While Halabura was serving at St. Paul’s parish in South Allentown in the late 1960s, he tried to mediate in a standoff involving a resident opposed to a sewer line in Salisbury Township, according to Morning Call archives. In 1968, Ruth Vito parked her car in the path of a sewer line under construction. Armed with a revolver, she handcuffed herself to the steering wheel. Halabura was called to the scene to try to talk Vito out of the car. Despite a five-hour effort, he had no success, The Morning Call reported.