Carroll County Times Sunday, January 9, 2011, Page A9

LOCAL/REGION
Pennsylvania

Reworked child custody law about to take effect

ASSOCIATED PRESS
HARRISBURG, Pa. —
Child custody disputes are
by nature emotionally
charged, but a new state law
that goes into effect later
this month introduces sev-
eral changes into the system
that could ease the pain for
Pennsylvania families as
they break up.
The Legislature, during
November’s lame duck ses-
sion, approved custody
rules, the last chapter of
what has been a decade-
long effort.
“If the process isn’t fair,
the parents continue to do
battle, and the child is
scarred as a result of that,”
said Senate Judiciary Chair-
man Stewart Greenleaf, R-
Montgomery, who pushed
for the revisions. “The
quicker we can resolve these
issues, the less trauma is in-
flicted upon the child.”
Family law attorneys and
judges around the state are
currently familiarizing
themselves with changes
that are designed to improve
fairness and transparency in
a process that, for many
people, will be their only
contact with the judicial sys-
tem.
“It’s not a magic bullet,
and there’s nothing more
grueling and emotional than
a custody trial,” said Norris-
town attorney Cheryl L.
Young, who chairs the state
bar association’s family law
section. “Hopefully, some of
this will allow more parents
to settle.”
Judges are now required to
state on the record their rea-
sons for making decisions,
which some consider the
most significant change.
“Some judges would be
very clear and others would
just enter an order,
‘Granted,’ ‘Dismissed,’ or
‘Here’s your custody order,’”
Young said. “Now they un-
derstand at least what the
judge was thinking.”
Custodial parents who
want to move away will have
to give the other parent a
chance to object beforehand,
closing a gap in existing law
that caused repeated prob-
lems, said Maria Cognetti, a
Camp Hill lawyer who spent
years working on the legis-
lation for the Joint State
Government Commission.

“I just can’t
believe how
quickly [the
fire] grew.”
Chad Cockey
Westminster resident

Fire
From Page A1

tanker trucks and fire en-

gines to extinguish the
fire, he said. There was no
immediate water supply
available and it was diffi-
cult for fire engines to
reach the house.
While working to con-
trol the blaze, one fire-
fighter received minor
burns and was taken to
Carroll Hospital Center for
a routine checkup, Stans-
bury said.
Westminster Fire De-
partment President Robert
Cumberland said West-
minster’s fire department
was the first to respond to
the scene, followed by
Hampstead, Manchester
and Reese fire companies.
A county highway salt
truck also responded to
the scene to help with icy
road conditions. The situ-
ation was worsened by the
cold temperatures and lack
of water, he said.
Cockey, who went to the
fire after seeing smoke
while on another part of
his family’s property, said
the fire departments re-
sponded quickly to the
scene.
He said it felt awful to
see his sister and brother-
in- law’s belongings burn
to ashes before his eyes.
“I just can’t believe how
quickly [the fire] grew,”
Cockey said.
Michael Stricker, of
Sykesville, said he arrived
at the fire after hearing
about it from family mem-
bers.
Stricker, brother- in- law
to the Speerts, said his
nephew first saw the fire,
which is believed to have
originated on the house’s
deck. Both his niece and
nephew went to their
grandparent’s house,
which was next to the
scene of the fire, Stricker
said.
Cumberland said be-
tween 80 and 100 firefight-
ers in more than 40 pieces
of fire equipment from 17
fire companies assisted in
extinguishing the fire.
Units outside of the
county came from Balti-
more County and York and
Adams counties in Penn-
sylvania.
Cumberland said the
house suffered consider-
able damage and the Fire
Marshall is currently as-
sessing the damage’s
worth. Cumberland said
four people are displaced
as a result of the fire.
Fire units left the scene
by 6:30 p.m. but an
overnight fire watch has
been put on the house,
Cumberland said. He said
the cause of the fire is un-
known at this time.

Reach staff writer Alisha

George at 410- 857-7876 or
alisha.george@carroll
countytimes.com.

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