Weona Park Summer Sounds Featuring the Nazareth Municipal Band

The Weona Park Band Shell will feature music by the Nazareth Municipal Band on Sunday, August 19 at Weona Park in Pen Argyl. The free concert begins at 6 PM and is sponsored by Pen Argyl Borough, Pen Argyl Athletic and Park Association, Green Knight Economic Development Corporation, MPTF and PA Partners in the Arts. This performance concludes the Summer Sounds series for the year.

Dally Announces Jacobsburg Historical Society Awarded PHMC Grant

Rep. Craig Dally (R-Northampton) has announced that the Jacobsburg Historical Society has been awarded a $5,500 grant by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC).

“The members of the historical society and the volunteers do such a great job preserving our local history for future generations,” Dally said. “I am pleased to see the Commonwealth recognizing their efforts with these grants.”

The commission offers a wide variety of grants for preservation projects designed to continue Pennsylvania’s heritage.

Founded in 1972, the Jacobsburg Historical Society preserves and presents the art and industry of making early American firearms.

Dally added, “Our heritage is so much a part of who and what we are today. It is important that we not only continue to learn about our past but also pass that information on to our children and their children as well.”

In partnership with Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center, the society administers the Jacobsburg National Historic District.

Pen Argyl Police and Fire Department News

The Pen Argyl Police Department responded to 385 incidents during the month of July 2007. Of the 385 incidents filed, 42 were criminal incidents. Nineteen (19) people were arrested or cited and five (5) juveniles were handled in the department. A thank you from Weona Park was sent to Officer Young for training the lifeguards on CPR. Lookout Fire Company Number 1 responded to 6 calls and spent 200 hours on calls and 206 hours of training.

Bangor Area High School Board Meeting Dates

The Bangor Area School Board will hold their monthly meetings for August on Monday, August 20 (Work Session) and Monday, August 27 (Business Meeting). All meetings begin at 7:30 PM and will be held in the Slater Conference Room of the Bangor Area School District Administration Building, located at 123 Five Points Richmond Road in Bangor.

Blue Valley Farm Show Hosting All-You-Can-Eat Breakfast

The Blue Valley Farm Show will host an all-you-can-eat breakfast from 8 AM to 1 PM on Sunday, August 19 in the Farm Show Auditorium. The breakfast includes homemade cream chipped beef, pork sausage, turkey sausage, ham, scrapple, kielbasa, pancakes, French toast and homefries. Donuts, cakes, pie, pudding and desserts as well as coffee, tea, hot chocolate and orange juice will be available. The cost is $7 for adults, $3 for kids over age 6 and kids under 6 eat free.

Boy Scout Troop 33 Holding Annual Flag Retirement Ceremony

Boy Scout Troop 33 will hold its annual flag retirement ceremony at 1:30 PM on Sunday, September 9 at Scout Hall. Anyone that would like a flag to be retired in the appropriate manner may bring their flags to Scout Hall any Tuesday night between 7:30 and 8:30 PM. Troop 33 honors all military personnel and victims and their families of September 11, 2001. Scout Hall is located in Weona Park in Pen Argyl.

Bangor-Roseto Presbyterian Parish Holding Peach Festival

The Presbyterian Parish Bangor-Roseto will hold its annual peach festival at 5 PM on Friday, August 17 on church grounds. Hot dogs, BBQ, salads, beverages and Jacktown ice cream also be available. Live music, a cake walk and games are all part of the festival. The church is located at 332 Kennedy Drive in Bangor (behind the Med-9 building). The festival will be held rain or shine.

Upcoming Pen Argyl Borough Meeting Schedule

Tuesday, August 21- Park Board Meeting, 7 PM (Community Center)
Tuesday, August 27- Borough Council Workshop, 7 PM
Tuesday, September 4- Borough Council Meeting, 7 PM
Monday, September 10- Sewer Committee Meeting, 4:30 PM
Monday, September 10- Authority Meeting, 6 PM

*All meetings are at Borough Hall unless otherwise noted.

Renovated Washington Elementary School Holding Open House

Following months of renovations and a new addition, Washington Elementary School is holding a community open house event on Thursday, August 16. The surrounding community is invited to visit between the hours of 4 and 8 PM.

Bangor Fire Department Seeking Aluminum Can Donations

The Bangor Fire Department is seeking aluminum can and loose aluminum donations to assist with their fundraising. The aluminum is taken to local recycling companies with the funds going toward the purchasing of new firefighting equipment and the exhibit housed at the Slate Belt Heritage Center. Aluminum may be dropped at Liberty Fire Company (67 North 8th Street), Rescue Fire Company #1 (Route 191), or 2nd Ward Fire Company (Northampton and Messinger Streets).

Bangor GFWC Holding Meeting

The Bangor Grand Federation of Women’s Clubs (GFWC) will meet at 12 PM on Tuesday, August 21 at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church. The Bangor GFWC meets the third Tuesday of each month at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Johnsonville. For more information, call June Hess at 610.588.7100.

Longaberger Basket Bingo at Washington Twp. Fire Hall

Longaberger Basket Bingo will be held to benefit the Washington Township Fire Company on Sunday, September 30 at the fire hall. Doors open at 12 PM and the games begin at 1 PM. The event is sponsored by Lafayette Ambassador Bank. For more information, call 610.863.9585.

Bangor Memorial Park Train Back on Track

The Bangor Elks is running the Bangor Memorial Park Train each Tuesday and Saturday throughout the summer. The hours are 5 to 7 PM on Tuesdays and 1 to 5 PM on Saturdays. All rides are free but donations are graciously accepted.

Bangor Class of 1967 Holding 40th Reunion

The Bangor Area High School Class of 1967 will hold its 40th reunion on Saturday, September 29 at the Best Western in Stroudsburg. Contact information is still needed for Ellen Dentith, Joe Duvo, William C. Fisher, Harvey Fumble, Robert Hockin, Margaret Burr Hoppes, Dale Houck, Charles Jewel, Patty Garafafo Sillench, Allison Smith, Loretta Dotta Smith, Tim Wells and Christine Willever. Anyone with contact information on the mentioned classmates should contact Kathy Pritchard at 610.863. 0816.

Slate Belt Ethnic Heritage Committee Releasing Second Book

The Slate Belt Ethnic Heritage Book Committee will publish "A Great Miracle Happened Here: The Jews of Pennsylvania's Slate Belt" as the second book in its local ethnic heritage series. The book, scheduled to follow "Of Forest and River: The Lenape of the Slate Belt" will be published in April of 2008. Anyone with memorabilia or photos relating to the Jewish contribution to Slate Belt history, and is willing to loan them for display at the Slate Belt Heritage Center during April 2008, or for publication in the book, should notify the Heritage Center at 610.588.8615.

Golden Sunshiners Meeting at Flicksville UCC

The Golden Sunshiners will meet at 1 PM on Wednesday, August 15 at the United Church of Christ in Flicksville. Hoagies will be served at 12 PM.

Record 7.4 Million Pounds of Trash Removed During 2007 Great PA Cleanup

140,000 Volunteers Work Together in 4,100 Communities

It was a record-setting year for the Great Pennsylvania Cleanup. Nearly 140,000 volunteers from every county in Pennsylvania worked together to pick up a record 7.4 million pounds of trash from an unprecedented 4,100 communities between March and May. Volunteers removed trash from roads, parks, schools, waterways, wildlife areas and communities across the state.
Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen McGinty said such an impressive showing shows Pennsylvanians’ appreciation for the environment and an understanding that removing garbage from the state’s communities is important to creating a better quality of life.

“The continued growth of the Great Pennsylvania Cleanup, and this year’s incredible turnout, shows that Pennsylvanians are more concerned than ever about protecting our environment,” said McGinty. “When people come together in such large numbers, as was the case here, we can achieve a great deal of good for our state. Because of this effort, our environment is cleaner, there are fewer eyesores in our communities, and our children have more areas where they can play safely.”

The Great Pennsylvania Cleanup, which included events and organized activities from March 1 through May 31, is a statewide effort to remove litter and trash from the state’s neighborhoods and beautify the commonwealth by planting trees and building playgrounds. The effort’s primary participation time coincides with Earth Day, April 22.
Statistics from the 2007 Great Pennsylvania Cleanup include the following:

*4,987 cleanup events;
*139,480 volunteers;
*372,096 bags of collected trash, weighing 7,441,919 pounds;
* 41,560 pounds of illegally dumped trash and 870 tires collected by volunteers in DEP’s Clean up Our American Lands and Streams (COALS) program from April through May;
*3,565 miles of road, railroad track, trails, waterways and shorelines cleaned, and 3,238 acres of park and or wetlands; and
*4,124 communities involved, and all 67 counties in Pennsylvania.

In addition, volunteers planted 12,934 trees, bulbs and plants in an effort to keep Pennsylvania beautiful.

This year’s initiative included a focus on Litter-Free School Zones. A total of 77 schools joined the new program in which they agreed to remove litter from campus grounds weekly. Schools also agreed to promote each campus event as a litter-free activity. Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, which administers the program, provides participating schools with a “Litter-Free School Zone” sign as a way to encourage students, families and neighbors to help keep their community clean and litter free.

Home Depot donated five $1,000 gift cards as prizes in a random drawing for schools that registered for the Litter-Free School Zones program during the Great Pennsylvania Cleanup. The gift cards were awarded to Cheltenham Elementary School, Montgomery County; Dunbar Township Elementary School, Fayette County; Fairview Elementary School, Luzerne County; Ridgeview Academy Charter School, Westmoreland County; and St. Marys Area Middle School, Elk County.

The Great Pennsylvania Cleanup is supported and sponsored by the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful alliance, a wide range of businesses, trade organizations, civic and environmental groups, and local and state governments. It is the state affiliate of Keep America Beautiful, which was founded in 1953 to promote litter prevention, community revitalization and waste reduction. In December 2006, McGinty received Keep America Beautiful’s Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson Award, the organization’s highest award given to women volunteers. This national achievement award is presented annually to an outstanding woman for exceptional leadership in litter prevention and beautification activities. “Last month, the country lost a strong environmental advocate with Lady Bird Johnson’s passing, but I think she would have been very proud of the accomplishments we made during the 2007 Great Pennsylvania Cleanup and would have been happy to see its reach extend into so many communities,” McGinty said.

The state departments of Community and Economic Development, Conservation and Natural Resources, Education, Environmental Protection and Transportation are members of the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful alliance.

PennDOT supports the cleanup by distributing free gloves, safety vests and trash bags to participants. Its Adopt-A-Highway program volunteers once again were key to the success of the Great Pennsylvania Cleanup. Another important partner was the Pennsylvania Waste Industries Association, whose members donated free landfill space for the trash collected.

The 2008 Great Pennsylvania Cleanup feature day is scheduled tentatively for the Saturday before Earth Day, April 19.

For more information, visit the Great Pennsylvania Cleanup Web site at www.greatpacleanup.org. (DEP Press Release)

Waggin’ Tails Dog Adoption Day

Waggin' Tails Pet Rescue, a no-kill non profit rescue organization, will hold their Dog Adoption Day on Saturday, August 19 at the American Legion, on Route 209 in Gilbert from 10 AM to 2 PM. They will have many available to meet with prospective adopters. Prospective adopters must fill out a Pre-adoption application with veterinary and personal references, and have a home visit prior to adoption. For more information, and to see many of their pets available for adoption, visit www.waggintailsrescue.com, or call .570.992.4185.

Klecknersville Rangers Ladies Auxiliary All-You-Can-Eat Breakfast

The Klecknersville Rangers Ladies Auxiliary is holding an all-you-can-eat breakfast from 8 AM to 12 PM on Sunday, August 19 at the Klecknersville Fire Hall. The menu consists of pancakes, sausage, bacon, ham, eggs, French toast, hash browns and much more. The cost is $6 for adults and $3.50 for children ages 5-12. Children under age 5 eat free. Klecknersville Rangers Fire Hall is located at 2718 Mountain View Drive in Moore Township. For more information, call 610.837.0307.

Safe Haven Dog Adoption Day

Safe Haven will have rescued dogs available to meet potential adopters from 10 AM to 2 PM on Saturday, August 25 at Pet Supplies Unlimited, located on Route 115 in Blakeslee. Many wonderful loving dogs will be there for potential owners to meet and get to know. Safe Haven is an all volunteer, no-kill dog rescue group based in Blakeslee that finds homes for abandoned and abused dogs. Safe Haven also needs foster homes for dogs and volunteers to help with transporting dogs, fundraising and more. Anyone interested in meeting the dogs that Safe Haven has for adoption, or would like to volunteer or foster dogs, visit their website at www.safehavenpa.org. For more information, email safehaven@epix.net or call 570.646.4652.