BUFFALO TWP — The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board will ponder whether to let the Sheetz along Route 356 obtain a liquor license.

Shawn Kelly, PLCB spokesman, said now that the hearing examiner is due to have filed a report, the board can act.

“They will look at the entire application,” Kelly said.

However, there is no deadline for a decision.

A hearing was held July 13 in Penn Hills after Freeport School District protested the convenience store obtaining a liquor license since it is adjacent to the district's high school campus.

Dan Lucovich, school board president, said the district is hoping the state denies the license since one building and the stadium are well within 300 feet of the Sheetz.

He noted the state's decision may not be the final word on the matter.

“Either side has the right to appeal,” Lucovich said.

Nick Ruffner, Sheetz public relations manager, read a prepared statement in response to Freeport's concerns.

“At Sheetz, we are dedicated to being good neighbors to the communities and school districts where our 558 store locations call home,” Ruffner said. “We will continue to listen and take into consideration the concerns surrounding the liquor license in Buffalo Township as the planning and permitting process proceeds.”

Under the state code, the liquor control board may deny a license if a protest was filed on the grounds that a church, hospital, charitable institution, public playground or school is located within 300 feet of the premises proposed to be licensed.

The school district opposed a license being granted to Sheetz in a letter dated April 7.

A full report will appear in the Butler Eagle.