Pocono News Section

No Smoking at Lackawanna County Parks

No Smoking at Lackawanna County Parks - Wednesday, May 26, 2010 at 04:13AM EST

Reported by: Eric Deabill
Wednesday May 26 2010
SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY -- Up until Wednesday morning, Lackawanna County never had an official document of rules for its county parks. Now they do, and the biggest change will get smokers fired up. You now cannot smoke in any county-run park.

With temperatures well above average Wednesday, Charles Newcomb stopped by McDade Park in Scranton with his grandson Ryan. I think smoking is a bad habit first of all, plus you have little children running around here and I think when there's smoking, kids have the tendency to hang around more. I think its a good idea. I think it'll work," he says.

Not everyone agrees. Carol Labolt is a smoker. She says by smoking in the open air, she's not hurting anybody. Thats not fair because we're not gonna go right next to the kids and smoke and get it in their face, you know? I don't even smoke in my house. I'll go outside," she says.

Even though there are signs outside the new boundless playground, cigarette butts litter the ground. Its something that families notice and some say young kids could pick up and play with.

Samantha Donahoe of Scranton says, People just drop their cigarettes like in the middle of the dirt or the sidewalks and people will pick them up and be like, ohhh, whats this?"

Chris Paciotti of Clarks Summit adds, That should be good with the kids around, you know? As my sister would say, its better for the kids, healthier for the kids. You could walk out off the park roads and have your own cigarettes out there."

County commissioners passed the no smoking in parks regulation by a unanimous vote Wednesday. Anyone who's caught smoking could be cited. There would be a $50 fine for the first offense and $100 for the second.

Whats unclear right now is how it will be enforced. I think maybe with the sheriffs, they should take a ride through now and then. Put them in a couple undercover cars. Its like anything else, you try to enforce it, but I'm sure some people are gonna get away with it...but hopefully it will be enforced," says Newcomb.

Besides the no smoking rule commissioners also banned alcohol and firearms from their parks. Besides McDade, the changes affect Merli Sarnoski, Aylesworth and Covington Parks.