At a meeting of Summit Hill Borough Council on Monday, it was announced that residents tossing snow into the street from sidewalks or parking spaces will be issued citations by the police.

Most municipalities have ordinances banning the heaving of snow into streets and alleys. Common sense dictates that this practice shouldn't occur. Very few boroughs are strict about it.In Summit Hill, plows no sooner pass than people start tossing snow into the street. We've seen this occur in many other communities, too.What happens is often the snow melts, then refreezes and causes hazardous driving and walking conditions.One council member said he feels it is okay to put your snow in the street if the temperature is warm enough to melt it. There are two problems with such a response, especially coming from a councilman:• Often the daylight temperatures are warm enough to melt the snow, only to have the melted precipitation freeze at night.• An ordinance prohibits the tossing of snow into the street. There are no exceptions in the ordinance.There are obviously good reasons most municipalities have such an ordinance, but the main one is safety. Especially when there is bad weather, many people opt to walk on the streets in low-traveled neighborhoods instead of on sidewalks.Don't toss your snow into the street. And if you do, you deserve to be fined.Incidentally, many towns also have ordinances mandating parking rules as well as regulations for shoveling sidewalks.If you do shovel, take your time and be aware that many heart attacks occur from snow shoveling. So don't over-do it.Use common sense.By Ron Gowerrgower@tnonline.com