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HEADLINES:
Engagement Announced Daane – Batzel Nicole L. Daane of Oostburg, WI and Matthew R. Batzel of Susquehanna, PA are engaged to be married.
NICOLE and MATTHEW Their parents are Glenn and Lois Daane of, Oostburg, and the Rev. Carl and Carol Batzel of Susquehanna. The future bride is a 2002 graduate of Oostburg High School and a 2005 cum laude graduate of King College in Bristol, Tenn. Her fiancé is a 2001 graduate of Susquehanna Community High School and a 2005 magna cum laude graduate of Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, PA. He is employed by US Rep. Joseph R. Pitts in Washington, DC. A wedding is planned for August 20, 2005 in Oostburg and a special local reception for the newlyweds is scheduled for Saturday, August 27 at 12:30 p.m. in the Lanesboro Community Church, Lanesboro, PA.
Blueberry Festival A Huge Success! On Friday and Saturday, August 5 and 6, the 2005 Blueberry Festival was held on the Village Green in Montrose. The weather was perfect and record-breaking crowds turned out to enjoy the blueberry festivities. "The Festival is held the first Friday and Saturday in August, rain or shine," said Susan Stone, Administrator/ Librarian of the Susquehanna County Historical Society & Free Library Association. "We were once again lucky with the weather, but as always we're luckiest of all with our wonderful community support!" The Festival gets bigger and better every year, thanks to the participation of community-minded helpers, both organizations and individuals. Hundreds of volunteers staff the many booths, and local businesses donate essentials from ice cream to advertising.
Some of the Blueberry Festival helpers pictured (l-r) are: back row – Mary Jo Bayer, Marianne Myer, Cathy Chiarella, Priscilla Andre, Cornelia Page, Carol Winkleblech; middle row – Louise Sammon, Sue Magnotti, Elaine Henniger, Hilary Caws-Elwitt, Jacqueline Murray, Mary Lou Harasymczuk; front row – Bob Smith, Frances Lyman, Mikayla Carlton. The Montrose Women's Club Muffin table, which is stocked by donations of hundreds of home-baked muffins, held the ever-popular Blueberry Muffin Contest. Judges Chuck Link (pastor of the Presbyterian Church), Deborah Rose (pastor of the United Methodist Church), and Elizabeth Moulton (pastor of St. Paul's Episcopal Church) tasted a wide range of muffins. First prize went to Kitty DeRiancho's muffins, second to Ray Gillen, and third to Sandra Hassenplug. The winning muffins went at a higher price and quickly sold out! Festival visitors admired the quilt (made by the Crazy Country Quilters), in a Snowball Scrap design. Every year a different quilt is made to be raffled off at the Festival. Kristen Butler won this year's quilt. Other raffles generated excitement as well. Keely Fitzgerald won the huge dollhouse, and she was thrilled! The Black Forest clock handcrafted by George Bryan went to Barb Jaekel. Flo Brown won the telescope, and the glass plate was won by Ron Sprague. Thirty-three winners at the Basket Raffle went home with lovely and original baskets. Congratulations to all! The Silent Auction featured many unique items donated by members of the community, from works by local artists to goods and services from county businesses. Excitement ran high in the last few minutes before the auction closed, as eager bidders competed to raise the prices. While parents bought Blueberry Festival pottery and clothing, admired the handcrafts, and browsed for books at the used book and record sale, children played games on the Green, lined up to bounce in the Price Chopper Bounce Castle, and had their faces painted. Race-against-time games were popular, including an obstacle course, basketball, jump-rope, and block/cookie stacking. Older kids and teens participated in chalk art, played "knockout" basketball, and entered the 4 on 4 volleyball tournament. The winning team was "Phil and Nate." Food and beverages were available all day, with blueberry shortcake returning this year and the addition of nachos and cheese. Volunteers picked hundreds of pounds of fresh blueberries which were snapped up by berry lovers. Festival mascot Newberry the Blueberry made many appearances, shaking hands and posing for pictures. Saturday's White Elephant Sale filled the middle of the green with people finding treasures that others no longer wanted. The Susquehanna County 911 booth, a new addition to the Festival, brought many visitors to the Green. Ambulance and fire truck crews from across the county showed kids their vehicles, Sparky the Fire Dog, McGruff the Crime Dog, and Smoky the Bear roamed the green, and the booth provided services like child fingerprinting and free gunlocks. Close by, the Family Readiness Group (PA National Guard/Charlie Company) provided coloring sheets and notecards to send a message to troops abroad. On Friday, Noelani's Hula School filled the green in front of the Post Office with the colors and sounds of the Pacific (repeated Saturday), and three members of Track 5 sang and played guitar. In the afternoon, radio station 107.7 The Buzzard broadcasted live from the Green. On Saturday, John Swavola's Tae Kwan Do students demonstrated their skills after the Hula School, and the Mountain Aire Brass quintet played beautifully. The afternoon's entertainment peaked with the 11th Annual Massed Band Concert, with classic American favorites played by dozens of musicians of all ages. Civil War re-enactor Brian Swartz (Poor Boys/Living History Guild) camped in front of the Monument overnight. He talked to visitors and demonstrated his authentic equipment. Strolling character entertainer Manny Tikitz also roamed the Green on Saturday. The Chairpersons for this year's Festival – Mary Jo Bayer, Ellen O'Malley, and Marianne Myer – were very pleased with the Festival. The gross receipts were the highest ever, even though expenses were unusually high. All figures are not yet in, but Mrs. Stone estimates that the totals should pass $40,000. All the funds go to the Susquehanna County Historical Society and Free Library Association and are used to help operate the County library system and the County's local history museum and genealogical center. "We count on the Festival proceeds to reach our annual budget," she said, "and it's more crucial than ever in these tough times for state funding. We are very thankful to our legislators for restoring some funds, but we still a long way from previous levels. It's the effort and time selflessly donated by so many community people and businesses that make the Festival successful. From the service clubs to the banks to the hospital, from the smallest to largest businesses, the Probation officers and inmates who tirelessly set up and took down, and the hundreds of individuals who helped – it would take pages to list them all! We are enormously grateful."
PNB Donates To County Foundation & United Way Peoples National Bank has again shown its commitment to Susquehanna County by recently making financial donations to the Community Foundation of Susquehanna County and the United Way of Susquehanna County, both with offices at 36 Lake Avenue in Montrose. The bank has contributed an additional $5,000 to its own Peoples National Bank Fund with the Community Foundation. This Donor Advised fund exists to support local leadership programs as designated by the bank’s Board of Directors. In addition, Peoples Bank has also contributed another $5,000 for a third consecutive year to support the United Way’s Capital Campaign. This campaign was created to offset the costs of starting the United Way of Susquehanna County, and to help ensure that non-profit organizations in the county receive as much financial assistance as possible. Currently the United Way assists twenty-two human development agencies in the county. Peoples Bank has also pledged another $1,200 toward the United Way’s 2005 Annual Campaign goal of $200,000.
Pictured (l-r) are: Jack Ord, President of Peoples National Bank in Hallstead, PA.; on the right, Peter Quigg, Director of Development, Community Foundation of Susquehanna County. Bank President, Jack Ord, states, “One of the roles of a community bank such as PNB is to reinvest in the communities it serves. We have found that the Community Foundation and the United Way have proven to be an efficient way to achieve our goal of reinvestment within Susquehanna County. We are proud to be associated with both organizations and look forward to working with them in the future.” The Community Foundation and the United Way wish to thank Peoples National Bank on behalf of the hundreds of people who have benefited by its years of generosity and commitment to our region.
Sixty-six 4-H members of 6 different 4-H clubs showed over 130 dairy animals representing all seven dairy breeds at the Harford Fairgrounds. Judging the event were Diane Glock, type judge; Andrea Garner Muck, fitter judge; Roger Sherwood, showmanship judge. The Grand Champion Holstein JoSan Encore Porcha was exhibited by Beth Giangrieco and Reserve Champion Holstein JoSan Eclipse Lynn was exhibited by Chelsey Saam. Dan Puzo received the colored breeds Grand Champion award with his Red and White Goff-Farms Rubens Ally-Red. Emily Adams proudly displayed her Ayrshire Rose More Angel’s April receiving the Reserve Champion Colored Breed award. Having received the Grand Champion Holstein and Colored Breed awards, Beth and Dan now have earned the opportunity to take part in the Susquehanna County 4-H Livestock Sale by selling a gallon of milk representing their champion dairy animal. The milk will be auctioned and the proceeds will go to the 4-H member. This is Dan Puzo’s eleventh and last year in 4-H and Beth has shown dairy animals for nine years and still has one more year she can take part in the 4-H program. The Champion Owner Breeder award for the Holstein breed went to Jessica Sartell’s dry cow, Dymond-S Formation Annabell. Jessie is a member of the North Jackson 4-H Club. Daniel Puzo’s four year old Red and White “Ally” received the Champion Owner Breeder award for all colored breeds. Dan also received the Overall Best Bred and Owned Award. Dan is a member of the Watrous Corners 4-H Club.
4-H’er Emily Adams and Dan Puzo proudly receive their Owner Breeder Awards. Pictured (l-r) are: Emily Adams, Ashley Franklin, Dan Puzo, Karley Mosier and Diane Glock. 4-H members receiving Senior Champion and Senior Reserve Champion awards included Douglas Brooks, Emily Adams, Beth Giangrieco, Alyssa Sprout, Dan Puzo, Alex Bonavita, Andy Miner, Chelsey Saam, Jenna Sprout and Shannon Oliver. The Junior Champion and Junior Reserve Champion awards went to Alex Bonavita, Nikolas Mattocks, Evan Castrogiovanni, Jenna Sprout, Steven Rezykowski, Brandon Loch, Douglas Brooks, Cassandra Clark, Mariah Castrogiovanni, Christian Sprout, Daniel English and Nathan Palmer. Brian Castrogiovanni, Steven Rezykowski, Jessie Sartell and Beth Giangrieco received the Champion Showman Awards. Brian and Jessie also received the David Quick Memorial Award, a savings bond and plaque. Fitter Champions were Christian Sprout, McKinzie Wallace, Jessie Sartell and Abby Onyon. Susquehanna County 4-H would like to thank the many sponsors that give financial support to the County 4-H dairy program and the many hours volunteers willing give to make the 4-H dairy program so successful in Susquehanna County.
Medicare Coverage Of Prescription Drugs Beginning January 1, 2006, new Medicare prescription drug coverage will be available to all people with Medicare. Insurance companies and other private companies approved by Medicare will offer the new coverage for prescription drugs to Medicare beneficiaries. Like other insurance, if you join you will pay a monthly premium (generally around $37 in 2006) and pay a share of the cost of your prescriptions. The plans will provide additional savings through their ability to negotiate discounts on drug prices. And extra help is available to those with limited income and resources. Detailed information about the plans that will be offering the new Medicare prescription drug coverage will be available beginning in early October, 2005. If you currently have Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance) and/or Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance), you can join a Medicare prescription drug plan during the initial enrollment period, which runs from November 15, 2005 through May 15, 2006. If you join by December 31, 2005 your drug coverage will begin on January 1, 2006. In general, after May 15, 2006, you will be able to join or change plans once a year, during the open enrollment period beginning November 15 and running through December 31 of each year. That coverage for prescription drugs will begin on January 1 of the following year. Different drug plans may provide coverage of different drugs, the cost of the drugs to you and which pharmacies you can use. But you will have a choice of at least two drugs, name brand or generic under the standard level of coverage that will be set by Medicare. However, some plans might offer more coverage and cover additional drugs for a higher monthly premium. If you are eligible for the prescription drug benefit but don’t sign up for a plan by the May 15, 2006 deadline, and you don’t have a drug plan that covers as much or more than Medicare, you will have to pay more if you join a prescription drug plan at a later time. So even if you don’t currently use a lot of prescription drugs, you should still consider joining a plan. In order to get more information on these changes and to find help in picking the prescription drug plan that is right for you, there are several resources. In the fall of 2005, the “Medicare & You 2006” handbook will list the prescription drug plan available in each area. Also in the fall of 2005 you will be able to get personalized information on available drug plans at www.medicare.gov or by calling 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) (TTY USERS SHOULD CALL 1-877-486-2048). Contact the B/S/S/T Area Agency on Aging at 1-800-982-4346 or (570) 265–6121 for more info.
Learn More About PA Relay Service HARRISBURG - Rep. Sandra Major (R-Susquehanna/Wayne/Wyoming) urges Commonwealth residents to look into a service entitled PA Relay that helps individuals with hearing or speech disabilities communicate via telephone. The technology is simple and easy to use: just dial 7-1-1. The Pennsylvania Relay Service is an AT&T phone service regulated by the Public Utility Commission offering persons who are hearing, deaf, hard of hearing or speech disabled three ways to connect using the telephone: Traditional Relay, Video Relay, and Internet Relay. Users dial 7-1-1 and a skillfully trained Communications Assistant, or CA, who follows a strict code of ethics and confidentiality, relays each conversation. PA Relay is available 24-hours a day, seven days a week and virtually eliminates the difficulty in communicating by telephone. One out of every 12 Pennsylvanians – 8 percent of the population – is deaf or hard of hearing, or has a speech related disability; however, fewer than 9 percent of state residents know about 711 and relay technology. It is beneficial for all of Pennsylvania to know that PA Relay is another way to communicate with family and friends who have a hearing loss or speech disability. To learn more about the PA Relay service, visit the Relay website at www.parelay.net or call 1-800-682-8706.
Library’s Summer Readers Move Up The Susquehanna Branch Library, in conjunction with Susquehanna County Literacy, provided an atmosphere of reading and exploring the renaissance period through its summer reading program entitled Dragons, Dreams & Daring Deeds. Throughout their exploration, young readers enjoyed stories, crafts, book giveaway week, guest presenters, a pizza party and field trip to the Renaissance Faire. Moving up ceremony was held on Tuesday, August 2. Participants received a Certificate of Participation for their extraordinary reading efforts throughout the program. The library is proud to announce the following participants of the Susquehanna Branch Library’s Summer Reading Program – 2005: Michael Armitage, David Armitage, Ryan Armitage, Julianna Ayres, Thomas Baker, Rebekah M. Bayle, Kyle J. Bayle, Joel M. Bayle, Justin K. Bayle, Leif-Axel Berg, Karolina Berg, Daniel Braun, Michael Braun, Kasey Burdick, Abby Burdick, Carissa Carpenter, Peyton Cowperthwait, Austin Cowperthwait, Joseph DeLaPlaine, Jack DeLaPlaine, Rachel Hubal, Keith Hubal, Samantha Irwin, Emily Lawrenson, Sophie Lawrenson, Tyler Petriello, Alexis Roe, Ryan Rosenthal, Brooke Sampson, Emily Staros, Daniel Staros, Jessica Staros, Raya Vermilyea, Elvis Vermilyea, Julia Wright. The Susquehanna Branch Library extends a special thank you to their “silent partners” for their collaboration in sponsoring a successful summer reading program.
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