Susquehanna County Economic Development Board members held their annual breakfast meeting at Dreyer Hall, Montrose Bible Conference at 8:30 on Thursday, August 22. Joe Andre, Chairman of the Economic Development Board, and Paul Kreischer, President of the Progress Authority Board headquartered in Towanda, made opening comments and introductions. Among those recognized were U.S. Representative Tom Marino, Guest Speaker for the event; State Representatives Tina Pickett and Sandy Major; County Commissioners Alan Hall and MaryAnn Warren; as well as individual members of the Economic Development Board. Additionally, George Stark, Director, External Affairs of Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation, was recognized, along with Cabot’s sponsorship of the Annual Breakfast Meeting.

Pictured (l-r) are 2013 Citizens of the Year (holding plaques) Joy Zazzera, Barb and Kirk Hinkley and Doug Lattner, along with members of Susquehanna County Annual Economic Development Board.

Following breakfast in the Tea Room, all breakfast attendees removed to the west end of Dreyer Hall for the Citizen of the Year awards presentations. Tony Ventello, Progress Authority Executive Director, opened with remarks regarding the many economic accomplishments of the last year. They included, but were not limited to: Endless Mts. Health System Project; Gas service distribution through Leatherstocking; Cabot CNG fueling stations Progress in renovating the old Bendix site; Installing the South Montrose water line; Funding a housing study at the county level through county commissioners; Initiating small-scale energy generation.

Chairman of the Susquehanna County Commissioners, Alan Hall, followed on with the first 2013 Citizens of the Year presentation to Kirk and Barbara Austin Hinkley. Mr. Hall provided details of their biography from their simultaneous graduation from Hallstead High School in 1952, to their marriage in 1956, to their present-day involvement in a multitude of civic and service organizations. Commissioner Hall heaped many a high praise, including, “[they’ve] always been there for the community!”

County Commissioner MaryAnn Warren followed up with two presentations. The first was to Joy Zazzera. Her presentation of 2013 Citizen of the Year to Ms. Zazzera was as much to honor her, as it was to honor her late-father, Chauncey, who had established his grocery stores in Carbondale and Forest City many years ago. Ms. Zazzera continues the family business to this day in Forest City, and recently modernized the operation with installation of modern, state-of-the-art scanners at the check-out counters.

Susquehanna County Economic Development Board instituted a “large business category” for the first time this year. Selected as recipients of the 2013 Citizen of the Year Award in the large business category were Cindy and Doug Lattner, owners of two McDonald’s franchises in this county, and three more across the border in New York State. In making the presentation to Mr. Lattner, Commissioner Warren noted that the Lattners’ business enterprises provided employment for 170 people, at an annual payroll of over $1.7 million.

Mr. & Mrs. Kirk Hinkley, Ms. Zazzera, and Mr. Lattner posed for pictures with county commissioners, U.S. Representative Tom Marino, and officers of the Susquehanna County Economic Development Board and Progress Authority Board at the conclusion of the meeting.

U.S. Representative Tom Marino was the Headline speaker at the Susquehanna County Annual Development Breakfast Meeting on Thursday, August 22nd. Congressman Marino took to the podium at 9:55 a.m. and spoke for some 25 minutes before taking several minutes of questions from the audience gathered.

Tom Marino

Mr. Marino found a receptive audience which immediately took to his folksy boy-next-door style of presentation. Dressed in casual attire suitable for his next stop, a day at the Harford Fair, “Tom” explained immediately that he didn’t have any prepared notes for his speech. Indeed, his extemporaneous speaking style perfectly matched the event and he engaged his listeners for the entire time.

Tom first gave a bit of his life-history before speaking to the issues of the day. For those unacquainted with his story, one need only recall Horatio Alger stories of old. Tom grew up in a blue-collar family; got his first job at age 17 - sweeping floors at his local Stroehmann bakery. By age 23 he had been promoted to a supervisory position over six bakeries, without the benefit of a college degree. Still he yearned for more, and his wife supported him every step of the way, even to the extent of working to put him through college. He obtained his law degree in five years, rather than the usual seven. Eventually he rose to the level of federal prosecutor in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, an area covering most of central Pennsylvania. Along the way, he declined offers to run for county district attorney and an offer to ac life-time appointment to federal judgeship. On Thanksgiving eve 2009 he was watching FOX News when he decided he’d seen enough nonsense going on in Washington, DC, and he set his course to run for office. He’s currently serving his second two-year term as U.S. Representative for the 10th Congressional District, with assignments on three of the most prestigious committees in the House: Judiciary, Homeland Security, and Foreign Affairs.

The theme of his speech is that the federal leviathan is out of control and we must return government to control of, for, and by the people, rather than government being an end in and of itself to treat the people as its subjects. To this end, he made three main points along the way.

The first was that elected officials have become too entrenched in power. The presidency is limited to two terms of office; so too should those serving in Congress be limited to 12 years in office. In an aside, I pointed out to him how the term-limitation proposal had worked in practice in California state government with staffers being greatly empowered to concentrate power outside of the office-holder. He assured me that he was aware of the growth of that problem, and that his proposal addressed that issue as well.

Secondly, he noted the vast expansion of government and traced the growth of the federal departments of education and energy since the Carter years (late 1970‘s), and noted their unbroken records of utter failure over these last 35 years. His proposal: down-size government by attrition and eliminate unnecessary/redundant agencies and departments.

Finally, the Congressman noted how we, as individuals and families, have to priority our expenses, budget our income, and live within our means. So too must the federal government he insisted - though that is presently not the case. He noted that many of his constituents lobby him to cut federal spending everywhere, except for the specific program that benefits them personally. It seems human to want to cut everyone else’s subsidy, but not our own. The federal government regularly runs deficits in excess of a trillion dollars a year (sums individuals cannot even comprehend). Government borrows over 1.5 billion dollars a day just to pay interest on the national debt. Within the issue of irresponsible government funding is the now intractable habit of voting on more than one issue at the same time (Think Continuing Resolutions and Omnibus Bills.). His solution, in part, is the requirement that Congress restrict its voting to one issue at a time.

Other issues were briefly discussed during his speech and questioning. One was the vast use (abuse) of Executive Orders by the Obama Administration to essentially rule by fiat and bypass Congress in the legislative process. The Congressman likewise touched on the issue of illegal immigration and noted that a solution must be found to the issue, since there is consensus “we are not going to deport the 11 million who are already here.”

Congressman Marino stated his resolute opposition to ObamaCare, but back-tracked to the extent that he liked parts of it. By extension, he indicated he had - and would continue - to vote for repeal of ObamaCare. Nevertheless, he believed he and the Republican leadership could implement government interventions into the health care industry to make it operate better. Mr. Marino enthusiastically supports provisions that require insurance carriers to sell insurance to individuals with pre-existing conditions. He further advocates imposition of federal regulations to permit sale of health insurance across state lines and to institute tort-reform in the federal system.

For those wishing to watch Congressman Marino’s entire speech, a link courtesy of Ms. Vera Scroggins,http://www.youtube.com/-watch?v=okPhsMNWCzE , is provided for online readers. An awards ceremony precedes Congressman Marino’s speech, which begins just before the 24-minute mark.

In the brief time I had to chat with Congressman Marino, I casually discussed a range of issues with him. I asked him first about when he was going to hold a town hall meeting here in Susquehanna County. He replied that it was hard to get people to come out to town hall meetings and that he presently was holding tele-townhall meetings with constituents, and thought that was working fine. I assured him that many people in Susquehanna County were eager to meet him in the flesh, and to make their views known to him IN PERSON. I asked him if he had read Mark Levin’s newly released book, “The Liberty Amendments, Restoring the American Republic.” He hadn’t read it yet, but he said, “I love Mark Levin.” With those encouraging words, we raced off to the far west end of Dreyer Hall, as the awards presentation was about to commence.

After his speech, I again managed to corner him for a few questions. “Given that the United Stated Constitution is a charter of negative liberties, i.e., a series of limitations imposed upon the federal government, and only providing 18 enumerated powers to the federal government, while reserving the balance to the sovereign states and the people, how did he square government intervention into every possible health care issue as a federal duty?,” I asked. I continued, “Any right to health care is necessarily a positive right, and with government acknowledgement that it must provide such a service, it tacitly - but necessarily - diminishes the property rights of others, by and through whom income must be redistributed to provide such a right.”

Congressman Marino’s face said it all. He recognized that what I had said was true, and his only defense for federal intervention into health care issues was that we were so far down the rabbit hole there was no turning back, at least not quickly. Dependency upon government has become so ingrained into the fabric of American life that a return to constitutional government is routinely dismissed out of hand it seems.

I proceeded to ask him then, “What of the Federal Reserve, a private banking cartel that is neither federal nor a reserve, and lends money to our government at interest? What can be done to abolish this monstrosity which has taken our government captive?” He had to leave for the Fair at that moment, and his parting words were, “Don’t even get me started on the Federal Reserve; I could talk about it for hours.”

Certainly Congressman Marino’s constituents in Susquehanna County would enjoy discussing these issues, and many more - fracking, unemployment, inflation, NSA spying, IRS harassment, etc. - with him. Congressman Marino has a lot of brainpower; hopefully, he’ll return to our fair county soon so we can tap it and share our thoughts with him further.

The Susquehanna Hometown Days, 2013 was by all accounts a huge success, with several thousand visitors “invading” the fair borough August 8, 9 and 10.

First Place Parade Winners of Hometown Days "The Red Hats"

Trophy winners in the judges categories of the annual parade were: 1st Place Float – The Red Hats; 2nd Place Float – First Baptist Church;  Car (Antique & Cruise-In) Jenny Gow; Walking Group – Boy Scouts; Marching Band – Maloney’s Pipe Band; Service Organization – The Legion Riders.

Pictured in front of the Judge's Pick for Best Antique Car (l-r) are Jim Sickles and Jenny Gow. Sue Sickles, who passed away earlier this year, was honored as 2013 Grand Marshall. Sue was a very active member of the events committee and will be sorely missed.

Honorary Mention Trophies were awarded to Stan Lindow, Nellie Jane DeWitt BPW, Barnes-Kasson Hospital, St. John’s Pro-Life and the Penn Dixie Band.

The saturday evening, Grand Finale Fireworks Display, sponsored by Ron Dubas of Schneider’s Market was a resounding finish to the annual fundraising event, appreciated by one and all.

Not only do they walk among us, they live among us. Long-time Lanesboro residents unloaded a laundry list of complaints about the indignities heaped upon them by their next-door neighbors. In so doing they invited borough council to revive plans for what was recently considered a dead-and-buried housing code, namely the International Property Maintenance Code, infamously known as the IPMC.

The Tuesday, August 20, meeting of Lanesboro Borough Council was attended by President Todd Glover, council members Dan Boughton, Jason Fissel, Dale Rockwell, and Regina Dilello. Also present were Mayor Chris Maby, Secretary/Treasurer Gail Hanrahan, along with more than half-dozen Lanesboro residents, a few of whom were most eager to share their property rights displeasures and/or request resurrection of IPMC consideration.

First up was property owner Paul Skasko. His complaint dates back going on two years - since PennDOT dug a ditch diverting the flow of water coming off the mountain behind his property. The alteration PennDOT made on his neighbor’s property diverted runoff from his neighbor’s driveway (onto Viaduct Street roadway) to vacant land belonging to Mr. Skasko and adjacent to his home. Mr. Skasko brought this unsatisfactory situation to borough council’s attention on at least two occasions over a year ago, but nothing - so far as he could see - had been done to rectify the problem. While not advocating imposition of IPMC, Mr. Skasko was clearly dissatisfied with the borough’s response to his dilemma.

President Glover and Mayor Maby responded that the borough did not possess earth-moving equipment, and could not rightfully become involved directly in the situation. Mr. Skasko explained that his property had essentially been transformed into swampland by PennDOT’s action. The best council could do was to provide him with phone contacts for PennDOT and Rails-to-Trails (owners of the land towering over his).

Another Lanesboro resident inquired as to when council planned to advertise and hold their special meeting to consider IPMC enactment. Mayor Maby responded that council would do so when they “had the votes for it.” That prompted a Lanesboro couple to address council about the violations of their property rights by their next-door neighbors. The couple, upfront about their health issues, went to great length to detail pest infestations at adjoining rental properties, as well as the disrespectful behaviors of their neighbors - to include commencement of lawn-mowing in the middle of the night, and frequent bonfires emitting immense quantities of hydrocarbons directly into the open windows of their residence.

Mayor Maby stated that he would arrange for Police Chief Jim Smith to meet with them concerning their neighbors’ behaviors, and to provide them with “their options” on how to proceed. The complainants thanked the mayor and they expressed their resoluteness to get Lanesboro’s Pig Pen Alley cleaned up.

Vice-President Boughton brought up the idea of police protection for borough council meetings. No council member dissented from his proposal. Mayor Maby thought police could most definitely be on duty at the time of Lanesboro borough council’s meetings. For Oakland borough council meetings (on the second Thursday of each month), the mayor indicated he would need a little more time to determine the necessary scheduling of police protection.

Mayor Maby also presented the Police Report for the month of July. It showed 175 call-out hours, including 21 hours in Thompson. For Lanesboro there were 48 traffic stops, with 27 citations and 21 warnings issued for the following causes: Speeding violations (35), Inspection violations (5), Careless driving (2), Registration violations (2), Equipment violations (2), and Stop-sign violations (2). Arrests were made in various incidents involving the following: drug stop possession/dealer; theft/criminal mischief; theft by unlawful taking; careless driving/disorderly conduct; criminal mischief; and theft by deception. Additionally, Lanesboro police logged the following actions: motorist assist; water shut-off notices served; welfare check at a home; suspicious vehicle report; assist to Susquehanna PD; and safety escort for personal belongings.

For their 21 total hours in Thompson, Lanesboro police had 16 patrol hours and five hours with the fire department. They made 16 traffic stops, with 12 citations issued and four warnings given. Reasons for the stops included: Speeding violations (12), Inspection violations (3), and Equipment violation (1). Two additional incidents appeared in the crime report: one case of disorderly conduct (filed), and one complaint of firearm fired in borough limits (pending).

In the Streets Committee Report, it was noted that both the garbage truck and the plow truck need more repair work. Everyone agreed that the plow truck was unlikely to last through the winter, but no decisive steps were taken to replace it at this meeting. A large pothole has been observed on a borough street, and it will be patched within the week. Depot Street, Mayor Maby reported, should be repaved within the next two weeks or in a month at most.

For the Sewer/Refuse Committee Report, Mayor Maby proposed an inexpensive alternate solution to the new manhole approved for Viaduct Street last month. Council discussed his idea, agreed that the minimalist approach would likely resolve the problem, and by consensus agreed to implement it as soon as possible.

Community Center renovations are progressing well. Councilman Fissel explained that the center is in the “paint & trim” stage. With options for the interior color scheme presented, council agreed to sea drops (light green) for the walls; designer gray for the trim; standard gray for the doors and door frames; and brown for the floor. Building security was additionally discussed, as well as the prospects for air conditioning next summer.

In new business, Mayor Maby reported that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has proposed performance of a service project for the borough, to occur on Saturday, October 26. Church members from as far away as Stroudsburg will be on hand for the project. Council discussed a number of things that needed to be done, and it was agreed that a couple of “out-door” projects along Starrucca Creek would likely be presented to the Church as the borough’s top priorities.

Finally, Council debated when the next borough council meeting should be held, and whether a permanent change should be made to the borough’s meeting day. After some back-and-forth, Council unanimously agreed to next meet on Tuesday, September 10. By roll-call vote council also unanimously agreed to henceforth meet on the second Tuesday of each month, and to so advertise the change in the newspaper and on their website.

No announcement was made as to when - or if - that special meeting would be held to bring up the International Property Maintenance Code. Right-living residents with neighbors who might generously be described as insensitive, grossly disrespectful, and in violation of generally accepted standards of decent conduct may feel justly provoked to wrath in their calls for increased regulation. Some residents so provoked have alleged that the only persons who are opposed to the IPMC are slum lords, or people who don’t have to put up with such tiresome, low-life neighbors. That is not the case. While miscreants rightly deserve police scrutiny for violations of laws already on the books, and while courts exist to adjudicate torts in civil law, it is not at all clear that IPMC imposition is the right answer. Civil suits against title holders, as appropriate, may be more effective in achieving relief.

The IPMC is a heavy-handed deadweight of governmental regulation which would necessarily inflict greater governmental authority over every borough resident, leaving less leeway for freedom of choice, less freedom of action, and hobbled property rights as conceived in our nation’s founding documents. There are those who lack self-control and abuse their present freedom. There are those who are living without water, those without electricity, and those attempting to dodge sewer and refuse fees within Lanesboro. But to reign in all those “bad apples,” imposition of the IPMC would necessarily regulate every “apple”- good or bad - in ways unimagined except by those who have lived under totalitarianism. It’s unfortunate, but a truism: hard cases make for bad law, “Should 97% suffer loss of freedom because 3% act abominably?”

Lanesboro residents concerned about their property rights - and how to deal with the few bad apples - may wish to make their views known to their local officials before or at the next borough council meeting at 7:00 p.m., on Tuesday, September 10th.

At the August 21, 2013 meeting of the New Milford Township supervisors Mr. Hunter stated that a special meeting had been held for the purpose of opening bids for the lean-to addition to the township building. CB Structures, the company which put the buildings in previously, was the low bid. This was motioned and approved.

Several notification items, which the township had received were reviewed. Southwest was granted permits to drill TNT Pad 6H. Susquehanna Gathering planned to install one 16” and one 8” natural gas pipeline, running from existing well pad 36 to an existing natural gas gathering line. This was a distance of approximately 2.43 miles. Constitution Pipeline provided Act 14 notification that they would be applying for an ESCGP-2 permit for a pipeline project. The project would provide transport for 650,000 dekatherms per day of new firm natural gas from two receipt points in Susquehanna County to a proposed interconnection with the Iroquois Gas Transmission System at the compressor station to be located in Wright, New York.

Mr. Hunter announced then that Southwest had been to the office and given the township a check for approximately $28,000. This was to be used for dust control, and the supervisors were also talking about updating their office building. The building needed to be made more handicapped accessible, including a bathroom. Also, the building was from the 50’s or 60’s and had needed work on the ceiling, so the supervisors were looking into a new roof and ceiling. Other ideas might include new doors with foyers.

There had been situations where township staff had to go out with no power in storms, so they had looked into a generator. They had found one, an 80kw generator, which is what the electrician said would be necessary, in Maine for a decent price. It would cost 6 to 700 dollars to ship it to New Milford, and it was estimated that they could go pick it up for the same or less and watch it run first. This was motioned and approved. The generator would be propane and/or natural gas.

Mr. Conroy noted that the PTO was looking to put up an outdoor classroom at the school. Since the township had some donations from the gas company he thought it would only be proper that the township take care of the building permit and affiliated cost as a donation. This was motioned and approved.

At the August 21, 2013 Susquehanna Borough meeting, the council received a “Thank You” letter from the SCDA’s Hometown Days Committee, thanking the Susquehanna Borough President, Council, and Mayor for their support in another successful year at Hometown Days. At that time, Roberta Reddon also wished to thank the Susquehanna Police Department for giving an outstanding job during Hometown Days, as always.

Roy Williams wanted residents to be aware of not mowing their grass clippings into the gutters, as it is clogging the drainage pipes in the catch basin system. This can be a costly problem to fix for the town if an effort is not made to keep grass clippings out of the catch basins. The town has spent a lot of money updating these systems, if grass clippings continue to be put into the system, the system may break. Also, these catch basins need to be functioning and ready before roads can be successfully paved in the area. He also stated the State turned over forty-seven catch basins, with more than half of these being in a “state of disrepair.” There is some concern over whether or not they should have been fixed and in operable condition before they were turned over to the town. They will schedule a meeting with PennDOT to discuss the problem further.

It was also discussed that the town’s street sweeper be put out to bid, as it is in need of some repairs. Because of the small amounts they are used in town and the cost of the machines, it was considered to hire a street sweeper in the future if needed instead of purchasing a new one. Therefore, a motion was made by Debbie Zayas to put the street sweeper up to be advertised for bids.

Roy Williams wanted to address that funky smell that has been lingering in the town as of late. He stated that this was not something the town is doing. They have sent out an inspector to investigate the source of the smell and how to fix the problem.

The next meeting is scheduled for 7:00 o’clock on Wednesday, September 18th, 2013.

The Susquehanna County DOMESTIC RELATIONS Section has outstanding BENCH WARRANT’S for the following individuals as of 10:00 a.m. on August 23, 2013: Thomas D. Earley, David J. Fischer, Jon W. Hanson, Douglas R. Heath, James Karhnak, Kay L. Knolles, Whade A. Koch, Todd J. Layton, Charlie J. Legere, Lawrence M. McGuire, Ronald N. Mitchell, Andrew J. Muscarelle, Frank T. Perera II, Mary Perschau, Anthony Reed, Bruce A. Schurr, Desiree L. Shifler, David J. Shiner, Eric J. Snell, Nathan C. Strohl, Frederick Swingle III, Robert J. Twilley, Steven G. Warner, Kevin E. Yanney, Please contact the Domestic Relations Section at 570-278-4600 ext. 170 with any information on the location of these individuals. 

The Susquehanna County Commissioners announce the Courthouse will be closed on Monday, September 2, 2013 in observance of Labor Day. All court related offices will be available.

911 Hang-Up: On 07/15/13 at 3:20 p.m. Silver Lake Township Police responded to a 911 hang-up call located on Donovan Road in Silver Lake Township. The incident turned out to be an active domestic with possible weapons involved. Chief Burgh was the responding officer and was assisted by the Susquehanna County Sheriff and Pa. Fish Warden.

Animal Complaint: On 07/24/13 at 5:50 p.m. Silver Lake Township Police responded to an animal complaint located on the Quaker Lane in Silver Lake Township. The report was for raccoon acting strange. Officer Tiffany was the responding officer.

Assist other Agency: On 07/19/13 at 5:00 p.m. Montrose Police Department requested assistance from Silver Lake Township Police for a meth lab that was found in Montrose Borough. Several individuals were arrested on the scene. Chief Burgh and Officer Tiffany were the responding officers. This case is still under investigation.

Burglary: On 07/16/13 a report of a burglary was reported to the Silver Lake Township Police. The burglary occurred on State Route 167 in Silver Lake Township. The burglary took place between the hours of 10p.m. and 6a.m. Chief Burgh was the responding officer. This case is still under investigation.

Found Property: On 07/07/13 at 6:00 p.m. Silver Lake Township Police received a report of a firearm that was found in the township. Chief Burgh and Officer Tiffany were the responding officers. This case is still under investigation.

Littering: On 07/21/13 at 12:00 p.m. Silver Lake Township Police received a report of someone littering with bags of garbage. The incident took place at the Quaker Lake Cemetery. Chief Burgh was the responding officer. This case is still under investigation.

Misc Investigation: On 07/02/13 at 5:00 p.m. Silver Lake Township Police responded to a complaint of an odor near Quaker Lake in Silver Lake Township. The complainant told the officer that there was a smell of a possible meth lab in the area. Officer Tiffany was the responding officer. This case is still under investigation.

Noise Complaint: On 07/05/13 at 9:00 a.m. Silver Lake Township Police received a report of people being loud on 07/04/13 at 2:30 a.m. At a location next to a house on Quaker Lake. The people that were involved were spoken to by the police and the situation was resolved. Chief Burgh was the responding officer.

Theft: On 07/04 /13 a resident located on Britton Road in Silver Lake Township reported that their golf cart had been stolen from their property after 11:00 p.m. The golf cart was recovered on 08/08/13 in Silver Lake Township by Chief Burgh. Chief Burgh was the responding officer. This case is still under investigation.

Traffic Stop/Drug Arrest: On 07/11/13 at 12:20 p.m. A traffic stop was conducted on State Route 167 in Silver Lake Township by Chief Burgh. Montrose Police Officer James Smith was requested to respond to the scene for back-up by the Silver Lake Township Police. Upon further investigation the Susquehanna County Sheriff’s Department K-9 Unit was requested to the scene. Several packs of heroin and other drug paraphernalia were seized along with a large amount of money. The vehicle contained several hidden compartments in it. The passenger (owner) of the vehicle was arrested for possession with intent to deliver along with other multiple charges. Sheriff’s Deputies Hillard and Tiffany assisted with the incident, along with K-9 Officer Cash. This case is still under investigation.

Medical Calls: Silver Lake Township Police responded to 2 medical calls this month.

Any information or questions for Silver Lake Township Police, please call 570-278-6818 or email us at silverlaketwppd@epix.net, all information will be held strictly confidential. You can look at the Silver Lake Township Website at www.silverlaketwp.org, to see all Silver Lake Townships' news, profiles, and resources, including the police reports.