HAMBURG — Fifteen trespassers were told to leave the Kernsville Dam area the same day “no trespassing” signs were posted on the Berks County side of the Schuylkill River.
“We kicked about 15 off the dam,” Tilden Township Police Chief William McEllroy III said Thursday.
After the police left about 1 p.m. and returned an hour later, the police discovered the trespassers. McEllroy gave them a verbal warning and told them if they returned, they would be in trouble.
“They all immediately complied,” McEllroy.
Someone also drove past a wooden barricade to park illegally, passing many “no trespassing” signs. McEllroy said the driver, a 19-year-old from Bridge, New York, whom he declined to name, will be cited by mail for trespassing by a motor vehicle, a summary violation. The fine is $100 plus costs. In both instances, at the dam and the Peace Rock all involved were cooperative.
People were also seen on the beach side in West Brunswick Township. McEllroy said state police in Schuylkill Haven were notified. McEllroy said part of a “no trespassing” sign was also bent that was just installed today.
The area is a frequent place for swimmers to cool off during the spring and summer. All too often, people have been injured, drowned there or more recently left lots of trash in the area.
Three state Department of Environmental Protection workers and McEllroy were at the Kernsville Dam area and the Rock Thursday morning. So far, signs have been posted at the Rock, a pathway to the Rock, and at the dam and other locations. A gate will be installed today to prevent entry to the area except by police, emergency personnel and others authorized to use the area.
“I think it is going to deter people, but I still think you are going to have persons who will disobey the signs,” McEllroy said earlier in the day before the trespassers were discovered.
“They are going to get arrested and if they bring their vehicles, their vehicles are going to get towed,” he said of trespassers who are there starting today.
He said the rope swing was also removed.
A meeting July 29 at the Tilden Township Municipal Building was held with representatives from DEP, state and local law enforcement, the Hamburg Fire Department and others about the problems in the area.
State police in Hamburg patrol the area of the Rock, which is in Tilden Township. The Tilden Township Police Department also patrol the area and McEllroy said his police officers will be patrolling the area on foot.
The state police in Schuylkill Haven patrol the area near the beach in West Brunswick Township. Signs were posted near the yellow gate on the Schuylkill County side Wednesday and on the way to the beach and surrounding area. Neil Shader, DEP spokesman, said Wednesday the area is not open to the public for safety reasons. Motorists who park illegally in the area will be ticketed and towed. The first lot (where the monument for the Kernsville Dam is) is open for parking.
“The state Department of Environmental Protection would like to remind Pennsylvania residents and visitors that the property along the Schuylkill River upstream of the Kernsville Dam to state Route 61 is not a public area and should not be used as such. Use of the property alongside and near the river, including Peace Rock, the dam, the beach area and all adjacent areas, is considered trespassing, except to provide portage around the Kernsville Dam. There are features on the properties at Kernsville Dam that present hazards to unauthorized persons. Boaters are allowed to use the river, aside from the area immediately before and after the dam, in accordance with PA Fish and Boat Commission rules and regulations.”
State Rep. Jerry Knowles, R-124, is glad steps are being taken and is thankful to all involved.
“This has been a long time problem. It’s a problem that needed to be addressed,” Knowles said Thursday.
He said there have been public safety issues, parking concerns, drug and alcohol use and environmental concerns for the area.
“It’s just terrible what is going on back there,” Knowles said.
He thinks the social media exposure of the area contributed to the increasing problem. He does not know exactly why it has taken so long for the problems to be addressed, but said, “Its just gotten out of hand. This situation has gone beyond reason. We just had to step in and do the right thing.”
When told that people were found in the area today, even after the signs were posted, he said he was not surprised.
“I would imagine that people are going to test them (the signs),” he said to see if they will be enforced.
He is confident that law enforcement will do as they see best in attempting to stop people from trespassing.
McEllroy agrees social media contributed to the problems.
“Social media and viral videos showed this place to be some kind of paradise,” he said.
Without going into much detail, Knowles said other actions will be taken in the area. Additional signage will occur.
“They are going to be big,” he said of the large signs that will be installed that will reiterate what the current signs say that were installed Thursday.
Barry Shollenberger, vice president of Blue Mountain Wildlife Inc., was in the area of the dam Thursday. He said they will be installing the gate after DEP asked them to. He said the Bartram Trail is still going to be accessible.
“We’re still going to be here,” he said of the organization that maintains the area. He said it is sad to see the signs posted.
“Abuse it, you lose it. It’s sad that it had to happen,” he said.
A group of young people in a SUV with New Jersey plates came to jump off the cliff after seeing it on YouTube. They were told they could not do so and were turned away.
Paul Shollenberger, 53, of Hamburg, was there to walk his dog. He was told the area past the first lot was off limits.
“This is a great place to come. It’s a shame,” he said.