Nov 8, 2025 By Garrett Neese 2 min read

A member of Everson Borough Council allegedly threw a water bottle at another council member and used a gavel to smash her cellphone after the board’s October monthly meeting.

According to state police, before she took a gavel to Hope Peterson’s iPhone, Mindy Dugger, 55, knocked the phone to the ground and tried to run it over with her wheelchair.

Dugger, whose husband is the borough’s mayor, now faces a misdemeanor charge of criminal mischief, and both she and Peterson were cited for harassment.

The alleged fracas happened after the borough’s Oct. 21 meeting. In an interview with the Herald-Standard, Peterson, 45, said that Dugger was upset because the meeting, called to appoint someone to fill a two-year term on council, was brief.

Another council member had attended solely to vote on the appointment and then left for a prior engagement, according to Peterson. That left the council without a quorum, so they could not conduct any more business, she said.

According to the complaint filed against Dugger, after council adjourned, she threw a plastic water bottle at Peterson.

“(S)he said, ‘I want to see if I can hurt your other shoulder. Let’s see if I can hurt your other shoulder,'” claimed Peterson, who said she had one arm in a sling. “She throws it like a baseball at me.”

Police said they viewed video surveillance taken inside the borough building and saw Dugger throw the bottle at Peterson and use the gavel to break her cellphone.

The harassment citation filed against Peterson alleges she threatened to kill Dugger, which she denied during an interview with the Herald-Standard.

“I think it’s bananas that you can just call the state police and say something, whatever you want to say, that isn’t true, and now I have charges pending,” she said.

Dugger did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

There is no preliminary hearing date set in her case, nor has Peterson addressed the harassment citation.