By JON BAKER

LINCOLN — Back in January, Town Councilman James Jahnz sat in his living room to watch the 11 o’clock news broadcast, and it didn’t take long for a most disturbing item to come upon his television screen.

It detailed a known sex offender assaulting a young boy as he perused books in the children’s section of a New Bedford library. At the time, the TV reporter stated the child had been mere feet from his mother.
“I was absolutely horrified,” stated Jahnz, a Democrat who represents District 4 (Albion, Quinville and a section of Lime Rock). “Actually, my stomach turned as to how something like that could happen to a six-year-old boy. I immediately said to myself, ‘What can I do to prevent something like that happening in Lincoln?’ I later heard about the mayor in New Bedford submitting an ordinance preventing that kind of thing, and I looked into it. I figured — if it was written correctly — it might work in Lincoln.”
On March 18, Jahnz introduced such an ordinance to the Town Council, and it since has been sent to the Ordinance Committee. In essence, it has two restrictions: First, it would prevent any registered/convicted  sex offender (Levels II and III) from being within a 500-foot radius of any school, day-care center or town-owned recreational area; and, second,
no registered sex offender may reside within a 500-foot radius of those aforementioned sites.
Those locations include the Lincoln Youth Center; Chase and Thibaudeau farms; Camp Meehan; Saylesville’s basketball courts; Lincoln Almond Field; Manville, Fairlawn, Lime Acres, Arnold and Lonsdale parks; Albion and Quinville playgrounds; Gateway to Great Road; Aldrich Marshall Woods; Lime Kiln; Handy, Butterfly and Skating ponds; and the Hearthside and Valentine Whitman houses.
“I worked closely with the Town Solicitor’s office in the composition of this ordinance because I wanted to make sure this ordinance would hold up in a court of law,” noted Jahnz, a father to a pair of young children. “I wanted to be positive this was written as tightly as possible so it would stand up to a legal challenge.
“I wrote this thing for two reasons: First, to make Lincoln as safe as possible for children; and, second, so parents will know the Town of Lincoln will take action to protect their children.
“I can’t hide the fact that the decision I made stems from me being a husband and father,” he added. “I would expect another elected official in my position to do the same … Like I said, I want to protect the children of this town from facing the possibility of attack similar to the one that occurred in New Bedford.”
Among the exceptions to the ordinance: Any person whose name had been removed from the Rhode Island Sex Offender Registry; and if the premises in the child safety zone also supports a church, synagogue, mosque, temple or other house of religious worship.
(That is, the offender may only enter or be present during hours of worship or other religious programs/services as posted to the public end; and the offender shall not participate in any religious education programs that include individuals under age 18).
If the ordinance is passed, a registered sex offender found in such locales will be issued a citation or a first offense. Should he or she refuses to leave or is later discovered on a listed prorperty, it would result in a civil fine of $125. A second offense would cost $250, and additional offenses up to $300. Of course, should such an offender be on probation, that would become a criminal, felony offense.
Jahnz stated he grew up in a family who paid close attention to law and politics, and claimed he lives by a simple credo, one spoken by former Minnesota Governor and presidential hopeful Hubert H. Humphrey.
“He said, ‘It was once said that the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped,’” Jahnz said. “I love that quote. The reason I got involved as a public servant, pure and simple, was to make the community a better place for us to live.
“You read the newspaper, and you see incidents similar to the one we’re addressing all the time around the nation,” he added. “I’m hoping this is passed, and that it also will become a model for other communities to adopt. Right now, it’s before the Ordinance Committee (of which he is a member), and I’m hoping it will be heard and passed at the next regularly-scheduled meeting (on April 22).”