KANE – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service
announced that Kane Area School District will be receiving a
$250,000 grant for a proposed wood heating project for the high
school.

The grant is a portion of $6.2 million made available by the
forest service, State and Private Forestry Technology Marketing
Unit through a Woody Biomass Grant Program.

This is the second year they applied for this grant that has the
potential to save the school district between $55,000 and $60,000
in heating costs per year.

“We are thrilled about this,” said John Rook, facilities manager
for the school district. “We are also thrilled with the opportunity
this will provide us in working with the Allegheny National Forest.
They are an asset and have been a lot of help to us, they have a
lot of good people.

“This will be a great opportunity to help the region and help
the forest.”

Rook is talking about the fact that the school would be using
wood for heat, rather than natural gas. That wood will be coming
from the ANF through use of small diameter, low-valued trees in the
forest.

Rook said he evaluated numbers over the past seven years of gas
usage and costs to find an answer on what their savings could be
with an alternative heating system.

“I also talked to the gas company and we were told to expect an
increase for the budget figures. So if gas continued to rise, in an
average winter we should save about $60,000,” added Rook.

Business manager Steve Perry said the cost for heating the
school in 2004-05 was $95,684 and the cost for heating the school
in 2005-06 was $92,121. He said the costs differ because of the
differences in weather those years.

The cost of the total project is expected to be $873,653. With
the $250,000 grant and a Pennsylvania Energy Harvest Grant of
$355,653, the school district pay the remaining $268,000 from a
reserve fund.

The next step in getting the project started, said Rook, is to
meet with the architect, HHSDR Architects of Sharon, who is
currently working on renovations at the Kane Middle School.

Rook also said the district will have to go through a bidding
process when it comes to getting the equipment to build the boiler
system. In a previous story, Rook said while researching the
project over the past couple of years, he found Advanced Recycling
Equipment Inc. of St. Marys that could help the district with
supplies.

He said Wednesday that company was also helpful to them when it
came to providing information to Rook while he was writing for the
grant.

“They went above and beyond to help,” he said. “They have been
very helpful throughout the process.”

Rook also said that the system will be tied into the existing
system of natural gas so that if anything should happen, they would
be able to turn a valve to open the flow again if needed.

He added they are hoping to send students in their forestry
classes to view the stand that would be earmarked for them to add
to their learning program.

He said a third party would cut and chip the trees for them and
that the district would need two truckloads per week during peak
winter season.

“Securing this important U.S. Forest Service grant is nothing
short of wonderful,” Superintendent Sandra Chlopecki said. “Funded
at the full amount sought, our school district’s use of this grant
will essentially be threefold. One, we can begin, as a school
district, to reduce heating costs and further explore alternative
energy sources, like woody biomass. Our curriculum offers two
critical vocational programs – forestry and agriculture mechanics –
that will significantly benefit from this grant. And lastly, this
grant will allow our students a hands-on experience in the upkeep
of the health of the Allegheny National Forest.”

One federal lawmaker helped in the process.

“The federal government made a commitment to forest counties
across this nation more than a century ago, and securing this vital
biomass grant is a necessary step in seeing that it remains valid,”
said U.S. Rep. John Peterson, R-Pa., who serves as co-chairman of
the Congressional Rural Caucus.

“Small, rural schools often do not have the resources to provide
students with a quality technical education. This grant will
provide additional resources to create and improve vocational
training so that students will be better prepared to find quality
jobs and help build our local economy.

“It is my hope that this grant will be used to train young
people for quality jobs right here in northern Pennsylvania, while
at the same time, preserving the Allegheny National Forest,” added
Peterson in a press release.

The Kane School District’s grant proposal was accepted for a
second round out of a total of 90 applicants nationwide. They then
became one of 26 that actually received funding in amounts as high
as $250,000 to as low as $144,000.

Elk Regional Health Systems of St. Marys also received a woody
biomass grant in the amount of $250,000. A message left in the
public relations department of the hospital was not returned
Wednesday.