A small group of smiling New York City children boarded buses on July 3, headed for the Northeastern Pennsylvania area, to reunite with their host families at the bus arrival in Gouldsboro. This summer, over 4,000 youngsters will enjoy a summer outside of the city with volunteer host families in suburban, rural and small town communities across 13 states from Virginia to Maine and Canada through The Fresh Air Fund’s Volunteer Host Family Program.

Pictured are New York City children began their Fresh Air summers on July 3 by boarding the bus headed for the Northeastern Pennsylvania area. The children will be visiting local host families for one or two weeks. Photo credit: Elizabeth DeAngelo.

“I’m excited to go swimming and to watch the stars at night. I can’t see them at night in the city!” explains ten-year-old Tyrone about his Fresh Air experiences. Many volunteer families find their hosting experience so rewarding that over 65 percent of all children are reinvited to stay with the same host families, year after year.

Since 1877, The Fresh Air Fund, an independent, not-for-profit agency, has provided free summer vacations to more than 1.7 million New York City children from low-income communities. For more information about hosting a Fresh Air child, call Elizabeth DeAngelo at 549-499-8553 or visit The Fresh Air Fund online at www.freshair.org.

Families from across Susquehanna County are now better prepared to face those first school year jitters, thanks to their participation in a special program called T.A.P.S. or Transition Activities for Parents and Students. The free program was open to those with children starting school for the first time in the fall.

Eight families from three school districts participated in T.A.P.S during June. Thanks to a partnership with Blue Ridge School District, sessions were held two times a week for three weeks. Each night children participated in classroom activities with early learning teachers, while their parents met with a special facilitator. Parent sessions touched on everything from using home materials as teaching tools to parenting issues such as discipline. The parents and children also did projects together.

“This has been eye opening,” explains Gerri Grisafi, mother of Nicholi who will start school in the fall. “TAPS has opened my son up and brightened his learning experience.”

Nicholi Grisafi making a spider web during the TAPS program

Everything wrapped up July 2 with a picnic celebrating the successful completion of program.

T.A.P.S. would not have been possible without the support of all six area school districts in Susquehanna County, including the host location of Blue Ridge, and the teaching staff of Tracy Whitehead, Blue Ridge Pre-K, Debbie Earley, Mountain View Kindergarten, Sharon Lubaszewski, Susquehanna Community Pre-K, and Cindy Reynolds, parent facilitator.

The program was coordinated through Susquehanna County CARES (Childcare, Agencies, Resources and Educational Services.) The non-profit group is dedicated to enhancing the quality of early education in Susquehanna County. The agency promotes Pennsylvania’s Promise for Children because every child is Pennsylvania’s future. For more information contact CARES at stcares@epix.net or find us on facebook.

Monuments By Parise, of Carbondale and Clifford, announces the completion of their most recent project, the 2 LT Carol Ann Drazba, RN memorial located at the Gino Merli Veteran Center, Scranton. The memorial consists of a life size bronze statue sitting on a black granite base. Behind her are two black granite walls replicating the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. The walls are etched with words describing Carol Ann’s life, a picture of a huey helicopter and the former Scranton State General Hospital and portraits of the seven souls who died in the helicopter crash.

The 2LT Carol Ann Drazba, RN Memorial

2 LT Carol Ann Drazba, a Dunmore native, answered her country’s call to minister to the sick, wounded and dying soldiers serving in Vietnam. Upon arrival at the 3rd Field Hospital in Saigon, October 13, 1965, she worked tirelessly attending to the injured and dying. On February 18, 1966, Carol, fellow military nurse 2 LT Elizabeth Jones, RN, and physician CAPT Thomas Stasko, boarded a helicopter with a crew of four for a short, well-deserved period of R&R in Dalat, South Vietnam. Tragically, their helicopter crashed 20 minutes into flight. All seven brave and patriotic Souls were lost. Carol was escorted home by her nursing school classmate and lifelong friend, Dunmore native 2 LT Marianne Fisher Mooney, RN, US Army who also volunteered to go to Vietnam and was stationed at the 93rd Evac Hospital in Long Bin, Vietnam. There are only eight women listed on the Vietnam Memorial Wall and Carol’s name can be found on panel 05E, Line 046. She is buried at the Sacred Hearts Cemetery located in the Minooka section of Scranton. Carol Ann Drazba together with Elizabeth Jones were the first American women military nurses to die in the Vietnam War. In 1964, Carol Ann Drazba, RN, graduated from The Scranton State General Hospital School of Nursing that once stood on the site of the current Gino Merli Veterans Center. The memorial was dedicated on June 16. Funds for the memorial were raised by the efforts of the Friends of Forgotten NEPA Wing and family and friends of Carol Ann.

Hi! My name is Reese Allen. I am eight years old and live near New Milford. Recently I participated in my first event as a Susquehanna County Dairy Maid. Dairy Maids Alexis Parks, Samantha Warner, and Dairy Princess Callie Curley and I served root beer floats and ice cream sundaes at the Old Mill Village Ice Cream Social.

Pictured are (front to back): Dairy Maids Reese Allen, Samantha Warner and Alexis Parks., Susquehanna County Dairy Princess Callie Curley and Representative Sandra Major who joined members of the dairy promotion court for a snapshot

The event took place during the Midtown Festival in New Milford. We also handed out dairy farming coloring books to kids. My favorite part was sampling the ice cream and seeing all the people! As a Dairy Maid it’s my job to encourage everyone to include three servings of dairy in their daily diet; milk, cheese, yogurt and even a little ice cream now and then. I can’t wait to do more promotions. Remember June is Dairy Month!

The United Way of Susquehanna County (UWSC) has added two new members to its management team to better serve area communities and organizations. Kim Merithew (Director of Community Relations & Corporate Giving) and Greg Banks (Executive Director) will join current staffer Robin Cobb, who has been promoted to Director of Operations. Together, they plan to expand the organization's outreach to local businesses, volunteers and the non-profit organizations that UWSC supports. Robin will be responsible for day-to-day activities as well as community and partner agency outreach. Kim will work with area businesses and private donors seeking their financial support. Greg will have overall supervisory responsibility of the agency.

(l-r): Kim Merithew, Greg Banks, and Robin Cobb (Photo Courtesy of Endless Mountains Studios)

Robin holds a Bachelors in Visual Arts as well as a minor in Business from Keystone College. She joined the United Way staff as the Administrative Assistant in 2010. Kim is also a graduate of Keystone College, attended SUNY Empire College and is a graduate of Leadership Broome. Prior to joining the United Way, Kim worked for AIG for 10 years as a Senior Operations Sales Manager. She will continue to work part-time at Liberty Carpet and owns Take Pause Yoga providing onsite yoga to area employers. Greg holds an MBA from George Washington University and worked for Kraft Foods for 28 years, rising to the position of VP Customer Business Operations, (U.S.). After leaving Kraft, he joined the Business and Economics faculty of Lackawanna College-New Milford Center (LC-NMC) where he was responsible for marketing; advising business, economics, and entrepreneurship students; teaching; and strategy. Greg is currently a doctoral student at Walden University, and also serves as Assistant Head Wrestling Coach at the University of Scranton in his free time.

The new appointments will afford UWSC a greater community presence. "Our top priorities are getting a better understanding of community needs and seeing that those needs are met," Banks says. "That means partnering more closely with area nonprofits, strengthening our relationships with area businesses, and broadening our volunteer base. USWC will be much more visible in the coming months."

Persons interested in giving or volunteering should contact the UWSC at: Phone: 570-465-3868 or Fax: 570-465-7605.

Each month The Forest City Nursing & Rehab Center recognizes the remarkable lives of its residents by honoring one of them. The Resident of the Month for the month of July is Mr. Thomas Robert Williams.

Known to his friends as Bobby, Thomas Williams was one of nine children born to Ann and Harry Williams on July 27, 1932. The Williams Family is well known in Susquehanna County and beyond as honest and excellent farmers and cattle dealers. It is from these beginnings that Bobby developed a strong work ethic.

Thomas Williams

Bobby attended Welsh Hill School and graduated from Harford High School in 1949. Upon graduation he enlisted in the Navy.

In the years to follow, Bobby met his wife Pauline at the Heart Lake Dance Hall, and the two were married on May 19, 1956. They made their home near Welsh Hill in Clifford Township, where they raised their three children, Cindi, Jodi, and Gary. The Williams’ worked the farm consisting of about 100 head of cattle, 40 of which were milking cows and the rest mostly heifers. As if that weren’t enough, Bobby was Clifford Township Supervisor for twelve years and took care of each of the township roads as if he lived on them himself.

Through the years, Bobby enjoyed hunting, fishing, poker and baseball. He was a pitcher for an adult baseball team until the age of 35. Today he is a proud father, grandfather and great-grandfather. Congratulations to Thomas “Bobby” Williams on being Resident of the Month!