Aquifer Activist Renews Call For County Backing

By Chris Jones

MILFORD — Friends of the Milford Aquifer (FMA) founder Vito DiBiasi last week renewed his plea to Pike County Commissioners to intervene in a stalemate over tightening a Milford Township ordinance to help protect the water supply of Milford Borough and neighboring townships.
Milford Township, whose northwest corner borders a neighboring town’s resort/commercial zone overlying the aquifer that developers have put into play, has been crafting a wellhead-protection ordinance (the Shepstone Ordinance) pertaining more to the Route 6-209 corridor in the southeast end of the township. FMA wants Milford Township legally to append a Source Water Protection Plan (SWPP) to its Shepstone Ordinance, saying the aquifer is vulnerable throughout the entire area.
Meanwhile the Milford Township Planning Commission has recommended that the SWPP be attached to a developer’s application as a teaching document only.
DiBiasi told commissioners “that the FMA find that is unacceptable … because you cannot enforce a teaching document – you can only enforce a land use law....................................For more information subscribe to our paper.

Water Protection Ordinance Needs More Detailed Map

By Travis Caldwell

MILFORD — The Milford Township supervisor’s meeting held on November 15th covered many issues, foremost of which was the establishment of the Wellhead and Water Protection Ordinance. Audio recordings of the meeting and the latest draft of the Wellhead and Water Protection Ordinance may be found at MilfordTownshipPike.com. The ordinance is still under construction and the Board of Supervisors requests that feedback to it be given verbally at the Supervisor’s meetings or in writing to the Township office.
Primary issues to the completion of the document are the lack of a map that combines the protected aquifer’s location, the restrictions to land usage as outlined by the Ordinance, and current zoning usage maps. The Supervisors passed a motion to request GIS assistance in the creation of a map that would incorporate this information so landowners would be fully aware of what the ordinance would require of them, and so that the township would know which restrictions they would need to enforce and where.
Vito DiBiasi spoke at the meeting as a representative of the Friends of the Milford Aquifer and voiced his concerns that the township’s water protection ordinance fully reflect the needs of Milford residents health, safety and welfare, and incorporate the Milford Water Authority’s Source Water Protection Plan. The Source Water Protection Plan may be found at MilfordPAwater.com.
Supervisors suggested that areas that are determined to be less critical for drinking water safety protection as outlined by the water protection ordinance could be rezoned for development as it would be appropriate....................................For more information subscribe to our paper.

Delaware Valley School Board Meeting
Adjourned After ‘Gestapo’ Reference

By Wayne Witkowski

WESTFALL — A tense exchange between Delaware Valley School Board President Jack Fisher and a member of the gathering accusing some school teachers of Gestapo-like tactics in enforcing mask-wearing triggered a hasty adjournment of the monthly meeting at the high school auditorium last week.
Matthew Contreras, the first speaker to take to the podium during public comment, asked a series of questions regarding COVID-19 issues with regard to the district’s Health and Safety Plan.
Contreras asked if there is a district policy for testing and the answer was referred to Director of Administrative Services Chris Lordi, who said, “There is no mandatory testing in the school district.”
Contreras was told, when asked, that there are no plans for full COVID-19 testing in the district in the near future. Contreras asked if there is a current district policy on a vaccine clinic and board member Dawn Bukaj told him there is none because no one from the public asked for one.
He said that, although the health and safety plan calls for a vaccine clinic during off hours if Wayne Hospital and other hospitals choose not to offer one, that it may not be necessary because most medical providers and doctors now have vaccines available to administer to youth. Fisher said that policy under the plan would continue. “At some point it may be changing,” said Fisher.
Superintendent John Bell told Contreras that the schools themselves are not conducting any type of vaccine clinic.
“Do you accept antibodies instead of testing,” Contreras asked the board, and Lordi said, “The state is not accepting positive antibody testing as of Oct.1, 2021.”
Contreras then asked if the district therefore “is following guidelines of state and not actual law” regarding antibodies.
Solicitor Ashley Zimmer said, “There is no law” on the matter.
Felicia Sheehan said the board is looking at that in the December meeting. “I’d like to explore that,” she said of the antibody question, as some members of the audience applauded.
Contreras then asked, “What is the administration doing as far as disciplining teachers for acting like Gestapo in terms of mask enforcement? There have been anecdotal accounts and a video that is getting distributed of students being subjected to a ‘referral game,’ (teachers) berating children, inciting other children to join in the beratement.”
Board member Brian Carso immediately responded, “This is utterly inaccurate and offensive. The tone of questioning is offensive.”
Fisher said that no one in the district acts like Gestapo. “It’s a lie,” Fisher said. “It brings in too much emotional baggage to talk to a teacher like that and say what you’re doing is not right. None of our teachers, none of our staff is Nazi-like, so if you’d like to rephrase that question.”
Contreras said the majority of teachers have not performed like that – only a few – but asked, “What is this board and what is this administration doing about this treatment of children?
“Not one of our teachers acts in a Nazi-like fashion and it’s offensive that you ask that,” Fisher said.
Contreras demanded a response from the administration and Fisher at that point adjourned the meeting....................................For more information subscribe to our paper.