By Rick Hiduk
(Exclusive to EndlessMtnLifestyles.com readers)
During a brief business meeting conducted by the Wyoming County Commissioners this morning, it was noted that Roadside Rest, a park in Eaton Township that was closed by the county due to excessive trash dumping, is currently open to anglers. Signage will be erected shortly to remind those accessing Bowmans Creek to maintain safe distancing as per guidelines associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lori Bennett, who lives just south of the park, told the commissioners that activity there has been relatively light and that she has seen State Police vehicles in and out of the parking lot routinely. Otherwise, she noted, “It has just been fishermen and their cars.”
The commissioners acknowledged that the State Police have been involved in a team effort to keep the popular stream accessible but that the Fish & Boat Commission is in technically in charge right now.
Picnic tables have been removed, commissioner Tom Henry related, to signify that the park is otherwise closed. In the meantime, the commissioners are seeking public input in advance of a new round of discussions about how to reopen the once popular greenspace for other uses.
“Once we get the green light, we’ll go after that,” commissioner Rick Wilbur remarked. “Even when we come to a solution, I think the Fish Commission will be involved.”
Email is the most effective way to share ideas about the park with the commissioners, Wilbur maintained. “We check that seven days a week.” The official email addresses for the commissioners are as follows: rwilbur@wycopa.org thenry@wycopa.org eking@wycopa.org
CV-19 Stats Plateau
County EMA director Gene Dziak provided an update on the coronavirus statistics for the county, noting that there has been no increase in positive cases (17) nor deaths (1) in the past five days. The Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) has started mapping case numbers by zip codes, but that is not a reliable indicator here, Dziak explained, as rural zip codes often overlap neighboring counties.
Natural Gas Project Stalled
The statewide slowdown in construction has put on hold the hook up of the courthouse and other buildings in Tunkhannock to natural gas pipelines that were installed last fall. “The work has come to a standstill,” Henry noted. “The lines have been ready to be hooked into the courthouse for a while, but they have not been able to work.”
A final inspection of the planned conversion to natural gas at the courthouse was to take place just as the COVID-19 health crisis took hold and individuals and contractors were told to stay home. “We have rescheduled it twice, but they haven’t been able to get back.”
Virtual Meetings to Continue
Wilbur said that the commissioners will continue to make meetings at 9 am on Tuesdays and Thursdays accessible to the public via videoconferencing in the short term so that people can ask questions.
New sign-in information will be posted on the county website www.wycopa.org prior to each new meeting. The login details for the Tuesday, April 28 meeting of the commissioners and the prison board has already been posted.
It really is a shame, myself and another guy used to work there when we were employed by PennDot back in the early 90’s. The only problem back then was it was a hangout for homosexual behavior. But PSP, the DA’S office, etc. Had it cleaned up rather quick. It’s a good gob for 2 people with the right equipment. Just used to suck going in on monday after a weekend.