Updating law protecting seniors

HARRISBURG, PA — Working to ensure the health and safety of Pennsylvania’s senior citizens, the House Aging and Older Adult Services Committee held a two-day hearing this week to examine proposed changes to the Older Adult Protective Services Act.

As reported by Rep. Mike Peifer (R-Pike, Wayne), House Bill 2549 seeks to make a number of changes to the act, including changing background check requirements to refine employment bans for people convicted of certain crimes.

The legislation also would require financial institutions in the Commonwealth to provide employees with specific training in recognizing signs of potential financial abuse of an older adult and the process to make an abuse report.

Testifiers included Teresa Osborne, secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Aging; and representatives of senior citizen care provider organizations, AARP and the Pennsylvania Association of Area Agencies on Aging.

Monticello man gets life sentence

MONTICELLO, NY — Angelo “Deon” Johnson, 41, of Monticello, who was convicted of burglary by a jury in November 2017, was sentenced September 7 in Sullivan County Court to 15 years to life imprisonment as a persistent felony offender. Johnson was accused of entering a motel room and stealing property from a victim.

District Attorney Jim Farrell said his office asked the court to find him to be a persistent felony offender because of the many crimes of which he has been convicted. These include one for selling drugs and another for having sexual contact with an 11-year-old child.

In the past 26 years, Johnson also had 27 misdemeanor convictions, including 11 for petit larceny, five for assault, and convictions for obstructing governmental administration, criminal trespass, possession of burglar’s tools, resisting arrest, criminal mischief, criminal possession of a weapon and reckless endangerment.

Farrell said that Johnson has chosen a “life of crime” and that society deserved protection from his criminal and antisocial behavior. “This defendant just does not get it, and various criminal sanctions that have been imposed to curb and deter his criminal propensity have all failed, including probation, parole, local jail time and prison time.”

PA grants available for school safety

HARRISBURG, PA — Local schools are urged to apply now to receive funding through a new grant program dedicated to improving school safety.

The new School Safety and Security Grant Program will provide $52.5 million in grants to school districts, intermediate units, area vocational-technical schools, charter schools and private residential rehabilitative institutions for projects to improve school safety.

Eligible uses include hiring school security officers, purchasing security-related technology, completing safety and security assessments, implementing violence prevention curricula and offering counseling services for students, among others.

The deadline to apply is October 12.

“All members of the community share a common interest in protecting young people and ensuring our schools are a safe environment for learning,” said Sen. Wayne Langerholc (R-35), who serves on the newly created School Safety and Security Committee. “I am hopeful that this grant program will help our local school boards, administrators and other personnel identify ways that we can improve school safety and help reduce potential risks to students.”

Guidelines and applications for the new program are available online at www.pccd.pa.gov under the School Safety and Security heading.

Barryville bike ride & seed toss

BARRYVILLE, NY — A bike ride and seed toss is scheduled for September 29 from 10 a.m. to 12 noon starting in Lackawaxen, PA. There will be a 4.6-mile ride and a .6-mile walk. Participants will toss clay balls that contain seeds that support monarch butterflies into designated areas along the way.

Participants are encouraged to attend dressed as a pollinator, bat, bird, bee, or butterfly.

The ride starts at the Zane Grey parking lot in Lackawaxen. Riders will cross the Upper Delaware River at the Roebling Bridge to Route 97, then turn onto River Road. The ride will end at the Barryville Farmers Market on River Road.

The .6-mile walk starts at River Road Park and is recommended for “kids, roller-skates, scooters, walkers and wheelchairs.”

Pre-registration is required. The cost is $10 for individuals and $20 for families; the fee includes the butterfly balls.