NEWS

Despite the oil & gas industry and regulators pushing a story that injection wells meet strict safety standards, citizen complaints to the DEP offer a glimpse into how those standards fail to protect water.

Public Herald’s latest RTK of DEP’s citizen complaint records uncovered 18 complaints (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11CM8KWN_mvvvbDM9FCjRHkA8m-qJ6fezOyJuiF2vcSE/edit#gid=1689475627) from 2016 to 2021 for underground injection control (UIC) wells, 15 of which included water pollution concerns (83% of complaints)”

Eight of the 18 injection well complaints resulted in violations to the commonwealth’s Clean Streams Law. But at five more injection wells, DEP inspectors found Clean Streams Law violations and chose not to issue citations, which makes the real total of complaints with Clean Streams Law violations 13 of 18 complaints.

Pennsylvania’s Auditor General and Attorney General take:  “Despite decades of documentation and scathing reviews by Pennsylvania’s Auditor General and Attorney General, DEP still does not use its authority to set limits on radium from oil and gas waste in NPDES discharge permits.

When asked if DEP could require radium monitoring for facilities like Eureka’s, EPA responded via email, “[M]onitoring for those constituents is not required under the federal regulations. However, state permit writers can require additional monitoring in permits issued to specific direct discharging facilities.”

In other words, the Pennsylvania DEP could be eliminating the threat of radium in waterways. They’ve simply been choosing not to.”

July 27th this Thursday will be the free Town Square Concert at the gazebo in Port Allegany. Starting at 6:00pm the performance will be Jonathan Meade who is a local favorite. His requested bookings cover three counties and beyond. The hot dogs will be on the grill and cold beverages available for purchase with the Women’s Club hosting the food table. Bring a lawn chair and come enjoy the cool breezes of the evening. See you on the square!

Unleash your productivity and take control of your data! Do you manage large sets of numbers, names, dates, or other pieces of information? If so, then you need to know how to create worksheets to manage, store, organize, and even analyze this information. Excel, Microsoft’s powerful spreadsheet software, is the most widely used program for these tasks, and most workplaces want new employees to have a basic understanding of Microsoft Excel.

Introduction to Excel will introduce you to the program’s basic functions and uses. You will learn a number of shortcuts for setting up worksheets quickly and efficiently and will get tips on sorting and analyzing data. By the time you’re done, you will know how to use this important tool.

In Intermediate Excel, you will take a deeper dive into Excel’s capabilities, including learning about data analysis tools and how to create macros that allow the manipulation of data and eliminate repetitive tasks. If you use Excel regularly and want to learn more advanced functions in this powerful software, this class is for you.

These classes, taught by Ron Keeney, Professor in the Computer Science Department at Alfred State College of Technology, are scheduled for Thursdays, August 3 and August 10, respectively, from 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. at the Education Council’s Coudersport office at 5 Water Street. The cost for each class is $59 per person. Register today! Visit www.pottercountyedcouncil.org or call (814) 274-4877.

Cooperstown Cheese Company Recalls Products Because of Possible Health Risk

Cooperstown Cheese Company of Milford, NY, is recalling 1400 pounds of cheese purchased, sold or distributed from June 21, 2023 to July 10, 2023 because it has the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.

Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.

The Tioga County Women’s Shooting Society is meeting from 5 p.m. until dusk Thursday, July 27, at the Hillside Rod and Gun Club’s pistol range, weather permitting. 

“I am asking that women interested in joining our organization meet me in the Hillside Rod and Gun Club parking lot at 625 Gulick Street, Blossburg, PA 16912 on July 27 between 4:45 p.m. and 4:55 p.m. I will lead them from there to the range, which is just a few tenths of a mile further down the road,” said Marilyn Jones, president. 

“We will be meeting at the pistol range from 5pm until dusk on Aug. 24 and Sept. 28,” Jones said. The meeting on Oct. 26 will be at the pistol range from 4:30pm until dusk. 

Members and guests are required to sign one hold harmless waiver for the indoor and outdoor seasons and pay a $10 range fee each time they attend practice during the six-month outdoor season, which ends in October. 

Women interested in becoming a member of the Tioga County Women’s Shooting Society can attend two meetings without joining but are required to become a member before attending a third time. 

To become a member, women are required to fill out a hold harmless waiver and membership and medical form and pay dues of $15 once per year in addition to the range fee. “We use that $15 per person membership fee to pay for targets and other materials to be used at the outdoor range and to purchase Gatorade or water to drink when it’s really hot,” Jones said.

“Starting this November and continuing through April, we will return to carpooling to the National Range and Armory in Williamsport for the six-month winter season,” said Jones. Winter season dates will be announced in August. 

Those attending practices at the National Range and Armory will pay a lane rental fee and for any target(s), ammunition or anything else they purchase.

Carpool riders are asked to assist drivers with gasoline costs. 

For more information, contact Marilyn Jones at 570-244-7989 or at jones_mk@yahoo.com.

The National Rifle Association Basic Pistol Shooting course in August is full and only three seats remain in the Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 9 and 10course being held in the Doane Center on the Mansfield University campus and at the Hillside Rod and Gun Club.

Participants in a basic pistol class are limited to 12. 

September class registrants will learn how to safely handle and shoot a pistol, how to clean and store a firearm, about pistol mechanisms and operation, building pistol shooting skills, and pistol selection and use. 

Jones will assign each registrant to a shooting instruction and testing session on Sunday, Sept. 10 either from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. or 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

The fee is $50 to cover the cost of books, handouts and range fees and is to be paid to Marilyn Jones upon registration.

To register for the September NRA Basic Pistol Shooting Course contact NRA-certified Instructor Marilyn Jones at 570-244-7989 or for more information, email her atjones_mk@yahoo.com.