Reverse Advent calendar at Holy Cross H.S.

Posted on January 4, 2023 by The Dunmorean

Students and their families at Holy Cross High School, Dunmore, did a reverse Advent Calendar by placing a food item each day into a box during Advent. Each box contained basic essential food items such as peanut butter, jelly, cereal, rice, and canned fruits and vegetables. The 79 boxes were donated to the following agencies to be distributed to families in need, St Francis Food Kitchen, the Catherine McAuley Center, and St Rose of Lima Parish Community Meal.

Shown at top, from left: Hayden Hosie, CJ Muir and Zachary Kovaleski. Participants included, at center: Carsyn Cole. Bottom top: Megan Hassaj. Bottom, from left: Lillie Kochis, Brooke Bilski and Maddy Reynolds.

Holy Cross student earns Girl Scout Gold Award

Posted on January 4, 2023 by The Dunmorean

Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania is honored to announce Nora Betts, a student at Holy Cross High School, has earned the highest award in Girl Scouting, the Girl Scout Gold Award, for the 2023 Gold Award class.

Betts’ project, “Bat Boxes: Installation and Education,” focused on addressing a lack of public education and understanding of the importance of bat populations in our environment.

Betts helped educate others of how bats benefit our environment and worked to eliminate stigmas and fears surrounding bats. To address the issue, she built four bat boxes to give the creatures a safe dwelling and designed an educational sign about bats and bat boxes.

She partnered with the Lackawanna Heritage Valley Association to complete the project. Her project’s mission will continue through the sign’s permanent installment along a trail and the sustainability of the bat boxes that can last for decades.

Betts devoted a minimum of 80 hours to problem-solve, plan and implement her ideas for change. The impact of her Gold Award project will be felt long into the future, and Betts has shown the next generation of girls what they are capable of accomplishing.

The Gold Award is the highest achievement a Girl Scout can earn, available to girls in high school who create sustainable change for a community or world issue. Gold Award Girl Scouts address pressing issues in their communities and create sustainable change to make the world a better place.

The Gold Award process not only enables girls to help their communities, but also provides tangible benefits as they grow as individuals. By going Gold, girls build professional skills, earn scholarships, build their network, and for those interested in serving their country, are able to enlist at a higher pay grade when they join the military.

FNCB apartments project in Scranton

Posted on January 4, 2023 by The Dunmorean

FNCB Bank, locally based since 1910, has announced an $11,013,953 Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Investment for the Scranton Square Apartments project through the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA).

The project, located close to Dunmore on Dickson Ave. in the Green Ridge section of Scranton, will consist of 36 newly constructed senior housing units. Of the units, 32 are slated to be one bedroom and four are two bedrooms. The units will be affordable to low-income households falling below various levels of the area median income (AMI).

“The need for affordable, safe and accessible housing is great in our community,” said Jerry Champi, FNCB Bank President and CEO. “This project will not only provide much needed housing for low-income senior citizens, but it is also redeveloping a large vacant lot in the city. FNCB Bank is pleased to be a partner on this project by providing a significant portion of the total cost.”

Additional partners include Quandel Construction Group as the general contractor, and the project’s developer, QSP Development, which is a Quandel Enterprises affiliate.

Scranton Square Project is part of FNCB’s larger Community Caring initiative. As a true, local community bank, FNCB is making a difference through volunteerism, donations, and outreach programs.