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Ambassadors' Update
Winter 2010
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 LHVA Launches Inaugural Bike Tour on Lackawanna River Heritage TrailLHVA invites you to join the first annual "Heritage Explorer Bike Tour" on June 5, 2010. A project of the Leadership Lackawanna class of 2009-2010, the event will offer participants the opportunity to experience the region's natural beauty and history as they ride the beautiful Lackawanna River Heritage Trail. The event is open to all riders. It will have routes for beginners, seniors, and families with small children, as well as more challenging courses for experienced cyclists.
The Heritage Explorer Bike Tour weekend features two events:
Friday, June 4th - A Kick-Off Party at the Electric City Trolley Museum in Scranton will feature event registration, raffle prizes, specialty foods and beverages, and a signature Heart to Art mural for participants to paint.
Saturday, June 5th - The Heritage Explorer Bike Tour will begin and end at Mellow Park in the Borough of Blakely. Participants will receive a breakfast and a light lunch, course maps, and an opportunity to paint on the Heart to Art mural. The event will feature four round-trip tours of 5 miles, 10 miles, 20 miles, and 40+ miles. As a special bonus, participants will receive discounts for several area cultural and historic attractions that can be used on Sunday, June 6th.
For more information, check out the bike tour webpage http://www.heritageexplorer.org/biketour.html and become a fan on facebook.
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LHVA's Community Update Now Available
Click here to download LHVA's most recent Community Update, "Making a Difference in the Community." This full-color publication is filled with information about the projects and programs that LHVA and its partners accomplished in 2009. Check it out today!
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 Calling All Photographers!
Now is the time to take some great winter pictures of the Lackawanna Heritage Valley and the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail for LHVA's photo contest, "Views from the Valley." Photographers are invited to submit photos of the cultural, historic, natural resources, and people in the Lackawanna Heritage Valley. The contest deadline is June 1, 2010. Entry forms, rules, and model release forms are available at http://www.lhva.org/photo-contest.html. For more information, please contact April Rogato, LHVA Executive Assistant, at (570) 963-6730 ext. 8200 or arogato@LHVA.org.
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| LHVA Receives Grant to Assist with Regional Trails Organization
LHVA was awarded a $3,000 grant from the Pocono Forest and Waters Conservation Assistance Program to fund the "Northeastern Pennsylvania Trails Forum." The grant is administered by the Pennsylvania Environmental Council. LHVA will use the grant to host two workshops that will convene trail organizations from across Northeastern Pennsylvania. The workshops will provide an opportunity for trail organizations to share common issues and concerns, to develop collaborative projects, and to work together towards a regional trail system. The workshops will be held in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in spring and fall 2010. LHVA will announce the date and location of the spring workshop shortly.
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Trail Maps
Enjoy winter on the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail (LRHT)! Click here to download maps of the LRHT in Scranton, the Mid-Valley, in Mayfield/Carbondale Township, as well as to access the website of the Rail-Trail Council of Northeastern Pennsylvania for the trails north of Carbondale.
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Trail Survey
LHVA is conducting a survey of trail users of the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail. If you have not yet completed the survey, please take a few minutes to fill it out. Click here or go to www.LHVA.org. Pass this link along to family, friends, and co-workers so that they can give us their input as well. Thank you for your help!
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About Us
The Ambassadors' Update keeps you up to date on the news of the Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority, a National and State Heritage Area that preserves and promotes Northeastern Pennsylvania's historic, cultural, economic, and natural resources.
Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority
538 Spruce St., Suite 516
Scranton, PA 18503
Phone: (570) 963-6730
Fax: (570) 963-6732
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New Grant Forms for 2010 Available on Website
LHVA has updated the "Grants" section of its website at http://www.lhva.org/grants.html. All of the grant application forms have been updated for 2010 and they are available for download. The website also includes revised grant application guidelines and grant management guidelines, information about the TreeVitalize Metro grants program, and a listing of projects previously funded by LHVA.
If your organization is interested in applying for a grant, a good first step is to visit www.LHVA.org to familiarize yourself with LHVA's mission and goals, program of work, and grants program. Applicants are asked to use the current application forms, and all projects must show dollar-for-dollar non-federal matching funds. If you have a question about LHVA's grant program, please contact April Rogato, LHVA Executive Assistant, at (570) 963-6730 ext. 8200 or arogato@LHVA.org.
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 LHVA Announces Grant Awards
In 2009, LHVA awarded 52 grants totaling $205,519 to partner organizations. The total cost for these partner projects was $1,045,184, creating a leveraging ratio of 1:5. For every dollar that LHVA invested in the community, the partner organizations raised four dollars of additional public, local, and /or private funding.
Click here to see a listing of the grants and projects that LHVA funded in 2009. In January and February 2010, LHVA's Board of Directors approved ten grants totaling $29,720:
SPONSORSHIPS AND COMMUNITY CHALLENGE GRANTS
Lackawanna Historical Society - Framing Faith - $2,000
Erie Lackawanna Dining Car Preservation Society - The Art of Dining on Rails Exhibit - $1,000
Lacawac Sanctuary - Naturefest 2010 - $500
Lackawanna College Environmental Institute - Spring/Summer 2010 Workshop Series - $500
TREEVITALIZE GRANTS
Moscow Borough - Church Street Shade Tree Project - $6,000
Factoryville Shade Tree Commission - The Tree Planting Project - $5,600
City of Hazleton - Project Re-Leaf-Spring 2010 - $5,000
Forty Fort Borough - 2010 Stump Removal and Tree Planting - $4,000
West Pittston - West Pittston 2010 TreeVitalize - $3,120
West Wyoming Borough - Shade Tree Commission Project 2010 - $2,000
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 Mini-Grants Support Ten Educational Projects
LHVA presented Educational Mini-Grants of $500 each to ten local schools and nonprofit organizations at an awards ceremony in December 2009.
Now in its fifth year, the mini-grants program supports an array of innovative projects for children from preschool through grade twelve for the 2009-2010 school year. The event was held at the Electric City Trolley Museum in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Proposals that were funded include:
· Abington Heights High School - The 12th grade British literature class will learn about the tradition of the British and Scottish folk ballads, will research local folk ballads, and will create and perform their own folk music.
· Abington Heights High School - The high school Environmental Club will construct and place composting bins in the school cafeteria; the entire school will participate in disposing food from their meals into the bins.
· Dunmore High School - The high school Engineering Club will construct an unmanned balloon vehicle to capture aerial images of the Lackawanna Valley to compare to the same geographic areas depicted in historical photos.
· Greater Scranton YMCA "Y" P.A.L.S. Preschool - 100 preschool aged children will learn about the Lackawanna Valley's heritage at the Scranton Cultural Center where they will enjoy an educational tour of the building, lunch, and interactive workshops.
· Lackawanna County Children's Library - Students ages 9 to 12 will visit the Lackawanna Coal Mine before attending art and music classes at the Library to create original drawings and musical pieces based on their experiences. The project will culminate with an exhibition and demonstration at the Scranton Cultural Center.
· Lackawanna County Conservation District & West Scranton High School - High school students will make connections between the region's environmental challenges and industrial history by touring the Lackawanna Coal Mine, visiting the Old Forge Borehole, and conducting scientific tests at the Lackawanna River.
· Lakeland Junior & Senior High School - Students in Science and Family and Consumer Science classes in grades 9 to 12 will learn about local ecosystems; the high school students will mentor preschoolers on a field trip to the Lackawanna State Park.
· Mountain View Junior & Senior High School - Students from the Science, Art, and Special Education departments will create an outdoor garden using indigenous plants to attract and study local pollinators.
· Riverside Elementary School West - Fourth grade students will learn the history and ecology of the Lackawanna River and will create informational plaques to be installed along the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail.
· West Scranton High School - Students in drafting and art classes will design an outdoor courtyard amphitheatre in the school's National Wildlife Federation certified schoolyard habitat using recycled materials.
Photo Above: LHVA Executive Director Natalie Gelb Solfanelli (back row, fourth from left) at the 2009-2010 Educational Mini-Grant awards ceremony accompanied by the grant recipients and their students, as well as the Chair of LHVA's Board of Directors Thom Welby (second from left), Lackawanna County Commissioners Michael Washo (far left) and Corey O'Brien (far right).
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 Trail and Greenway Update
Lackawanna Greenway Plan & Trail Feasibility Study
LHVA and the consulting team of Arora and Associates, Campbell Thomas & Co. Architects, and Urban Partners have made significant progress on the "Lackawanna Greenway Plan and the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail (LRHT) Feasibility Study." The team performed field work to determine trail routing alignments for each new trail section, to identify enhancements for completed sections of the trail, and to map all of the parks, open spaces, outdoor recreational facilities, and urban centers in the Lackawanna Greenway. The study is continuing, and a draft plan will be ready by spring 2010. More information on the study is available on LHVA's website at http://www.lhva.org/greenway.html.
Scranton Riverwalk
Although winter is here, construction work has continued on the Scranton Riverwalk section of the LRHT. The trail from Olive Street (by the Riverfront Sports Complex) south to below the CNJ train station, including the spur trail to Scranton High School, has been cleared and the trail has been covered with the first layer of asphalt. Lights have been installed on that section, as well. Fabcor's construction crews are now working on four retaining walls below the CNJ train station and LT Verrastro Inc. In the spring, they will clear the southern section of the trail in preparation for paving and the installation of fencing and lighting. A ribbon-cutting is planned for spring 2010.
Planning for Construction on Two Trail Sections
The master site plan, construction drawings, and permitting for the Central New Jersey Rail-Trail Extension from South Scranton to Taylor have been completed. The project is now "shovel ready" and prepped for construction pending available funding. The master site plan, construction drawings, and permitting for the Powdermill Rail-Trail from Archbald to Jermyn are in process and should be completed in spring 2010.
Cultural and Historic Site Resource Inventory
As part of the study, LHVA conducted a comprehensive Cultural and Historic Resource Inventory of the Lackawanna Greenway from May to December 2009. LHVA identified more than 400 sites from the region's anthracite coal mining, railroading, iron making, and textile manufacturing industries from 1850 to 1950. These include coal breakers, railroad yards and roundhouses, industrial and manufacturing buildings, as well as houses of worship and workers' homes. LHVA captured the GIS coordinates for each site in the inventory to assist with future mapping.
Photo Above: The New York Ontario & Western Rail-Trail in Mayfield, PA.
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Penn State Landscape Architecture Studios
Fourth and fifth year students from the Department of Landscape Architecture of Pennsylvania State University conducted two studio projects throughout the Lackawanna Valley in fall 2009. LHVA worked closely with the students, who developed a number of creative proposals that have the potential to be implemented throughout the watershed. Of note, student Zachary Pyle entered his project, "Study of the Delaware and Hudson Gravity Railroad Greenway," into the student awards competition of the Pennsylvania-Delaware chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects. He received a merit award for his project.
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Santa Train a Huge Success!
Five local communities celebrated "Christmas in a Small Town" on Saturday, December 5, 2009, when Santa and his friends arrived aboard a special train provided by Steamtown National Historic Site.
Now in its twelfth year, the "Santa Train" attracted large crowds of excited families to the restored train stations in Carbondale, Archbald, Jessup, Olyphant, and Dickson City. At each stop, Santa and his friends greeted the children and heard their lists for special Christmas wishes. The families enjoyed refreshments, special activities, and live entertainment, including the Valley View Marching Band.
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| Board Member & Staff Info
In January, the Lackawanna County Commissioners appointed Jack DeLeo to serve on LHVA's Board of Directors. Jack is the general manager and vice-president at Scranton Label Inc., a manufacturer of pressure sensitive labels based in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania. He has served as the president of the UNICO Scranton Chapter 2007 and as president of the Columbus Day Association of Lackawanna County in 2002. He currently is a member of the board of directors for both organizations. Jack also has served on the Parks and Recreation Authority for the City of Scranton; as the chairman of Blood Services for the American Red Cross, Scranton Chapter; on the Advisory Board for the Salvation Army; and as the vice president of the Holy Name Society, member of the finance council, and lector at Saint Lucy's Catholic Church. A soldier with the U.S. Army from 1966 until 1968, he served one tour of duty in Vietnam with the 8th Artillery, 25th Infantry Division. Jack resides in Scranton with his wife, Patty, and daughters, Brittany, 16, and Tia, 12. Welcome, Jack!
In December, Lindsey Ritchey completed her contract with LHVA as part of the Office of Surface Mining/Volunteers in Service to America (OSM/VISTA) program. Lindsey assisted LHVA and the Lackawanna County Conservation District with numerous environmental education, water testing, and outreach projects during her year of service. She organized LHVA's volunteer corps, Ambassadors in Action, and she coordinated numerous trail clean ups and special events, including surveys of trail users, with the volunteers. Lindsey is now in California for her second year of service assisting another group with environmental education projects. We wish her well!
As of December 31, Sarah Piccini is no longer with LHVA. Her position as Program Manager was eliminated due to the funding cuts that LHVA received in its state funding. Sarah began with LHVA in 2005 as an intern, and joined the organization full time in 2008. Over the past year, she managed LHVA's many programs, including the Heritage Explorer Train, she coordinated LHVA's Partnership Grants Program, and she conducted the Cultural and Historic Resource Inventory of the Lackawanna Greenway. She will be missed, and we wish her all the best in her future endeavors.
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Heritage Valley Partners, Inc. Update
Heritage Valley Partners, Inc., formed to support the work of LHVA, officially received its 501(c)(3) nonprofit status from the IRS. This designation will allow HVP to apply for grant and corporate funding, and to serve as the development arm for LHVA.
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For More Information
Colleen Carter, Development & Marketing Officer
Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority
538 Spruce Street, Suite 516, Scranton, PA 18503
570-963-6730 x 8211
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