Spring/Summer 2010

LHVA Executive Director Natalie Gelb Solfanelli assists passengers with their tickets for the popular Heritage Explorer Train to Carbondale.

All Aboard for the Heritage Explorer Train

"The Heritage Explorer Train assists the City of Carbondale to highlight its unique traditions and heritage," notes LHVA Executive Director, Natalie Gelb Solfanelli. "Passengers love riding the train! They can reach back to the past, while enjoying the present." 

The Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority sponsored the train ride in partnership with the City of Carbondale, the Greater Carbondale Chamber of Commerce, the Lackawanna County Library System, the Lackawanna County Office of Arts and Culture, the Lackawanna Historical Society, and Steamtown National Historic Site. Additional funding is provided by the National Park Service.

The "Wolf Six" Americorps NCCC team visited the Lackawanna Heritage Valley for six weeks this spring to assist LHVA and partners with community projects. The team is shown here cutting back Japanese Knotweed on the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail.

AmeriCorps NCCC Team Works to Improve Local Trails and Serve Community Organizations

A team of nine AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) members spent six weeks in May and June in the Lackawanna Heritage Valley working at various volunteer jobs to serve the local community. The "Wolf Six" team worked with LHVA and the Rail-Trail Council of Northeastern Pennsylvania on seasonal maintenance on more than 32 miles of trail. Based in the Atlantic Region Campus in Perry Point, Maryland, Wolf Six members spend most of their time traveling throughout the region completing various projects with local sponsors. The Lackawanna Heritage Valley site was the second deployment for the NCCC team.  

During their visit, the NCCC members spent 40 hours a week clearing brush and invasive Japanese Knotweed from all of the completed sections of the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail from South Scranton to Union Dale in Susquehanna County. This hard job also included cutting back the shrubs and trees that had crowded the trail. In addition, the team members assisted LHVA and Leadership Lackawanna with the Heritage Explorer Bike Tour, planned community days, and organized trail clean-up events. Several other organizations in the region also benefited from the assistance from the NCCC members, including Keystone College, the Lackawanna River Corridor Association, Steamtown National Historic Site, and the Lackawanna Historical Society.

"The NCCC members have done a wonderful job of making the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail more open and accessible to the public," noted LHVA Executive Director Natalie Gelb Solfanelli. "Trail users now can enjoy beautiful, unobscured views of the Lackawanna River from the trail."

The NCCC members' visit to the Lackawanna Heritage Valley was made possible by the generous hospitality of Keystone College in LaPlume, PA, and President Dr. Edward G. Boehm, Jr. who provided free housing for the team during its visit. Vinnie Cotrone and John Maza conducted safety training, and Pennsylvania American Water donated water for the team members, which was particularly important during this hot summer.

AmeriCorps NCCC is a leadership program for young people ages 18 to 24. In exchange for completing 1,700 hours of service during a ten-month term, NCCC members receive an education award of over $5,000, plus a living stipend, housing and more. AmeriCorps programs are administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service, a federal agency. For more information, visit www.americorps.gov or call 1-800-942-2677.

The Obama Administration's proposed budget for fiscal year 2010-2011 eliminated funding for 22 of the nation's National Heritage Areas. The Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority (LHVA) is one of the areas affected. Supporters of the National Heritage Area program from across the country have joined together to raise awareness of the importance and effectiveness of the National Heritage Area program. Representatives from the Lackawanna Heritage Valley visited Capitol Hill on June 15 to meet with federal legislators to share information about the important work that LHVA and its partners have accomplished in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Members of the delegation included Cara Sutherland, Executive Director of the Everhart Museum; Daniel Broome, AmeriCorps NCCC member; Ashlyn Gomez, Director of Public Engagement at LHVA; and Scott Monsky, Intern at LHVA.

A National Heritage Area is a geographic region that contains historical, cultural, and natural resources that tell the story of the nation's history and culture. LHVA was designated a National Heritage Area by Congress in 2000 to recognize the Lackawanna Valley's important role in American's rise to industrial power in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. LHVA expands on traditional approaches to resource stewardship by supporting community centered initiatives that connect local citizens to preservation, to environmental protection, and to community revitalization.

For every dollar that a National Heritage Area receives from the federal government, it raises, on average, an additional $5.50 in private, local, and state funding to do its work. Not only does LHVA match this leveraging rate, but also in some years it has exceeded this average by raising $10.00 of private, local, and state funding for every federal dollar received.

These actions recognize the heritage areas' ability to forge cooperative alliances spurring economic development through significant leveraging of resources and financial investment in communities across the state. Established in 1989, the Pennsylvania Heritage Areas Program is a multi-faceted regional strategy guided by five interrelated goals including economic development, partnerships, cultural conservation, recreation and open space, and education and interpretation. Pennsylvania's 12 heritage areas have joined together as HeritagePA, a program administered by DCNR. For more information, visit www.heritagepa.net. 

Rep. Thaddeus Kirkland, Chairman, Tourism and Recreational Development Committee, PA House of Representatives, and Mickey Rowley, Deputy Secretary for Tourism and Marketing, Department of Community and Economic Development, presented heritage area mangers with Governor's medals. From left, Rep. Kirkland, Marilyn Black, Oil Region Alliance; Kurt Zwikl, Schuylkill River Heritage Area; Terri Dennison, PA Route 6 Heritage Corridor; Phillip Swank, Endless Mountains Heritage Region; Jane Sheffield, Allegheny Ridge Heritage Area; Mark Platts, Susquehanna Gateway Heritage Area; Natalie Gelb Solfanelli, Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority; Michael Wennin, Lumber Heritage Region; Deputy Secretary Rowley; and Olga Herbert, Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor.

Pennsylvania Heritage Areas Recently Honored by Tourism Office

On June 4, the work of leading Pennsylvania Heritage Areas was recognized in Harrisburg. Governor Ed Rendell inducted the managers of twelve Pennsylvania Heritage Areas, including the Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority, into the Keystone Society for Tourism. The honor is the highest award in the Commonwealth for leaders in the tourism industry.

 

Pennsylvania's twelve heritage areas are a key component of the state's tourism industry and are administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR). Natalie Gelb Solfanelli, Executive Director, accepted a Governor's medal as manager of the Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority.

For more information, visit www.heritagepa.net.

Boy Scout Troop 2001 from Whites Crossing picked up trash and planted trees in Carbondale during the Great NEPA Clean-Up.

The Great NEPA Clean-Up

More than 1,750 volunteers gave Mother Nature a helping hand by participating in the 2nd annual Great NEPA Clean-Up during Earth Week from April 17 to 25, 2010. Throughout the week, municipalities, businesses, universities, state parks, environmental groups, and non-profits hosted 44 clean-up events in seven counties throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania. Together, volunteers contributed 411,250 hours of service to help "clean and green" local communities. An amazing effort!

Clean-ups were the most popular events. Volunteers turned out in force to pick up litter and trash in neighborhoods and community parks, on sections of the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail and the Delaware and Hudson Rail-Trail, on the banks of the Lackawanna River, throughout Lackawanna State Park, and along local roads. Illegal dumpsites in Fell Township and on the Lackawanna River Corridor Association's Providence Trail in Scranton required numerous volunteers, and heavy equipment was used to haul away tires, appliances, and large debris. A number of groups hosted tree plantings and park beautification events.

The University of Scranton, Keystone College, and Everything Natural, a local health food store, sponsored lectures, presentations, picnics, and programs encouraging "green" practices such as walking or bicycling to work and school and sustainable gardening practices. Leadership Lackawanna and Marywood University organized successful recycling drop-offs, and a number of organizations hosted special Earth Day celebrations.

The Great NEPA Clean-Up was coordinated by LHVA and the Northeastern Pennsylvania Conservation Alliance, a partnership of more than 80 environmental groups that is sponsored by LHVA. The event was organized by Christopher Bludgus, a volunteer with the Office of Surface Mining/Volunteers in Service to America (OSM/VISTA) program and a member of the Appalachian Coal Country Watershed Team (ACCWT). Supplies for the Great NEPA Clean-Up, including bags, gloves, and safety vests, were provided by PennDOT through the Great American Cleanup of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania American Water Company donated water for the volunteers. 1-800-JUNK offered their services for several neighborhood clean-ups.

Our thanks to all of the dedicated volunteers and generous community sponsors who helped to make this year's event such an overwhelming success!