GILBERTON - The Gilberton Borough Council meeting scheduled for Wednesday has been postponed because borough hall received several irate telephone calls concerning controversial YouTube videos recently posted by borough police Chief Mark Kessler.
The council meeting has been rescheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 31, at borough hall in Mahanoy Plane.
Mayor Mary Lou Hannon said Wednesday the telephone calls were answered by secretary Tina Antalosky, who was shaken with the loud, angry words the callers used.
"It was the tone of voice that they had and what they were saying," said Hannon. "She kind of felt threatened, even though nobody threatened her. They were talking about Mark. She got very uneasy about it.
"It's been non-stop. There have been calls galore," said Hannon. "There was nothing life-threatening."
Videos
The two YouTube videos were filmed by Kessler in a remote location in the area. In the first video, which is one minute, 34 seconds long, Kessler voiced his opposition to comments made by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry that the Obama administration would sign a United Nations treaty on arms regulation, passed by the U.N. General Assembly on April 2, despite bipartisan opposition in Congress to the treaty.
Kessler punctuated his opinion by using vulgar language and firing an automatic weapon.
In the second video, which runs two minutes, 45 seconds, Kessler responded to negative comments from some viewers who objected to the first video. Initially, it seemed Kessler is apologizing; however, he then walked away from the camera, picked up an automatic weapon and repeated the profanity and gunfire shown in the first video. He used three weapons in the second video.
Time to cool off
Hannon said the state police have been notified of the phone calls.
"I wanted them to be aware of what was going on," said Hannon. "I made a report that we had the calls. I had also asked if they (state police) would cover our meeting. We're taking security precautions right now."
A second reason for the meeting change is to have Kessler attend the meeting. Kessler is on vacation in Texas and was unable to attend Wednesday's meeting.
"Mark will be back next week," said Hannon. "Before the meeting, council will have a workshop beginning at 6 p.m. that will include an executive session on personnel matters."
Hannon said holding the meeting a week later will give everyone time to think about the situation.
"It's best for all involved that we wait until next Wednesday so people can cool off and give themselves time so they can be reasonable when they address council," said Hannon.