TRR photo by Tom Kane Wayne County Chief Deputy Mark Steelman examines the list of homes that will be auctioned off in a sheriff’s sale.

Sheriff’s sales soar

Pike residents losing homes on an average of 90 a month

By TOM KANE

PIKE & WAYNE COUNTIES, PA - Debbie and Bill (not their real names) from Milford, PA in Pike County, lost their family home last month. It was nearly paid for, but they had to move themselves and their two kids to an apartment.

“We fell behind in our payments and couldn’t sell the house,” Debbie said. “We had a flexible mortgage and the monthly payment took a big leap.”

Four years ago, the Deutsche Bank had offered them a “nothing-down” mortgage so their monthly payments were high but affordable. “Not after the bank put the payments way up,” she said. “I can’t believe that I am actually losing my home. I think the bank shouldn’t have done what they did. They didn’t give us good advice.”

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River rivals unite

Damascus Township joins UDC after 20 years of opposition

By TOM KANE

DAMASCUS, PA ? There were some who swore it would never happen.

But on July 21, 2008, a historic day for the Upper Delaware River Valley, the Damascus Township Board unanimously approved joining the Upper Delaware Council (UDC) after over 20 years of scornful rejection and, sometimes, bitter haggling by residents and township officials.

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Critics assail Ideal Snacks

Legislators give thumbs up on tax breaks

By FRITZ MAYER

MONTICELLO, NY—“The people that we’re talking about are not good neighbors. It’s not Ideal Snacks, it’s Ideal Stinks.”

Those angry words came from Bob Fix, who, along with his parents, owns Liberty Lanes, the bowling alley that sits next to the imposing Ideal Snacks building in Liberty. Fix testified at a public hearing on July 17 regarding the company’s inclusion into the New York State Empire Zone (EZ) program.

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Other stories in this issue:

• Rounding up the refuse
• A hard time with Easy Pages
• What’s in that fracking fluid?
• Catskills to Appalachia: Trailer Talk travels
• New Mexico gas moratorium
• PPL power line play

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S