PennDOT Driver License, Photo Centers Closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day Holiday The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) today announced that all driver license and photo centers, including the Riverfront Office Center in Harrisburg, will be closed Saturday, January 16, through Monday, January 18, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Customers may still obtain a variety of driver and vehicle products and services, including all forms, publications and driver training manuals, online through PennDOT’s Driver and Vehicle Services website, www.dmv.pa.gov. Driver and vehicle online services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and include driver’s license, photo ID and vehicle registration renewals; driver-history services; changes of address; driver license and vehicle registration restoration letters; ability to pay driver license or vehicle insurance restoration fee; driver license and photo ID duplicates; and driver exam scheduling. There are no additional fees for using online services. A complete listing of PennDOT driver and photo license center closings in 2020 is available online. Motorists can check conditions on major roadway miles by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, 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. Follow PennDOT on Twitter at www.twitter.com/PennDOTNews and like the department on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PennsylvaniaDepartmentofTransportation and Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/pennsylvaniadot/.
Northeast Regional Cancer Institute Receives $2,335 Donation The Plains Township Police Department collaborated with Futuristic Innovative Graphics in Kingston to specially design t-shirts as a breast cancer awareness fundraiser in October 2020.They raised $2,335.33 to support the Northeast Regional Cancer Institute, a local organization focused on easing the burden of cancer in northeastern Pennsylvania. It was important to the organizers to keep the proceeds local. Community members were able to purchase t-shirts online through Futuristic Innovative Graphics website. The fundraiser was promoted on social media through the police department, graphics company and the Cancer Institute’s designated pages. The Plains Township Police Department plan to host this fundraiser again in fall 2021.
Greater Scranton YMCA RESET Challenge Sick and tired of feeling sick and tired in these COVID-19 times? The Greater Scranton YMCA invites all in the community, Y members and non-members, to participate in a free six-week RESET challenge designed to help transform spirit, mind and body. “Now, more than ever before, we need to recharge and refocus,” said Trish Fisher, President & CEO, Greater Scranton YMCA. “The COVID-19 pandemic has worn us down. It’s isolated us in so many ways. This challenge provides an opportunity to get active and healthier by yourself or as a strong family.” Each week of the six-week challenge will feature a different theme, including reset, refresh, reconnect, replay, reinvest and restore. To keep each other accountable, participants will be assigned a team that is led by Y staff. All aspects of the challenge can be done virtually. The challenge begins February 1, 2021 and registration is currently open. To join, text RESET to 22454! In addition to the RESET challenge, the Greater Scranton YMCA will begin offering this month a new virtual wellness platform, BurnAlong. BurnAlong is provided exclusively to our members, providing on-demand group exercise, sports and play programs with Y instructors. The platform also includes access to 1000s of on-demand classes from instructors nation-wide, including classes in training, mindfulness, nutrition, stress management and more. To learn more about RESET and BurnAlong, visit www.greaterscrantonymca.org or call (570) 342-8115.
Truck Accident Lawyer Marion Munley Named to Board of Regents for National Trucking Safety Group Munley Law is pleased to announce that Marion Munley has been named to the Board of Regents for the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys (ATAA). The ATAA is a leading non-profit trucking safety advocate organization which counts more than 600 attorney and legal professional members across the United States. The ATAA is dedicated to promoting safety and accountability in the trucking industry by representing clients injured or killed in crashes involving tractor-trailers. Members of ATAA are also committed to the training, education and assistance of member lawyers who seek to learn how to better handle truck crash cases. Marion Munley has represented victims of commercial truck and tractor trailer crashes for more than 30 years. She is Triple Board Certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy in Civil Trial, Civil Practice, and Truck Law. Marion has earned an AV-Preeminent designation from Martindale-Hubbell, the industry’s highest ethical and client satisfaction rating. A leader in the legal community, Marion is an active member of the American Association for Justice (AAJ) and currently serves on the AAJ Board of Governors and on its Executive Committee. She was the first woman to become Chair of the AAJ Trucking Litigation Group in 2018 and is a past chair of the AAJ Women Trial Lawyers Caucus. Among her other professional affiliations are the American Board of Trial Advocates, the International Society of Barristers, and the Summit Council, an exclusive group of today’s top civil justice attorneys committed to the highest levels of trial advocacy, to obtaining justice for individuals and families who have been hurt by corporate wrongdoing, and to the protection of the civil justice system. In the course of her career, Marion Munley has received some of the highest honors alawyer can receive. She has been named to the Best Lawyers in America list by BestLawyers since 2012 and was selected as “Lawyer of the Year: Personal Injury – Plaintiffs”for the Allentown Metro Area in 2020, and “Lawyer of the Year: Medical Malpractice –Plaintiffs,” for the Allentown Metro Area in 2021. Marion has also been selected to the list ofPennsylvania Super Lawyers for the last 15 years and has been consistently recognized asone of the Top 50 Women Lawyers in Pennsylvania by Super Lawyers Magazine.
McNees Wallace & Nurick launches Apollo Communications McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC has launched a new public relations agency to provide strategic communications services to its clients and the regional business community. Apollo Communications is headquartered in Harrisburg and will serve clients across Pennsylvania, Ohio and Maryland. McNees has selected veteran public relations professional and former journalist Brett Marcy to serve as president of Apollo Communications. The company is just the latest initiative by McNees to provide enhanced value to clients and the community, said McNees Chair Brian Jackson. In recent years, the firm has added full-service government affairs, grassroots advocacy and nonprofit consulting to its professional services portfolio. “At McNees, we practice a clients first philosophy, and that means surrounding our clients with all the support and resources we have available to help them meet their goals,” Jackson said. “With Brett’s diverse set of skills and experience as its foundation, Apollo Communications offers clients the expertise of a large agency with the personal touch of a boutique firm.” Apollo is a full-service strategic communications firm that specializes in building and enhancing brands and reputations, crisis and issue management, media relations and content marketing. “Apollo Communications is solution-focused, results-driven firm,” Marcy said. “We develop innovative strategies to help our clients meet their goals.” Marcy, 45, of Mechanicsburg, brings more than two decades of experience in public relations, strategic communications and journalism. He was most recently senior director of public relations and communications for York, Pa.-based WellSpan Health. He had previously held communications director and press secretary roles at the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Prior to that, Marcy served as associate vice president at a Philadelphia-based advertising and public relations agency. Marcy earned his bachelor’s degree in communications, with an emphasis in journalism, from Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Pa. Prior to his public relations career, he spent several years as a reporter, working at news organizations in the Lehigh Valley, Northeastern Pennsylvania and Harrisburg. Both his journalism and PR experiences are at the heart of Apollo Communications, Marcy said. “We believe in the combined power of storytelling and strategy,” he said. “As brand advocates for our clients, we leverage both disciplines to build, enhance and protect their reputation.”
Progressive Care Unit Opens at Geisinger Community Medical Center A new Progressive Care Unit (PCU) featuring private rooms and a modern, evidence-based design is now open at Geisinger Community Medical Center and specializes in caring for the complex needs of trauma, medical and surgical patients. Located on the hospital’s fourth floor, directly above the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), the PCU houses 18 private rooms and nursing alcoves that allow direct visual oversight of patient rooms through large glass windows. The care model decentralizes nursing stations to improve surveillance of each patient and enhances the care team’s communication with patient families, giving family members closer access to nursing staff. “The nursing model used in the new PCU allows for improved monitoring of critically ill patients from the nurses’ station that extends around the entire unit,” said Glenna Barletta, nursing operations manager at Geisinger Community Medical Center. “Nursing alcoves are located outside each room to ensure the care team is always close by.” Development of the PCU is part of a $16 million project that also begins the hospital’s approach to a private-bed model. Designed to improve patient experience, quality of care and efficiency of operation, the unit’s spacious, state-of-the-art, private rooms meet the need to care for critically ill patients. “We know the benefits of the private-room model on clinical quality and patient experience are well-studied and indisputable,” said Ujwal Tuladhar, M.D., hospitalist at Geisinger Community Medical Center. “They include reduced risk of hospital-acquired infection, reduced patient stress levels due to improved privacy and reduction of unwanted noise, and better facilitation of care. Private rooms cater to patient comfort, better rest and more room for caregivers and loved ones.” The PCU’s private rooms are larger than the semi-private rooms of the previous step-down unit with enough space to accommodate critical care technology, allowing the care team to treat higher-acuity patients, such as ventilator patients who require medications that elevate blood pressure. “The room size allows for more sophisticated equipment to fit into the space and provides our care team with greater ability to move around the patient to deliver care,” Barletta said. “This allows us to broaden the criteria of patients the unit can accept.” The PCU has two waiting rooms — a quiet room and another with a television — and features multiple family meeting rooms, a wellness room with massage chairs, and two bariatric patient rooms with showers. To get to the PCU from the main lobby at Geisinger Community Medical Center, take the C elevators to level 4, then take a right off the elevator and follow signs to the PCU.
Marywood University’s School of Social Work to Hold Master of Social Work Virtual Information Sessions Marywood University’s School of Social Work, Lehigh Valley program, will hold Master of Social Work (MSW) Virtual Information Sessions on Wednesday, January 6, at Noon, Monday, January 25, 2020, at 5:30 p.m., and Wednesday, February 10, 2021, at 5:30 p.m. The sessions are free and open to anyone interested in advancing their career with a master of social work degree. To register for the MSW Virtual Information Sessions, at the Lehigh Valley location, please visit https://forms.gle/qY556z48aGAPyAZB8. The MSW Information Sessions will provide study options for full- and part-time students; advanced standing for bachelor of social work graduates; provide admissions information; and give internship program options. For additional information about Marywood University’s School of Social Work or its MSW Information Sessions, please visit www.marywood.edu/ssw/index.html, or call the office of Admissions, at (570) 348-6234.
Johnson College Receives It’s On Us PA Grant Johnson College was one of 42 Pennsylvania institutions of higher education awarded a grant through Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf’s “It’s On Us PA” initiative. The $30,000 grant will help Johnson College improve campus awareness regarding sexual violence among students, faculty and staff. The funds will help create an updated curriculum module for all students on the College’s Desire2Learn learning management system. The College will review current institutional policies, processes and resources available for reporting sexual violence and serving the needs of potential victims with a Pennsylvania Title IX consultant who will make recommendations for improved compliance and reporting. The grant will also support updated training for the College’s Title IX coordinator and staff to be sure that Johnson College is following best practice operations for continued campus safety within a climate of proactive leadership The College’s mission is to be proactive in making students, faculty and staff fully aware of the issue of sexual violence, how to report and what resources are available to assist those in need. Additional grant activities will include a campus-wide It’s On Us program event in the spring where students, faculty and staff will be encouraged to take the It’s On Us pledge against campus violence. “Our goal is to maintain the excellent record of low to no incidents of sexual violence on our campus,” said Dr. Katie Leonard, Johnson College president & CEO. “Should the need arise, we want to be proactively prepared to comply with Pennsylvania law. The It’s On Us grant will help us accomplish these goals.” The It’s On Us PA grant program was created to provide colleges and universities with support and resources necessary to shift campus culture and promote healthy relationships. The grant provides funding from January 2021 through May 2022 to implement strategies on campuses to address goals of the Governor’s It’s On Us PA campaign, which include: Improve awareness, prevention, reporting, and response systems regarding sexual violence in schools, colleges, and universities to better serve all students.Remove/reduce barriers that prevent survivors of sexual violence from reporting and/or accessing vital resources by creating a more consistent, empowering reporting process for student survivors of gender-based violence.Demonstrate significant, proactive, and sustainable leadership to change campus culture by challenging Pennsylvania’s education leaders – including college and university presidents, as well as students, teachers, faculty, staff, families, and communities to pledge to improve their institutions’ climate around sexual assault. Since 2016, the Wolf Administration has awarded 150 It’s On Us PA grants totaling nearly $4 million to more than 70 post-secondary institutions, including public and private two-year and four-year colleges and universities. For additional information on Johnson College, please call 1-800-2-WE-WORK, email enroll@johnson.edu, or visit Johnson.edu.
Lackawanna College Receives It’s On Us PA Grant Lackawanna College received a grant award of $19,250 as part of Governor Tom Wolf’s 2020-21 It’s On Us PA grant program. This is the third time Lackawanna College has received this grant.The College joins 42 postsecondary institutions across the state slated to receive this funding, which helps colleges and universities address and respond effectively to sexual violence on campus. To support the Governor’s It’s On Us PA campaign, Lackawanna College will launch its “It’s On Us, Lackawanna” initiative. The project will include targeted training for staff on Title IX procedures and trauma awareness and a variety of sexual violence awareness events during the “Red Zone”. The “Red Zone” is the first six weeks of the fall semester, a time when students, particularly freshmen, are most likely to experience sexual assault on college campuses. “We are excited and thankful to once again be a part of the State It’s On Us initiative. Providing the proper educational tools and resources are the first steps in maintaining a safe and comfortable campus environment,” said Brian Costanzo, Lackawanna College Title IX Coordinator. “Dollars from this program will provide those necessary resources and opportunities to both students and staff members.” The initiative will educate, engage, and serve Lackawanna’s students, faculty and staff and improve the College’s current sexual violence response systems. The It’s On Us PA campaign, launched in 2016 by Governor Tom Wolf, was pioneered during the Obama administration. The Governor’s It’s On Us PA grant program aims to support post-secondary institutions’ efforts to create campus environments in which all community members are informed, active bystanders, working together to end sexual violence, and where survivors are able to access the rights, resources, and accommodations afforded to them through state and federal law.
National Band Association Journal Publishes Article by Dr. F. David Romines An article addressing advanced saxophone instructional techniques by Fred David Romines, D.M.A., associate professor of music education, director of bands and co-chairperson of the Music, Theatre, and Dance department at Marywood University, was published in the November 2020 issue of the National Band Association Journal. The submission reveals several instructional insights routinely addressed in the Marywood course, “MUSC 303A Woodwind Methods I” (a course required of all Marywood music education majors). Dr. Romines has been a member of the National Band Association (NBA) since 1977 and presently serves the NBA as Pennsylvania State Chairperson. The National Band Association Journal has a current circulation of approximately 2,500 band directors from all 50 United States, Europe, and Asia. Dr. Romines has studied saxophone with several of the country’s leading performers and teachers, including: Anthony D’Andrea, Gary Sperl, Jerry Coker, William Scarlett, Douglas Masek, and Steven Mauk. For additional information about Marywood’s Music, Theatre, and Dance department, go to marywood.edu/mtd, or call the Office of Admissions, at (570) 348-6234.
