Disability advocate available at Sen. Lisa Baker’s Hawley office 

HAWLEY, PA — A representative from MyCIL (Northeast PA Center for Independent Living) will be at Sen. Lisa Baker’s Hawley office, 2512 Rte. 6, Suite 3, on Thursday, September 21 from 10 a.m. to 12 noon.

Information and resources will be offered to people with disabilities and their families to help them obtain home and community-based services, transportation, housing and other assistance to promote greater independence in the community.

“It is imperative that we provide education on available benefits to ensure individuals with disabilities can strengthen and maintain their self-sufficiency,” said Baker. “I have been honored to work on programs to help them exercise more control over their lives, including creating ABLE (Achieving a Better Life Experience) accounts to help save for the future, and establishing the IWantToWork program to aid in entering the job market.”

To schedule an appointment, contact Baker’s Hawley office at 570/226-5960 or the Dallas office at 570/675-3931.

Backpacks for kids, courtesy of ATI

SULLIVAN COUNTY, NY — For the third straight year Action Toward Independence (ATI) gathered, filled and distributed backpacks to eligible students in the community. 

This year ATI is donating backpacks to the local school districts’ special education departments for students in need.

ATI teamed up with New York State Electric and Gas (NYSEG), as well as NYSEG’s employee volunteers.

Akilah Sutphin, Children and Family Services program manager for ATI, arranged the program.

“We are happy to have been contacted by Uthman Aziz, program manager, NYSEG Government and Community Relations to collaborate with NYSEG and their wonderful volunteers,” Sutphin said. 

Sutphin then sent a letter to area school districts, explaining the mission of ATI and the goal of the backpack program.

She asked the district superintendents to arrange for an in-person presentation of the backpacks. The backpacks will be distributed to elementary, middle school and high school students at the discretion of the school districts. 

Action Toward Independence is based in Sullivan and Orange counties. Its main function is to advocate for persons with disabilities. For additional information, call 845/794-4228, or visit www.atitoday.org. 

Mary Ellen Bentler to be honored by WCCF

Mary Ellen Bentler

HAWLEY, PA — The Ben Franklin Award Dinner, held annually by Wayne County Community Foundation (WCCF), will take place at 6 p.m. on Thursday, November 2 at the Silver Birches resort; Mary Ellen Bentler, who has been involved in workforce development, the Rotary and much more, is the honoree. 

 The foundation promises “a very special evening of dinner, drinks and inspiring words.”

This year’s guest speaker is Mike Batchelor, president of the Pennsylvania Community Foundation Association (PACFA). 

The Ben Franklin Award is given by the foundation each year to an outstanding member of the community who demonstrates a lifetime of service in and around Wayne County. 

Bentler, this year’s recipient of the award, currently resides in Wayne County. 

She has had many years of service in various roles with Rotary International, and joined the board of Lacawac Sanctuary in 2015. 

She is also an active member of the Sterling Business & Technology Park Owners Association. 

Bentler formerly served on the boards of the Chamber of the Northern Poconos, the Wayne County Community Foundation, the Salem Public Library and the Wayne Economic Development Corporation, where she served a term as president. 

Tickets and sponsorships can be purchased online at WayneFoundation.org. Advertisements for the program can be purchased by contacting Connor Simon at csimon@waynefoundation.org. 

A new leaf: fall foliage season begins

NEW YORK STATE — The Empire State Development (ESD) has announced the start of New York’s fall foliage and travel season. 

Thanks to one of the longest and most colorful foliage seasons in the country, autumn is traditionally one of New York’s most popular travel times, the ESD said. 

To encourage and help travelers plan a fall getaway, I LOVE NY has launched weekly foliage reports, with updates issued every Wednesday throughout the season.

New York State traditionally has one of the longest and most colorful foliage seasons in the country, thanks in part to its size and geography. I LOVE NY’s fall foliage reports are compiled weekly using the on-location field observations from a team of more than 85 volunteers throughout the state’s 11 vacation regions. 

The spotters track color changes in their area by detailing the prevalent leaf colors and predicting both the percentage of total transition and how much the foliage will have progressed relative to peak conditions for the upcoming weekend. Peak conditions, considered the best that the foliage will look in a given season, generally occur between late September and mid-November, depending on the location.

Reports and an interactive foliage map are available at www.iloveny.com/foliage, or toll-free at 800/CALL-NYS (800/225-5697) from anywhere in the U.S., its territories and Canada.