I am writing this in response to inaccurate posts about the safety of children attending the Wyoming Valley West Dana Street school in Forty Fort that have been appearing on Facebook and perhaps other social media platforms.

First, let me say that the current Forty Fort Borough Elected Officials, the Forty Fort Borough Police Administration, and the Forty Fort Borough Police Officers are now and have always been committed to keeping Forty Fort Borough one of the safest places in Luzerne County to live, work, and yes, even attend school in. This is evident by our very low crime rate. We care about and respond to all calls, no matter how minor they may seem. We recognize that any crime committed against any person or property is vital to the victim, and therefore, it is important to us.

There have been recent posts that would lead someone to believe that a particular group of people identifying themselves as Forty Fort Proud are responsible for the Forty Fort Borough Officials, Police Administration, and our outstanding police officers taking steps to correct safety issues at the Dana Street School. This could not be further from the truth.

Back on February 28th, long before the group known as Forty Fort Proud were even a thing, our Mayor, Brian Thomas, and our police department met with WVW Director of Transportation, Anthony Dicton, Dana Street School Principal, Jeffrey DeRocco, and the President of the WVW School Board Rick Kamus, to discuss the safety concerns and to develop a plan to correct as many of them as we could with what we had to work with.

Mayor Thomas and our police department, assisted by our Code Enforcement, were at the school every day during the first two weeks after the plan was instituted on March 10th of this year to ensure it would work and the students would be safer. We later received complaints about issues on Oak Street, and we immediately responded to address those issues.

We are continuously monitoring the situation to identify areas for improvement and remain in constant communication with school officials. We are always open to suggestions from the public and will consider any options that our residents or businesses may suggest for any issues they may have.

Our officers have taken an oath to serve and protect Forty Fort Borough and all who reside, work, or visit, and that is precisely what we do.

Anyone wishing to contact our department may email me directly at dhunsinger@fortyfortpd.org, or our Patrol Division at police@fortyfortpd.org

 Respectfully,

Daniel E. Hunsinger, Chief of Police
Forty Fort Borough Police Department