The Harford Fire Hall was the venue for the annual Bluestone Association Dinner held on Saturday, April 16. The PA Bluestone Association was created in 1968 and is dedicated to the improvement of the bluestone industry.  The heart of the bluestone is in Susquehanna County, and the Association currently has approximately seventy-one members.

Dignitaries of the Association are: Todd Schmidt, President/Director; Edward Green III, Vice President/Director; Marty Evans, Treasurer/ Director; Jennifer Schmidt, Secretary; Butch Coleman, Director; Mike Fabrizi, Director; Charlie Wage, Director; Jim Marcy, Director; Bill Albert, Director; and Bill Ruark, Director.  Once a month they meet to keep up with the rules and regulations, and to be the voice of the industry.

Director Butch Coleman welcomed everyone to the dinner and introduced the dignitaries that were present.  He introduced the first speaker who was Commissioner Alan Hall.  Commissioner Hall said a few words about the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) stretching themselves out a little too far, then provided an update on what was going on in Susquehanna County.  He said there are good opportunities, good jobs, and he’ll always be there for the bluestone family.

Next Director Coleman welcomed County Commissioner Jonathan Fritz from Wayne County.  Commissioner Fritz gave a little background on himself, and said he came from a background of well drillers.  He went on to say where and how he grew up, and instead of his following in the family business, he chose politics.  Commissioner Fritz said he is pro-business and an anti regulation candidate running for State Representative.

Ethan Demi and Travis Rupert, from Hunts for Healing were the next speakers Director Coleman welcomed.  Mr. Demi provided a little background for the Hunts for Healing Group, informing everyone that it was founded in 2009 for the post 911 veterans returning from military missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.  The group is run entirely by volunteers who provide the meals, deer hunts, bird hunts, and fishing at a lodge in Laceyville, which is normally a five-day event.  They provide transportation for the veterans, hunting licenses, and guns at absolutely no charge.    Mr. Demi stated they don’t have to be physically wounded; in fact most of the people that come have PTSD.  Travis Rupert informed everyone that he was a veteran serving seven years of active duty, deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, and spoke about Hunts for Healing and what a great organization it is.  The goal is to help the veterans take positive steps towards a successful future and it was a great help for him.  For more information on the Hunts for Healing visit their website: www.huntsforhealing.com.

Director Coleman then welcomed Katrina Covin-Stilts, the Leatherstocking Marketing Representative.  Ms. Stilts said she had a presentation all prepared, but due to the unfortunate press release for New Milford, she decided not to conduct a presentation, but to speak about the circumstances regarding Leatherstocking’s decision to delay the gas supply to the town.  Ms. Stilts stated the reasons for the hold, and spoke about the one project that was still moving forward in South Montrose.  She then took questions from the audience.

Todd Schmidt presented the President’s Address, by going over the Pennsylvania Code for noncoal mining.  President Schmidt stated years ago the quarries were able to obtain their own permits, but now the regulations are so defined that an engineer must complete all the documents.  He went over the past and present documents required by DEP, and stated the turnaround time can range from three months, which is the earliest, to years before a permit is granted.  President Schmidt said Bluestone was the second largest industry in Susquehanna County before the gas industry came in, and tourism is the first.

Left, John Kowalewski receipient of the Lifetime Membership Award; Right, Director Butch Coleman

The Lifetime Membership Award was presented to John Kowalewski at the meeting. The other award went to Cortland Birchard who was not present at the dinner.

A basket raffle was held, and the proceeds of one thousand seven hundred and fifty-five dollars were donated to Hunts for Healing.

For more information on the Bluestone Association check out their website: www.pabluestoneassoc.com.

James Bond

Meet James Bond, a big friendly fellow who is neutered, litter pan trained, and in need of a special home. James, who doesn't really care if his food is shaken or stirred as long as it is nutritious, has tested positive for FIV. He will need to be the only king of his castle and will require a conscientious owner who is willing to give him the best of care to keep him comfortable and happy. Only 2 years old, James deserves a chance to enjoy life in a loving home where he will be pampered and cherished for the wonderful boy he is.  If you can open your heart to a truly needy kitty, please stop by and ask for “Bond, James Bond”.  Our dashing and charming superhero.

If you haven’t already, please check out our beautiful new website, truefriendsawc.com that makes volunteering, adopting, and donating very easy.

A very big thank you to everyone with the Elk Lake Elementary PTO and students who once again included us in their amazing Science Fair!  Thank you all for the generous donations!

Fun Fact: Half the world's cats don't respond to catnip. Sensitivity to it is inherited and cats with only cat nip sensitive parents have a one in two chance of developing the sensitivity.  So forget the cat nip and give your kitty some cuddles instead.

The Lathrop Township, Historical & Genealogical Society (LTH&GS) held their first meeting of the year on 10 April 2016.

The group was founded to preserve the history of Lathrop, Hop Bottom and other areas in Susquehanna County.

The fall meeting on the 9th of October we will have an open house and invite the public to come share the history we have amassed. Last year we were pleased to have on display various items and photos of the Martin’s Creek and Tunkhannock Creek Viaducts. This October we will be presenting three areas of interest. The first are the books of various local authors. Most have passed on but the information they chose to put on paper and preserved for us is priceless. The Blackman and Stocker Histories of Susquehanna are a tremendous source of information and can still be purchased at the Susquehanna Historical Society in Montrose.

The next subject will be information on DNA testing and the value of it when searching for your family history. We are planning on having a person available that has extended knowledge in this field. This is a valuable field for all genealogists and amateurs as you search your past history.

The third item of the day will be cemeteries. There will be listings of many of the Susquehanna County Cemeteries and near-by Wyoming County.

There will be items and photos of interest on display. If anyone has any they would like to share please bring them along.

The book of local history done last year by the society “Days Gone By” is still available. There is a new book in progress of the six one room school houses of the area. We are asking that anyone that has photos of the schools or any of the students of the Hop Bottom or Lathrop area to please share them with us. The proceeds of this book will go toward the placing of a monument in Hop Bottom that will represent WWII veterans. The sign that was there is no longer around. Eventually other monuments will be placed to note the veterans of the wars since that time. It is so necessary that each and every veteran be remembered of every war.

Contact the president Helen Janesky at 570-289-4311 or e-mail lathrop@epix.net for more information or if you have information to share.

The next meeting will be May 8th at 1:30 and will take place at the Union Grange #152, located at 2590 SR 2002 Hop Bottom, at the end of Lakeside. You do not have to be a member to attend.

April 22, 2016 was Earth Day so let’s get planting. Over the next five years, as Earth Day moves closer to its 50th anniversary help yourselves and the planet by planting native trees and fruit, berry and nut trees and shrubs. Planting trees will make a significant and measurable impact on the Earth and will serve as the foundation of a cleaner, healthier and more sustainable planet for all.

Why Trees? Trees help combat climate change. They absorb excess and harmful CO2 from our atmosphere. In a single year, an acre (209’ x 209’) of mature trees (70 to 150 per acre) absorbs the same amount of CO2 (carbon dioxide) produced by driving the average car 26,000 miles. Trees help us breathe clean air. Trees absorb odors and pollutant gases (nitrogen oxides, ammonia, sulfur dioxide and ozone) and filter particulates out of the air by trapping them on their leaves and bark.

Trees help communities, both human and plant. Trees help communities achieve long-term economic and environmental sustainability and provide food, energy and income.

Plant a tree. Make a donation. Activate your friends and social networks. 

There are many organizations that help get trees to your area by providing springtime tree sales, tree planting information, what types of trees grow best in your local area. Organizations such as County Soil and Water Conservation Districts, wildlife habitat organizations, State Forestry Bureaus, private forestry associations such as the Susquehanna County Forest Land Owners Association (SCFLOA) (scfloa.wordpress.com) and private groups such earthday.org - #trees4earth and the long established Arbor Day Foundation. Local plant nurseries, stores and feed and grain companies are also sources of trees, plants, information and more.

Keeping your garden looking its best throughout the growing season and into fall is possible with the help of low maintenance spring planted bulbs. Plant them in spring among other annuals or perennials and watch as these bulbs brighten the garden, adding new life to your late season gardens.

Whether your gardens and containers are in full sun or shade you’ll enjoy the attractive foliage and pop of color that dahlias, cannas, calla lilies, caladiums and elephant ears will add to the landscape.

Calla lilies, like ‘Night Cap’ with its black flowers and the white blooms of ‘Crystal Clear,’ are spring planted bulbs that thrive in full sun or part shade and can be cut to create an elegant display indoors. Photo credit: Longfield Gardens

These easy care plants reward you with loads of beauty. Just plant, water and enjoy. Quality online retailers like Longfield Gardens (longfield-gardens.com) offer the greatest variety of color, shapes and sizes as well as planting and care instructions.

Grow dahlias in sunny areas with at least six hours of sunlight for the best floral display. Simply plant the tuberous roots four to six inches deep with the stem facing up after the danger of frost has passed.

Use dahlias in a cutting garden or as an attractive screen along fences and property lines. Use the shorter more compact border dahlias, like ‘Gallery Pablo’ in containers on your patio, balcony or deck where you and the hummingbirds will enjoy their blooms.

Wait until the danger of frost has passed to plant cannas in a full sun to partially shaded locations. Plant the canna rhizomes horizontally two to three inches deep with the growing point facing up. Take advantage of their bold foliage and use cannas as a backdrop in the flower border or screen in the landscape. Use as a vertical accent in a large container or select dwarf varieties for smaller pots.

Calla lilies are another spring planted bulb that thrives in full sun or part shade. The speckled foliage adds color to the garden all season long. Include these one- to two- feet-tall plants in the front or middle of the flower garden or as a vertical accent or filler in a pot. And don’t forget to cut a few flowers to enjoy indoors. The black flowers of ‘Night Cap’ teamed with the white blooms of ‘Crystal Clear’ create an elegant display.

Like the other bulbs, wait for the danger of frost to pass before planting them outdoors. Plant the knobby rhizomes two to four inches deep with the growing point facing up.

Add some color and plenty of wow factor to shaded areas with the foliage of caladiums and elephant ears. These tropical beauties thrive when soil and air temperatures are warm. Wait for the danger of frost to pass and the soil to warm, 65 to 70 degrees, before planting them in the garden.

Use caladiums to brighten containers, dress up window boxes or edge a shady pathway. The colorful leaves stand out amongst the greens of shade gardens. Team variegated varieties with complimentary colored begonias, coleus or impatiens.

Include elephant ears in the garden or containers. Their large heart shaped leaves give a tropical feel to the patio, deck or pool area. Consider planting one, two or more to create an impressive welcome for guests or a bold statement in the landscape. They pair nicely with caladiums, coleus and other shade loving plants.

Make this the best season yet with the help of spring flowering bulbs. You’ll enjoy the variety and late season color these easy care plants provide. 

Melinda Myers has over 30 years of gardening experience and has written over 20 gardening books, including Small Space Gardening. She hosts The Great Courses “How to Grow Anything: Food Gardening For Everyone” DVD set and the nationally syndicated Melinda’s Garden Moment TV & radio program. Myers is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine and was commissioned by Longfield Gardens for her expertise to write this article.

I’ve been planting trees for deer habitat management since I started helping my dad when I was about 10 years old. I’m in my 40s now and still planting them. I’ve learned a lot about tree planting and made plenty of mistakes in that time. Whenever the subject comes up, friends who hunt always have a lot of questions about which trees to plant and how, so I decided to compile a list of my most useful tips, based on experience, for planting trees for deer hunting.

 1) Plant native tree species. Avoid non-native invasives like autumn olive. Some of these species do have wildlife benefits, but there are always native alternatives that are just as good or better. Choose those.

 2) Buy tree seedlings from a nursery that is in or near your climate zone and physiographic region. Trees that are adapted to your climate and soils are more likely to survive and thrive than varieties from far-flung regions.

 3) Plant the trees you don’t have. Evaluate your existing hunting area and determine which tree species are already common (don’t plant more of those) and which tree species are under-represented or absent. Fill in the gaps. 

 4) There is no single tree species that is the magic tree for deer. Diversity will always win this fight. Plant a diversity of trees of different kinds (hard mast and soft mast, plus various species in each group).

 5) Oaks fall into two major families: white oaks and red oaks. Both groups have advantages, so look for both groups when evaluating your tree needs. 

 6) You have a choice between bareroot seedlings (pulled out of the soil) and containerized (the roots are in soil in a tubelike container or pot). Bareroot are cheaper, but containerized enjoy slightly higher survival rates because there is no root damage in the transfer process. I have always ordered bareroot seedlings, and survival has been satisfactory because we follow all of the rest of the tips shown here.

 7) Order and plant trees in winter or early spring when seedlings are dormant. You get much higher survival on transplanted seedlings when you move them while they’re dormant.

 8) Once your seedlings arrive, get them in the ground as soon as possible. If you have to wait a few days to plant, keep the roots moist and store the seedlings in a cool, dark location in the meantime. Root damage is the critical factor in transplant survival. If the roots dry out, your seedling is dead.

 9) Use tree shelters on every seedling. These plastic tubes are worth the extra expense because they protect the young seedlings from browsing and rubbing by deer. They also encourage vertical growth over horizontal branching until the seedling grows beyond the reach of deer and ground-level plant competitors.   

 10) Plant in full sunlight. The more sun and space your seedlings have, the faster they will produce large, healthy crowns and the sooner they will produce mast.

 11) Dig holes only deep enough to accommodate the roots or root ball of the seedlings. Digging deeper and back-filling may result in settling, and the seedling’s roots need to remain close to ground level. Backfill only with the native soil you took from the hole.

 12) Don’t fertilize seedlings. Tree seedlings require little or no fertilization, and it is actually easy to kill seedlings if you put down too much fertilizer. Sunlight, space, the right amount of moisture, and limited competition will do the most for tree growth and mast production. Put the fertilizer on your food plots.

 13) Protect the roots. Do not plant trees in the middle of food plots unless you leave a no-disk buffer around the seedling that extends at least as far as the horizontal reach of the branches. Disking underneath a tree cuts feeder roots that are near the surface, stressing and injuring the tree. Most eventually die from repeated root damage by disk harrows.

 14) Plant trees in huntable-sized orchards, with about 30 feet of space between hard mast trees and 20 for fruit trees.

 15) Remember the saying: “Sleep, creep, leap.” Your seedlings will likely appear to sleep the first growing season, creep the second, and start leaping by the third. They’ll do even better if you return each year and control surrounding plants that are competing for sunlight, soil moisture and nutrients.

Good luck with your deer orchards, and good hunting!

Sen. Lisa Baker, R-20th, is once again calling on area shutterbugs and asking them to participate in the 3rd annual “Scenes from the 20th Senatorial District” Photo Contest, which has kicked off this month.

“I am asking residents in the district to grab their cameras and head out into their backyards, state parks and elsewhere to click away and share your slice of the 20th Senatorial District with everyone,” Baker said. “Whether it’s that historic stone church you drive by each day or an eagle swooping down for a fish in the river, the annual Memorial Day parade or a school event, I urge each of you to share the sights and scenes of this picturesque corner of Pennsylvania.”

Last year, more than 200 photographs were entered and nearly 23,000 votes were cast to select the winning entries.

“I am confident there will be even more interest this year,” Baker said, noting that the contest’s popularity has continued to increase. The theme of this year’s contest is “Seasons” and the top three photos selected by the public in each of the four seasons will garner a month during that season in the 2017 calendar.

Contestants can view the rules and submit their favorite photographs by going to http://www.senatorbaker.com/photo-contest/ through September 15, 2016. The 12 photos receiving the most votes will serve as a featured month in the 2017 “Scenes from the 20th Senatorial District” Calendar. Voting will begin September 16, 2016, and voters will be permitted to cast one vote per IP address per day through October 14, 2016.

The contest is open to everyone, but photos must have been taken in the 20th Senatorial District, which includes all of Pike, Wayne and Wyoming counties and portions of Luzerne and Susquehanna counties.