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Public vs. private
The briefs to be prepared by Attorney Nicholas Quinn, Pottsville, who is representing the Simards, and Dominic Farole, Whitehall, on behalf of the commonwealth and the Baddicks, will center on whether the matter is a private nuisance, with civil remedies, or a public nuisance, with criminal remedies.
"This is not an issue as to whether someone is skateboarding, or even if someone is disturbed by it next door," explained Zelonis.
In the interim, Zelonis said Simard can be cited by police as many times as there is sufficient evidence to do so. However, Ann Simard said her son hasn't used his skateboard inside since the citation, other than to demonstrate it for the media.
Quinn said he believes the matter is a civil matter due to its nature as a private nuisance. Farole, however, will argue the opposite.
"This is a public matter, and the police have jurisdiction for disorderly conduct," said Farole. "Every person has the right to enjoy their house as they see fit, unless someone is violating their rights.
"My clients have no desire to stop him from skateboarding. It's the nature of small towns like Tamaqua that the party walls they share are very thin. Mrs. Baddick is a 79-year-old woman who is very frail, and her schedule is very different from Monte's.
Ann Simard feels her son's skateboarding is not responsible for her neighbor's faltering health.
"I feel sorry that she's ill, but as a medical person, I know noise won't cause an irregular heartbeat," said Simard, a single parent who is employed as a nurse at Lehigh Valley Hospital, Allentown.
Prioir to the continuance, Simard announced the hearing would not happen at this time because of a question about Farole's certification with Zelonis to represent his clients.
Among those who attended to offer testimony on the Simards' behalf were the Rev. Bruce Sellers, pastor of Tamaqua's Primitive Methodist Church, and Tamaqua teachers Timothy Murphy and Jon Bonner.
Joseph Salla, who identified himself as Ann Simard's former fiance, also showed up at Zelonis' office. Salla suggested Simard's version of the events in this case is not what happened, but said further comment from him would come at the hearing.
Solution in sight?
Simard said she is hopeful of reaching an agreement on the magisterial level. She is considering renting a garage in West Penn Township for Monte to skateboard. She mentioned a three-car garage owned by the family of James Martin, 13, a friend of her son who accompanied the Simards to the hearing.
"The best solution to keep the peace is to rent the garage for my son to skateboard in winter and on rainy days," she said.
Farole said the attorneys were unable to resolve the issue despite talking for five to seven days prior to the hearing. He added that a civil suit would certainly be appropriate on the Baddicks' behalf, but whether they go that route is another matter.
In the meantime, Monte Simard will find other ways to keep busy.
"I'm anxious to get this over with," said the teen. "I'll probably try to get more A.R. (Accelerated Reader, a Tamaqua Area school program) points reading until then."