When Lt. Roy E. Westover Jr. of the Westover Area Fire Department rose on the morning of October 23, 2009, I am sure his mind was on many things. The mind of a volunteer and community leader usually is. His thoughts could have ranged from the challenges that our volunteer fire companies face, to the latest issues at his Curwensville tannery job, or the sense of pride he had in his three teenage sons. Normal, everyday issues that we all deal with.
But Roy Westover was no ordinary man.
He was like so many other unsung heroes who put their lives on the line everyday to keep our communities safe. For some 28 years, he dedicated his life to serving in his local fire department. Sadly, shortly after midnight on October 24th, that service came to a tragic end. While responding to a fire set by an arsonist, Lt. Westover suffered a stress induced heart attack and died. He was just 41. What makes this senseless loss of life even more tragic is the fact that his three sons lost their mother just three years ago. Now they are without both dad and mom.
Like many of you, I was saddened and then angered upon reading the news of what took place. A rash of arsons has occurred in Central Pennsylvania, and now the latest one has taken the life of a good man. In Centre County, there are still no arrests for the multiple arsons that blazed on New Year’s Day of 2007. Thankfully, there were no deaths on that day, but what about next time? Authorities vow to charge the arsonist in Lt. Westover’s death with homicide when they make an arrest. I would like to renew the call to pass a law that will give authorities an added tool in tracking these culprits.
A database of convicted arsonists needs to be maintained. I am re-submitting a bill that will require offender registration in an effort to assist law enforcement with their criminal investigations. Other databases, such as sex offender registries, serve to protect the public, and an arsonist registry would do the same. Under my proposal, an arsonist would be required to a lifetime registration. Juvenile offenders will be subject to registration until the age of 25. The information to be provided would be name, social security number, all current residences, photos, and fingerprints. A convicted arsonist will be required to register within two weeks of being released from prison.
California, Montana and Illinois have enacted laws to create these databases, and I strongly believe Pennsylvania should follow. Arson destroys homes, communities, wildlife and the environment – and as we have seen recently – takes lives. We need to arm our local law enforcement officials with another tool to limit the occurrences of these horrific crimes.
We will never be able to bring back Lt. Roy Westover, but we should honor his memory and life of service by catching the arsonist responsible and bringing him to justice.
Scott Conklin
State Rep.
