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98
1 RONALD
GEORGE
2 a witness herein,
having been first duly sworn, was
3 examined and
testified as follows:
4 DIRECT
EXAMINATION
5 BY MR.
BAXTER:
6 Q. Would you state
your name for the record,
7
please?
8 A. Ronald
George.
9 Q. And are you
currently employed?
10 A. No. I'm
retired from the Public Works
11 Department, West
View Borough.
12 Q. And how long
have you worked in the Public
13 Works Department
of West View?
14 A. Since 1953
till 1996. 1 had to quit for
15 health
reasons.
16 Q. And currently,
you're an elected official
17 in the Borough.
Are you not?
18 A. Borough
Councilman.
19 Q. In addition to
working for the Borough and
20 being a Borough
Councilman currently, do you serve
21 any other
function with West View Borough over the
22 time that you've
lived here?
23 A. I was the Fire
Chief for 12 years.
24 Q. And being the
Fire Chief, would you have
25 anything to do
with the No. 3 Fire Hall?
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99
1 A. I was in charge
of all three fire halls,
2 No. 1, 2, and
3.
3 Q. Incidentally,
how long have you lived in
4 the
Borough?
5 A. I was born on
Ashford Avenue 64 years ago.
6 Q. So you've been
in the Borough for 64 years.
7 Have you had the
opportunity during the course of
8 your life time in
the Borough to make any
9 observations of
the property that we've been talking
10 about this
evening at 479 Perry Highway?
11 A. When I would
be at the fire hall and that,
12 you know, they're
right next-door.
13 Q. And during the
course of the time of
14 working for the
Borough, did you have the opportunity
15 to observe
it?
16 A. I'd pass it,
yes. I didn't observe it, you
17 know, look at it
specially.
18 Q. Would you have
noticed or made an
19 observation as to
whether any vehicles were parked on
20 the front portion
that we've been referring to as the
21
sidewalk?
22 MR. CLEMENT: I
object. He's already
23 answered that
question. He said that he did not
24 observe
it.
25 MR. WATSON:
Overruled.
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100
1 Q. Do you
understand my question, Ron?
2 A. Yes. Really and
truthfully, the only time
3 1 can say I
remember seeing a car parked there was
4 this past Memorial
Day. I believe it could have been
5 a little red car
just parked out in front of the
6 building. Other
than that, I've never really paid
7 that much
attention to it.
8 Q. Would a car
parked there have drawn your
9
attention?
10 MR. CLEMENT:
Objection. Calling for
11
speculation.
12 MR. WATSON:
Overruled.
13 A. Do you want me
to answer?
14 Q.
Yes.
15 A. Probably not,
no.
16 Q. So when you
were operating the fire hall
17 there, did you
ever make any observations of anyone
18 parked in front
of that property?
19 A. No. This
gentleman here (indicating), he
20 usually parked
over by the hedges in front of the
21 fire hall or back
by the door on the side of the fire
22 hall. There was
cars in the alleyway. Some of them
23 were run, and
some of them just sat there.
24 Q. And you
observed Mr. Ballon park, then, in
25 the public
parking lot there? Is that what you're
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101
1
saying?
2 A. Yes. By the
hedges on the side of the
3 driveway or back
by the side door where you go into
4 the fire hall.
Then he parked in the alleyway
5 between the fire
hall and his building.
6 MR. BAXTER: I have
no other
7
questions.
8 MR. CLEMENT: No
questions.
9 MR. BAXTER: Does
the Board have any
10
questions?
11 MR. WATSON:
No.