Vets' group opposes casino

Vets' group opposes casino

BY SCOT ANDREW PITZER Times Staff Writer

A group of veterans formed a new anti-casino group Tuesday morning in Harrisburg, in opposition to the proposed Mason Dixon Resort & Casino in Cumberland Township.

The group, calling itself Veterans for Gettysburg, includes the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, the American Legion, and the Chief Historian Emeritus of the National Park Service. Veterans for Gettysburg describes itself as a “collection of service veterans from around the nation who believe that the presence of a casino operation so close to the scene of some of the nation’s most blood-soaked ground would disrespect the sacrifices made by previous generations of American soldiers.”

“If Gettysburg is truly hallowed ground, then it should be treated as such,” Vietnam Memorial Fund President Jan Scruggs wrote in a press release. “It should be a place for study, reflection and contemplation. It should not be a place for gambling.”

In a prepared statement, the veterans alliance specifically objected to the project “that would transform an existing, family-friendly hotel complex just one half-mile from the edge of Gettysburg National Military Park into a gambling resort.” The Emmitsburg Road property is zoned for commercial development, and is already home to a 35-year-old hotel with 300 rooms, a sports complex, and privately owned residences.

“We need to be sensitive to the fact that this is a hallowed resting place for our brothers-in-arms, and protect it from such inappropriate development,” American Legion Executive Director Peter Gaytan wrote in a statement.

The Gettysburg Times was not invited to Tuesday's press conference, hosted by Preservation Pennsylvania and the Civil War Preservation Trust. The national American Legion organization, which represents 2.5 million veterans, announced opposition to the Mason Dixon project Aug. 13, without consulting area organizations.

The veterans’ alliance also announced that it was launching a letter-writing campaign, aimed at generating opposition to the Mason Dixon project. State gambling regulators are accepting written testimony on the project through late October.

The seven-member gaming board is expected to award the license by the end of the year. There are four applicants, including LeVan and Lashinger, vying for the license, which permits up to 600 slot machines and 50 table games.