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Issue 3 — Thursday, August 17, 2017
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Seniors Staying Healthy
 
 
Beck Resigns From
Milford Boro Council
By Wayne Witkowski

MILFORD — Patrick Beck has turned in his resignation as a member of the Milford Borough Council and as its president because of work responsibilities.

"Patrick's work obligations have increased and he doesn't have the time necessary to do the job the way he knows it requires," Milford Mayor Sean Strub said on Tuesday.

"Patrick has been an excellent Council president and I have been honored to work with him. He is fair, diligent and put in time to make sure the Council was making informed decisions. We will miss his leadership, but we also know he will continue to be a resource for the Council, a supporter of our work and an important civic leader in Pike County."

Beck was absent from the last Borough Council meeting on Aug. 7 as Borough Council Vice President Meagen Kameen presided and will be serving as Council president in the meantime.

Mom & Daughter Conquer
Appalachian Trail (Almost!)
By Ken Baumel

MILFORD — Gabby Scrofano, her mom Lu Ann Scrofano, and relatives in Milford Borough celebrated Gabby's birthday, the 80th anniversary of the Appalachian Trail, and the duo trekking 2,000 miles of the trail. The Scrofanos shared their adventure in an interview in the Milford Diner on Monday. Lu Ann lives in Erie, Pa., and Gabby in West Virginia.

It took the duo two seasons to hike from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Mount Katahdin, Maine. In between the two trips, Gabby earned her masters degree in Public Health from Marshall University in Huntington, W. Va. The trail is the longest one in the world. Approximately 2,500 to 2,700 people a year complete the hike, but 3 million people hike shorter sections of it each year, according to the trail's website.

The Scrofano's expect to finish the 60 miles that they didn't complete last year, a section near Harpers Ferry, Va., next spring. Last year, they had to stop hiking that section when Lu Ann was hospitalized after a nasty tumble down some rocks.

After the doctors stitched her skull, Lu Ann and Gabby took a few days off. They then finished the rest of the first leg, ending at Port Clinton, Pa. last August. From there, they stopped by Milford Borough to visit Gabby's great aunt, Shirley Estok, and her husband Joe.

Lu Ann said, "[This year, in May] we started the second leg from Port Clinton. We got to Maine with no major incidents. We had some falls, nothing serious. We had a lot of bumps and bruises."

Gabby said, "It took us 10 days to get from Port Clinton to High Point State Park. We took off two days to visit with my great aunt."

Lu Ann said, "Then we went the rest of the way. The second half of the trail was a lot harder than the first. The terrain was rugged. It was more difficult. We lightened our packs from 45 pounds to 35 pounds to make it easier."

Gabby is more experienced in hiking. Lu Ann said, "I had never hiked before. She was the leader. She was the 'mom.'"

Gabby said, "The most difficult part of the trip this year was in New Hampshire along the Presidential Range in the White Mountains. Also, a section in Maine was hard. There were a lot of large boulders... for complete story, get this week's issue.

 
 
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Official Paper More Than
Forty Years

MILFORD — Although it has been publishing much, much longer, the Pike County Dispatch has been the newspaper of record for the County of Pike for more than 40 years. That means the Dispatch is the place to go to find out about public meetings, estate notices, bids, public hearings, real estate sales and transactions, and Sheriff sales.

The Pike County Commissioners listed the Dispatch as an official newspaper for legal notices during their opening meeting of 2014, and once again, during their annual reorganization meetings on the first business day of the New Year, most of the other municipalities in Pike County followed suit. So far, Milford and Matamoras Boroughs, and Westfall, Dingman, Delaware, Shohola, Blooming Grove. Milford and Lehman Townships have made it their business to have the Dispatch as an official newspaper.

So make it your business to keep up with all the news in Pike to print, including official business and legal notices from your town.

To find out where to buy your copy of the county’s official newspaper or to subscribe for home mail delivery, click here.

The Voice Of Pike County
Since 1826

The Pike County Dispatch is not only Pike County's largest circulation weekly newspaper, it is also the oldest.

Founded as the Eagle of the North, it has been in continuous operation reporting news and covering local events since 1826. It is, and always has been, the mainstay in keeping the local citizenry informed. Today, subscribers are as far afield as California and Florida

The Dispatch has covered the historic events that have shaped Pike County for almost as long as that history has been in the making.

Over the years, hometown news has shared pages with national and world events, and world events were sometimes right here in Pike County, Pennsylvania.

Its pages carry news of joy and sorrow, homespun advice, births, deaths, marriages, spats, feuds, political controversy, scandals, murders, heists, social affairs, dedications--in short, all the news in Pike to print.

Look for the Pike County Dispatch at local news dealers, and read all about it!

60 At Courthouse 'Stand Against Hate'
By Dakota Hendricks

MILFORD — About 60 people gathered in front of the Pike County Courthouse Sunday evening in honor of Heather Heyer, who was killed in Charlottesville, Va. when a white supremacist drove into a group of counter-protesters on Saturday. Heyer came to Charlottesville to protest at the "Unite the Right" rally where white nationalists had gathered to fight the proposed removal of an equestrian statue of Civil War Gen. Robert E. Lee from the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville.

Clashes broke out between the two groups, then, according to the Charlottesville Police Department, James Alex Fields Jr. was arrested, accused of driving his car through a crowd leaving the protest, injuring 19 and killing Heyer. Fields faces charges of second-degree murder. A bipartisan group of Congressmen announced they would like the Department of Justice to investigate the violence as an act of domestic terror.

Though the gathering in Milford was rapidly organized early Sunday afternoon, approximately 60 people attended. Milford Mayor Sean Strub organized the bipartisan event called Stand Against Hate. Representatives from Delaware Valley Democratic Club organized a Facebook group, and members of Safe Haven, Pike County Republican Committee and Milford Presents helped spread the word. The vigil lasted for approximately 40 minutes.

At the request of Mayor Strub, the Rev. Al Vito of St. Patrick's Church in Milford led the group in a brief prayer in which he encouraged people to come together against hatred.

Vito referenced a quote he found at the Holocaust Museum from Dante's "Inferno": "The hottest place in hell is reserved for those who, in times of moral crisis, remain neutral."

Strub asked the crowd to share their thoughts on the tragedy. Several stepped forward and expressed their dismay at seeing such violent messages of hate. The common thread between all those who spoke was that they could not believe such a thing would happen in the United States and that racism holds no place in this country.

Tamara Chant, director of Safe Haven, said that Safe Haven stands for nonviolence and she hopes others will do the same. Strub said that the events of Charlottesville "could happen in any community, even our own" and that one of the things he felt was so troubling about watching the news coverage was that it was painful but not surprising.

Woman Says Overnight Camping At Wal-Mart Is Illegal
By Ken Baumel

WESTFALL — Fieldstone Ridge resident Robin Waizenegger complained to Westfall Township supervisors that the Wal-Mart parking lot on Route 6/209 is being used illegally as a parking area for overnight campers and that some people are even camping out there overnight in tents.

At this month's regular township meeting, Supervisor Lester Buchanan said, "Unless Wal-Mart complains, we can't do anything about that." Supervisor Bob Bostinto said, "Wal-Marts all over the country allow campers to park overnight."

Waizenegger disagreed that the township can't do something about the situation. She said, "That use is not what they [Wal-Mart] agreed to do in their conditional use hearing [for the superstore]."

Waizenegger said in an interview after the meeting, "When the township had the conditional use hearing for Wal-Mart at least two people lobbied for excluding use of campers."

According to Waizenegger, one was Anna Catalano, who was, at the time of the hearing, a condominium resident in Milford Landing. The development is next door to the Wal-Mart plaza. She expressed concerns that she did not want many transients so close to her property. She said the other was Ruth Jones, co-owner of Kittatinny Canoes, who lobbied against camper use because she has a campsite just down the road and considered the Wal-Mart policy of allowing campers as unfair competition.

Waizenegger said, "I am sure that one of the conditions set by supervisors in the conditional use hearing specifically excluded camper use. Do we really want transients next to the Delaware Valley School campus and next to a condominium development? Who is monitoring the campers? They don't have utility hook-ups."

Supervisor Jerry Dotey said, "You might be right. We have to look up the Conditional Use records to see if the township can do something about it."

A website called www.walmartlocator.com, which is not affiliated with Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. listed the Westfall Wal-Mart as among about 20 Wal-Marts in Pennsylvania that do not allow overnight RV parking.

Wal-Mart Was Supposed To Post No-Parking Signs

According to an article in the April 15, 2004 Pike County Dispatch about Westfall's April 6 approval of the Super Wal-Mart land deal, which more than doubled the square footage of the store, "Under the suggestion of the supervisors at their March [2004] workshop, [Project Engineer John] Spear reported that a total of 13 signs will be posted on the light poles in the parking lot stating, 'NO OVERNIGHT CAMPING BY AUTHORITY OF WESTFALL TOWNSHIP... for complete story, get this week's issue.

Delaware Township Budget Headed Toward Nice Surplus
By Wayne Witkowski

DINGMANS FERRY — Delaware Township's budget got a clean bill of health during its current exam of the first eight months, as presented by township Administrator Krista Predmore at last week's township workshop before the regularly scheduled Board of Supervisors meeting. A total actual income $1,208,823.26 for the township was tabulated versus $822,527.52 for actual expenses. Income was projected for the yearly budget at $1,239,023.24. Actual expenses are about a third less than the $1,293,023 estimated for the budget.

"Overall, I think the budget will be at a surplus at the end of the year," Predmore told the gathering. "Expenditures should be minimal for the rest of the year."

That is, barring an unforeseen emergency or natural disaster such as a hurricane or an early season epic snowstorm. If it stays the course, what that should amount to is no tax increase for the next fiscal year and perhaps another tax decrease. The board of supervisors last year unanimously approved a tax millage rate of 9.68 for the 2017 budget year, which is 1 mill less than the previous year's taxes and the fourth drop in the last six years. That's uncommon in the challenging financial climate. Predmore attributed it to 99.1 percent of real estate taxes having been collected and that the real estate transfer taxes at $92,731.78 have exceeded by about $22,000 the $70, 000 budget projection.

Insurance Policy Savings

She said the township has invested carefully in insurance. In fact, supervisors during the regular meeting last week, along with approving a renewal of its annual property/inland marine/crime/commercial auto with MRM, moved other policy coverages to that company based in the Philadelphia area. After considerable research, the board proposed and approved unanimously changing its general liability insurance to MRM for $7,100 and its liability insurance for public officials/employment practices to that company for $9,647.00. Compared to other price quotes, Supervisor Jane Neufeld said she said the "savings is considerable, over $15,000 saved."

"We're in a comfortable place," said Predmore, who pointed to last year's budget at the end of the year 20 percent ahead of projections, with expenses at 1.3 percent above projections... for complete story, get this week's issue.

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