A couple hundred people turned out under the magnificent maple trees in the park at the center of New Milford on the near-perfect evening of May 24th to enjoy music performed by 3 of Blue Ridge’s concert bands.  It was the sixth annual Concert in the Park organized by Blue Ridge music director Vincent LoRusso, who lamented that the weather hadn’t cooperated for 2 of them; this was the best so far, according to Mr. LoRusso.

All of the bands assembled together to open the event with our National Anthem:

The 6th grade concert band then played two numbers; the first, Starburst Fanfare, by David Shaffer, was conducted by Cody Messersmith of Marywood University.

The Blue Ridge 6th grade concert band

Next up was the 7th/8th grade concert band which performed a brand-new and challenging Darklands Legend Symphony by Randall Standridge.  Mr. LoRusso said that the band had been preparing the piece for several months, although the first couple of movements weren’t even written out completely until this past March.  Darkly somber in places, nearly comic in others, the band did a wonderful job on the Pennsylvania premiere of this work.

The Blue Ridge 7th/8th grade concert band

The younger players were attired in Blue Ridge red and white, with black trousers or skirts.  The high school concert band wore more formal black: tuxedos (or close to it) for the boys, and long black dresses for the girls.

Mr. LoRusso encouraged audience participation in a few of the high schoolers’ numbers, and the assembled multitude responded with rhythmic clapping – and for a verse of God Bless America by Irving Berlin, even a sing-along.  The performers seemed to be having fun on a piece called Loco Motion, by Todd Stalter, and on a medley from the Lion King, by Elton John and Tim Rice.  They closed out the evening with the magisterial Appian Way from Ottorino Resphighi’s Pines of Rome.

The Blue Ridge High School Concert Band

Along the way, Mr. LoRusso introduced 5 of his seniors who will be graduating this year, and told of their progress in music over their years at Blue Ridge.

The band booster club provided hamburgers, hot dogs, pasta salad, drinks, cookies, and especially someone’s best brownies.

A pleasant evening was had by all, almost uninterrupted by passing water trucks or other heavy equipment.  Long live the Blue Ridge Concert in the Park!

Council unanimously approved the recommendation to appoint Officer John Creamer as the new Susquehanna Borough Police Chief. Council members, along with Mayor Nancy Hurley praised Officer Creamer for his outstanding job before and after he absorbed additional responsibilities when former Chief Robert Sweet resigned without prior notice a few months ago. Councilman Roy Williams commended Chief Creamer and stated he is the right man for the job, Council and Mayor Hurley unanimously agreed. Chief Creamer's wife and children were in attendance for the appointment.

Pictured (L-R) are: front - Gianna, Chase, Lilianna; back - newly appointed Susquehanna Borough Police Chief John Creamer and wife, Melissa.

A resident brought up an issue he had with hedges he cut from the back of his property asking Council to find a solution He stated when he cut them down he called the DPW department asking if they could pick them up. He was told they couldn't pick up the yard waste because the Borough has no refuse station, and no budget to absorb the cost to transport it elsewhere. The resident asked Council if they would be able to contact Freddy's who collects the Borough's trash, to see if they would be able to add yard waste to their pick up. President Joe Varsik stated he would be able to make a call to see if this could be an option. The resident thanked Council for their assistance.

Gene Stewart from the American Legion Post 86 stated he was in attendance to submit a bid for the property at 1240 Main Street. Council received the closed bid for the purchase of the vacant lot, which will be opened at a later date.

Michele Schneider asked Council if Keystone Roofing and Contracting Company would be able to use the vacant lot at 1240 Main Street to put a dumpster, and a piece of equipment needed to fix the roof of the building next to it. She stated it would be a safer option then putting the dumpster on the street in front of the building and trying to remove the debris of the roof across the sidewalk. Council members agreed this would be a safer option, and Councilman Williams stated he would need the company to assure Council any type of damage to the curb, sidewalk, and property would be rectified. He also stated he would like to meet with the representative to make sure safeguards are in place before the work commences. Council voted unanimously to allow the lot to be used for this purpose once Councilman Williams reviews the plans with the Keystone representative.

Mayor Hurley stated she and Chief Creamer met with Senator Casey's representative Kristin Magnotta to review the needs of the Borough. She said federal funding, radio frequencies, drug abuse, high suicide rates, and grants funded on population were all concerns they have. Mayor Hurley stated the ambulance and fire company had concerns with their aging volunteers, and the lack of younger people not volunteering to continue providing service to the community.

Council unanimously approved advertising for two additional officers to take over the shifts Officer Creamer has vacated with his appointment to Chief. President Varsik said the part-time officers would each work a sixteen-hour shift per week. He said it was already budgeted, and no additional funding was necessary.

Mr. Whitehead stated he would like to thank Kevin from DPW for the curb by the garage. He appreciates the work the DPW crew does for the community.

Councilman John Hendrickson stated having the power outage was a trying experience for some, and more disconcerting for others. He said residents should consider the experience a good learning tool, and to see what improvements could be made in their household to be ready for future occurrences.

Three bids were received for a generator to power the Borough building, not including the Library. Three vendors submitted proposals opened during the meeting and reviewed by Council. Council voted unanimously to accept the lowest bid provided by Steve's Electric located in Susquehanna.

President Varsik stated Council has been working with Carson Henrich for several months to update the Zoning Ordinance. The final draft was received, reviewed, and the next step is to send a copy to the Susquehanna Planning and Development Commission for review. Council unanimously approved the document to be delivered to the Planning Commission for review. President Varsik stated after the Susquehanna Planning and Development review the next step is to hold a public hearing on the Ordinance, advertise, and then adopt. The Zoning Ordinance should be ready for adoption at the July 13th meeting.

Councilwoman Deborah Zayas stated she was very disappointed with the outcome of the Great American Clean-up the Borough organized. She said the DPW crew hand delivered flyers to multiple local residents and it was a shame more people didn't take advantage of the free disposal. Councilwoman Zayas thanked the DPW crew and Codes Enforcement for the work they put into this event.

Judith Herschel attended the meeting to provide an update to Council and the Mayor on the Ira Reynolds Riverfront Park project. She said two species of molluscs was found at the river, and reassurances needed to be made that the molluscs will be protected during the project. Ms. Herschel stated since the project does not go down to the river, requested reassurances would not be an issue. She said the project is moving along; soon they will see things happening with the clearing and the removal of a building on the site.

Joe Bucci sent a flyer to Council with information about the 4th Annual Hometown Days Run/Walk event that will be taking place in conjunction with Hometown Days on July 15th. This event will benefit the SCDA programs within the Susquehanna Community. You can find more information, or register for the event at www.susquehannaborough.com.