On our country's 237th Birthday, Montrose held their annual Independence Day Parade. This year's theme was "A Good Neighbor Fourth." The theme, chosen by the Kiwanis-Lions-Rotary clubs of Montrose, honored Susquehanna County Interfaith, the Grand Marshal.

Also in Montrose, 130 arts and crafts vendors were set up on the green all day.

The Honorary Marshals for this year were the Mountain View High School Boys' soccer team, who won the state championships this year. Also the Montrose Scholastic Team was selected; they came in first place in every challenge in the area. They recently returned from a national competition in Washington, D.C., where they placed in the top ten in a national competition. The Elk Lake girls cross country team is the final honorary grand marshal, for winning the PIAA Class A Girls Cross Country championship.

Ed Dewitt announced Susquehanna County Interfaith to be Grand Marshal of this years July 4th parade. Susquehanna County Interfaith helps the community throughout the year by helping students get back to school shoes, helping people pay their home heating bills, and donating food and toys to families during Christmas time. The Interfaith store in Montrose only has five paid part time employees and the rest are volunteers.

Other groups in the parade included the Susquehanna County Dairy Royalty, Endless Mountains Theatre Company, Cabot Oil and Gas, Montrose High School and Elk Lake High School Marching Bands, Montrose Varsity Football Team and Cheerleaders, Ronald McDonald, Lenoxville Band and many more.

At seven o'clock in the evening, on the 1st of July, Great Bend Township held their monthly meeting. Chairman Joe Gaughan, and Supervisors Ron Cranage, Jr., and Sheila Guinan were all in attendance and the meeting was called to order at approximately 7:05 p.m.

As to be expected following the heavy rains in the days before, flooding was a topic of concern. Chairman Joe Gaughan made mention of repairs needing to be assessed at various ditches that were damaged during the storm, as well as damages from fallen trees.

A letter was received by the Township from a concerned citizen, Harold Stockholm. Enclosed in the letter Harold Stockholm expressed his concern over the condition of Trowbridge Creek. A suggestion was made to make an effort to clean up the creek, whether the land-owners should take the responsibility or a third-party should step in to aid in clean up is unclear. It was clear, however, that the estimated price of cleaning up the creek would be a costly operation.

In New Business, Resolution 07-01-2013, “A resolution appointing the Susquehanna County Council of Governments to administer and enforce the municipal floodplain ordinance,” was quickly passed and approved.

As far as roads go, Mountain Vista Lane cul-de-sac is still in the process of being paved, while Green Valley Rd. is still undergoing maintenance at this point in time as well. The Veterans' Memorial Park is also experiencing some construction as excavating continues there, slowly but surely.

Advertising is set to begin as bids for road materials, heat, and fuel will open next month. The township is also seeking an individual to serve in the Sewer Authority, as well as trying to fill a vacancy in the role of Emergency Management Coordinator.

The 16th Annual PennDOT Equipment Show will be held on Thursday, July 25th.. The show begins at 9:00 a.m. and ends at 3:00 p.m. at the Lazy Brook Park in Tunkhannock, PA. Local Penn DOT and Construction workers will be encouraged to attend the Equipment Show.

The next Great Bend Township meeting is set to take place on Monday, August 5th, 2013 at 7:00 o'clock p.m.

The Susquehanna County DOMESTIC RELATIONS Section has outstanding BENCH WARRANT’S for the following individuals as of 10:15 a.m. on July 5, 2013: Thomas D. Earley, Jesse J Fenton, David J. Fischer, Douglas R. Heath, James Karhnak, Kay L. Knolles, Whade A. Koch, Jean M. Larson, Todd J. Layton, Charlie J. Legere, Frank T. Perera II, Mary Perschau, Bruce A. Schurr, Desiree L. Shifler, David J. Shiner, Eric J. Snell, Earl H. Thompson, Jr, Steven G. Warner, Roger D. Williams, Please contact the Domestic Relations Section at 570-278-4600 ext. 170 with any information on the location of these individuals.

Theft by Unlawful Taking: On July 8th 2012 at 3 pm a theft occurred at a Lenox Township location in which money was stolen from a dresser drawer. (Note: Date written as in original report.)

Criminal Mischief: Between the 22nd and 23rd of June criminal mischief occurred in Clifford Township in which one or more unknown person(s) smashed the driver side window of a man’s vehicle and put holes in the front windshield of an old dump truck that was parked on his property. Anyone with information is asked to please contact the police.

Criminal Mischief: Sometime before June 30th one or more unknown person(s) proceeded onto the property of a Nicholson woman, located in Lathrop Township, with a vehicle and proceeded to damage (rutted) said victim’s field in the vicinity of a pond. Anyone with information on this incident is asked to please contact the police.

Crash: On June 30th at 10:11 pm a juvenile male from Montrose was approaching a left hand curve in the roadway on T701 in Silver Lake Township when his vehicle began to side slip through the curve, traveled across the center of the roadway to the left, and impacted with a ditch. After impacting with the ditch, the Saturn Ion overturned and came to rest on its roof facing a northerly direction along the roadway. The boy was assessed by EMS personnel and refused treatment. He was utilizing a seat belt; he was not injured.

Disorderly Conduct/Public Drunk: On June 30th at 5:20 pm Christopher Malone of Nicholson caused a public inconvenience by starting a fight with numerous patrons at the Clifford Hotel in Clifford Township. When the accused was told to leave the establishment, he continued to cause a disturbance outside. The accused was cited for Public Drunkenness and Disorderly Conduct. He was remanded to the Susquehanna County Jail on a probation violation.

Aggravated Assault: On June 30th at 12:01 am Michael Hongach was at a residence in Auburn Township. He acquired a machete and was swinging the same at a woman and male victim. The accused struck the male several times in the chest, causing bruising. This victim also received a laceration to his left little finger while trying to wrestle the machete away from Hongach. Hongach fled the scene prior to police arrival and a warrant was obtained. He was arrested with warrant on July 1st by members of PSP Gibson. He was arraigned before MDJ Jeffrey Hollister of Montrose and remanded to the Susquehanna County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail, 10% accepted. The investigation was continuing as of the time of report.

Receiving Stolen Property/Endanger Welfare of a Child: On June 29th, at 9:23 am, a Windsor man and a Kirkwood woman are accused of arriving at the American Legion parking lot in Great Bend Township with a vehicle that was entered as stolen by the NYSP Binghamton Station and their 6 year old son. The accused and their son have been living in the vehicle in deplorable conditions with no means to provide basic living necessities for their son for nearly one month. Both accused were arraigned before District Magistrate Jodi Cordner of District Court 34-3-02 and were incarcerated on $100,000 bail for the charges of Receiving Stolen Property and Endangering the Welfare of a Child.

Forgery: An unnamed store customer and ex-employee is accused of passing three counterfeit $10.00 bills at the Dollar General Store in Great Bend township. Further investigation was pending as of the time of report.

Crash: On June 23rd at 4:21 pm Russell Darrow of Brackney was traveling north on Johnson Hill Road in Choconut Township when a dog ran in front of his Honda CX500. Darrow tried to avoid hitting the dog and the bike laid down on its right side. Darrow was not wearing a helmet; he sustained moderate injury. He was transported to Lourdes Regional Hospital in Johnson City, NY.

Crash: On June 28th at 1:30 am Kasandra Painter of Susquehanna was traveling eastbound on Sr 171 when she failed to properly negotiate a left hand curve in the roadway. She went off the right side of the roadway and side swiped a utility pole. The vehicle continued eastbound and struck a wooden fence in front of a residence, then went onto a driveway. It then veered left and struck another wooden fence along the driveway. Finally, the Dodge Neon traveled back onto an across Sr 171, going through he yard of another residence and plunging into and coming to rest in a swampy depression behind the house. Painter was utilizing a seat belt; she was not injured.

Hit and Run: On June 26th at 4:31 pm an unknown driver was traveling west bound along Sr 374 when he or she exited the roadway for unknown reasons before striking an NEP telephone pole. The impact caused the pole to break at its base. The striking vehicle continued west along Sr 374 and fled the area. Physical evidence observed at the scene indicated that the striking vehicle may be a Dodge Ram pickup truck, white in color. This vehicle is believed to have suffered damage to its front passenger side. There was no disruption to area telephone service as a result of this crash. Anyone with information regarding this vehicle is asked to contact PSP Gibson at (570) 465-3154.

Criminal Mischief: Between June 17th and 24th an incident of criminal mischief occurred at a property in Hallstead Borough in which lamp covers were damaged on several lamps around the property. Anyone with information is asked to please contact the police.

Possession of a Small Amount of Marijuana: On June 29th at 7:34 pm Emmanuel Gamble of Binghamton was a passenger in a Tan 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee with a New York registration, which was stopped for a motor vehicle violation on I81 in Lenox Township. During the stop indicators of criminal activity were present. Permission to search the vehicle was asked and granted. The search yielded a small bag of marijuana underneath the seat of the accused. The accused was processed and released. Charges were filed at District Court 34-3-03.

Theft: Between June 19th and 20th one or more unknown person(s) arrived at a location on Sr 92 north of Oakland Borough and pushed a 2007 Suzuki LTR450 ATV through the yard to the edge of the road, and left with the ATV in an unknown direction. Anyone with information is asked to contact this station.

Crash: On June 22nd at 10:30 pm Sheena Wheeler of Syracuse was traveling south on Sr 0081 when she had a tire blow out, causing her vehicle to lose control. The vehicle traveled off the roadway and struck an embankment, causing it to roll.

Burglary: One or more person(s) burglarized the seasonal residence of a Crowfton, MD man (located in Herrick Township) and stole several household items. The items were valued at approximately $2,000.00. The items consisted of a large screen TV, coffee maker, kitchen knife set, and three pairs of skis. Anyone with information is asked to please contact the state police.

Crash: On June 22nd at 8:13 am Florence Gorton of Thompson was pulling out from a turnaround pull off on Way Lake rad. As her vehicle was pulling out from the turn around to head east on that road, the vehicle accelerated too quickly and veered off the left side of the roadway into a ditch. The vehicle continued in an easterly direction in the ditch and entered the pond, coming to rest facing an easterly direction. Gorton indicated that she did not want an ambulance. She was utilizing a seat belt; she was not injured.

Anyone with information regarding any of these incidents is asked to please contact PSP Gibson at (570) 465-3154.