Leatherstocking Gas Co. was present at the March 18th New Milford Township meeting, with a presentation on the proposed entrance of natural gas into the area. Katrina Colvin-Stilts, a Natural Gas Marketing Representative, gave the majority of the presentation, though Russ Miller was also present and spoke as well.

Ms. Colvin-Stilts related that the company was a utility in 16 municipalities in PA, 14 of which were in Susquehanna County. They also operated in New York. She noted 262 square miles of franchise territory. The company just opened an office in the county on Main Street in Montrose.

She showed a map picture of the DTE Bluestone Compressor Interconnect, and pointed out the gate station which they hoped would feed the gas service to New Milford that summer.

She showed a preliminary map of where they wanted to build the gas system, emphasizing that it was preliminary. She said before anything was made concrete, however, plans would be discussed with the township and the borough. The plan was to begin construction in August and go through November of that year, to build 1.8 miles of pipe in the ground down Carey Road, along Sutton Road, and up county Rt. 848. Examples of the pipe to be used were there for those assembled to see.

Mr. Conroy asked if they would be in the public right of way on Sutton Road, and it was responded that this was the plan. The next stage would then be to add on to that initial 1.8 miles of pipe another 2.9 miles of pipe on 848 towards US 81.

Ms. Colvin-Stilts then spoke a bit about what happened once the gas was flowing. She showed an average bill from February in Montrose. She pointed out that there would be a message each month, which they thought was important for their customers to know. In February it had regarded dialing 811. She expanded on this briefly, emphasizing the importance of calling 811 prior to digging.

She then pointed out the current bill details section, where the charges were broken down to their individual components. The current cost of gas was just over .39 cents a unit.

Mr. Miller then spoke about the GAC; they gave a rate table to the PUC once a year. To the extent gas prices were different than that, the company either over collected from the customer or under collected. The previous year the rate was .48 cents. They bought it at much less, so the PUC had looked at that and said that they had to lower their rate by the amount they over-collected. This meant a customer wouldn’t get a change in their rate every month, but they might get a reduction once or twice a year. He said they didn’t make any money off this cost; they had to reimburse the funds if they over collected (with a rate decrease), and would raise the rate if they under collected.

The delivery charges, Ms. Colvin-Stilts explained when she continued her review of the bill, was how the company paid their own bills. The line above that was the service charge, a flat fee that everyone was charged every month, whether they used their gas service or not.

The CBOCF was a surcharge that paid for the construction of the gas system. So for every unit of gas that was used, there was an additional surcharge of $.30 a unit. That number would change each month based on how much gas was used.

Mr. Miller gave further explanation on the CBOCF. The PUC said that they wanted the company to socialize the cost of construction, to get the most amount of line in the ground and reach more customers. The charge lasted for only ten years from the time the first customer got service. It didn’t go into the company’s pockets, it went to pay off the capital expenditure.

Ms. Colvin-Stilts noted that the cost of fuel had decreased, and then gave a comparison of natural gas versus the cost of propane, the cost of fuel oil, and the cost of electricity.

She also talked about property easements. She said that there were two different types of road, fee roads and lease roads. Fee roads were owned by the municipalities or the counties and they owned not only the surface rights but also the ground underneath. Lease roads were owned only to the center line, and municipalities or counties had the right to maintain the surface of the road but they didn’t have the right to give a utility permission to go under or on the side of the road. So anyone living on a lease road would have somebody coming to them to ask for an easement, which was legal permission to lay the pipe on their property. It also gave the company permission to come in and maintain and replace the pipe as necessary.

She gave a condensed version of a typical installation and talked about the conversion process. Commitment letters could be picked up and returned at the New Milford borough office. Once the letters were in the company’s hands the landowner could be added to the construction list. After the gas line was installed, that was the time the company recommended that a resident ask a contractor to come in and convert their system, not before. It might be some time before the pipe made it to a person’s home, and he or she did not want to be without service in the interim.

She pointed out the emergency call number in the packets she passed out. If a resident smelled gas, she emphasized, they should never turn off a light or make a phone call, as this could be very bad.

It was confirmed that the $20 fee was only if the meter was set at a person’s house and he or she was using natural gas as a customer of record. He or she wouldn’t be charged if there was just a service line, it had to be a set and active meter.

It was stated that a person was not allowed to put a standing structure on land that was under an easement, and even for a mailbox the company would highly recommend calling 811 before putting it in.

A visitor asked about Harford, and it was responded that Harford was out of the company’s franchise area.

Mr. Conroy asked if there was any thought of running on School Road between Montrose Hospital and the Blue Ridge School. Mr. Miller replied that they hadn’t looked at that yet. A man asked what he would have to submit to put in a request to be a customer on School Road. Mr. Miller responded that they would have to put an application in.

Referencing the pipe examples on the table, it was explained that the main line pipe would be six inches. In most streets there would be two inch pipe, and then a smaller size would go into the meter.

A visitor asked what the response time was if a resident needed the gas shut off. Mr. Miller replied that they had to respond to 90% of the leaks within one hour’s time. Typically they would have a response time in the neighborhood of fifteen minutes. The company would train all of the first responders in traffic control, evacuation, and tell them how to shut down service to a house. When there was an incident, he said, the emergency responders were in charge of the scene and the gas company acted as the expert on site.

Mr. Miller said it was really the safest way to transmit energy that they knew of. If the fire company didn’t have the “sniffers” necessary to detect the gas, the company would typically give them to the company.

Mr. Bondurant said problems were more rare with newer infrastructure. The plastic wouldn’t corrode or crack, Mr. Miller added, also speaking of how the pipe could be shut off.

In response to a question regarding how big a problem it would be if a resident didn’t sign an easement, Mr. Miller responded that in most instances if an easement couldn’t be signed they could go around them. It would often be taken care of by peer pressure and neighbor pressure, he continued. The company didn’t have eminent domain, but they could maybe get it. They had laid six miles of pipe in Montrose, and hadn’t had any problems with easments. He said that if someone didn’t want the pipe they weren’t going to force them.

A visitor asked if they would give the municipal building free service since it was an emergency center. Mr. Miller said that it was illegal to give gas free to anyone. He said that they could give them service, but there was currently no charge to get service other than the surcharge.

Ms. Graham said that the township residents weren’t getting the gas anyway. He replied that this wasn’t entirely true, as they were putting three miles of pipeline in.

A visitor asked if a resident could shop around for gas, but it was responded that a residential customer could not shop around so long as Leatherstocking made less than $40,000 in revenue (which they did).

The supervisors thanked Leatherstocking for the presentation.

When the meeting went on, the rest of the business was dealt with in the typical short form.

It was stated that Susquehanna Gathering was issued an air quality permit for CdP2 East Lake Road. The Constitution Pipeline was issued a Water Obstruction and Encroachment Permit for use within the township. Though DEP issued the permit, it was related, they had told the company that they couldn’t start the project until they had federal authorization.

The boy scouts were honoring Jason Legg and the supervisors were going to send a $100 donation to the boy scouts. Mr. Bondurant agreed to deliver the funds. The donation was to the boy scouts. The boy scouts had asked if people would be willing to donate if unable to attend.

The insurance was set to renew April 29th. The supervisors were informed of premium increases.

The supervisors planned to proceed with Hartman Liquour License, and the manner in which they would do so was explained. Mr. Hartman had been approved to apply for a liquor license in New Milford Township, and a public hearing was held. Since then he had chosen to change his company name. The supervisors felt that to protect their interest, if he persisted in changing the name he would have to go through the whole process again.

They had talked about updating the loader, Mr. Conroy said. He believed they had decided to go with the Case, through Co-Stars. They would trade the old one.

He had also been over to a meeting at the Montrose Bible Conference. He related that the Pennsylvania Environmental Council had people who went out and cleaned up dumps along the side of the road. He read over a number of roads that had dump sites on them. They would come in and set a dumpster up. The township was on the list to be going around and cleaning things up.

At the March 19th meeting of the Elk Lake School Board, Ms. Kim Guiton and Mr. Kevin Jones were present to demonstrate some of the technology available to them, and to discuss some of the energy conservation work done from the partnership with Johnson Controls.  A Johnson Controls representative was originally to be present as well, but had been unable to attend. 

Prior to that point, however, the correspondence and first public input portions of the meeting occurred.  Within the former, it was noted that Mr. Morahan submitted a letter of retirement. Dr. Cuomo said that he would be missed, and thanked him for his service to the students- not only in the classroom, but also as a coach.  During the latter, a visitor spoke up to opine that the student council show was hilarious.  She said it was a comedy about hypnosis, and whether you believed in hypnosis or not the show was hysterical.  She called it a good time with a lot of laughter. 

Ms. Guiton and Mr. Jones demonstrated for those present the building automation system, called Metasys.  She noted that normally when they signed on alarms might be brought up, and for very serious alarms they would receive texts at home.  (For the purpose of the demonstration the alarms were disabled.)  They showed how Mr. Jones could put a room in daytime mode, by “occupying” it.  In the past, Ms. Guiton noted, if a room was too hot or too cold, Mr. Jones would get a call.  He would have to go to the room, look at the thermostat, check the airlines, check the register, maybe see how the time clock was set and possibly even go to the basement to see if the air compressor was on.  With the new system, all they had to do was control it through the computer.  They showed on an overhead screen how the room temperature decreased when Mr. Jones turned everything off.  Ms. Guiton explained that they were able to set the temperature in the rooms, and had Mr. Jones put on the screen the schedules they could set up.  With the schedules they were able to customize on each day when rooms were warmed up or not.  Though they set the temperatures, the educators had the ability to customize the rooms to their comfort - within reason.  Each one could change the room temperature in the room themselves by plus or minus three degrees. 

Mr. Jones said that he could control the schedules on the laptop in his living room.  Ms. Guiton set the schedule ahead of time, based on input from the staff.  When a room was unoccupied, the fans were shut off most of the time and the heat was kept at a lower set point. 

Ms. Guiton also reviewed the savings with the project, which she said were from both the difference in the fuel price and the increased energy efficiency.  If everything was even, heat wise, she had calculated, fuel oil was priced at $21 per million btu, and natural gas was at $12.50 per million btu.  If that were true, then to heat the school for one day with natural gas it cost the district $670 (based on the actual natural gas bill), or $28 an hour. Johhson control estimated that there was a 35% change due to increased efficiency.  With the efficiency and the rate change, it was estimated that to heat with fuel oil would have cost $1,730.90 a day or $72 per hour cost.  That represented a difference of $44 less per hour.  She used this to say there was an obvious benefit, then, to scheduling.  

Mr. Jones then brought up a graphic, which Ms. Guiton used to explain that they could turn the fans off and on within the system, and change the set point.  They also pulled up a trend chart, which showed how warm a given room was over time.  

A lot of the savings, Mr. Place confirmed, was in not heating areas when they did not need to be heated. 

A press conference, which Leatherstocking had arranged a few week’s back was referenced.  The overall savings of the district had been estimated to be around $15,000, after startup costs were factored in.  It was projected that over the rest of the year they would save around another $45,000, for $60,000 from that heating season.  They said after twenty years the district would save enough to pay the system back plus an additional few million dollars. 

They then brought the library, where the meeting was being held, up on the system display.  Ms. Guiton asked Mr. Jones to set the library to unoccupied, so she could show a comfort feature of the system.  If an educator came in at night and was uncomfortable, all he or she would need to do would be go to the thermostat and move it a little, and the heat would come on for an hour.  

She also pointed out how the outside air temperature was shown on the upper left of the screen.  When the outside air temperature was below thirty-five, all of the heating valves opened up.  Even if they were not actively heating, the valves opened up so none of the water gathered and froze up. 

Ms. Guiton thanked Mr. Jones for helping her with the project, or doing at least half of the work.  Last year, she said, Elk Lake alone (not counting the SCCTC), had spend $338,000 on fuel oil.  That year they had spend $139,000.

Mr. Place asked if they had to do anything to the system to do cooling.  She responded that most of the univent units didn’t have cool air, but had an economizer, which would bring in cool air. She also confirmed, in reference to another question by Mr. Place that leaving the doors closed in the hallways was important. 

Mr. Tewksbury thanked she and Mr. Jones for the presentation. 

After the presentation they went on to administrators’ reports.  Mr. Weisgold spoke of Kindergarten registration, which had been held from the 18th through the 20th.  He said their numbers were around 80 students, a number he called “healthy”.  In the first week of March, he also related, they had 10 instructors recognized for being educators “that rock” as part of “The Culture of Good”.   As part of this program they received boxes of supplies for the classroom. Other donations were also noted.  Williams had made a donation to the Science Lab, and the Community Foundation and the PTO had both made donations to the elementary music room. 

Mr. Weisgold also talked about National Popcorn Lover’s Day, when he and the front office staff had popped corn all day so that every staff member and every student could get popcorn. 

When Mr. Mallery gave his report, he quipped that in the high school they hated popcorn and hadn’t done a thing.  The national honor society, he related more seriously, was to hold their induction the following week.  He congratulated the 23 students being inducted. 

The WVIA agreement was approved.  Each year the district signed an agreement with WVIA, and used its services for scholastic bowl and artist of the week. 

Permission was requested and given to sell the old diesel generator.  It was not needed now that the district had switched to natural gas. 

Dr. Cuomo spoke briefly about internet changes.  A service agreement for SharpSchool webhosting was on the agenda.  He related that they were also looking towards Google Education for e-mail, where educators would have the same e-mail address but use gmail. 

Bids had been received regarding a lan wiring upgrade.  However, it was recommended that none of the bids be accepted due to the cost of them.  Also, the district was to rebid the reroofing project, due to an error regarding prevailing wage in the initial bid process. 

The SCCTC meeting opened briefly after the Elk Lake meeting adjourned.  Within this, the SharpSchool Service Agreement was commented on again.  It was said that a website could be developed to meet the needs of the career center.  These would be three year contracts. 

A visitor asked about nurse clinician positions that were advertised.  At an earlier career center meeting, a nurse clinician had given her resignation and they had approved to advertise her position.  However, multiple positions had been advertised.  Dr. Cuomo noted that just because a position was advertised didn’t mean the school had to fill it.  They were looking at how to best staff the programs for the number of students enrolled.  There was a very brief discussion of this prior to that meeting adjourning as well.

Before setting one’s course any good navigator will take bearings and determine with certainty the journey’s destination. That sums up Susquehanna Community School District’s Board meeting on Wednesday, March 18, 2015. President Steven Stanford presided over the 29-minute meeting with members Jason Chamberlain, Amanda Cook, Evelyn Cottrell, Carol Jackson, Martha Stanford, and Clay Weaver present.

Superintendent Bronson Stone cheerily provided bearings and explained the destination for an assortment of issues. A matter of interest to every parent and student is the school’s calendar. Mr. Stone reported that June 5th is still scheduled to be the last day of this school year, and graduation is slated for June 13th, provided no more snow days are called.

Looking ahead to the district’s 2015-2016 school calendar, students may eagerly anticipate August 25, 2015 for the resumption of their studies. May 31, 2016 is the scheduled last school day, and the Class of 2016 can plan for graduation exercises on June 11, 2016. Board members approved the 2015-2016 calendar, which had been formally proposed at last month’s meeting, without any changes at this meeting.

Navigating into the frothy waters of next year’s fiscal planning, Superintendent Stone expended considerable time (during the previous evening’s work session) to practice the art of tea reading. At the time of last month’s school board meeting, newly-elected Gov. Tom Wolf had not yet released his budget, taxing, and spending plans. Those plans are now out, and educators are generally pleased with Gov. Wolf’s ideas.

Gov. Wolf’s statewide ideas include a commitment to fund districts at 50% and reduce property taxes. However, Mr. Stone explained, SCSD is in the unusual position of dissimilitude from the vast majority of the state’s 499 school districts. SCSD, as one of the poorer districts in the state, is already nearly 70% funded by the state; so while SCSD funding won’t be lowered to 50%, no increase in spending is projected from this particular initiative. Likewise, the district already has very low property taxes and is one of only 46 districts in the state that does not impose a PIT (Personal Income Tax) or EIT (Earned Income Tax). Therefore, Gov. Wolf’s proposals do not effect tax relief in the SCSD since the tax burden here is already lighter in comparison to other districts throughout the state.

State spending in the district MIGHT still increase, based upon the Governor‘s planned increase of 3.9% in education spending. SCSD would see an increase of $212,230 in Basic Education Funding and an increase of $50,818 in Special Education Funding (SEF). That increase in SEF would be the district’s first increase in five years.

But--and it’s a big but--all of the Governor’s plans are predicated on the presumption that the General Assembly will agree to three tax increases: a 5% gas severance tax, an increase in income taxes, and an increase in sales tax. Will the legislature pass those tax increases? June 30 is the end of the fiscal year and the date by which a new budget is required to be passed. SCSD administration and school board are taking a conservative stance in planning how to spend any increase which may well vanish without the legislature‘s agreement..

In elucidating early budget numbers, Superintendent Stone explained, “The high school budget is down approximately $20,000 from last year while the elementary budget is up $40,000 due to the new math series slated to be purchased for next year. Health care costs could increase between 7% and 10%. With the absence of a new professional contract, firm salary numbers cannot be established at this time.”

But Business Manager Gary Kiernan had some news other districts may well wish they could hear. Susquehanna Community School District is debt-free as of March 1st. Debt freedom was made official with the Board’s approval of “early retirement of the district’s General Obligation Bonds, series 2010, in the amount of $1,643,243.75.” In taking this action the Board saved district taxpayers interest which would have accrued over the next five years.

In further navigation to the future Superintendent Stone presented to the Board SCSD’s Special Education Plan Report, 07/01/2015 - 06/30/2018. This draft version, a product of the 19-member Strategic Planning Committee which meets monthly, must have final approval by the School Board no later than May 31, 2015. The final draft will likely be passed at May’s School Board meeting, but in the meantime it is available for public review and comment at the district office. Mr. Stone publicly stated a few numbers will be changing before final passage (due to ongoing budgetary planning). The Special Ed Plan Report is a key component of the District’s state-mandated Strategic Plan.

In the Public Comment portion of the meeting Technology Integration Coach Kathy Matis made a presentation concerning the latest technology students are using in the district: Chrome Books. The devices are light and very portable, and 24 are currently available for use by high school students. Because these particular Chrome Books are for school usage they are slightly more expensive, but they come with the big advantage of already being fully loaded and ready to use. She went on to describe a number of the computer’s app’s, including Google Drive, Image Editor, the built-in camera, and the on-line quiz-and-response feature. Also, Chrome Books come with Google accounts having unlimited cloud storage--only available to schools. Seniors can convert their school-based accounts over to a private G-mail account upon graduation through June 30th. After that date unconverted accounts are erased. Six high school students are participating in an NEIU technology competition on Friday, March 20, Mrs. Matis added.

In relation to that technology update Superintendent Stone announced that the while the district would continue to maintain its server for the elementary school, the high school will be eliminating its server next year. With cloud storage unlimited, it was apparent the high school no longer needed to maintain its own server. There are no plans to eliminate the elementary school’s server, however.

Before closing the Board also approved the Intent-to-Retire Requests from three long-time district employees, teachers Charlene Brieden and Elizabeth Tingley, as well as Maintenance Supervisor Donald Norris. Mrs. Brieden is a high school special education teacher and Mrs. Tingley is an elementary teacher. Superintendent Stone spoke glowingly of all three and paid them high honor for their many long years of service. To Mr. Norris, who was present, he finished by saying, “You’ve had a wonderful career. Congratulations!”

With adjournment of the meeting at just under one-half hour, Mr. Kiernan moved smartly to distribute chocolate cupcakes baked by Ms. Franks’ Life Skills Class for the Board’s meeting. Next board meeting is scheduled for Tax Day, April 15 at 7 p.m. Does that not indicate the course before us and a destination of some consequence before the next meeting convenes?

Near the start of the March 9, Montrose Area School District work session, Mr. King recognized a number of student achievements. This included the principal congratulating student athletes, as well as Mr. Zimmerman and the choral students who attended PMEA regional chorus. One student had qualified at the all state level, and another qualified as an alternate at that level. He also wanted to congratulate Mr. Benicci, and students who qualified for the PMEA all state ensemble program. He congratulated a senior artist on a recent sculpture, which was submitted and obtained a regional scholastic gold key award (sponsored by the Times Tribune). Another noted student was a senior who was accepted to West Point. As a principal, he stated, he was impressed with the level of writing found in the meteor chronicle. A student was to be honored with a scholastic superstar medal, and others were commended for participating in a 24 hour theater program.

Mr. Powers recognized the fact that Mrs. McCain was promoted to the business office. He opined that she was the glue that had held the front office together. He spoke highly of her, saying he had learned a lot from her. Mrs. Boyce said they were fortunate to transfer people from within the administrative staff, and Mrs. Lusk said she was glad to have Mrs. McCain in her office. They also spoke well of the employee moved into the front office to replace her.

During Mr. Owens report he reported on e-rate (a federal subsidy for technology work). In the past the district hadn't been able to utilize category two funding from e-rate, which related to internal connections. In the past, only the neediest of schools had seen funding on category two. Montrose had benefited for years from category one. With a reauthorization, however, he hoped that the district could benefit from the second category as well. He had applied for it that year, and was hoping to replace switches. It would not cover all of the costs, and he reviewed ways that the rest could be funded. He was asking the board to authorize the signature of an agreement with a contractor, should the funding be given and the board approve. It did not put the district at risk if the prerequisites were not met. Mr. Scheer asked what happened to the old but still functional pieces. Mr. Owens replied that they would like to try and leverage some trade in value.

Mrs. Boyce related that they wanted to update the way the district kept records. Also, Mrs. O'Malley had reported that the federal commodities order was being worked on. There was no guarantee, however, that what was being requested would be what was given.

Mr. McComb spoke about kindergarten registration. Currently they had maybe 25 students, which he said was probably one of the lowest numbers they had had. He also spoke of the professional learning communities in-service.

The previous Saturday, the school had hosted their annual archery tournament. They had 180 participants. He said there was a tremendous amount of support from the community. That Friday was to be the annual state archery tournament. Twenty students from each school would participate (it had been capped to that number).

Mr. Wilcox said it was very well run and spoke highly of the parent involvement. Mr. Adams said that archery had infiltrated the school, and he said the best thing about it was that it was parent organized.

The kids with Jump Rope for Heart had raised $6,700, the best year the adviser said she had ever had.

Ms. O'Malley had received a grant to get healthy snacks. Mr. Follert and the Chocolate and Wine Festival had stepped in with support, and taken some of the burden off of the healthy snack program, which was able to be resumed. The students had the snacks every Thursday.

A representative from RBC Capital Markets was in attendance to discuss what his company could bring to the district with the bond issue. He reviewed information about his company and their designations, and also reviewed the bond issue process. This took about eight weeks from the time the district decided on a capital project. There would be a rating call.

He said Montrose was in a pretty good place, and they had some flexibility to structure bond issues. He reviewed bond structure and various options. Ms. Lusk asked when they would need board approval with the time line he provided. He said that was up to them. When she asked specifically about a timeline in order to begin construction in summer, it was responded that it would be good to get board approval at the April meeting.

Mrs. Boyce asked if there was any opportunity to consider a bank loan process rather than bonding. He said typically if they went over 1.5 million, a bonding made more sense. The bonding would be a fixed rate, whereas a bank could revisit the rate.

During the board agenda review, Mrs. Boyce said there were several items which needed to be added or tinkered with. For instance, there had been two additional resignations by instructional support staff.

The motion was to be made to transfer JoAnne McCain from her position at the Assistant Principal's Secretary and to employ Anne Gardner in her stead. A recall was added to the agenda, where a woman had been furloughed when the child she was with transferred to another school. She therefore had the right to first recall.

There was to be a motion to accept with regret the resignations for the purpose of retirement of Diane Cronk, Thomas Lucenti, James Fluck, and Joseph Festa.

Mr. King talked about high school curriculum course revisions. They were looking to expand a family and consumer sciences position to full-time, and to add a foods course. He thought this would be extremely beneficial to the kids. They were also looking at putting an anatomy and physiology course back into the curriculum for students interested in going into health care.

There was talk of having the part-time gifted instructor pick up the ESL instruction too. At that time there was only one student receiving ESL services. It was related that there would be no net increase in the budget due to three retirements. The cost savings from those positions would more than make up for expanding the Gifted/ESL position to full time.

Mr. Jordan asked if any consideration was given to expanding the AP curriculum. Mr. King said if he knew that was an option, he absolutely would. He was just concerned about budgetary restraints. Mr. Powers chimed in and said that they had talked about piloting an AP American History course. They had decided to hold off on this to see what the state was going to do about a potential history and civics Keystone exam. They had also talked a little bit about the possibility of adding an AP composition course for juniors. Mr. Jordan wondered if that was something they should be thinking about when it came time to do the high school budget. Mr. King said he would like to explore the matter further for the April meeting. Mr. Jordan replied that he would like him to do that. Mr. Scheer asked how many courses they currently had that fit the AP criteria. It was responded that they had six.

A reporter asked about reports of e-mail viruses and the district. It was responded viruses do flow around, but that the matter had been addressed. Mr. Owens said that he assured people that the school district was not intentionally trying to damage someone's computer. Mrs. Follert said that she knew Mr. Owens worked hard to address problems.

The board and superintendent asked the public to leave for an executive session, after which the meeting was to begin.

Susquehanna Community School District Board Directors took the following personnel actions during their regular meeting on Wednesday, March 18, 2015.

Approved the following additions to the substitute list, pending all appropriate clearances: James Tarbox, Allen Wolf - Substitute Maintenance; Erika Swanson, Kelly Iveson, Brady Stark - Substitute Bus Driver; Melissa Dubas - Substitute Teacher - Emergency Certified.

Approved hiring, pending all appropriate clearances, of the following personnel for the 2014-2015 season: Kristi Rossi, Robin Carmody, Kim Garrison, Matt Misiura - Track Helpers; Ryan Dubas - Jr. High Baseball Coach.

Approved hiring, pending all appropriate clearances, of the following personnel for the 2015-2016 & 2016-2017 years: Aaron Callender, Michael Lloyd, Jr. - High Football Coach; Paul Rooney - Assistant Varsity Football Coach; Kyle Cook - Head Varsity Football Coach; Roxann Lloyd - Football Cheerleading Advisor; Jeff Baldwin - Varsity Girls Volleyball; Jeff Hall - Cross Country Coach; Susan Day - Assistant Cross Country Coach.

Approved hiring, pending all appropriate clearances, Kevin Price - Head of Maintenance, effective June 1, 2015.

Approved, pending all appropriate clearances, volunteer John Creamer - Jr. High Softball Team, for the 2014-2015 school year. 

Accepted the following resignation: Tom Adornato - Jr. High Baseball Coach, effective February 2015.

Accepted the following Intents to Retire at the end of the 2014/2015 school year: Charlene Brieden - H.S. Special Education Teacher; Elizabeth Tingley - Elementary Teacher; and Donald Norris - Maintenance Supervisor.

Approved Sabbatical Request for the 2015/2016 school year for Robert Goodrich.

Note to readers: The phrase “pending all appropriate clearances” is directly linked to new state law, effective January 1st, requiring a heightened level of investigative background checks for all volunteers, district employees, and contractors who may come into contact with minors. “Appropriate clearances” are required upon commencement of volunteer/contractual association with the school district and every three years thereafter. It is not only government related background checks which are required, but also a check conducted by the school district with past employers of all candidates.

The Susquehanna County Commissioners announce the Courthouse will be closed on Friday, April 3, 2015 in observance of Good Friday. All court related offices will be available.

BENCH WARRANTS

The Susquehanna County DOMESTIC RELATIONS Section has outstanding BENCH WARRANT’S for the following individuals as of 10:30 a.m. on March 20, 2015

Allen S. Bowman, Michael J. Burger, Brian N. Carter, Anthony M. Choplosky, Tina M. Clark, Ronald S. Cook, Benjamin D. Fassett, Jonathan Fathi, David J. Fischer, Justin T. Giberson, Charles R. Groover, Jeremy W. Hall, Timothy M. Holmes, Lyle J. Hugaboom, Leo A. Lasuer, Todd J. Layton, Charlie J. Legere, Derrick Lezinsky, Daniel M. Mangin, Matthew J. Peters, Vincent J. Petriello, Veronica D. Phelps, Desiree L. Shifler, Tessa E. Thomas, Kurtis Tracy, Steven G. Warner, Kevin H. Welch, Kyle D. Wilbur, Jamie L. Williams, Sr. Please contact the Domestic Relations Section at 570-278-4600 ext. 4050 with any information on the location of these individuals. 

DEEDS

Michael  A. Walter & Lisa A. Fidler to Michael A. Walter 7 Lisa A. Fidler in, Springville Township for $1.00.

Mae Fannie (AKA) Federal National Mortgage Association to Christine M. Williams in, Susquehanna for $23,000.00.

Harmony Township to Harmony Township in, Harmony Township for $1.00.

Alvin Miller, Linda Miller & Alvin & Linda Miller Family Limited Partnership to Frank & Kim Passetti in, Brooklyn Township for $1.00.

Ann E. Green, Margaret M. Green, Elisabeth R. Green, & GREENHOME Farm LLP to Green H LP in, Dimock Township & Auburn Township for $1.00.

Jones, James W. (ESTATE) to Edward & Maria Taylor in, New Milford Township for $25,000.00.

Bonnie Manla to John & Amelia Humphry in, Herrick Township for $185,000.00.

Richard A. & Yvette S. Bulger to Richard A. Bulger in, Silver Lake Township for $1.00.

Thomas M. Fontana to Appalachian Basin Minerals, PENNMARC RESOURCES  II LP, Wildes Mineral Interests LLP & McCrow Energy Partners II LLP in, Gibson Township for $1.00.

Curtis S. Bynon to Appalachian Basin Minerals, PENNMARC Resources II LP, Wildes Mineral Interest LLP & McCrow Energy Partners II LLP, in Auburn Township for $1.00.

James I. Kimble (BY TAX CLAIM BUREAU), Anne M. Stark (BY TAX CLAIM BUREAU) & SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY TAX CLAIM BUREAU to Goldstein Couries LLC, in Oakland Borough for $4,500.00.

Mpmeu-Line Mortgage LLC (BY TAX CLAIM BUREAU) to Steven A. Fitzgerald in, Susquehanna for $1,642.90.

Herbert D. Syle III (BY TAX CLAIM BUREAU), Mary Jane Syle (BY TAX CLAIM BUREAU) & SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY TAX CLAIM BUREAU to Jan Moses in, Montrose for $27, 500.00.

Phoenix XXX LLC (BY TAX CLAIM BUREAU) & SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY TAX CLAIM BUREAU to Susquehanna County Housing, in Forest City For $1,799.86.

Shaindy  Meisels (BY TAX CLAIM BUREAU) to John M. Lynch III & Eileen R. Lynch in, Forest City for $714.36.

Lorraine J. Lewis (ESTATE) to Felicia Ann Decker in, Hallstead Borough for $1.00.

Kenneth VanGorder  (BY SHERIFF AKA) Kenneth Van Gorder (BY SHERRIF) in, New Milford Township for $1,507.99.

Robert C. Wert to Frank E. Spickerman, JR & Ellen D. Spickerman in, Bridgewater Township for $50,000.00.

Recycling Environmental Group Inc. to Recycling Environmental Group in, Hallstead Borough & Great Bend Township for $1.00.

Charles Barnes to John & Rebecca Kriege  in, Uniondale Borough for $77,000.00.

Joseph H. LaFrance to Chanda L. Cunningham & Bobbie L. Hollett in, Auburn Township for $1.00.

Joseph H. LaFrance (ESTATE) to Chanda L. Cunningham & Bobbie L. Hollett in, Auburn Township for $1.00.

Patricia G. Watson to Todd J. Watson & Kelly Watson (Cordaro) in, Ararat Township for $1.00.

Eric Hall (AKA) Eric A. Hall to Eric A Hall & Sherry B. Hall in, Silver Lake Township for $1.00.

Blanche Wasilewski (ESTATE), Roman T. Wasilewski, Jane D. Simons, Maryann Wasilewski Hoover, Mark E. Wasilewski & Robert A. Wasilewski to Mark E. Wasilewski in, Middletown Township for $1.00.

Edward H & Geraldine Mendel Berbaum to Mary E. Williams in, Jessup Township for $1.00.

Jill Holleran (NBM), Jill Holleran Parks & Wesley J. Parks to Cynthia Seman in, Susquehanna for $71,070.00.

Bear Swap LP to Bear Swamp LP in, Harmony Township & Lanesboro Borough for $1.00.

Christopher Colombo to Mary Colombo in, Lathrop Township for $1.00.

Annette J. Coppola (ESTATE) & John L. Coppola to John A. Coppola & John L. Coppola in, Ararat Township for $1.00.

Annette J. Coppola (ESTATE) & John L. Coppola to John A. Coppola in, Ararat Township for $1.00.

Annette J. Coppola (ESTATE) & John L. Coppola to John A. Coppola, Peter Coppola & Barbara Coppola in, Ararat Township for $1.00.

John A. Coppola to John L. Coppola in, Ararat Township for $1.00.

John A. Coppola to John L. Coppola in, Ararat Township for $1.00.

John A. Coppola to John L. Coppola, Peter Coppola & Barbara Coppola in Ararat Township for $1.00.

Austin Ivan Snyder (AKA) Austin I. Snyder to Suzanne Payer in Forest Lake Township for $1.00.

Karen VanDegriek  (BY TRUST) to PENSCO Trust Company & Karen VanDegriek (FBO) in, Great Bend Borough for $10.00.

Oil Gas & Mineral & Michael Salansky to JCC Natural GAS LLC in Gibson Township for $2,000.00.

Michael Salansky to Hayley Salansky in, Gibson Township for $1.00.

US Bank, Wilmington Trust Company & Bank of America to CR Homes LLC in, Susquehanna for $3,150.00.

Hildegard G. Peterson (ESTATE) to Janice & Patrick Hughes in, Bridgewater Township for $1.00.

Hildegard G. Peterson (ESATE) to Janice Hughes in, New Milford Borough for $1.00.

Christopher J. Boyle (BY SHERIFF ESTATE) to Bank of America (SBM), BAC Home Loans Servicing LP & Countrywide Home Loans Service in, Susquehanna for $1,187.13.

John Michael LaValle (AKA) John LaValle, Kelsey LaValle (AKA) Kelsey S. LaValle to Leah Ober in Herrick Township for $100.00.

Frantz J. & Megan E. Lincoln to Jeremy J. & Lindsey M. Williams in, Springville Township for $218,000.00.

George Wagner to George & John Wagner in, Little Meadows  Borough for $1.00.

George Wagner to George & John Wagner in, Little Meadows Borough for $1.00.

George Wagner to George & John Wagner in, Little Meadows Borough for $1.00.

Nathan A. & Mary L. Foster to Foster Irrevocable Grantor in, Silver Lake Township for $1.00.

Nathan A. & Mary L. Foster to Foster Irrevocable Grantor in, Silver Lake Township for $1.00.

Ivan & Mary Ann Guzman to First Baptist Church of Susquehanna in, Susquehanna for $1.00.

Kathleen Peritz (ESTATE) to Andrew Peritz  in, Silver Lake Township for $1.00.

Kathleen Peritz (ESTATE) to Bonnie Peritz in, Silver Lake Township for $1.00.

Kathleen Peritz (ESTATE) to Scott & Loreen Peritz in, Silver Lake Township for $1.00.

Rand D. Powers, Jr. to Randy D. Powers Jr. 7 June M. Powers in, Rush Township & Auburn Township for $1.00.

Herbert E. Roe Jr. to FREESTAR Energy Group LLC in, Auburn Township for $10.00.

Shirley A. Law to Shirley A. Law in, Oakland Township for $0.00.

Lanny T. & Joanna Leonard to Jerome A. & Nadine O. Benedict in, Jackson Township for $120,000.00.

Judith Knapp to Kelly Norton in, Silver Lake Township for $1.00.

Dennis J W  O'Donnell, Brian O' Donnell, William F. O'Donnell III & Theresa O'Donnell to Dennis j W O'Donnell, Brian J. O'Donnell, William F. O'Donnell III & Teresa O'Donnell in, Gibson Township for $1.00.

Philomina & Frank Piccione to Nancy Elizabeth Barwood in, Forest City for $28,000.00.

David J. & Leslie J. Casey to Leslie J. Casey in, Silver Lake Township for $1.00.

Stephen Robert & Kathleen Marie Curtis to Robert E. & Jennifer Fiss in, Harford Township for $82,750.00.

Stacy A. Atkinson & Mark Sheare to Crystle White in, Forest City for $90,000.00.

Thomas P. Welch (AKA) Thomas D. Welch & Karen P. Welch to Thomas D. & Karen P. Welch in, New Milford Township for $1.00.

Joseph Lee & Ashley Marie Yachymiak to Excalibur Royalty LLC in, Brooklyn Township for $28,076.00.

Karen Lee Smith Yachymiak, 32, of Montrose, PA to 5 months to 15 months in Susquehanna County Correctional Facility, pay $100 Act 198, pay $250 DNA testing fee and submit sample, pay $300 fine, pay cost of prosecution, not to possess weapons, not to have contact with anyone on supervision, receive drug and alcohol evaluation for Criminal Conspiracy/ Possession of Ingredients with Intent to Manufacture in Great Bend Township on October 18, 2014.

Robert John Laraway, 48, of Vestal, NY to 3 months to 23 months in Susquehanna County Correctional Facility, pay $500 fine, pay cost of prosecution, pay $10 EMS, pay $100 Act 198 fee, pay $300 Penn Dot fee, complete safe driving school program, receive a drug and alcohol evaluation, not to possess transport or consume alcoholic beverages, abide by Pennsylvania Ignition Interlock Law for Driving Under the Influence in Forest Lake Township on April 10, 2014.

Lynn Rebecca Hudson, 54, of Kingsley, PA to 6 months probation, pay $300 fine, pay cost of prosecution, pay $100 Act 198 fee, pay $75 Penn Dot fee, pay $10 EMS fee, complete safe driving school program, continue with drug and alcohol treatment for Driving Under the Influence in Bridgewater Township on September 24, 2014.  Ms. Hudson also received 18 months probation, pay $350 fine, pay cost of prosecution, pay $50 Criminal Justice Enhancement Act fee, not to possess transport or consume alcoholic beverages, continue with drug and alcohol treatment for Endangering the Welfare of Children in Bridgewater Township on September 24, 2014.

Herman Joseph Burris, 37, of Montrose, PA to 2 years to 7 years in a state correctional facility, pay $300 fine, pay cost of prosecution, not to possess firearms, not to have contact with minors, no to have contact with the victim for Corruption of Minors in Clifford on June 9, 2014.  Mr. Burris also received 1 year to 5 years in a state correctional facility to run consecutive to the above sentence, pay $300 fine, pay cost of prosecution, receive sexual offender treatment, not to have contact with the victim, not to have contact with minors for Corruption of Minors in Clifford on June 9, 2014.

Wilber H Tyrrell, Jr, 35, of New Milford, PA to 12 months probation, pay $300 fine, pay cost of prosecution, pay $50 Criminal Justice Enhancement Act fee, not to have contact with the victim, not to possess weapons, perform 25 hours community service for Theft by Unlawful Taking in Jackson Township on December 1, 2013.

Gary Paul Fortuner, Jr, 24, of Dalton, PA to12 months probation, pay $300 fine, pay cost of prosecution, pay $50 Criminal Justice Enhancement Act fee, pay restitution to the victim, not to have contact with anyone on supervision, not to possess transport or consume alcoholic beverages or controlled substances, perform 25 hours community service for Theft by Unlawful Taking in Forest City Borough on December 9, 2013.

Scott M Briggs, 30, of Endicott, NY to 11 months to 4 years in a state correctional facility to run concurrent to any sentence currently being served in New York state, pay cost of prosecution, pay restitution to the victim, not to have contact with the victim, pay $250 DNA testing fee and submit sample, pay $300 fine for Criminal Trespass in Silver Lake Township on August 6, 2013.  Mr. Briggs also received 9 months to 36 months in a state correctional facility to run concurrent to the above sentence and any sentence currently being served in New York state, pay $250 fine, pay cost of prosecution, pay $50 Criminal Justice Enhancement Act fee, not to have contact with the victim for Theft by Unlawful Taking in Silver Lake Township on August 6, 2013.