The Mighty Oak Awards is an annual event celebrating pillars in our community for their dedication and support of improving the lives of others through civic engagement and philanthropy.

Mighty Oak Award honorees for 2022 are former Executive Director of Outreach, Linda Ciampi, M.C. Ed., and Daniel Santaniello, President and CEO of Fidelity Bank.

This year Outreach has created the Beth Beh Community Spirit Award in recognition of a group or individual that has a long-standing devotion to community service through education, volunteer work, and citizen connections. 2022’s recipients are the Penn State Master Gardeners.

The event will take place at will be held on Thursday, September 29 at Glenmaura National Golf Resort from 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm.

Tickets for the event are available online: https://bit.ly/3QBvsDm

Save, Print, Cut and Send the Invitation above to RSVP for the Kick Off or you can email Elena Kozloski at United Way to confirm your reservations ekozloski@uwlc.net.

Geisinger Marworth Treatment Center is hosting its 40th Anniversary Celebration of Recovery Fun Run/Walk on Sunday, Aug. 28, at the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail, Scranton Half Marathon Pavilion.

This annual event, which has been held virtually the past two years, is back in person for the 5K run/1-mile walk. Race proceeds will benefit the Geisinger Marworth Therapeutic Activities Fund, which supports programs that help patients enjoy healthy leisure and gain sober social skills after discharge. Medals will be awarded for top runners in male and female age groups as well as a prize raffle.

“The event is truly a celebration of recovery, highlighting Marworth’s work, which has helped more than 40,000 patients overcome addiction,” said Jennifer Ronczka, operations manager for northeast region addiction medicine. “It brings together those who have recovered, family members and friends of those who’ve had addiction, community members — everyone. It’s for such a great cause and always a fun event for all who participate.”

Check-in will be held from 8:30 – 9:45 a.m. with the race beginning at 10 a.m. The $30 entry fee includes a t-shirt while supplies last. Register online at runsignup.com/recoveryfunrun. If you would like to give an additional donation to help support the Marworth Therapeutic Activities Fund, visit go.geisinger.org/marworthrun.

For 40 years, Geisinger Marworth Treatment Center has offered inpatient and outpatient addiction treatment to help patients overcome drug and alcohol addiction. From medication-assisted treatment to inpatient treatment and outpatient treatment, our addiction medicine specialists will treat you or your loved one as an individual with a unique history, lifestyle, and values. The center has been named to Newsweek’s list of America’s Best Addiction Treatment Centers as the #1 treatment facility in Pennsylvania. You can find more information on Geisinger Marworth Treatment Center at marworth.org.

The Dime Bank donated $9,750.00 to Lacawac Sanctuary to support the nature preserve, environmental education center, and biological field station. The Lacawac Sanctuary is a non-profit conservation, research, and education center providing the community with a host of quality environmental, historical, and cultural programs.

$7,500.00 was donated through the PA Department of Community and Economic Development’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit program to support Lacawac Sanctuary’s mission to educate the next generation of environmental stewards and scientists and strengthen academic achievement by providing hands-on, STEM, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math education programs for Preschool to 12th grade students. $1,000.00 was donated as a corporate sponsorship to help with the Sanctuary’s mission to promote environmental understanding through education and conservation. $1,000 was donated as an epicurean sponsorship of the 7^th Annual Farm to Plate Dinner event to benefit Lacawac mission and work to preserve the environment and shape the next generation of Earth stewards and scientists. $250 was donated to the Cocktails for Conservation fundraising event that raised funds for Lacawac preservation and education mission.

Renee S. Jourdanais, M.S., CCC/SLP, an assistant professor of practice in the communication sciences and disorders department at Marywood University, was recently informed by the Council on Academic Accreditation (CAA) of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association that she was accepted as a Site Visitor following a training period earlier this summer.

Ms. Jourdanais will complete a four-year term for the CAA in the role of a clinical faculty member visiting graduate programs applying for initial accreditation or re-accreditation. A faculty member at Marywood University since 2000, she earned her bachelor of science degree in communication sciences and disorders from Marywood and a master of science in speech-language pathology from Nazareth College.

For more information on the CSD/SLP undergraduate and graduate programs at Marywood University, please see marywood.edu/csd, or contact the Office of Admissions online at marywood.edu/admissions, by email atYourFuture@marywood.edu, or by calling (570) 348-6234.

PennDOT Now Hiring for Winter Maintenance

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is seeking hardworking individuals to work from September 2022 through April 2023 in the Winter Maintenance Program! If you enjoy working in a fast-paced and dedicated environment on a seasonal basis, or with the potential for promotion into a permanent position, this is the job for you. Click here to apply today.

Watch this video to see how you can make a difference in the Winter Maintenance Program!

Starting hourly rates are:

• Transportation Equipment/CDL Operator;
• Diesel & Construction Equipment Mechanic;
• Auto Mechanic;
• Tradesman Helper;
• Welder;
• Radio Dispatcher;
• Custodial Worker; and
• Stock Clerk

PennDOT Enhances 511PA to Assist Travelers to Little League World Series

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) encourages motorists traveling to the Little League World Series in Williamsport to plan their trip using the real-time travel and alternate-route information available online at www.511PA.com/LLWS.

The page, hosted through the department’s www.511PA.com traveler information website, is dedicated to monitoring traffic conditions on the primary travel routes to the event. Travel times and alerts are provided for: Route 15 south to Route 220 to Market Street (from north); Route 15 north (from south); Interstate 80 east to Route 220 north to Market Street (from west); and I-80 west to Route 15 north (from east).

“511PA is a valuable tool to empower the public and minimize congestion,” said PennDOT Secretary Yassmin Gramian. “We encourage drivers to check 511PA before they leave so they can be aware of traffic conditions and adjust plans if necessary.”

The page includes the average travel time for the primary route as well as one or two alternate routes. Users can see incidents, construction, weather forecasts and alerts, traffic cameras, and traffic speeds on the map.

PennDOT’s Central Region Traffic Management Center (CRTMC) is also supporting the Little League World Series by posting real-time travel information on dynamic message signs and transmitting audio messages on highway advisory radio systems to assist travelers.

The public can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles in Pennsylvania by visiting www.511PA.com. The service, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information, and access to more than 1,000 traffic cameras.

511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional Twitter alerts accessible on the 511PA website.

PennDOT Offers Drivers Facing Suspension Second Chance

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced today that select drivers facing a suspension due to accumulation of points on their driving records or for a conviction of excessive speeding now have a chance at redemption through successfully completing the newly-instituted Driver Improvement School (DIS) offered by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

“This new training program offers people whose driving privileges are in jeopardy a chance to avoid losing their license,” said PennDOT Secretary Yassmin Gramian. “For many, losing the ability to legally operate a motor vehicle means not just a loss of mobility, but a loss of income and independence as well.”

As drivers are convicted of certain moving violations, points are assigned to their driving record. Once a driver’s record has been reduced below six points and for the second time, shows as many as six points or has a conviction for excessive speeding, that driver is required to attend a departmental hearing. At the departmental hearing, a driver meets with a Driver Safety Examiner (DSE) to review their driving record and discuss the driving habits that resulted in the hearing. At the conclusion of the hearing, a determination will be made whether serving a 15-day suspension or attending PennDOT’s DIS would be most beneficial for the driver to assist in making better decisions while behind the wheel.

An individual who attends and successfully completes the DIS due to their record showing for the second time as many as six points, will have two points removed from their record and avoid a 15-day suspension. An individual who attends and successfully completes the DIS due to a conviction on excessive speeding will avoid having to serve a 15-day suspension. If an individual does not successfully complete the course or fails to attend, they will be required to serve a 60-day driver’s license suspension.

The DIS curriculum focuses on safety and addresses poor driver behaviors and judgment exhibited in “high risk” drivers. This six-hour course focuses on educating and assisting problematic drivers to identify why they engage in risky driving behavior and how to utilize strategies for behavior modification to assist in improving their driving habits to prevent future violations and crashes.

For more information, visit the Driver Improvement School page on the Driver and Vehicle Services website.

Follow PennDOT on Twitter and like the department on Facebook and Instagram. 

State Transportation Commission Adopts Updated 12-Year Transportation Program

Pennsylvania’s State Transportation Commission (STC) today updated the 12-Year Program. The new plan anticipates $84 billion will be available over the next 12 years for improvements to roads, bridges, transit systems, airports and railroads.

The 12-Year Program, or TYP, is a multimodal, fiscally constrained planning tool used to identify and prioritize Pennsylvania’s transportation projects and the funds needed to complete them. State law requires the STC to review and update the TYP every two years. No capital project can move forward unless it is included in the TYP.

The newly adopted program, which takes effect October 1, incorporates funding from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), and anticipates the following funding availability in the first four years of the TYP from federal, state and local sources:

• $16 billion for state highway and bridge projects;
• $11.4 billion for public transit;
• $331 million for multimodal projects;
• $232 million for rail freight; and
• $168 million for aviation.

“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has already made a noticeable impact on transportation projects in Pennsylvania across all modes,” said PennDOT Secretary Yassmin Gramian. “While additional investment in our large transportation network is certainly needed, PennDOT takes pride in being a responsible steward of federal, state and local dollars to help improve infrastructure across all modes.”

The TYP also highlights some of PennDOT’s major accomplishments over the past two years, ranging from the modernization of train stations to the implementation of innovative strategies and the latest technologies to enhance safety and efficiency across a wide range of operations.

Four Rural Planning Organizations, 19 Metropolitan Planning Organizations and one independent county partnered with PennDOT in the review and development of the update. Now that the STC has approved the update, it has been submitted to the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration for review and approval. The Federal Highway Administration coordinates with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to review the plan’s conformity with air quality requirements.

Public input early in the 12-Year planning process played a key role in identifying investments in the various transportation modes.

The State Transportation Commission is chaired by the Secretary of PennDOT and consists of 10 appointed citizens as well as the majority and minority chairs of the state House and Senate Transportation committees.

For more information about the TYP, visit www.TalkPATransportation.com.

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins second annual GOALS Foundation 5K, is taking place THIS SATURDAY at 9:00am at the Back Mountain Trail in Luzerne.

On site registration is available for $45. 

Racers can take part in the competitive run but if you are not ready to run the 5K, walkers are welcome.

All participants will receive a Penguins GOALS Foundation 5K T-Shirt, a commemorative finisher puck, and a free lower level voucher to a Penguins home game during the 2022-23 season in October or November.

Cost of the run/walk is $35, ($45 for virtual which includes shipping of swag) and all proceeds will benefit the Penguins GOALS Foundation!

The GOALS foundation dedicates time, resources, and financial support to organizations committed to bettering the lives of the people of northeast Pennsylvania. For more information on the Penguins 5K, contact Jillian Heller at jheller@wbspenguins.com