Colon Cancer, Overdose Antidote, and Gas Hookups Discussed at Courthouse

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Photos and Story by Rick Hiduk

Administrative Assistant Linda Stacknick (left) was credited for raising $700 among Wyoming County Commissioners and other courthouse employees for Casual Day for Colon Cancer, which will be held on Thursday, March 26. The funds were donated to the Northeast Region Cancer Institute, represented by board member Derry Bird (right).

After moving temporarily to a nearby courtroom for a group photo to celebrate Intellectual Disabilities Awareness Month and meeting with members of the Wyoming County Prison Board, the Commissioners resumed the agenda for their regular March 10 meeting which touched on an array of equally important topics.

Northeast Region Cancer Institute (NRCI) board member Derry Bird addressed the Commissioners on the importance of colorectal screenings in advance of CASUAL Day, which will be marked across northeastern PA on Thursday, March 26.

Colon Cancer is such an easy cancer to detect and cure,” Bird asserted, adding that he is frustrated by a general empathy of people toward preventing the disease. “Somebody in Wyoming County is going to pass away today from colon cancer because they avoided screening.”

Adults should have their first screening by the age of 50, he noted, or by 40 if they have a family history of colon cancer. Health insurance covers most of the procedure, and NRCI can access funds to cover the costs for low-income residents.

Utility Company’s Interest In Tunkhannock Viewed With Caution by Resident.

Recent news that UGI is considering providing natural gas to Tunkhannock residents spurred local business owner and Tunkhannock resident Eileen Barziloski to ask a number of relevant questions of the commissioners, including Judy Mead, whom she cautioned against “inspiring” people to embrace natural gas as a utility without understanding the full scope of what would be a very complex installation.

The commissioners agreed that the idea of bringing natural gas into the county seat has been posed several times over the past three to four years. Leatherstocking Natural Gas of New York state reached out to Wyoming County about three years ago, Mead said, after the company announced plans to deliver natural gas to Montrose in Susquehanna County.

That was before installation was even in sight,” she stated. UGI has the franchise for Wyoming County, she added, so Leatherstocking backed away.

UGI brought the idea of natural gas to us about three months ago,” Commissioner Tom Henry related, noting that the Wyoming County Chamber of Commerce was also behind the endeavor.

Barziloski encouraged the commissioners to be more proactive on this issue than she believes they have been concerning other aspects of the gas industry like the proposed D&I Silica transfer station in Tunkhannock Township.

Commissioner Ron Williams agreed that UGI should conduct a town meeting at which the concerns of Barziloski and others could be addressed.

Henry said that UGI’s inquiry involves a five- to six-year plan that would first require adequate interest among residents to set into motion.

There are no maps or plans yet to disclose,” Mead concurred, confirming earlier reports that she supports the idea of bringing natural gas to the borough because it would eventually save residents a lot of money in heating costs.

We are showing interest,” Mead stated. “If we don’t show interest, we will never get it.”

We should be on top of the health part of it as well,” Barziloski asserted. “It’s not all about the cheaper gas.”

Henry suggested that the project would cost millions of dollars and that UGI’s initial inquiry is no more than a feasibility study. “They’re not even sure that it will work here,” he remarked.

If it were deemed profitable by the utility, Henry continued, the service lines would likely come into town from the east, as UGI has a gas line in the vicinity of Shadowbrook.

Barziloski expressed concerns that such a project would involve a compressor station and inherent risks as well as tearing up borough streets that would then have to be rebuilt. She wondered how many “interested” people would justify UGI’s moving forward with the plan and at what expense and inconvenience to each citizen in the borough. “They do not have a good track record,” she said of the company.

Williams agreed that the commissioners owed it to county residents to “keep an eye” on the situation.

Commissioners’ and Solicitor’s Reports

In his regular report, County Solicitor Paul Litwin informed the commissioners that a tax appeal with Geisinger is ongoing but that a reassessment would likely cost as much as $1,400 more than the county would gain from an increase in revenue.

When asked by Litwin how the county was progressing in its search for a new Planner, Henry said that five “very good” applications had been received so far. Applications will be accepted until and opened on Friday, March 13. The commissioners plan to review them on Monday, March 16.

Williams reported that he had recently met with a six-member Conservation District Committee that reviewed the applications of three Wyoming County residents vying for the job of Ag Conservation Program Coordinator. Each was scored on a variety of criteria and, though the scores were close, Chris Faux of Tunkhannock received the most points.

Here’s a very energetic young man,” Williams said of Faux.

Williams thereby nominated him for the position, which was subsequently ratified by Henry and Mead. Williams said that he hopes to get Faux to work as quickly as possible as there is a training seminar at Penn State University on Friday, March 27 that Faux should attend.

Williams also reported that he would be in Harrisburg on Wednesday, March 11 to attend a state conference on adoption and fostering. Williams and his wife, Ellen, have adopted children.

Henry, who meets regularly with the Luzerne/Wyoming County Drug & Alcohol Administration, wrapped up the lengthy meeting with discussion about a promising new drug – Naloxone – that seemingly reverses the effects of a heroin overdose, providing a second chance at life for many to whom it has been administered.

There is definitely a heroine problem around here, and this drug brings people back,” Henry explained, noting that he and Chief Clerk Bill Gaylord had witnessed the drug being administered to an overdose victim that was being moved by gurney from a borough home to a waiting ambulance. The victim was unresponsive, he said, then suddenly came around. “He was agitated,” Henry recalled. “But he was alright.”

Intensive Care Units and EMTs have already been trained to use the drug, and State Police are researching and considering use of the promising antidote. Henry said that at least 9 people have died of confirmed heroin overdoses in Wyoming and Luzerne counties in the past six months.

If nine people were shot, it would be all over the news,” Henry remarked. “But when nine people die of drug overdoses, nobody seems to care about it.” He also wants educators to know about the promising antidote, but said that some school administrators have been reluctant to allow for a presentation for faculty members at which they would learn about Naloxone and at which recovering heroin addicts would share their stories.

The next meeting of the Wyoming County Commissioners will be held at 9 am on Tuesday, March 24.

 

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