On June 22nd, 18 sea scouts and leaders from Sea Scout Ship 90, New Milford, PA embarked on a 5-day whitewater canoeing adventure doen the Delaware River. This trip was much anticipated by the sea scouts, and marked by a large turnout; we actually had to buy a new canoe for the ship in order to take all the sea scouts that wanted to go! We launched at Hancock, NY and canoed through many exciting rapids, including Skinner’s Fall, which claimed the dry clothes of four of our canoeists, as two of our canoes swamped in Skinner’s. During the hot days, we enjoyed the breathtaking scenery of the Upper Delaware River, got to see many eagles, and went swimming at our campsites.

One of Ship 90’s canoes running through Skinner’s Falls rapids

Special customized patch issued to all sea scouts who ran the rapids of the Delaware River this year

Our nights were full of card games, good food, and good friends.

On the fourth day we ran the No. 9 Rail Road Bridge Rapids, Masthope Rapids, Colang Rapids and the Kunkell Rapids, all sea scouts expertly canoed throught the large waves and rocks of these very fast and exciting rapids! Two canoeists, Austin Chludzinski and Anthony Miller rigged a mast with sail that could be lowered when running the rapids, it worked amazingly well when the wind was off the stern of the canoe. It could pull two other canoes and still sail faster than anyone paddling a canoe. Other sea scouts and leaders who made the canoe trip were, ship’s boatswain Josh Warner, crew leaders Katie Green and Eric Potter, sea scouts Joe Bancy, Lena Fanelli, Katie Grubb, Kathleen Laduke, Christian Chludzinski, Chris Powers, Lizzy Hinkley, Trinity Spencer, Tiffany Spencer, Skipper Chuck Jaget, first mate Helen Reed, second mate Judy Dennis, and commodore Ron Hall. Also a special thanks to Davis Reed who organized the convoy of 6 vehicles, haul 9 canoes to Hancock and pick us up at Lackawaxen, PA.

After all gear was packed and canoes loaded at Lackawaxen, we drove off to McDonalds for our traditional end-of-trip fast food meal. All the sea scouts had a great time and this was the 31st year on the Delaware, first one was in 1973 lead by Don Johnson and Ron Hall. Our canoe trips are always fun, exciting and affordable; this trip only cost the sea scouts $50.00 for five days of canoeing. If interested in being a part of a great organization that goes on many fun trips like this every year, call commodore Ron Hall at (570) 465-3218 or skipper Chuck Jaget at (570) 756-2805.

Latter this summer Sea Scout 90 will sail for 10 days from Lewes, Delaware through the CD canal into Chesapeake Bay on to Baltimore, Maryland to celebrate with other sea scouts the 100th Anniversary of Sea Scouting, we will sail two 30 foot sailboats!

The Susquehanna County 4-H Livestock Leaders and Penn State Cooperative Extension in Susquehanna County organized a 4-H Livestock Clinic on Saturday, June 16th at the Harford Fairgrounds for all 4-H members taking livestock projects. Nearly 100 4-Hers took advantage of this great opportunity to learn more about raising, showing, and fitting their 4-H livestock projects.

4-H Leader Michael Hardisky demonstrating clipping a market lamb to 4-H member Ben Hayes as a 4-H parent assists

Livestock specialist for each project area were on-hand to help members learn the proper ways to show and fit a market hog, market steer, dairy beef feeder steer, market lambs, and market goats. Justin Good and his wife, Amanda from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania taught the swine showmanship and fitting workshop. David Nogan, Tompkinsville worked with the 4-H beef and dairy beef project members working on showmanship and fitting. Megan Karhnak, Springville shared her expertise on showing and fitting market goats. The final workshop was led by Mike Hardisky of Hop Bottom teaching members about sheep showmanship and fitting.

4-H members also participated in educational workshops focusing on Good Production Practices presented by Michelle Kowalewski, Montrose; Abby Onyon, New Milford; Rachel Smarkusky, Nicholson; and Amanda Hirkey, Meshoppen. 4-H Leaders Julie Harvatine and Cathy Bewley conducted a workshop on Marketing to help members improve communications skills when talking and approaching 4-H Livestock Sale Buyers.

The Livestock Clinic is one of the many 4-H activities offered in Susquehanna County. For more information about the 4-H program in Susquehanna County, please contact Penn State Cooperative Extension at 570-278-1158.

Concerned about the water quality and other natural resources in Susquehanna County? You can make a difference by serving as Director for the Susquehanna County Conservation District.

District Directors hae a direct say in how people in the County deal with many important natural resource issues such as water quality, forestry, agricultural best management practices, and soil erosion. Serving on the Conservation District Board is an excellent way to make an impact on the future of our natural resources.

Conservation districts in Pennsylvania are subdivisions of State government that manage and direct Conservation programs within Counties. District staff work directly with landowners and other citizens to put conservation practices on the land and educate the community on environmental issues and trends.

The District Board meets monthly to conduct the business of the district and to coordinate district programs with State and Federal agencies and local units of government. Board members are not paid, but may receive compensation for expenses related to attending meetings and other activities of the board.

Individuals interested in serving as a Director for the Susquehanna County Conservation District need to be nominated by an approved nominating organization within the County. For more information, contact the Susquehanna County Conservation District office at 570-278-4600 x280, the County Commissioners’ office at 570-278-4600 x100, or the State Conservation Commission office in Harrisburg at 717-787-8821.

Hello! My name is Callie Curley and I am the 2012-2013 Susquehanna County Dairy Princess. Over the course of the next year it is my goal to feature one dairy farming family each month in a news article highlighting the unique aspects of their operation and plans for the future of their farms. Recently, I had the opportunity of writing about a hardworking farming family that is not only the caregiver of my 4-H animals, but also a group of people that is very close to my heart, the Vanderfeltz family of Rushville. Now, I’d like to bring the spotlight to an equally deserving farm on the other end of the county; to a family whose hard work and dedication don’t end at chore time, but extend into everything they do.

In a time where less than 2% of the United States population is directly linked to working dairy farms, many consumers agree that it is difficult to separate what is nutritious and safe for consumption from what isn’t. For the Pavelski family of Jackson Township, the high quality milk produced on their dairy, JoSan Farm, is something they are proud to provide for neighbors, friends, and other consumers across the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York.

The Pavelski Family

What is now called JoSan Farm began as a strictly grade cow operation around the year 1917. Forty-three years later in 1960, Joe Pavelski started milking for himself on the farm. Little by little, he began selling the grade cows that made up the herd and replacing them with registered Holsteins; his end goal being a completely registered herd with deep pedigrees and generations of excellence. Over the 52 years that have passed since he began this transformation, the property has become the lifelong home of Joe, his wife Sandy, and their 50 milking registered Holstein cows.

Joe and Sandy have four children; Steve, Cathy, Michele, and Matt. Like all children do, they had chores around the house and in the barn growing up. But according to Sandy, it was never a topic of discussion.

“Our kids worked hard on the farm but they enjoyed it because they were never told it was work,” Sandy said. “They were in the barn with a manure fork at 7 and 8 years old, and now they still come around to help with milking and haying. I know that’s because they enjoyed what they did here.”

The hustle and bustle of life on the farm has never completed the family’s schedule, however. Throughout their elementary and high school years the kids were involved in school sports and other activities such as band and 4-H. Even now, Joe and Sandy remain active in the Susquehanna County 4-H and YPAC programs. They were recently recognized for 40 years of active membership in the Susquehanna County Holstein Club, and, with their daughter Cathy and son-in-law Owen, are the current leaders of North Jackson Ag 4-H Club. According to Sandy there are 23 youths active in the club today.

“I still believe that a farm is the best place to raise a child,” Sandy said. “Not only do farm kids learn work ethic and discipline, they also spend more time with their family than kids whose parents work at a 9-5 job.”

This focus on family may be the reason that their grandchildren are taking an interest in the workings of the farm.

Emory Bewley, Joe and Sandy’s oldest granddaughter, is eight years old and already very active in 4-H; showing Holstein cows from her grandparents’ herd and promoting the Pennsylvania Dairy Industry as a Susquehanna County Dairy Maid. Emory is also a member of the Susquehanna County Dairy Judging team. She looks forward to many more years of learning about cows and helping on the farm.

2012 marks the 20th anniversary of the Pavelski family’s biggest challenge on the farm. When a fire spread throughout the barn one day in 1992, Joe and Sandy were forced to decide whether or not they would rebuild the barn and continue dairying or find a new way to make their living.

“Nobody gave this to us,” Joe said, gesturing to the surrounding acres of farmland. “We worked hard for it, and it’s just not something [we] could ever walk away from. We rebuilt [the barn] because there was no reason not to, milk prices were decent and the cost of everything else wasn’t as high as it is now. It’s been hard, but I’m still glad we did it.”

The Pavelski family’s dedication to the growth of Susquehanna County youth is evident in everything they do. Not only do Joe and Sandy lease animals of their herd to local 4-Hers for the project season, but they are also partly accredited with the founding of the now popular Susquehanna County 4-H Dairy Camp, which is an overnight event that gives 4-H members an opportunity to practice washing, clipping, and leading their animals before the actual day of competition later in the month.

This program, which now takes part over a two day period, involves nearly 75 4-H members aged 8 to 18 and features workshops on topics ranging from dairy nutrition to basic first aid, to fitting and showmanship sessions, has evolved from the one day event that was held on the Pavelski’s front lawn for several years before growing in popularity and finally moving to the Harford Fairgrounds as a way to accommodate more 4-H members. Even today Joe and Sandy continue to help with Dairy Camp by providing an average of 30 heifers for use of the 4-Hers.

Because 98% of America’s dairy farms are owned and operated by dedicated, hardworking families like the Pavelski family, consumers can feel safe when purchasing items from the dairy aisle of their local grocery store. Farmers are committed to following regulations and management practices that best protect the health of their families and their cows as well as the quality of the milk they produce and the land, air, and water they are surrounded by every day.

By making low-fat dairy products such as milk, cheese, and yogurt a part of your everyday diet you are not only helping your bones, muscles, and teeth grow strong, but are also helping to maintain Pennsylvania’s number one agricultural industry and the hardworking men and women who are dedicated to the production of nature’s most nearly perfect food, milk.

When Susquehanna County Interfaith was hit with unexpected expenses which were not in their budget and facing possible program cuts, word spread throughout the community and a committee appropriately named Friends of Interfaith became a reality.

This committee of Olympian talents and speed produced a Fashion Show and Auction featuring clothing from Interfaith’s, 45 Public Ave, Thrift Store in a mere two months from start to finish. The sold-out afternoon show took place this past weekend at Montrose Bible Conference Dryer Hall with raves and praise from all.

Pictured: Interfaith’s Thrift Store window shouts a big thank-you to the Friends of Interfaith committee and the community for the successful Fashion Show and Auction.

MC Tom Pascoe brought the clothing to life with his witty humor and tongue-in-cheek remarks. Models ranging in age from 6 to 87 from all walks of life in our county volunteered their time and became new friends for Interfaith. MC Pascoe described the models’ unique clothing as well as the models’ other astounding volunteer endeavors. The remarkable backgrounds of the models equaled the remarkable clothing selections from Interfaith.

Following Tom Pascoe, enter auctioneers David and Josie Coddington who raised the roof with hilarity and raised cash flow with their skilled, rapid-fire delivery of going, going and gone. All of the modeled clothing was sold at incredible prices adding to the profits for Interfaith.

Interfaith’s director, Rachel Pratt, thanked the audience and pointed out that Interfaith was originally formed by another group of friends who gathered in a church basement offering budget clothing for the needy. Pratt said, “From the time I moved here till today I continue to be amazed by the community support for those in need.”

Many monetary donations added to the success of the fashion show and after becoming aware of Interfaith‘s enormous community outreach, audience members leaving the show continued to make more donations.

At the show’s conclusion Friends of Interfaith chairman, Mary Lee Fitzgerald, reported that $6,000 had been raised for Interfaith.

Interfaith, established in 1990, is a charitable, non-profit organization dedicated to offering a helping hand to those facing difficult situations.

The Christmas Bureau, the Thrift Store, Fuel Programs, Back to School Shoe Program, Thanksgiving Luncheon and the Emergency Program which helps with rent, utility shut-offs or other urgent needs are a few of Interfaith‘s programs. Working together with local agencies and churches, Interfaith provides a place for county residents to turn for help and hope.

To reach Interfaith, phone 570-278-1776, email: ifsc@emcs.net or log onto their website at www.interfaithsc.org.

The Thrift Store is open six days a week Monday through Friday 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Volunteers always welcome and needed.

The Pennsylvania Association of Retired State Employees, consisting of counties Bradford, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Clinton, Lycoming and Tioga met at Green Gables, New Milford, Susquehanna County for a delicious chicken barbecue.

Honored guests from the state PARSE office were Allan Hansen, Vice President, Tom Judge, Secretary and John Class, Treasurer, and Northeast Vice President Tom O’Neill, all of whom spoke of pending PARSE issues, such as continuing decrease in membership.

President Jesse Bacon announced that he would be resigning from the office of presidency after the October, 2012 meeting. This announcement was met with regret by the membership. Election of officers will be held at the October meeting.

President Bacon also thanked John and Bernice Landmesser, Caroline and Chester Harris, Cynthia Sims and Norma Bacon as well as himself for manning the PARSE booth at Rep. Tina Pickett’s Expo in June.

The next regular meeting will be held October 10 at the Towanda American Legion. All state retires are invited to attend and learn about the association. To make reservations, contact Susquehanna Co. Vice President John Benio, 570-278-2380.

Several ladies residing at the Forest City Nursing Center were recently treated to manicures, courtesy of the Studio 511. Erin Lynady, owner of the full service salon, and Amber Sauls kindly donated their time and talents and made the day a little more special for some of the nursing home residents.

Erin Lynady and Amber Sauls

Janet, a resident showing off her painted nails

Studio 511 and Studio Be is a salon and wellness center located on Main Street, Forest City.

It was first found in a dusty pile of old books in a second hand store in Wilkes-Barre. It made its way to a Binghamton lawyer and when it reached a G.R. Carpenter , the little book had found its way back home. It was not a large impressive book. It was only about 4 by 6 inches, made of boards with calf skin only on its spine and corner tabs. Yet, this small book speaks to us through the generations.

It was originally purchased in 1821 by John Carpenter, one of the original nine partners of Harford. The purpose was to track the accounts for his brother, Ezra’s, estate and when John found he only needed a few pages for that, he began using the book to record his own business.

As it turns out, John was not only a farmer, but a constable, and a shoemaker. He frequently hired out his oxen with a driver and even served as a type of “taxi driver” for Harford. Entries would read:

$2.00 charged to Ezra’s estate for 2 days spent arguing with a lawyer; $.50 charged for taking a JB to Montrose; $3.50 charged for a pair of shoes (only $2.00 were charged for a pair of boots); $.23 charged to J. Tyler Esq. for paying Tyler’s county tax; $.40 for keeping a team of oxen for 2 spells; $.08 paid to John Thacher, Sr., for a road tax; 2 days work to be repaid next summer by mowing; $9.00 paid to Rev. Kingsley for the year for taking care of the soul (the price went up to $10.00 the next year); John was not getting rich.

Then maybe a month later, maybe even one or two years later, he would meet a neighbor. Each would total what he had done for the other and an entry would read:

Reckoned with Daniel Thacher and balanced all book accounts. Settled by us. ( the signatures of the two men)

The entry jars our senses. In this digital age, when we have all played phone tag for days, have hundreds of friends on Facebook we never meet, and endlessly push buttons on automated menus, the small book speaks to us. There truly was a time that worked just fine as – person to person, face to face, neighbor to neighbor – things could be - settled by us.

Unless someone has a pharmacist, a dentist, or a physician in his family, they probably have never heard of the White Coat Ceremony. Such was the case of the family of Anna Martha Chichura of Kingsley. But the ceremony became a reality for her parents, Drs. Elaine and Andrew Chichura and their son, Paul, when they traveled to Gerogetown University in Washington, DC. During the parent orientation, they learned that Anna is one of 196 students entering the Class of 2016 at Georgetown University School of Medicine. The information shared with the parents brought to light just how prestigious it is for their daughter to become a member of that class. It was noted that 11,733 students applied for entrance to the medical school. Of those, 398 were accepted and approximately half of those students withdrew leaving 196 in the class of 2016.

Pictured is Anna Martha Chichura proudly sporting her White Coat following the ceremony at Georgetown University which officially symbolizes her entry into the School of Medicine there as a member of the class of 2016.

The White Coat Ceremony is the traditional time when students entering medical school receive their white coats, a symbol of their promise to each and every patient whom she or he encounters, to heal and to care. It will be four long years before Anna becomes a “full fledged” doctor but donning the white coat symbolizes her entry into the profession.

This is not the first time Anna has brought pride to her family. In 2008, she graduated fourth in her class from Scranton Preparatory School in Scranton. In May of this year, she graduated with honors with a degree in biology from Georgetown University and had earned early admission to the medical school there during her sophomore year as an undergraduate.

Her classes to this rigorous program began on August 17 and although it will be a very intensive 4-year program, Anna eagerly accepts the challenge. During the four years she will work on a research project and then will complete her residency after graduation.