EMPORIUM — Employees of the Cameron County Conservation District attended Thursday’s county commissioners meeting to discuss several current projects.
On Nov. 4, Conservation District employees will conduct their annual project tour. District Manager Todd Deluccia said the tour will begin at the Cameron County Courthouse at noon, and participants will travel to between four and six sites where Conservation District projects are under way or completed. The number of sites is dependent upon time. Participants can expect to return to the courthouse by 4 p.m.
A definite stop on the tour will be the acid mine drainage reclamation project in Finley Run. That phase of the project is complete, though other areas need to be addressed before Sterling Run is free of acid mine drainage. Deluccia said that if time permits, the tour might also include a stop at Portable Run, where a similar project has been completed.
Deluccia said that other stops will include at least one area where streambank stabilization has been completed, and an area that has had work done to improve fish habitat.
Meanwhile, administrative assistant Jenn Dixon presented information on Conservation District efforts in the Cameron County School District.
Dixon, Deluccia and Assistant District Manager Kate Morgan are working with enrichment teacher Brock Wennin to collect and recycle paper from Woodland Elementary School. Dixon said after the first collection, 50 pounds of used paper products were turned in to the Elk County Recycling Center. The Cameron County Recycling Center currently collects only newspaper.
Dixon said that Wennin wanted to start with paper because it is the largest recycling aspect up there. Paper products, including glossy magazines, pizza, cereal and food boxes, construction paper, and printer paper are all accepted at Elk County, and staff was willing to work with Conservation District and the school to implement the project.
Enrichment students will tally the totals throughout the year, and then calculate how many trees were used to make the paper, and how many trees are saved through recycling efforts. Dixon is hopeful the project can be expanded to include other recyclables in future years.
Deluccia said the Elk County facility is very well run, organized and automated. For most drop-offs, individuals do not even need to get out of their vehicles. He is looking into taking groups of Cameron County students to explore the facility in the future.
In other news, Commissioner Lori Reed spent a day job shadowing county employees with the Assessment Office. Reed acknowledged the difficult situation the employees find themselves in while updating records of properties across the county.
“There were very tense situations at times,” said Reed. She said that while the employees were checking building permits, there were little to no problems. However, when they began going to residences to measure and take photos for county records, they were often berated by the residents while trying to do their jobs.
“I was amazed at their composure,” Reed said. “They knocked on the doors, wearing their (identification) badges and explained what was going on, but that often was not enough.”
Reed wants residents to know that the Assessment employees, Michelle Reed and Danyle Geist, are not reassessing any buildings. It is not legal to spot assess without a homeowner applying for a building permit, unless the entire county is undergoing reassessment.
“They are just updating county records with good measurements and pictures,” Reed said. “This is good for banks and realtors, and for homeowners who are looking into loans or to sell.”
Also, Reed announced several new programs being offered at the Barbara Moscato-Brown Memorial Library. The Story Hour program, which has been available for several decades, is still available for children from age three to school age. It is held at 11 a.m. every Monday.
The library’s newest program is called Free to Be Me and is open to children birth to age two. That program will run from 10 to 10:45 a.m. on Wednesdays.
Lego kits are being collected by the library in anticipation of a Lego Club staff would like to establish. More information will be available as the program is developed.
Meanwhile, Chief Clerk Brenda Munz announced the last day to apply for an absentee ballot is Nov. 1. Voted ballots must be returned by 5 p.m. Nov. 4. There has been some confusion on absentee ballots. An application must be submitted before an absentee ballot can be mailed out or picked up. Individuals cannot call in and request one without submitting an application.
Munz said that “it is better to apply sooner rather than later.” Applications and ballots are available by contacting the Elections/Voter Registration Office in the Commissioners Office at the Cameron County Courthouse.
The next commissioners meeting will be held at 10 a.m. Nov. 3 at the courthouse in Emporium.
