Wayne commissioners pay tribute, talk trails and grants

By LYLE T. GALLOWAY
Posted 7/28/21

HONESDALE, PA — On the heels of Honesdale’s first jury trial since the pandemic, the commissioners paid tribute to the various men and women on Wayne County’s pretrial, probation and parole boards.

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Wayne commissioners pay tribute, talk trails and grants

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HONESDALE, PA — On the heels of Honesdale’s first jury trial since the pandemic, the commissioners paid tribute to the various men and women on Wayne County’s pretrial, probation and parole boards. They made an official motion to recognize July 18 through July 24 as Pretrial, Probation and Parole Supervision Week.
In attendance were chief adult probation officer James Chapman and other members of the probation department.
According to Chapman, the main crux of their job involves sending out investigation reports for sentencing matters.
“It’s important for fair sentencing and by doing that objectively and thoroughly, the court has the right information for when they impose sentences,” said Chapman.
Commissioner Brian Smith reiterated the board’s importance. “It’s about getting them back into the community. Making sure that they can provide for their families and reintegrate with society, keep their jobs and do the things that make them a productive citizen again,” said Smith.
Unable to attend the meeting were probation officers Deanna Denoie, Catlin Schmitt, Ryan Altermier, Karly Peck, Sean McGraw, and clerks Natalie Cottell, Megan Weist and Pasqualina Briggs.
Dyberry Confluence Trail Project
According to Molly Rogers of the Wayne Pike Trails and Waterways Alliance, the group is in the final stages of submitting a $560,000 Multimodal Grant to the Department of Community and Economic Development. The project is slated to create a trail system that connects the Stourbridge Complex and a park to Riverside Drive. All trails will be ADA compliant.
“We’ll have improvements to the trestle tunnel and we’ll be able to increase the accessibility of the Stourbridge Complex for people, whether they want to walk, come to the park, ride a bike to the park, or whether they’re in town and they want to commute,” said Rogers.
According to the WPTWA website, the full system will comprise 28 miles of trails. The first trail will connect Honesdale to White Mills and Hawley, with a plan to eventually reach Rowlands and Lackawaxen in Pike County.
She said that the addition of a trails system will make it easier for county employees, who will then have the option to take trails to the interconnected boroughs instead of driving.
The trails alliance is willing to commit $15,700 to the project and the county is committed to adding an additional $10,806.
The Borough of Honesdale owns all three of the parks that the trails will run through. Rogers said that there have to be agreements between the county and the other property owners. One such property owner is Wayne Memorial Hospital. They will be asking for a curb cut in their parking lot to connect the trail.
More will be discussed about the trail project’s future at the upcoming Honesdale Borough meeting.
Human Services Block Grant
Human Services Deputy Administrator Lori O’Malley came to the commissioners’ meeting to discuss the submission of a Human Services Block Grant in the amount of $2,416,081.
“This grant goes towards funding portions of our human services, including intellectual disabilities, community mental health, drug and alcohol treatment and prevention, homelessness assistance and our Human Service Development Fund,” said O’Malley.
Expansions are also being planned for some services due to recent needs and comments made during public meetings. They are requesting an additional $32,091 from the DHS to help sustain the programs. They are looking to expand landlord incentives, training staff on wellness action recovery plans, camp experiences for children that have experienced traumatic events, pilot programs for employment and assistance with staff recruitment.
The grant itself requires a 3.66 percent match requirement for the state portion, which amounts to $80,771.

Wayne County, court, probation, trails, grants

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