizabeth, who lives at home; moved from Connellsville to Dawson in July 1967 following the death of her husband. She has two granddaughters and one grandson.
Wilhelm’s mother, Alberta Keedy, still resides in Dawson in the home that her parents purchased in 1967. Her father, the late Bob Keedy, died in December, 1988.
Wilhelm said the kids in town think it’s “cool” that she’s the new mayor. “Once you get to know these kids, you see that they really are not bad kids,” said Wilhelm. “I don’t harass the kids and they treat me with respect.”
Wilhelm did say, however, that she doesn’t want to see the kids out after curfew. “Curfew is at 9:30 p.m. and the kids need to be home at that time,” said Wilhelm. “A lot of the people who live down here are either on a fixed income or have two working parents and I don’t think it’s right for the kids to put the burden of paying a curfew fine on their families.”
Wilhelm said the kids in Dawson are no worse than kids anywhere else. “If I had to guess, I would say that the majority of vandalism done in this town is done by out-of-town kids,” said Wilhelm.
Wilhelm said there have been a couple of break-ins in town, but she thinks those too were caused by out-of-town kids.
Wilhelm is looking to the future and to working with council.
“I want to be a good mayor and to have a good working relationship with council and the people of Dawson borough,” she said.
Wilhelm said that although much has changed in Dawson over the past 35 years, she would like to see some old-fashioned values returned to the borough.
“I think we need to get some of those old-fashioned values back,” she said. “It used to be that you could just walk out of your house and didn’t have to worry about anyone breaking in. Now, you have to make sure every door and window is locked before you can leave.”