Local News

Update March 2016:
BARRETT TOWNSHIP -- The old Buck Hill Inn in Monroe County will once again be up for an online auction.

The online sale for the Buck Hill Inn near Mount Pocono is scheduled to begin on March 8. The starting bid is $350,000.

The inn sold for $750,000 in October, but the buyer failed to follow through with the contract, according to realtors.

[Source]

Well, that didn’t take long.  Only a few months after getting rid of the Barrett Township Police Department, the ESSA Bank on Route 390 in Mountainhome was robbed.  

This article may be “too little, too late,” but we can still ask questions about the way our Township Supervisors are conducting business.

1.  Why did we go with Regional over State?
Looking only at the distance between Barrett Township and the corresponding police headquarters:
- State Police Barracks in Swiftwater: 11.1 miles (19 minutes according to Google)
- Mount Pocono Regional Police: 14.9 miles (26 minutes according to Google)

November 7, 2015

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I understand the PMSD board will be further discussing and evaluating the addition of major changes to the West High School field this evening. I am very concerned that the ongoing decrease in student population may eventually lead to a closing of the West HS so the potential expenditure may be of little value long term. It seems logical to use the funds that are liberated in the selling of closed schools for other capital needs that will then allow excess tax collections to be used to reduce debt and lower taxes.

As you know all four of the districts in Monroe County (MC) are experiencing declining school enrollments and one has to ask why?  I have little doubt that high school taxes while not necessarily the root cause have exacerbated the population decline.

Saturday, October 3
Hosted by Pleasant Ridge Farm
122 Barn Swallow Road
Cresco, PA 18326
570-856-4977

$1 per entry goes to benefit CAME Food Pantry

Costume contest, flat and jumping classes, games and more.  Non perishable donations will also be accepted the day of the show.  For complete information and class/prize list visit www.PleasantRidgeFarmLLC.com

The monthly PMSB meeting held on August 19th included discussion of the preliminary feasibility study regarding the improvement of athletic fields for both Pocono Mountain East and West High Schools.  When Board members were asked for their response to the feasibility study, all except one Board member said they would vote for the improvement.  Only Jackie Leonard declined to support the proposal, saying she felt it more financial responsible to maintain the money in the capital fund for future capital needs.   We appreciate Jackie Leonard’s continued strength in consistently supporting fiscal restraint at PMSD. Meg Dilger was disappointed she could not attend for personal reasons.

MegaPhase Founder and President, Bill Pote, talks:

Mountainhome, PWSID# PA2450039

Our drinking water contains chlorine, arsenic, copper, and lead.  (On the bright side, at least it doesn’t contain fluoride!)

Are you drinking FILTERED water?
Below are some suggestions for filtering the water in your home.

1. Install a sediment filter on your incoming water line.  This will help protect your appliances (dishwasher, washing machine, etc) from any particles that come into your plumbing:
   https://www.amazon.com/Culligan-HF-360A-Sediment-Cartridge-Included/dp/B000BQUPZ8/
   
   
2. Get a drinking water filter like this for your kitchen:
   http://www.bigberkeywaterfilters.com/
   
   These filters are MUCH nicer than a standard “Brita” filter, which pass water through charcoal.  These Berkey filters are essentially filtering water through a stone.  The filters are able to filter red food coloring out of water.  They also remove chlorine and other soft metals.  The photo attached to this article shows a “3 years later” shot of our Berkey filter element.  Note that we have been putting approximately 1 gallon of “AQUA Public Water” through this filter every day. 

We encourage everyone to drink clean water and eat quality food. 

Even if you have well water, adding the above filters to your home’s water system couldn’t hurt.   

If you want to have you water checked, here is the information for a PA-state-accredited water testing lab:
Prosser Labs
(570) 629-2981
http://www.prosserlabs.com/Bacteria-Testing-Contact-Effort-PA.html

Relevant News:

• Today, even US water is overly medicated—these scientists want to change that

Full-Day Kindergarten Registration Open Now

Pocono Mountain School District is currently registering Kindergarten students for the 2015-2016 school year.

Parents who have a child who meets the eligibility for the 2015-2016 school year Kindergarten class, should contact the Pocono Mountain School District Central Registration Office at 839-7121 ext. 40400 to schedule an appointment. The child must be five (5) years of age or more, on or before September 1, 2015.

(Letter to the Editor) Hello Neighbor!

We are very sorry for the interruption in township news updates, but bad colds and family matters this winter slowed us down.  We'll summarize activities since January, although you are probably already familiar with them:

[Edit 1/24/18]

A local composting program was discussed at the Barrett Township Supervisor Meeting on Wednesday, January 24, 2018.  Based on comments from the supervisors, their position on a community composting program is that it's a great idea.  However, they feel that composting should be done privately, between neighbors, friends, and the like.  We encourage interested parties to review the following PDF resources about composting and start doing it at home! 

And, if you start composting and start getting a foul odor, you need to add more wood chips, saw dust, or similar substances to your compost pile.  

Further Reading on Composting:

• Composting at Home
• Composting - Easy Methods for Every Gardener
• Community Composting Program Sample Flyer
• Studies and Advances in Composting Technology
• Backyard Composting - Recycling a Natural Product

Apparently a new phone scam is going on in our area, where a person, who claims to be with PP&L electric company. The caller is then telling the owners their accounts are delinquent and there electricity will be shut off, with in an hour, if they don’t receive any payment. THIS IS A SCAM! Do not send or transfer any money to them.

My advice to anyone who receives this type of phone call, shall call PP&L at their 1-800 number, NOT the phone number the caller is providing to make payment.

This meeting is of massive importance.  All Barrett and Paradise residents MUST attend to have their voices heard!  There is LOTS of talk regaurding the opening of a Charter School if Barrett is closed.  I and MANY parents are for this.  We need to stand behind our children's education and social well being.  We want to see Barrett succeed and remain open, but if it does not, then a Charter may be our only alternative!  Please pass this information on.  There are people who have been working on this for months now and need our support.  More information will be announced at the hearing, Monday night.