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ournal-herald THURSDAY, AUGUST 17, 2023 • Volume 42 – No. 51 ©2023, THE JOURNAL-HERALD. All Rights Reserved
CONTINUING: THE WHITE HAVEN JOURNAL ESTABLISHED 1879–144th YEAR, NO. 38
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CONTINUING: THE WEATHERLY HERALD ESTABLISHED 1880–144th YEAR, NO. 12
Penn Lake looks at dam easement changes by Suzanne Winters
White Haven Volunteer Fire Company hosted another successful Catfish Derby August 11 and 12. Ava Radjavitch’s 10 lb. catfish took home the prize money for biggest fish. Bands both nights drew happy crowds, who enjoyed food and drink provided by the Firemen’s Social Club to benefit the Fire Company. Even the weather cooperated for the most part, with a couple storms providing excitement, especially for campers.
JH: Ruth Isenberg
Council president Paul Rogan gave a lengthy Dam Report at this month’s Penn Lake Council meeting on August 10, and there was also discussion of the issues at the work session prior to the regular meeting. Property easements are still an ongoing issue, and language was changed in the easement agreements to ease property owner concerns. Borough solicitor Kristyn Giarrantano Jeckell said language was changed to include a 2- year option at $1,000. Should the application not be approved by DEP, the property owner would not have to give away their land. The option can be extended another year if necessary. Rogan said there are still four easements needed, one of which will probably be an outright acquisition and another which could be difficult, but they expect the other two property owners to sign within the next month. He asked the solicitor to find out how long the process of seeking Eminent Domain would take, what the procedure is and how much it costs to complete. If the process
takes two months, he said council would vote to file for it immediately, but if it takes only a week, they would give property owners time to “get their ducks in a row,” noting they have had 11 months to consider the issue and it is now time for them to make a decision. The solicitor asked for a status of the Bassler easement during the work session. Rogan reported he had an exchange with Carolyn Bassler’s son Robert Raymond. He presented to Raymond Streamline’s idea for the borough to put in an access road for him, since Streamline said they will need access to the back side of the dam anyway. Raymond reportedly replied that still would not give him a guarantee that he can run utilities along the access road. The solicitor said she had sent Rogan a copy of the agreement she has been working on regarding the Bassler property easement, but it did not include any language about utilities. Rogan said he wants to write his own legal wording and send it to her for review, See PENN LAKE, page 5