Attention kids and adults alike…want to learn how to plant a garden? Make plans to come to 88 Chenango Street, Montrose on Saturday, June 1st to help plant the 4-H Community Garden. We will be putting planting a variety of vegetables in a traditional garden, two raised beds, and our grow tubes.

Pictured are Penn State Master Gardeners Mary Alice Hawley, Cheryl Matulevich, and Dorrie Mininger hard at work preparing the 4-H Community Garden, while site supervisors Abby Onyon and Michelle Kowalewski look on.

Following June 1st, the 4-H Community Garden will be open every Friday from 11:15 until 2:00p.m. for possible work days, programs, or to just check out the progress. The Penn State Master Gardeners will be organizing programs to teach everyone all about gardening.

Recent funding from The Blue Ribbon Foundation of Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania will help provide lead and anemia screenings for pre-school children at 30 Head Start Centers across four counties, including Susquehanna County.

Pictured at one of the participating locations in Scranton, the South Side 5 Head Start Center (l-r) are: front row - pre-school students Carmela Cordero, Nickolai Dudick, Luca Kopko, and Julia Policastro; standing - Jennifer R. Deemer, grant and program specialist, The Blue Ribbon Foundation; Ann Lynady, Center Director, Scranton Lackawanna Human Development Agency; and Sharon Kelly, teacher, South Side 5 Head Start Center.

The Foundation recently approved a $9,919 grant to the Scranton Lackawanna Human Development Agency for the program.  An estimated 1,200 youngsters will be screened in the coming year, and participants identified with elevated lead levels and/or anemia will be referred for intervention.

The American Red Cross is working around the clock to help people in Oklahoma after Monday’s devastating tornadoes with shelters, food, water and supplies, and more workers, supplies and equipment are moving into the area today.

“Our thoughts and sympathy are with all those impacted by these horrific tornadoes,” said Trevor Riggen, vice president of Disaster Operations and Logistics for the Red Cross. “Specialized Red Cross disaster teams are helping now and will be helping for weeks to come as people in Oklahoma recover from these storms.”

The Red Cross deployed almost 30 emergency response vehicles to distribute food and relief supplies and more are on alert. Two Southern Baptist Convention kitchens and kitchen support trailers will join the relief effort with the ability to serve tens of thousands of meals a day.

Emergency aid stations will open where people can get food and snacks, mental health and health services and information about what help is available. The Red Cross is supporting first responders and working with local and state officials to make sure people get the help they need. Meanwhile, the Red Cross continues to provide shelter in Shawnee and other parts of the Oklahoma City area following storms over the weekend.

SAFE AND WELL - The Red Cross has several ways people can let loved ones know they are safe. They can register on the Red Cross Safe and Well website by visiting www.redcross.org and clicking on the “List Yourself or Search Registrants” link under “How to Get Help”. Those who can’t access a computer can call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) and a Red Cross operator can help them register. Disaster victims can also update their Facebook and Twitter status through the Safe and Well website or visit www.redcross.org/safeandwell on their smart phone and click on the “List Yourself as Safe and Well” or “Search for friends and family” link.

DOWNLOAD TORNADO APP. - If someone has the Red Cross tornado app on their mobile device, they can use the “I’m Safe” button to let loved ones know they are okay. The app can be found in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store for Android by searching for American Red Cross. It includes a high-pitched siren and tornado warning alert that signals when a NOAA tornado warning has been issued, as well as also an all-clear alert that lets users know when a tornado warning has expired or has been cancelled. Content is preloaded so users have access to critical information even without mobile connectivity, including locations of open Red Cross shelters and the one-touch “I’m Safe” messaging to let loved ones know they are okay through social media outlets. More than a million alerts were sent from the Red Cross tornado app with 340 separate tornado warning/watch notices on Sunday and Monday as tornadoes hit in Oklahoma and other states.

HOW TO HELP - Those who would like to help people affected by disasters like tornadoes, floods and other crises can make a donation to American Red Cross Disaster Relief. People can donate by visiting http://www.redcross.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS or texting the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. These donations help provide food, shelter and emotional support to those affected by disasters.

BLOOD SUPPLIES - The Red Cross stands ready to help meet the blood needs of patients in and around Oklahoma City if needed, and there is currently enough blood on the shelves to meet patient demands. The Red Cross is a secondary supplier of blood products to hospitals in the affected area in Oklahoma. People with type O negative blood are encouraged to give blood when they are able. All eligible blood donors can schedule an appointment to give in the days and weeks ahead by calling 1-800-RED CROSS or visiting www.redcrossblood.org to help ensure blood is available when people need it.

CORPORATIONS HELP - The Red Cross is able to respond quickly when emergencies like this happen with the help of corporations who are members of the organization’s Annual Disaster Giving (ADGP) and Disaster Responder programs. Program members pledge donations on an ongoing basis to allow the Red Cross to pre-position supplies and be ready to take immediate action when disasters occur.

Caryn Conklin recently presented a $14,988.25 donation on behalf of Hinds Energy to Rachel Pratt (Director of Interfaith) for their Fuel Program for the 2012-2013 winter season.

Pictured (l-r) are Rachel Pratt (Director of Interfaith) and Caryn Conklin (Project Manager, Hinds Energy).

Susquehanna County Interfaith is a charitable non-profit organization dedicated to helping those in difficult situations. Some of its programs include an Interfaith Thrift Store which helps support programs such as the Clothing Program, Emergency Assistance, Heating/Fuel Assistance, Back-to-School Shoe Program, Christmas Bureau, and Thanksgiving Luncheon. 

The Interfaith Fuel Program helps struggling families handle the cost of home heating bills as fuel costs rise and government fuel programs are cut.

Harford Girl Scout Troops 50777, 50067 and 50774 recently held a book drive to donate to organizations in Susquehanna County.

Pictured (l-r) are: front - Kathryn Long, Maura Strickland, Vanessa Harvey, Bailey Millard, Emma Long, Hailey Miller, Paige Strickland; back - Casey Congdon, Emma Master, Ashlynd Harvey, Alycia Harvey, Jade Travis, Briana Boswell, Reagan White, Hannah Geron, Samantha Kusp, Holly Galvin.

They collected close to 1000 books and offered 1 free book to children attending a Health and Wellness Fair at the Mountain View Elementary School. They also sold books for $.25 each and were able to make a monetary and book donation to the Susquehanna County Literacy Program.

American Banker published “Our Ranking of the Top 200 Community Banks” on April 29, 2013. Peoples Neighborhood Bank was nationally ranked eleventh out of 200 community banks with less than $2 billion of assets. The ranking was based on the average return on equity (ROE) over a three year period, 2009-2012.

Alan W. Dakey, PNB President and CEO stated “We are honored to be recognized as one of the top banks in the country for our financial performance. I’m proud of our management team, our Board of Directors and all of our employees who contribute to our success and make recognition like this possible. Our bank has been a strong performer for many years which has resulted in a return on average equity of 14.5% for the past three year period.”

In 1946 a group of men got together in Susquehanna for a lunch club once a month. During their meetings they would discuss what was going on in the local community, and who might be in need of some help, but would be unlikely to ask. After a year, they were approached by the Lions International club based in Carbondale about becoming a local chapter. In 1948 the Stone Bridge Lions Club of Susquehanna, PA received their charter.

Pictured are (l-r): Peter Niven – President, Alice Deutsch – Secretary, seated – Past District Governor Leonard Kello - Board of Directors, Caitlin Torre - 1st Vice President, Presenting 65th Years of Service Award – District Governor Bill Metschulat.

On May 25, 2013 the Stone Bridge Lions celebrated their 65th Anniversary of service to the community with a dinner at the Golden Oak Golf Course. District Governor, Bill Metschulat, District Governor Elect, Mark Kusma, and First Vice District Governor Elect, Joe Skinner were in attendance for the festivities.

After a delightful dinner, District Governor Bill Metschulat handed out a 15 year association bar to Reno Monteforte and a 10 year association bar to David Cavanagh to wear with their Lions Club pins. Mr. Metschulat then presented the Stone Bridge Lions Board with a plaque commemorating their 65 year anniversary. Stone Bridge President, Peter Niven then noted that the Stone Bridge Lions had a small gift for all those in attendance. Member Daniel Lake assisted with the distribution and each individual received a lovely engraved pen for the 65th Anniversary. Stone Bridge Lions, continuing to show their generosity, gave a lovely throw blanket depicting images of Susquehanna to the District Governor, and presented their own President, Peter Niven, with a desk plaque honoring his time as President.

In the 65 years of service the Stone Bridge Lions have raised around $275,000.00 from fundraising efforts. Of that amount, around $48,000 has been used for eye exams and glasses. They have also collected 27,650 pairs of glasses and assisted in providing home care equipment to those in need. Additionally, they have helped fire victims, flood victims, assisted with costs for the town Christmas lights, provided fencing for the tennis courts, support Little League Baseball, purchased Heart Defibrillators for local businesses, provided signs for the school and the hospital, and raised community awareness.

Past District Governor Leonard Kello summed everything up well at the end of festivities, “May we all never get too busy to respond to the needs of others.” From 62 members in 1948, the Stone Bridge Lions now has 28 men and women serving our community, and shows just how much impact a small group of dedicated men and women can have. If you are interested in joining the Stone Bridge Lions, they meet the first and third Mondays of the month at the American Legion on Main Street in Susquehanna.

The United Way of Susquehanna County (UWSC) hosted an Emergency Preparedness Workshop on May 4th at the Lackawanna College New Milford Center. The free event, funded through a Shell Oil Company Long Term Recovery Grant, was designed to inform county residents about the various types of disasters they should anticipate, what they can do to be prepared for them, and where they can turn for help with things like housing and basic needs both during and after disaster strikes. Shell offered the grant in 2012 to address long term and unmet recovery needs resulting from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee.

Presentations focused on assisting people with special needs, seniors, children, pets and farm animals. The Workshop featured representatives from eight organizations: Robin Cobb and Joel Levy from UWSC; Ginny Dikeman, Red Cross Volunteer and Department of Public Welfare; Gail Toscano, Red Cross; Kristin Hamilton, Area Agency on Aging; Pat DePaola, Susq. Co. Animal Response Team; Dory Browning, True Friends Animal Welfare Center; Steve Stoud and Paul Johnson, Susq. Co. Department of Public Safety; Don Littleton, Susq. Co. Long Term Recovery Committee; Ruth Doty, Lutheran Disaster Response – NE PA.