UDC elects officers

NARROWSBURG, NY — The Upper Delaware Council elected officers for 2009 at its annual meeting held January 8 in Narrowsburg. Seated from left to right are secretary-treasurer John B. Niflot, Town of Fremont; chairperson George J. Fluhr, and Shohola Township and vice-chairperson Harold G. Roeder, Jr., Town of Delaware. Standing from left to right are: William Manner, PA Department of Environmental Protection; Bill Douglass, UDC executive director; Dolores Keesler, Damascus Township; Jim Rodgers, Town of Fremont; Fred Peckham, Town of Hancock; Andrew Dean, Berlin Township; Al Bowers, Westfall Township; Bill Rudge, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; Jay Shafer, Town of Lumberland; Vidal Martinez, National Park Service; John Sundholm, Town of Highland; Pamela Bush, Delaware River Basin Commission; Phil Chase, Town of Deerpark; Charles Wieland, Town of Tusten; and Mel Decker, Town of Deerpark. Absent were representatives from the Town of Cochecton and Lackawaxen Township.

Upper Delaware Council elects officers for 2009

NARROWSBURG, NY — George J. Fluhr, Shohola Township, PA representative, was sworn in as the 2009 chairperson of the Upper Delaware Council, Inc. (UDC) at its annual meeting held January 8 in Narrowsburg.

Fellow elected officers are vice-chairperson Harold G. Roeder, Jr. of the Town of Delaware and secretary-treasurer John B. Niflot of the Town of Fremont.

Fluhr has served as an alternate or representative of Shohola Township on the UDC since the non-profit organization’s inception in 1988. He was the first recipient of the council’s Distinguished Service Award in 1989, recognizing his role as a founder of the Conference of Upper Delaware Townships, a drafter of the “River Management Plan for the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River.”

A retired educator with degrees from Manhattan College and Columbia University, Fluhr was elected as a Shohola Township Supervisor for six consecutive, six-year terms from 1977 to 2008.

Fluhr previously chaired the UDC in 1992 after two terms as vice-chairperson in 1991 and 1997.

Harold Roeder, who has represented the Town of Delaware on the UDC since 1997, was sworn in as the 2009 vice-chairperson. He chaired the council in 2000. The Hortonville resident owns and operates Roeder’s Appraisal Service. He holds two academic degrees from Ithaca College. A classically-trained musician, Roeder was formerly a music teacher at Roscoe Central School

“Jack” Niflot was elected 2009 UDC secretary-treasurer for his eighth, non-consecutive term. He filled the position from 1997-99 and 2005-08. He was first appointed to the UDC as an alternate in 1994 and became the town’s representative in 1997. Niflot has served as a councilman on the Fremont Town Board for 15 years, and is also a founder and the current president of the Basket Historical Society of the Upper Delaware Valley.

The Upper Delaware Council is a not-for-profit corporation operating since 1988 under a Cooperative Agreement partnership with the National Park Service to oversee the implementation of the River Management Plan for the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River, a component since 1978 of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

Council members are eight New York towns (Hancock, Fremont, Delaware, Cochecton, Tusten, Highland, Lumberland, and Deerpark) and five PA townships (Berlin, Damascus, Lackawaxen, Shohola, and Westfall) that border on the Upper Delaware River, as well as the State of New York and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Wayne County, PA townships of Buckingham and Manchester remain eligible to join to complete the full roster of municipalities. The Delaware River Basin Commission is a non-voting member. The National Park Service Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River is a partner.

For more information visit the UDC website at www.upperdelawarecouncil.org, call 845/252-3022, or e-mail public relations specialist Laurie Ramie at laurie@upperdelawarecouncil.org.