The Endless Mountains Visitors Bureau has announced the release of its 2016 Guide to the Endless Mountains.

The 52-page color booklet is an informational guide to the Endless Mountains Region of Northeastern Pennsylvania, covering everything from where to stay and dine, to what to see and do. The category-based layout includes informational charts for the first time this year, providing more and easier access to the details on activities, lodging, shops, eateries, scenic sites, and businesses.

Many people are drawn to the Endless Mountains of Sullivan, Susquehanna, and Wyoming counties for its rich historical background, scenic beauty and recreational and business opportunities. In the guide, the reader will find where all the local museums, monuments, and historic sites can be found. It also points out breathtaking scenic vistas and overlooks, as well as where to enrich the mind through art exhibits, music and theatre performances. The recreation and outdoor activities sections offers a variety of seasonal activities to choose from including biking, hiking, hunting, fishing, canoeing, golfing, and skiing. The annual events section brings all the fun happenings into one place to make planning a vacation or weekend adventure easy. These is also a community resources section to assist in finding a particular businesses or organizations in the area when needed.

Special articles highlight new attractions to the Endless Mountains. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints’ new Priesthood Restoration Site, located in Susquehanna County and open to the public, includes a visitors center and meetinghouse, reconstructed homes of Joseph Smith and Isaac Hale, historic woods where John the Baptist restored the priesthood, baptismal site at the Susquehanna River, a trails system, and a new statuary. A story on the Ghost Town of Ricketts will give the reader a history lesson on a community long gone. And for the kids – there’s a new interactive playground in Clifford Twp. that parents will be thrilled to bring their little ones to.

The guide also includes the winning photos from the 2015 Endless Mountains Visitors Bureau Photo Contest, as well as information on how to enter the 2016 photo contest, which is open for submissions now through September 30. This year’s main cover photo is a beautiful, meditative view of the mountains in Wyoming County, taken by Stacey Haynes, and entered in the visitors bureau’s 2012 photo contest.

To receive a free copy of the Guide to the Endless Mountains, call the bureau at 570-836-5431 or 800-769-8999, email info@endlessmountains.org, or stop by the bureau at 5405 State Route 6, Tunkhannock.

The Endless Mountains Visitors Bureau is the designated tourism promotion agency for Sullivan, Susquehanna, and Wyoming counties.

The Highmark Foundation is now accepting applications for the 2016-2017 Creating a Healthy School Environment Grant and Awards Program, which will make available a total of $375,000 for schools grades K-12 in Pennsylvania ($300,000) and West Virginia ($75,000). The goal of the program is to create healthier school environments that experience positive, sustainable and lasting change through comprehensive strategies.

"The Highmark Foundation recognizes that schools are powerful places to shape the health, safety, education and well-being of children. As a result, we created a multi-faceted program to provide them with the funding resources they need to create healthier and safer school environments," said Highmark Foundation President Yvonne Cook. "This strategy is aligned with the Highmark Foundation's mission, goals and focus, which illustrate the effectiveness of early intervention and preventive health programs."

Public, private, vocational, parochial and charter schools throughout West Virginia and Pennsylvania (excluding Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties) are invited to apply for the three offerings of the Highmark Foundation's Creating a Healthy School Environment Grant and Awards Program:

Building Sustainable and Lasting Changes in Schools grant funding ranges from $5,000-10,000 per school district to support evidence-based programs that address one of four priority areas: bullying prevention, child injury prevention, healthy eating and physical activity, or environmental health. As a requirement for funding, grant recipients must provide measureable pre- and post-program intervention status reports. Application deadline: March 18, 2016.

Advancing Excellence in School Nursing awards recognize the important role school nurses play in adolescent health and wellness. Up to six school nurses will be presented this honor, accompanied by $1,500 to be used for professional development or school resources. Application deadline: March 31, 2016.

Meeting Health Needs Through Supportive Services grants are part of a strategy to support economically disadvantaged school districts and high-needs schools with financial assistance to meet basic health requests. $75,000 will be provided to schools in $1,000 grant increments to assist with the purchase of items impacting student health. Rolling application period through Dec. 31, 2016.

Now entering its fourth year, the Highmark Foundation's Creating a Healthy School Environment Grant and Awards Program has provided more than $1.2 million of support to schools in communities served by Highmark Inc. in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

"We are pleased to continue this grant and awards program for the benefit of our children's health and education. We encourage all eligible schools to apply," said Cook.

Creating a Healthy School Environment Grant and Awards Program applications are available at: https://highmarkfoundationrfp.versaic.com. Create an account and follow the instructions to submit an application. All applications must be submitted online.

About the Highmark Foundation

The Highmark Foundation is a private, charitable organization of Highmark Inc. that supports initiatives and programs aimed at improving community health. The Foundation's mission is to improve the health, well-being and quality of life for individuals who reside in the communities served by Highmark Inc. The Foundation strives to support evidence-based programs that impact multiple counties and work collaboratively to leverage additional funding to achieve replicable models. For more information, visit www.highmarkfoundation.org.

Lackawanna Heritage Valley is pleased to announce the start of a new cycle of grant funding through its Partnership Grant Program. The program is open to members of non-profit organizations, municipal and governmental agencies, and educational institutions with proposals for projects designed to enhance the quality of life in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The deadline to apply for a Lackawanna Heritage Valley Partnership Grant is Tuesday, March 1, at noon.

This program is limited to small grants, since available funding to LHV for these programs has been cut dramatically in the past few years. Since inception, LHV has provided $3,357,576 in grant funding to organizations for projects and programs in place-based education, interpretive programming, historic preservation, cultural conservation, community trails, and community and economic development. This investment in Northeastern Pennsylvania stimulates the region’s economy, enhances tourism initiatives, strengthens community organizations, and increases the quality of life for area residents.

Eligible applicants include:

• Non-profit organizations with tax-exempt status proposing projects that preserve or promote cultural, historic, community, or natural resources, or ethnic traditions or folkways;
• Municipal and county governmental agencies; and
• Educational Institutions, including public schools and colleges and universities.
• Through this program, LHV has supported a wide variety of projects in the region, such as:
• Exhibits, interpretive displays and panels, trail signage, video and audio displays, on-site interactive media, and digital products;
• Public programming, films, activities, events, and outreach activities;
• Program materials, including training materials for docents at historic sites, publications, including brochures or guidebooks, interpretive driving or walking trails and  tours, and/or annotated itineraries;
• Preservation and adaptive reuse of historic structures, i.e. “bricks-and-mortar” work;
• Cultural conservation activities including oral history projects, conservation of traditional folkways, and artifact identification and preservation; and
• Feasibility or planning studies, management action plans, and special purpose studies.

LHV provides financial assistance to non-profit and civic organizations, heritage partners, educational institutions, and municipalities located or operated within the Lackawanna Heritage Valley, or whose projects will benefit LHV’s service area in Lackawanna County and portions of Susquehanna, Wayne, and Luzerne Counties.

LHV works with community partners on projects that conserve, preserve, and educate the public about Northeastern Pennsylvania’s historic, cultural, economic, and natural resources.

For general information about the heritage area, visit www.LHVA.org. For program guidelines and grant applications, visit www.lhva.org/grants or call 570.963.6730, extension 8200.

HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Medical Society Alliance, in conjunction with The Foundation of the Pennsylvania Medical Society, is offering multiple $2,500 scholarships to Pennsylvania residents attending an accredited Pennsylvania medical school full-time as a second- or third-year student.  Applications must be postmarked by Feb. 29, 2016.

The Pennsylvania Medical Society Alliance established the Alliance Medical Education Scholarship fund in April 2000.  These scholarship awards are possible thanks to Alliance fundraising events and contributions from its members. 

The Pennsylvania Medical Society Alliance is an organization of physician spouses from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania who are improving the health and quality of life for all people.

The Foundation of the Pennsylvania Medical Society, which administers the Alliance Medical Education Scholarship, sustains the future of medicine in Pennsylvania by providing programs that support medical education, physician health, and excellence in practice.  It has been helping to finance medical education for more than 60 years.

For an application, contact the Foundation at (717) 558-7852, or visit Student Financial Services at www.foundationpamedsoc.org. Feb. 29 is the postmark deadline for all application materials.

On Monday, January 25th, the Susquehanna Community Development Association held their first board meeting for the New Year. Re-organization was the order of the evening. Six Board Members have been retained and they are: Darlene Slocum, John Sholtiss, Judy Rood, Alice Deutsch, Carol Newman and Margaret Biegert. Darlene will continue as Secretary/Treasurer. Three new Board Members were welcomed, with those being Joni Miller, Melissa Testa, and Tammy Heller.

Joni Miller and Melissa Testa will share the position of Chairwoman until 2017. The new members are anxious to bring new ideas to the S.C.D.A. as well as helping to continue the much-anticipated yearly events, such as the “Easter Egg Hunt”, “Hometown Days”, the “5K Run/Walk” and the Christmastime celebrations in Susquehanna Depot.

At present , they are planning and organizing a “Susquehanna Community Local Event Night” which will be scheduled for the downtown area once a month over the summer. Who knows what the rest of the calendar year will hold for our area and beyond? If you are interested in joining the S.C.D.A. or volunteering your time and talents, please contact any of the Board Members.

Pictured (L-R) are: seated Co-Chairwomen Joni Miller and Melissa Testa, Board Member Tammy Heller; standing Secretary/Treasurer Darlene Slocum, Board Members, John Sholtiss, Judy Rood and Alice Deutsch.  Absent from Photo were Board Members Carol Newman and Margaret Biegert.

The Epilepsy Foundation Eastern Pennsylvania (EFEPA) is excited to launch the first ever Walk for Epilepsy in Moosic on April 30th, 2016 at PNC Field. The Walk for Epilepsy will raise awareness for the estimated 11,702 children and adults living with seizure disorders in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

The event kicks off at 10:00 am for check-in and walkers will start at 11:00 am.  Participants may choose to walk as many laps around PNC Field  as they wish to demonstrate their dedication and support. The walk is scheduled to conclude at 1:00 pm. The event is stroller and handicap.

There are many ways to get involved in the Walk for Epilepsy. Participants can register as an individual, a virtual walker or collectively as a team. Businesses and organizations are also welcome to sign up and show their support. There is no fee to register, however fundraising is crucial to the event's success.

The Walk for Epilepsy will be one of three walks occurring through Eastern Pennsylvania, designed to mobilize the local epilepsy communities to share their experiences with the public while raising funds for the Foundation's free programs and services. This includes first aid trainings for schools, law enforcement and emergency responders, a summer camp for children and support groups in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. Additional walks are scheduled for June 4th in the Lehigh Valley and June 18th in Philadelphia.

Registration is now open at www.epilepsywalknepa.org. For more information about the EFEPA visit our website, www.efepa.org.

Samson

Samson could really use a break. A long time resident, this big beautiful mastiff/lab mix has waited so long for his "special someone".  Housebroken and neutered, this 8 year old hopeful needs a home with someone that he trusts who lives alone and doesn’t have a lot of visitors.  He becomes very protective of his best friends.

Food is a main passion of his and he can be a bit testy when around it, but with love, patience, and the proper guidance from someone who has some behavioral experience with dogs, he will prove to be a loving and loyal companion.  Samson is very much loved at the shelter and craves any extra attention he gets.  We are hopeful for a miracle and that someone comes forward that is willing to give him a chance.

Our True Friends family is thrilled to be working on renovations of our back building and finally making the old space a welcoming, comfortable, and safer place for our animal friends.  If you would like to be a part of this very special project to us, monetary donations are much needed and greatly appreciated.  Your tax-deductible contribution can be dropped off or mailed to the shelter.  Please note it is for the back building fund.  Thank you so very much for your support!

Fun Fact: Notable historic figures who have owned Mastiffs including Kublai Khan, Alexander the Great, and Henry VIII.  You could be royalty too by adopting a dog like Samson.