The Dime Bank Donates to the Women’s Resource Center

The Dime Bank is proud to support The Women’s Resource Center (WRC) with a $4,500.00 donation through the PA Department of Community and Economic Development’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program.

The WRC is committed to preventing dating and sexual violence in Lackawanna and Susquehanna Counties. Using Safe Dates, an evidence-based dating abuse prevention curriculum, WRC helps middle school and high school students learn about healthy relationships, communication, calming techniques, red flags, and how to help friends. Programs are interactive, age-appropriate, and designed to raise awareness, build skills, change attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors, and empower young people to form healthy relationships with friends, peers, and current or future dating partners.

February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month and The Dime Bank’s Carbondale and Steamtown branches are displaying student artwork throughout the month. All in the community are invited to visit the branches to view the artwork. “We are so grateful for The Dime Bank’s support of our Safe Dates Program and letting us display the artwork for Teen Domestic Violence Awareness Month” said Amy E. Everetts, WRC Director of Development. For more information on WRC, visit www.wrcnepa.org.

Marywood University to Host Lecture Featuring Rochelle Feinstein

The Marywood University Art Department’s Distinguished Visiting Artist Lecture Series will present a lecture by New York painter/multimedia artist Rochelle Feinstein on Wednesday, March 1, at 4 p.m. This special event will take place in the Maslow Study Gallery for Contemporary Art in the Shields Visual Arts Center at Marywood. Audience members will have an opportunity to meet the artist at the reception immediately following the lecture. The lecture and reception are free and open to the public, and the lecture is being held in conjunction with the exhibition, Distortion: Four Abstract Artists from The Maslow Collection, on view in the Maslow Study Gallery for Contemporary Art through April 5.

Rochelle Feinstein is a contemporary American visual artist who makes abstract paintings, prints, video, sculpture, and installations that explore language and contemporary culture. Her work cannot be easily categorized, due to the way she employs various styles and media, typically responding with wit and bite to American Culture. Feinstein was one of the first women to be granted tenure at Yale University in the Visual Arts, and she became professor emerita in 2017. Feinstein received her BFA from Pratt Institute and her MFA from the University of Minnesota. She has been awarded a number of grants, residencies, and awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, an Anonymous Was a Women Award, a Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Fellowship, a Joan Mitchell Foundation grant, and a Foundation for Contemporary Arts grant. 

Feinstein’s work was included in the 2014 Whitney Biennial at the Whitney Museum of American Art, and in 2018, the Bronx Museum held the first comprehensive retrospective of her work in the United States, which traveled there from Switzerland and Germany. Recent solo exhibitions include Kunsthaus Baselland, Basel, Switzerland; On Stellar Rays, New York, NY; Higher Pictures, New York, NY; Momenta Art, Brooklyn, NY; and The Suburban, Chicago, IL. Recent group exhibitions include the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, MO; University of South Florida Contemporary Art Museum, Tampa, FL; Silberkuppe, Berlin, Germany; New Galerie, Paris, France; Soloway, Brooklyn, NY; and Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, TX. Feinstein’s work is included in numerous prominent museum and private collections including the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Perez Art Museum Miami; and Amorepacific Museum of Art, Seoul, S. Korea. Feinstein currently lives and works in New York City and is represented by Francesca Pia, Zurich and Campoli Presti, London/Paris.

For more information on the visiting artist lecture with Rochelle Feinstein, please contact Ryan Ward, MFA, Curator of The Maslow Collection, at 570-348-6211, ext. 2520.

Johnson College to Launch CDL Training

In response to the regional and national demand for CDL truck drivers, Johnson College has partnered with Ancora Education to offer a Class A CDL Driver Training course. The College is currently enrolling students for the course, which will begin on March 20, 2023, at the College’s new satellite campus, Johnson College at the CAN DO Training Center, in Hazle Township.

The course, which will be managed by Ancora, will feature a four-to-one student-teacher ratio, ensuring high-quality training with an industry professional. Students will learn to inspect and operate tractor-trailers and to assume driver responsibilities on the road and at pickup/delivery points. Emphasis will be placed on vehicle inspections, defensive driving, range maneuvers, motor carrier safety regulations (DOT 380 -397 and a certificate for entry-level drivers), trip planning, cargo handling, size/weight laws, general maintenance procedures, hours of service, and accident prevention. Participants in this 160-hour program can obtain their CDL in as little as four weeks.

“Johnson College has been committed to its mission of providing in-demand career training for over 100 years,” said Bill Burke, Vice President of Enrollment and Student Affairs at Johnson College. “Knowing that there is a shortage of truck drivers, we felt the addition of this program and partnership with Ancora could have an immediate impact on the Hazleton area.”

The course complies with the new Entry Level Driver Training (ELDT) rules established by the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration (FMCSA), which went into effect in February 2022.

After completing the CDL Training course, students will earn a CDL Training: Class A Tractor Trailer Certificate from Johnson College and the qualifications for one of the most in-demand careers in the nation. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the mean annual pay for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers in Pennsylvania is $49,270.

To learn more or to enroll in the Class A CDL Driver Training course, visit johnson.edu/hazleton-cdl or contact the College’s Continuing Education department at continuinged@johnson.edu.

The Wright Center Receives Grant

The Wright Center for Community Health has received a $25,000 grant from The Scranton Area Community Foundation in partnership with the City of Scranton American Rescue Plan Non-Profit COVID Relief Grant program.

The grant will support a project to provide innovative IT infrastructure for data integration at the county level. It will enable nonprofit, community, and educational organizations, the city of Scranton, Lackawanna County, and health care, mental health, and social service organizations to collaborate on successful partnerships and community initiatives. It will create a shift from problem-focused to solution-focused analysis and has the capacity to provide the knowledge needed to optimize health and well-being while addressing structural racism, equity, privacy, and security.

The Wright Center for Community Health (TWCCH) was the first community health practice in Northeast Pennsylvania to offer outpatient COVID-19 testing and the first to roll out coronavirus vaccines for health care personnel. Overall, The Wright Center for Community Health’s network of primary and preventive care practices conducted more than 44,564 COVID-19 tests from 2020 through July 2022, with 11,150 performed at the Scranton Practice.

In the early days of the pandemic, TWCCH quickly responded to community and patient needs, acquiring personal protective equipment (PPE) and hygiene supplies to safeguard patients and health care providers throughout the region. The nonprofit enterprise implemented new policies to comply with the governor’s orders on matters such as social distancing, hand washing, and face masking.

The Scranton Area Community Foundation enhances the quality of life for all people in Northeastern Pennsylvania through the development of organized philanthropy. A public 501c3 community foundation, the Scranton Area Community Foundation serves as a steward, a grant maker, a charitable resource, and a catalyst for change.


The foundation manages more than 200 charitable funds established by philanthropic individuals in the community and have granted more than $18 million to assist the educational, human service, environmental, civic, and arts and cultural organizations in Northeast Pennsylvania. The foundation also manages assets of more than $31 million through two private foundations, the Northeastern Pennsylvania Health Care Foundation and the Robert H. Spitz Foundation.

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021 is a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus bill passed by the 117th United States Congress and signed into law by President Biden on March 11, 2021. Of the $1.9 trillion bill, $350 billion was allocated to state and local governments to enable them to address strategic economic and infrastructure investments and address governmental budget shortfalls.

The city of Scranton has been awarded $68.7 million in ARPA funds to respond to the COVID-19 public health emergency and its economic impacts. Scranton City Council approved ARPA funding to be made available as grants to community organizations, nonprofits, and small businesses that have faced economic hardship resulting from or exacerbated by the pandemic.

For more information about The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education, please go to TheWrightCenter.org or call 570-230-0019. 

Pennsylvania American Water Launches Water Service Line Material Inventory Project

Pennsylvania American Water wants to get rid of lead water lines – but to do so, will need your help. Today, the company announced it has reached the customer information-gathering phase of its statewide service line material inventory project and is asking customers to “pipe up” and tell the company what their water service lines are made of. Using this data, the company will publish a public-facing online map of service line material types and locations by October 2024, with the goal of ultimately removing identified lead and certain galvanized water lines from service.

This month, customers whose service line material is unknown to Pennsylvania American Water will be sent a postcard in the mail with information on how to participate in this important identification effort. Customers can respond on the website featured on the postcard or by calling the number provided, which goes directly to the company’s project management firm, Greeley and Hansen. As part of this survey, customers will be asked to answer a few questions about their water service line and upload a photo of their service line material, if possible.

“Determining what material every customer’s service line is made of – including the lines owned by them and not just by us – is a massive undertaking, and we’re asking our customers to take this request seriously and please respond so we can take action accordingly,” said Pennsylvania American Water President Justin Ladner. “Although our company is in compliance with lead action levels in water due to our effective treatment controls, we believe that identifying and ultimately removing lead lines from service is the right thing to do for the health, safety and peace of mind of our customers.”

What is a water service line?

A water service line is a pipe that connects a customer’s house or building to the water main in the street. Typically, the service line is less than 2 inches in diameter and is made of various material. The most common material in use is copper; however other materials have been used including galvanized steel, iron, plastic, and lead. Pennsylvania American Water owns a portion of the service line, typically from the main to the curb stop, found near the street curb or sidewalk. The property owner owns the rest of the service line, from the curb stop all the way into the house or building.

How is the service line material data being gathered?

The company’s service line inventory project contractor, Greeley and Hansen, will be available by phone to answer questions about the inventory and identification process and can help customers schedule an in-home inspection to verify their service line material type, if needed. In addition to customer surveys, the project includes reviewing existing records, predictive modeling, and conducting field investigations, which can include in-home inspections and digging test pits to look at service lines.

All contractors representing Pennsylvania American Water in the field will be wearing logoed, high-visibility vests and carrying official photo ID badges. The company urges customers to participate in this important information-gathering project, while also being vigilant to check for proper identification before allowing anyone self-identifying as a utility representative into their home.

Why is the company undertaking this project?

The project is driven by EPA regulations that require water utilities to identify and publicly map lead service lines, which, for many utilities, will be the first step toward a proactive lead service line replacement program. Pennsylvania American Water already has a robust lead service line replacement program and has replaced more than 250 lead service lines to date. The company plans to invest approximately $15 million in 2023 to replace lead service lines, and the program will continue into future years. 

The company requested approval from the PA Public Utility Commission for a customer-side lead service line replacement program, citing that systematically replacing customer-owned lead service lines is a reasonable, cost-effective way to help avoid customer health and safety concerns associated with lead service lines.

How can I “pipe up” and provide my service line material?

If you receive a postcard in the mail, scan the QR code or visit the website tinyurl.com/pawcsurvey. Customers can also provide the information by phone at 877-201-7926.

About Pennsylvania American Water

Pennsylvania American Water, a subsidiary of American Water (NYSE: AWK), is the largest investor-owned water utility in the state, providing high-quality and reliable water and wastewater services to approximately 2.4 million people.

About American Water

With a history dating back to 1886, American Water is the largest and most geographically diverse U.S. publicly traded water and wastewater utility company. The company employs approximately 6,400 dedicated professionals who provide regulated and regulated-like drinking water and wastewater services to an estimated 14 million people in 24 states. American Water provides safe, clean, affordable and reliable water services to our customers to help keep their lives flowing. For more information, visit amwater.com and diversityataw.com. Follow American Water on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Media Contact:                                 

Susan Turcmanovich

External Affairs Manager

570-351-0120

susan.turcmanovich@amwater.com

Keystone College Recognizes Austin Burke

Since the day he stepped on campus, Keystone College has been an integral part of Austin Burke’s life.

Austin, who retired in 2013 after a distinguished 40-year career as president of the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce, has been involved with Keystone as a student, a proud alumnus, and, today, as an accomplished artist and art student.

“I have learned so much at Keystone that has helped me in all aspects of my life,” Austin said. “Most of all, I have met so many kind and talented people. It has been, and continues to be, a wonderful association.”

A native of nearby Archbald, Pa., Austin arrived at what was then Keystone Junior College in 1969, eager to continue his education after his service as a sergeant in the U.S. Air Force. After taking summer art classes from Keystone’s renowned professor Karl Neuroth, Austin enrolled as a full-time student. In 1970, he received his associate degree in general studies from Keystone and continued his education at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa., obtaining a bachelor’s degree in economics and a Phi Beta Kappa key. Upon graduating from Dickinson, he began his career in economic development.

After working for the Economic Development Council of Northeastern Pennsylvania, Austin, at the age of the age of 29, joined the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce and began a 40-year career as a key leader in the Scranton area’s economic renaissance from an older, industrial region into a metropolitan area respected for its progress and workforce excellence. For example, Austin played a major role in the development of the Montage Mountain area in Moosic, Lackawanna County, as an important employment, recreation, and residential center which is still one of Northeastern Pennsylvania’s major assets.

“We believed in our city and we believed in our region as we still do today,” Austin said. “We knew that working together, we could grow our local companies and bring national companies with well-paying, family sustaining jobs to the Scranton area and that’s exactly what we were able to accomplish.”  

Austin’s professional accomplishments were recognized not only regionally but across the state as he served from 2010-2011 as Pennsylvania’s Secretary of Community and Economic Development for Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell.

While business and economic development may have been his professional calling, Austin’s longtime love for art and creativity has come to the forefront in recent years. His oil and water-color paintings highlighting numerous scenes and landscapes throughout the Scranton and Harrisburg areas have gained widespread acclaim from artists and art-lovers alike. In fact, Austin’s works include several paintings of Keystone’s scenic campus which are featured in Keystone’s 150-year anniversary publication. A complete selection of Austin’s work is available at www.austinburkeart.com. 

“Over the years, I’ve really come to enjoy painting a great deal. I especially find it gratifying to paint those local scenes and landmarks which make our area so beautiful and so unique,” Austin said.

He also credits his classes at Keystone with helping him improve.  

“In addition to being really interesting and enjoyable, my art classes at Keystone have really helped me enhance and refine my work. I really look forward to coming to campus and being a part of the Keystone community,” he said.

Austin credits art professors such as Ward Roe, and retired professor Cliff Prokop, among others, for helping him refine his talents

“Austin is a really dedicated and talented artist,” Ward said. “It’s a pleasure to have him in my classes. The other students really gain something from his presence. It makes for a wonderful mix to have younger students and returning alumni learn from each other.”

Whether he’s in class or visiting with Keystone students, faculty, and staff members in the student restaurant, Austin is a proud Keystonian. In fact, Keystone honored Austin in 2013 by presenting him with a Doctorate of Humane Letters during commencement exercises. 

“Keystone is really a special place,” he said. “It’s a great school with a proud tradition that has produced so many graduates who have gone on to be leaders in our area and in the nation. Most of all, it’s a college where people are valued as individuals and care about each other. That’s really what makes Keystone special to me.”

Austin still resides in his native Archbald with his wife, Marianne. They are parents of three adult children: Austin, III and wife, Christine (their children are Ella, Austin IV, and PJ); son, Tim and wife, Krista; and daughter, Judy.  

IRS Opens Free Portal to File Information Returns

The Internal Revenue Service announced today that businesses can now file Form 1099 series information returns using a new online portal, available free from the IRS.

Known as the Information Returns Intake System (IRIS), this free electronic filing service is secure, accurate and requires no special software. Though available to any business of any size, IRIS may be especially helpful to any small business that currently sends their 1099 forms on paper to the IRS.

“The IRS is excited to offer any business, especially small companies, a great new way to electronically file their 1099s for free,” said IRS Acting Commissioner Doug O’Donnell. “This simplifies filing for those issuing 1099s and helps recipients receive information timely. The launch of IRIS can help reduce the millions of paper Forms 1099 we project will be filed in 2023 and demonstrates our commitment to finding useful and innovative ways of reducing paperwork on the business community and others issuing 1099s. This is part of the larger effort underway to make improvements and transform operations at the IRS.”

Filers can use the platform to create, upload, edit and view information and download completed copies of 1099-series forms for distribution and verification.

With IRIS, businesses can e-file both small and large volumes of 1099-series forms by either keying in the information or uploading a file with the use of a downloadable template.

Currently, IRIS accepts Forms 1099 only for tax year 2022 and later.

The IRS encourages any business, especially those that now file on paper, to switch to e-filing through the platform and share in its benefits.

These benefits include:

  • E-file security standards keep information safe and protected.
  • The portal is an accurate filing method that automatically detects filing errors and provides alerts for missing information.
  • Filers can submit automatic extensions and make corrections to information returns filed through the platform.
  • The IRS acknowledges receipt of the return in as early as 48 hours.
  • The platform keeps issuer information from year to year, and prior years filed through this platform, providing convenience to 1099 filers.
  • E-filing eliminates trips to the post office and can reduce office expenses for paper, postage and storage space.

Enrollment for the IRIS filing platform is now open. Filers should begin the enrollment process immediately.

The Filing Information Returns Electronically (FIRE) system will remain available for bulk filing Form 1099 series and the other information returns through at least the 2023 filing season.

For more information about IRIS visit www.irs.gov/iris.

Additional resources

Marywood Offers Health and Wellness Career Explorations for Prospective Students

Marywood University is hosting upcoming on-campus experiences to help prospective students explore two health and wellness careers, with its “Respiratory Therapist for a Day” and “Nurse for a Day” programs, set to take place in March.

Respiratory therapy is an allied health specialty that concentrates on the treatment, management, control, and care of patients’ breathing. The “Respiratory Therapist for A Day” event will occur on Friday, March 10, from 8:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m., at the Swartz Center, Room A, on Marywood’s campus. Check-in begins at 8 a.m., and a tour of the campus will be provided along with breakfast, at which students can meet with respiratory therapy faculty. Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in cardiac arrest and manual intubation simulations, as well as sessions about mechanical ventilation, life support, and oxygen equipment. Those who would like to attend this free program should register by March 3 at marywood.edu/rt4aday.

Nursing forms a major component of the health care provided within society and offers challenging, rewarding, in-demand career opportunities. The “Nurse for A Day” event will occur on Thursday, March 23, from 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m., at Nazareth Student Center on Marywood’s campus. After a welcome session, attendees will have the opportunity to break into smaller groups to attend CPR training, visit the Nursing Lab, and engage in “Nursing Anne” medical simulation activities, plus tour campus and get financial aid and admissions information. Those who would like to attend this free program should register by March 8  at marywood.edu/nurse4day.

For additional information about the respiratory therapy or nursing programs, contact the Marywood University Admissions Office at YourFuture@marywood.edu or 570-348-6234.

The Scranton Cultural Center to Host the Ultimate Elvis Experience

The Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple and JZ Tours will present “The Ultimate Elvis Experience starring Shawn Klush” on April 14 at 8:00 PM in the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Theatre.  The popular tribute artist, who hails from Pittston, last appeared at the SCC in 2015 to a nearly sold-out crowd.

Born and raised in the small coal-mining town of Pittston, Pennsylvania, Shawn’s love for music led him to begin imitating his musical idol, Elvis Presley.  He performed in the famous Poconos region followed by a tour of Canada where he entered and won the $5,000.00 prize in the “Worldwide Elvis Competition” in Montreal.  This caught the attention of the award winning Las Vegas show, “Legends in Concert” where for many years he starred as ‘Elvis’ in their Myrtle Beach, Las Vegas, Branson and Atlantic City show rooms.  Each January he stars in the “Elvis Birthday Tribute Tour”, an extravaganza with Elvis’ own musicians, singers, and friends, in major venues in multiple cities.

Shawn has released 5 CDs. He has performed with Elvis’ closest friends, musicians and singers such as JD Sumner and the Stamps Quartet, The Jordanaires, The Imperials, DJ Fontana, Charlie Hodge, Jerry Scheff, The Sweet Inspirations, Joe Guercio, Jerry Schilling and Joe Esposito. He portrayed Elvis in the hit TV miniseries “Shake, Rattle and Roll” which aired on CBS and VH1 and HBO’s Vinyl.

Shawn was a featured performer on the Late Show with David Letterman performing to over 5 million viewers with the entire CBS Orchestra on Network Television and portrayed Elvis in HBO’s Vinyl. produced by Martin Scorsese and Mic Jagger.

Tickets start at $40.75 (includes fees) with VIP Ticket Packages also available.  They are available for purchase at the Fidelity Bank Box Office at the SCC in person or by calling (570) 344-1111, or via Ticketmaster.

For more information or to view a full schedule of events, visit SCCMT.org.

The Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple’s 2022-2023 Season is sponsored by Fidelity Bank and LT Verrastro and supported by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and the Lackawanna County Office of Arts and Culture, and Commissioners Jerry Notarianni, Debi Dominick, Esq. and Chris Chermak. A special thank you to its media partners: Access NEPA, Allied Services, Audacy, Citizens’ Voice, Lamar Advertising, MAC Signs, The Times-Tribune and Times Shamrock Communications.