Veterans refuse to March in Parade

I have been in charge of this parade for over 25 years and never had any problems, especially at 11 a.m. on a holiday,I believe the veterans demand better."

By JOSEPH DEINLEIN

Members of the Allied Veterans Council of Hanover decided no veterans or members of the "March with Pride" group will walk with the Hanover Lancers after this year’s Memorial Day parade.

The usual parade from the American Legion post at Carlisle Street and Park Avenue to the Mount Olivet Cemetery for the ceremony will still take place starting around 9 a.m. Monday, May 25, said Dan Davies, chief marshal of the parade.

For several years, the veterans have clashed with Hanover Borough Police and Council over the alterations to a tradition the veterans and Lancers had done for decades.

At the conclusion of past ceremonies, the Lancers and veterans groups would march back up Baltimore Street, through Center Square to the American Legion. Then, the Lancers would stand on Carlisle Street and perform a concert.

But a few years ago, Hanover Police Chief Randy Whitson told the two groups the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation only allowed Baltimore and Carlisle streets (Route 94) to be closed for the initial parade to the cemetery, not for their return.

The previous marches from the cemetery were done without state or local permission, Whitson has said.

As a compromise, Whitson, the Borough Council and Penn Township – where the cemetery is located – worked out a route that went strictly on township- and borough-owned streets. That gave police the power to shut down the roads for the march.

In 2008, the groups marched along McAllister Street and eventually down Railroad Street before arriving at Park Avenue next to the Legion.

But that route goes through areas of downtown some veterans termed an alley. They felt disrespected, said Davies, who also is running for mayor of Hanover in the May 19 primary against fellow challenger Ben Adams and Mayor Gary Brown.

"They’re not going to march through alleys," Davies said of the veterans.

In an attempt to smooth things over, borough officials changed the route again, to take the marchers out a side entrance of the cemetery onto South High Street to Centennial Avenue. From there, they’d go right on West Walnut Street, left on South Franklin Street, then follow that to Park Avenue.

Davies was aware of the new route named a few weeks ago, but still said the veterans decided Monday not to participate.

Lancers spokesman Tom Kittinger said his group still plans to march following the new route and perform across from the Legion on Park Avenue.

"Since the veterans didn’t want to do the alley thing, it was going to be a completely different route," Kittinger said. "But we’re going to march back. That’s the quickest way to get us all there as a group."

Whitson said on Wednesday that changing the route was meant to accommodate the veterans who had complained in the past, though he stood behind the previous route.

"It was the safe thing to do and the right thing to do," he said. "And we have to remember, we are talking about taxpayer dollars (for police overtime)." But Davies still questioned why the Lancers and veterans couldn’t walk back up Route 94, as they had in the past.

"I have been in charge of this parade for over 25 years and never had any problems, especially at 11 a.m. on a holiday," Davies said. "I believe the veterans demand better."