Hinchey secures funds for flood studies

WASHINGTON, DC — Congressman Maurice Hinchey announced on February 26 that he and Congressman John Hall secured final congressional approval of $331,000 for a pending flood mitigation study in the Upper Delaware River Watershed, and for the enhancement of the existing flood alert system for the region.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will get $96,000 to provide additional support for the study to mitigate future flooding in a number of areas within the Upper Delaware River Watershed. Hinchey also obtained $235,000 for the development and implementation of a Delaware River Enhanced Flood Warning System, which will be done along with the Delaware River Basin Commission. The funds are included in the Omnibus Appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2009, which passed the House last week.

“Investing these modest amounts of federal money in flood prevention in the watershed now will help to protect our communities down the road from continued loss of property, infrastructure and even lives,” Hinchey said.

Gas cards of NY unemployed

ALBANY, NY — Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther announced on March 3, that 34 rural counties in New York, including Sullivan County, have been approved to participate in an initiative to make gas cards available to unemployed job seekers.

The money comes from federal funds allocated to the state under the Workforce Investment Act. The cards are intended to help the unemployed with transportation expenses as they look for work, go to job interviews or use employment services.

“The unemployment numbers for New York and Sullivan County are at historic highs, and we may not be seeing the bottom of this economic crisis,” said Gunther. “This help is important during this tough economic time.”

The Sullivan County Center for Workforce Development will be providing $25 gas cards for clients enrolled in their programs who are seeking employment. Anyone wanting more information should contact the center at 845/794-3000, ext. 5030.

WEDCO progress on business park

HONESDALE, PA — The Wayne Economic Development Corporation (WEDCO) announced on March 3 that it is meeting its goals in the preparation of Phase One of the new business park. The work of Phase One that involves the construction of interior roads, sewer and water lines, the potable and non-potable water tanks, the installation of a pump house and a sedimentation basis will be completed by the Spring, according to Mary Beth Wood, WEDCO executive director. The highway improvement work has not yet started.

The 252-acre park is located where Routes 191 and 198 converge in Sterling Township. WEDCO closed on a $2 million loan contract with Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority on December 31, 2008.

Wayne Bank phone scam suspected

HONESDALE, PA — The Pennsylvania State Police at Honesdale are alerting people that there is a possible telephone scam going on in relation to customers of Wayne Bank. In a press release issued on March 3, the police said that the station has received numerous reports of automated messages and phone calls to customers seeking account and credit card numbers. The police advise consumers not to give out any information because it appears that the calls are part of a scam.

Joseph Kneller, the security officer with Wayne Bank, said the bank is being deluged with calls, and has received thousands of them in one day. He said the calls were so numerous that they were not allowing bank personnel to deal with normal business matters.

He said the calls are being generated by a perpetrator, probably outside the country, and residents of the area are being called at random, both bank customers and non-customers. Kneller said the program involved is also generating random numbers that show up on caller identification screens, that are not connected to the scammers. Kneller got a call at 1:45 a.m. on his cell phone. He called the caller identification number back the next day and reached a cleaning woman in California.

Kneller said that neither the FBI nor the state or local police had any idea about how to stop the calls, but he wanted residents to know that the calls had nothing to do with Wayne Bank even though the bank’s name is being used in the messages.

Groups want to rescue Beaverkill Campground

SULLIVAN COUNTY, NY — The environmental group Catskill Mountainkeeper along with the Roscoe Chamber of Commerce and the Friends of the Beaverkill are co-hosting an informational meeting at 6:30 pm on Saturday March 7, 2009 to urge the state not to close the Beaverkill Campground in Sullivan County.

The NY Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) last week announced that the Beaverkill Campground will be one of six in the state that will be shuttered because of the state fiscal crisis. However, according to Mountainkeeper, closing the campground will only save the state a few thousand dollars while dramatically impacting the tourism economies of Roscoe and Livingston Manor.

The groups plan to announce the formation of a “Coalition to Save the Campground” and to launch a campaign to take the Beaverkill Campground off the list.

The DEP reported that the campground occupancy rate was dramatically down in the past three years. But Mountainkeeper argues that the lowered use of the facility was likely related to three major floods that hit the area in the past three years. Because of flooding, “the main road leading to the campsite (Route 209) was closed or allowed only local traffic and for much of that period the Beaverkill Covered Bridge was closed for repair, severely limiting access to the campsites and effectively slicing the campground in half.”

In 2008, the campground underwent major improvements. That included repairing the bridge and placing it on the National Historic Register.