Sarah Richard, who is in her first year of teaching at Lackawanna Trail Elementary School recently received a basket of supplies from the Beta Rho Chapter of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International.  The society is a professional honor society for women educators with more than 100, 000 members in 18 member countries.   The goal of the society is to promote professional and personal growth of women educators.

Pictured (L-R) are: Cindy Reynolds, a member of the Beta Rho Chapter of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International, and Sarah Richard, a special education teacher at the Lackawanna Trail Elementary Center.  Cindy presented the basket of supplies and goodies to Sarah as a part of the chapter’s S.EE. project, supporting early educators.

Sarah graduated from Misericordia University with a Bachelors Degree in Regular Education Pre-K to 4 and Special Education Pre-K to 8. She also has a Masters in Education from Misericordia.

Education is a challenging career and retaining quality teachers is an issue of concern worldwide.  According to Richard Ingersoll, 33% of new teachers leave the profession after only a year and 46% leave by year 5.  Teachers supporting teachers is crucial.  Early career educators need mentors and as a result, DKG International selected the support of early career educators (S.E.E.) as their project for the biennium.  Suggested ways of offering that support include: being available to support for phone calls and visits, helping with lesson plans and bulletin board ideas, offering advice on classroom management and parent-teacher relations, and providing needed supplies.

Beta Rho Chapter has members in Susquehanna, Wyoming, and Counties and has energetically taken on and supported this project.  Members were asked to purchase supplies that new teachers at any level could utilize including day care centers, preschools, and any level of education from K-12.  The chapter will continue to collect supplies and to present them to first year teachers as one way of supporting and encouraging them.

On November 9, 2017 the Nellie Jane Dewitt BPW ladies served the first dinners to raise money for the Veterans Memorial Board. Together the Lions Club and the American Legion have been raising money to update the board by holding dinners the second Thursday of each month at the American Legion in Susquehanna, PA.

Pictured are: Linda Bedford, Gay Keyes, Darlene Slocum, Jenny Bixby, Colleen Wilkes and Lori Hubal.

Each month a different club or organization donates their time to serve the dinners. Their next dinner will take place on December 14, 2017. Please come out and support a worthy cause!

The Windwood Hill Dance Academy (WHDA) recently took the overall high score at a local dance competition and is bringing its high quality dance instruction to more local communities. WHDA attended Northeast PA Talent competition in the Poconos Nov. 10-12, taking home the overall high score trophy as well as several 1st and 2nd place awards. Also, WHDA has recently acquired a new location in Montrose, PA and plans to hold an open house at the end of December. In addition to the Montrose location WHDA has opened a satellite studio in Susquehanna, PA in an effort to offer superior dance instruction to more of our local communities.

Pictured (L-R) are: Bailey Reuss, Heidi Kropff, Katelyn Farley, Breanna Graves, Jaydin Orner and Miss Bobbie Kelsey, Instructor.

WHDA offers a variety of classes including Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Modern, HipHop, Lyrical, Tumbling, Drama, Ethnic Dance including Irish Step, as well as Swing, Yoga and Zumba. Pre School to Adult, there is something for everyone. WHDA classes are fun but challenging and offer students positive reinforcement. WHDA offers many performance opportunities for their students as well. Not only do they showcase their students in an annual summer dance recital, but they present Halloween and Christmas shows and various community events such as Senior centers, local festivals and fairs, including Harford Fair.

WHDA will be presenting its Christmas Spectacular on Saturday, December 16th, 2pm at the Susquehanna Community High School Auditorium. To see a preview of this performance visit the Montrose Theater during Christmas in Montrose on December 2nd, at 2pm. WHDA is pleased to be involved in its community and with locations in Montrose and Susquehanna they look forward to even more involvement and being able to offer many awesome opportunities for its dancers.

The Susquehanna County Conservation District (SCCD) held its 70th Anniversary Banquet with over 100 people from the community attending. The SCCD was created by County Commissioner proclamation on May 12, 1947. Since that day the SCCD has endeavored to conserve the soil and water of Susquehanna County. During a delicious meal prepared by the staff of the VFW, a slide show of past pictures of District Directors, District staff, cooperators and projects reminded attendees of the past successes in conservation by the SCCD.

In a short presentation, Dairy Princess Michayla Stahl and Alternate Princess Victoria Clark extolled the virtues of dairy products for good health.

After the crowd moved to the upper level of the VFW banquet facility, District Manager Jim Garner narrated a power point timeline of the District’s 70 years.

Guest speaker Richard Fritsky spoke on Owls, Farming, and The PA Game Commission

Featured guest speakers Richard Fritsky, Wildlife Diversity Biologist with the PA Game Commission who spoke on Owls, Farming, and The PA Game Commission. Denise Coleman, NRCS State Conservationist gave a presentation on Conserving Pennsylvania’s Private Lands. Each were well received by the audience. After the speakers, the District honored several awardees for their contribution to conservation in Susquehanna County. Awards presented were:

• Envirothon Donors - Forest Lake Township, Bob Warriner (In Memory), Chief Oil & Gas, Repsol and Bluestone Gathering
  
  
• Dirt and Gravel Road Cooperator – Apolacon Township
  
  
• No-Till Cooperator - Edward Chianese

At the close of the meeting, Emcee Jim Kessler disbursed the beautiful centerpieces and presented the speakers with a gift of maple syrup.

Senators Randy Vulakovich (R-38) and Jay Costa (D-43) have introduced legislation creating a pilot program between community colleges and secondary schools to provide fire training to students.

Senate Bill 955 would provide an incentive for community colleges to establish Fire Training within secondary schools during the school year.

“The number of volunteer firefighters has decreased from 300,000 in the 1970s to 50,000 today,” said Senator Vulakovich, Chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committee.  “Many fire companies are facing severe shortages of volunteers.  We have found that if students are not joining a volunteer fire company by the time they graduate, they rarely join the firefighting ranks.  One way we can address this is to provide training to students while they are in high school.  Community colleges have been at the forefront in training future firefighters.  This legislation will help create new partnerships and ultimately train more students in firefighting before they graduate high school.”

“I’m a supporter of this bill, and of all of the work community colleges do, because I see the gaps that they are filling to prepare our young people for a wide variety of fields.  I sit on the board of the Community College of Allegheny County and I’m constantly inspired by the work that they’re doing getting students ready to attend a four-year college, or start a career,” said Senator Jay Costa, Minority Chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committee.  “Community college is an affordable, accessible way for students to start tackling any number of skills; in fact, I started my own post-secondary education in community college.  Maintaining a well-trained fire service is crucial for our safety across the state, and community colleges are a natural home for that training.  While Senate Bill 955 only creates a pilot program for this training, I have no doubt that our community colleges will rise to the challenge and exceed expectations, as they always have.”

This legislation is an offspring of the statewide Fire & EMS Study that was initiated as a result of legislation, Senate Resolution 6, which Senators Vulakovich and Costa introduced.

Senate Bill 955 has been introduced and referred to the Senate Education Committee.

Elk Lake 5th grade teacher, Jessica Lunger was presented the Susquehanna County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Association of School Retirees (PASR) Joan Peters Teacher Enrichment Grant. She will use the grant to help fund a media station in her room for students who need assistance in reading and writing. She feels that incorporating technology into the classroom may help students become self-sufficient learners.

Pictured left to right are: Gary Parker-State PASR President; Jessica Lunger-recipient; Ellen Holdredge-PASR.

The grant was awarded at the Elk Lake School District school board meeting by Gary Parker, state PASR president and Ellen Holdredge chapter Ed Support Chair.

The challenges that try rural communities in nearly all aspects of health care – greater travel distances, fewer providers, heightened health concerns, lower incomes – also stand in the way of the delivery of behavioral and mental health care services. While there is not a greater prevalence of mental illness among rural residents, a significant disparity exists in access to mental health services and care for rural populations.

In the United States, there are nearly 4,900 areas with mental health professional shortages. Of these, nearly 54 percent are classified as rural.

A mental health professional shortage area is designated as such by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in cooperation with state partners. This designation provides access to federal funds in the form of scholarships and loan repayments or enhanced reimbursements to providers and clinics for services.

Even with these incentives, it would require more than 1,600 additional mental health providers, psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors, social workers, or psychiatric nurse practitioners to meet the need in rural shortage areas alone.

Efforts to build and maintain an adequate behavioral and mental health workforce are not immune from the circumstances which confront general rural workforce development and retention initiatives.

As the topic of behavioral and mental health draws the attention of Congress and state legislatures in the aftermaths of violent acts and as a facet of the fight of the opioid epidemic, the existing disparity of behavioral and mental health care in rural America must continue to be addressed, starting with building a workforce to meet rural resident needs.

Christmas is a magical and wonderful time….especially through the eyes of a child.  No child should ever believe, “I must be ‘bad’… because Santa didn't came and leave me some gifts”. The Christmas Season has always been a time for giving and sharing.  One of the best ways to celebrate the spirit of the season is to share some of our blessings with the needy and less fortunate in our communities. There can be no better way to experience the joy of Christmas than to help a needy child enjoy the holiday with toys and gifts found under their Christmas tree.

The mission of the Kiwanis Club of Montrose Area is to “Serve the Children of Our Area”.  To help us attain that goal we are providing an opportunity to the people of Susquehanna County to join us in that mission.  For the past 37 years the Montrose Kiwanis Club has conducted an annual Christmas Toy Drive.  Last year over 600 children in our area were able to enjoy Christmas in a very special way because of the generosity of so many caring neighbors and organizations that contributed to the Toy Drive.  Over 2500 new toys and gifts were donated or purchased for the program.

The Kiwanis Club is asking for the public’s help and support again this year in this worthwhile service project.  Donations of new toys only, in the $10 to $30 range, are being solicited. Cash Donations are urgently requested and gladly accepted so that we can purchase new toys in order to meet our goal of giving at least one or two new toys to each child.  Please forward cash contributions to: Kiwanis Club of Montrose Area, P.O. Box 275, Montrose, PA, 18801. Donations can also be given to any Kiwanis Club member, or to Ed DeWitt (570-278-3537), 2017 Toy Drive Chairman.

As we enter the Christmas shopping season, please consider purchasing an extra toy or two and bring them to one of the drop-off sites.  Toys will be accepted from now until Monday, December 11, and may be dropped off at any of the following locations:  Kost Tire, 555 Grow Avenue, Montrose, The Montrose Country Club, 870 Lake Avenue, Montrose; or Susquehanna County Interfaith, 17120 Route 706, Montrose.  For additional information please contact the Montrose Kiwanis Club at 570-278-3537.

The Susquehanna County Christmas Bureau, a program affiliated with Susquehanna County Interfaith and the Salvation Army, will coordinate the registration of recipients and distribution of toys. Interfaith’s motto of“ Together We Serve” depicts their mission in our communities.  Christmas toys and food baskets will be given out on Thursday, December 21, 2017, at the Montrose Bible Conference, located on Lake Avenue in Montrose.

The Kiwanis Club of Montrose Area invites everyone to participate in this annual service project. Please help us make a Christmas dream come true for the needy children in our area.

Susquehanna Wyoming County Transportation (SWCT), operated by Trehab is the shared-ride transportation provider, sponsored by PennDot, Department of Human Services, and other agencies, for residents of Susquehanna and Wyoming Counties. Currently serving over 1,300 residents, and providing over 44,400 trips a year, SWCT is continuing to grow in many ways. Scheduled for December 4, 2017, Trehab-SWCT will be switching to a statewide transportation software system called Ecolane. PennDot initiated this statewide software to ultimately reduce costs, improve effectiveness, and create consistencies in reporting across the state of Pennsylvania.

“We are excited about this jump on technology and the features that Ecolane can offer that can improve the transportation program as we continue to grow” says Ronalyn Lewis, Transportation Program Director. Ecolane will change the way we reserve trips, schedule our drivers and trips, and how the drivers receive the information. Ecolane operates in real time, and has automated scheduling, shifting trips throughout the day to the most feasible driver and vehicle. Drivers will now receive trips on an electronic tablet, rather than the paper manifests.

Although we are expecting minimal changes for our riders, we are asking that the riders be patient with us during the transition. If yourself or someone that you know is experiencing issues or has concerns as we undertake this change in our software, please reach out to us so that we can review and take the necessary steps to address any concerns or problems.

We want to thank our riders and supporters of the program for their continued support as we become more proficient in our new software.

If you have questions or concerns, or would like to schedule a ride, please call SWCT at 570-278-6140 or email swct@trehab.org.

Senator Lisa Baker, R-20th, announced that Field Representative Tom Yoniski will be available for consultation from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 5th at the Susquehanna Depot Borough Building, 83 Erie Boulevard, Suite A, Susquehanna Depot.

He will also be available from 10 am to noon on Tuesday, Dec. 12th at the Forest City Borough Building, 535 Main St., Forest City and from 1-3 that same day at the Lenox Township Municipal Building, 2811 State Route 92.

While appointments are recommended, walk-ins are welcome.

Constituents are encouraged to visit with any questions or problems relating to state matters and no appointment is necessary though they can be scheduled. Concerns may also be addressed by visiting Senator Baker' district office at 22 Dallas Shopping Center, Dallas, by visiting her website at www.senatorbaker.com or by calling (570) 675-3931.

Bernadette (Bernie)

With her contagious smile, bubbly personality and exceptional good looks, Bernadette(Bernie) is sure to brighten up anyone's day. This loving 5 year old "Jersey Girl" is a remarkably loyal companion who is in search of a forever home where she can sparkle like the star she is. Spayed, vaccinated, and micro-chipped, Bernie is ready to head home for the holidays. Bernie's past hasn't been the best and she is hoping to leave those days behind and be the apple of her new best friend's eye. We recommend she be your one and only fur kid as this perky pittie prefers to hog all the attention. Please stop in and meet this vivacious charmer who will melt your heart and maybe find a place in it.

True Friends has started their “Santa Claus for Needy Paws” Cash Raffle. Tickets are available at the shelter for a $5 donation. Prizes include the grand prize of $1,000, 2nd prize of $250, and 3rd Prize of $100. The drawing will be help at our holiday open house, December 16th. We are also looking for friends to help us sell the tickets at their businesses, work, or to friends and family. If you are interested in helping, please stop by the shelter or email us at Petstruefriends@gmail.com.