January 27, 2006 Online Newsletter

JACKSON TOWNSHIP ONLINE NEWS

JACKSON TOWNSHIP NEWS January 27, 2006 *********************** JANUARY 26th SUPERVISORS MEETING HIGHLIGHTS ~The Jackson Township Supervisors met for their regular January Board Meeting with all three Supervisors present with Supervisor Stephens returning after missing several meetings due to illness. All of the following votes were unanimous. ~The Board approved two subdivisions (side lot additions). The first one was for George & Margaret Gillen and the other was for George & Candyce Haman. ~Authorized the submission of the PennDOT application for 2006 County Aid for road projects. Last years aid amounted to $13,500 and we can expect a similar amount this year. ~Accepted the resignation of John Miller, part-time Police Officer for Jackson Township. ~Hired William Hines as a part-time Police Officer for Jackson Township. Officer Hines formerly worked for Jackson Township and agreed to return on a part-time basis. ~Appointed Regina Markovich to fulfill the remainder of a vacant term on the Jackson Township Recreation Commission which expires December, 2008. Mrs. Markovich is the owner of a local business, "All the Right Movies" in Vinco. ~Accepted the resignation of Ashley Baxter from the Jackson Township Recreation Commission and appointed John Lythgoe to fulfill the remainder of the term which expires December, 2007. All nine positions on the Commission are filled for the first time in many years. ************************** JACKSON TOWNSHIP BECOMES NIMS COMPLIANT The Board of Supervisors recently passed a resolution that Jackson Township would become NIMS compliant. NIMS stands for National Incident Management Structure and this program is being driven by FEMA. Although the program was in place before Hurricane Katrina, a push has been made for all municipalities to become NIMS compliant by having employees, board and authority members take two classes. This is a directive coming from the Federal Government to the State and Governor Ed Rendell issued a proclamation mandating the training in Pennsylvania. The two required classes were recently given by Mr. Ron Springer of Cambria County Emergency Management. They are Class 100 & Class 700 which basically gives an understanding of structure and organization needed in the event of an emergency and the need to have plans in place before a disaster or emergency occurs. The classes were held at the Jackson Township Fire Company on January 24, 2006. There were approximately 30 people present which included Supervisors, employees and board members from the Township, Police Department, Water Authority, Sewer Authority and Fire Company. Mr. Springer complimented Jackson Township on being one of the first municipalities in Cambria County to become NIMS compliant. Those municipalities who are not trained in NIMS will not be eligible for any aid from FEMA or the Federal Government in the event of an emergency (weather related or otherwise). Not only would the municipality not be able to receive any aid but neither would individual residents, so the importance of this program can't be stressed enough. ************************** SUPERVISORS MEET WITH PENNDOT TO HAVE CONCERNS ADDRESSED The Supervisors, Solicitor and Planning Consultants, Richard Sutter & Associates met with PennDOT at the Cambria County Courthouse on Wednesday, January 25th to have several concerns addressed by PennDOT. PennDOT had several representatives on hand and the meeting was moderated by the Cambria County Commissioners. Some of the concerns that were addressed were detours that residents in the Fords Corner area, Whitetail Road and Mile Hill Road areas had to endure during construction of the new Route 22. Other issues discussed were putting in an overpass at Chickaree Hill Road and an underpass at Fords Corner Road. As told in the past by PennDOT, if these options are not feasible because of the 2.5 price tag for each one, the Supervisors are asking for full access for residents at these intersections in order that they can make left and right turns on Rt. 22. Some of the previous options presented by PennDOT at a prior meeting included full access with turns being made in each direction and traffic lights were put back on the table for re-evaluation. A climbing lane leading up to Chickaree Hill Road going west on Route 22 was also suggested. Four representatives from Waste Management were also present and presented new truck traffic figures to PennDOT and the Commissioners. The new figures show a trend of increasing truck traffic to not only the landfill but the quarry as well. In addition to safety, future economic development was discussed as well. The Commissioners asked PennDOT, District 9 to re-evaluate the intersections and other concerns and meet back in a few weeks with findings. ************************** POLICE REPORT (December, 2005) Submitted by Chief Bob Fatula 911 Calls dispatched to Police-445 Reportable Incidents-30 Broken Down as Follows: ~DUI (Driving While Under the Influence)-5 ~Criminal Mischief-4 ~Burglary-3 ~Criminal Trespassing-3 ~Disorderly Conduct-3 ~Criminal Attempted Burglary-2 ~Harassment-2 ~Receiving Stolen Property-2 ~Arson-1 ~Assault-1 ~Attempted Theft-1 ~Resisting Arrest-1 ~Selling Alcohol to Minors-1 ~Theft-1 Non-Traffic Citations Issued-3 Traffic Citations Issued-45 Accidents Handled-19 Criminal Charges Filed-31 Broken Down as Follows: ~Harassment-6 ~DUI (Driving While Under the Influence-5 ~Theft-5 ~Disorderly Conduct-3 ~Burglary-2 ~Criminal Attempted Burglary-2 ~Criminal Trespassing-2 ~Receiving Stolen Property-2 ~Assault-1 ~Criminal Mischief-1 ~Resisting Arrest-1 ~Selling Alcohol to Minors-1 ************************** SPREAD THE NEWS. . INVITE YOUR NEIGHBORS TO JOIN JACKSON TOWNSHIP NEWS ONLINE. . . .just tell them to enter their email address in the yahoogroups purple box on the main page of www.jacksontwppa.com They will receive an email confirmation that they must reply / return verifying they wish to be added. It's easy to join and keep updated on news that affects you and your community.

We hope you enjoy receiving news updates on Jackson Township and will spread the word to others to sign up to receive future newsletters at the Jackson Township Website. Our website is updated frequently and the address is www.jacksontwppa.com If you have any ideas, suggestions or comments please forward them to office@jacksontwppa.com

Jackson Township Supervisors Dave Hirko / ManagerReturn