Jones remembered as a no-nonsense public servant
Logan Township supervisor, former district judge died Thursday in accident
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Logan Township Supervisor and former Magisterial District Judge Patrick Jones, who died Thursday in a tractor accident at his farm in Homers Gap, was a strong-willed, highly scrupulous individual who did what he thought was right, no matter how others felt about it, according to officials who worked with him.
As a district judge in Logan Township, Jones was a stickler for protocol designed to prevent even the faintest whiff of impropriety, according to Blair County Senior Judge Jolene Kopriva, who, as president judge, had supervisor responsibility for the county's magisterial district judges.
Jones didn't like it when police officers who came to district courts to file complaints would visit with judges' staff and come back to chat with judges, so he placed yellow tape beyond which police officers who came to his courtroom office were prohibited, Kopriva said.
Jones didn't want potential friendliness with cops to imply that they could ask him for a favor in court, and he wanted to ensure that defendants who might be waiting for hearings wouldn't see him hobnobbing with officers in a way that would sow doubt about his impartiality, Kopriva said.
"I think the idea was admirable," she said.
Jones may not have been popular with police officers and attorneys, but his inflexibility helped remind people in the criminal justice system in Blair County how important it is to be strong-minded, to stand up "to people who try to influence you," Kopriva said.
Perhaps because his inflexibility made Jones a target for criticism -- which may have led him to try to ensure that behavior was as irreproachable as possible -- he would frequently call Judge Tom Peoples, Kopriva's predecessor as president judge, to ask advice on the correct way of doing things.
After Kopriva became president judge, there were instances where she had to remonstrate him following complaint calls from people whom Jones had angered.
She would try to soften his stance at times, try to get him to compromise.
For example, his protocol included a 3:30 p.m. filing deadline, meant to ensure that his staff could leave work on time at 4 p.m., she said.
"He was protective of his staff," she said.
If that led to a complaint, Kopriva would try to work out a compromise that would be satisfactory to both parties, based on there being extenuating circumstances under which an agency like state police might be unable to meet such a deadline, Kopriva said.
Ultimately, Jones "was a proud public servant who worked hard to keep the justice system meeting aspirational goals," Kopriva said. "He had a quirky way about him, but I believe it came from the right place" she said, adding that he was at times misinterpreted.
As a district judge, Jones "didn't tolerate people acting out," said Ron Heller, former Logan police chief and current township supervisor.
Defendants acting badly had to "pay significant bail or go to jail," Heller said.
"He just took care of business," Heller stated.
Jones was always willing to preside over arraignments, no matter what time of day, Heller said, appreciatively.
Jones once performed a kindness when Heller bought a house with a new fireplace, calling him over to his property to take a truckload of wood, Heller said.
"He was a good person," Heller said. "He was a good man."
'You got to keep moving'
As a supervisor in Logan Township, Jones was "strong-willed," said Township Manager Tim Brown.
"Nobody told Pat what to do," Brown said. "If he wanted to show up at a meeting at 6:05 (five minutes late), he showed up at 6:05," Brown said.
But Jones was always prepared for those meetings, Brown said.
"He always read everything we gave him," Brown said, speaking of text on paper, in the old-fashioned way.
Not many months ago, Jones publicly urged the other supervisors to install a shooting range at Strawberry Hills, a formerly derelict tract on which the township is constructing recreational facilities.
Jones got no support for the proposal.
But he didn't forget about it and recently built a pistol range and a rifle range on his own property, Brown said.
Jones did lots of physical work, much more than anyone else his age that Brown knows of.
He built a retaining wall at his house at age 80, Brown said.
The first block felt like 150 pounds, he told Brown.
"By the time I reached the hundredth block, it felt like a feather," Jones said, according to Brown.
People called him "Iron Pat," said Supervisors Chairman Jim Patterson.
He sometimes came into the township offices with mud on his boots, after working on his backhoe all day, Brown said.
He rebuilt the breast of his farm pond and personally cut down trees on his property that were as high as 40 feet, Patterson said.
"He was a former Marine," Brown said. "He had that mindset: Always doing something."
He would tell Brown, "You got to keep moving," Brown said.
He was a hunting and a firearms enthusiast, liked motorcycles and discussed converting his Harley into a three-wheeler, according to Patterson.
Once, long before Jones was a supervisor, he attended a Logan supervisors meeting, and then-Chairman Frank Meloy addressed him as "buddy," Brown said.
"You can call me Mr. Jones, Judge or Patrick T. Jones, but don't call me 'buddy,'" Brown said.
That was the first time he encountered Jones, according to Brown.
He put up homemade signs when he ran for supervisor, according to Brown.
"He was very old-school," Brown said. "I liked him."
"He was a good man, intelligent and methodical-thinking," and he was honest and trustworthy, Patterson said.
"I have nothing but good things to say," Patterson said.
Jones was one of two supervisors who represented the board in the Logan Township Fire Chiefs Association, said Rusty Shoenfelt, chief of the Logan Township United Fire Company.
He was a life member of United, dating back to when it was Grandview, one of United's predecessor companies, Shoenfelt said.
"He was always very supportive of the fire service," Shoenfelt said.
Board to fill vacancy
Jones was the second Logan supervisor to die this year.
Joe Metzger died in May and was replaced by the remaining supervisors with Wesley Barnhart.
The current supervisors will have 30 days after the day of Jones' death to name a replacement for him.
There will be notices on the township website and its Facebook page asking for applications and resumes, according to Brown.
Board members will receive those applications and resumes from Brown on an individual basis, and they can tell Brown whom they prefer individually, Brown said.
Municipal governing bodies are not required to advertise open positions or hold interviews, nor are they required to solicit resumes or letters of interest -- although that is "an advisable best practice," according to an online article by Michael Korns and Anna Hoack of Babst Calland Clements and Zomnir of Pittsburgh.
But if a quorum of the board is "participating in deliberations about the vacancy, those deliberations are subject to the Pennsylvania Sunshine Act ... and must occur at an advertised public meeting to allow for public comment, and the discussion must be listed on the agenda 24 hours in advance," the article states.
Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.