Preservation Group: Casino a Danger to Gettysburg Battlefield

• Gettysburg, Pa - A preservation group has once again named Gettysburg as one of the nation's ten most endangered Civil War battlefields.
• The Civil War Preservation Trust, an organization focused on saving and preserving America's Civil War battlefields, says the latest threat to Gettysburg is a proposed resort casino that, if granted a license by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, would operate about a half-mile away.
• The group says the Mason-Dixon Casino and Resort, which would be located at the Eisenhower Inn and Conference Center along Emmitsburg Road in Cumberland Township, would change the appeal of the historic town."It's a gamble Gettysburg can't afford," said Nicholas Redding, a policy associate with the Civil War Preservation Trust.
• Redding says Emmitsburg Road, a spot crossed by many soldiers, is no spot for gaming. "It's already a busy two-lane country road," he said. "Putting that much more traffic on it is going to be very difficult to do."
• Those who support the casino say it's what this part of Pennsylvania needs.
  "Gettysburg is a town that depends heavily on tourism, and we think tourism and the people that would come into the town as a result of visiting Mason-Dixon Resort is going to help a lot of people in and around Adams County," said Dave La Torre, a spokesman for the Mason-Dixon Resort.
• La Torre says the resort and casino would bring about 900 jobs.
  Redding says he recognizes the need for job creation, but says the casino would have a domino effect. "It's a question of how many jobs they then take from that same economy, because they are going to attract away local dollars that could go elsewhere in the economy," he said.
• Redding says people looking for a historic trip don't want to take their family to a "casino town."
• "Americans for over 140 years have had the good sense to preserve this place, and we don't want to be the first generation to betray that trust," he said.
• La Torre says the resort should not be a concern because it's not on battlefield property. He said a housing developer recently purchased a piece of land on the battlefield, and that is where the concern should be.
• Redding says the Civil War Preservation Trust is aware of the developer and says that land is a concern, but he says the plans for that piece of land are still up in the air.