For at least the last 23 years, twice a year, usually in the Spring and Fall, Tunkhannock Rotarians clean-up both sides of the roadside along 2 miles of Route 6 from the Fireplace Restaurant to beyond Route 87 towards Meshoppen. So, on Sat Oct 31, Rotarians, family and friends gathered at the Fireplace Restaurant parking lot to begin the Fall cleanup.  Although it was a cold day, Rotarians are "People of Action" and were determined to get the cleanup done.  Chairman Mike Markovitz commented “THANK YOU!  We had 20 people show up to get the project completed in rapid time.  We started at 9:00 am and were wrapped up by 10:15 am and headed home by 10:30 am!  GREAT JOB TO ALL!”

 

 

 

Deb Shurtleff was the guest speaker at our Oct 22 Rotary Lunchon at Shadowbrook.  Deb is the President of Cloverknoll LLC, which offers shared space for wellness professionals in Tunkhannock. 

Since some children with disabilities cannot use the regular playground swings, they must sometimes just sit on the sidelines and watch their friends and siblings on the swings.

 

With this in mind, Tunkhannock Rotary 2018-2019 President Mike Markovitz applied for a District 7410 Designated Grant for $3,000 with a club match of $3,000 to buy and install an inclusive swing set at Lazybrook Park, home to our Rotary Harvest & Wine Festival.  In fact, the matching funds came from the previous year’s profits from the Oct Festival.

 

In early August 2020, Rotarians Ron Furman and Norm Kelly joined Tunkhannock Township workers Bob Stevens and John Algar to dig holes, assemble the swing set frame and cement the poles into the ground.

 

On Monday Oct 5, the wood chips were finally delivered to finish up the installation of the swing set.  Several Rotarians worked with the Township workers to spread the wood chips and hang the swings.  It is rated for children 5-12 years of age.

 

l to r. Norm Kelly, John Proctor and Mike Markovitz

At our Oct 1 Rotary Meeting at Lazybrook Park, Past District Governor Karen presented Past President Sandy Lane with a Presidential Citation for 2019-2020.  We are 1 of only 5 clubs in the District to get one.

 

Sandy Lane (left) and PDG Karen DeMatteo

 

The guest speaker at our Sep 24 Tunkhannock Rotary Luncheon at Shadowbrook Inn and Resort was Jane Merolla, Executive Director for Habit for Humanity Endless Mountains.  Jane described how the local organization works. 

 

They purchased land close to the P&G plant in Mehoopany, with 26 lots on which they have so far built 12 homes. They have been building from the ground up and the recipient family is a partner in the endeavor since they would never qualify for a traditional mortgage. The family gets a 30-year, 0% interest mortgage and they must contribute a minimum of 400 “sweat equity” hours to help with the build. Some of the monthly mortgage revenues are then used to build the next homes.

 

Bob Baker, editor of the Wyoming County Press Examiner and Advance, was the guest speaker at our Sep 17 Rotary Luncheon at Shadowbrook Inn & Resort. 

 

Bob has been the editor of the newspaper for almost 17 years and spoke about the impact of COVID-19 on the newspaper and on Wyoming County.

 

Bob also reviewed the history of the newspaper, which has been in continuous production for 151 years since starting as the Tunkhannock Republican after the civil war. 

 

Bob Baker

The guest speaker at the Sep 10 Rotary Luncheon at Shadowbrook Inn & Resort was Julianne Miller, the President of the Tunkhannock Business and Professional Women (BPW).