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In this Update:
Transforming a Vacant Hazleton YMCA into a Childcare Center… with More to Come!
Last Friday, I joined local leaders to celebrate the restoration of the proud but long-vacant Hazleton YMCA building into the Mericle Family Center YMCA, an early education facility for 150 children. Because of strong public-private partnerships, we’ve succeeded at bringing MANY new jobs to our region. A growing workforce brings with it a new issue for employees and employers – who will watch their children during the workday? This announcement helps to answer that question. This is just the beginning of the plans for this location in downtown Hazleton – I hope to be back soon when the gymnasium and pool are open once again. My children learned how to swim at the Hazleton Y. So many of us have happy memories there. I am VERY pleased to see it reopen for a new generation to create happy memories of their own. State Rep. Dane Watro, State Rep. Jamie Walsh, U.S. Congressman Rob Bresnahan Jr., Hazleton Major Jeff Cusat and City Council, Secretary Rick Siger of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, and other local leaders joined us to celebrate this long-sought goal. Governor Shapiro’s Fake Numbers Lead to Tax Increases
On Tuesday, the governor presented his budget proposal to the Senate and the House. We have many opportunities to invest in our communities in this budget – childcare centers, career and technical education, new and repaired housing – but we must spend within our means. The governor’s budget proposal plays games with numbers to hide future tax increases. We cannot follow California and New York down the road of irresponsible spending. If we do, we’ll either have to cut key programs or raise taxes on hardworking Pennsylvanians, neither of which are acceptable to my constituents in Schuylkill, Carbon, and Luzerne counties. I found one of his decisions especially insulting to rural Pennsylvania. This proposal would give hundreds of millions to Philadelphia mass transit without any extra funding to repair our local roads and bridges, while his state bureaucracy continues to waste tens of millions of taxpayer dollars a year maintaining vacant properties. The governor has given us his proposal. Now, the Senate and the House must improve upon it – with honest, bipartisan numbers, not gimmicks. New U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shouts Out Tamaqua
Congratulations to newly confirmed U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Scott Turner! Turner mentioned a visit to Tamaqua during his confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. In 2019, at the request of U.S. Congressman Dan Meuser, and as the Executive Director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council, Turner visited Tamaqua for a roundtable discussion about how opportunity zones, such as Tamaqua’s City Revitalization and Improvement Zone, can breathe new life into older communities. The community-wide work to breathe new life into Tamaqua has received significant recognition in recent years – immortalized on a United States Postal Service stamp, visited by three different state-level cabinet officials, and now mentioned during the confirmation hearing of a cabinet secretary of our federal government. Turner was confirmed by a bipartisan vote of 55-45, winning support from both U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) and U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA). Eckley Miners’ Village’s Coal Breaker
It was very exciting for our region when The Molly Maguires, starring Sean Connery and Richard Harris, filmed in Eckley Miners’ Village and Jim Thorpe in 1968 – there is NO better place to capture what 19th century patch towns were really like. During filming, a wooden coal breaker that still stands today was built to replicate the original 1915 breaker. As you can see, it was not built to last and is now falling apart.
To preserve this piece of history and further drive home what Eckley would have really been like for our ancestors who lived there and worked in the mines, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission is clearing the site and constructing a new structure based on the original 1915 breaker. Eckley is the perfect place to learn more about how our parents and grandparents who worked in the coal mines lived in the days when coal was king. NO New Taxes on Energy!
Last Friday, I joined the PA House GOP Policy Committee in Orwigsburg for a public hearing on how the new energy taxes proposed by our governor will hurt our wallets and drive employers to neighboring states. Instead, we must control energy costs, ensure the future stability of our power grid, and help expand access to good, family sustaining jobs here in Pennsylvania. The Senate acted to prevent these taxes this week, passing legislation to repeal Pennsylvania’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). RGGI would increase electricity rates for consumers, cut energy and manufacturing jobs and lead to the closure of Pennsylvania power plants. In addition to state representatives from across Pennsylvania, all four of Schuylkill County’s representatives attended: Reps. Jamie Barton (our host), JoAnne Stehr, Tim Twardzik, and Dane Watro. Robert Carl, Jr., President and CEO, Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce; Keith Masser, Chairman and CEO, Sterman Masser, Inc.; Clayton Bubeck, President and CEO, RETTEW; and Pastor Doug Cresswell, Senior Pastor at Faith Church all provided testimony at the hearing. Argall Report: Breathing New Life into Old Towns, Ending the Bureaucratic Nightmare at Vacant State Properties
This month’s edition of my local tv program reviews key efforts to breathe new life into towns across Schuylkill, Carbon and Luzerne counties and the ongoing controversy surrounding vacant state properties at White Haven and across Pennsylvania. While MUCH work remains ahead, we’ve made some real progress revitalizing many of our local communities. Many of these successes will benefit our area for decades to come. The program reviews six different projects, including the renovation of the blighted YMCA building in Hazleton into a childcare center and the transformations of the Schwab School in Weatherly and the Altamont Hotel in Hazleton into a 98 much-needed new apartments. Also featured is a Senate Majority Policy Committee hearing I chaired on the wasteful delays at vacant state centers in White Haven, Hamburg, and Polk, which were closed without input from the surrounding communities or state legislators. The state’s bureaucracy has spent $162 million in recent years to heat, staff, and maintain sewer and water systems at empty properties across the state – before demolition! Honoring Pennsylvania Girl Scouts
This week, I joined many of my colleagues in the Senate and the House to recognize the achievements of Girl Scouts across Pennsylvania in 2024. Three local scouts earned the Gold Award – the highest achievement possible as a Girl Scout. The final requirement necessary to achieve this honor is to complete a project addressing a pressing community issue. Angelina Opachko of Bear Creek Township built nest boxes and created a website to raise awareness about the Barn Owl, which has lost significant areas of their habitat in Pennsylvania. Melaina Barbe of Orwigsburg constructed little libraries at two local schools to give children access to free books. Madison McNeal of Muir wrote, illustrated, and published a book to teach young children to be nice to one another. Congratulations to all! Senate Guest Chaplain: Pastor Adam Shedal of Orwigsburg
Pastor Adam Shedal of Amazing Grace Baptist Church in Orwigsburg served as the Guest Chaplain in the Senate on Wednesday, leading the chamber in an opening prayer. Rep. Barton and I were pleased to welcome him and his family to our State Capitol. If you are interested in taking part in the time-honored tradition, please do not hesitate to reach out to my office by calling 717-787-2637. Religious leaders of all faiths are welcome. State Funding Seminar Feb. 13
Due to inclement weather, my state funding seminar for municipalities, businesses, and non-profits will now take place on Thursday, Feb. 13 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Penn State Schuylkill. Reps. Barton, Stehr, Twardzik, Watro, and I are hosting this event to share best practices with local governments and organizations looking to apply for state funding through the Neighborhood Assistance Program and other popular grant programs. Joining us will be the Pottsville Area Development Corporation and the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. For more information, please call 570-773-0891. Recognizing National Cancer Prevention Month
February is National Cancer Prevention Month, an observance that aims to raise awareness about how impactful cancer can be for those who are affected and their loved ones. It’s also a time to celebrate the significant milestones people in treatment have achieved. Trout Stocking Schedule Announced
Local anglers can find out when their favorite fishing hole will be stocked with trout by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission using the annual Trout Stocking Guides available online now. The statewide opening day for trout season is Saturday, April 5. Additionally, the Fish and Boat Commission will host Mentored Youth Trout Day on Saturday, March 29. Youth under the age of 16 can join a mentor (adult) angler who has a current fishing license and trout permit to fish for trout the Saturday before the regular opening days. Learn more about the program.
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