At the first meeting after the election, the New Milford borough council met with the same roster of members. There was, however, a new mayor elect, though neither he nor the incumbent were present that evening.

Carmine Monteforte and his wife were present that evening, wishing to discuss the problem he had been having the last four years, regarding trailers that he had in his yard. The codes enforcement officer had told him to remove them, and he thought it was a violation of his civil rights so they went to court. He said that the borough had lost, and he was allowed to keep the trailers. The codes officer had come up with the idea of affixing the trailers to the land, and he had taken the wheels off of 99% of them. The one he had not taken the wheels off of, he maintained, was a trailer he planned to lease out at some point. He said that he had called a woman at one point who said that she thought they had given the case over to the council. Mr. White said that it had not been handed to them.

Eleanor Lempke, the chair of the zoning hearing board, was present, and also addressed the subject. She said that on March the 27th Charlie Wage, the zoning hearing board solicitor, had sent a letter to the Monteforte’s solicitor stating that the latter was in violation. The violation stemmed from the plantings not having been done according to the court order, and the fact that the one trailer still had wheels. If the trailer was to have wheels on it, it had to be registered. They were to have made these changes by the 15th of June. The Montefortes asserted that they had initially completed the plantings, and after a former member of the zoning board went to check on them and found them insufficient, had made changes.

The zoning hearing board, Ms. Lempke explained, made the decisions, but they were not the enforcers. The enforcer was the zoning hearing officer.

Mr. White opined that the bottom line was whether or not everything was done according to court order. Mr. Monteforte gave Ms. Lempke a letter stating that the Frido Lay trailer (the one with the wheels) was exempt from the findings. He argued that the letter was proof of exemption, and that the trailer was actually on industrial property. The couple stated that, in fact, over two acres of the property was industrial. They were using the trailers for storage, and Mrs. Monteforte maintained that everything had been landscaped. Ms. Lempke rebutted that the exemption of that trailer had not been in the letter from the zoning board’s solicitor.

Mr. Monteforte said that the original problematic trailer would have been gone had a council member come to him in the first place. Ms. Cosmello asked if they had attended a zoning board hearing. It was responded that the couple lived in New York, and hadn’t been able to make it up sooner. That was why they had hired an attorney.

Mr. Monteforte related that he had been given a letter stating that he would be fined over $300 a day if they didn’t follow the orders. This, council responded, was the procedure in the ordinance which council had adopted. Mr. White pointed out that nobody had imposed it.

Mrs. Monteforte reiterated that they were nice people. Mr. Ainey started to make a motion that they send the codes officer to the property. Mr. Monteforte interrupted, however, asserting that the codes officer was not allowed on his property. Mr. Ainey then made a new motion that the borough lawyer meet with the zoning officer lawyer. That motion passed. Mr. White explained that the lawyers would then make the decision whether or not they were in compliance, as they said.

As the meeting moved on to other topics, Ms. James noted that the drain appeared to be in place by the senior housing development. Mr. White confirmed that the project was completed. The company had gone along Susquehanna Street, done a cut, and put in number three rock. They had also redone the grass and the seeding. With the rain that occurred earlier that day, the remediation appeared to be successful.

The recreation board had prepared a budget, which Mr. Carey reviewed. There were a few items which they felt to be necessary from a safety standpoint. This included replacement of some swings which were removed from the big park due to safety concerns, and required mulch at both parks.

Mr. Carey then noted that a citizen who was a volunteer but not a resident of New Milford had expressed interest in being a member of the recreation board. The ordinance as it was would not allow for that however. He questioned the feasibility of changing this. Mr. Ainey suggested contacting the solicitor to see if they would even be allowed to do so.

Ms. Cosmello said that there was a difference of opinion regarding where Leatherstocking was starting and finishing. She had been informed that they were going to start in Great Bend, and that New Milford would be last. Mr. Ainey reported that he had an update on the Leatherstocking situation. Leatherstocking had been present at borough meetings twice, and had stated that they were going to survey New Milford in the fall of 2013 with the intent of hooking on in 2014. Mr. Ainey had sent the company representative an e-mail, and received a response saying that they needed to talk. Leatherstocking was to attend the December meeting, then. Mr. Ainey said that he had been hearing the same rumblings as Ms. Cosmello.

The CDBG project on Johnston Street was quickly reviewed. Mr. White estimated that the creek clean out was more than ninety percent completed. The railroad had said that they would be happy to take care of their portion of the project.

Ms. Cosmello related that a homeowner had approached her and said that he slept much better since the borough had begun working on the creek.

After her arrival to the meeting, Ms. Gulick reviewed the borough’s budget. According to the planned budget, real estate taxes would be lowered by 5 mills, bringing it to 3.3mills. This was representative of revenue from the earned income tax. Money had been factored into the budget to pay for a constitutional attorney, to complete the building improvements, to update the comprehensive plan, to convert to natural gas (when it came), and to contract for lawn maintenance. In the end the budget balanced. Mr. Ainey pointed out that they needed to move to advertise the ordinance, which he proposed doing quickly so that they could vote on it in December.

The reasoning behind a decision to advertise for lawn mowing was reviewed. This had been a thorn to the borough for some time, it was said, as the mowing and weeding took immense amounts of time given the equipment the borough had. In the past it had taken a significant amount of the public works employee’s time to complete this work. Ms. Wages stated that she was on the fence regarding the topic, as she had originally been in favor of having a borough employee do the work so that they had more control of it.

When she arrived, Ms. Gulick came in carrying a cake. She said that they had wanted to surprise secretary Amy Hine and make her think they had forgotten her twenty years of service, so they waited until the November meeting to acknowledge her. Ms. Gulick spoke highly of her service, and invited those present to partake of cake.

Council had met with Mr. Tourje from NEP Telephone, and had told him that they appreciated his corporate citizenship and all that he did for New Milford. They had also discussed the cable contract situation in the borough. The question was asked if they could do the contracts differently for the two companies, charging different franchise fees. If this was possible various council members stated that they would like to do so in recognition of that corporate citizenship. Ms. Gulick added to this, pointing out that NEP didn’t hesitate to help out when asked. Whether or not the franchise fees could be different would need to be checked into with a solicitor.

The borough solicitor, Mr. Briechle, had said that the matter of passing out Bibles out in the park was outside of his realm, so he recommended that the borough engage a constitutional attorney. The new attorney would help the borough create a system which would be fair to everyone.

Santa in the Park was scheduled for November 30th between noon and one pm, and they discussed plans for the annual event. Ms. Lempke stated that the Lynn-Lee house would volunteer to take care of the candy again. The Men’s Club was providing hot dogs. The cost of a photo with Santa at the event is a canned food donation.

A request was made to hold a Turkey Trot 5k within the borough, as a fundraiser for the 9th grade class. They would use the same route as the other 5k race, and hold the race on Thanksgiving morning at 8:30 am. The borough did not have any objection to this.

A visitor commented that the Parade of Lights was very nice that year.

Mr. Monteforte spoke up again during the second present to speak section. He said that a while ago he had given a council member photos, which he in turn showed to others. Mr. Monteforte guessed that the reasoning behind these photos had not been explained. He said that what he was trying to point out was there were many, many problems in the town, yet he had done 99.5% of what they and the court wanted and they were still after him.

Mr. White reiterated that how the borough council worked was if someone came to them with a complaint they would address it but they did not go looking for problems. They were reactive not proactive.

Ms. Lempke pointed out that Judge Seamans had made a court order saying that they were not in compliance. There was then further debate between the Montefortes and Ms. Lempke. Mr. Monteforte apologized to her if he seemed tense.

Mr. White stated that he wanted to thank the incumbent mayor, Mr. Taylor, for his twelve years of service. He noted that the borough would have a new mayor, Scott Smith, effective January first.

Several special budget workshops led up to adoption of a proposed budget for 2014 at the regular meeting of the Harford Township Supervisors on November 12th. It will be offered to the public for inspection for a month or so over the objection of outgoing Supervisor Garry Foltz.

Mr. Foltz and his colleagues disputed the interpretation of a provision that will allow the hiring of part-time staff in the summer and as needed. The money isn’t actually in the published budget anywhere, but Mr. Foltz claimed that the total cost could top $100,000. He said that it appeared to him to add another – a 4th – full-time employee. Supervisor Doug Phelps said that there was no intention to take on another full-time employee.

Mr. Foltz voted against the budget proposal saying that it would show a 15% increase – about 2 mills – if an extra full-time employee were included in the township budget as he suggests it should be, along with dust-control expense.

The plan is apparently to take the money from the “impact fee” revenue fund. Mr. Foltz objected to applying the cost of dust control entirely against impact fee revenue. He said it belongs in the state budget. He said that he doesn’t want to “burn up” the impact-fee money on expenditures that should be budgeted in the general township and state funds.

In fact, the Supervisors this time divided the full budget 4 ways. Usually there are 3 separate budget components: one exclusively for the sewer system, one exclusively for road maintenance paid for from state liquid fuel and “turnback” subsidies, and the township budget for everything else. This time a fourth section is added to account for income and expenditures allotted to the impact fee money received from the distribution of funds collected by the state from companies exploring for natural gas under Act 13 of 2012; for 2014 this new section contains one expense item of some $43,000 for dust control.

So far Harford has received a total of $332,701.68 from Act 13 distributions. According to the treasurer’s report, the impact fee account on November 12 had a balance of $193,535.11. The township has used the fund to cover deficits, to purchase equipment and supplemental road materials, including dust control chemicals.

The part of the budget of most interest to local taxpayers, the so-called “township” budget, anticipates an increase in expenditures of just $21,633 out of a total of $369,000, or just about 6% over 2013. The sewer budget expects a shortfall of about $24,276 expenses over revenue, to be covered by drawing down the current balance in the sewer fund.

Also not in the sewer budget is an increase in the fee charged by Klepadlo & Associates for operating the system. The company requested an increase of $200 per month to account for additional daily testing required under new Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) regulations.

The new 2014 budget does not anticipate increases in tax rates or fees.

The budget does not include the purchase of a new Ford F350 4-wheel-drive truck either. The Supervisors agreed to buy the vehicle through the state-sponsored COSTARS procurement program from Hondru Ford of Mannheim for about $30,380, plus nearly $7,000 for setup by Powells Equipment. Mr. Foltz said that a used vehicle of the same quality would cost just about the same, particularly if it had a diesel engine. This one has a gasoline engine. The Supervisors expect to pay for the purchase from the impact fees.

They would also like to replace the front-end loader whose engine recently locked up. Mr. Foltz recommended further research on this one, which would also be paid out of impact fee money.

The township already bought a used GradAll machine out of the impact-fee fund. (Unfortunately, through an “oversight,” the machine had – and still has – no title. According to Mr. Foltz, the crew so far “haven’t been able to run it legally.”)

To deal with all this and more, Mr. Foltz requested another meeting, on the 4th Tuesday, November 26. He has repeatedly asked that the Supervisors meet twice a month. At the annual reorganization meeting last January, he was outvoted on the meeting schedule for the year, Doug Phelps and Sue Furney preferring only one meeting per month. Now Mr. Foltz proudly says he unearthed a resolution by the Supervisors of the time – in 2002 – that calls for 2 meetings per month. It is yet unclear whether a meeting will actually take place on November 26.

In other business, Mr. Foltz once again objected to the bill list since it includes a payment to the pension fund for Supervisor and Township Secretary Sue Furney, to which he says she should not be entitled. Two of the township’s auditors attended the meeting, but did not comment.

Mr. Foltz reported that the water-control project on Tyler Lake Road is complete. The contractor, Barhite Excavating, has presented a bill for about $34,700, which the Supervisors agreed to pay in anticipation of eventually receiving funds from a grant for the project. The county soil conservation service says that a logjam in Harrisburg is responsible for a delay in authorizing final payment of the grant funds now that all the paperwork is complete. The township accepted responsibility for about $8,600 of the overall cost of the project. Lisa Schmidt, who initiated the project to divert runoff from flowing into Tyler Lake, and who shepherded the entire process, in a letter expressed thanks to everyone involved.

Mr. Foltz and Roadmaster Jim Phelps reported that the work to remediate the effects of flooding in past years under a program funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is nearly complete. The biggest single project remaining, on Oliver Road, is scheduled to begin this week, to be completed in about 10 days.

The Williams company presented documents representing “close-out” and final completion of road-crossing work for the recent pipeline construction through the township. Roadmaster Phelps will inspect before the Supervisors sign off. Williams also asked for another permit to cross Plank Road.

The Lopke stone company has been cited in the past for violations of the township’s noise ordinances at their 80-acre quarry. The township has received more complaints of noisy overnight operations at the facility. Mr. Foltz also complained of a “horrendous” dust problem originating at the quarry when the weather is dry. The township will send another letter to the company demanding compliance with the noise ordinance, and asking for relief from the excess dust.

As is his wont, Mr. Foltz added a number of items to the end of the evening’s agenda. He remarked that he has 60 more days to have his say, having lost re-election to Conrad Owens by a mere 20 votes. For one, he wants to know why the township pays 5% of tax receipts to the tax collectors – how was that share arrived at. Ms. Furney said that it has been 5% for at least the last 22 years she has worked for the township.

Mr. Foltz also suggested that the relationship between the township and its current solicitors, Kreder Brooks Hailstone of Scranton, may be too “friendly” and could stand a review.

He also objected to the “vague” nature of the minutes of the October 8th meeting. His colleagues had no objection to attaching a copy of the tape of that meeting to the official record.

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Harford Township Supervisors may be on Tuesday, December 10, 2013 … or possibly on Tuesday, November 26, 2013.

The Pennsylvania State Police in Gibson is investigating a fatal fire located at 530 Gaylord Road, Susquehanna, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. The fire was reported at approximately 11:30 pm on November 16, 2013. Once the investigators were able to enter the property, the body of Kathleen Ashby-Kaminsky, 50 year old female, same address was located inside the residence.

The fire has been ruled an arson by the Pennsylvania State Police Fire Marshal. The investigation is continuing.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Pennsylvania State Police in Gibson at 570-465-3154.

The Susquehanna County DOMESTIC RELATIONS Section has outstanding BENCH WARRANT’S for the following individuals as of 10:05 a.m. on November 15, 2013: William J. Casey, Anthony M. Choplosky, Thomas D. Earley, David J. Fischer, John S. Frisbie, Jr, Jon W. Hanson, Timothy M. Holmes, Kay L. Knolles, Todd J. Layton, Charlie J. Legere, Derrick J. Lezinsky, Ronald N. Mitchell, Jeffrey A. Ransom, Jose A. Rodriguez, Scott A. Russell, Bruce A. Schurr, David J. Shiner, Eric J. Snell, Nathan C. Strohl, Frederick Swingle III, Justin S. Thompson, Timothy T. Towers, II, Kathleen M. Visavati, Steven G. Warner, Richard D. Williams. Please contact the Domestic Relations Section at 570-278-4600 ext. 170 with any information on the location of these individuals. 

At the beginning of the November fourth Montrose borough meeting, Sean Granahan made the motion to appoint the current borough secretary, who had resigned the month prior, as an acting interim secretary. Council would pay her on an hourly wage and maintain her health benefits. He also requested that the public bear with them while they went through the process of finding a new secretary. This process was taking a longer time, he explained, as they were looking for someone with book keeping experience. In the meantime, the borough office would not be open during the day. The public could call and leave a message for the maintenance department, the zoning officer, the secretary, or the police, and receive a call back.

Street Department foreman Ken DiPhillips was given a “huge pat on the back” for his work on leaf collection. It was confirmed that late November was when they expected to stop the collection.

County maintenance from the courthouse had contacted Mr. DiPhillips regarding buying salt from the borough, similar to the agreement with New Milford. The county didn’t really have storage for it, and didn’t know how much would be needed. Mr. Lamont asked how this would work, and how the salt would be loaded. It was responded that the borough would load the salt for the county. The motion was made and seconded to approve this, at the same price as New Milford.

Mr. DiPhillips had spoken with Bridgewater township, which municipality had a highway occupancy permit. He provided a document to council to look over. Such a permit would cover companies doing work in the street, and include fees for cutting up the roads.

In regards to the Dowling request for a peddler’s permit, Mr. Lamont explained, he had found out that a person could knock on doors and hand people information, but they could not hang that information on doorknobs. Mr. Lamont quoted a portion of code which prohibited this. The secretary said that the regulations had been amended, but Mr. Lamont did not have the amendment in his book. He said that until he saw the amendment, he would give the company who had broached the topic the month prior a call and see if they still were interested. He reiterated his concern that for the one person who followed proper procedures there would be fifteen who didn’t.

Chief Smith noted that Officers Grindall and Hale had reached the end of their 90 day probation periods. It was decided that this would be discussed at a later executive session by council.

Two quotes for health insurance were presented. The Blue Cross quote represented a rate freeze, the same as the year before. After that, however, the company planned to throw the borough off the plan, at which point the municipality would have to do some shopping. Geisinger Choice had also provided a quote. Mr. Granahan stated that his preference would be to take the rate freeze rather than moving companies that year. He made a motion toward this end, with the existing insured staff continuing to receive insurance.

Mr. Granahan reported that he and the borough’s treasurer had met with First National Bank that morning. For some time Montrose had been under a waiver program with the bank where they waived the fees for certain services. As of January first they were going to cease waiving the fees, offering instead a $300,000 minimum above which everything would receive an interest rate of .2 of a percent. Mr. Granahan said that as far as he was concerned it wasn’t worth if for the general funds. He thought it would be worth going out and shopping around for banks prior to the deadline.

The second financial item he brought up involved the building project. Currently, he said, the borough was paying 4% interest on the funds for the building project. They weren’t going to make near 4% however. He suggested taking a little bit of the money that they had in other accounts, and put it to better use by paying off the loan. The borough could pay off the building and be done with it altogether, and there would be no large real estate debt. This was motioned and approved; the payoff amount was quoted as $252,554 and change.

It was announced that the meeting was going to be recessed until Monday at 7, at which point council would meet regarding the budget.

The Community Foundation was losing its sidewalk on the Locust Street side, it was related, due to people parking on it. Mr. Wooten had suggested the possibility of donating the land to the borough, moving his sidewalk up, and putting in curbing and parallel parking spaces. Mr. Lamont stated that he would be interested in that project. It was noted that it was just the beginning phases of the idea.

After an executive session, Mr. Schuster made a motion that the two police officers mentioned earlier receive an increase in pay.

Mr. Schuster then made a motion that the borough terminate their lease options on the High Street property as of December 31st. This was site of the planned community center. The borough would be finishing out its yearly lease, but would not renew it. Council had not reached an agreement with the building’s owner regarding rectifying environmental concerns.

Continuity may be the watchword for Lanesboro governance, but that in no way implies stagnation. Some big changes are in the wind, and significant improvements could be the outgrowth of those changes. At least that’s one way to interpret the proceedings from Lanesboro’s Tuesday, November 12 meeting at the Community Center in Lanesboro.

Chairing the monthly meeting was Borough Council President Todd Glover. Council members Dan Boughton, Regina Dilello, Jason Fissel, Dale Rockwell, and Colleen Wilkes were present; David Glidden absent. Also in attendance were Mayor Chris Maby and Secretary/Treasurer Gail Hanrahan, as well as several borough residents.

The meeting, opening at 7 p.m. and following with a moment of silence in honor of America’s Veterans, closed an hour and 42 minutes later. In between, council covered a lot of territory. Miscellany included receipt of an attaboy from the county’s District Attorney for the Borough’s Police Chief‘s actions; the borough’s expressions of gratitude to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; and a lengthy soliloquy from a semi-disgruntled resident protesting imposition of sewer and garbage fees during his absence for at least part of the last two years.

In regard to continuity, bottom-line interest for many borough residents may well be council’s proposed budget for 2014. Next year’s budget reflects a flat income of $244, 594 (exact same figure as 2013), with spending just under that total, though a small slush fund provides a cushion for unexpected expenses. No tax increases are proposed. And no increases to sewer or garbage rates are envisioned - at least by the borough government.

But there’s the rub - “by borough government.” Borough residents might not want to be too quick to put those projected expenses in concrete in their family budget, and here’s why: garbage service could conceivably be privatized, and the borough’s sewer system may be sold.

Council voted approval, over the strong opposition of Mr. Boughton, to authorize Mayor Maby to investigate with the borough’s Solicitor the possibility of putting out to bid garbage pick-up service for the entire borough for next year. The driving force for this move is the derelict condition of the borough’s garbage truck, which for much of the last year seems to have spent more time in the shop for repairs than being roadworthy. Unless a new truck is purchased, or an endless supply of revenue is found to fund repairs, the borough’s propensity to maintain municipal garbage service is increasingly unlikely. The outsourcing of refuse pick-up to a private hauler (authorized by the county) could lead to a change in cost to Lanesboro householders. Whether that change costs residents more or less is only speculative at this point, but outsourcing garbage pick-up may very well result in a price change, including at least one scenario where some pay more and others less.

President Glover indicated that talks with the Tri-boro Municipal Authority are ongoing, and he hoped to have something definitive to report at future meetings. Talks have been ongoing since at least early 2013, but thus far have borne no fruit.

In another measure of continuity, borough council would like to resume rental of the community center, but rentals will come with change. Regina Dilello, who previously managed the center’s rental schedule, will be leaving council at the end of her term, and has given notice she will leave this responsibility behind also. Jason Fissel stepped forward to volunteer as point of contact for rentals, but made clear he needed someone else to help for those frequent times he is out of town. Other issues to be resolved at next meeting include the rental fee to be charged, the required deposit, and who will inspect the center after each rental to detect damage or messes. Look forward to these issues to come up at December’s meeting for (hopefully) final resolution. Change is certainly in the wind for would-be renters of the community center.

A change certain to turn heads is the Community Center’s reversal of its Main Entrance from front to back. The door facing Main Street is now the “back door” and the door facing the playground and cemetery is now the “front door.” Say what? The back is the front and the front is the back! Most folks would think this is lunacy, or at the least inconsequential - were it not for a couple of inconvenient realities. The first is that door facing the street can only be opened from the outside by someone possessing the access key code - since the door is keyless. Of course, someone already inside can open the door for outsiders, but necessarily the insider must be present to manually provide admission. The second “inconvenience” is that handicapped parking was set up with the idea in mind that the entrance facing the street would be the usual point of admission to the building. Because the Main Entrance is now located at the back of the building, the handicapped parking space is now the space located furthest from routine admittance. Borough officials insist that because of the State Labor & Industry bureaucracy (and “standards”) no corrective action can be taken - at least in the short term.

Harmony Township has agreed to maintain continuity by plowing the borough’s streets until Lanesboro has their new Chevy Silverado plow truck. With all the bells and whistles needed to get the job done, the price tag totaled just under $41,000. By roll call vote there was unanimous agreement to make the purchase - and pursue a $25,000 loan with payments over four years to get the financing end of the deal done. Council members anticipate accelerated repayment will save taxpayer dollars and the loan will be repaid in a much shorter time than 48 months. Council also unanimously agreed to advertise sale of their 1998 plow truck, with the opening of bids for its sale at next council meeting.

Also to be advertised before December’s meeting are three other items, the first being the hiring of another borough police officer; the second, the hiring of a plow truck driver; and the third the borough’s winter parking ordinance implementation. The vote to hire another police officer (with a 60-day probationary period) came after a five-minute executive session during the course of the evening’s meeting. Applications for both the police officer position and the plow truck driver job will be reviewed in December. The winter parking restrictions are being advertised to remind borough motorists under what conditions on-street parking is prohibited.

Mayor Maby presented the borough’s police report for the month of October. It showed 179 total Lanesboro Police Department hours, including 15.5 hours in Thompson and 51 hours at School Patrol. For Lanesboro there were 44 traffic stops, with 31 citations and 13 warnings issued for the following causes: Speeding violations (26), Inspection violations (4), Careless driving (2), Equipment violations (5), Window-tint violation (1), Loud exhaust (1), Registration violations (2), Suspended driver violation (1), Stop sign violation (1), and No insurance violation (1). Arrests were made in various incidents involving the following: disorderly conduct, trespassing at high school, theft of services, burglary/theft, criminal mischief, and disorderly conduct. Other police actions included serving multiple water shut-off notices; serving multiple bench warrants; and assisting Great Bend Police. Also noted was a letter from District Attorney Jason Legg commending Police Chief Jim Smith for his beyond-the-call-of-duty service in a matter involving the county’s criminal justice system.

Also coming in for commendation during the meeting was the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. President Glover, as well as several council members and Mayor Maby, were ebullient in their praise of the 245 Saints who spruced up Lanesboro and neighboring boroughs on October 26th. Clearing of brush on Tannery, Viaduct, and Depot streets, as well as behind Luciana Park; painting of four picnic tables; and the weeding and mulching of Lanesboro cemetery & Community Center Park area are just a sampling of the many jobs completed by church members during their day of service. The borough’s residents were, and are, most grateful for the Saints for their hard work in beautifying our borough and making it a better place.

Lanesboro Borough Council will extend its continuity and consider further changes on the second Tuesday in December - same time, same place.

At the November 11th Montrose School Board meeting, there was a moment of silence held to honor the memory of MASD Scott Mead, and all of those whose lives ended too soon. The meeting was moved from the Community Learning Center to the auditorium to accommodate the larger than normal crowd.

The board was going to dispense with the agenda, Mr. Caterson announced at the beginning of the work session. He stated that everyone present would be heard, that there was no time limit on the meeting. He did ask those present to be respectful however.

Bullying was on the agenda under discussion items, he noted, saying that the community had suffered a terrible tragedy. He told those present that he knew they were there to talk, and that the board was there to hear what they wanted to say.

He asked if someone wished to start the conversation, and when no one initially spoke up he asked if the public would like the board to tell them what was in place for bullying. A visitor spoke up then, asking what the policy was on bullying - what was in the student handbook. Mr. Caterson asked a member of the guidance staff to address what was in place within the district. She had gathered a list of what was done school wide, which she briefly reviewed. This list included several items, including a Student Assistance Program, a Student Evaluation Team, support groups, peer tutoring, and the I-safe Program, in which secondary students visited the elementary school to instruct kids in internet safety. The Rachel’s Challenge program had been into the school three times, including once in September. They also had five guidance counselors within the district, which she opined was generous. An Out of the Darkness Program had been held at the end of the last school year, and another suicide awareness program was planned for later that month.

A visitor stood up and said that she had spoken with some kids, asking them who they would talk to if they were having a problem. They hadn’t known. She said that she wasn’t judging anybody, and that they had a great principal and school board members. She hoped that what would be brought from the meeting that evening was a safe place for the kids, so they wouldn’t wonder who to go to talk to. The recent event had blown her mind. She wasn’t saying it was the school’s fault, she continued, she just wanted to know what could be implemented.

Mr. Caterson said that bullying was no different than any other disease or behavior that was found abhorrent, the school could try really hard to make it go away, but it was not going to go away.

Another visitor asked what would happen if a student was bullied. Mr. Caterson asked a principal to explain the process. The elementary principals answered the question first, saying that it depended on what kind of bullying. If it was verbal abuse the principal would sit down with the bully and the bullied and they would talk about it. If they couldn’t come to some kind of agreement, they would refer them to a counseling program with a guidance counselor. The principal would speak with parents of both boys. If it was a physical response, if the bully punched another student or something, he or she could face suspension and if it continued further steps could be taken. One of the principals said that the chronic nature of bullying was important. The administration data tracked behavior, just as with academics. The behavior would be handled a bit differently if it was ongoing. If they saw such behavior being tracked when they met biweekly, often times they would match the child up with an adult mentor at the school. There was a policy in place which was acted on. He thought the woman made a good point, kids had to know where to go. As administrators they could do nothing if they didn’t know about the behavior.

A parent asked at what point parents were involved; it was responded at the elementary level it was usually all the time.

One mother suggested the creation of a bullying board, made up of the dean of students, a member of guidance, faculty members, and three students appointed by staff. Every incidence of bullying would go to this board and be taken seriously, and discipline would be enacted (even if it was watching a movie on bullying and writing an essay). She also thought that if there was a bully on the bus he or she should be kicked off the bus. She related incidents of such bullying occurring. She felt if students knew that every time they did something there would be a consequence it might stop the problem.

Kelly Mead then spoke up. She had a picture of her son, who had committed suicide twelve days before, after being bullied. She said that she didn’t have any questions for the board, the other parents has spoken volumes that she agreed with. She fought tears as she read a prepared statement about her son’s decision to live with her, which would have taken him into another school district, and then his decision to stay at Montrose with his friends- a decision she attributed in part to his death. She said that everyone told her what a happy boy he was, how he was loyal to his friends and supported those who were bullied. She expressed regret that he hadn’t known that it was okay to stand up for himself, and how important that was, to say that bullying was not okay and to tell someone. She said that because of the outpouring of love and support she had received from Scott’s friends and their parents, she could see that his family members were not the only ones suffering. There were children at Montrose High School in crisis. There were children who were afraid to speak up as they hadn’t been helped in the past and the bulllying only got worse when they did. She said that they needed to do something to help those children or there could be other children who give up hope. With swift action and education, those children could be empowered to stand up and say that they were different and they were okay. She read a list of possible differences. All of those things and more made their children unique treasures that should be celebrated instead of bullied and beaten down, she asserted. She challenged the school administrators and board members to carefully examine the policies, and to accept any and all legitimate offers of help for children. She believed that knowledge was power and there could never be too much education and empowerment for their children. Mr. Caterson thanked her for her words.

A visitor asked if educators had to go through training. The acting superintendent, Mr. Felunk, spoke of a new program in the county which had already been in the process of being put together before this occurred. The program was called Gatekeepers, and it targeted administrators, faculty members, and other staff.

The mother of a special needs child stood up, and asked if there was a program for special needs children who didn’t know if they were being bullied. Mr. Felunk responded that in general the instructors of those children had a special love for them. He or she would know it by the child’s behavior, and would address it. He said that based on 35 years of experience, the professional staff who chose that field as their vocation had a special way of being there would and know how the child was coping that day. He offered, however, to check into this further the following day.

A woman spoke up regarding her brother, who had offered to come back from Los Angeles free of charge to provide an assembly to the students in the wake of Scott’s death, to motivate them and tell them that they could make it through. The brother did such workshops as a career. She didn’t understand why the school had turned down his offer. Mr. Tallarico responded that it wasn’t that they didn’t want him there, he had spoken with the man on the phone and had told him that they wanted to do it at the appropriate time and work it in to the existing schedule. There was already a community Out of the Darkness Survivor’s Day in late November, with which the school was also involved.

Mr. Tallarico provided information about the subject at the secondary level. He said that when they had seventh grade orientation the school spoke directly to the kids regarding the procedures around bullying. When the students began the school year, grade level meetings were held. He said that administration did meet with a lot of kids every day. In the course of a given day most of the office visits were kids who had problems with other kids. Normal policies were followed. Staff got the information and took the necessary steps. Not every case was the same. They tried to get the kids to know that the doors were open.

A visitor asked what happened to a staff member if a child came to him or her with an incident and it wasn’t acted upon. She said she had heard from many people that complaints were passed over, and related an incident which she felt hadn’t been handled appropriately. Mr. Adams said that he couldn’t remember a time when there had been physical contact that had been passed over; typically what happened was that the children would be walked into the office. He said that this was the sort of thing that he needed to hear about so he could investigate it. Information was disseminated to staff. The message was sent to staff that they had to be on the lookout and report it if they saw it happening. He stated that he had staff report it to administration frequently. He reiterated the fact that administratively they could do nothing about situations if they didn’t know about them, and that included instances where parents felt something was swept under the rug. That would be followed up on immediately; there was always follow up.

She asked then what would occur at the secondary level. It was responded that staff were bound to report incidents. If this didn’t happen staff would be called in, and there could be disciplinary action.

There was further discussion about the offered assembly by the California professional, and the counseling services which were made available. Mrs. Follert asked how the parents felt about the counseling which had been provided, including the outside services. It was suggested that perhaps students hadn’t known about it. How the death had been dealt with at the elementary school was questioned. A woman who ran a daycare asked how the instructors were educated.

Mrs. Mordovancy said that if a student went to someone at the guidance office, if they couldn’t help they would put the child in touch with someone who could.

A woman stood up, and said that she worked for a news station. She had shown Scott’s picture on her Facebook page and had become friends with several students, who she said felt that they had not received adequate help. She said that she hoped something changed and changed fast, as the kids didn’t know how to deal with it.

A visitor spoke up asking why the flag hadn’t been lowered to half mast in Scott’s honor. Mr. Caterson replied that he didn’t know the answer to that question and that there was no answer which would be satisfactory. In retrospect, he opined, a lot of things could probably be changed.

A student asked why there had not been a moment of silence for the entire school. Her instructor had read a statement and conducted one in her classroom, but there was not one at the school. It was responded that at the same time as that was occurring in her room, the same was being done in every room throughout the school. Research indicated that getting that sort of difficult news was better within a contained environment from a trusted entity. Administratively the decision had been made that receiving the news from educators would be best for the students. Students were also told at that time that should anybody in the building need counseling services they could report to the auditorium, where both internal and external counselors waited. The moment of silence was school-wide then, even if it was not over the loudspeaker.

A couple of visitors asked if there was an outside resource students could go to, as sometimes when they went to guidance they could be harassed. One man asked if there was a way to secretly contact guidance, calling a walk to that office a means of putting a target on one’s back. Mr. Caterson said that was something that could be looked into. Ms. Mead suggested a peer bullying group, where a child being bullied could go to be surrounded and protected. It would be similar to peer mediation. Other suggestions made by those present included the National Center on Bullying and the National Suicide Hotline.

Mr. Caterson said that the board had heard the concerns of those present, they were many and the district had a lot of work to do. The board and public needed to stay in touch, and the board appreciated their coming. He then announced a brief recess.

The meeting reconvened shortly thereafter, with drastically fewer attendees. Mr. Adams and Mr. McComb both spoke of their Veteran’s Day programs positively. It was the first formal program out at Choconut Valley due to difficulty procuring groups to attend. That year they had invited family members whose relatives had served, and it was a very nice program. Mr. Tallarico also spoke of their assembly, at which the 7th graders who competed in the VFW essay contest gave their speeches. About 26 veterans had attended that program. He wished to thank everyone involved.

Mr. Tallarico then said that this would probably be his last time addressing them as a group, and he wanted to tell them what a tremendous honor it was to work there. He wanted to thank the board, the administrators, and the other principals, who he called family. He couldn’t say what the school had meant to him, he continued, and it would always have a special place in his heart. It was his happy place. The transition to his new position at Western Wayne was bittersweet. The board in turn thanked him for his service.

Mr. Owens, during his report, spoke of the students who took the I-safe program to the elementary school. They were scheduled to make the second of four trips to the elementary.

The regular board meeting began at 8:57 pm. A special board meeting was scheduled for reorganization purposes on Monday December 2nd, to be combined with the regular monthly meeting and immediately following the monthly work session.

A motion was made and approved to increase the activity run mileage reimbursement rate from $2.59 to $2.63 in accordance with the state cost index, retroactive to October 1st 2013. Ms. Lusk said that going forward, this motion was to be approved every year.

Various HR items were taken care of. Joshua Devine resigned as Junior High Head Wrestling Coach. Michael Gardner was appointed as Assistant Varsity Wrestling Coach and Nathan Hotchkiss as Junior High Head Wrestling Coach. Jill Hudecek was appointed to be a long-term substitute English instructor.

Michael Boccella was appointed as acting high school principal effective January 2nd through June 30th . A board member spoke up, stating that he wanted it to be clear that just because Mr. Boccella was serving as the acting high school principal this in no way signified that he would be the board’s permanent choice. He did not wish for other candidates not to apply.

Two finalists for the superintendent positions were scheduled for interviews the following day.

The fate of River Bounty is not final, but there appears at least faint light at the end of the tunnel in determining its destiny. After numerous discussions at monthly meetings Oakland Borough Council took a decisive vote that will set into motion a wrap-up of what is now an effectively defunct entity.

Before that fateful vote took place at Oakland’s Thursday, November 14 meeting, borough council took care of its usual housekeeping agenda on governmental business. With President Ron Beavan in charge, council came to order promptly at 7 p.m. Present for the meeting were councilmen Gary Boughton, Jack Agler, Brian Rhone, Dave Dibble, Eric Page, and Dave Trevarthan. Also present were Mayor Randy Glover, Secretary/Treasurer Flo Brush, and special guest Lanesboro Council President Todd Glover.

Oakland President Beavan moved Lanesboro President Glover to the top of the agenda upon completion of the Pledge of Allegiance and a Moment of Silence for our Veterans. President Glover presented to Oakland Borough Council a number of ways in which the two boroughs could cooperate concerning roads during the upcoming winter season. The coordinated actions he proposed could result in economies of scale, greater efficiency, closer cooperation, and provide fail-safes in the event either borough unexpectedly needs back-up. The ideas discussed are in accordance with PennDot’s Agility Program and will be delineated in a Memorandum of Understanding to clarify the two boroughs’ agreement for mutual aid.

Next up, Council moved expeditiously through a number of routine business matters, including last month’s minutes, the Treasurer’s Report, Time Sheets, Codes Report, and Parks Report. In the Codes Report, President Beavan reported to council a court date had been scheduled with regard to a certain property in the borough which is out of code and long been the subject of code enforcement actions. Regarding the Park Report, council discussed ongoing actions for security and surveillance to keep would-be vandals and desperados at bay.

That naturally segued into the Mayor’s Report. Mayor Randy Glover presented the Police Report, which listed 29 incidents in the media report for the month of October. Seventeen incidents were specifically related to motor vehicles: traffic stops - 12; parking violation - 1; motor vehicle accidents - 2; and suspicious vehicles - 2. The remaining dozen were classified as follows: suspicious persons - 3; code enforcement (illegal burning) - 1; larceny/theft - 1; disorderly conduct - 1; odor investigation (propane smell) - 1; noise complaint - 1; vandalism - 2; and miscellaneous - 2.

On another police matter, Mayor Glover reported that the borough’s “new” police car was repaired. The need for repair stemmed from an accident with a deer that ran into the side of the car. The jay-walking deer did some serious damage, but the car was able to be repaired and restored to its former condition. No word on whether said jay-walker was ticketed, but the police officer involved was uninjured.

In old business Councilman Page provided a Building Report. As chairman of the committee doing forward-planning for the new borough building, he reported his past meetings with technical experts, the names of those who would be serving on the building committee, and the date and place of their next meeting - Thursday, November 21, at the borough secretary’s office. The planning process will be lengthy, but necessarily to conform to vast bureaucratic regulation and to ensure all borough needs are fully understood and provided for before construction commences.

Also brought up under old business was a hearty expression of thanks and gratitude to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. President Beavan and councilmen shared their genuine appreciation for all the hard work church members had completed on their day of service (October 26) to help the borough. Secretary Brush passed around a “Thank You” card for councilmen and mayor to sign. Additionally, she noted that she had already called her point of contact for the church to verbally thank her for church members’ service.

Also noted by borough council was the recent birthday of one of the borough’s pillars, Bob Van Fleet. Mr. Van Fleet recently turned 90 years young and council had sent him a card noting the momentous occasion. Congratulations, Mr. Van Fleet, and thank you for your many years of service to the borough.

In the “Around the Table” segment of the meeting, Secretary Brush presented a number of matters to council. In the matter of electric supplier for the borough, council discussed sticking with Penelec, or moving to an alternate supplier. Ultimately, council voted to stay with Penelec at a price of 8.02 cents per kilowatt hour. Secretary Brush also noted a thank-you letter from the Susquehanna Library for the borough’s annual $50 donation, and Susquehanna Fire Department’s assessment of $7826.89 for 2014 fire protection services.

Finally, Council came to the matter headlining this story, River Bounty. President Beavan gave a brief report on the status of River Bounty, and then asked council their opinion of how to proceed with the matter. President Beavan reprised the past, i.e., the bursting of the dam years ago; the attempts made to sell River Bounty’s assets to concerns interested in resuming hydroelectric generation; the continued deterioration of assets and ongoing minimal maintenance costs; and the environmental clean-up required by regulatory authorities.

Council ultimately decided that rather than take a laissez-faire attitude, the responsible action was to step forward to take the lead in assuming oversight of River Bounty’s demise. To that end, Council voted unanimously to approve a resolution proposed by Councilman Agler that would (1) formally shut down River Bounty as an entity; (2) draw back any funds available; (3) earmark such funds for future environmental clean-up; and (4) direct official communication with River Bounty’s Solicitor outlining these actions, with a 90-day waiting period for official response, including any proposal for disposition of River Bounty’s physical assets, particularly the turbines.

At 8:05 p.m. Council adjourned for the evening. With Lanesboro President Todd Glover still present, Oakland councilmen gladly accepted his hospitality to look around the Lanesboro Community Center offices and review the lessons learned during its renovation. Looks like mutual aid is a beautiful thing!

Oakland Borough Council will meet next on the second Thursday in December at Lanesboro’s Community Center.

The Susquehanna County Commissioners announce the Courthouse will be closed on Thursday and Friday, November 28 and 29, 2013 in observance of Thanksgiving. All court related offices will be available.