County Living

On May 24th at St. Paul's Episcopal Church Hall in Montrose, Kyleigh Jones became the 2019/2020 Susquehanna County Dairy Princess.

Kyleigh is the daughter of Brad and Anna Jones and lives near Susquehanna. Kyleigh is sixteen years old, a student at Susquehanna Community School just completing her sophomore year of high school. At school Kyleigh participates in volleyball, softball and is a basketball cheerleader. Kyleigh is an active mentor at her school and a Student Council executive board member.

Kyleigh enjoys working on the Harris Dairy Farm, located in Wayne County. When at Harris' farm Kyleigh may be seen milking cows, feeding heifers or caring for young calves.

Susquehanna County Dairy Princess and Promotion Court (l-r) are: front row - Ava Hughes, Autumn Bonavita, Emmory Coy and Katelyn Farley; back row - Elizabeth Chidester, Courtney Marvin, Chelsea Empet, Kyleigh Jones, Holly Harvatine, Morgan Tweed, Charlotte Quick

During her reign, the new Dairy Princess Kyleigh Jones will fulfill her duties with the help of Dairy Ambassadors Elizabeth Chidester, Courtney Marvin, Holly Harvatine, Chelsea Empet, Autumn Bonavita, Katelyn Farley, Morgan Tweed and Charlotte Quick and Dairy Maids Ava Hughes and Emmory Coy. This team of dairy promoters will be working together educating both adults and children about the importance of dairy products being part of one's diet, as well as being advocates for Susquehanna County dairy farmers.

2016/2017 Susquehanna County Dairy Princess Brooke Marvin and 2012/2013 County Dairy Princess and PA State Alternate Princess Callie Curley presented the evening program.

Brooke Marvin welcomed everyone to Pageant, followed by an invocation and the flag salute lead by Emmory Coy. Brooke introduced each one of the girls on the court to speak.

Callie Curley presented outgoing Princess Mary Catherine Chidester with a scholarship award provided by the Susquehanna County Dairy Promotion Committee to be used when she begins college in fall of 2020. Outstanding scrapbook awards were presented to 2018-2019 Dairy Promotion Team members Mary Catherine Chidester, Ava Hughes, Courtney Marvin, Alivia Hughes, Elizabeth Chidester and Chelsea Empet. Callie reported over 500 dairy promotions were completed by the 2018/2019 dairy promotion team.

2018/2019 Dairy Princess Mary Catherine Chidester gave a farewell speech complementing the members of her court on the excellent job they did working with her during the past year and wished the new Dairy Princess and all of the Dairy Maids and Dairy Ambassadors on the Dairy Promotion Court a successful new year of promoting the dairy industry all around Susquehanna County. Mary was grateful for her three years on the Dairy Court, first as a Dairy Ambassador and then as Dairy Princess and meeting so many new people as she carried her duties as Princess.

Alternate Dairy Princess Brooke Arnold and Princess Mary Catherine completed the evening festivities by crowning the new Susquehanna County Dairy Princess Kyleigh Jones, assisted by crown bearer Emmory Coy.

The committee would like to thank Cathy Rezykowski for providing music and Jessie Blaney of Blaney Photography for sharing her talent photographing the girls at Pageant.

For more information on the Susquehanna County Dairy Princess Program or to schedule an event contact Evie Goff at 570-278-1212 or gofffarm@epix.net or Dairy Princess Kyleigh Jones.

On Saturday, May 25th, girls from Girl Scout Troop 50218 completed their Bronze Award with a community service project at the William Evans Memorial Park in Hallstead. The Bronze Award is a community service project for junior girl scouts in fourth and fifth grades who have completed a Girl Scout Journey and spent hours choosing, planning and completing the project.

Members of Troop 50218 (l-r) are: Scarlett Osterhout, Kayden Frantz, Madison Gaylord, Addison Welch, Sarah Gorham, Emily Gorham, Lauren Ross

This group of girls have been in Girl Scouts for five years and have done smaller community service projects in the New Milford, Hallstead area. They were troubled when The William Evans Memorial Park flooded last August, which took out a portion of the grounds and walking trail and wanted to help. The girls built and painted birdhouses and two flower planters, purchasing material with profits from fall candy and nut sales and spring cookie sales. They then spent the afternoon putting up the bird houses and planting flowers to help bring the park back to life to help honor and remember Specialist Billy Evans from Hallstead. They also had a chance to enjoy the park, found a pool of tadpoles, and made cairn towers along the bank of the creek. The park has a lot to offer the community and is a great memorial to one of our fallen soldiers.

 

Eva (Cokely) and Emerson Whitehead were married 61 years ago, July 5th, 1958 in the Lanesboro United Methodist Church. Perhaps Eva was your Home Interior Consultant? Maybe you remember Emerson as being one of the janitors in the Susquehanna Community School District? You may have seen their smiling faces in and around the Susquehanna United Methodist Church. They have both worn many hats over the years and have touched countless hearts and lives with their kindness and generosity. Take a moment and send a card and wish them many more wonderful years together. Won't you join in the Card Shower? Their address is: Mr. And Mrs. Emerson Whitehead, 248 Prospect Street, Susquehanna, PA 18847.

Congratulations Eva and Emerson.

 

The Jackson Pin Thimblers 4-H group, partnered with the St. John's Men's Club on Saturday, May 18th to clean up the St. John's cemetery. Children of all ages helped in some capacity. The men's group patiently mentored the kids on how to get the job done, and fun was had by all. It was a sunny day, perfect for volunteering and bridging generations together for a common good.

In less than a month the 40th Annual Montrose Blueberry Festival will come alive on The Green in Montrose. The event is the largest fundraiser for the Susquehanna County Historical Society & Free Library Association and will once again feature so many traditions from the past. One of the highlights of the festival for 20 years was the original blueberry watercolor paintings donated by artist Sarah Miller beginning in 1992. Two of the original paintings could not be located this year and so she has generously decided to do them over so that the series would be complete. One titled "Dad's Favorite," is a bowl of blueberries with a pitcher of cream, something that her husband's father used to enjoy. The other is entitled "Mom's Blueberry Pie." Her husband's mother was a wonderful baker and this painting is a tribute to her.

For over twenty years, Sarah Miller has done an original watercolor painting featuring blueberries for the silent auction and prints were made to sell benefiting the Susquehanna County Historical Society & Free Library Association. Sarah is holding the two paintings which she repainted because they could not be located when displaying her paintings at the library this year for its 40th anniversary.

When Sarah moved to Montrose in the summer of 1991 she attended the Blueberry Festival and thoroughly enjoyed it. The following year she decided to do a painting for the silent auction table. Charlene Ayres, a member of her church in South Montrose, had blueberry bushes in her back yard and allowed Sarah to sit among the bushes and do a painting of a blueberry branch. That was the beginning. The next year she painted a basket of blueberries that had been given to her by Frank Reimel, a member of her husband's church. By then, she was hooked!

Each year she thought of a blueberry-themed subject which resulted in paintings of blueberries in a variety of containers - baskets, bowls and buckets. Some paintings have blueberries with flowers and some include a bird or a butterfly.

Sarah and her husband, Hugh, who passed away in March, were United Methodist ministers. He was appointed to serve the Montrose United Methodist Church and she was appointed to serve the South Montrose Community Church in 1991. They remained in Montrose making wonderful friendships and memories until the summer of 1997 when he retired and she was appointed to serve the United Methodist Church in Clarks Summit. Sarah continued to send paintings to the festival after they moved out of the Montrose area because she wanted to support the library.

Throughout her life, Sarah says, "I found a sense of balance and joy through painting. During good times and hard times, painting has helped me to maintain a sense of equilibrium. Painting has also led me to develop a number of wonderful friendships. For several years I have painted weekly with two groups of artist friends."

A quote from Frederick Franck, which she discovered years ago, reflect Sarah's thoughts about her paintings: "When I start drawing an ordinary thing I realize how extraordinary it is, sheer miracle; the branching of a tree, the structure of a dandelion's seed puff," and then she is inclined to add, "the blossoming and growth of a blueberry."

You won't want to miss the opportunity to bid on each of these two original watercolor paintings during the silent auction at the Montrose Blueberry Festival on August 2nd and 3rd this year. Twenty prints of each of these paintings will also be available for sale. Plan to attend the festival to support the library and enjoy everything blueberry.

Following a difficult Fourth of July week for blood and platelet donations and ongoing challenges finding new blood donors, the American Red Cross now faces a blood shortage and has issued an emergency call for eligible individuals of all blood types to give now and prevent delays in medical care.

About 450 fewer blood drives were organized by businesses and other community groups than during a typical week as people across the country celebrated the holiday with activities and travel. This led to about 17,000 fewer blood donations than needed for patients in a single week, causing the Red Cross to now have less than a three-day supply of most blood types available – and less than a two-day supply of type O blood – for patients. At least a five-day supply is desired.

"Medical emergencies and critical treatments don't stop for holiday celebrations. Patients depend on lifesaving blood transfusions every day," said Cliff Numark, senior vice president, Red Cross Blood Services. "Right now, the Red Cross only has less than a three-day supply when we need a five-day supply to be prepared for all situations that require blood products. To help meet this need, we've added about 8,000 additional appointments at blood donation centers and community blood drives over the next few weeks to accommodate more donors. But we need people to fill those appointments, please join us today."

In June, the Red Cross launched the Missing Types campaign to encourage donors – especially new donors and those who have not donated in the past years – to give blood or platelets during the challenging summer months. Through the campaign, the letters A, B and O – letters that make up the main blood groups – disappeared from popular brands to symbolize what happens when blood goes missing from hospital shelves during blood shortages.

Despite an encouraging response to the campaign, blood donations still fell short of expectations in June, resulting in more than 24,000 fewer donations than needed, approximately 3050 fewer donations in the New York-Penn Blood Services Region, causing a significant draw down of the Red Cross blood supply.

"Blood is only available when generous blood and platelet donors roll up a sleeve to give, and right now, all donors – especially those that have never given or haven't given in a while – are urged to make an appointment to give today," Numark added.

Donors of all blood types, especially type O, are urged to make an appointment to donate using the Blood Donor App, at RedCrossBlood.org or by calling 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767).

Those interested in hosting a blood drive can learn more and sign up to sponsor a drive this summer by visiting RedCrossBlood.org/HostADrive.

A local blood donation opportunity will be held July 18, 1:30pm - 6:30pm, at Saint Mark's Episcopal Church, 1148 Main Street, New Milford.

In the July 10th issue of the County Transcript, the cover story "4th of July Parade A Patriotic Success" had several errors.

Pictured is Commissioner Arnold (second from left) with friends and family by the Betsy Ross float, portrayed by Leanne Colwell. The photo, by Jess Arnold was taken from the Facebook page of Commissioner Elizabeth "Betsy" Arnold.

It was reported that "Crowds were delighted with the singer who strummed an acoustic guitar, singing to parade goers on Commissioner Warren's makeshift float." It has been brought to our attention that Commissioner Warren rode in a gray convertible with an inflatable "Uncle Sam" and the mentioned float was actually that of Commissioner Elizabeth Arnold.

Her float featured Leanne Colwell dressed as Betsy Ross sewing the thirteen starred flag, with Brady Goldsmith in the back of the silver pick-up, singing and playing his guitar. Commissioner Arnold rode seated on hay bales at the front of the float, accompanied by family and friends.

We apologize to Commissioner Arnold, her family and friends, and to Brady Goldsmith for the error in reporting.

Although the nature calendar on your wall may depict what looks like pristine mountain ranges, forests, or deserts, the natural world is actually undergoing constant change. Animals, insects, waters, plants and humans are regularly acting upon wild nature, both in our own backyards and in remote areas like the Arctic wilderness and the Sahara Desert. Detecting the ways that some of these forces are transforming a beautiful and diverse nature preserve in northeastern Pennsylvania is the subject of a walk led by Andrew Gardner at Florence Shelly Wetlands Preserve on Sunday, July 21 at 2:00pm.

"No matter where we go, you see human influence and the influence of nature," says Gardner, adding that he particularly likes looking for the "anomalies" in nature; the things that stand out from their surroundings, causing surprise and a sense of curiosity. "We make judgments about nature, either thinking it should be 'pristine' and off limits to humans or else assuming that nature is a commodity we can use as we want. Either attitude tends to separate us from the natural world. Working in partnership with nature benefits both."

Starting at the trailhead just off Route 171, you'll pause at several places in the preserve where humans, animals and weather have altered nature, deliberately or accidentally. For example, many of the wild plants, some of them with important medicinal and culinary properties, arrived as seeds embedded in the shoes of European immigrants. Farther down the trail and hidden among vegetation is the stone foundation of an old barn – along with a lilac bush and a row of maple trees that the farm family used to tap sugar. An area where tall larch trees grew was thinned by a storm several years ago, leaving the root systems standing taller than humans along the trail. Now, new plants and even whole trees are growing in those lacy roots. By the stream you'll see how bears have scratched and scarred the trees. You'll even see how parts of the trail itself have been shaped by flooding, deer paths and the township's decision to abandon this former road. In these and many other places, you'll get a glimpse of what's behind the screen of green vegetation that is most people's first impression of the preserve.

Andrew Gardner is a long-time member of the Florence Shelly Wetlands Preserve Stewardship Committee. He himself influences and is influenced by nature by gardening, harvesting willow for his rustic furniture and local clay for his pottery, and participating in the care of the preserve.

Walk participants will meet at the preserve parking lot one mile north of Thompson, PA on Route 171, opposite Stack Road. The walk will last about two hours. It is free and no reservations are necessary. Please note that trails are uneven and may be wet, so choose appropriate footwear. For further information, contact Andrew Gardner at 570-727-3362.

Advocating for the need of pro-jobs and growth options in rural parts of the Commonwealth has proven successful for Rep. Jonathan Fritz (R-Susquehanna/Wayne) as his Pipeline Investment Program initiative expansion proposal was signed into law.

"The need for family sustaining jobs is crucial, especially in rural parts of Pennsylvania," said Fritz. "By expanding the PIPE grant program and completing the natural gas distribution lines, more jobs will be created, more money will be pumped back into our economy, and manufacturers, businesses and local residents will have equal access to low cost, clean burning natural gas."

Fritz's proposal includes making grants available to construct the last few miles of distribution lines to business parks and existing manufacturing and industrial enterprises and accelerating beneficial deployment of low-cost energy, resulting in the creation of new economic base jobs in the Commonwealth while providing access to natural gas for residents.

His proposal also accomplishes the following: Opens existing grants to large residential conversion projects and combined heat and power applications; Increases the maximum grant amount from $1 million to $1.5 million; Provides for an additional $500,000 grant for tapping projects; Directs the Commonwealth Financing Authority (CFA) to develop streamlined guidelines to expedite applications for grants of $75,000 or less.

The concept outlined in Fritz's House Bill 1103 was amended into Senate Bill 712, which served as the Commonwealth's 2019-20 Fiscal Code measure.

This law went into effect on July 1, 2019.

For more information regarding the Pipeline Investment grant program, click on the following link: https://dced.pa.gov/programs/pipeline-investment-program/.

To help constituents better access state government-related services, Rep. Tina Pickett (R-Bradford/Sullivan/Susquehanna) will hold satellite office hours in Sullivan County this month.

Staff will be available in the commissioners' conference room at the Sullivan County Courthouse from 1:30-3:30pm on Wednesday, July 17.

An American Legion service officer visits Pickett's district office in Sayre on the third Friday of each month, however all appointments for July 19 are booked. The service officer's next visit will be on Friday, August 16, from 10am to 1pm. Appointments can be made by calling 570-888-9011.

Veterans do not need to be an American Legion member to take part in the program. The service officer can help veterans and their family members with issues relating to compensation, pensions, death benefits, education and health care.

Sullivan and Susquehanna County residents who may need assistance are always encouraged to call Pickett's staff anytime during regular business hours. Her full-time offices are located at 321 Main Street, Towanda, 1-855-271-9387 (toll free), and 106 West Packer Avenue, Sayre, 570-888-9011.

More information is available 24 hours a day on Pickett's website at RepPickett.com or on her Facebook page at Facebook.com/RepPickett.