Jackson Township Press Release's

Press Release
 
 
Prokopchak Honored by Luzerne County Township Officials
 
The Luzerne County Association of Township Officials held there Annual Convention and Trade Show in Kingston Township where the Association Honored with a plaque to President Mike Prokopchak Supervisor from Franklin Township for his years of Dedicated Service and Leadership to Luzerne Counties Second Class Township Officials. The Township Officials also where updated on Legislation Effecting Townships by Holly Fishel from the Pennsylvania Association of Township Supervisors and also Officials from Penn Dot Municipal Services and the Luzerne Conservation District with Special Guest Tom Yoniski representing Senator Lisa Baker and State Representative Karen Bobak.
 
Pictured from Left to Right
 
Bonnie Wasilewski, Bear Creek Township Supervisor and Luzerne County Association Second Vice President, Mike Prokopchak, Franklin Township Supervisor and Luzerne County Association President being presented with the Plaque by John Jay Wilkes Jr, Jackson Township Supervisor and Luzerne County Association Vice President, Amy Salansky, Lake Township Supervisor and Luzerne County Association Secretary and Ransom Young, Butler Township Supervisor and Luzerne County Association Treasurer
 
 
 
Jay Wilkes, Congressman Lou Barletta, Ryan Marshall, Tommy Calpin, Tyler Manzoni, Michael Parmelee, Thomas Manzoni, Lori Marshall, Justin Marshall and George Manzoni
 
 
 
1st Row - George Manzoni, Congressman Lou Barletta, Tommy Calpin, Jay Wilkes, Lori Marshall
2nd row - Tyler Manzoni, Ryan Marshall, Michael Parmelee, Justin Marshal, Thomas Manzoni
 
 

The Back Mountain Regional Emergency Management Agency recently received recognition for there Community Leadership Award from Senator Lisa Baker that they received  from the Pennsylvania Association of Township Supervisors (PSATS)

 The Back Mountain Regional Emergency Management Agency is made up of Dallas Borough, Jackson Township and Lehman Township with each Municipality having a Regional Chief representing there Community and working together as a Partnership when Emergencies take place and Emergency Planning is needed to better serve there Residence.

 (Left to Right)

 Tim Carroll, Dallas Borough Mayor, Jeffrey Malak Esq. Solicitor, Harry Vivian, Back Mountain Regional EMA Chief,

 Ray Iwanowski, Lehman Township Supervisor, Senator Lisa Baker, Jim Reino, Back Mountain Community Partnership Chairman and John Jay Wilkes Jr Jackson Township Supervisor and Back Mountain Regional EMA Deputy Chief.

Absent from Picture Jim Welby, Back Mountain Regional EMA Assistant Chief

 
Back Mountain Community Partnership Receives Association’s
Third Annual Excellence in Township Planning Award
 
The Back Mountain Community Partnership of Luzerne County, leaders in cooperative land use planning in Pennsylvania, received the third annual Excellence in Township Planning Award during the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors’ 89th Annual Educational Conference and Trade Show, held April 17-20 in Hershey. The conference attracted attendees from every county in Pennsylvania except Philadelphia, which has no townships.
 
The association established this award to honor township officials who are working together to find creative ways to ensure that their communities grow yet retain the characteristics that make them unique. The honor was presented to the group, which includes Dallas, Franklin, Jackson, Kingston, and Lehman townships and Dallas Borough, during a special awards ceremony at the conference. Jackson Township supervisor John “Jay” Wilkes Jr., who also serves as the partnership’s vice chairman, accepted the award on the group’s behalf
 
First, they developed a regional emergency management agency to coordinate the emergency response plans of local fire, police, and ambulance services
 
They also developed a groundbreaking regional impact notice agreement that is the first of its kind in Pennsylvania. The agreement requires the municipal members to provide written notice to their partners of major zoning or land development applications for projects that affect the entire region. The notice must be provided at least 14 days before a public hearing.
 
Earlier this year, the partnership applied jointly for a state gaming fund grant to finance a study of the area’s water quantity and quality
 
The formation of the partnership was the brainchild of state Sen. Lisa Baker, says Wilkes, who serves as deputy chief of the Back Mountain Emergency Management Agency.
 
Faced with the unprecedented opportunities and challenges of the Marcellus Shale natural gas boom, these forward-looking municipalities decided to work together to plan for the safety and welfare of their communities.
 
The townships and borough regularly share equipment and help one another with paving, plowing, and other work, so the partnership was a natural step, he says.
 
Our municipalities have worked together for so many years that forming a partnership to share ideas just made sense,” he says. “We contacted all of the municipalities and said, ‘Let’s talk about making this a more formal arrangement.’
 
Creating a regional emergency management agency was a no-brainer,” Wilkes continues. “We’ve always responded to emergencies in neighboring communities
 
Regional zoning also made perfect sense, he says, because all the municipalities have the same issues
 
“The whole point is that if we support each other, we have the unity and strength of the partnership behind us,” he says. “It’s not a takeover, it’s a partnership. Putting more heads together means there are more heads working for each of us.”
 
Receiving the Excellence in Township Planning Award was both humbling and rewarding, Wilkes says
 
“For a group of people to get together to do things the right way for their communities, and then be recognized for that, is a great honor,” he says. “When you get right down to it, we’re just being good neighbors.”
 
The Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors represents Pennsylvania’s 1,455 townships of the second class and for the past 90 years has been committed to preserving and strengthening township government and securing greater visibility and involvement for townships in the state and federal political arenas. Townships of the second class represent more residents — 5.5 million Pennsylvanians — than any other type of political subdivision in the commonwealth.
 
Note: Jackson Township supervisor Jay Wilkes can be reached at (570) 675-6008.
 
 
 
 
PHOTO CAPTION: The Back Mountain Community Partnership of Luzerne County received the Third Annual Excellence in Township Planning Award from the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors at the association’s 89th Annual Educational Conference and Trade Show in Hershey in April. The association established the award to honor township officials who are working together to find creative ways to ensure that their communities grow yet retain the Back Mountain Community Partnership Receives characteristics that make them unique. Jackson Township Supervisor and Back Mountain Community Partnership Vice Chairman John “Jay” Wilkes Jr., right, accepted the award from PSATS Assistant Secretary-Treasurer Bill Hawk.
 

Back to Main Page

 

 

01/20/2012