Local News

BARRETT TWP., Pa. - Police in the Poconos say a suspected heroin dealer tried to cover up a man's overdose death by hanging the body in a garage to make it look like a suicide. 

Chester Botch, 50, of Barrett Township, Monroe County, was arrested Friday.

I've been seeing lots of signs around town saying "Help Wanted"!

Any business that is currently hiring: please send your name, job title, description, and instructions for applying to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

I will post the job opening on the site.  

According to the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Debt Management, the U.S. government is just five years away from the point where every new dollar it borrows from the public will go toward funding interest payments on the national debt.

Barrett Township has four elected positions on the ballot this year.  Summary:

• Supervisor John Seese (D) is running for re-election, unopposed
• Karen Herring (R) is running for Auditor, unopposed
• Nobody is running for the second open auditor position
• Judge Phillip Riley is running for Magesterial District Judge 43-4-02, unopposed

NOTICE OF PROPOSED ACQUISITION AND RATE BASE ADDITION

Docket No. A-2019-3008491

Dear Customer:

On March 26, 2019, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) conditionally accepted for filing the application of Aqua Pennsylvania Wastewater, Inc. (Aqua) for approval to acquire the Cheltenham Township (Cheltenham) wastewater system assets. Cheltenham serves approximately 10,200 customers in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Aqua's application also requests that the PUC authorize an addition of up to $50.25 million to Aqua's rate base pursuant to 66 Pa. C.S. § 1329. A utility's rate base is the value of property used by the utility to provide service to its customers and is one of several components used to establish a utility's customer rates.

HONESDALE – Aqua Pennsylvania (Aqua) has announced that, in 2018, it invested $37 million of water and wastewater infrastructure upgrades throughout its Honesdale and White Haven divisions.

The capital improvements were made to rebuild and replace aging water and wastewater infrastructure throughout Carbon, Lackawanna, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Northampton, Schuylkill, Susquehanna, Pike, Wayne and Wyoming counties.

Pennsylvania has among the highest state and local tax rates in the U.S., according to a recently released independent analysis.

According to WalletHub’s study, Pennsylvania placed 49th out of 51 in a ranking of the 50 states and Washington, D.C., meaning its residents shoulder the third largest tax burden in the country.

The commonwealth’s effective state and local tax rates on median U.S. households was 13.78 percent, meaning on average workers pay nearly 14 percent of their salaries in state and local taxes.  That's similar to but higher than nearby states New York, 13.74 percent, and Ohio, 13.05 percent.

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has announced the following roadwork projects for the week of Monday, April 15:

Barrett Township
PennDOT maintenance forces will commence pothole patching on PA 390 between PA 447 and the Pike County Line on Monday, with lane restrictions from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. until Wednesday. Pothole patching will continue Thursday. The project is estimated to be completed by Friday.

Barrett Township
State Route 390 between state Route 447 and the Pike County line; pothole patching; daytime lane restriction. Please use caution driving through the work zone. April 9-12; 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Original Article

Pocono Mountain Regional Emergency Medical Services (PMREMS), a nonprofit organization, would like to first thank you for last year's support. Your membership and donations truly make a difference.

Last year, PMREMS responded to over 6900 emergency calls showing an increasing need for our services. As call volume increases, so do operating costs which include building and vehicle maintenance, equipment purchases, and training classes for our medical professionals. To help offset these costs and continue to give the qual ity of care you deserve, we turn to our community for help.

A few months ago, I filed a right-to-know request asking for an asset inventory of the township maintenance department of any item valued at $500 or above. 

I reached out to York Rake, the manufacturer, asking for information about our town’s 1987 HTR Street Broom.  

One would be forgiven for thinking our town's equipment being too old to get parts for anymore, or that we loaned it to another township.  I learned not only does Barrett Township actually own a street sweeper, but it’s even a current model.  Below is a transcript of my email thread with York Rake.

(Reposting this information from Rosemary Brown)

Special Edition: Property Tax Reassessment and What You Need to Know

If you live in Monroe County, over the last week you should have received an informational sheet from the Monroe County Assessment Office giving you your new property assessment valuations. Don’t think that just because your assessed value has gone up that your taxes will go up. I have done my best in this short recap to offer information that I believe is relevant, easy to understand and will help you develop further questions or help you communicate to others.