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ournal-herald THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2022 • Volume 41 – No. 38 ©2022, THE JOURNAL-HERALD. All Rights Reserved
CONTINUING: THE WHITE HAVEN JOURNAL ESTABLISHED 1879–143rd YEAR, NO. 25
SINGLE COPY– 75¢ (USPS 277440)
CONTINUING: THE WEATHERLY HERALD ESTABLISHED 1880–142nd YEAR, NO. 51
WHACL park opens on Friday A new community park outside of the White Haven Library and Visitor Center will be officially opened for public use, following a ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday, May 20 at 1 p.m. The completed park was jointly funded by private donations, White Haven Borough and through grants from DCNR and DCED totaling $400,000. The park has a large circular activity space, gardens with native plantings, ADA accessible walkway, an arbor, benches, picnic tables, lighting and fencing. It will now connect the library to the rest of the town, act as a venue for programs and outdoor events and also be an attractive spot for bikers and walkers from the nearby D&L trail to rest. Local, regional and statewide dignitaries have been invited to attend.
DCNR’s assistant regional manager Alan Stout, left, and local state parks assistant manager Nicholas Sherlock, announced a delayed Lehigh Gorge trail opening. JH: Seth Isenberg
Gorge Trail south access not going to be open soon by Seth Isenberg State Parks local assistant manager Nicholas Sherlock and assistant regional manager Alan Stout came to the May 13 meeting of the Greater White Haven Chamber of Commerce with some bad news. The PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (PA State Parks) is not going to have the south end of the Lehigh Gorge trail work done until
after Labor Day. The work had been promised to be complete so the trail from south of the White Haven plaza to Tannery would be open for this summer. The complicated project ran into a number of hurdles through the fall and winter, and now faces the need to replace the deck on the bridge over the Linesville Creek. Chamber members were See GORGE TRAIL, page 6
Weatherly Area board OKs tax increase, hires new business manager by Seth Isenberg The Weatherly Area Board has agreed to a preliminary 2022-23 budget of $15,754,839, which includes a 1.1 mill tax increase, estimated to cost about $41 per household. The budget, voted on unanimously at the board’s May 11 meeting, is currently underfunded by $185,700, and this budget uses the District’s Fund Balance money to get it to balance out. However, according to outgoing business manager Nick Bellucci there are several sources of additional money that could narrow the underfunding, or better still, put money into the fund balance.
Among the key points of the new budget are more resources to English as a second language programs, and a 3% pay increase for all employees not under a teacher or support staff contract. This budget is now posted for public review. The Board was also unanimous in approving the hiring of Robert Kachurak, CPA, to become the District’s new business manager and board secretary. Kachurak has worked as business manager
at the Hanover Area School District, and is working as an accountant. He would start here on May 31. Current business manager Bellucci finishes his work this Friday, May 20. He thanked the Board members and administrators, adding “I enjoyed working here very much.” He starts his new job ad business manager of the Reading Muhlenburg Career & Technology Center on Monday. More about this meeting in next week’s JournalHerald.