NEWS ITEM FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS: Five Pennsylvania centers that help predominantly older veterans in rural areas apply for disability compensation, pensions and health care will close Jan. 1 after nearly 29 years, a state labor spokesman said.
The decision to close all five Governor's Veterans Outreach and Assistance Center offices was difficult, but necessary given the economy, said Department of Labor and Industry spokesman Troy Thompson.
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Union eyes Penn Traffic moves
The union representing employees with Penn Traffic is closely watching developments as the company goes through proceedings for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The Web site of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) is being updated with developments, and on Friday it announced that Penn Traffic filed a motion Thursday in court to approve the payment of wages and benefits to employees. The motion was approved by the judge, according to the union.
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SAYRE - The Sayre Borough Council voted on Thursday at their regular meeting to adopt the borough's 2010 budget.
The $6,377,555 total budget includes a .25 mil tax increase, according to budget documents, as well as a $5 per quarter increase in the borough's residential sewer rate. Council voted unanimously to approve the budget, and also voted unanimously to set the borough's tax rate at 10.37 mils and the residential sewer rate at $89 per EDU per quarter.
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TOWANDA - The Towanda Municipal Authority and the Wysox Township Municipal Authority have been awarded federal funding through a Pennsylvania state program which could make the sewer system more energy efficient.
The $413,760 grant comes from the Pennsylvania "Conservation Works!" program, according to Towanda Municipal Authority Manager Tom Fairchild. To that grant amount, Towanda and Wysox will match approximately $100,000 in additional funds, Fairchild said, for a total estimated project cost of around $517,200.
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DIMOCK TWP. - In a field between Ronald Carter's trailer and the gas drilling site less than 500 feet from his front porch, a group of neighbors shared nightmarish stories Friday morning about the natural gas extraction they say has changed their lives and homes.
The 15 families were there to announce a lawsuit they filed Thursday against Cabot Oil and Gas Corp., the Texas-based natural gas operator that has drilled 63 wells in a 9-square-mile area around their homes in Susquehanna County, and has permits to drill about 60 more.
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TROY - Howard J. Smith Jr. of West Burlington was praised for his volunteerism during the Distinguished Alumni Awards Recognition Program at Memorial Auditorium in Troy Thursday.
Smith wasn't the only one named a Distinguished Alumni. In addition, a posthumous Distinguished Alumni Award was made honoring the late Dr. L.W. Brown. The awards were sponsored by the Troy Area School District Foundation.
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The Sayre Salvation Army kicked off its Red Kettle Campaign with three other Southern Tier cities on Friday at the Arnot Mall in Elmira, N.Y.
Nationally, the Salvation Army's 2009 Red Kettle Christmas campaign will kick off with a halftime performance of Grammy-nominated rock band Daughtry at the Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving Day game, according to a press release from the Salvation Army.
The kettle campaign is "the oldest annual charitable fundraiser of its kind in the United States," the release stated, adding that money raised during the campaign, which runs through Christmas Eve, will be for "people in need in communities nationwide, providing toys for kids, coats for the homeless, food for the hungry and countless social service programs year-round."
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