Valley of Progress 2022

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Saturday, March 12,2022

Joint Rail Authority adding 9 miles of track

■ Playworld donates equipment for Kidsburg playground/E2

Thermo Fisher S C I E N T I F I C

■ Thermo Fisher Scientific responds to need/E3

_________________ North Shore Railroad photo

A train rolls through the Shamokin area of Northumberland County on tracks owned by the SEDA-COG Joint Rail Authority.

Five railroads currently serve 80 customers in eight counties

By Justin Strawser jstra wser@dailyltem.com

■ Company owner promises 400 jobs at Sunbury plant/E4

■ Line Mountain School District invests $1M in STEM education/E6

0

LEWISBURG — The Joint Rail Authority of SEDA-Council of Governments plans to expand its more than 200 miles of track by April.

The Lewisburg-based JRA is an eight-county municipal authority offering public ownership of the trackage and fixed facilities, while freight service to customers is handled by the private sector through an agreement with the North Shore Railroad group The JRA plans to finalize an agreement with Norfolk Southern to purchase nine miles of track in Snyder County for $371,200.

It would be the first expansion of the JRA in nearly 20 years, which will bring the total miles of track to approximately 215, said JRA executive director Jeff Stover.

“We’re in the process of acquiring the lines in Selinsgrove, Snyder County,” said Stover. “That has not been completed yet. We’re in the final stages of that. The agreements have been signed by the authority and Norfolk Southern to acquire the line on the east side of the river all the way through Selinsgrove borough to Kreamer.”

The authority bought the track itself, not the real estate, as well as operating easements, said Stover.

The nine miles of track consist of 7.7 miles between Selinsgrove and Kreamer and 1.3 miles from Selinsgrove to the Panda Hummel Station in Shamokin Dam. “The rail is a piece of infrastructure that serves

North Shore Railroad photo

A train operates on lines owned by the SEDA-COG Joint Rail Authority. industry,” said Stover. “You want to keep that in place. Once you lose it, it’s really hard to rebuild it.”

It has been 39 years since the creation of the JRA when Conrail abandoned railroad lines.

Located at 201 Furnace Road, Lewisburg, the JRA was formed to manage approximately 200

miles of rail lines operated by five short line railroads, serving 85 customers in central Penn­ sylvania, including Lycoming, Mifflin, Montour, Centre, Clinton, Columbia, Union and Northum­ berland counties.

See RAIL, Page E2

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Page E2 The Daily Item / Saturday, March 12, 2022

Valley of Progress

Play world donates equipment for Hufnagle Park playground project Chris Benson cbenson@dailyitem.com

LEWISBURG — Many updates are in the works for Playworld’s do­ nated addition to Lewisburg’s park infrastructure.

The borough contractor has removed red/silver playground equipment from the new playground build area in Hufnagle Park and reinstallation is progressing, according to borough manager Bill Lowthert.

Lowthert said the contractor for the Mixed Use Path-Nature Play-Floodplain Restoration Project is back on site this week pouring sidewalks and preparing for the nature play compo­ nent installation.

“They will continue working on site as weather permits. We expect the Hufnagle Park restroom and hand­ washing station contractor to be onsite again next week preparing for the re­ stroom installation later this spring,” said Lowthert.

Lowthert suspected it may be weeks to months for manufacturing to begin on the new playground equipment.

“No schedule as of yet from Playworld. It’s still being worked out,” said Steve Beattie, Lewisburg’s Community Development/Grant Manager.

Lowthert said playground relocation at Wolfe Field is still on hold.

Playworld is donating ‘Destination Playground’ to Lewisburg with intent to honor “Heroic efforts of region’s First Responders.”

Playworld is replacing equipment donated by the company in 2014. The new 8,500-square foot play space is ex­ pected to feature the latest innovations in swings, climbers, slides, and shade for people ages two and up, according to Playworld.

Hufnagle Park Kidsburg Playground will be customized to honor first re­ sponders and celebrate volunteerism.

A dedication ceremony is planned for June 2022.

“Most of the equipment is installed and the remaining pieces should be installed later in March. Installation of remaining safety surface, final site grading, and seeding will occur as weather allows,” said Lowthert.

He said the expectation for opening of the new playground will be April or May. “The contractor for the Hufnagle Park Restroom and Handwashing Sta­ tion Project is on site and preparing for the installation of the building foun­ dation. Manufacture of the restroom itself continues off site.”

According to Lowthert, construc­ tion for the Mixed Use Path-Nature Play-Floodplain Restoration Project has resumed. “The concrete Mixed Use Path is being poured adjacent to the parking lot in Hufnagle Park and the site is being prepared for the as­ phalt Mixed Use Path along South Sixth Street just south of St. Catharine Street.”

He said prep work for the installa­ tion of the Nature Play Components continues in the Kidsburg area of Huf­ nagle Park.

Lewisburg’s William Cameron En­ gine Co. and other ladder companies extinguished a fire at Playworld in May 2021, inspiring the community-focused theme for the new playground in Lewisburg.

Playworld, a commercial playground equipment manufacturer, announced plans to donate new equipment to “pay homage to the community’s coura­ geous first responders and the spirit of volunteerism,” according to the company.

Showcasing many of Playworld’s lat­ est and most innovative play equipment on 8,500 square feet of “No Fault” unitary safety surfacing, construction of the new playground is scheduled to begin in the spring.

“Community is at the heart of every­ thing we do at Playworld, and the new Hufnagle Park Kidsburg Playground will serve as a powerful, significant example of our commitment to the Lewisburg area, and our appreciation

m WILLIAM CAMERON

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Image provided by Playworld

This is an artist’s rendering of a fire engine play structure bearing the name and likeness to the William Cameron Engine Company’s firetruck in Lewisburg. Playworld will be donating new equipment to Hufnagle Park Kidsburg Playground.

Aerial drone photo by Robert Inglis/The Daily Item

Construction is set to resume as spring arrives soon at Hufnagle Park in Lewisburg. of its first responders,” said David Sheedy, vice president of global sales for Playworld.

“With a focus on distinctive inno­ vation that challenges and unites kids through unstructured, outdoor play, we expect Hufnagle Park to become a destination playground for the entire region, and a celebration of the heroes who live and work here,” said Sheedy.

The reimagined Hufnagle Park Kidsburg Playground will honor those first responders’ selflessness and teach children about the importance of vol­ unteerism.

Playworld said it will feature a yel­ low fire engine play structure, cele­ brating the William Cameron Engine Co.’s traditional engine color, along

with custom signage commemorating all first responders who came together to support Playworld and ensure the safety of its employees.

The playground will also include many swings, including early-childhood tot seats, an accessible swing seat and a Swing Along multigenerational, face-to-face swing seat; the distinctive Mighty Descent Slide with Prism Pass, the largest single-piece, rotationally molded slide in the world, allowing for multiple children at one time; PlayTown playhouses designed to meet the demands of all two-tofive-year-old play experts; and a new frame net climber for children ages five and up that soars to over 15 feet tall, providing “a challenging, social,

dynamic rope play experience.”

New solar-powered lighting will help protect the playground, shining light in a downward trajectory from atop the equipment to illuminate the area and discourage unwanted after-hour activity, according to Playworld.

“With brand new and classic equip­ ment that inspires visitors of all ages, the new Hufnagle Park Kidsburg Play­ ground will clearly demonstrate what makes Playworld renowned for its in­ novation,” said Todd Brinker, senior vice president, commercial growth, for outdoor play at PlayPower, Playworld’s parent company.

“We cannot wait to share it with the well-deserving Lewisburg commu­ nity,” Brinker said.

Hufnagle Park is named after Gor­ don Hufnagle, a 25-year Lewisburg Police Department veteran who was serving as the town’s safety director when he lost his life while attempting to save others, during the 1972 flood.

“On behalf of the entire Lewisburg community, we are very grateful for this generous donation. This is a shin­ ing example of how our communities support businesses and how the busi­ ness community supports us,” said Beattie.

“Working hand in hand with Play­ world on the design, coordination, and scheduling, this world class playground will complement the many other recre­ ational improvements currently under construction in the park,” Beattie said.

Joint Rail Authority adding 9 miles of track in Snyder County RAIL, from Page E1

The Joint Rail Authority is governed by a 16-member board with two board members from each county served by the panel.

Snyder County is not a member county, but discussions have been had to bring them in, said Stover.

The JRA owns the lines but con­ tracts with a private operator — North Shore Railroad, based in Northum­ berland — to provide rail service.

Susquehanna Union Railroad Com­ pany (SURC), a noncarrier holding company, is the holding company for North Shore Railroad Company, Nittany & Bald Eagle Railroad Company, Shamokin Valley Railroad Company, Juniata Valley Railroad Company, Lycoming Valley Railroad Company, and Union County Industrial Railroad Company “North Shore Railroad Company & Affiliates has been marketing, main­ taining, and operating the JRA rail

lines since 1984,” said spokesperson Loni Briner. “We are proud to be a part of this public/private partner­ ship. We have an amazing team from conductors and engineers to signals and track maintainers, from railcar and equipment repairmen to back end office staff. Our employees put their best foot forward to not only preserve the JR A’s mission but make freight rail in Central PA thrive.”

Briner said it was business as usual when the COVID-19 pandemic started.

“Nothing really changed for us when it hit,” said Briner.

“Some customers increased pro­ duction, some decreased, which is an occurrence with different markets at all times. Our trains continued to run as normal. Like the trucking industry, railroad employees did not have the option to stay home. We had to keep goods moving for our customers.”

There were 20,000 carloads last year. The peak for JRA was more

than 30,000 in 2013 during the peak of the Marcellus Shale natural gas boom, said Stover.

SEDA-COG and North Shore are working with Button Holdings and Energy on a $2.2 million de­ velopment project that includes the construction of six 80,000 gallon tanks and of a facility to transfer propane and butane from rail cars to the tanks. The site is located along Route 11 just east of Northumberland at a former PennDOT rest area.

The Daily Item / Saturday, March 12, 2022 Page E3

Valley of Progress

Thermo Fisher Scientific responds to need, expanding and hiring staff in Millersburg

By Justin Strawser jstrawser@dailyitem .com

MILLERSBURG - The Millersburg site of Thermo Fisher Scien­ tific responded to a need during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Company spokesperson Wendy R. Mejia said demand during the pan­ demic increased for critical vaccines and therapeutics. The company is in­ vesting $40 million in its manufac­ turing plant at 163 Research Lane, Millersburg.

“Thermo Fisher’s Millersburg site and our colleagues around the world answered the call for increased pro­ duction,” said Mejia. “Therefore, since the start of the pandemic, Millersburg has been instrumental in supporting more than 20 pharmaceutical partners developing lifesaving therapies and vaccines. Thermo Fisher’s expanded bioprocessing capabilities will ensure that we can continue to support our biopharma customers as they ramp up to meet both the short-term demands related to COVID-19 as well as long­ term efforts to develop new vaccines and biologies for other conditions.”

The Millersburg site currently em­ ploys more than 900 people, with the addition of more than 200 people over the last three years. The site is expected to add another 100 people and em­ ploy more than 1,000 total when the expansion is complete by mid-2023, said Mejia.

The site produces single-use tech­ nologies (SUTs), which are custom­ ized container systems engineered to support the entire bioprocessing chain, including delivery, processing, separation, storage and transporta­ tion of liquids. The site specializes in made-to-order bioprocessing contain­ ers (BPCs) using specialty films and other solutions used in bioprocessing, said Mejia.

The latest expansion at the facility is designed to add significant capacity to continue providing the biopharma industry with the technology and mate­ rials needed to assist in developing new vaccines, cancer treatments and break­ through therapies for other conditions.

Thermo Fisher acquired the Mill­ ersburg site in 2015 as part of the ac­ quisition of Advanced Scientifics Inc. (ASI). Tn 2017, Thermo Fisher added to the facility with the acquisition of 101 Teardrop Lane, currently referred to as the East Campus, said Mejia.

Photo provided

Thermo Fisher Scientific is investing $40 million to expand its manufacturing facility in Millersburg.

The second phase of the site expan­ sion includes a new, 47,000-square foot warehouse. Expansion of the manufacturing facility has begun, and it is expected to be completed by 2023, she said.

“The site expansion is part of Thermo Fisher’s $650 million capital investment to expand bioprocessing production capabilities,” said Mejia.

“In March of 2021, Thermo Fisher first announced more than $600 mil­ lion in capital investments to increase bioprocessing production through 2022. Thermo Fisher then updated that figure to $650 million in a September 2021 press release announcing plans to

establish a new manufacturing facility in Nashville.”

Globally, Thermo Fisher is also expanding single-use technologies capacity at sites in Logan, Utah; Cramlington, United Kingdom; Sin­ gapore and Suzhou, China; and Santa Clara, Calif. In addition, the com­ pany is expanding its state-of-the-art POROS resins manufacturing site in Bedford, Mass., and opening a new 85,000-square-foot manufacturing fa­ cility in Chelmsford, Mass. Additional investments to expand capacity at sites in Grand Island, N.Y., Miami, Fla. and Ichinnan, Scotland, will increase production of Gibco cell culture media

and other solutions to support global supply, said Mejia.

Thermo Fisher Scientific is invest­ ing $40 million to expand its manu­ facturing facility in Millersburg.

The expansion will ensure a “flex­ ible, scalable and reliable bioprocess­ ing production capacity exists for crit­ ical materials used in developing new and existing biologies and vaccines, including for COVID-19,” a release from the company noted.

“During the pandemic, our col­ leagues in Millersburg and around the world answered the call for increased production.

“Our expanded bioprocessing

capabilities will ensure that we can continue to deliver essential supplies to our customers as demand surges.”

When the announcement of the ex­ pansion in Millersburg was released, Gov. Tom Wolf said, “Pennsylvania is a key destination for groundbreaking businesses with our highly educated, skilled, and tal­ ented workforce, leading universi­ ties, and location near other major cities. The bioprocessing solutions that Thermo Fisher Scientific will produce in Millersburg will help to power the local economy and strengthen our position in the science and technology sectors.”

Sunbury plans renovations, improvements in year ahead

By Francis Scarcella fscarcella@dailyitem.com

SUNBURY - City officials are excited for 2022 as Sunbury has several projects underway and expects to revamp many properties and streets in the next year.

City Administrator Derrick Backer said the Celotex site, the former Sunbury Community Hospital and the Reagan Street and Susquehanna Avenue proj­ ects are at the top of the list.

“One of the bigger projects we are looking to work on is the former Celotex site,” he said. “The city has received $2,000,000 of state funding for purchase and development of that site and to improve the infrastructure.

The city is looking to pur­ chase the property in 2022 and is looking into working with an engineer to start the process of determining what type of inter­ section can be put into place for access to the cite. We would be working with PennDOT, SEDA-COG, DRIVE and others to accomplish this and we are hopeful we can start with the planning process in 2022.”

The former hospital is also a top priority, he said.

“The city is currently work­ ing with DRIVE, Rep. Lynda Culver, and Sen. John Gordner to get the former hospital loca­ tion redeveloped,” he said.

“We do not want to see that site sit vacant, so we are actively working with UPMC to find a solution for that site.”

Backer said city streets are also of equal importance to officials.

The Reagan Street and Susquehanna Avenue project will alleviate the flooding at the Reagan Street underpass and perform storm water and sewer separation, he said.

“The Susquehanna Avenue portion of the project will also upgrade the utilities that feed into the Celotex site from Susquehanna Avenue which will help with redeveloping that location. The Reagan Street portion of the project will be completed by Summer 2022 and Susquehanna Avenue Phase 1 will not be started until 2023.”

Backer said officials are also hoping to see Market Street get some improvements.

“We currently have a grant into the state that would up­ grade the lighting and do sidewalk repairs on Market Street between 10th Street and Wolverton Avenue,” he said.

“We are hopeful for the award­ ing of the funding and if we are fortunate enough to receive the necessary funding, work can begin in Spring 2023.”

Sunbury Mayor Josh Brosious said he is excited for the several projects happening in the city and hopes to see more businesses invest in Sunbury.

“We have so many things going on right now,” he said.

“This is a great time to invest in our city.”

Another major project is the Sunbury Wetlands Ecological Educational Park (SWEEP) to

help preserve one of the unique locations within the city and to help promote outdoor activ­ ities for the citizens to enjoy,” Backer said. “The local Boy Scout Troop 333, of Sunbury, have been a tremendous help with clearing out the location and to start developing trail on the property. A SWEEP com­ mittee has been created and Phase 1 will start in Spring 2022.”

Former Mayor Kurt Kar­ lovich heads the SWEEP committee and said he is also excited to see progress. “This will be a great and educational place to visit for our residents and people who are visiting the city,” he said.

The city is also in the process of researching consolidation in­

side the fire department, Backer said.

“The city is working with the Sunbury Fire Department and all its stations to investi­ gate consolidation of its stations within the city,” Backer said.

“Consolidation helps with low­ ering costs of maintaining an active fire department, while providing for newer and more up to date equipment and will help with any manpower issue that may be currently taking place. This will allow for volunteerism to stay as the pri­ mary firefighting force within city limits and prevent the city from needing to move to a paid fire department which the addi­ tional cost could be passed onto the taxpayers if the city needed to move in that direction.

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Valley of Progress

Owner: 400 jobs coming to Sunbury plant

By Justin Strawser jstrawser@dailyitem.com

SUNBURY — The owner of an in­ coming industrial hemp manufacturer expects at least 400 jobs by the time it reaches full production in summer 2023.

Sivana Converting LLC CEO Soheil Shahrooz recently provided a tour to U.S. Rep. Fred Keller, R-12, and other local officials of the 350,000-square foot space that once housed the former Sunbury Textile Mill facility, previ­ ously owned by Glen Raven Custom Fabrics LLC. The first phase of the project is expected to start with 50 jobs when production starts in June.

Sivana will be abio-degradable com­ pany for to-go containers, cups, plates, utensils and corrugated boxes. The goal is to produce 100 percent hempbased products, using about 70 farmers in Pennsylvania as the suppliers, said Shahrooz.

“What attracted us to Pennsylvania is obviously the love and guidance we’ve gotten since we entered and the hemp farmers here,” said Shahrooz. “We know they’re all looking for more of a reliable source to take their prod­ uct. After the whole CBD craze died down and the farmers took a major hit, we thought it would be a good fit for us to come in and partner with local farmers to produce our product, get it out there and introduce a 100 percent bio-degradable product that will hit the market and be earth-friendly.”

In July, economic developer DRIVE (Driving Real Innovation for a Vi­ brant Economy) announced Sivana Converting as the newest business on the 57-acre site, joining Fresh Roasted Coffee LLC. The former textile facility closed in August, leaving 110 employ­ ees without jobs. The owners donated the facility in December to DRIVE, an economic development council serving Northumberland, Union, Snyder, Mon­ tour and Columbia counties.

The facility had been operating in Sunbury for 66 years. For the last 20 years, the Sunbury facility has been exclusively licensed to produce North Carolina-based company Glen Raven’s Sunbrella fabrics for outdoor/indoor furniture markets.

Robert Inglis/The Daily Iten

DRIVE Executive Director Jennifer Wakeman, left, and U.S. Rep. Fred Keller, right, talk with Sivana Converting LLC CEO Soheil Shah rooz in the former Sunbury Textile Mill, where he is putting a manufacturing facility.

The two-phase project will start with to-go containers, cups, plates, straws and corrugated boxes. The first phase will start with 50 employees in the first month. Once production reaches 100 percent in 2023, if everything goes according to schedule, the goal is to add another 300 employees, said Shahrooz.

“Once we go to phase two, that’s where we’re bringing technology that we are introducing to the market, which will allow us to convert raw hemp,” he said. "We can use it in our products and we’ll be able to palletize it and sell raw hemp as well.”

The machinery has not arrived at the facility yet. Orders are in place and pro­ duction should begin by June, he said.

Phase two will require a 60,000-square-foot machine, so Shah­ rooz said the company will either have to find a secondary location or expand on the current property, he said.

Two major goals are to keep all supplies and services from within state; and to hire as many former Glen Raven employees as possible, he said.

Keller thanked Shahrooz for his investment in Pennsylvania.

“There’s a lot of opportunity,” said Keller. “It’s great they’re looking here in Sunbury, right here in the heart of Pennsylvania. We have people who are very hardworking, very thought­ f u l , and local farms around here.

You look at the whole supply chain

they’re looking to create, to bring the product in to have production right here, T t h i n k it will be a great suc­ cess story of how we can take a place and repurpose it for the benefit of the community.”

Jennifer Wakeman, the executive director of D R I V E , said she is glad that Congressman Keller came to see what Sivana is doing.

“It has a lot of great things going for it, and I’m excited for what they’re planning to do,” said Wakeman. “It’s a process, but we’ll see them grow over time. They know how to make this work. Hemp can be a large industry for this area. I think we’re going to get a spotlight shined on us for all the

right reasons.”

Wakeman said D R I V E does not “pick and choose” partners.

“We have a building, we sell it to someone, but sometimes it’s better than you can hope for,” she said. “I t h i n k that’s how we feel about Siv­ ana.”

In addition to Keller and Wakeman. the tour was also attended by Keller’s district director Ann Kaufman; Jeff Cole, the office manager of state Rep. Lynda Schlegel Culver, R-108; D R I V E office/project manager Tim­ othy Hippensteel; and investor Fred­ erick W. Kluck, regional manager of the Upper Susquehanna Ben Franklin Technology Partners.

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The Daily Item / Saturday, March 12, 2022 Page E5

Valley of Progress

Susquehanna University endeavors to retain students by meeting needs

By Marcia Moore mmoore@dailyitem.com

SELINSGROVE - Susque­ hanna University has worked hard to retain students like Alaina Uricheck during the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Uricheck considered trans­ ferring from Susquehanna in the summer of 2020, following her first year at the university during which she spent a few times in quarantine before studying remotely at her New Freedom, Pa., home due to health and safety protocols.

“My first experience on cam­ pus felt traumatizing with all the spontaneous quarantines,” said the communications major with a minor in biology. “I just wasn’t sure it was something I wanted to return to.”

Even before the pandemic, retention of first-year students has been a struggle for most colleges and universities. Ac­ cording to the National Stu­ dent Clearinghouse Research Center's 2020 Persistence and Retention Report, the overall rate of first-year students con­ tinuing a second year dropped by 2 percent 73.9% in fall 2019.

That was the lowest level since 2012.

Reasons students leave vary.

A 2006 National Postsecondary Education Cooperative report found that less than one-quarter of the 45 percent of students who start college and fail to complete their degree is due to poor academic performance.

Most who left cited other rea­ sons, such as a change in fam­ ily finances, being cut from a sports team, and personal is­ sues.

At Susquehanna, efforts to help students complete their schooling and graduate have focused on addressing students needs, from academics to their social lives.

Targeted academic and social programming, from expanded mentoring and inclusive teach­ ing techniques to “intrusive advising” and specialized firstyear orientations are some of the efforts taken and adminis­ trators say it’s paying off.

Student retention in fall 2020 was at 88.4 percent, the highest since 2003 when 89.8 percent of students remained on campus.

While Susquehanna’s fall

2021 retention rate is down slightly to 87.3 percent, it’s up 4.4 percentage points from the 2013 low and ahead of the uni­ versity’s three-year retention average of 86.4 percent — all of which has been achieved with a global pandemic as the backdrop.

“For us to be beating our three-year retention average at this time is a pretty phenomenal feat,” Provost Dave Ramsaran said. “This is a collective effort by everyone who has been so focused on student success, not just the faculty but also staff across campus. That has been the real cultural shift, under­ standing that the most import­ ant thing we all do is to make sure our students succeed, and we all have a role to play.”

“In recognizing our collec­ tive commitment to the success of our students and in support­ ing them through Commence­ ment Day, we have achieved impressive retention rates despite facing unprecedented challenges,” President Jonathan Green said. “This is the story of a campus community that faced challenges head-on and not only met them but excelled despite them.”

At Susquehanna, retention efforts begin before students ar­ rive on campus. After enrolling, students are assigned a faculty mentor to begin early advis­ ing, specifically working with incoming students to schedule first semester classes and estab­ lishing a link with the faculty, Ramsaran said.

“It helps incoming students think through what their first semester will look like,” he says. “In the past when stu­ dents got their schedule, they couldn’t change or discuss it until they arrived on campus.

Now they can engage with their advisor from the beginning of the process.”

And to help with the social transition to college life, incom­ ing students can participate in a voluntary mentor program and be matched with a junior or se­ nior. They can email, call or text their mentor to ask questions about academic and campus life through the summer and their first semester.

“This connects the student with someone who has experi­ ence on campus,” says Francy

Couple builds plans for Sunbury business hub

By Francis Scarcella fscarcella@dailyitem.com

SUNBURY - Tim and Jade Boetsch are continuing to im­ prove the city they said they love and this time Sunbury and surrounding areas are in store for a 12-unit complex that will be the home of unique busi­ nesses.

“I grew up here and I am sick of Sunbury getting this bad reputation,” Jade said.

“When people ask why I want to continue to improve Sunbury my response is the same. Why wouldn’t I?” The couple has purchased an old warehouse that sits on the corner at 4th Street and Shikellamy Avenue, which has not been open to the public in more than 20 years.

The 32,000 square-foot building at 220 and 234 Shikellamy Avenue, which sits in Upper Augusta Township, was recently used as a storage build­ ing for flea market items.

Now they are going to bring the complex back to life and are also set to move their popular Pelican’s Snoballs, at 152 Shikellamy Avenue, onto the new property come this spring.

With the winter now hitting the Valley hard, Jade said con­ struction will be slow to start but will pick up when the warmer weather begins to move in.

“We are still early on, and we can put a lot of various stores in, but we want to provide the spots people want right away first,” she said.

“We want to make this like a hub for businesses and people to be able to come and walk around and shop.”

Tim has been doing some smaller construction projects with his wife, as well as focus­ ing on coaching the Shikellamy Braves High School wrestling team, he said.

Tim gained the nickname “The Barbarian” from his years as a world-known — and now retired — American profes­ sional mixed martial artist who fought in the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Cham­ pionship.

He received wide reconition after his hard-fought battles in the octagon, broadcast on payper-view events.

Tim said he now enjoys being in Sunbury and continuing to find ways to improve the city.

“We are very excited about this,” he said. “There is some work to do but we are ready.”

For now, the couple plans on finishing up the architectural plans and moving forward.

“We fell in love with the po­ tential of what we could do with a building this size and what it could do for this city,” Jade said.

“This is all a wish and dream and we are waiting for final ap­ provals and a lot of construction that has to be done but we are ready and prepared,” she said.

“We want a place where peo­ ple will stop in and see because it is different. We have people reaching out to us and we are excited about the future.”

Magee, vice president for stu­ dent life and dean of students.

“It also gives them some social capital because now they know someone who can help them navigate these spaces and be­ come part of the social life at Susquehanna.”

The first two weeks of classes are the most crucial for stu­ dent retention, so everyone on campus is being called on to identify a struggling student.

Faculty have been asked to report every student absence via Education Advisory Board (EAB) Navigate, an integrated campus-wide advising system used by both faculty and stu­ dents.

“We know that if a student struggles within their first two weeks on campus, they are likely to struggle for a long

time,” Ramsaran says. “If we see a student missing three classes, we know there is some­ thing more going on and we proactively reach out to those students.”

Susquehanna's commitment to helping a student keep at their studies through graduation ex­ tends to those who are no longer enrolled. Created in 2018, Proj­ ect Completion assists students who have chosen to withdraw or take a leave of absence to return to campus to complete their degree.

“The university felt we were missing an opportunity to gain back students who ‘stopped out,”’ says Ryan Redfern, transitions and completions coordinator in the Center for Academic Success. “Project Completion brought several

university partners together to smooth re-enrollment processes for these students.”

In his role, Redfern reaches out to students who plan to leave the university and explains the process. He then stays in touch with them and helps those who want to return navigate that process. Redfern also collabo­ rates with coaches or academic advisors who may be able to influence the student's decision to return.

Redfern works in collabora­ tion with Student Financial Ser­ vices, the Registrar, Residence Life and Student Life to address the many reasons a student may choose to leave. When the com­ mittee first organized, on aver­ age 16-24 students returned on a yearly basis. The pandemic required Redfern to more than

double his efforts.

“In my three years at SU, we have seen a 120 percent increase in returnees, averaging 44 stu­ dents a year,” he said. “It’s ex­ tremely satisfying to help these students work through whatever obstacle might be in their way to bring them back to campus to complete their degrees.”

Uricheck ultimately decided to return to SU this fall for her second year.

“I returned to Susquehanna for the same reasons I enrolled initially. SU has the largest stu­ dent-run radio station, a fantas­ tic communications department and a plethora of study abroad programs,” she said. “These op­ portunities were a huge draw to me when I was looking at colleges, and no other colleges have comparable options.”

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Valley of Progress

Line Mountain School District invests $1M in science, technology, engineering, math Students speak in support Twelve students attended the meeting on Tuesday night to support the program. Senior Miranda Long, junior Lois Bijl and sophomores Talan Cortelyou and Casey Keiter also spoke to the school board members.

In the metallics I course, Cortelyou said, “I never had a better experience in a class be­ fore. The reason I enjoyed this class so much is because I felt I learned something I would be learning in the real world.”

Cortelyou said he is glad he got himself involved because he

By Justin Strawser jstrawser@dailyitem.com,

MANDATA — The Line Mountain School District is investing an estimated $1 million in COVID-19 relief funding to expand its STEM (Science, Technology, Engi­ neering, and Mathematics) programming.

Technology education in­ structors Jared Haas and Joe Kahl, along with about a dozen students, presented their plan at a recent public school board meeting, outlining the loca­ tion and equipment needed to introduce additional tech­ nology education courses, the renovations necessary to turn the existing space at the high school into a lab and the need for a third faculty member in the department.

The district is using part of its allocation from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund to bring the project to fruition.

“Our main focus is to ex­ pand the program so students are better prepared for the track they take, be it college or tech school or right into the workforce,” said Kahl.

“Our goal is to provide different paths the students can choose and provide more classes they would be inter­ ested in where they could gain some knowledge before they move onto their next level.

“In addition to that, we’re going to focus on STEM and cross-curricular lessons, talking with the math depart­ ment and science wing, and make sure all our courses and information work together with everyone and ensure ev­ erything is in line with state and national standards.”

The equipment costs are es­ timated to be around $400,000 while the renovations are esti­ mated to be around $600,000, school officials said.

Lab details The STEM General/CNC lab would house all the expen­ sive CNC equipment in “one clean and climate-controlled” location. It would provide the department with a dedicated energy, power and transpor­ tation lab which would create a great deal of space in metal lab.

The room would also pro­ vide a dedicated theory room with 20 student seats for the

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Line Mountain sophomore Rylie Brosious, 16, of Sunbury, works on a project in the the carpentry course of the technology education program. wood lab and metal lab in the event a third faculty mem­ ber would be hired and the STEM lab would become a primary classroom, said Haas and Kahl.

The proposed location would be the current mainte­ nance shop and storage area.

The area was chosen because of its close proximity to the current tech-ed classrooms.

The large garage doors will allow for the placement of the new CNC machines and pro­ vide a large opening for mov­ ing the consumable materials in and completed projects out, they said.

The location would provide a clean environment for all the machines.

The noise produced in the room would not impact other classrooms due to its distance and provides potential for fu­ ture expansion, they said.

The current technology edu­ cation program includes archi­ tecture; computer arts design;

c

Justin Strawser/The Daily Item

Line Mountain senior Chase Miller, 17, of Sunbury, works on his project in the the carpentry segment of the district’s technology education program. energy, power and transpor­ tation; metallic processing and non-metallic processing.

The future program would in­ clude engineering, robotics, plastics and polymers, green energy, 3D modeling, auto­ mated manufacturing, product design and development and practical construction. There

would also be opportunities for articulation agreements and international baccalau­ reate.

A third faculty member would allow more course op­ tions for students to follow, as well as smaller classes to increase productivity and stu­ dent comprehension, they said.

plans on pursuing mechanical engineering.

Long helped create the pre­ sentation’s designs that were introduced on Tuesday.

She said the tech-ed classes are “my favorite classes for sure.”

Senior Chase Miller, 17, of Sunbury, at the school on Wednesday said he enjoys the classes.

“I like the ability to be able to work like this, to have an open mind and have a feeling of accomplishment and build­ ing something with your own hands,” said Miller.

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FI

Saturday, March 12,2022

DRIVE on to resolve rural internet issues

Inside

By Justin Strawser ]strawser@dailyitem.com

Bessie Zettlemoyer reached out to the eco­ nomic development council DRIVE (Driving Real Innovation for a Vibrant Economy) to bring internet service to a home outside Turbotville.

In late February, one of two of DRIVE'S inter­ net service providers SkyPacket Networks came out to Zettlemoyer’s father’s home to determine whether the fixed wireless broadband network could reach the home on Betz Street. While an­ other home within sight was able to be hooked up, that was not the case this time due to the geography and terrain of the area.

“With this kind of stuff, it’s very frustrating,” said Zettlemoyer. “It hinders everything you can do. Our TV, you can’t watch a show without it buffering.”

Zettlemoyer and her son’s family are moving into the home and wanted to introduce internet service to the building for the first time. Certain cell phone carriers can’t provide service in that area.

“I need it for work,” said daughter-in-law Tia Zettlemoyer. “When I’m on call, they can’t get a hold me down here. If I had internet, I could have phone service through the internet.”

Mark Sweeney, a technician with SkyPacket, attempted to receive the signal at Zettlemoyer’s house but was unable to get it. A large tripod more than 20 feet into the air holds the radio, a diamond-shaped receiver, but a strong-enough signal wasn’t coming through the ridge nor the tree line. When leaves start appearing on the trees in the spring, it would be even worse, said Sweeney.

These are the types of situations in rural area of Northumberland, Snyder, Union, Montour and Columbia counties that DRIVE and the two in­ ternet service providers — SkyPacket Networks and Centre WISP — are trying to solve. They are trying to provide high-speed internet access to 1,750 square miles of rural Pennsylvania through a $3.2 million expansion.

DRIVE, created by Columbia and Montour counties in 2015, was able to launch the current network through a public-private partnership with Geisinger, which provided a $300,000 for­ givable loan to fund the project.

In 2020, spurred by the availability of CARES Act funding for broadband development, Nor­ thumberland, Snyder, and Union counties became members of DRIVE. The five counties together provided $3.2 million of CARES Act funds to build out a fixed base wireless network to reach the underserved and unserved areas in the re­ gion. Northumberland County used $1 million, Columbia County used $800,000, Union and Snyder counties used $600,000 each and Mon­ tour County used $200,000.

ConxxNE, a Jessup-based company special­ izing in network infrastructure deployment, was awarded the contract and began the design, engineering and construction of this carrier-grade network in the fall of 2020. The project, com­ pleted last summer, added an additional 16 tower sites in targeted rural and underserved areas across the five counties.

The network utilizes a wide variety of vertical assets from county-owned 911 towers to busi­ ness rooftops to privately-owned farm silos and monopoles placed on private land.

Two internet service providers — SkyPacket Networks and Centre WISP — are now serving customers across the region using this infrastruc­ ture. The network is designed to allow future expansion to fill in coverage gaps and respond to the ever-increasing demand for broadband access.

Bille Rissee, executive vice president for ConxxNE, an affiliate of SkyPacket, and David Gibbons, CEO and Founder of Centre WISP, said an antenna is put up at the customer’s house. If they can receive it, a piece of cable is run into

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Mark Sweeney, a technician with SkyPacket Networks, measures signals from the DRIVE internet network at a property near Turbotville. the house, the cable plugs into the WiFi Internet router.

It starts with a site survey of the homeowner’s property. If they are determined to be a good candidate, people like Sweeney come out to test the equipment and hook them into the network.

“Customers can sign up via our website for the service, or by calling or texting our team,” said Gibbons. “After customers sign up, our instal­ lation coordinators will work with them to find a good time for our technicians to come on-site to their home and complete the installation. The installation consists of mounting a small antenna on the outside of their home, and running a wire into their home to connect to a wifi router that we provide. When our team leaves, the customer will have a working high-speed internet connection they can use throughout their home via wifi.”

There are challenges, they said.

“Some of these properties are in low-lying areas,” said Rissee. “Some properties are masked by really healthy tree canopies. Leaves hold a lot of water. Water absorbs our signals. If you have enough leaves in the way, it deteriorates the signal to the point where it’s not reliable.”

WHAT IS FIXED WIRELESS INTERNET? Fixed wireless internet is a type of in­ ternet service that uses broadcast towers to transmit and receive signals in the form of radio waves. These transmitters are affixed to strategically placed objects like poles, towers of buildings to create a wireless network.

A small dish or antenna is affixed to a property to receive these signals. It is similar to satellite but eliminates the need for a phone or cable line to connect to the internet. This independence from traditional wiring makes it ideal for those living in rural areas where terrestrial inter­ net service options are not available.

Fixed wireless is the fastest growing sector of the broadband industry, char­ acterized by cost-effective deployment, rapid technology innovation, and contin­ uously evolving transmissions models, including fiber. Networks can be built and upgraded at a fraction of the cost of wired and satellite technologies.

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Valley of Progress

Furmano Foods focuses on its employees

By Francis Scarcella fscarcella@dailyitem.com

NORTHUMBERLAND Fur­ mano Foods continues to push forward, even though they, like many businesses, faced labor shortages, increased costs and supply chain disruption through the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Employees have always been crit­ ical to the company’s success and the pandemic reinforced the importance of essential frontline employees who pro­ vided food when we needed it most,” Chad Geise, president and CEO of Furmano Foods said.

“We have been fortunate to work side by side, generation after gener­ ation with friends and families from throughout the community. Without their collective help, we would not have achieved all we have been blessed to accomplish over the past century.”

There has been a re-emphasis on strengthening company culture, Geise said.

“Over the past year, Furmano’s has held monthly events and giveaways to commemorate their 100th anniversary and show appreciation for the employ­ ee’s dedication and hard work,” he said.

Furmano Foods is more than a tomato company as it also produces beans, vegetables, and ancient grains that can be found in restaurants, schools, colleges, and hospitals across the nation.

With all the changes during the pandemic, the Furmano’s team had to challenge themselves to think differ­ ently and be able to capitalize on new opportunities so the company could be relevant to the evolving marketplace, Geise said.

As part of their long-term strategy, Furmano Foods is heavily invested in new product development to appeal to shifting consumer needs.

This spring, Furmano’s will launch another extension of their Ancient Grains line. Furmano’s Ancient Grains

A help wanted sign is posted outside Furmano Foods, near Northumberland, last summer.

To Go are convenient, grab-and-go cups designed for a flavorful quick meal or snack on the move, Geise said.

“Developed to meet health and safety protocols post COVID, these individu­ ally packaged cups support the growing plant-based food movement and align with Furmano’s extensive portfolio of great tasting, wholesome foods,” he said.

“Furmano Foods has always been invested in continual improvement.

Now more than ever, it was neces­ sary to take a hard look at every piece of their business to determine how to

improve efficiency, reduce costs, and combat the extensive list of outside factors that put increased strain on the business.”

Furmano Foods also found ways to mitigate the rising costs of freight, steel, corrugate, and paper, by making signif­ icant investments in better technology and new equipment that will improve productivity and increase capacity in more environmentally friendly and sustainable ways, Geise said.

“For a lot of businesses, COVID also brought to light a need to access data faster and more efficiently,” he said.

“The Furmano Foods IT team identi­ fied tools to support better communica­ tion and data processing both internally and externally. The team embraced innovations in technology to effectively use virtual communications with B2B customers at a time when there were limited food shows and no face-to-face customer or supplier meetings.”

Furmano’s has faced labor short­ ages, leading them to expand their re­ cruitment strategy including increased engagement in radio and digital ad­ vertising and weekly open interviews, Geise said. “Recognizing the struggles

of those who unexpectedly lost their jobs due to local business closings, Furmano’s participated in additional local job fairs to lessen the hardships of those trying to find new jobs,” he said.

“Through all the challenges, we have been blessed with employees that go above and beyond each and every day.

Their stick-to-it-iveness has made us stronger and nimbler to help the busi­ ness grow. The pandemic has taught us to continually look ahead, anticipating future market disruptions so we can provide exceptional service to our cus­ tomers and support our community.”

Valley hotel industry rebounds amid pandemic

By Marcia Moore mmoore@dailyitem.com

SELINSGROVE Hotel business is rebounding from the COVID-19 pandemic that had a devastating impact on the hospitality industry, according to the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA).

Kelly Fisher has worked in the hotel industry for 30 years and saw the drastic decline in business during the pandemic but said travelers are venturing out more now.

“It’s slow, but I do feel like it’s coming back,” said Fisher, general manager of the 70-room Fairfield Inn & Suites by Mar­ riott in Monroe Township that opened last March.

Scott Shaffer had to close the Selinsgrove Inn for two months during the pandemic, but saw room occupancy pick up late last year.

“If last fall is any indication, it is recovering,” he said.

Despite the good news, Shaf­ fer has decided to retire and put up for sale the Selinsgrove Inn he opened on Market Street in 2006.

Andrew Miller, executive di­ rector of the Susquehanna River Valley Visitor’s Center tracks the room tax collected by hotels in Northumberland, Snyder and Union counties and said he sees positive movement.

“The current room tax is at 84 percent of what it was in 2019.

It’s moving in the right direc­ tion,” he said.

Another indication that peo­ ple are traveling through the tri-county area is the room sale

The Selinsgrove Inn is located at 214 N. Market St. in downtown Selinsgrove.

revenue from overnight lodging and the optimism of area lodg­ ing operators who expect to fill more beds this year, Miller said.

In 2020, he said, room sale revenue dropped to $21.98 mil­ lion from $34.49 million the year before. In 2021, room sales

in the Valley rose to $30.06 mil­ lion.

AHLA’s 2022 State of the Hotel Industry Report found that U.S. hotels lost a total of $111.8 billion in room revenue during the past two years.

The group is also projecting

hotel occupancy rates and room revenue to approach 2019 levels, but revenue from meeting space rentals and food and beverage purchases are not expected to rise with it.

Leisure, not business travel, will continue to drive the recov-

DRIVE on to resolve rural internet issues RURAL, from Page F1 The biggest challenge is in finding the most open line of sight to the tower, said Gibbons.

“The DRIVE network is relatively unique in that we don’t need a totally clear line of sight to the tower in order to install, but we still try to get a line of sight that’s as clear as possible,” he said. “This provides the best service for years to come.”

Alan Wright, a manager with ConxxNE, said the power plant in Washingtonville was troublesome when they were hooking up the Montour Preserve headquarters to the network. Their supply of coal wasn’t accounted for when they did the site sur-

vey. When the powerplant changed its quantity of coal, the elevation changes and prevented the signal from going through.

“Our team really goes above and beyond to get customers connected,” said Gibbons.

“We’ve worked with customers to install telephone poles, trench across their yard to a good mounting location, and basically everything in-between in order to get them connected. If there’s a way to deliver in­ ternet access to the home, we’re going to find it and help them get online.”

There are 250 customers across five counties, said Rissee.

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the need for this expansion, said Jennifer Wakeman, executive director of DRIVE.

More people were home, more employ­ ees are working remote, more students are doing the same.

“We've been saying for years that the digital divide is a real thing,” said Wake­ man.

“It’s hard to get traction, to bring aware­ ness and bring funding. In Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, this isn’t even an issue for them.”

The next step is already part of the con­ versation, said Wakeman. “We’ve got a great backbone,” she said.

“We can serve a lot of people,” she noted.

So now, the organization is focused on what it can do to make it more useful to more people.

ery. In 2019, business travelers represented a majority of room revenue, at 52.5 percent.

In 2022, the association proj­ ects business travel will make up just 43.6 percent.

“Hotels have faced enormous challenges over the past two years, and we are still a long way from full recovery,” said Chip Rogers, president and CEO of AHLA. “The slow return of business travel and fewer meetings and events continue to have a sig­ nificant negative impact on our industry. The growth of leisure and ‘bleisure’ (people who com­ bine leisure and business travel) represents a shift for our in­ dustry, and hotels will continue evolving to meet the needs of these ‘new’ travelers.”

Fisher said she’s seeing a change in the room booking patterns.

Pre-pandemic, hotels she op­ erated were “always sold out” Monday through Wednesday to corporate patrons, she said.

Thursdays were always the least booked and weekends were traditionally made up with recreational travelers and now the Thursday through Sunday bookings are up considerably.

Fisher attributes the increased patronage to the colleges and lo­ cal companies bringing in out­ side help to address the labor shortage.

On that front, she is hopeful that the staffing issues are also on the decline.

“In the last three days, I’ve gotten 20 job applications,” said Fisher.

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Valley of Progress

Fresh Roasted Coffee expands in Sunbury

By Francis Scarcella fscarcella@dailyitem.com

SUNBURY - Fresh Roasted Cof­ fee LLC in Sunbury continues to expand and will soon be operational out of its new location in the former Sunbury Textile Mills building.

Owner Andy Oakes has continued to develop his business in Sunbury because he said he grew up in the city and wants to see more businesses in­ vest in Sunbury.

“I’m a hometown boy and there are so many great things happening here,” he said. “I’m proud to be here and I would love to see many more busi­ nesses invest here.”

Oakes has continued to expand his coffee business and since his tea and K-cup business has grown so much in the past year, the owner relocated to a larger space — 84,000 square feet — at the former Sunbury Textile Mills site.

He still owns the 200 N. River Av­ enue building in Sunbury, where Gov. Tom Wolf visited this past year, which he moved into nearly three years ago.

In late summer 2020, Oakes learned from state Rep. Lynda Schlegel Culver that Glen Raven Inc. — which closed down during the pandemic — was donating its Walnut Street property, the former Sunbury Textile Mills, to the economic development firm DRIVE Inc. Oakes toured the plant and eventu­ ally purchased the section where he will have an expansive production area, separate loading area, second-story offices and a “state-of-the-art” coffee laboratory overlooking the production area where staff will provide training and education seminars to area coffee roasters.

The pandemic didn’t slow Oakes down, but instead, he said, made it “challenging.”

“People still ordered coffee but we worked sometimes short-staffed,” he said.

Oakes said he is in the process of being able to produce coffee for var­ ious other companies as part of his expansion.

The governor visited Sunbury on Oct. 29 to praise Oakes’ hard work and said the expansion will benefit the community.

“Projects like this benefit families, strengthen our economy and build a brighter future for Pennsylvania,” Wolf said.

Francis Scarcella/The Daily Item

Ethan Oakes and Andy Oakes, owner of Fresh Roasted Coffee LLC, stand inside their new production plant and warehouse inside the former Sunbury Textile Mills, in Sunbury.

The company received a funding proposal from the Department of Com­ munity and Economic Development for a $ 184,000 Pennsylvania First grant, an $88,000 workforce development grant to help the company train workers, and a $1.5 million low-interest loan from the Pennsylvania Industrial Devel­ opment Authority. The company has committed to investing $5.39 million into the project and creating at least 46 new jobs over the next three years, Wolf said.

The project was coordinated by the Governor’s Action Team, a group of economic development professionals who report directly to the governor and work with businesses that are considering locating or expanding in

Pennsylvania.

Oakes employs 43 people and with the addition of the new machines he is currently adding, he expects at least 40 more jobs to be created, he said.

Oakes plans on being in the new property by the end of March and fully operational, he said.

Sunbury Mayor Josh Brosious said he is also excited for Oakes and is thrilled to see the company remain in the city.

“To have them here with us in Sun­ bury is a big deal,” he said. “This shows that an international company like this can operate in our city and we are grateful and thankful for Mr. Oakes to invest here, bring jobs here and be part of our community.”

Francis Scarcella/The Daily Item

Bags of raw coffee beans are stored at Fresh Roasted Coffee’s new location inside the former Sunbury Textile Mills plant in Sunbury.

UPMC seeks 800 nurses for travel staffing plan Eric Scicchitano escicch itano@da ilyitem .com

The nursing shortage coupled with the exorbitant cost of hiring outside agency nurses to supple­ ment staffing moved UPMC to create its own in-house travel staffing agency.

UPMC hopes to hire 800 nurses for the new initiative including former staff who left for more lucrative agency work.

The hourly rates are $85 for registered nurses and $63 for surgical technicians. It doesn’t approach the estimated $200 to $280 hourly rate the hos­ pital system pays for outside agency nurses, John Galley, chief human resources officer, estimated.

That cost is “tremendous and unsustainable” for UPMC and other hospitals, he said, accusing agencies of gouging at a time of crisis.

However, Galley and Chief Nurse Executive Holly Lorenz said recently that they expect the competitive pay packaged with “better” benefits, $2,880 travel allowance and closer travel will entice qualified candidates.

“We’re seeing turnover we’re never seen before. We’re not unique. It’s not unique to nurs­ ing,” Lorenz said. “Our turnover actually doubled from last year.”

Lorenz said UPMC believes the in-house agency is the first of its kind in the country. It's meant to retain current hospi­ tal nurses by easing shortages, scheduling and overtime, re­ cruit new nurses and bring back UPMC nurses who left for more lucrative jobs with outside agen­ cies.

The positions are open at ca­ reers.upmc.com and the first hires started working in Jan­ uary.

“We’ve been losing nurses to agencies. They’re seeking a higher wage. This is a way to re­ connect with them,” Galley said.

UPMC has 40 hospitals in Pennsylvania, Maryland and New York. Agency nurses may travel much further in that line of work. Lorenz said regional travel may be more attrac­ tive compared to migrating cross-country.

COVID-19 and non-COVID maladies caused patient capac­ ity to surge in many hospitals

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including Evangelical and Geisinger in the Valley.

At points during the pan­ demic, wait times in emergency rooms climbed to hours, with Geisinger’s estimated at up to 10 to 20 hours during the worst days of COVID-19.It has also

caused delays in ambulance service as EMS staff are tied up with patients waiting to get into hospitals.

UPMC has equipment and beds to treat patients. What’s needed is staff, Lorenz said.

Galley estimated UPMC has

800 outside agency nurses work­ ing within its facilities each day.

The target goal of 800 in-house travel staff is a 1-for-l swap. He said UPMC would consider hir­ ing above that target figure and potentially expand the types of positions offered.

Both Galley and Lorenz said they expect the in-house travel staff needs to last years.

“We wouldn’t be doing this if it wasn’t going to help our core nurses and technicians. They’re the ones providing the bulk of the care,” Galley said.

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Valley of Progress

Old Forge, Rusty Rail team up for new brew

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DANVILLE - Two Valley breweries recently collaborated to formulate and introduce a new beer.

Old Forge Brewing Company, located at 532 Mill St., Dan­ ville, and Rusty Rail Brewing Company, located at 5 N. 8th St., Mifflinburg, joined creative minds to brew the Honey Bad­ ger Lager.

“We want to do more col­ laborations,” said Old Forge owner Damien Malfara. “We don’t do it enough. It’s worth it.

You can see a different perspec­ tive in brewing. There’s a good amount of art and creativity in it. It forces you to get out of your comfort zone and bounce ideas off other experienced brewers.”

Guy McCarty, the brewery director at Rusty Rail, said col­ laborations are something they have wanted to do.

“With Rusty Rail being around for seven years now, it’s exciting for us to be in the local beer community and do collaborations,” said McCarty.

“It’s cool and flattering to do it with brewers that we’ve looked up to, like Old Forge.”

The beer was brewed with lo­ cal Rustic Pale malt and toasted malt from Double Eagle Malt in Huntingdon Valley and honey from Aucker’s Apiary in Mill­ ville. It is unfiltered, lagered traditionally, and carbonated naturally, said Malfara.

“It’s traditionally brewed in the perspective that we used German lager yeast but untraditional with the honey,” he said.

“It’s got a little toasty malt flavor with a slight sweetness.

It definitely has a clean flavor, the mouthfeel is perfect. You can tell it’s been lagered. It’s really drinkable.”

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McCarty said he loves the beer.

“It was great to go over there and work on their system,” he said. “It was a cool experience, and I’m excited about how the beer turned out.”

This is the second collabo­ ration between Old Forge and Rusty Rail. Over the summer, they brewed a smoked lager named “While Odin Sleeps,” using a yeast called Kveik.

The first lager was brewed at Rusty Rail while the second was brewed at Old Forge.

From a social aspect, brewing with other brewers is a “fun day” where you can talk about the craft with other profession­ als.

Five barrels at 31 gallons each were brewed for the Honey Badger. Malfara expects that to last about a month.

The reaction to both has been positive, said Malfara.

“People love it,” he said.

Chase Nichols, a customer of Old Forge from Danville, said the Honey Badget starts off sweet upfront and balances out.

“It’s really smooth for being 7 percent alcohol,” he said. “It’s smooth, it’s clean, I like it.”

Nichols said he encourages more breweries to collaborate.

“The more overlap, the bet­ ter,” he said. “People sharing ideas keep it local.”

Old Forge has collaboration with Marley’s Brewery & Grille in Bloomsburg, Turkey H i l l Brewery Company in Blooms­ burg and Collusion Tap Works in York.

In being open for 13 years, Malfara said they have been collaborating for at least five years.

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Valley of Progress dailyitem.com

Saturday, March 12,2022

Tulpehocken turns 100 years old in 2024

Inside

■ Bimbo Bakeries building plant in Union County/G2

■ Patton Logistics buys 5 electric powered tractor-trailers/G3

Francis Scarcella/The Daily item

Tulpenhocken Mountain Spring Water employee Vanessa Beasley, of Northumberland, works on a production line inside the bottling plant on Route 11 in Northumberland.

Water comes from springs near Benton and Gratz

By Francis Scarcella fscarcetla@dailyitem.com

■ Strong Industries to open second plant/G4

■ Miller Centers’ new golf simulator opens to success/G5

NORTHUMBERLAND — In two years Tulpehocken Mountain Spring Water will turn 100 years old and owner Joe Malloy is proud of the business he grew for the past 45 years.

Malloy, 83, of Winfield, is only the third owner of the company, and he said he is proud that he took the 250 customers he first started with and grew it to 25,000.

“There has never been a time where I woke up and didn’t want to come to work,” he said. “1 am proud of all we do here and proud of my employees for all their hard work.”

Tulpehocken has grown through the years and now is to the point of bringing 125,000 gallons of fresh spring water to Northumberland in tankers every day, he said.

Malloy said he has tanker trucks filling up at his two springs in Ben­ ton and Gratz and thanks “Mother Nature” for doing a lot of the purify­ ing at the sandstone springs.

Once the water is delivered back to Northumberland at 750 Point Township Drive on Route 11 where the bottling facility is located, it goes through the most modern in the advanced National Sanitation Foundation-approved bottling and handling equipment in the world.

The sanitized bottles are filled un-

Francis Scarcella/The Daily item

Tulpehocken Mountain Spring Water owner Joe Malloy stands inside his bottling plant along Route 11 in Northum­ berland, where the business prepares its products for 25,000 customers. der strict quality control conditions.

The air is filtered and UV lighted in our state-of-the-art bottling room.

The plant also distills the spring water to meet U.S. Pharmacopeia requirements for use in hospital and research laboratories.

When Malloy first started he had himself and one other person helping and has now grown to 105 employees with nearly 50 of them working in Northumberland.

The rest are working out of loca-

tions through the state Malloy owns as distribution centers, he said.

Malloy said during the COVID-19 pandemic things got “interesting.”

“Residential sales went up and commercial sales went down,” he said. “We struggled but we made it through.”

Malloy said production became an issue because of the lack of workers.

“We are still down some and slowly we are getting more and more applications,” he said.

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Malloy has 28 route trucks servic­ ing several parts of the state, parts of New Jersey, New York, Maryland and West Virginia. The company also has 10 tractor-trailers delivering spring water and seven, 6,000-gallon tanker trucks keeping the three 50,000 silo’s all operating on a daily basis.

Malloy’s employees are also en­ joying the work and for Vanessa Bea­ sley, 45, of Northumberland, she's loving the job.

“It’s a great place to work,” she said. “I am happy to come in every day and do my job.”

Malloy also has his hands in the coffee business where he now pro­ duces Mountainside Coffee in vari­ ous forms,including K-Cups. Malloy also bottles water for various other companies and even produces labels for private businesses that provide water on special occasions.

As for Malloy himself, walking around the 42,000 square foot plant is something he enjoys doing.

“I go out in the plant and check on things,” he said. “I keep active and I am extremely proud of all we are doing and of each of the people who work here.”

Malloy said he is excited for the 100th year anniversary of Tulpe­ hocken and looks forward to con­ tinuing to grow.

“We keep growing and that’s a good thing,” he said.

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Page G2 The Daily Item / Saturday, March 12, 2022

Valley of Progress

Bimbo Bakeries building plant in Union County

By Chris Benson cbenson @ daily item, com

LEWISBURG - A 400,000 square foot building is being erected at the Great Stream Commons industrial park, which has been mostly dormant for the last 20 years.

According to Shawn McLaughlin, Union County’s director of Planning & Economic Development, the county recently learned Bimbo Bakeries USA Inc. would occupy the build­ ing, the largest construction project on the property.

“Through the state, they filed a KOZ (Keystone Opportunity Zone) application for tax incentives and listed Bimbo Bakeries USA Inc. as the occupant of that building,” he said.

The structure is being built in the northern end of the 57-acre property sold last year to 17890 Russell Road LLC. McLaughlin said the county pre­ viously had serious inquiries on the property but hinted state bureau­ cracy and other outside economic forces could be what has held back development since the county took ownership.

“We had one very large manufac­ turer who really liked Great Stream Commons,” McLaughlin said. “They ended up going to West Virginia be­ cause the (WV) state environmental permitting took half the time it would take in Pennsylvania. They flat out said that’s why they were going to West Virginia.”

Private interest in developing Great Stream Commons accelerated along­ side the pandemic.

“The ironic part about this is we didn’t start moving real estate until COVID hit. That’s when this site re­ ally took off,” McLaughlin said.

He said he believes a combination of things led to the spark in interest.

McLaughlin said interest rates were low and access to money for capital investments were still good, which had companies rethinking strategies because supply chain interruptions were becoming an issue. Industry de­ mands for products increased because people were home and consuming more than normal.

“It’s just luck. Honestly, we really tried hard to move it and sell it but I think sometimes it's just being in the right place at the right time. Things just all fall together,” McLaughlin said.

The county purchased Great Stream Commons in the mid-1990s, assuming a $13 million debt, with intentions to develop it into a concep­ tual business park. The purchase also prevented planned construction of a hazardous waste incinerator on most of the property, which likely could have hindered economic growth and possible tourism opportunities.

The Target Corporation purchased 166 acres in 2006 for $7 million to develop a distribution center which did not come to fruition due to the economic decline which followed. In

Robert Inglis/The Daily Item

A new Bimbo Bakeries facility is under construction at Great Stream Commons industrial park, just north of Allenwood.

2019, JM Industrial Realty purchased the property from Target for $3.75 million.

“We do know based on plans they submitted to the township, Moran Industries is looking to put up a ware­ house on the former Target site,” Mc­ Laughlin said.

The county feels confident in the future of the property, he said.

McLaughlin said another 36-acre piece of property is under contract with River Run Foods out of Nor­ thumberland. The firm proposes a new facility at Great Common Streams which will be in addition to their Northumberland operation.

He said as far as he knew they were not planning to move, but adding an additional facility.

Roughly 70% of requests which come in for economic development are companies seeking an existing building, which private developers potentially are in the process of con­ structing, according to McLaughlin.

McLaughlin said completion of Great Stream Commons is good for regional exposure, noting how the region is better collaborating on mu­ tual interests.

“Historically, at one point, every­ body was competing against either Northumberland, Union, Snyder, Montour, Lycoming and Columbia counties” to attract business and other development opportunities, he said.

When he got involved in economic development, McLaughlin said, he noticed some regions had little prob­ lem preventing economic growth in other regions in order to drive busi­ ness elsewhere. “All they were doing was revealing warts about our region

Robert Inglis/The Daily Item

Construction crews work at the new Bimbo Bakeries facility at Great Stream Commons in Union County. when they did that, and businesses look at that.”

Many hands were involved to get the site to this point, including efforts from current and previous boards of Union County commissioners, ac­ cording to McLaughlin. “The folks at the state have been very, very sup­ portive. Tt's been a real team effort.”

Focus Central Pennsylvania helped to bring more people to the table in

order to spur development, he said.

“The one thing Focus did was they made this a regional issue, and said our goal should be to land these busi­ nesses somewhere in our region,” McLaughlin said. “Let’s make our region look good.”

Even if a business did not go to Great Stream Commons but instead to another county, “That’s still a win for the region because a lot of people

go across the river to work every day and vice-versa.”

He said numbers were fairly even for residents going county-to-county for work.

“There’s thousands of people who leave Union County every day to work in a neighboring county,” he said.

But McLaughlin said he believes the region is in a good spot “to be successful and prosper. I really do.”

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The Daily Item / Saturday, March 12, 2022 Page G3

Valley of Progress

Patton Logistics buys five electric tractor trailers for operations in Dublin, Virgina Eric Scicchitano escicchitano@dailyitem.com

MONTANDON — Patton Logistics Group’s has purchased five Volvo VNR Electric semi-trucks for operations at its warehouse in Dublin, Virginia.

The Watsontown-based firm becomes the first company in Virginia to operate a fleet with electric tractor-trailers in partnership with Volvo, according to company president Steve Patton.

In a bit of corporate synergy, the zero-tailpipe-emission trucks will trans­ port goods between Patton’s newly con­ structed, 251,000-square-foot warehouse and Volvo’s New River Valley manufac­ turing plant, also in Dublin.

The company unveiled the addition of the five Volvo VNR electric trucks in late January.

The rigs will complete 10 to 12 roundtrips per day in Virginia, averaging about 160 miles per day. Patton envisions the eventual development of an electric-truck hub at company headquarters in Milton, too.

He said Patton Logistics Group’s elec­ tric trucks will be among the first in a fleet, if not the first for a Pennsylva­ nia-based company.

“This is a true partnership,'’ Patton said of the relationship with Volvo. “They can have a fossil-fuel-free logistics solution from our warehouse to their plant.”

Jared Brokenshire, director of oper­ ations, said Watsontown Trucking will save 13,000 gallons of diesel fuel per truck annually. There are less moving parts to fail, too; no engine oil or coolants to change, no grease points, no transmis­ sion fluid.

Chris Patton, vice president, Patton Logistics Group, said environmental sustainability is a company priority.

“Going to zero emissions fits in that goal as a company,” Chris Patton said.

Volvo manufactures all of its North American truck inventory, including the electric models, at its New River Valley plant. The electric trucks went into serial

Image provided by Watsontown Trucking

This rendering shows one of Watsontown Trucking’s new Volvo VNR Electric Trucks to be implemented into their Virginia fleet.

returning power up to 15% back into production earlier this year.

The Patton group expressed interest to the battery, depending on the duty cycle.

The trucks will be recharged nightly Volvo about acquiring the trucks. Volvo engineers analyzed Patton’s routes by and during daytime downtime at looking at the terrain the vehicles would charging stations at the Volvo Trucks travel, the distance, too, along with down­ assembly plant. They can be charged up time at the point of origin and delivery to 80% in 70 minutes. A lack of semi­ destination. truck charging stations prohibits regional The Volvo VNR Electric’s 264-kWh use of the tracks at the moment, Patton lithium-ion batteries have an operating said, explaining they can’t be charged range of up to 150 miles, just shy of the with passenger-vehicle chargers popping up at gas stations. round trip planned by Patton. Regen­ “They want everybody supporting erative braking can increase range by

their company to have the same goals.

Not only are we purchasing their product but we’re delivering freight into their plant with zero emissions,” Brokenshire said.

Thierry Lindor, senior director of busi­ ness development, noted how parts for the electric trucks are traveling through the Patton warehouse already. He said a solar-supported trucking terminal and repair shop is under construction in Dub­ lin. It should open by the end of 2022.

Chris Patton added that the site will be a

complete operational hub with dispatch, maintenance and human relations.

“That’s the future where we’ll end up charging these electric trucks,” Lindor said. “That’s the first location where we’ll have trained mechanics who know how to work on these electric trucks.”

Patton employs more than 200 at its Dublin site. It’s eyeing an expansion in North Carolina for a 600,000 square foot warehouse. The plans are to pitch electric vehicles for a specific potential customer there, Patton said.

Rusty Rail Brewing’s ‘Fog Monster’ set to reach million-can mark

By Chris Benson cbenson@dailyitem.com

MIFFLINBURG - A Valley brewery is preparing to mark a milestone moment with one of its most popular beers.

Rusty Rail Brewing Com­ pany, in Mifflinburg, will can its millionth can of Fog Mon­ ster beer soon. While an exact date isn’t known, Rusty Rail employees said it will be canned through this month.

“We are really excited about it because, in a world of having new craft beers, it’s nice to have one that has its consistency,” said Guy McCarty, Rusty Rail’s brewery director the past seven years. “We release four to six beers a month. But we are still putting out a wide variety of options for customers.”

Since Sept. 8, 2017, Rusty Rail has canned 2.5 million beer cans and has been brew­ ing since 2010. Fog Monster, by far its most popular brew, is included in that multi-million tally number.

McCarty said there is an “exceptional balance” of citrus, sweetness and bitterness in Fog Monster that presently does not exist in hazy beers. He said they fall into a category of “super sweet or super bitter.”

“That’s a taste consumers are looking for. We are fans and crafters of craft beers, so we are motivated to show that for consumers,” said McCarty.

“Fog Monster is always do­ ing well. It is consistently a good product. People are fa­ miliar with it. They know they are purchasing a quality beer,” said Justin Ewing, packaging manager.

McCarty was grateful for the support Rusty Rail has received since its opening.

“Our fans are the ones why we are reaching a million cans,” he said.

McCarty said Fog Monster will soon be released as a vari­ ety 12 pack with plans to be dis­ persed at local beer distributors.

Rusty Rail plans to celebrate Fog Monster’s milestone at a public open house on April 9.

According to McCarty, the open house will offer private tours of the facility and live music

from local bands. Donations will be accepted with proceeds benefiting charity.

Scott Fabrizio, head of sales and promotions for Rusty Rail Brewing Company, said their plans are “a way to give back and show what we are doing in the community.”

“I’m trying to get out as many places as we can to showcase our portfolio. We do different events at local bars. We try to keep it creative and different,” said Fabrizio. “We would love to have the community come out, have this be a big day. We’re proud to be from Mifflinburg and support this community.

We want them to rally behind it.”

The brewery is also planning a water seminar and discussion on the Buffalo Creek Water­ shed. “For us, that was a nat­ ural relationship to develop to make sure the water and habitat are clean. People need to know brewing beer involves good wa­ ter to help support their steward­ ship,” McCarty said.

Rusty Rail Brewing Com­ pany owners Paul and Eric John are supportive of their employ­ ees’ efforts.

“They backed up everything we have wanted to accomplish,” said McCarty.

Products from Rusty Rail Brewing Company are be­ coming recognized across the country. Fog Monster won the bronze medal in the Juicy or Hazy category at the Best of Craft Beer in Bend, Oregon, in 2020.

Rusty Rail began making craft beer in 2015, the original business plan calling for a dis­ tribution facility. In seven years, the company expanded delivery as far as Cincinnati, the Atlantic Coast and Rochester, New York.

“The local area may not un­ derstand we are reaching this many customers with our beer,” McCarty said.

The brewery’s goal is to brew more than 7,000 barrels in 2022.

“The goal is to brew more beer, reach more fans of craft beer, create more jobs. Every­ thing we have done is brewed in our facility and we would love to justify a reason for a larger facility,” said McCarty.

Rusty Rails employees, from left, Jef Mcgreevy, Justin Ewing, Logan Powell and Guy McCarty along with other Rusty Rail employees will can their one millionth can of Fog Monster in the coming weeks.

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Page G4 The Daily Item / Saturday, March 12, 2022

Valley of Progress

Marks law firm’s legal history dates back 52 years

By Joe Sylvester jsyl v ester @ daily item. com

DANVILLE — Attorneys E. Robert Marks and F. Porter Wagner practiced law for 15 years before they started their own law firm.

That was in 1970. They bought a building on West Market Street in Danville to use as their office.

The partnership lasted nine years until Wagner died of a heart attack at a bank board meeting, recalled Marks' son, attorney Robert L. Marks. The law firm, however, has continued on.

Today, Robert L. Marks, in his 50th year of practice, is senior partner in Marks, McLaughlin, Dennehy & Pion­ tek, Danville’s longest practicing law firm. He joined the firm in the summer of 1972 after receiving his law degree from the College of William & Mary Law School.

“My father continued practicing till 1987, when he passed away,” his son said.

Wagner’s nephew, George O. Wag­ ner IV, worked for the firm for about two years in the early 1970s before his election to the state Legislature four times. He later was elected and served three four-year terms as Mon­ tour County district attorney.

In the years since, the 52-year-old law firm has grown to five attorneys and seven full-time and one part-time support staff members. They practice out of the same West Market Street building the firm’s founders purchased in the 1970s.

Marks said the support staff, all paralegals, know all facets of the law.

The firm's attorneys practice law rang­ ing from personal injury and real estate to estate planning and criminal law.

Besides Robert Marks, the other attorneys are John L. McLaughlin, Michael P. Dennehy, both of whom received their law degrees from the Dickinson School of Law, and Cory D. Piontek and Marks’ son, attorney Robert L. Marks Jr., who received their law degrees from Regent University School of Law. McLaughlin, a Montour County chief probation officer before he at­

Robert Inglis/The Daily Item

Michael Dennehy, left, Robert Marks Jr., Robert Marks, John McLaughlin, and Cory Piontek, make up the five main members of the Marks, McLaughlin, Dennehy & Piontek law firm in Danville. tended law school, joined the firm in 1983, Dennehy, in 1985.

“Bob’s father made me an offer I couldn’t refuse,” Dennehy said.

Robert L. Marks Jr. joined the firm in 1998, Piontek, about a year later.

Piontek, who had gone to law school at Regent with Robert Jr., previously practiced in Virginia and Wisconsin before returning to practice in Penn­ sylvania and the Danville law firm.

Dennehy said Piontek had to pass the bar exam in the three states to be ad­ mitted to the bar in each.

Dennehy said most states require five years of good standing as an at­

torney in another state to be admitted to the bar without having to take the exam. Because Piontek hadn’t prac­ ticed in the other states long enough, he had to take the bar exam three times to practice law in each of the states.

Great support staff Robert Marks Sr. said the firm has great paralegals and clerical staff. He recalled Eleanor Gardner, who started working as a secretary for his dad in 1959, when he was with attorney Arthur M. Peters. Gardner continued with the Marks firm until she retired in 2020.

“She was told she wouldn’t last two weeks with my dad,” Marks said with a grin. “Then they said that to her about me when I came back.”

Marks said he was a public defender for 20 years. He was the first when Montour County formed the position, Dennehy said.

Now Robert Jr. and Piontek handle most of the public defender work.

“State law says other attorneys in the same firm can do it,” Dennehy said.

The firm’s biggest areas of prac­ tice are wills and estates, real estate, Medicare and Medicaid advance plan­

ning and solictor work for the county, municipalities and the Geisinger Au­ thority.

“We do a lot of general civil litiga­ tion,” Dennehy added.

He said, though, the firm does not take custody, divorce and support cases in Montour and Columbia coun­ ties, where he and McLaughlin have been family court hearing officers since 1990.

Marks said he hopes to practice for seven more years before he retires.

That led Dennehy to point out, “Bob would have to work 11 more years to equal Eleanor.”

Strong Industries to open second plant, create 300 jobs

By Justin Strawser jstrawser@dailyitem.com

NORTHUMBERLAND A second Strong Industries plant that will bring 300 jobs to the area is expected to be completed this year.

Meanwhile, the leaders at the spa manufacturing plant at 3204 Point Township Drive outside Northumberland said they have been promoting a positive work environment to attract and keep potential employees as well as fostering a workplace of diver­ sity and inclusion.

Strong Spas is one of the larg­ est manufacturers in the world, and one of the few hot tub man­ ufacturers with plant operations in the U.S.A., the leaders said.

The new plant is being set up inside the former National Ticket building in the Danville Industrial Court. The property is on the south side of the railroad tracks.

“That is in the process of be­ ing fabricated to manufacture similar products in this (Nor­ thumberland) facility,” said Tim Lust, director of manufactur­ ing. “With COVID delays, we’re

looking to have operations in the first quarter of 2022. We'll start hiring and training in this facility and then we’ll shift that staffing there (Danville).”

Supply chain issues and con­ tractor delays have pushed back the original finishing date, they said.

The new plant will have new production innovations, includ­ ing two robots that will spray tubs and drill products, that will be able to produce 100 units a day. The current plant will also be retrofitted with new technol­ ogy as well, Lust said in No­ vember.

Plant manager Will Greiner said the circumstances sur­ rounding COVID-19 have in­ creased company sales with people staying home more often.

“People are not spending their money to travel as much as they were,” said Greiner. “They’re investing in their homes. There’s a lot of people remodeling.”

Strong Spas is involving itself more in the Danville community in preparation for the opening.

They participated in the Hal­ loween parade in Danville and collected 990 pounds of food

to donate to the Danville Food Bank, said Renee Walburn, di­ rector of human resources.

Investing in diversity Greiner said Strong has worked to create an environment where people see themselves as being successful and where diverse people with talent can grow. The company helps provide a clear path for growth by encouraging leadership and growth, as well as helping to pay for training and education, including English as a Second Language or General Ed­ ucation Degrees. Each employee can contribute and bring ideas to

J

the management as well, he said.

“We are a Strong family,” said Walburn. “There’s different lev­ els of education, socioeconomic backgrounds, everybody work­ ing in the same departments and having a voice and being equal.”

Diversity could mean race, sex, gender, age, class, background. It can be a single mother, a person in recovery or someone with a criminal background, they said.

“To us, diversity means I have a unique experience in the world and a different viewpoint,” said Greiner. “People see themselves here.”

Walburn said the opportunities

are spread by word of mouth and a heavy social media presence.

Employee achievements from promotions to marriages to the birth of children are celebrated publically on Facebook. Em­ ployees are used in commercials.

Events are highlighted, she said.

“We want to be seen as far as television, internet, social media, mailers,” she said. “Everywhere you look for employment, Strong is there. It’s overall branding, get­ ting involved in the community.”

Strong is also involved with the Danville Area High School in the “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing” program. They

work with high school students to show them what happens at the plant and the students make a video for a statewide competition, said Lust.

Walburn, who started in Janu­ ary, said she built an HR team and found key players. Prior to this, she said Strong was struggling with employee retention like every other business.

Strong also has a weekly bo­ nus program for employees. If employees show up for work every day on time and have no disciplinary violations, they receive a $3 an hour bonus, Walburn said.

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The Daily Item / Saturday, March 12, 2022 Page G5

Valley of Progress

Mike Coleman winds up a tee shot in the new golf simulator at the Lewisburg YMCA at the Miller Center in East Buffalo Township, near Lewisburg.

The Miller Center’s new golf simulator opens to success

By Jaxon White The Daily Item

LEWISBURG - People at The Miller Center don’t want the winter months to ruin any­ one’s golf game.

Their new golf simulator re­ cently opened in the Lewisburg YMCA at the Miller Center for Recreation and Wellness, not only for local members, but to the community at large.

Kyle Wasilkowski, the cen­ ter’s director of Sports and Recreation, said that with the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down events, the facility was looking for new ways to engage the community.

“We were trying to look at areas and every nook and cranny that we had to be able to, hopefully, offer some things for members of the community that are maybe not large scale,” he said.

“One to four people in a room are able to play and so that’s when the idea kind of started getting thrown out there and kind of looking at space.”

Rates for hourly bookings are $45 for members and $55 for nonmembers. A set of clubs can be rented for an additional $10.

Simulator hours are Mon­ day through Thursday 6 a.m to 8 p.m., Friday 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Although he isn’t a frequent golfer himself, Wasikowski said that he has heard that playing on the simulator is pretty realistic from customers, although he did

admit that the putting aspect of the game was a bit “wonky.”

He mentioned that the sim­ ulator has a home run derby game and settings for many other sports that they could implement in the future, but The Miller Center wanted to start with simple one-hour time blocks to see the level of interest in the community.

Wasikowski said that in the future, they hope to expand to leagues, tournament-style play, lessons and more. He is cur­ rently working on setting up meetings with golf pros in the area, and perhaps move towards golf lessons.

He said they have already seen plenty of golfers, with many of their bookings filled for most days. In the last two weeks, they have had over 35 hours rented.

One of those golfers, Edward Monaco, of Lewisburg, said that he was pleasantly surprised to find that the Miller Center added this facility.

“I’m a member of [Bucknell’s course] and I’ve played over there at a place in Danville that has a simulator, but I think the simulator’s awesome. I mean, it’s super reasonably priced. It was great. I would rent it a lot.”

Monaco took his hour-long session to help teach his son, Nicholas, to play golf.

Wasikowski said that was the entire goal of adding the simulator, to give people the opportunity to stay active in the wintertime and spend quality time with each other.

New owners plan expansion, changes at Valley golf course

By Francis Scarcella fscarcella@dailyitem.com

PAXINOS - Indian Hills Golf Club will be getting a facelift and it’s thanks to new ownership.

The 6,600-yard course, es­ tablished in 1923, is nestled be­ tween Stonington and Paxinos, will expand into a 7,100-yard course, with the addition of new tee boxes and redirection of two holes, one of the new owners said.

Josh Grundun, 38, of Carlisle, said he and Scott Hall, 42, of Chambersburg, decided to pur­ chase the club after visiting the course to play in a tournament over the summer.

“I was a member here and I had Scott in with me as a guest over the summer and one of the members said we should buy the course,” he said. “So we started talking and before we knew it, we had made the purchase.”

The final price of the invest­ ment is yet to be determined as the two are still working out the details with the stockholders, but Grundun and Hall officially took control of the property on Sept. 1.

“I always said there were things I would do differently here and now we get the chance to do that,” he said. “We are excited to be making the changes and getting things in order.”

The course, located at 1167 Old Reading Road, Paxinos, will

be getting a brand new fleet of golf carts, adding a 300-yard driving range and hiring a golf pro and a few new staff mem­ bers.

Currently, the course has 220 members and Grundun said the price of membership will be $1,200 for a single golfer this season.

“We will offer different ways to pay the fees,” he said. The course will also offer corporate and family plans.

Indian Hills Golf Club extends across 142 acres. Grundun said he plans to walk over every foot of the grounds to look for things that can be improved.

“We want to continue to in­ vest in this course,” he said. “We decided to not take a paycheck and to give everything back to continue to grow.”

Grundun also works for Srixon-Cleveland Golf as a sales representative and has a vast knowledge of golf course man­ agement.

Grundun said the course also plans on offering social mem­ berships, for $1.

Golfers Jack Diehl, 54, and John Green, both of Port Trevorton, said they have always enjoyed playing at Indian Hills and are excited for the future of the course.

“We would consider joining now,” Diehl said. “It sounds like they are getting ready to get this place back in shape.”

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Page G6 The Daily Item / Saturday, March 12, 2022

Valley of Progress

Low inventory affecting local housing market

By Justin Strawser jstrawser@dailyitem .com

Two Valley realtors agree with a chief economist’s assess­ ment of this year’s homebuying season.

Inman News, a leading real estate news source, reported that Mark Fleming, chief econ­ omist for First American Fi­ nancial Corp., said the fear of missing out on low mortgage rates could “supercharge” the housing market ahead of the spring homebuying season, but not necessarily in markets where inventory is scarce.

Aimee Buehner, associate broker at Bowen Agency Real­ tors and member of the parent board of the Central Susque­ hanna Valley Board of Real­ tors, and Sabra Karr, associate broker and general manager at Villager Realty, director of the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors and members of the MLS Board on Central Susque­ hanna Valley Board of Realtors, both said the potential to super­ charge is there.

However, the market response may not be what people expect,” said Buehner.

“The spring homebuying market is different than what it was historically. The demand has grown. There is a more year-round demand.

Spring buying season is not as much a thing as it used to be.”

Interest rates and other facts may supercharge the market, but it will continue to be chal­ lenged by a low inventory of housing, said Buehner.

“Essentially, the market is supercharged. There are just no houses to sell,” said Karr.

“The demand is high and the inventory is low. The market is flooded with buyers waiting for inventory to become avail­ able. Everyone is just waiting on housing to come on the market.”

The seller’s market has slowed down “a bit” since the pandemic’s real estate offer, but

both Buehner and Karr said they are still receiving multiple offers above list price within days of listing.

“It’s been that way for a year at least,” said Karr. “People are moving into the area to be close to family. If their kids bought a house here, then parents are re­ locating to be closer. One client I had had both sets of parents move.”

COVID changed the way people live and work. If ajob is now remote, that means home­ owners can live anywhere they want to live, they said.

“Everyone was stuck at home.

They were doing schooling from home, working from home, all those things exacerbated what already existed,” said Buehner.

Those looking to sell are also afraid to put their home up for sale because they might not have a place to go, they said.

“People can sell their home, but they might be challenged with finding a new place to live,” said Buehner.

Inman News reported that, “First American’s latest Real House Price Index shows af­ fordability was down 21 percent in November from a year ago, with 21.5 percent home price appreciation and a 30-basis point bump in mortgage rates outweighing 4.4 percent income growth.”

“Affordability is likely to de­ cline further in 2022, because both mortgage rates and nom­ inal house prices are expected to rise,” Fleming told Inman News.

“While rates are expected to increase steadily throughout 2022, many potential home buy­ ers may try to jump into the market now before rates rise further.

The fear of missing out on low rates, or ‘FOMO,- and the potential loss of house-buying power may supercharge the housing market ahead of the spring home-buying season.”

Fleming went on to say that

housing supply “tends to in­ crease in the spring months as more sellers list their homes for sale. While home buyers may have FOMO because of rising rates, they may not want to succumb to the fear of better options ... because there may be a better home option or op­

tions when there’s more homes for sale, even if it means they may pay more.”

Corey and Megan Zerbe, who are parents of Owen, 4, and Calvin, 2, worked with Buehner for 14 months before they finally found their house.

They moved this past weekend

from a rental in Sunbury to a three-bedroom ranch house in Selinsgrove.

They said they looked at 20 homes before this one as their third bidding. They were outbid on one house and backed out of another after finding issues with the inspections, they said.

“As time went on, it did get frustrating,” said Megan Zerbe.

“We would find ourselves say­ ing that maybe we can make it work.

“We were trying to justify houses. In this market, we felt like we needed to jump on something just to get a house.”

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Saturday, March 12,2022

Northern section of bypass opens this year

Inside

■ Knoebels tunes up for its 96th season/H2

Robert Inglis/The Daily Item

Construction continues on a portion of the northern section of the Central Susquehanna Valley Transportation (CSVT) project near Ridge Road in Point Township, Northumberland County.

Paving, lighting, signs on construction list before opening

By Justin Strawser jstrawser@dailyitem.com

■ Geisinger continues to face COVID challenges, moves forward to future/H3

■ Third-generation farmer launches milk processing business/H4

WINFIELD — Drivers will first be able to use the northern section of the $900 million Central Susquehanna Valley Transportation Project before the end of the year, but there are still a few construction tasks to complete before that milestone is here.

Ted Deptula, the assistant construction engi­ neer for PennDOT District 3-0, said the final construction season for general contractor New Enterprise Stone and Lime will start in April and will end in the fall. The exact date that all lanes of traffic, including the $156 million river bridge, will be open is still too early to say.

“This season is broken into two phases,” said Deptula. “First, we're going to complete the final wearing course, then we’ll be constructing the southbound lanes from Route 405 to the existing four-way. The final wearing course is the icing on the cake, that will be the riding surface. That final wearing course will be placed on all the main lines, roadways and ramps that have been constructed the past few years.”

There will be two 12-foot lanes in each di­ rection with four-foot shoulders along with the medium and a 10-foot shoulders on the outside edge. Other work that has to be done is highway lighting, signs, guiderails and various erosion and sediment control features.

In order to construct the southbound lanes, PennDOT must remove the existing pavement from Route 147 between Route 405 and the fourlane section of Route 147 south of Montandon.

That will start with earthwork, embankment, and drainage and then continue with pavement asphalt construction.

“While all that work is being done, traffic will have to use the new CSVT northbound lanes while the southbound lanes are being constructed,” said Deptula. “Southbound traffic on Route 147 will crossover into a single lane in

Robert Inglis/The Daily Item

This nearly mile-long bridge, crossing the West Branch of the Susquehanna River, will link Route 15 south of Winfield in Union County and Route 147 in Point Township, Northumberland County. the northbound section. Northbound traffic will be on a single lane as well.”

The intersection of Route I47 and Route 405 will need to be reconfigured, said Deptula.

“Since we’re moving the existing pavement on Route 147 north of 405, traffic traveling north on 147 will have to take Route 405 to Lewisburg,” said Deptula. “Traffic traveling south on Route 405 will not be able to make a left turn onto Route 147 North. All southbound traffic on Route 405 will continue on existing 147 toward

Northumberland.”

That specific single-lane configuration for 1.5 miles of new roadway will be in place in late summer and remain in effect for several months until the southbound lanes are constructed and this part of the project is completed later in the fall, Deptula said.

The rest of the new highway, including the bridge, will have two lanes in both directions.

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Page H2 The Daily Item / Saturday, March 12, 2022

Valley of Progress

Knoebels tunes up for its 96th season

By Justin Strawser jstrawser@dailyitem.com

ELYSBURG - The 2022 season of Knoebels Amusement Resort will have farewells to two attractions, the introduction to new food items and a meet-and-greet and the welcoming of a new ride that debuted in late 2021.

Stacy Yutko, the park’s public re­ lations director, said the new season starts the weekend of April 30 for its 96th season. The park was not at full capacity due to staffing shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic over the last few seasons, so park officials are not sure what to expect this year.

“The past two years have taught us many new ways to adapt, but our goal to provide a venue for families to have fun and make memories remained at the forefront of our minds,” said Yutko. “We can’t wait to welcome our guests back for another season and are grateful for our team that makes it all possible.”

The Balls of Fun ball craw in Kiddie Land and the Wipeout near the Phoenix are both being removed for this season.

The ball crawl, which debuted in 1981, was closed for the last two sea­ sons due to COVID concerns.

Replacing it is a sitting area with outlets to charge devices, said Brian Knoebel.

Wipeout was introduced in 2008.

This roulette-style, spinning wheel pushed riders to the side as the disk begins to tilt, creating an intense, wave­ like motion.

Robert Inglis/The Daily Item

Knoebel’s employee George Hughes works on the engine of a car for the Antique Car ride.

New food items Yutko said there are plenty of new food options coming to the park.

The Phoenix Junction will have the Bella Burger, a hamburger with portabella mushrooms, mozzarella sticks and pepperoni topped with marinara sauce.

At Stony Gable Fudget Shop, they are introducing dippable fudge. Mexican Street Corn is coming to the Backyard BBQ; Strawberry Shortcake Funnel Cake is coming to the Funnel Cake Stand; a Potbelly Sandwich with pulled pork, coleslaw and RibBQ is coming to the Potato Barn; a Mandarin Orange Salad is coming to the Alamo Restau­ rant; BBQ Chicken Pizza is coming to the Oasis Stand; and nitro cold brew coffee is coming to the Starbucks stand.

Cheese on a stick and corn dogs are returning to the International Food Court as well, said Yutko.

Photo provided

The Tornado debuted at Knoebels Amusement Resort in Octo­ ber 2021.

Meet and Greet

The Tornado

For years, Yutko said guests have been asking for a character meet and greet. This season, Knoebels is intro­ ducing that aspect at the former Kozmo Clubhouse Gift Shop at Kiddie City.

Kozmo, Dexter and Piper will be available to take pictures with a camp­ ground scene and 3D props, including a fake campfire and log benches.

“Guests are always hoping to catch a glimpse of the characters,” said Yutko.

“This will help them plan their day.”

The Tornado opened in October right before the end of the 2021 sea­ son, so it will be a new ride for many guests, said Yutko.

The 32-passenger ride will be lo­ cated near the StratosFear. Visitors need to be 38 inches tall to ride the Tornado with an adult, and 48 inches to ride alone. Eight cars hold four passen­ gers each in individual seats. Once the ride reaches speed moving in a circle, it tilts 20 degrees and lifts the cars up to 15 feet from ground level.

Tornado was manufactured by Wisdom Rides in Colorado, which also built the Cosmotron.

Staffing concerns The park needs 1,800 employees to be fully operational, but not enough employees were able to be hired for the 2020 and 2021 seasons, which led to certain rides and attractions remaining closed throughout the opening months. The park opened late in 2020 due to COVID-19 re­ strictions.

This year, Knoebels reduced opera­ tional hours by an hour on Friday and Saturday and will be providing wage increases and incentives to attract new employees.

“Staffing will be our main concern,” said Brian Knoebel.

“Our increased wages for this sea­ son alone means an additional $1.5 million investment in our team,” said Yutko. “We are currently hiring for all seasonal positions. Future team members can apply online or join us at one of two upcoming job fairs: March 26 at Shamokin Area High School or April 2 at Southern Columbia Area High School.”

Both job fair events are from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Yutko said Knoebels is “feeling positive” about its target number of employees.

“After less than two weeks, we are thrilled that several hundred team members have indicated they plan to rejoin us this season and are optimistic this trend will continue,” said Yutko.

“We are hopeful for at least 1,800 team members this season. At our peak last season, we had roughly 1,575 team members.”

New hires start at $9 an hour for ages 14 and 15 and $11 an hour for ages 16 and older. Rehires start at $9.25 an hour for ages 14 and 15 and $11.25 for ages 16 and older. Returning employees with more than three years of experience start at $11.50 for age 16 and older.

It’s an extra 50 cents per hour for ride

operators in each category.

Seasonal team members can earn an additional 50 cents per hour from June 5 through Oct. 30. Seasonal team members who work an average of 30 hours per week between June 5 and Aug. 13 will receive a one-time bo­ nus paid at the conclusion of the time period. Any seasonal team member working Aug. 14 through Oct. 30 will automatically be paid a weekly bonus of 50 cents per hour for every hour worked on operational days.

Other incentives include flexible schedules, employee discounts, schol­ arships, free admission to other amuse­ ment parks in Pennsylvania, tickets for Knoebels food, drinks and rides and 50-cent per hour bonus for employees who work 30 hours or more.

Other notable changes Additionally, Knoebels is introduc­ ing an additional nursing center in Kidde City and an autism cool down area in the Treasure Chest gift shop.

New this year as well will be an accessibility program for families with children with autism in conjunction with the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES). Families can register for the program online and can gain easier and faster access to attractions, said Yutko.

That registration is good for other amusement parks as well, including Sesame Place and Dorney Park, she said.

Northern section of CSVT bypass opens later this year BYPASS, from Page H1 “The work that remains is very weather dependent,” said Deptula. “With the cold weather, there hasn’t been a lot of activity going on this win­ ter. Typically in March weather starts to get a little better. By April, they should be able to start paving.”

A grand opening celebration and ribbon cutting ceremony will be planned, but there are no dates yet set in place, said Deptula.

Southern section Matt Beck, a PennDOT assis­ tant plans engineer, said Penn­ DOT advertised the first bids for the southern section of the project. The advertisements to bid for the first contract — esti­ mated to be between $100 mil­ lion to $125 million — went out the first week of February. Con­ tractors will have eight weeks to review plans, ask questions and prepare bids.

The bids will be opened as early as March 31 or early April, said Beck.

“The first contract is for roughly 5 million cubic yards of earthwork required for roughly six miles of new highway,” said Beck. “There will likely be (construction) activity in 2022.

It will take time to review bids and award the contract. That will likely be in the late spring or early summer.

We expect initial work for 2022.”

Work will include access roads, clearing trees and prepa­ ration works, he said.

The second contract, which includes structures of nine bridges, and third contract for paving will not be advertised for at least a few years. Overall, the southern section is sched­ uled to open in 2027.

Economic growth Bob Garrett, the president/ CEO of the Greater Susque­ hanna Valley Chamber of Commerce, said the project has always been about economic development.

“Since its inception as a con­ cept to build a modern, safe, environmentally-friendly, in­ terstate look-alike highway to move fast moving and through traffic out of our downtowns and off of our Main Streets the Thruway has had economic development at its core,” said Garrett. “These communities include Hummels Wharf and Shamokin Dam, as well as Danville, Lewisburg, and Nor­ thumberland. Just think for a moment what Market Street in downtown Selinsgrove would be like today if the Selinsgrove Bypass wouldn’t have been built and opened back in the early 1970s? The answer to that question is: the Selinsgrove that we live in, visit often, and love would not exist.

The economy of the valley will blossom when the Thruway opens, partially this summer, and entirely in a few years.”

Garrett said the area has al­ ready seen investments.

“Great Streams Commons in northern Union County and both the Peachey Industrial Park and the Pawling Station Business Park along Route 522 in Snyder County come imme­ diately to mind,” said Garrett.

“The leaders of The Improved Milton Experience or TIME are making plans for the influx of investment and customers who will discover and rediscover their delightful ‘mill town.’”

When the President of the Luzerne County Community College Tom Leary set down stakes for their Greater Susque­

COMPLETE AI

hanna Center in Watsontown, Garrett said Leary was most excited about the construction and soon-to-be opening of the thruway.

“Our long-awaited Thruway will literally create a pathway for prosperity for our entire val­ ley and will usher in our best days,” said Garrett.

Beck said PennDOT does not predict or have expectations for economic growth.

“That’s out of PennDOT’s wheelhouse. We’re focused on solving transportation problems with the project,” he said. “The main purpose of the project is to improve safety, reduce conges­ tion and accommodate growth.

The highway has been designed to account for additional growth in the area. As those transporta­

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The Daily Item / Saturday, March 12, 2022 Page H3

Valley of Progress

Geisinger continues to face COVID challenge, moves forward to future

By Joe Sylvester jsylvester@dailyitem.com

DANVILLE - When Dianna Bogart isn’t working in her office job for Geisinger, she is helping patients — and medical staff.

While she is not providing medical care to patients, she is doing an important task in a time of staff shortages. Bogart, 49, of Berwick, is a patient companion at Geisinger Bloomsburg Hospi­ tal a few hours a week.

She is among nearly 600 pa­ tient companions in the Geisinger health system.

More than 500 are Geisinger employees who took on this paid role in addition to their primary job responsibilities, according to Geisinger spokesman Joseph Stender. The program is part of Geisinger’s efforts to resolve staff shortages.

“As a patient companion, I sit outside of the patient’s room to help them with simple non-clinical tasks, reaching for something out their reach, waking them up for their lunch or dinner trays, or if they just want to talk, “ said Bo­ gart, who is executive assistant to Janet Tomcavage, executive vice president, chief nurse executive for Geisinger.

“We reached out to employ­ ees to watch patients make sure they’re safe,” said Dr. Rosemary Leeming, chief medical officer of Geisinger Medical Center.

“Non-voluntary members to come into the hospital and spend the night in the hospital. It’s a good frontline look at what the staff does.”

It’s one way Geisinger is dealing with a yearslong nurs­ ing shortage made worse by the COVID-I9 pandemic.

The pandemic, however, has not derailed Geisinger’s planned growth in the coming years.

Geisinger announced plans in November for The Orthopaedic Center Pennsylvania, a multi­ floor orthopedic care facility in Buckhorn, near Bloomsburg.

Geisinger is investing $180 mil­ lion in the project. Construction is scheduled to begin this year and completion is expected in 2024.

Geisinger also is planning con­ struction of a behavioral health facility in Valley Township, just outside of Danville. Construc­ tion of the Geisinger and Acadia Healthcare Company joint ven­ ture is scheduled to begin this year.

Other Geisinger projects are in the works in Northeastern Penn­ sylvania.

COVID forced changes Leeming said that early during the COVID-19 pandemic, Geisinger put together multi-disciplinary teams to develop plans for various scenarios to handle an onslaught of COVID cases.

“If we ran out of beds in the hospital, (and) would we have enough ventilators?” Leeming said. “We learned from the surges (of COVID cases). The first time around, the state required we shut down everything that was not emergent.”

That meant delaying non-emergency surgeries. Some staff were redeployed.

“The second time around last year, we didn’t quite shut down as much,” she said. “Last summer, we began catching up with the surgical backlog.”

Megan Brosious, chief admin­ istrative officer of Geisinger’s Central Region, said the nursing shortage is not new to the pan­ demic.

“We’ve been working on that,” she said. “We have to get really creative.”

She said she was not sure how many positions were open throughout the Geisinger system.

“In the central region, we have over 300 vacancies,” Brosious said. “We have temporary trav­ eling nurses, it’s not that we’re working 300 short.”

She said Geisinger tries to re­ cruit some employees, including technicians and dietitians, while they are still in school.

“There is just such a large number of people on that retire­ ment bubble, it’s going to take a lot to fill,” she added.

Leeming said Geisinger is grateful to the community for

Provided photo

Geisinger medical staff members consult on a patient’s condition at the medical center. The COVID-19 pandemic brought new challenges to health care providers the past two years.

its support throughout the pan­ demic.

“It’s hard at the moment,” she said. “We are doing the best we can. But don’t be afraid to come (to the hospital or clinic) if some­ thing is going on. We will take care of you.”

About 150 employees, or 0.6 percent of Geisinger’s workforce, lost their jobs for refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19 last year.

“Nobody was let go because of the vaccine,” Leeming said.

“It became a condition of em­ ployment. This is a health care facility. We want to care for our patients. It was a relatively small number.”

Leeming said the staff adapted all along during the pandemic.

“We’re really kind of hoping this time, it’s starting to abate,” she said during the interview con­ ducted last month. “The hospital is packed well over 100 percent full, and most of those are not COVID patients. We’ve increased our bed capacity, doubling up some of the patients in our larger previously private rooms. It’s not ideal, but it allowed us to create almost 50 beds. Those patients otherwise would be sitting in the hallway.”

In December, Geisinger offi­ cials reported that patient volume, compounded by the continued spread of COVID-19, exceeded capacity at all but one Geisinger hospital, forcing clinicians to treat patients in waiting rooms and hallways of emergency de­ partments. People needing im­ mediate care waited up to 20 hours, health system officials said.

With the employment of team nursing, a team of nurses cares for each patient, rather than one primary nurse, Leeming said.

“Getting additional staff is one of challenges,” Leeming concluded.

That need resulted in the pa­ tient companion program.

“We help in any unit we’re needed,” Bogart said. “I’ve pro­ vided support in both our emer­ gency room and inpatient.”

She started on Dec. 27 and was among the first group to participate in the program that was scheduled to end at the end of February.

“It’s just pretty much as need and just due to the shortage to keep hospital staff on the floor,” she said. “I love talking to the patients. I just learned a great deal from the experience. I ap­ preciate the challenge for our nursing staff. I’m just amazed at the nurses. I watch them work­ ing constantly. I have a different perspective of them now, nursing and clinical staff.”

GEISINGER PROJECTS

Provided photo

Geisinger medical staff members check a patient’s monitor. Geisinger is working to fill staff shortages made worse during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bogart said she was consider­ ing continuing as a patient com­ panion on a volunteer basis after the program ends.

Growth continues What is definitely continuing is Geisinger’s growth.

Brosious said the health system has continued to move forward during the two years of COVID, citing the orthopedic center and behavioral health facility.

“We are planning to recruit into those facilities,” Brosious said.

“We’ve been able to switch the office building (in Buckhorn) into three small clinics,” she said.

The primary care project will bring primary care services, a Geisinger 65 Forward Health Center, a ConvenientCare walk-in clinic, laboratory testing, imag­ ing and a Geisinger Pharmacy in early 2022.

That building is across Route 42 from where the orthopedic hospital will be constructed.

At The Orthopaedic Center Pennsylvania, an on-site outpa­

tient clinic will focus on wellness, injury prevention and bone, joint and muscle health, according to Geisinger. Also planned are an imaging center and pharmacy, as well as outpatient rehabilita­ tion, physical and occupational therapy services.

The new facility will make room at Geisinger Medical Center, Geisinger Woodbine and Geisinger Bloomsburg Hospital for new and exisiting programs to grow and for the medical center to eventually convert all inpatient units to private rooms.

“As long as the supply chain holds up, we’re hoping for early 2024 to open,” Brosious said.

The 96-bed, inpatient behav­ ioral health facility will allow Geisinger to consolidate inpa­ tient behavioral health programs from Geisinger Medical Center, Geisinger Bloomsburg Hospital and Geisinger Community Medi­ cal Center, in Scranton, providing additional capacity and expanded private room availability at those hospitals.

Geisinger and Acadia Health­

■ The $80 million, 124,000-square-foot Geisinger Healthplex CenterPoint outpatient facility in Pittston Township will house nine clinical suites providing services in surgery and endoscopy, orthopaedics, urology, ophthalmology and retail eyewear, laboratory and imaging, and a hybrid medical and orthopedic ConvenientCare. Completition is expected by this summer.

■ A new state-of-the-art 55,000-square-foot, $58 million Dickson City cancer center is scheduled for construction this spring and to open in 2023.

■ In November, Geisinger announced that construction of a new medical office building was under way at Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center. The 160,000-square-foot clinic space will include four floors plus a lower level and will house general surgery, vascular surgery, pulmonol­ ogy, infectious diseases, neurology, pediatric neurology, neurosurgery, neurophysiology, otolaryngology (ear, nose and throat)/audiology, general internal medicine, nephrology and transplant outreach practices as well as laboratory and radiology services and a retail pharmacy.

Completion is expected by late 2023.

■ Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center held a beam-topping ceremony at the Frank M. and Dorothea Henry Cancer Center last March 31. The $80 million, 92,150-square-foot, four-story cancer center expansion includes an 18-bed inpatient unit to serve patients who formerly had to seek care outside the region, such as those with complex blood cancers such as leukemias and aggressive lymphomas.

care Company held a ground­ breaking ceremony in September for Geisinger Behavioral Health Center Northeast, a 96-bed in­ patient behavioral health facility in Moosic, Lackawanna County.

That facility is slated to open this fall.

The centers will provide care for adult, pediatric and adoles­ cent patients who struggle with acute symptoms of behavioral health disorders such as anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, psy-

chosis and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Together, the new facilities are expected to create approximately 200 new jobs by 2024.

Brosious said Geisinger also is in the midst of an emergency de­ partment expansion at Geisinger Shamokin Area Community Hospital.

“It’s the busiest (emergency department) our consultants have ever seen,” Brosious said. “We’re going to double their space.”

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Page H4 The Daily Item / Saturday, March 12, 2022

Valley of Progress

Third-generation farmer launches milk processing business

By Marcia Moore mmoore@dailyitem.com

MIFFLINBURG Third-generation dairy farmer Jennifer Mapes has launched Mapes Farm Fresh LLC, a new business processing and selling cream-line milk fresh from the family’s Brown Swiss cows.

“It’s the freshest you can get,” she said of the whole white and chocolate milk she processes in a new building adjacent her roadside shop at 8180 State Route 304, Mifflinburg, that opened recently at the family farm.

Tracy Baylor, of Mifflinburg, visited the store twice in the first week it was open.

“I support local business and this is better” than store-bought,

said Baylor, holding a container of white milk and chocolate milk in each hand.

Mapes said she began the business to ensure the farm that was started by her grandparents in 1955 continues.

“It’s been really tough the last six years. I’m doing this to save the farm,” she said.

Mapes is assisted in the op­ eration processing up to 200 gallons of milk a day by her parents, Mark and Sue Mapes, brothers, Casey Zimmerman and Jim Mapes, and grand­ mother, Jeanne Zimmerman, who helps out in the store.

In addition to milk, Mapes Farm Fresh LLC will soon be adding ice cream from Vale Wood Farms, of Loretto; yo­ gurt from Middlecreek Dairy;

pork, beef and chicken from other area sources.

“I want to add all things farm fresh,” said Jennifer Mapes.

Sue Mapes said her daughter is interested also in bringing an educational aspect to the business.

“She did work with the Penn­ sylvania Dairy Princess Pro­ gram so education will be a big part of it,” she said.

As he stocked the store’s refrigerator with newly bot­ tled milk, Mark Mapes said of his daughter’s new business, “It’s what everyone hopes and dreams. That the farm will live on.”

Mapes Farm Fresh LLC is open 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Tuesdays through Fridays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays.

By Marcia Moore/The Daily Item

Jennifer Mapes, owner of Mapes Farm Fresh LLC, outside her business at 8180 State Route 304, Mifflinburg.

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Saturday, March 12,2022

Inside

EVANGELICAL COMMUNITY HOSPITAL

Building designers listened to experienced staff

SnSQIlEH.lYNA

VISITOR INFO

■ Visitors Bureau: Valley events, destinations attract tourists/12

Robert Inglis/The Daily Item

Evangelical Community Hospital’s PRIME expansion opened in 2020.

■ The Light Barn illuminates Valley for 43 years/12

Many patients ‘amazed’ by single-patient, private hospital rooms

By Chris Benson cbenson@dailyitem.com

LEWISBURG — Evangelical Community Hos­ pital recently completed the largest construction project in their history.

The hospital employees were integral to the project to determine what would be there and how things were set up, said Deanna Hollenbach, the hospital's communications manager.

New additions at Evangelical include single-patient, private rooms. Hollenbach said the hospital has advanced in the way it cares for patients and the experience they have. “Little touches” made big differences in patient care at Evangelical.

Emergency buttons were placed on the wall if a “rapid response” is needed. That only used to be in the Intensive Care Unit. “Tracker badges” allow others to know where nurses are for staff assistance.

“As the care models change and care needs of the community change you have to be flexible as a healthcare facility to be able to accommodate those changes,” said Hollenbach.

“Only heard positive things. Patients are amazed when they come in. They say its like a 5 star hotel,” she said.

Hollenbach said Evangelical “tried to fulfill patients’ needs.”

Diane Shaffer has seen many changes to Evan­ gelical in the three decades she has worked at the hospital. “The best thing that’s happened is the single-patient rooms.”

At one time, men could be placed with women in rooms. Shaffer noted that in the past, as many as four people had to share a single bathroom. “Who wants to share a room with somebody they’re not compatible with?”

During construction planning, Shaffer took part in a unique virtual reality program with nursing staff to determine how architects should design rooms based on staff functionality.

She said she believes patients need sleep to heal.

During the pandemic, Shaffer coordinated efforts

■ Transit firm offers new options for rides in Valley/13

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■ Valley lumber company with­ stands trade wars, virus/14

Robert Inglis/The Daily Item

Critical care unit rooms at Evangelical Community Hospital feature more space, not only for patients, but for their family members as well. for nursing staff but did care for COVID-positive patients.

“We didn’t know the pandemic was coming but the timing was perfect” for opening of the hospital’s new addition, Hollenbach said.

Shaffer, mother and grandmother of two, gave much credit to her fellow team members on the “frontlines” each day. “We have a good group of nurses who work here.”

“The way I got through (COVID) is I’m not the patient. I'm thankful I can get up each day and take care of them,” Shaffer said.

She said she always wanted to be a nurse be­ cause her grandmother was one.

“I wanted to come to Evangelical because it’s a small community hospital.”

The new addition opened for patients in October 2020. Hollenbach said “it was a happy accident really.”

The original opening slated for August 2020 was put off due to lack of construction supplies.

Hollenbach mentioned that was mostly due to supply-chain issues, a direct result from the pandemic.

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“We were impacted by that as well,” she said.

“But everything worked out for the community as a whole.”

The project was announced around 2017. The project included excavation and construction of its steel frame structure. “It was a long process.”

Shaffer was glad construction was complete before her retirement. “I have a couple years yet.”

“Family time is always important to me. You appreciate it the older you get,” Shaffer said about retirement.

No upcoming construction plans have been announced, according to Hollenbach, who said the hospital is looking at their strategic plan.

“Obviously the pandemic has made us focus on the here and now.”

“As needs shift, we flex and work to move with that shift so we are always at the forefront of answering the needs of the people who live in our communities,” Hollenbach added.

“It’s always nice when you’re having a bad day when the patient thanks you for doing what you did,” Shaffer said.

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Page 12 The Daily Item / Saturday, March 12, 2022

Valley of Progress

Visitors Bureau: Popular restaurant closed, but many other Valley attractions beckon

By Chris Benson cbenson@dailyitem.com

LEWISBURG - The Susque­ hanna Valley Visitors Bureau lo­ cated next to the former Country Cupboard receives 10-12,000 visitors a year, according to ex­ ecutive director Andrew Miller.

Miller said Country Cupboard was not the main pull for people to visit the visitor’s bureau next door.

“One thing we realized people who came to Country Cupboard came specifically for them. To eat, shop, dine,” said Miller.

The location had a “steady” motor coach business that dwin­ dled through the years. “In their heyday there were 2,000 buses going at one point,” Miller said. During the pandemic that dropped to around 700.

“The restaurant was more or less a rest stop on their way through,” he said. “We had more traffic from people coming once they found out the restaurant was closing.”

Miller said the visitor’s bureau expected a large number of peo­ ple inquiring about the restaurant closing.

“Of course we’ll take that op­ portunity to introduce people to the area,” Miller said.

The good news, he said, is tourism is still being directed locally despite Country Cup­ board’s closing.

The current location of the bu­ reau has no impending plans to move. Country Cupboard owns the property and Miller said if the restaurant is sold the location would be too.

Eric Scicchitano/The Daily Item

Lynn Pierson and Charlie Guttendorf, of Milton, rest outside The Lewisburg YMCA at the Miller Center in East Buffalo Township this past October after completing the 20-mile course for unPAved, a popular annual bicycling event in Union County.

Chris Baylor, CEO of Baylor-Hamm, owners of the prop­ erty, assured the visitor’s bureau board they would not need to worry about moving.

“Chris was awesome. He con­ tacted me 15 minutes before the press conference” to close the restaurant, he said.

Miller said he was told there is no rush to relocate.

Miller keeps his eye on travel­ ing trends, he said, to determine what is ‘normal.’ He does yearly comparisons.

“We’re getting close to business-as-usual,” Miller said, not­ ing hotel room rental figures are getting close to 2019 indicators.

Miller was excited for the im­ pending PIAA championship at Buclcnell University. “This year we’re welcoming them back which is great.”

Miller said the visitor’s bureau has a good working relationship with the university. Bucknell alumni events may pose a chal­ lenge for hotels but he hopes second half of 2022 will “get

back to that normal routine of seasonal travel.”

“Outdoor recreation is taking off,” he said. “Went through the roof’ during the pandemic.

“We're really embracing cy­ cling tourism as outdoor recre­ ation,” Miller said.

He mentioned the 2021 un­ PAved of the Susquehanna River Valley cycling event running through Union County. Miller said past infusion of money be­ cause of the event was around $1.7 million.

The Light Barn illuminates Valley for 43 years

He was told that was closer to $2.3 million in money in­ vested into the area because of unPAved.

The 2022 event will be held Oct. 9 with details to be un­ veiled in March and open reg­ istration in April.

The visitor’s bureau, with more than 36,000 “likes” on Facebook, has over 300 mem­ bers with 230 locations in the tri-county area with brochure racks and will have a presence at Community Partnership, 328 Market St., Lewisburg, next to Sweet Frog, new home for Lewisburg Downtown Partner­ ship (LDP) and Community Zone.

Miller said the bureau is working to provide the new office space with a brochure rack and pictures of Lewisburg and the region.

“Almost like a gallery,” said Miller. “So people can learn more about the area and Lewis­ burg.”

According to Cynthia Peltier, director of Community Zone, the visitor’s bureau is not the only addition coming to the office.

Peltier said Baylor is provid­ ing the space with items from Country Cupboard, such as computers, printers, and a stage.

“He’s (Baylor) been incredi­ ble,” said Peltier, who said Bay­ lor has also donated lighting to Campus Theatre in Lewisburg.

Peltier noted the “generosity of the Baylors. He’s very easy­ going about it.”

“I think what we’ve always wanted to do is have a place

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By Marcia Moore mmoore@dailyitem.com

SELINSGROVE Light Barn owner Georgiann “Toby” Skinner has been helping illu­ minate Valley homes and build­ ings for more than 40 years.

She and her former husband, Jim, opened the business in 1979 and today Skinner and her son, Michael, continue to run it at 1817 Route 522.

“It was something the area needed,” said Skinner of her interest 43 years ago in sell­ ing lighting in the Valley after traveling to New Jersey for her personal lighting needs.

Toby and Jim Skinner pur­ chased four acres off Route 522 and built the two-story red barn which has since been filled with lighting fixtures of all types, in­ cluding floor and ceiling lamps, ceiling lights, pendants, wall sconces, flush and semi-flush mounts, recessed and track lighting, outdoor lights, ceiling fans and accessories.

Ask Skinner how many lights are on display and she laughs, “Too many. People come in and they are amazed.”

The Light Barn opened when Mark Skinner was 9 years old and despite helping around the store as a child, he had no in­ tention of working there as an adult.

A few years ago, however, he began tiring of the frequent

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people can just walk down the street and find out how to get involved. It’s like a one stop shop,” Peltier said.

Miller said the bureau will provide training for volunteers at Community Partnership to act as a community ambassador of sorts.

“I believe tourism begins in your own back yard,” said Miller.

He added that he loves the re­ lationship with LDP and Com­ munity Zone and noted tourism spending is the same thing as economic development. Visitor spending in 2019 combined be­ tween Snyder, Northumberland and Union counties was $405 million.

The more people we get on board the more people we can attract to the area.”

Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Maryland, Virginia, Ohio, California, and Massachusetts are the top 10 states where online traffic on the bureau website comes from.

Peltier said she feels positive about training others “how to answer questions about what’s happening in this area.”

Miller hopes to set a model for other communities to do the same thing. He said conversa­ tions are happening about hav­ ing a presence at Susquehanna University, who soon will be having a storefront in Selins­ grove.

“Ideally we’d like to have a presence in every town,” said Miller. Comaraderie and part­ nership” between the region, Miller said, is the goal.

Photo provided

The Light Barn is located at 1817 Route 522, just west of Selinsgrove

Photo provided

The Light Barn is packed with lighting fixtures of all types. travel required in the farm equipment business he was in­ volved in so he decided to help out his 80-year-old mother.

Mother and son also raise

animals on their personal prop­ erties and run a side business as well.

Mark Skinner raises chick­ ens and sells eggs at the store

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and Toby Skinner has a herd of beef cattle on her Mount Pleasant Mills farms and keeps a stocked refrigerator of meats at the Light Barn.

She has no intention of re­ tiring to the farm soon and it’s clear she enjoys serving the public.

Many customers are like Carl Moyer, of Lewisburg, who along with his wife, Katie, has purchased lights for several homes over the years from the Light Barn.

“In my opinion, this is the best lighting store in the area.

The selection is great and Toby gives a personal touch,” he said.

“When we shop, we like to shop local.”

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The Daily Item / Saturday, March 12, 2022 Page 13

Valley of Progress

Transit firm offers new ride options

By Jaxon White The Daily Item

It’s no secret that public transporta­ tion is hard to come by in the Valley.

For the past two months, rabbittransit has been testing a ride-share service in its new Selinsgrove-Sunbury zone to provide another option for residents looking for more transportation ser­ vices.

Under the “Stop Hopper” service, customers pay $2 for a rabbittransit bus to pick them up at their given location.

Riders can call or download the app to call for a driver.

From there, they can be dropped off in a location of their choice within the zone, which includes Selinsgrove, Hummels Wharf, Shamokin Dam, Sunbury and parts of Northumberland.

“We started off in the first couple of weeks having only about five pas­ sengers, but by the third week we were up to 13,” said Richard Farr, executive director of rabbittransit.

“If it continues to grow exponen­ tially like that, for me, I think that’s a really good sign.”

Farr said that after a three-year test period, rabbittransit will decide whether to keep the zone operating.

Since the zone is based on a “use it or lose it philosophy,” Farr said they are hoping to get closer to 60-70 customers a day by the end of the year.

He said that this is the first time that a micro-transit service such as this has been implemented in a more rural area, to his knowledge. Although many of their current ride-share services target seniors in the area, Farr said that Stop Hopper is looking to appeal to more groups.

“We’re also trying to reach out to a broader population, individuals maybe who aren’t seniors or have a disability who need to go to work or the other social service type transportation,” he said.

In the end, Farr hopes the system can help people that need it.

“The idea is to really help remove transportation as a barrier to allow people to have access to their basic needs and hopefully employment op­ portunities,” he said.

The Greater Susquehanna Val­ ley United Way (GSVUW), a local nonprofit working toward improv­ ing public transportation systems in the region, has confidence in the new program.

“GSVUW knows that transportation is one of the number one barriers for individuals in our local communities so we are excited about the new Stop Hopper program,” said Adrienne Mael, CEO of the GSVUW. Farr said rabbittransit is thankful to PennDOT for being one of their main funders on this project.

“Everyone in the community, we want to be a partner in this. So, if there are employers who are trying to get people to work, we would love to try to figure out if there’s anything else we could do to help them,” he said.

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A rabbittransit vehicle drives across Front Street in Sunbury.

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Page 14 The Daily Item / Saturday, March 12, 2022

Valley lumber ifirm withstands international trade wars, virus

CELEBRATING

70 YEARS

‘Things are getting better’ at Bingaman & Son

By Marcia Moore mmoore@dailyitem.com

Bingaman & Son Lumber was going strong in Kreamer in 2018, the year the business celebrated its 50th year anni­ versary.

With the aid of about 240 employees, the company had $70 million in annual sales the year before and was looking forward to continued success.

Then several situations out of the company’s control arose.

Company’s Chief Financial Officer Scott Hurst said the first volley came during the trade war with China in 2019.

As hardwood scheduled to be sent to Asia began flooding the U.S. markets, timber values took a dive and Bingaman & Son Lumber lost money that year, he said.

By January 2020, the in­ dustry was recovering “and then March happened,” Hurst said, referring to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

PPE funding help keep most of the 240 employees who share ownership of Bingaman & Son, but there were still many chal­ lenges, including recruiting and retaining workers and serving customers around the world.

While maintaining robust benefits for its employees, fo­ cusing on its core customer base and forging ahead with investment plans, including adding a natural gas line at its Kreamer plant to supplement a wood-waste burner to save money and increase capacity, Hurst said, Bingaman & Son experienced its highest sales in 2021.

And he also sees a positive movement in the labor force, with employee applications and recruitment picking up in the past couple of months.

“Things are getting better, Hurst said.

Company Vice President Chris Bingaman said all of the obstacles they’ve faced

in recent years, and now with unrest in Europe, “planning for our future has never been more challenging, but we re­ main optimistic because we

are surrounded by Pennsylva­ nia’s abundant wood resource and dedicated employees who come to work each day to get something accomplished.”

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