Watsontown, Pennsylvania residents have begun fighting back against a neighbor they claim has been disrupting the peace for years, playing taps at 7 a.m., spraying them with a water hose, even making them ill by pouring buckets of disinfectant onto the ground.

District Judge Carl B. Rice called Diane Dawson, 62, a “bully” after imposing a 90-day jail sentence and $300 fine for disorderly conduct.

Dawson’s defense attorney Anne Shapiro is appealing.

Rice made the statement from the bench after a preliminary August 5 hearing in which Iraq War veteran Clinton Mettler testified that on May 27 he was awakened at 7 a.m. to the sound of Dawson playing taps on a cornet while sitting on her porch.

When Dawson refused to stop playing, Mettler said he went to the police station to file a complaint.

“I’m a combat veteran from Iraq and taps means something to me,” Mettler said in court, adding that the early hour the music was being played outdoors was also particularly disturbing.

Dawson, however, testified that she was inside her house when Mettler came by at about 8 a.m. and asked her to stop and that she believed she could play the instrument anytime between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. without disrupting the neighborhood.

Shapiro argued Dawson did not intend to disturb anyone.

“Not everything that disturbs somebody makes it a criminal offense,” she said.

Lewisburg psychologist Nancy Paschuk is treating Dawson for an unspecified reason, but Rice deemed her input irrelevant and wouldn’t allow her to testify for the defense.

“Ms. Dawson is being a bully,” Rice said in rendering a guilty verdict. “The reason she has a right to play is only because of people like Mr. Mettler.”

Watsontown police Chief Dennis Derr said he’s been dealing with Dawson for 28 years and agrees with Rice’s assessment of her as a bully.

“She does what she wants to do and doesn’t care,” he said, adding that she claims to be bothered by pollutants, including people who smoke and vehicles that emit smoke.

Shapiro would not comment on Dawson’s mental state, but said she’s known her for years.

“Diane is not a mean or malicious person,” the attorney said. “A little kindness would go a long way. Not all of her relationships are difficult.”

Dawson has been cited for disorderly conduct and harassment numerous times in the past nine years.

Neighbors and borough officials have accused her of making dozens of harassing phone calls, spraying them with hoses as they sat on their porches smoking cigarettes or worked nearby, throwing smoke bombs on neighboring yards, and pouring oil in the ear of a neighbor’s dog.

Derr said neighbors have become so frustrated that they’ve put “no trespassing” signs on their property to bolster any complaints they may have against Dawson.

Michael and Veronica Irvine set up three surveillance cameras on their property in February 2007 to deter vandals and trespassers.

Mr. Irvine said he enjoys the community and most of his neighbors, but said Dawson has made it a difficult place to live since they moved in nine years ago.

The latest problem occurred on June 1, when Mrs. Irvine was overcome by the strong odor of a disinfectant and had to be treated at the hospital for an asthma attack allegedly caused by buckets of cleaner being poured on the ground by Dawson.

Police allege the incident was caught on the Irvines’ surveillance tapes that showed Dawson pouring liquid around their property from buckets and a 55-gallon drum.

When borough police Officer Gregory Drollinger showed up at the Irvines’ house, he could smell the disinfectant, court documents said.

Dawson told him she was sanitizing the street.

After viewing the tapes in court last week, Rice bound criminal charges of stalking, disorderly conduct and harassment against Dawson.

Shapiro said she’s appealing the charges.

Derr would not comment on Dawson’s mental state, but said “She knows the difference between right and wrong. I’m not sure what will help her.”

Marcia Moore writes for the Daily Item in Sunbury, Pa.