Philipsburg, Pa. to Discuss Park Smoking Ban

In smaller cities and towns, sometimes all it takes is a single complaint to get an item in front of local lawmakers, as appears to be the case in Philipsburg, Pa., where the town council will discuss a smoking ban in parks at its Tuesday night work session.

LehighValleyLive.com reports that resident Keven Keyser has brought up the issue at several recent meetings, saying that he has experienced people smoking near him while he’s with his granddaughter at one of the town’s parks. He said that neither he nor his granddaughter should be subjected to secondhand smoke while enjoying the park.

The proposal has been met with mixed support from city officials so far, with some saying they are in favor of protecting the health of children and reducing litter in parks, while others have said they want to wait for the formal discussion to happen before expressing an opinion. If the council wants to move forward, it would still need to draft a ban and discuss possible penalties for violators, who would be responsible for enforcement and several other components.

Philipsburg is home to 2,754 residents and is located in the central part of the state near State College, approximately 100 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.

Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, the G-League's Valley Suns, and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for Major League Baseball, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.