NARROWSBURG — The Upper Delaware Heritage Alliance (UDHA) will meet twice on Thursday, January 11 in Narrowsburg. A 4:00 p.m. planning session for the spring event, “From the Ice Age to the Information Age: An Upper Delaware Symposium”, will take place at the 211 Bridge Street office of the Upper Delaware Council (UDC). The UDHA and UDC are co-sponsoring this first-ever symposium in May to focus on the geological, historical, industrial and architectural development of the Upper Delaware River Valley.

At 5:30 p.m., the UDHA will convene its regular monthly meeting at the Whistle Stop Café on Kirk Road. Dinner may be ordered from the menu.

The UDHA hopes to meet the public’s interests in planning the Upper Delaware Symposium. Suggestions are welcome. Please direct comments to UDHA Symposium Chairperson Mary Curtis at 570/729-7842 or mary_curtis@nps.gov.

Gunther named commission chair

ALBANY — After being bypassed for advancement in the past, Assemblyman Jacob E. Gunther, III (D/C-Forestburgh) has been chosen by the Assembly leadership to chair the Legislative Commission of Development and Rural Resources.

The announcement marks the first move into a formal leadership role for the Sullivan County assemblyman who once referred to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver as a “shmuck.”

In the new position, Gunther will receive a $12,000 stipend in addition to his $79,500 legislative salary.

Free weekend parking in
downtown Honesdale

HONESDALE — The Borough Council earlier this week approved the measure that will allow free weekend parking in Honesdale’s downtown shopping district. The change came at the request of the Greater Honesdale Partnership, which announced the action. Executive Director Carson Mader said this is an effort to make Honesdale more customer friendly for weekend shoppers.

The new daytime rules do not change the borough’s winter parking policy which prohibits parking on borough streets between 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. through March 1.

New resort planned for the poconos

MONROE COUNTY — After years of decline in the regional resort business, a Wisconsin developer has announced plans for the construction of a 400-room resort with a huge indoor water park. The new resort would be located near the Camelback ski area in Monroe County. The fact that 30 million people live within driving distance of the area was said to be a deciding factor in choosing the location.

The proposed development follows a decade that saw the Mountain Laurel Resort close, and the Split Rock and Mount Airy Lodge resorts seek bankruptcy protection.