Hunger, kicked

MONTICELLO, NY — Does it take a martial arts competition to help beat hunger?

The Catskills TaeKwonDo championship was held at Resorts World recently. Donating a canned good knocked $5 off the admissions price.

Ultimately, Team Young TKD and the Rock Hill Pharmacy, which organized the donation, contributed 13 boxes of canned goods and socks to the George Cooke School backpack program in time for Thanksgiving.

The backpack program helps feed Monticello Central School District elementary students at risk for hunger. Every Friday, students who participate in the program receive a backpack of food to get them through the weekend.

The Team Young/Rock Hill Pharmacy partnership, aka Kickin’ To Hunger, was created over three years ago, and has helped various groups throughout the Monticello area.

“We believe in our community and are always here to lend a helping hand to those going through hard times,” said Joe Giangiacomo, owner of Rock Hill Pharmacy.

Holiday bingo at Monti Elks; proceeds benefit veterans

MONTICELLO, NY — Monticello Elks Lodge #1544 invites bingo-lovers to holiday bingo on Saturday, December 11. The doors open at 12:30 p.m. and calling starts at 2 p.m.

There will be over $1,600 in cash prizes, along with 50/50 raffles, pull tabs, door prizes and other raffles. Hot food will also be available.

This event is sponsored by Belle Reve Senior Living in Milford, PA, where they provide quality living for seniors. All proceeds will be shared by our local veterans organization and the Elks lodge. Find out more by calling Past Exalted Ruler Julie LiGreci at 973/349-7390.

 

Attorney John “Duke” Schneider, left, with Delaware Valley School District Superintendent, Dr. John Bell, standing on a small portion of the …

 

New Greater Pike fund to benefit DV schools

MILFORD, PA — “Our community is our home. If we don’t take care of our home, we can’t expect others to do it for us.”

Those are the words of the late Richard L. Snyder, a community benefactor and conservationist.

He knew, according to a release from the Greater Pike Community Foundation (GPCF), that Pike County residents are blessed to be surrounded by pristine woodlands and waterways, and hoped future generations would benefit from them.  

Snyder donated river frontage behind Milford Landing and Walmart, hoping that it could be used by area schools. And Snyder’s attorney, Duke Schneider, has established a fund in the conservationist’s name, seeding it with a donation of his own.

The fund is maintained by GPCF.  Duke Schneider was active as a founding member of Greater Pike and currently serves on the board of directors.

Delaware Valley School District Superintendent, Dr. John Bell, said a curriculum that will make good use of the land is being developed for students studying environmental science at the high school.

The fund will allow for a yearly stipend to the school district to help create and maintain the program. It is Schneider’s hope that those who remember Dick and those who share his reverence for the land will donate to the fund and help it grow.

“The program should focus on conservation studies and land use,” said Schneider.  “It is essential that land be used in an environmentally sound way.”

To make an online donation to The Richard L. Snyder Chair of Conservation Studies Fund, go to https://greaterpike.org/our-funds/ and scroll down to the fund name and click on the link. You can also mail a check made payable to Greater Pike Community Foundation with “Conservation Chair Fund” in the memo portion. Mail to: Greater Pike Community Foundation, PO Box 992, Milford, PA 18337

For more information about establishing a fund in memory of a loved one, or to discuss how to realize your charitable goals for the future, contact Jenni Hamill, executive director, at 570 832-4686, jennihamill@greaterpike.org, or visit www.greaterpike.org and Facebook.com/GreaterPike.

Turkeys for seniors at the Pike American Legion

MILFORD, PA — It was a great Thanksgiving dinner, thanks to the Marsh-Kellogg American Legion Post 139 and the Greater Pike Community Foundation.

The Foundation granted $1,000 to the legion to purchase turkeys for a free community Thanksgiving meal on Saturday, November 20.

The meals were provided at no cost to 500 senior citizens, with delivery to those who could not attend in person.

Even though Greater Pike provides funds for area food pantries, this was the first year the organization helped out with purchasing the turkeys for this community event, said Jim Pedranti, Greater Pike board chair.

Cornelia (Connie) Harvey, Commander of American Legion Post 139, was “excited and relieved” when they learned the Foundation would be funding the turkeys. “Every year we have looked for help, to assist us in funding the turkeys. We were nervous to ask anyone this year for help, as we know everyone took a hit during COVID. Greater Pike came through for us and donated enough money so that we could make it possible to get all the turkeys that we needed,” she said.

 

Committed to diversity: new ELA/Social Studies/Arts director Keith Petzinger.

 

A commitment to diversity and education

MONTICELLO, NY — “Education is the best path forward to overcome any challenge,” said new Monticello school administrator Keith Petzinger. “And there is nothing more rewarding than seeing a student who is facing barriers become engaged, show up, give their all and ultimately pursue their dreams.”

Petzinger is the new director of English language arts, social studies and the arts for the Monticello Central School District.

His approach to teaching is based on the importance of social justice, and he has taught in both a prison and in a school where the students cope with multiple challenges.  

Petzinger’s background is in history, and he has written on the experiences of soldiers of color during the Vietnam War as well as the “school to prison pipeline” and the disproportionate impact of incarceration on students of color.   

“Diversity is what makes America great,” he said. “We all have so much to learn from each other’s experiences and cultures. That’s one of the reasons I am excited to join the Monticello Central School District—the diversity of its student body.”

Kerry Engelhardt is the new Resource and Land Use Specialist at the Upper Delaware Council.

UDC welcomes new resources and land use specialist

NARROWSBURG, NY — Lackawaxen Township, PA resident Kerry Engelhardt, P.E., has been hired by the Upper Delaware Council as its new Resources and Land Use Specialist.

Engelhardt will provide technical support to the nonprofit organization and will coordinate reviews of land and resource management activities to help ensure proper implementation of the river management plan.

She is a professional engineer, licensed in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, a certified municipal engineer, and a 2012-2018 professional planner in New Jersey. She and her husband moved to northeast PA in 2015.

She most recently worked as a freelance consultant for MCB Engineering Associates, based in Totowa, NJ, with responsibilities to secure environmental permits, prepare flood hazard application plans and technical reports, design stormwater management plans, and revise site plans based on comments from regulatory agencies and planning boards.

Engelhardt can be reached at 845/252-3022 or at kerry@upperdelawarecouncil.org.

For more information on the UDC federal-state-local partnership and its activities, visit https://www.upperdelawarecouncil.org or check the Facebook and Instagram social media pages.