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Shamokin revitalization refreshed by youth

Shamokin is seeing revitalization with younger residents helping to lead the charge – and they’re asking more youth to join them.

Danielle Hinkle, 18, and Marshall Buggy, 19, both graduated from Shamokin Area High School and are committed to reinvest in their community even amidst the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic and college plans.

They’re part of a group called Future Leaders and Achievers of Greater Shamokin (FLAGS) that Kathy Vetovich, a Shamokin business owner, started early this year. Vetovich is heavily involved with and is president of Shamokin Area Businesses for Economic Revitalization (SABER).

A key piece to reengage youth is the Skye Loft Youth Center that Vetovich is opening to teach life skills and give youth a positive and productive place to hang out. Youth will learn how to change a tire, write checks, learn about finances, have sessions on personal development, cooking classes, learn about Shamokin heritage, and more.

One room will be a meeting room for kids after school; another will be a quiet reading room. Another will have desks and computers along with games like shuffleboard and ping pong.

Vetovich bought the former Trinity Episcopal Church at 150 E. Liberty St. to house the youth center as well as a city welcome center, the Anthracite Heritage Museum, the Shamokin Music Mart, and a dog-friendly coffee shop.

It’s expected to open by year’s end.

Hinkle is helping to paint a mosaic in the Skye Loft and wants other youth to get involved with FLAGS. While she “made the best” of her youth in Shamokin, she sees today’s kids going down a different path.

“That’s why I’m really involved with the youth. We need to give kids more to do. Right now, they just hang in Dunkin or walk around Wal-Mart,” she said.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) held a series of workshops in conjunction with SEDA-Council of Governments (SEDA-COG) earlier this year to create its Shamokin Community Rebuilding Action Plan. SEDA-COG supports and coordinates revitalization efforts in Shamokin with an office in the heart of the city.

Hinkle attended the EPA meetings and, as part of that plan, is leading a group to increase community involvement and partnerships.

Hinkle coordinates metal and clothing drives, collecting the community’s unwanted items. She’s also part of SABER and is on Mayor John Brown’s advisory board, and she got other kids to participate on his board, too.

“When I was little, my dad would drive around Philly and show us the work he did as a contractor on buildings. Now I get to drive around Shamokin and say I was involved in things, too,” Hinkle said.

When one of Hinkle’s high school teachers asked her class if they were going to stay in Shamokin after they graduated, the question hit Hinkle like a ton of bricks.

“I hadn’t thought about it before. I told her, ‘yes,’” Hinkle said, who graduated this year. That’s when she joined FLAGS. She and her family moved to Shamokin from Philadelphia at age 7, and now she wants to stay near her family here.

Buggy, a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, was born and raised in Coal Township. In February, a friend told him about FLAGS and he was immediately interested. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the college sent students home and he participated in the FLAGS virtual Zoom meetings.

As part of his community involvement efforts relating to the EPA workshops and involvement in FLAGS, he’s promoting community service and helping to create a welcome packet with the city for new residents to introduce them to local businesses.

“We don’t want them to move here as outsiders and stay outsiders for five years. We want them to be welcomed, integrated, and become valuable members of our community,” Buggy said.

Shamokin was a booming city during the coal era, Buggy said, but as that shifted, so did its population, lowering the tax base.

“The quality of life did decline, but irreparable damage has not been dealt to Shamokin,” Buggy said. “People get too stuck in the idea that we aren’t as great as we once were – but we can be a different type of great. That’s the danger of nostalgia. It’s good to want to be as great as you were, but it’s not necessarily productive to be the exact same as you were.”

He loves how close-knit the community of Shamokin is.

“Everybody knows everybody. Whenever anything big happens in the community, everybody feels it. It’s not the town that’s bad – it’s the attitude toward it,” Buggy said.

Hinkle wants to be a forensic pathologist and perform autopsies. Buggy wants to be an astrophysicist and work for NASA. Both want to make a lasting impact.

“I want to make some sort of impact. If everyone thought like that – what small mark can I make on this city – it could build to something huge,” Buggy said.

Youth can get involved with FLAGS by joining the Facebook group at FLAGS – Future Leaders and Achievers of Greater Shamokin. For business owners or managers that want to be involved with SABER, join that Facebook page, or contact Kathy Vetovich at kvetovich@gmail.com.

To learn more about Shamokin’s revitalization, visit goshamokin.com.

As a community and economic development agency, SEDA-COG enhances the quality of life and economic advantage for residents and businesses in 11 central Pennsylvania counties through its vital partnerships and initiatives. SEDA-COG also is an advocate for the interests of its communities at the state and federal levels. For more information, visit www.seda-cog.org.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING SERVICES

MOUNT CARMEL BOROUGH DEMOLITIONS

Mount Carmel Borough proposes to use Community Development Block Grant funds to procure engineer services for design and construction supervision of the demolition of 137 S. Locust Street, which is privately owned, and 141 S. Locust Street, which is owned by the Borough. The following narrative outlines the major responsibilities and project needs.
Proposals shall include the attached “Standard Engineering Estimate” and be submitted to:

Linda Sterling, Project Coordinator
SEDA-COG
201 Furnace Road
Lewisburg, PA 17837

All Proposals shall be sealed and clearly marked on the outside “Engineering Services Proposals,” and must be received by 10 a.m., prevailing time, August 18, 2020, at which time they will be publicly opened at SEDA-COG. Proposals that are faxed or emailed cannot be accepted.
Questions regarding this Request for Proposals should be directed to:

Linda Sterling, Project Coordinator
SEDA-COG
201 Furnace Road
Lewisburg, PA 17837
570-524-4491

Application window open for Northumberland County entities to apply for COVID relief funds

The application window is open for Northumberland County businesses, organizations, and municipalities to apply to receive part of an $8.2 million grant the county received to assist them with COVID-19 expenses.

The deadline to apply to the county is Aug. 24. The funds do not have to be repaid.

The COVID-19 County Relief Block Grant (CRBG) funds must be for the prevention, preparedness, and response to the COVID-19 crisis. Funds must be used to assist municipalities, small business grants, and nonprofits to pay for any COVID-related cost they have incurred. The grant is from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Securities Act (CARES Act), through the state Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED).

SEDA-Council of Governments (SEDA-COG) is assisting the county by providing professional expertise and grant administrative services, as well as activity development and management to ensure accuracy and adherence with federal and state regulations.

County Commissioner Samuel J. Schiccatano said this initial assessment will help establish the need throughout the county and described the information they’re seeking.

“The county is requesting information on any COVID-related expenses that your municipality or organization has spent since March 1, 2020 or anticipates spending by Dec. 30, 2020. The county also is seeking information on any expense or projected expense in your budgets that stems from the COVID-19 crisis. The CRBG funds may be able to assist in recouping these financial hardships, but first we must be able to quantify these expenses,” Schiccatano said.

He said that while they will do their best to meet the eligible needs submitted, sufficient funds may not be available for every need.

To submit information by Aug. 24, visit www.norrycopa.net/index.php/planning/ and complete the CARES Act Needs Assessment form. Send the completed form to Justin Skavery, county planning coordinator, at justin.skavery@norrycopa.net or 399 Stadium Drive, Sunbury, PA 17801.

For more information, contact Skavery at the above email address or 570-988-4220 or Geralee Zeigler of SEDA-COG at gzeigler@seda-cog.org or 570-524-4491 ext. 7218.

As a community and economic development agency, SEDA-COG enhances the quality of life and economic advantage for residents and businesses in 11 central Pennsylvania counties through its vital partnerships and initiatives. SEDA-COG also is an advocate for the interests of its communities at the state and federal levels. For more information, visit www.seda-cog.org.

Final Notice: Centre County CDBG-CV and Bellefonte Borough

POSTING DATES: August 5 – August 11, 2020
CONTACT: Nicole Hogan, (570) 524-4491

FINAL NOTICE

On August 31, 2020, Centre County plans to submit an application to the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) for 2020 Community Development Block Grant Coronavirus Response (CDBG-CV) funds. The amount of the 2020 CDBG-CV funds for Centre County is $166,152, and $66,574 for the Borough of Bellefonte. Based on this amount, the Centre County Commissioners , along with the Bellefonte Borough Council propose to allocate CDBG funds to the following activities:

CENTRE COUNTY

  1. Emergency Services Assistance Program $ 40,875
  2. Centre Volunteers in Medicine $ 20,000
  3. Centre Safe $ 10,000
  4. Centre County rent/mortgage/utility assistance program $ 35,377
  5. Small Business Assistance Program $ 30,000
  6. SEDA-COG Administration $ 16,600
  7. Centre County Administration $ 13,300

TOTAL $ 166,152

BELLEFONTE BOROUGH

8. Bellefonte Utility and Rent Assistance Program $ 59,974
9. Administration $ 6,600

TOTAL $ 66,574

A Public Hearing to receive comments on the proposed use of these funds will be held on August 11, 2020, at 7:00 PM. Keeping with federal and state guidelines regarding COVID 19, this meeting will take place as a virtual video web and tele conference. The public is invited to observe and participate in the hearing as follows: To access via web video, type the link: https://meetings.ringcentral.com/j/8383951780. To access via telephone dial +1(470)869-2200 and enter Meeting ID: 838 395 1780. The meeting will be recorded. The meeting platform is accessible to persons with disabilities. If accommodations are needed for those with special needs related to language, sight, or hearing, please call (570)524-4491 at least five days in advance. Interested applicants should contact the Centre County Commissioners as soon as possible for funding consideration, but in no case later than August 11, 2020. Following the Public Hearing, the Centre County Commissioners will consider the approval of the CDBG-CV application at the August 13, 2020 Commissioners Meeting.

The Center County Commissioners will strive to make all programs and activities accessible to the learning, mobility, vision, hearing, and language-impaired persons. If you have a disability or limited English proficiency and require an auxiliary aid or accommodations, please contact Nicole Hogan at SEDA-COG, 1-800-332-6701, 1-800-654-5984 TTY, 1-800-654-5988 TDD, to discuss your needs at least five days in advance. Translators will be available upon request.

Any complaints should be written and submitted to Mitzi Gallagher-Long at SEDA-COG. Written responses will be addressed within 15 working days when practicable.

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