Matamoras firefighters work from the platform of their ladder truck to extinguish the Sunday night blaze. (Photo by Jim Davis)
Firefighters look on as crews work to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Jim Davis)
By Jim Davis
MATAMORAS — Fire gutted a Matamoras home on Sunday evening. Shortly after 10 p.m., the call came in and units from Matamoras, Westfall, Port Jervis, Sparrowbush, and Hemlock Farms responded to the blaze at 103 Avenue K.
Firefighters battled the blaze for several hours, and by 1:30 a.m. several units were still on scene conducting overhaul operations.
According to several emergency workers at the scene, there was no one in the structure at the time of the fire.
Matamoras' new council members are sworn in by Mayor Dick Gassman, L-R: Bob Stevens, Joe Sain, Gassmann, Linda O'Donnell, and JoAnn Featherman. (Photo by Jim Davis)
Gassmann congratulates new Borough Council President Dayne Losee as borough secretary Nancy Buchanan looks on. (Photo by Jim Davis)
By Jim Davis
MATAMORAS — Monday was a busy night for Matamoras Mayor Dick Gassmann, as he swore in a passel of borough officers, including newly elected council members, presided over the election of the borough council’s new president, and delivered the annual State of the Borough address.
The borough council has two new members, Joe Sain and Linda O’Donnell. Two other members, Bob Stevens and JoAnn Featherman, were reelected last November. Incumbents Dayne Losee, Chris Ross, and Eric Kudrich round out the 2010 council. Losee is the new president of the borough council, with Kudrich serving as vice president. Both were elected to their new posts with no dissenting votes from the other council members.
During his State of the Borough Address, Gassmann ran down a list of notable achievements in the borough in 2009, including the installation of new pedestrian lights, curbs and sidewalks along parts of Pennsylvania Avenue; the purchase of new Christmas Wreaths; the completion of Firefly Field; the construction and dedication of the Cold War Memorial at Veteran’s Park; numerous improvements at Airport Park; the installation of new warning sirens throughout the borough; the institution of an emergency radio station; and the installation of solar power at the firehouse.
Gassmann concluded by welcoming the new members of the borough council, and expressing confidence that 2010 will be a productive year.
Following the mayor’s speech, the council carried on with their regular monthly meeting. The following committee chairmanships were announced: Streets Committee, Stevens; Fire Department Committee, Featherman; Buildings Committee, Sain; Finance Committee, O’Donnell; General Government Committee, Kudrich; Liaison to Matamoras Municipal Authority, Ross.
The council also made and passed a motion authorizing Treasurer Greg Myer to apply for a tax anticipation note, if needed. Losee explained that such a note would help the borough pay bills until revenue from tax collections starts coming in around March or April. “We may need to take one, we may not, we’re just authorizing the treasurer to do it,” Losee said.
MATAMORAS — A scholarship has been created in memory of Dr. James A. Alborano and will be given each year by Hope Evangelical Free Church in Matamoras to deserving students. To qualify students must have completed at least one year of education beyond high school. Priority will be given to those in financial need and/or seeking careers in Christian teaching or education.
The scholarship amount will be $1,000 to one student or $500 to each of two students. The application deadline is December 14, 2009. Scholarship will be awarded on December 27, 2009. For more information and application for the scholarship call Helen Monisera at (845) 856-5696.
Signeto expects his new solar panels to cut his electric bill by 80 percent.
‘It’s going to cut my bill from $200 to $20,’ he says
By Susan Koomar
MATAMORAS – Pete Signeto expects his new supply of solar energy to do more than slash his electric bill; he says he’ll make $3,000 to $4,000 a year in a few years.
The Matamoras resident finally has the solar roof panels he’s been trying to get installed since he heard about the Sunshine Program in May. Signeto learned online about the availability of $150 million from the federal government for Pennsylvania taxpayers. He eagerly applied but was stymied by a loophole.
“We found out that power companies under 10,000 customers don’t have to participate,” he said.
Signeto was determined to pursue the issue and began calling lawmakers from U.S. Senator Arlen Specter to Gov. Ed Rendell to state representatives and Pike County commissioners.
“I said this isn’t fair. This is supposed to be money for everybody in Pennsylvania to use,” he said.
A few days later, Signeto’s wife got a call from the president of Orange & Rockland Utilities, which owns Pike County Light & Power, saying there was a mistake and the company is participating in the program.
“I’m finally now getting the panels installed after all the red tape,” Signeto said last week. “It’s going to cut my bill from $200 to $20.”
But going solar has been far from free. Homeowners must have a roof no older than 10 years to be eligible for grants. Signeto’s roof was on for 22 years so he had to replace it.
The solar project – 39 panels mounted on racks on the south-facing slope of his roof – cost about $62,000. Signeto got a $19,000 grant through the state and will get a $14,000 tax break from the federal government when he files his income tax next year.
The project will pay for itself in three and a half years, Signeto estimates.
“Then I’ll be making money selling solar energy credits back to the power company,” he said. “I’ll be energy independent.”
A $7,000 panel – an “inverter” called “Sunny Boy” – is now mounted on the side of Signeto’s house; it takes D.C. power from the roof panels and converts it into A.C. for residential electricity.
This isn’t Signeto’s first solar project. His garden has solar stake lights stuck in the ground and his white picket fence is dotted with 18 solar lights that he bought for about $10 each.
And if he ultimately couldn’t get his roof panels, well, he had a back-up plan.
“If I couldn’t do this I was going to put a windmill in the back yard,” he said.
MATAMORAS, N.Y. — Boy Scout Troop 77 will present a roast beef dinner on Oct. 10 at the Matamoras United Methodist Church. The public is invited.
Serving of roast beef with the fixings, including red mashed potatoes, salad, a beverage and dessert, will run from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. Takeouts will be available. Tickets will be $5 for children 12 and under, and $9 for adults.
The church is at 209 Ave. H, Matamoras. The troop meets most Sunday evenings at the church, and new Scouts are always welcome.
MATAMORAS — The Matamoras Co-Ed Adult Softball League has a new champion this year and it’s one that has never worn the crown before. The Riverview Inn squad defeated Jorgensen’s Deli in two straight games last week to grab their first league title.
Game #1 was a barn burner as Riverview Inn won 9-5.
Dana Presto belted a three-run homer to break open a close game in the top of the fifth inning with Riverview up by a run at 6-5.
Jeff Targowski and Jason Gunderman scored a run and had an RBI for Riverview Inn.
Jorgensen’s led 4-3 heading into the third when Gunderman ripped an RBI triple and Targowski followed with a run producing single plating Gunderman.
Brian Kowal led off the game with an inside the park home run for Jorgensen’s while Mike Talmadge had three hits. Chris Morgan picked up the win for Riverview Inn and Anthony Hernandez added two hits while John Malzahn took the loss for Jorgensen’s.
Game #2 was another close one as Jorgensen’s took an early lead only to have Riverview Inn stage another comeback.
The Riverview Inn crew showed tremendous resiliency and never gave up.
Gunderman and Presto were again hot at the dish as each had a pair of base hits. One of Gunderman’s blasts was a home run. Ryan Cunningham chipped in with a pair of RBI’s and Chris Morgan had a two run triple.
Brian Kowal had a homer and scored two runs for Jorgensen’s.
Jorgensen’s tied the game at five all in the fourth but Riverview Inn came back with a pair of runs in their half of the fourth and added three more in the fifth to break the game open.
Melissa Leeper had three hits and drove in two runs for Riverview Inn.
John Jorgensen and Austin Carroll each had an RBI for Jorgensen’s Deli.
Chris Morgan was the winning pitcher for Riverview Inn while John Malzahn took the loss for Jorgensen’s.
The championship is especially impressive for Riverview Inn as Jorgensen’s Deli came into the playoffs the prohibitive favorite after going undefeated through the regular season with a 14-0 record. Going into the championship finals Riverview Inn knew they would have to elevate their game and play up to the level of Jorgensen’s and they never backed down from that challenge, especially after trailing in the first game.
“We came back and we were ready to play,” said Riverview Inn manager Warren ‘Hot Dog’ Ponds, “the guys picked each other up all year long and never gave up. We got production from everyone this season, including bench players who all lived up to it this year.”
Ponds added, “This group is the best group of players I’ve been around and coached in all my years of managing. I would like to thank them all and also all the teams and the Matamoras Recreation department for another successful season and all who helped out this year.”
Ponds has been around the game of softball for many years in area leagues as both a competitor and manager. He has been the league chairman of the Matamoras League the last 3 or 4 years and has done a tremendous job. I have had the chance to get to know him quite well in that time and I have never seen him quite so emotional as he was when he was speaking about his newly crowned championship squad.
Congratulations to Warren Ponds, the Riverview Inn team and sponsors Judy and Charlie Shay of the Riverview Inn.
MILFORD – The Milford Garden Club’s Annual Luncheon will be held on Tuesday, September 8, at the Riverview Inn, Shay Lane, Matamoras, PA,
at noon. The public is invited to attend. A delicious meal will be served followed by entertainment. The cost is $30 per person. Reservations can be made by contacting Kathy Vannatta at 570-296-3833.
MILFORD – Kimberly Ciuffreda is the newest member of the team at Weichert Realtors® – Ruffino Real Estate. Ciuffreda, a five-year real estate professional and member of the Pike/Wayne Board of Realtors®, hails from New Jersey and has been in Milford since 1990. She has been a top listing agent before joining the Weichert® office and will serve clients throughout Milford, Dingmans Ferry, Shohola and Matamoras.
“I am very familiar with Kimberly’s abilities and team spirit, and I am extremely excited about having her as the newest addition to the Weichert sales team,” said Owner/Realtor Donna Ruffino. The Weichert Realtors – Ruffino Real Estate is located at 406 West Harford Street in Milford. Phone 570-296-7570.
Citizens empowered with near real-time neighborhood crime information available 24/7/365.
PIKE COUNTY – The Eastern Pike Regional Police Department have announced a new On-line Crime Alerting and Mapping Service that provides easy to read incident crime maps and automated alerts to the citizens of Matamoras Borough and Westfall Township. The service, located at the Eastern Pike Regional Police Department’s Web site at www.eprpd.org. Neighborhood crime data in near real-time and is available now.
The Crime Reports service is free to the public and allows citizens to receive automatic daily, weekly or monthly email alerts if/when crimes occur near their home, office, local school, etc. Citizens can also view reported crime activity on an easy to use map for any location within the Eastern Pike Regional Police Department’s boundaries. Crime incident data is updated nightly and includes:
Incident type
Date
Location
Distance from citizen’s address
Event identification/case number
Brief crime incident description
“This Crime reporting system will prove particularly valuable to those in the community who want to stay informed about what is going on in their neighborhoods and empower citizens to work with the police department to address neighborhood crime issues.” said Chief Chad Stewart.
“By participating in CrimeReports.com, the Eastern Pike Regional police Department is demonstrating its commitment to service and safety by making crime information available to the citizens of Westfall Township and Matamoras Borough,” said Greg Whisenant, co-founder and CEO of Public Engines, which makes the CrimeReports.com application. “Chief Stewart and the E.P.R.P.D. staff are forward-looking, providing timely, location specific information to the public when they need it” he said.
“As part of our ongoing effort to provide the citizens of Matamoras Borough and Westfall Township with up to date information on what’s happening in their neighborhood we have introduced our new crime mapping system said Chief Stewart.” “Keeping the public well informed has been proven effective in reducing crime”, he said.
