Susquehanna Community School District Directors normally have a heavy schedule at their December meeting. December is their month to reorganize, to pass their Act 1 Resolution, and to renew various Memoranda of Understanding (MOU). But at the District's December 7, 2016 meeting, an announcement of potentially vast significance-to students present and future-was made. On hand to make that announcement were local residents Warren S. DeWitt, MD, and Nancy DeWitt.

Both Dr. and Mrs. DeWitt are alumni of Susquehanna Community High School, as well as lifelong residents of Susquehanna Depot. Those ties, no doubt, played a huge role in their and their family's decision to establish the "DeWitt Family Health Care Education Scholarship." According to a news release provided by the DeWitt Family, the purpose of the scholarship is "to further health care education for students of the Susquehanna Community High School going on to higher education. We hope that some of our scholarship recipients will return to the Susquehanna Community area to assist in promoting excellent health care in our community."

The scholarship, as outlined by Dr. DeWitt before the school board, will be for a maximum period of four years and to a maximum amount of $20,000 per year. The scholarship award may be used at either Binghamton University (BU) or SUNY Broome Community College. The award may be used for a four-year degree at BU or for a two-year degree program at SUNY-with or without transfer to BU for pursuit of a four-year degree. Dr. DeWitt noted that there are several collaborative agreements between SUNY Broome and BU which opportunities students may wish to access.

School Directors-Steven Stanford, Evelyn Cottrell, Lori Canfield, Amanda Cook, Ashley Depew, Carol Jackson, Jamie Koziol, Martha Stanford, and Clay Weaver-all present at the meeting, roundly applauded the DeWitt family's generous philanthropy and the unprecedented opportunities which will avail to qualifying SCHS students. Likewise, Superintendent Bronson Stone lavished praise on the new scholarship award and the DeWitt family's commitment and foresightedness.

Additional commitment and foresightedness were demonstrated by school directors who disposed of their annual reorganization meeting in record time. Steven Stanford was returned to the President's office by unanimous vote. Like-wise, Vice-President Clay Weaver was unanimously reelected for another term. The Era of Good Feeling continues to prevail at SCSD.

Also by unanimous vote, the Board approved their "Taxpayer Relief Act" (a.k.a. "Act 1") Resolution which provides the formal and legal agreement by the Board to limit any tax increase to the inflation index provided by the Department of Eduction. That index for 2017-2018 is 3.7%. The Board's approval certifies that any tax at a rate equal to or less than the rate of the index is sufficient to balance the district's budget for the 2017-2018 school year.

School Directors approved their Meeting Schedule for 2017. It will, of course, be advertised separately elsewhere. But briefly, it can be summarized as follows. The Board will meet on the third Wednesday in the months of January through June, September, and October, as well the first Wednesday in August and December, for a total of 10 meetings for the year. (No meetings are scheduled for the months of July and November.) All meetings are held at 7 p.m. at the Administrative Office of the Elementary School. Information and Deliberation (Work) sessions will be held on each Tuesday preceding the 10 scheduled monthly meetings.

Among the MOUs approved by the school board were those between SCSD and Wayne County Children & Youth Services, and SCSD and Susquehanna County Children and Youth Services. Each MOU addresses transportation procedures for children placed within foster care program as required by Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). As Superintendent Stone explained these MOUs, the district will continue to provide education and transportation for students who are temporarily residing outside of the district's boundaries due to foster care. Such cases, he explained, are not numerous. And those that do occur are usually short-term (less than 30 days). In the event a student should be in foster care outside the district for longer than 30 days, guidelines specify that the district will continue to monitor the situation and make periodic determinations as to what is in the best interest of the student.

High School Principal Carmella Bullick reported on a wide-ranging array of student and faculty activities going on in her building. Included in her narrative was the upcoming school-wide student service day scheduled to be held the day before students leave for Christmas break. She noted that most service projects will take place on campus, rather than off-campus, due to uncertainty of weather conditions at this time of year. Mrs. Bullick also noted that not only does the school have a Saber Spirit Closet, but also a Community Closet. The Community Closet provides clothing to students in need. Donations of gently-used clothes are sorted by season. Warm weather clothing is currently in storage, but winter-appropriate clothing is made available for students who may be in need (or needing a change of clothes due to Dress Code Violation).

At 7:45 p.m. the board adjourned after a longer-than usual, but very productive, meeting. Business Manager Gary Kiernan, ever the gentleman, swung into action serving up cinnamon-icing cupcakes worthy of the expression, "to die for!" Look for the school board's next meeting at 7 p.m. on January 18, 2017.

Supervisor Susan Jenkins motioned to adopt the budget for 2017, Supervisor Alex Komar second the motion, and Supervisor Rick Wademan made it unanimous at the Thompson Township meeting held on Wednesday, December 7th.

Thompson Township hosted a Backhoe Display Show at the Township building with five vendors on November 17th, and attendees came from thirteen townships to view the equipment.  Supervisor Komar said the township purchased a Case wide track backhoe for fifty-eight thousand eight hundred dollars.  They traded in the 2010 John Deere 310SJ which they purchased in 2012.  The backhoe comes with a one-year full service, and a three-year service plan.  Supervisor Komar said the best part was obtaining a two point nine percent interest rate.

The Emergency Management Agency (EMA) report was given by Susan Jenkins who said two events are coming up that they should attend.  On December 9th, at 9:30 a.m. there is an Active Shooter presentation to be held at the Blue Ridge High School, which Supervisor’s Komar and Wademan will be attending.  The other event, a Winter Weather Exercise, will be held on December 14th in Montrose. 

Three bids were received for the heating oil and diesel fuel.  Ace-Robbins Inc., out of Tunkhannock supplied a price of one dollar and sixty-nine cents for the diesel fuel, and one dollar and sixty-two cents for the heating oil.  Falcon supplied a price of one dollar and eighty-six cents for heating oil, and two dollars and eighty-three cents for the diesel fuel. Mirabito supplied a price of two dollars and six cents for heating oil, and two dollars and two cents for diesel fuel.  Based upon the pricing supplied by the vendors it was unanimously approved to choose Ace-Robbins Inc. as the provider for both heating oil and diesel fuel.

The Supervisors signed an agreement with Starrucca Borough, located in Wayne County, to provide them with snow plowing and cindering for Bucks Fall Road.  The agreement stated Starrucca would pay Thompson Township a total price of five hundred seventy-two dollars for this service.

Thompson Toddlers, a non-profit organization formed thirteen years ago sent a request to the Supervisors to donate to the Christmas dinner.  The donation would go towards providing Christmas cheer to area children of less fortunate families.  On December 10th, at the Freedom Lodge, Thompson Toddlers will provide a dinner to families, gifts to be opened on Christmas for the children and a food basket for the family.  The Supervisors will be donating one hundred and fifty dollars to this charity benefit.

The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 3rd at 7:00 p.m.

A deeply polarized council approved Starrucca Borough's proposed budget for 2017 at its Monday, December 5, 2016, regular meeting. Council President Kirk Rhone was joined by Councilmen Art Kopp and Charles Levchak to push through the new spending plan. Councilmen Lou Gurske and Jason Heeman voted against the budget; Councilmen Darl and Donald Haynes, Jr., abstained from voting.

The 2017 budget balances out at $61,979, as opposed to 2016's balance point of $57,294. Notably, the new budget requires no increase in millage. Over $4,300 of that increased spending is for road and bridge maintenance. On the revenue side of the ledger, Liquid Fuels monies are projected to increase by $3,100. The remaining $1,200 increase in spending for road maintenance was offset by transferring the expense of street lighting from liquid fuels to the General Fund.

General Fund spending year-over-year increased from $36,462 to $38,351. Major changes in annual expenditures are projected for the following line items:

- Solicitor Fees to decrease from $5,500 to $1,781.

- Secretary Supplies to increase from $200 to $800.

- Street Lighting (formerly paid out of Liquid Fuels) to increase from $$1,223 to $1,500.

- Loan Payment to increase from $8,905 to $13,325.

The Treasurer's Report, presented by Secretary/Treasurer Keith Payne, passed unanimously. It showed a General Fund opening balance of $17.962.88 on 7 November, and a closing balance of $13,544.68 on 5 December. December bills to be paid out of the General Fund totaled $2,576.77-excluding Lavery Law's final bill of $10,774.08. President Rhone motioned to pay all bills-excluding Lavery Law's invoice. Councilmen Kopp and Levchak joined him in voting approval. Councilmen Gurske and Heeman opposed; both Haynes councilmen abstained from the vote.

During the course of the meeting inquiries were made concerning the borough's progress on applying for a loan for its unfunded debt obligations. Secretary Payne reported that the borough's solicitor had not yet supplied the requested procedural advice. Consequently no action has been taken on that front. Meanwhile, Lavery Law had emailed the borough to remind that the firm's fee had not yet been paid. Council voted to direct Secretary Payne to make reply to Lavery Law advising them of the current situation. Councilman Gurske voiced his opposition to the action. In doing so, he asserted that the borough should have already paid Lavery's final invoice.

Former Council President-now private citizen-Jack Downton asked assorted questions and made observations during the Public Participation Phase of the meeting. Levels of tenseness and surliness seemed to rise appreciably while Mr. Downton held the meeting's floor. The following quoted exchange gives readers some insight into how that went:

JACK DOWNTON: I'm asking council, why did they award $100,000 to you, Mr. Haynes?

DARL HAYNES: Talk to Mr. Gurske; he was there . . . when there was mediation [May 25, 2016].

JACK: Lou voted no, I do believe.

DARL: Lou agreed to everything in mediation, Jack . . . because I was there.

LOU GURSKE: Mediation! When it came to a vote, I voted no.

DARL: Right, but if you go back to mediation.

LOU: MEDIATION IS MEDIATION! It has nothing to do with how I vote.

PRESIDENT RHONE: [restoring order].

LOU, (looking at Darl): I did not want you to get that money, PERIOD. Your whole case and lawsuits are irrelevant and bogus!

Relevant matters as to the Community Hall did come up. The hall will be getting a new "smart" meter, courtesy of Penelec. Say good-bye to the old analogue meter! Councilman Kopp reported mission completion for the building's winterization. And council agreed to contact its fuel supplier to top off for the winter.

For the ninth consecutive month President Rhone asked for a borough resident to volunteer for service as Emergency Management Coordinator. For the ninth time his call fell on deaf ears.

Secretary Payne read the felicitous news that Wayne Conservation District had agreed to fund the eligible costs of dirt, gravel, and low-volume road maintenance for Penn Hill Road to a maximum not to exceed $199,000. If on the basis of need the borough makes application for additional funds the Conservation District can, at its discretion, grant up to an additional 20 percent for funding of the project. Good news, indeed.

Further good news was the renewal of Thompson Hose Company's 2017 Fire Protection Contract. No millage increase is required for payment, and the contract cost for Starrucca Borough remains at the rate set for the 2016 contract year.

Before ending the meeting, Mayor Mary Ann DeBalko took a moment to commend Secretary/Treasurer Payne for his outstanding level of performance. All Councilmen joined in unanimous agreement on that well-deserved recognition of Mr. Payne.

Councilman Darl Haynes, joined by all other borough officials, additionally thanked the following for their commendable services to the borough:

- Preston, Scott, Thompson, and Harmony Townships;

- Chris Miller; and

- Gilleran Lawn Services.

At 7:45 p.m. Council finished tying up this year's business. The next regularly-scheduled monthly meeting will be in January 2017.

Reorganization was the quickest of three sessions the Blue Ridge School Board packed into a relatively brief sequence on the evening of December 5th.  Chris Lewis was chosen for a second year as president (he even presided as “temporary” chair over his own nomination and election).  Edward Arnold becomes vice president.  Members approved a meeting schedule for next year that differs little from tradition.  And then they adjourned.

But that wasn’t all there was to it.  The evening opened with a meeting of the Board’s Facilities & Grounds Committee, chaired by Mr. Arnold.  Maintenance Supervisor Ron Cranage went over some of the work his staff has completed recently.  He took the opportunity to thank Dennis Lewis for donating his time and experience on maintaining the district’s ballfields, which got 53 tons of “infield mix topsoil and other material” to prepare them for winter and the spring sports to come.

Mr. Cranage described a 7-hour blackout at the school on November 28 caused by a downed powerline somewhere.  The district’s generators kicked in to maintain power to critical systems.  However, the committee discussed what might happen during a particularly cold spell since the mechanisms that feed the biofuel furnace are not backed by the generators.  Mr. Cranage didn’t think such an event would be disastrous if it didn’t continue too long.  The district is considering adding another generator to its arsenal to fill in where the others lack.

Mr. Cranage also recommended that the Board consider the purchase of a replacement for the 17-year-old Ford 550 dump truck, mainstay of the district’s snow removal and salting fleet.  He said that, while the motor is still good, the dump box has deteriorated; he said it likely could make it through only one more winter.  A new equivalent truck might cost upwards of $60,000.  None of the committee members were inclined to consider a used truck as a replacement.

So add a new truck and another generator to the list of big ticket items that already include renovated parking lots and 20-year-old rooftop HVAC units, and next year’s budget looms.

Mr. Arnold’s focus recently has been the security assessment conducted by the State Police recently.  Superintendent Matthew Button offered a spreadsheet detailing all of the recommendations with associated costs and priorities.  He said that staff would be asked to plan out responses over the next several months.

Following the reorganization session, the reconstituted Board met to approve Jim Barbour as Girls’ Basketball Assistant and JV coach.  But it was Mr. Lewis’s additional items that aroused the most interest.

Mr. Lewis reported that discussions with the group organizing something called the Susquehanna County Recreation Center to lease or sell some of the district’s property for the proposed facility will soon conclude with recommendations for the community.  He said that at least 2 “town hall” meetings would be scheduled to present the program to the public; one of them may be as soon as January 18, 2017.  Letters about the proposal will be sent to all district residents, and notice of the hearings will be widely advertised in advance.

Mr. Lewis then said that Board member Christina Cosmello has broached the idea of creating something to honor long-time Blue Ridge Athletic Director Jill Hoffman.  Mr. Lewis himself suggested that the idea, for example, of naming an athletic field for Ms. Hoffman might appear to single her out from among the many who have dedicated long years to the district.  A number of ideas were offered: perhaps a temporary uniform patch, or an annual athletic award, with a plaque placed near the gym. Student Representative Dane Beers said that Ms. Hoffman touched the lives of everyone at Blue Ridge.  Mr. Button will present a list of the ideas to the Board for future consideration.

So ended 2016 for the Blue Ridge School Board.  The next public meeting is scheduled for Monday, January 16, 2017.  All meetings begin at 7:00pm, usually in the cafeteria in the Elementary School (whose new floor, by the way, shows no evidence of its recent demolition and replacement).  Consult the district’s website for the latest information. One meeting each month is usually designated as a workshop that often features a delicious soup for sustenance (menu not available in advance). 

Susquehanna Community School District Directors took the following personnel actions during their regular meeting on Wednesday, December 7, 2016.

Approved hiring for the following positions for the 2016-2017 seeason: Donna Jo Decker – JH Girls Assistant Basketball Coach; Dori Spencer – Boys Varsity Basketball Clock.

Approved hiring of the following Substitutes: David Osterhout & Sean Branning – Substitute Maintenance; Kim Harris Keyes - Substitute Bus Aide for the 2016-2017 school year; James McAllister, Jr. - Substitute Driver for the 2016-2017 school year.

Approved Jennifer Stone to serve as School Volunteer for the 2016-2017 school year.