Upper Delaware claims life

KELLAMS, PA — Gustavo Brito of New Jersey, 28, drowned in the Delaware River on Sunday morning while swimming near Kellam’s Bridge.

According to the Pennsylvania State Police, Brito was swimming with several friends when he started experiencing trouble with the current. His friends tried to to help him, but he went under and they were unable to retrieve him.

Equinunk Volunteer Fire Department responded to the emergency, and Brito was found in 10 feet of water about 40 feet from the shore, and was pronounced dead at the scene.

New option to spread out PPL rate increases offered

PENNSYLVANIA — The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission has approved a deferred payment option filed by PPL earlier this year that will help customers spread out payments for the 2010 increase in electricity prices that will follow more than a decade of capped rates.

The deferred payment option lets residential and small-business customers defer increases of more than 25 percent when higher electricity prices take effect starting January 1, 2010. Customers who voluntarily choose this option will repay the deferred amounts, plus six percent interest, over a one- or two-year period.

PPL already offers a prepayment option for spreading out the 2010 increase over several years.

PPL estimates that the average residential customer bill will increase by 30.4 percent, the average small-business customer bill will increase by 18.9 percent and the average mid-sized business customer bill will increase by 36.8 percent.

NRA grant procures sheriff’s target system for Sullivan

SULLIVAN COUNTY, NY — The National Rifle Association (NRA) has awarded the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office a $2,500 grant to purchase a firearms range target system.

This is a “turning target” system that prevents the target from being viewed by officers who are standing on the firing line. Then, at the push of a button, the targets rotate into view so that officers on the line can see them. The officer has a certain amount of time to place an aimed shot before the target rotates back out of view.

The targets are also used for “shoot, don’t shoot” training scenarios, where images of aggressive or non-aggressive subjects are presented.

Sheriff Mike Schiff said that, given the current state of the economy, he did not have the money in his budget to purchase this equipment, and thanked the local NRA chapter members who coordinated this grant: chairman Michael Gagliardi, co-chair Carl Vanvalkenburg, secretary Maura Lapiana and treasurer Arlene Bitnick.

Progress is being made on Sterling Business Park

HONESDALE, PA — Work on the Phase I infrastructure development at the Sterling Business Park near Lake Ariel is nearing completion, according to a newsletter from WEDCO (Wayne Economic Development Corporation).

The first phase will result in 73 saleable acres, predominantly on the east side of S.R. 191. Sewer lines, the water system and water tanks are built, approximately 2,000 linear feet of interior roadway has been paved and the stormwater controls are in place, said Mary Beth Wood, executive director of WEDCO.

“The right of way for the utilities has been cleared and we have bored under S.R. 191 and installed conduits for underground utility crossings,” she said.

WEDCO plans to expand the scope of Phase I by doing improvements to the intersection of S.R. 191/196 and T.R. 3004 (Moon Road). “This work will provide safer access to the park,” Wood said. “We will also be working on aspects of marketing and sales, e.g. covenants and final subdivision approval.”

Course on posting, bonding local roads

HAWLEY, PA — There will be a course on the posting and bonding of local roads on Tuesday, August 4 from 12:00 noon to 4:00 p.m. at PPL’s Wallenpaupack Environmental Learning Center, 126 PPL Drive. It will include information and suggestions for municipalities related to the transportation of Marcellus Shale drilling equipment impacts on local roads.

Posting weight limits and bonding heavy haulers by agreement are procedures that shift the burden of repair costs to those who cause the excess damage. This course reviews laws governing posting and bonding, requirements for developing and implementing a posting and bonding program, and ways to monitor a program.

To register, visit www.ltap.state.pa.us and log on using your username and password. First-time users must set up an account by clicking on “Create Account.” For technical assistance when registering call 800/367-5827 or 570/655-5581.

County office phones disrupted

MONTICELLO, NY — Detectives from the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office have arrested John J. Phillips, 55, of Hyde Park, NY for Criminal Tampering in the 1st Degree, a class D Felony. Phillips, who worked for a vendor that has the county contract to maintain the telephone system in the sheriff’s office, district attorney’s office and county court house, is alleged to have disabled the system on the evening of Friday, July 10.

Sheriff’s deputies and county officials scrambled to restore partial telephone service that evening and full service the following day. A trace by Verizon telephone technicians came back to Phillips’ residence in Hyde Park.

Phillips was arraigned before Monticello Village Judge Leo Glass and sent to the Sullivan County Jail in lieu of $10,000 bail. The incident, including the motive, remains under investigation by sheriff’s detectives.