New York has TAG grants

ALBANY, NY — State officials last week announced that approximately $400,000 in Strategic Planning Technical Assistance grants for eligible local communities across New York State. The grants, administered through the Governor’s Office for Small Cities Community Development Program (GOSC), help local communities prepare strategic plans for community and economic development.

Grants go to towns, villages and cities with a population under 50,000 and to counties with an unincorporated population under 200,000. Eligible communities can apply for up to $25,000 in assistance to develop a strategic plan that will provide a “vision” for the community.

For more information on the Small Cities Program, please visit the GOSC website at nysmallcities.com or call 518/474-2057.

Death penalty sought in PA slayings

MILFORD, PA — Pike County District Attorney Douglas Jacobs has filed a required notice that he will seek the death penalty in his prosecution of 18-year-old Gregory Alan Rowe of Kunkletown.

Rowe was arraigned before Pike County Judge Joseph Kameen last Thursday on two counts of first degree and third degree murder plus other related lesser charges in connection with the death of Kristen Fisher, 17 and her seven-month-old daughter Kaylee.

Rowe, who is not eligible for bail on the two capital offenses, pleaded not guilty to all charges. He faces trial during the November court term.

State tourism touts Pike and Wayne

HARRISBURG, PA — Travel through Pike and Wayne counties is being promoted in the Pennsylvania Tourism Office’s offering of five new road trips for the fall.

Area counties are featured in The Mountain Roadways of the Northeast Wind road trip, which originates in Jim Thorpe and travels through Monroe, Pike and Wayne counties terminating at Lake Wallenpaupack.

According to the tourism office, the four-day trip provides “endless opportunity for the outdoor enthusiast,” in a region reputed as the “the ultimate getaway destination.”

More information about Pennsylvania’s fall road trips and details about special travel packages are available at visitpa.com or by calling 800/VISIT PA.

State pays little in property taxes

HARRISBURG, PA — The Pennsylvania Game Commission recently announced the completion of annual payments in lieu of taxes to 65 of 67 commonwealth counties.

Those payments amount to little more than a dollar an acre.

For the 24,467.34 acres it owns in Pike County, the game commission submitted a payment of $29,360.81, which represents payment of $1.20 per acre.

Wayne County receives the same rate of payment on its 20,727.75 acres of game commission land for a total of $24,873.30.

The commission paid a total of $1.71 million for the 1.43 million acres of property it manages for hunting.

Chain purchases News Eagle

HAWLEY, PA — An Illinois-based newspaper and shopper chain last week announced its purchase of Hawley News Eagle, from former owner John William “J.W.” Johnson.

The purchase price was undisclosed.

Johnson said the sale culminated his 25 years of journalism in the region. In a statement Johnson was said to be “headed out west for some different writing projects.”

The buyer, Liberty Group Publishing bills itself as the largest and fastest growing publisher of community newspapers in the United States.

Specializing in publications with daily circulation of less than 20,000, the company currently owns over 300 publications, including 66 daily newspapers.

Locally, Liberty already owns the Wayne Independent, Moscow Villager, The Carbondale News and in Sullivan County, The Catskill Shopper.

Pennsylvania releases death toll

HARRISBURG, PA — The Pennsylvania State Police announced Tuesday that 12 people died in crashes investigated by troopers over the four-day Labor Day holiday driving period.

In addition to the fatalities, 313 people were injured in the 664 crashes to which troopers responded during the holiday weekend. Nine of those killed were not wearing seat belts and 79 of the 664 crashes were alcohol-related.

State police statistics do not include accidents in which other law-enforcement agencies in Pennsylvania responded.

Last year, 17 people were killed and 448 others were injured in the 812 crashes to which state police responded during the Labor Day holiday period.

In an earlier holiday week announcement PennDOT said seat belt use has reached an all time high of 82 percent of the state’s drivers and predicted that each additional percentage point saves eight to 12 lives.

River Council calls for Home Depot storm drainage permit hearing

NARROWSBURG, NY — Based on past experience with construction at the neighboring Wal-Mart store, members of the Upper Delaware Council’s Project Review Committee recently joined with PIke County Conservation District in requesting that the Wayne Conservation District hold a public hearing on a federal waste water, NPDES permit, associated with construction of a proposed Home Depot store in Indian Orchard.

Pike County officials had become concerned repeated heavy sedimentation problems that fouled the adjoining Lackawaxen River during Wal-Mart construction could be repeated.

Three county public hearings slated

MONTICELLO, NY — Public hearings will be held by the Sullivan County Legislature for three proposed local laws on September 15, beginning at 1:30 p.m.

Measures being considered include an update of boundary lines for the county’s Empire Zone, a new mortgage recording tax of.$25 per $100 of property value and a proposal for a $.30 per month county surcharge on cell phone users.