BERWICK — Another round of Ku Klux Klan flyers has hit the Berwick area, but this time in a small neighborhood a stone’s throw from City Hall.

Bette Grey, 57, of Arbor Street says she’s lived in Berwick all her life and she’s never encountered such hateful beliefs.

And when she told council members about the flyers Monday night, council President Alvin Hill assured her such ideas have no place in the borough.

“We’re a community of immigrants, not a community of hatred,” he said. Other council members murmured in agreement.

Grey says she and her husband, Robert, found the first flyer in their yard on Friday, then another one on Sunday afternoon when they came home from church. Both times, the leaflets were tucked neatly under a bag of rice in the grass, Grey said.

At first, Grey, a former councilwoman, thought she was being targeted because of her political activism.

But at least six other neighbors got them, too. Some of them had different messages than the ones Grey received, she said.

Hers questioned the lack of a “white history month” and touted the accomplishments of white people over the centuries. It states the “technological advancements of our people — from the megalithic calendar of Stonehenge to the moonwalk of the Apollo astronauts — are unequaled.”

Grey said another neighbor’s flyer says God loves the KKK, and encourages white people to be proud of being white. None of the flyers were put in mailboxes, which would have been a federal offense, and all were weighted with rice.

The Klansmen knew what they were doing, Grey said.

The pamphlets also provided a website and hotline number for anyone wishing to join the group.

Considering the political climate in the country, Grey’s afraid these leaflets are just the start of trouble, she said.

“I think you’re going to see more of this stuff,” Grey said. “Hate crimes will start.”

Berwick Police Chief Ken Strish says he’s been made aware of the handbills. The ones on Arbor Street are the first of their kind in the borough, he added.

He urged residents who see anyone distributing the flyers to call 9-1-1.

It’s not clear the pamphleteer is breaking the law, but police at least want to talk to the person, Strish said.

Same group

The papers are the work of the East Coast Knights of the True Invisible Empire, a Klan group with a home base in Rising Sun, Maryland, just over the state line. It was the same group that distributed flyers in the 800 block of East Third Street in Salem Township in September.

Those leaflets, decrying illegal immigration, angered Hispanic families living in that neighborhood.

According to the group’s website, the East Coast Knights are a “traditional Klan” that seeks to “ensure a safe and secure future for Caucasian Americans.”

“We do not preach hate, and at no time would we react hatefully to any man, woman or child,” the website proclaims. “We strive to cleanse the Klan name by our positive actions.”

But Grey’s not buying their “positive” message.

“It frightens me,” Grey said. “This is significantly nasty.”

Grey said that’s why she was taking her concerns to council.

“It’s not that I want to draw attention, but I want people to be informed,” she said.

Julye Wemple can be reached at julye.wemple@pressenterprise.net, or at 570-387-1234, ext. 1323. Susan Schwartz contributed to this article.