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Our Chicken BBQ ? Next Saturday July 25th starting at 4 p.m till we are sold out. At the firehouse on Rt 191. Take out ONLY, You Don’t even need to get out of your car its a drive-through. $10.00 a dinner, that includes, half chicken, baked potato coleslaw and corn on the cob. Can’t wait to see everyone!!

From Barrett TWP fire department

Here is the link to the most recent post:
https://www.natecovington.com/politics/denied-right-to-know-request-deal-struck-over-monroe-county-couthouse-pnc-bank-property

Summary, For Barrett Township / PMSD:

• Assessed Value x .019905 - $447.05 (Homestead) = Taxes Owed

Example property breakdown:

$1437.56 2020 base school tax ($94,680 value x .019905 millage rate less $447.04 homestead exemption)
$1226.67 2019 base school tax (verified by looking at a copy of his last year's school bill)

$210.89 increase in base tax = 17.19% increase ($1226.67 + 17.19% = $1437.56)

Keep in mind that it could very well be that some property owners have an increase in their taxes of 34%, especially if they were undervalued previously, but there are others who are seeing their taxes go down, as well.

If he believes his property is over valued at $94,680, he should get information to prove that (perhaps a formal appraisal) and seek to appeal this with the County's assessment office.

Hope this helps!

Original Article, for all of Monroe County

via Rosemary Brown:

As Monroe County residents are aware, the county recently completed a reassessment. You have previously received your property values but were waiting for millage rates by school district in order to calculate your upcoming school property tax bill.

Update 7/20/20 @ 7:30am:

House Votes to Amend Pennsylvania Constitution

The state House has approved a proposed constitutional amendment to ensure our citizens are fully represented and safeguard our representative democracy during state-declared emergencies. 

The proposal comes in response to the clear power imbalance between our state’s branches of government. It is important to recognize that your state elected officials are your closest voice in Harrisburg. By not allowing the General Assembly to be involved in any decision-making process, your voice, interests, and needs in our state’s Capitol are muffled. 

In an effort to clarify legislative and executive authority, Senate Bill 1166 seeks to amend the state Constitution by requiring passage of a concurrent resolution by the Legislature for any disaster emergency declaration a governor wishes to extend beyond a period of 21 days. This would provide an effective balance between ensuring the governor has the authority to act quickly in an immediate emergency situation while also ensuring the General Assembly is properly engaged in the process of addressing long-term response and recovery processes. 

The bill was approved by the House and Senate. A constitutional amendment proposal must be approved by both the House and Senate in two consecutive sessions and then be put before the voters in a referendum before it can be enacted. 

The need for this change to the Constitution was reinforced Tuesday when the governor vetoed the concurrent resolution adopted in the House and Senate to end the disaster declaration. While we believe House Resolution 836 stood on its own and did not require the governor to approve or veto it, the state Supreme Court ruled otherwise. That’s why Senate Bill 1166 also includes a proposed amendment to establish that a resolution terminating or extending a disaster emergency declaration, including a portion thereof, need not be presented to the governor.

Original Post:

Editor's Note:
Hats off to Rosemary Brown for actually creating and posting this video. 
This is the important discussion - not what we're seeing in the media!  

Via Rosemary Brown:

A resolution to bring the legislative branch back into the decision-making process and end the emergency declaration was presented to Gov. Tom Wolf for his signature last Wednesday after the state Supreme Court ruled it had to be submitted to him for action. The governor has made it clear he will veto House Resolution 836, despite its bipartisan passage in the General Assembly.

HONESDALE – Wayne Tompkins and Emily Mack, both of Canadensis, have been charged with homicide for the death of their three-month-old daughter, identified in court papers as W.T.

Pathologist Dr. Rameen Starling-Roney found the cause of death to be ”...multiple traumatic injuries and methamphetamine toxicity and cocaine exposure.”

Editor's Note:
I just updated the Downloads section of this site with the first half of the year's meeting minutes from the township. 

Below are some highlights that I compiled:

(see attachments)

See attached PDF notice from AQUA America regarding their expansion in Delaware and Chester Counties, PA.  Due to this expansion, they are planning on raising the per-gallon rates for AQUA water customers in Mountainhome. 

Related:

A masked man with a gun robbed China III restaurant in Cresco Sunday night.

The man entered the rear of the business at 109 Oak Lane, Cresco, armed with a handgun, and demanded employees get money from the cash register, said Pocono Mountain Regional Police Chief Chris Wagner.

Editor's Note:
I've written and shared my own experience with Lyme disease before (and Spooky2 / biofeedback) and I found this really good video about COVID and the similarities w/ Lyme:

Dr Bransfield: A Tale of Two Pandemics - Lyme & Covid

(Rosemary Brown's article starts below)

As many of you know, I am a strong advocate for Lyme Disease and Tick-BorneIllness awareness throughout the Commonwealth. I have sponsored multiplepieces of legislation addressing this health concern and have spearheaded the PA free tick testing program.

Featured Quote:
"His estate was valued at more than $3 million with homes in Miami Beach and the 25-acre homestead known as “Green Gables” in Barrett Township, Monroe County. He is buried in the family mausoleum in the Gilbert Cemetery in Chestnuthill Township."

(emphasis added)

Original Article:

The announcement earlier this month that the last remaining area Kmart store (in Walnutport) will be closing came as no surprise to the retail community.

The company has been on a steep downward trajectory for decades, and its acquisition of Sears Inc. and two major recessions, including the one triggered by COVID-19, have pretty much sealed its fate.

What many of our readers may not know is that Kmart’s origins go back to the company’s patriarch, Sebastian Sperling Kresge (S.S. Kresge), who spent most of his formative years in the West End of Monroe County.