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VOLUME 27, NUMBER 17

Mid-March, 2023

Detox center proposal presented to Tobyhanna Twp. supervisors by Ruth Isenberg The former Sportsman/ Blakeslee Inn parcel could be reborn as Evergreen Detox Facility, if Tobyhanna Township Supervisors look favorably on a proposal to amend the township’s zoning ordinance to allow facilities of that type in a commercial zone. At the March 6 supervisors’ meeting, representatives of site owner Pocono Raceway said that currently such facilities would be limited to residential zones. Joseph Mattioli IV presented an overview of the plans for the 3.2 acre site. Evergreen would be a state licensed detox facility, primarily housing people for five to seven days, some longer depending on the substance from which they would be withdrawing. The need is great, Mattioli said, especially since Covid. Evergreen would be an attractive facility, much like a high-end hotel, “a place you get to go to,” rather than

a place you have to go to. There would be nurses and a doctor on site 24 hours a day, and a 1 to 7 ratio of nurses to patients across all three shifts. The 50-bed facility would house people who voluntarily sought treatment, and would include a percentage of Medicaid beds, so it would be accessible to everyone in the community. “It should be something everyone has access to,” Mattioli said. Patients would be able to leave if they wished, but the facility would be secure, and patients would be transported in and out of the facility; they would not have cars or phones. Mattioli said 55 to 60 jobs would be created if the facility is approved. The township planning commission has already seen the presentation, and further information will be forthcoming.

STR change Short-term rental changes were another topic of

discussion. A suggestion was made to reconsider couting children under the age of 2 as counting toward the total number of occupants allowed. No decision was made. On another short-term rental isssue, however, supervisors did act. Newly appointed assistant township manager Crystal Butler explained that the application process is requiring several reviews of information, and that some applicants are not correcting deficiencies after being notified, but are just re-submitting the same information. Areas of particular difficulty are the requirement for a property manager within 30 minutes of the township, the requipment for commercial insurance, and the requirements for PA sales tax license and Monroe County hotel tax license. “We’re trying to help them,” said township manager Bob Bartol, but See TOBYHANNA TWP, page 2

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Delaware Lodge at the Youth Forestry Camp.

Local Youth Forestry Camp now empty by Seth Isenberg Youth Forestry Camp #2 (YFC) in Kidder Township, at Hickory Run State Park, is empty. The facility is still open. The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services has recently moved youths in their care to their homes, or into the care of their home counties, or sent them to the YFC #3 in Huntingdon County, east of Altoona. Most of the local staff is now working at the PA Department of Human

Services’ Secure Treatment Unit in Pittston. Here is the statement from the PA Department of Human Services Press Office: “Pennsylvania’s youth forestry camps (YFCs) provide treatment, care, and custody services to Pennsylvania’s most atrisk youth. The current design of Hickory Run YFC does not support secure placement, which is where the juvenile justice system’s greatest placement needs are at this time. At present, See YFC, page 2