Rebecca Perkins and Marco Gonzalez Moran

New Milford Area Rotary Club is proud to host exchange student Marco Gonzalez Moran of Quito, Ecuador, pictured with his host sister, Rebecca Perkins, on the first day of school at Mountain View High School where they are both seniors. Marco arrived on August 20 and is playing soccer. Rebecca is a graduate of the Rotary Youth Leadership program.

The Rotary Club is also sponsoring two local students who will study overseas for a year: Sydney Avery from Susquehanna who is in France; and Kyle Heide is in the Netherlands. Students between the ages of 15 and 17 1/2 at Blue Ridge, Mountain View and Susquehanna who are interested in a year long cultural exchange in 2014/2015 are invited to an informational session on Thursday September 19, 2013 at the Green Gables Restaurant in New Milford at 5:30 PM. RSVP required: to Kate Farrell Kurosky kfarrellkurosky@gmail.com or 570-309-8087. Parents should attend if possible.

Pictured (l-r) are members of the Susquehanna Fire Department with 25+ Years of Service who were honored with recognition at the 2013 Hometown Days Celebration Friday, August 9: Front Row – Len Kello, Stan Lindow, Les Schell, Chuck Glidden; Middle Row – Dave Passetti, Joe Schell, Geno Testa, Chris Herbert, Bob Burns, Nancy Culnane, Terry Carpenter; Back Row – Ron Dubas, Jim Maby, Roger Holleran, Dick Passetti, Dick Hennessey, Doug Arthur, Mike Keyes, Jack Rood, Rob Hall, Tony Napolitano, Dave Glidden, Gene Delsandro, Bill Kuiper, Joe Adornato, Bill Mazikewich, John Ball.

Molly Edwards, Transcript’s  new Intern

Molly graduated from Susquehanna Community High School in 2009, attends East Stroudsburg University, where she is studying English.

She is using this Fall semester to complete an internship with The County Transcript.

Future plans include continuing her education after she graduates.

One hundred three head of dairy cattle paraded the show ring in Harford at the annual Susquehanna County 4-H Dairy Roundup on Saturday, August 3, 2013.  The Susquehanna County 4-H Dairy Program is comprised of forty-eight 4-H members that represent five 4-H clubs in Susquehanna County including: Born To Show 4-H Dairy Club, DES 4-H Club,  Elk Mountain Community 4-H Club, North Jackson Ag and Community 4-H Club, and Schooley Pond 4-H Club.

The show was kicked off with a special presentation to all 4-H rookie showmen in this year’s county program.  The rookie awards were presented by Rachel and Michayla Stahl in memory of Matthew Stahl, an aspiring future 4-Her whose life was taken too soon in the fall of 2012.  In Matthew’s honor, the Stahl family established an endowment fund with the Community Foundation of the Endless Mountains to annually benefit the Susquehanna County 4-H Dairy Program.  This year the fund was able to award each new dairy project member a “rookie kit,” which included a show halter, show harness, brush, feed tub, soap and a topline brush.  The recipients were: Jase Adams, Montrose; Eliza Bosscher, Springville; Megan Bosscher, Springville; Donovan Curley, Montrose; Kieran Curley, Montrose; Kyrston Swingle, Montrose; Rachel Johnson, Factoryville; Corey Vanderfeltz, Lawton; and Allana Warner, Montrose. 

Emory Bewley, Susquehanna and Patrick Curley, Mountain Top took home the top honors of the day in the type show judged by Aaron Horst, Hershey.  Emory’s senior-three year old Holstein cow, Kingsmill Asteroid Toto-ET, earned top honors in the 4-H Holstein and Red & White Show.  SSF Governor Triumph, a four year old cow from the Jersey show owned by Patrick Curley became the 4-H Grand Champion Colored Breed. 

The Reserve Grand Champion Holstein was exhibited by Kyle Vanderfeltz, Montrose with his senior-three year old cow, Elm-Spring Tystry Saxton.  The Reserve Grand Champion Colored Breed, and Reserve Senior Champion Jersey, was exhibited by Kyle Vanderfeltz from Lawton with Van-Fel Legal Jumpy 851 a senior two year old cow.

Other results of the 4-H type show are as followed:

4-H Holstein Show: Junior Champion – Scenery-View Vixen-ET owned by Keri Jones, Friendsville; Reserve Junior Champion – Miss Dempsey Silky owned by Patrick Curley, Mountain Top; Senior Champion – Kingsmill Asteroid Toto-ET, Sr. 3-year old exhibited by Emory Bewley, Susquehanna; Reserve Senior Champion – Elm-Spring Tystry Saxton, Sr. 3-year old shown by Kyle Vanderfeltz, Lawton.

4-H Ayrshire Show: Junior Champion – Ry’s Butternut Casper, spring yearling shown by Conner Hunsinger, Springville; Reserve Junior Champion – Darker Wingnut’s River, spring calf owned by Garrett Peters, New Milford

Senior Champion – Kozy Kountry Precious, Sr. 2-year old cow owned by Cassie Clark, Springville; Reserve Senior Champion – Sweet-Pepper Black Hannibal Seroquel (Sara), Sr. 3-year old owned by Kennidy Finch, Springville.

4-H Brown Swiss Show: Junior Champion – JT Rogers Dally Colette, spring calf exhibited by Sharon Snyder, Greenfield Twp.; Reserve Junior Champion – Grass Haven Parker Renata, winter calf exhibited by Rachel Johnson, Factoryville

4-H Jersey Show; Junior Champion – Van-Fel Bel Savanna 1032, fall calf bred and owned by Kyle Vanderfeltz, Lawton

Reserve Junior Champion – Nevertell Tequila Nadia, spring yearling exhibited by Donovan Curley, Montrose; Senior Champion – SSF Governor Triumph, four year old cow owned by Patrick Curley, Mountain Top; Reserve Senior Champion – Van-Fel Legal Jumpy 851, Sr. 2-year old bred and owned by Kyle Vanderfeltz, Lawton.

4-H Milking Shorthorn Show: Junior Champion – Jon-Ann Disney Rosemaryann, winter calf bred and owned by Alex Bonavita, Meshoppen; Reserve Junior Champion – Jon-Ann Red Rub Rosethorn, spring yearling bred and owned by Alex Bonavita, Meshoppen; Senior Champion – Woodsey-Dell Lran Roselyn-EXP, Jr. 3-year old bred and owned by Doug Brooks, Hop Bottom.

4-H Red and White Show: Junior Champion – Castlemont Natalie-Red, spring yearling exhibited by Sadie Bosscher, Springville; Reserve Junior Champion – Castlemont Doug Snapple-Red-ET, winter calf exhibited by Jason Farley, Montrose; Senior Champion – Gracistate Adv Reign-Red-ET, Sr. 2-year old owned by Vicki Clark, Springville; Reserve Senior Champion – Del-Hollow Lizzie-Red-ET, Jr. 3-year owned by Jared Brooks.

Pictured are Recipients of the 2013 Matthew Stahl Memorial Rookie Awards: front row - Jase Adams, Corey Vanderfeltz, Allana Warner, Kieran Curley; back row - Rachel Stahl, Michayla Stahl, Megan Bosscher, Eliza Bosscher, Donovan Curley, Kyrston Swingle, and Rachel Johnson.

Pictured (l-r) are Garrett Peters exhibited the Reserve Junior Champion Ayrshire, Mercedes Spickerman, Susquehanna County Dairy Princess, and Conner Hunsinger, Junior Champion Ayshire. 

Pictured (l-r) are Kyle Vanderfeltz with his Reserve Champion Colored Breed, Mercedes Spickerman, Susquehanna County Dairy Princess, Patrick Curley with his Champion Colored Breed, and Judge Aaron Horst.

Pictured are Mariah Tompkins, second place master exhibitor in the Intermediate Master Exhibitor Class, Mercedes Spickerman, Susquehanna County Dairy Princess, and Michayla Stahl, first place Intermediate. 

In the Owner Breeder Competition, Sabrina Clark, Springville was the winner of the Holstein Owner Breeder Award with her Jr. 2-year old cow, Kozy-Kountry Damion Spice.  Kyle Vanderfeltz, Lawton was the winner of the Champion Owner Breeder Colored Breed Award and Overall Owner Breeder Award with his Jersey cow, Van-Fel Legal Jumpy 851.  The Owner Breeder Competition recognizes the animal that ranks highest in type that is was bred and owned by the same 4-H member.  

Sandy Crawford, Rome, Pa. judged the Master Exhibitor Competition.  In the Master Exhibitor Competition members are judged seventy-five percent on their showmanship talents and twenty-five percent on the fitting and cleanliness of their animal.  In the senior division Evan Castrogiovanni, Montrose was named Champion Master Exhibitor followed by Sabrina Clark, Springville for Reserve Champion.  In the intermediate division Michayla Stahl, New Milford was named Champion and Mariah Tompkins, Montrose was Reserve Master Exhibitor.  In the junior division Emory Bewley, Susquehanna was named Champion Master Exhibitor followed by Kyle Vanderfeltz, Lawton with the Reserve Champion.

The Northeast Library District in partnership with RBdigital from Recorded Books (Prince Frederick, MD), is pleased to announce the availability of Zinio for Libraries. Awarded Best New Database of 2012 by Library Journal, Zinio is the world’s largest newsstand, offering multi-user access to popular publications.

Through www.susqcolibrary.org, patrons of the Susquehanna County Library system will have unlimited access to complete digital magazines, which can easily be viewed on most Internet-enabled devices inside or outside of the library. Zinio’s unique technology digitally recreates a magazine page for page, including full color pictures, intuitive navigation, key word article search and interactive elements such as audio and video. Good Housekeeping, National Geographic, O, The Oprah Magazine and Readers Digest are just a few of the popular titles available.

The addition of digital magazines via Zinio to Susquehanna County Historical Society & Free Library Association libraries is another way to provide patrons with library services from the comfort of their own home. “We’re very excited for patrons to try Zinio. It’s a great way for libraries to provide additional service to more people,” says Michele Legate, District Consultant for the Northeast Library District.

The Northeast Library District is comprised of five counties in Northeast PA including Lackawanna, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties and reaching over 396,000 people. Log in information for each county can be easily gained by visiting your local library’s website.

Please see a library staff member at a Susquehanna County Historical Society & Free Library Association library for more information on how to access this service or go to www.susqcolibrary.org.

We can hardly believe the summer is just about over.  We still have a few months of nice weather coming up.  It would be a great time to train and walk a new companion animal.

One of the Lab Mix Puppies

We have 14 Lab mix puppies for adoption.  Lab mixes are usually a great all round family dog.  Puppies can be a lot of work at first so be sure you can give them the time and attention they need for a good start as model citizens.   It is a commitment and a responsibility.  We also have lots of beautiful kittens needing good indoor homes.  Stop in and adopt, foster or volunteer.  We have a need for flea treatments for dogs and cats and also canned food.  Thank you for your continued support.

Section 504 is an Act, which prohibits discrimination against persons with a disability in any program receiving federal financial assistance.  It is the policy of the Susquehanna County Career and Technology Center’s (SCCTC) Board of Education to provide a free and appropriate public education to each handicapped student within its jurisdiction, regardless of the nature or the severity of the handicap.  It is the intent of SCCTC to ensure that students who are handicapped within the definition of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 are identified, evaluated and provided with appropriate educational services.  Students may be handicapped under this policy even though they do not require services pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

A free and appropriate public education is one provided that includes regular and special education and related aids and services that are:  1.) designed to meet the individual needs of persons with disabilities as adequately as the needs of non-handicapped persons are met; and 2.) are based upon adherence to evaluation, placement and procedural safeguard requirements.

Due process rights of handicapped students and their parents under Section 504 will be enforced.

Dr. Alice M. Davis is the coordinator of Section 504 activities.

Section 504 is an Act that prohibits discrimination against persons with a handicap in any program receiving federal financial assistance.  The Act defines a person with a handicap as anyone who:  1.) has a mental or physical impairment which subsequently limits one or more major life activities (major life activities include activities such as caring for oneself, performing manual tasks; walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning and working);  2.) has a record of such an impairment; or 3.) is regarded as having such an impairment.

In order to fulfill its obligation under Section 504, the SCCTC recognizes a responsibility to avoid discrimination in policies and practices regarding its personnel and students.  No discrimination against any person with a handicap will knowingly be permitted in any of the programs and practices in the school system.

The SCCTC has specific responsibilities under the Act, which include the responsibility to identify, evaluate, and if the child is determined to be eligible under Section 504, to afford access to appropriate education services.

If the parent or guardian disagrees with the determination made by the professional staff of the SCCTC, he/she has the right to a hearing with an impartial hearing officer.

If there are questions, please feel free to contact Dr. Alice M. Davis, 504 Coordinator for Susquehanna County Career and Technology Center at 278-9229, Ext. 783. E.O.E.

In 1978, when a small group of local amateur naturalists first contacted The Nature Conservancy about a small local wetlands area in northeastern Pennsylvania, regional directors of the international environmental organization were immediately interested. The Nature Conservancy purchases valuable wilderness areas in order to protect them, and their decision to acquire the land that was to become the Florence Shelly Wetlands reserve was based on several important factors: the diverse wetlands areas, which contribute to the ecological health of a bioregion; the diversity of plant and species; and the presence of a small stand of balsam firs growing wild there. The balsam fir normally thrives in northern woodlands, and it is believed that these trees make up one of the southernmost stands in the U.S.

Although these rare balsams are located in a remote and inaccessible part of the preserve, the Florence Shelly Wetlands Preserve features many other species of trees that tell a unique tale about this particular area and its human and natural history. On Sunday, September, at 2 PM, Hank Hartman, a retired forester, will lead a walk to identify some of these trees, discuss their special qualities and describe the environmental challenges that threaten them and how they respond.

Other indigenous trees at the preserve include maple, ash, a few species of oak, shadbush (named because they flower around the time the shad are running in the rivers), black cherry, and many others. There is even a rare American elm. Walk participants will notice a line of sugar maples along the main trail, maintained for convenient sugar tapping by the farm family who lived on the land almost a hundred years ago. Apple trees and a lilac half hidden in goldenrod and hardhack give further evidence of human habitation in what is now a wildlife refuge. Dense, dark patches of scotch and Austrian pines are remnants of the pine plantations planted by the Conservation Corps during the Depression more than seventy years ago and never thinned. Hartman will give tips for identifying trees by their bark, leaves, cones and other characteristics. He will point out damage caused by insect species from remote lands and explain why trees—and the humans who are concerned about them—have such difficulty combating these pests. The walk will last approximately two hours.

The Florence Shelly Wetlands Preserve is located one mile north of Thompson, PA on Route 171. The walk is free and there is no need to make reservations. Meet in the parking lot just opposite Stack Road. The hike is easy, but the trail is uneven in many places and may be damp if we have had recent rains, so wear shoes appropriate for walking in wetlands. For further information call Hank Hartman, 570/727-2385.

State Senator Gene Yaw (R-23) met with local farmers and other members of the agriculture community throughout Bradford, Sullivan and Susquehanna counties to discuss agriculture-related items, and also to hear from two featured speakers.

Held at the Wysox Volunteer Fire Company, attendees consisting of farmers, agribusiness professionals, educators and elected officials heard from Yaw, as well as Michael Pechart, Deputy Executive Secretary at the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and Barry Denk, Director for the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, a legislative research agency of the General Assembly.

Pechart provided general background and information on several Department of Agriculture Bureaus, and focused on the enforcement of regulations and mandates under their jurisdiction. He specifically noted the Department oversees the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement and the Bureau of Weights and Measures, which inspects and regulates over 9,000 amusement rides in the state.

Denk provided a summary of a rural youth survey that was conducted over a period of five years and focused on youth’s residential, career and educational aspirations. Denk noted that over 60 percent of seventh graders in the study reported that if they had to leave their hometown for initial career or education pursuits, they wanted to return to that community to raise their families. Denk also noted that this finding can be useful for rural communities working to turn the tide of youth out-migration, which is particularly important for the next generation of farmers and other rural business and community leaders.

Yaw also addressed the post-production cost deductions from royalty payments.

“Both Rep. Tina Pickett and I have drafted legislation to address this issue,” Yaw said. “The House bill would mandate a minimum 12.5 percent royalty irrespective of post-production costs.”

Yaw believes that such a one-size fits all bill faces serious constitutional challenges; however, he has stated he will support the House legislation if it is passed. To offset constitutional concerns, he is proposing legislation which forces gas companies to disclose detailed revenue and expense information regarding post-production costs. He is also proposing a bill preventing retaliatory action by a gas company against a leaseholder who questions post-production costs. Yaw recognized that his approach will require citizens to be active in protecting their rights. He stated, “I want to see less government in our lives, not more, and asking the government to rewrite thousands of agreements runs contrary to that belief.”

“While Rep. Pickett and I have differing approaches, our goal is the same…protect the citizens of Bradford County.”