Conservation Intern Hails From Philadelphia
By Chris Jones
MILFORD — Anton Adams, a Philadelphia native who likes working outdoors and outdoor recreation, visited the County Commissioners last week to talk about his summer job as an intern with the Pike County Conservation District.
He got the job through the Pike County Workforce Development Office State Local Internship Program (SLIP) administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry.
"I already walked (in graduation)," Adams said. He just has to finish this internship to complete his final degree requirements for an East Stroudsburg University (ESU) B.A. in Environmental Studies, with a minor in Geography, and a certification in GIS (Geographic Information Systems).
The Environmental Studies major was part of a Bachelor of Arts, because it was a well-rounded program that included classes in government and environmental literature, Adams said.
"I've always been close to nature," he said. "As a kid growing up in Philadelphia, I enjoyed being outside and strolling through the woods."
The peaceful countryside of the Poconos appealed to him, plus his experience as a high school football running back and safety landed him a position as defensive safety on the ESU football team.
"In the third grade, my mom put me into an environmentally focused charter school called Wissahickon Charter School. While there, we used to do park clean-ups at the park across the street, go on backpacking trips, flower gardens, etc. Going to this school was the spark that ignited my passion for the improvement and protection of the environment."
Adams has a second internship this summer, helping the National Park Service on weekend patrols.......For more information pick up a copy at a local vendor or subscribe.
Atlantic Health System Closing
Milford Urgent Care & Imaging
MILFORD — Citing a continuing decline in demand for services there, Atlantic Health System (AHS) said it would cease operations at Milford Urgent Care and Milford Imaging, both located at Milford Health & Wellness, beginning Sept. 28
In a statement released last Friday, AHS public relations manager Rob Seman said, "Patients who have utilized these services will be advised of primary care and imaging services available in the area."
Seman said a multi-year evaluation showed there was a lower-than-expected demand for urgent care in Milford.
For years, Atlantic had provided walk-in care in medically underserved eastern Pike County. This was supported by lab and imaging services, which included blood work, mammography, X-ray, bone density scans and CT scans. All of these except blood work will be discontinued come Sept. 28.
"Our evaluation has conversely found a strong demand for primary care services – services that are continuous rather than episodic. These primary care and pediatric services are currently available at the Milford Health & Wellness building, 111 Catharine St. in Milford, PA," the AHS statement said.
"Additional offices there including outpatient laboratory, behavioral health, and diabetes education will remain open and unaffected by this change.
Emergency and higher acuity needs should be treated at an emergency room; our nearest affiliated emergency room is located at Newton Medical Center."
Seman said Atlantic is working on identifying positions with their organization to which Milford Urgent Care employees could transfer. Much of the office space at the Milford building is currently utilized by primary care and pediatric practices.
"Despite our efforts to make this model (urgent care) work, we will regretfully cease operations at Milford Urgent Care and Milford Imaging," he said.
Council Approves Sewer Extension Survey Letter
By Dakota Hendricks
MILFORD — The Milford Borough Council approved a sewer expansion survey letter to be sent to all borough property owners.
HRG, the engineering firm for the Westfall Municipal Authority, requires municipal approval of the outlined letter before moving forward with the survey. The survey data will help HRG establish a random sample for visual inspections.
DEP requires a certain percentage of inspections for each zone of the proposed sewer expansion project, designed to extend from Westfall and Matamoras to Milford Township and Milford Borough.
The Council has invited a representative to speak at an upcoming workshop meeting (July 16 at 11 a.m.) about an earned-income tax. Council President Frank Tarquinio said the Borough is investigating means of increasing revenue, as they cannot increase property taxes. Tarquinio said if a solution is not found the Borough will need to cut services.
The Council received letters of interest from Peter J. Cooney and Lucas Turano to fill the council seat of former Vice President Meghan Kameen. They voted to appoint Turano to fill the remainder of Kameen's term. Turano will be taking on the same roles and responsibilities as Kameen.
The Council approved an update to the Police Body Camera policy and Intern Ride Along policy. Mayor Sean Strub said once the policy is approved, officers could resume using body cameras. The footage will be held for a minimum of 60 days and may be purged afterwards due to storage limitations......For more information pick up a copy at a local vendor or subscribe.
Lehman Township Studies Sunset Acres Road Takeover
By Wayne Witkowski
BUSHKILL — It's been about 15 years since Lehman Township last took over a development's roads for maintenance and winter weather treatment, but the subject again came up Tuesday regarding Sunset Acres during the Board of Supervisors bi-monthly meeting.
After considerable discussion, the supervisors agreed to send a questionnaire to the small private community's Homeowners Association about the idea. The last time the township approved a takeover of a development's roads was in Rustic Acres in Section 6, a process that took nearly three years from when it began in 2001 until its approval.
Nine gravel roads named when the community was first developed in the 1960s after the planets of the Solar System would fall under township care.
Board of Supervisors Chairman Rob Rohner said it would need an assessment on the tax bill of the homeowners.
There are about two-dozen homes off Sugar Mountain Road on the southwest side of the township, with large areas of the community still undeveloped.
"This (idea) was first presented to the board by a property owner about a year ago, sometime last summer," Rohner said when asked about it.
Supervisors said the association is not as tightly organized as many other larger private communities. Nearly three-quarters of the township population lives in private communities. The supervisors agreed that moving forward on this idea would not come easily and would need a more unified response from residents of Sunset Acres.
"Their homeowners association can't seem to organize on this," Rohner said.
"I don't think it's going to fly," Supervisor Dick Vollmer said.
Rohner said the questionnaire drafted by township attorney Don Karpowich might lead to an agreement between the township and homeowners association on the idea and how it can be implemented with regard to township regulations.
"It could happen sometime this year, maybe next year," Rohner said after the meeting....For more information pick up a copy at a local vendor or subscribe.