Lt. Gov. Suffers Stroke, But Dems Rally Anyway

By Wayne Witkowski

DINGMANS FERRY — As campaigns were winding down for the Primary Elections on Tuesday this week, U.S. Senate hopeful John Fetterman was a victim of bad timing when illness forced him to cancel his return to Pike County early Sunday morning, just hours before his scheduled meeting with local voters at Failte Irish Pub and Steakhouse Restaurant, as well as other campaign stops.
Later Sunday, his campaign released a statement that the Lieutenant Governor had suffered a stroke. They also released a brief video in which Fetterman and his wife, Giselle, appear together, with Fetterman speaking clearly. His wife noticed stroke effects Friday and doctors quickly treated a blood clot that was caused by an episode of atrial fibrillation.
Fetterman is one of four candidates on the Democratic side, along with nine hopefuls on the Republican side looking to advance out of the primaries to the General Elections in November. He, and the Pennsylvania elections, got added national focus in the latest Time magazine article featuring him and his run as the only one of the 13 candidates who has won a statewide election on the Democratic side.
But Lisa Miller, chairwoman of the Pike County Democrats who organized the event, seized the opportunity from the unfortunate cancellation to muster support with local voters who showed up after she had propped Fetterman signs on roadsides around the area.
On Saturday evening, Miller, a Lehman Township resident, was one of the speakers at a reproductive rights rally that drew about 200 people in Milford.
“That (magazine article) is very encouraging,” said Miller. “John has gotten a lot of national coverage throughout his time as lieutenant governor.”
The winner in November will be taking a stand on the Senate’s response if the Supreme Court files an anticipated anti-abortion decision to negate Roe vs. Wade, according to widely reported leaked information. Many candidates in the primaries are women, some known to disagree with the Supreme Court’s upcoming decision.............................For more information subscribe to our paper.

Pike Pushes For Increased Mental Health Funding

By Chris Jones

MILFORD — As part of May 2022 as Mental Health Awareness Month, the Pike County Commissioners resolved to request increased funding for community-based mental health programs in the 2022-2023 state budget.
Through the resolution announced at the May 11 Commissioners Meeting, they joined colleagues in the County Commissioners Assn. of Pennsylvania in making the top priority of CCAP’s advocacy in 2022 “appropriate funding to support the crumbling mental health system.”
In 2012 the Commonwealth cut $84 million that counties used to fund programs for people with intellectual disabilities and mental health challenges, and that 10 percent cut was never restored.
Pike County Commissioner Matt Osterberg referred to the increased local rate of suicide and addiction, exacerbated by COVID shutdowns and isolation. He said inadequate mental health funding leads to a vicious cycle where police and jails are a default safety net for people arrested and imprisoned for what are essentially mental health issues.
Educators from the local school district attending the meeting said they too are seeing similar mental health issues in the classroom. Osterberg said hopefully money from lawsuits of opioid manufacturers disbursed to local providers could also be used for prevention.
Craig Lowe, warden of the Pike County Correctional Facility, attended last week’s meeting as part of a corrections employees’ recognition event. He spoke of the PCCF role in dealing with mental health problems among inmates, saying that the jail has a full-time mental health professional Monday through Friday and telemedicine available on weekends.
“Pre-COVID we had over 100 volunteers … but we are looking to open things back up – no groups just individual interaction,” he said, between volunteers – from education and faith-based groups – and inmates..............................For more information subscribe to our paper.

Borough Joins Teleconference On Milford Aquifer Land Use

By Jeremy Van Duyne

MILFORD — Members of the Milford Borough Council have announced they will be meeting with federal representatives to discuss matters involving the Milford Aquifer.
At Monday night’s May meeting for the council, the council discussed an upcoming telephone conference with Congressman Matt Cartwright, Senator Pat Toomey and Senator Bob Casey. The telephone conference will be held with local advocacy group Friends of the Milford Aquifer.
The advocacy group plans to discuss potential options to acquire funding in an effort to help purchase the land surrounding the aquifer. The group is hoping that by doing this they can stall further development-related projects of land in the aquifer.
“We have been asked to participate in a conference call with Cartwright, Toomey and Casey,” said Council Vice-President Maria Farrell. “Friends of the Milford Aquifer have arranged a phone conference with these folks to discuss federal and state funding that can come or any options that are available moving forward that can protect the water source, the aquifer.”
Friends of the Milford Aquifer have had a history of disagreements with local municipalities in regards to developing the area around the Milford aquifer. They have frequently attended municipal meetings when zoning issues pertaining to the aquifer are on the agenda to argue and fight against the development of the land surrounding the aquifer.
The aquifer serves as a major drinking water source for some of the local communities such as Milford Borough. The chief concern with developing the land around the aquifer is how it could possibly contaminate the local water supply, especially if industry operations go there.............................For more information subscribe to our paper.