HEADLINES:
60th Anniversary
Wedding Announced Phillips – Perry
Montrose Kiwanis Club Christmas Toy Drive
Conservation District Hosts Awards Banquet
End of Day Benefits From Community Partnerships
Broadline Construction Builds United Way
Greenway Partnership Has Executive Director
Sea Scout Ship 90 Bridge Of Honor

60th Anniversary

Clarence and Josephine Alerio Benson, pictured above, formerly of Susquehanna and now residing in Lexington, South Carolina, celebrated their sixtieth wedding anniversary on November 5, 2006 with their children, Celia, Fred, Mary Jane and Joanne, and with many extended relatives and friends.

Congratulations, Clarence and Josephine!

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Wedding Announced Phillips – Perry

Chad Perry and Melissa Phillips, Hallstead, PA will be married on Saturday, March 24, 2007 at the New Milford Methodist Church.

Melissa and Chad

Chad is the son of Douglas Perry, New Milford and Theresa Sciaccia, Freemont, NH.

Melissa is the daughter of Mike and Wanda Phillips, Hallstead.

Melissa and Chad are both graduates of Blue Ridge School. Chad is the owner of Perry's Plumbing & Heating and Melissa is a secretary for Phillips Garage.

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Montrose Kiwanis Club Christmas Toy Drive

Could any of us imagine as a child what it would be like to wake up on Christmas morning and find out that there war no gifts for us under the Christmas tree? Seems unimaginable, doesn’t it? Yet, that is exactly what will happen to some of our less fortunate neighbors in Susquehanna County unless we open our hearts and our wallets to their needs.

In order to help meet this need, the Kiwanis Club of Montrose Area is pleased to announce they will conduct their annual Christmas Toy Drive in cooperation with the Susquehanna County Christmas Bureau. For the past 26 years the Kiwanis Club has participated in the collection and distribution of toys during the Christmas season for needy families throughout Susquehanna County.

Last year 580 children were able to enjoy Christmas in a special way because of the generosity of so many caring neighbors and organizations that contributed to the Toy Drive. This year it is anticipated that the need will be even greater because of the disastrous flooding that occurred in our area last June.

The Kiwanis Club is asking for the public’s help and support in this service project. Donations of new toys or used toys in clean, reusable condition are requested. Cash donations are urgently solicited and gladly accepted in order to meet the goal of giving at least one new toy to each child. Please forward cash contributions to the Kiwanis Club of Montrose Area, P.O. Box 275, Montrose, PA 18801.

New and used toys will be accepted from now until Saturday, December 16, and may be dropped off at the following locations: Tom Kerr Chevy-Olds, Grow Ave., Montrose; or Robinson’s Market, South Montrose. For additional information, contact the Montrose Kiwanis Club (278–3537).

Distribution of toys will be coordinated by the Susquehanna County Christmas Bureau. Christmas toys and food baskets will be distributed on Thursday, December 21, at the Montrose Bible Conference.

The Kiwanis Club of Montrose Area invites community participation in this annual service project to provide the opportunity for everyone to enter the spirit of the holiday season. Help make a Christmas dream come true for the needy children in our area.

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Conservation District Hosts Awards Banquet

The Susquehanna County Conservation District 2006 Annual Awards Banquet was well attended. The banquet started with a social hour followed by a family-style dinner. The District held a silent auction fundraiser at the banquet, in order to raise money for youth environmental education and conservation stewardship programs, including the Envirothon competition and the District’s annual scholarship award. Items and services were donated by local businesses for the fundraiser.

Pictured (l-r) at the annual Conservation District banquet are: standing – Ed and Gwen Chianese, Art and Betsy Cole, Rep. Sandra Major, Pauline and Paul Fallon, Kathy and Robert Warriner; sitting – Dewey and Molly Lyon.

The District gave a presentation summarizing the year’s events and accomplishments. The banquet was concluded with the presentation of awards in recognition of conservation efforts. Awards were given as follows: No-till Farmer of the Year, Ed and Gwen Chianese; Outstanding Cooperators in Conservation, Paul and Pauline Fallon, and Art and Betsy Cole; In Recognition of the Promotion of Conservation, Robert and Kathy Warriner. Special recognition was also given to Dewey Lyon for twenty-five years of excellent service as a Conservation District Director and in honor of his retirement from service as a Director.

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End of Day Benefits From Community Partnerships
By Brandy Pitcher

End Of Day After School Program has had the help and cooperation of many agencies and businesses in our community. The after-school program runs daily for elementary students at Blue Ridge and Lathrop Street Elementary, and this year the program has had the help each month from Anna D’Andrea of the Wellness Center to teach the students yoga. We have also had the pleasure of monthly guest readers from the Montrose Kiwanis and Blue Ridge faculty and staff. To celebrate fire safety week, local volunteer fire companies visited our sites and gave our students hands-on fire prevention and safety tips. Some of our most loved visitors have been the animals; Lisa Goodman visited with her dairy goats, and Pat Depola shared some of her pets. To honor the Great American Smokeout this month, representatives from Trehab’s Drug and Alcohol Prevention program came to share some educational games with each site. To teach our students important 911 services, Susquehanna County 911 and Sparky came to visit us this month, also.

Pictured are Lisa Goodman and her dairy goats, visiting Blue Ridge End of Day After School.

We are very thankful for all of the volunteer hours all of these agencies have provided our children. Without partners sharing their resources we would not have an exciting and enriching program for our children. Come see what else we have planned for this year, and don’t miss all of the excitement! We invite the public to come out to Pizza with Santa Night on December 1, in the Lathrop Street Elementary Cafeteria. Come enjoy the food, get your picture taken with Santa Claus, and learn more about our programs. The programs are still enrolling for the 2006-2007 school year at Blue Ridge, Elk Lake, and Lathrop Street. If you are interested in having your child come be a part of the fun, contact Trisha for Blue Ridge at 465-2204, and Doreen for Lathrop Street at 278-1523. We currently are postponing the start of the program in the Elk Lake District, due to low enrollment. We will need an enrollment of ten to open; if you are interested call Brandy Pitcher at 879-4904.

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Broadline Construction Builds United Way

Visitors to the Montrose Fourth of July celebration will recall the toasty smells, sizzle and sweet taste of funnel cakes served up from a colorful wagon staffed by employees of Broadline Construction, Inc. Funnel cake proceeds go each year to support your local United Way. In fact, the first public donation received by the United Way of Susquehanna County in 2001 was from Broadline Construction, Inc.

Pictured (l-r) are: Flo Pasteka and Jack Taylor presenting a check to Ruth Donnelly, Director of the United Way.

That Montrose business was an early supporter from one day in 2000, when Flo Pasteka and Jack Taylor were working on a job at 36 Lake Avenue and heard about United Way plans. Flo and Jack began looking for a creative way for Broadline to help. Flo had experience making funnel cakes at the Harford Fair for a football booster club. Jack matched that skill with an old horse-drawn Ringling Brothers circus wagon he had purchased to be refurbished.

Time, work and a lot of TLC by Broadline employees turned the wagon into a bright and beautiful eye-catcher they can be proud to exhibit at the annual July Fourth celebration. The long line of funnel cake lovers each year ensures that additional resources will be available to county families in need.

Ruth Donnelly, United Way Executive Director says, “Broadline Construction is a great example of a company that is helping both financially and with their time. We are pleased to partner with them as we help make Susquehanna County a better place.”

Your business, too could help the United Way and at the same time demonstrate its commitment to this community. Call Ruth at (570) 278-3868 with your good idea, or ask her for ways your business can help.

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Greenway Partnership Has Executive Director

Listen to Gary Bloss talk about the Susquehanna Greenway and a new awareness comes over you, a sense of what this will mean to the 22 counties through which the Susquehanna River flows. “It’s a new way to reframe our communities,” he says, “promoting healthy living while we re-establish connections to the land and water, and honor the environment.” Bloss is the new – and first – Executive Director of the Susquehanna Greenway Partnership, which will oversee development of this newest Pennsylvania resource.

Gary Bloss, new Executive Director of the Susquehanna Greenway Partnership.

Bloss has over 30 years experience in the field of community planning and landscape architecture. For the last ten years he has run his own consulting firm, specializing in community planning, watershed conservation, greenways, open space, and trails.

According to Bloss, there is almost no limit to those with a stake in the Greenway’s success. “Agriculture. Recreation. History. Communities. There’s a tremendous convergence of interests that can support the Greenway,” he said. Planning for this 500-mile corridor of land and water has taken place for the last several years, led by the Lewisburg-based SEDA-Council of Governments and a planning team of public entities, nonprofit groups, and state and county agencies. Now it is beginning to take shape with projects in various stages of development.

Essentially, the Greenway will be a network of trails and natural areas linking communities and other destinations within the Susquehanna Valley. Projects may focus on community revitalization, economic development, historic resources, health and recreation, and environmental conservation.

“The Greenway,” says Bloss, “can be a model for sustainable, healthy living, a quality of life that builds on localness and lessens our dependence on fossil fuels. That will occur as we raise the public’s appreciation for the interconnectivity of features, places, and people around us.

The connectivity Bloss speaks of will come about through heightened public awareness of the Greenway. That is one of the first tasks challenging the Greenway Partnership and the four committees it will work with, each representing five-to-six counties. They encompass the West Branch, North Branch, Middle Susquehanna, and Lower Susquehanna regions.

The Board of the Greenway Partnership will include representatives from each region; the Greenway Partnership has contracted with SEDA-COG to provide support services to the Partnership and its staff, and through it all, says Bloss, “…the awareness will come, as long as we’re all moving in the same direction.”

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Sea Scout Ship 90 Bridge Of Honor
By Ron Hall, Sea Scout Commodore

On November 20, ship’s bugler Josh Neary sounded assembly, this night was special for the crews of the Sea Scout Ship North Star of New Milford. The Sea Scout hall and land ship was all cleaned and polished, ready for an Admiral’s Inspection, for the 62nd Bridge of Honor. After the quarterdeck officers, port and starboard crews lay aboard, Skipper chuck Jaget was piped aboard and inspected the crew. Ship’s Boatswain Dan Gall welcomed all parents and guests, and presented service stars to the crew. Boatswain Mate Phil VanCott welcomed aboard four new members, to give the S.S.S. North Star a total of 17 Sea Scouts.

Pictured (l-r) are Silver Anchor Award winners Bugler Josh Neary, Boatswain Mate Phil VanCott, Yeoman Maria Preston, Boatswain Dan Gall.

The officers, Second Mate Helen Reed, First Mate Marvin VanCott and Skipper Chuck Jaget took over for the presentation of merit badges, mile swim awards, venturing bronze and gold awards, small-boat and qualified seaman ratings and long cruise awards. The highest rank in venturing, the Silver Award was presented to Josh Neary and the difficult rank of Ordinary Seaman Rank was earned by Boatswain Dan Gall, Boatswain Mate Phil VanCott, Bugler Josh Neary, Crew Leader Tim Gall and Yeoman Maria Preston. David Navickas earned the even higher rank of Able Seaman.

Skipper Chuck Jaget then presented the prestigious Silver Anchor Award; usually one is presented each year, and some years, none. But this year, four very deserving Sea Scouts earned their Silver Anchor Award for outstanding dedication, service and participation to Ship 90. They were Dan Gall, Phil VanCott, Josh Neary and Maria Preston.

Commodore Ron Hall was then piped aboard the land ship. He presented the new Ship 90 numerals with gold bar to all Sea Scouts and officers, to indicate that Sea Scout Ship North Star is over 50 years old, actually 63 years old, organized in 1943 (the oldest Sea Scout ship or venturing crew in Baden-Powell Council). Commodore Hall also mentioned that Ship 90 has earned both the Regional Commodore’s Award and the National Standard Ship Award (highest unit award). Delahanna District Scout Executive Andy Zilnick was piped aboard and presented the ship’s charter to Millard Hall, President of the Sea Scout Association, sponsor of Sea Scouting in New Milford. Scout Executive Zilnick also presented the Quality Unit streamer to Skipper Chuck Jaget for running a quality unit. Our thanks to Andy Zilnick for his strong support of the S.S.S. North Star.

Other prestigious awards presented were the Honorable Order of the Monkey’s Fist (also called the Salty Old Boater award) to Second Mate Helen Reed by Skipper Chuck Jaget, and to Charter Representative Sally Morgan by Commodore Ron Hall for outstanding and dedicated service to Sea Scouting.

The last award was the Skipper’s Award of Merit to Charles (Chuck) W. Jaget by Yeoman Maria Preston and Boatswain Dan Gall, representing the Quarterdeck, for his excellent leadership as skipper for Ship 90.

After the Sea Scouts and officers disembarked the land ship, pizza and soda were enjoyed by the crew and guests.

Sea Scouting is open to all young men and women, between the ages of 14 and 20.

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