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People-Powered, News-Community Focused - Free and Independent
Digital and Print Newspaper for Tioga County PA, Surrounding Areas and Beyond
Is Tioga County
heading to a second
gas boom?
Some
signs suggest yes.
READ STORY ON PG 2
North Penn Mansfield Lady Tigers
made it to the Elite 8
of the PIAA Tourney.
READ STORY ON PG 3
The Wolf Budget
has big tax news for
Tioga County residents.
A VA Office opens
in Wellsboro.
Find
out the hours, services for this office.
READ STORY ON PG 4
READ STORY ON PG 5
More Hot Stories
Freedomist 2.0 - Editor Letter PG 20
Big Brass Win– The MU Brass Band took second
place at a national competition this past weekend.
READ ON PG 6
Premium
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FROM Defender to DA? This Public Defender is
now hoping to be the next Tioga County DA.
READ ON PG 7
Meet Us at the Mixer– Meet the Editor at the
Wellsboro Chamber of Commerce this Thursday.
READ ON PG 8
T I O G A
F R E E D O M I S T
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2
Paul Gordon Collier- Is
there more wet gas in
Tioga County and Bradford County? According
to a recent study by our
friends at the Drill'N
Man, data suggests this
might just be the case.
According to the Drill'N
Man, "Data shows major
liquids at play under Tioga/Bradford County, PaThe data illustrates royalty checks will stop for a
time, while producers
retool export systems.
Once midstream is adjusted for liquids, both
dry and wet gas production will resume."
Some of the evidence of
the wet gas discoveries
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™ Tioga Freedomist– People-Powered Press - Volume 4, Issue 6 - March 18th, 2015
may come in the form of
the return of heavy truck
traffic, as well as a sudden spike in demand for
CDL drivers.
The increase in Utica permits
versus Marcellus permits
in Tioga County over the
last few weeks is suggestive of the wet gas discoveries.
As gas prices continue
to rise, as they have over
the last couple of weeks,
the profitability of drilling
also rises, which may also be a boom for the area. We investigated further and discovered another sign that the gas
boom may be headed for
a second round.
What we have discovered is that a report issued by the
National Fuel Gas
Company suggested
there is a new deposit
of gas that has been
discovered in the Utica Shale, much of
which lies in Tioga
County.
Seneca Resources, a
subsidiary of NFGC, released a press release
declaring they had run a
test well in Tioga County
which generated 22.7
million cubic feet of daily
natural gas. The CEO of
NFGC, Ronald J. Tanski,
stated in the press release, “This well, along
with wells drilled by other
operators in the area,
have de-risked the Utica
potential of our 10,000
acres on DCNR Tract
007. We estimate resource potential on this
tract alone of approximately 1 trillion cubic
feet. With these strong
results in hand, our team
is evaluating options to
develop this acreage in
the next few years, depending on local gas prices and pipeline takeaway capacity. We have
additional Utica potential
(Connued on page 10)
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™ Tioga Freedomist– People-Powered Press - Volume 4, Issue 6 - March 18th, 2015
SUSAN LAURIE GRAVER- The North Penn
Mansfield Lady Tigers
basketball team came
away with a huge round
two win at Danville HS
versus Shenandoah Valley in Class A PIAA state
playoff action, winning
42-22. Kaitlyn Garverick
led the way with 13
points, followed by Mariah Berguson & Alyssa
Davey-Bostic
with
9
points each.
The Tigers held SVHS to
just 10 points in the second half. With the win,
they moved on to the exclusive Elite Eight.
On Saturday, March 14,
the Lady Tigers traveled
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to Bellefonte High School
to take on the Portage
Mustangs in their quarterfinal game.
It looked like they
would be headed to the
Final Four and then
things changed in the
last couple minutes of
the Elite Eight game.
The Mustangs capitalized
on some turnovers and
missed shots and outscored the Lady Tigers 10
-2 across the final two
minutes, going on to win
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43-39.
In the loss, Ali Hillson
scored 13 points. Kaitlyn Garverick and Sarah
Wolbert added 8 points
each.
Tioga Freedomist congratulates the North
Penn Mansfield girls on
a very special season.
They ended up winning
a D4 Championship &
made it to the Elite
Eight at States! They
were 22-6 on the season.
Due to the fact that this
team has a good number
of talented players returning, we have a feeling
we could see them at the
PIAA dance again next
year.
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Paul Gordon CollierGovernor Tom Wolf
introduced his first
PA Budget on March
6th. He presented an
outline of his budget
proposal to the PA
General
Assembly.
The budget is an overall
increase of $5 billion
from last year's budget (a
16
percent
increase),
which includes $4.7 billion in tax increases, the
largest tax increase in PA
history.
That tax increase, coupled with what is missing
from
the
Governor's
budget, addressing the
public employee pension
issue the Republicans
have been calling for,
leaves Harrisburg insiders skeptical the budget
will ever be passed.
Governor Wolf has an
aim in his budget proposal to eliminate the
current $2.3 billion deficit while also working to
”rebuild
the
middle
class."
The budget proposal
contains some popular
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™ Tioga Freedomist– People-Powered Press - Volume 4, Issue 6 - March 18th, 2015
tax cuts
among
Republicans,
a significant
shift
and increase in PA public
school education funding, reductions in property taxes, the severance
tax on natural gas, tax
increases in both the personal income tax and
sales tax, a proposal to
raise the minimum wage
and an expansion of
Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act.
One of the key parts of
his budget plan that will
have the greatest impact
on Tioga County is his
proposal
for
funding.
Governor Wolf is proposing a few key tax cuts
and tax increases, including the severance tax
on the extraction of natural gas.
Other
tax
increases
come from a proposal to
increase the personal income tax from 3 percent
to 3.7 percent, a 23 percent tax increase, as well
as an increase in the PA
Sales Tax from 6 percent
to 6.6 percent, a 10 percent increase.
There is also a proposal
to add a $1 per pack of
cigarettes tax, earmarking the revenue for education funding. But the
Governor also had some
good news in the form of
direct and indirect tax
cuts.
The Governor also proposes phasing out the
Capital Stock and Franchise Tax, something the
Republican majority leader supports. "We agree
with the need to reduce
the state’s Corporate Net
Income Tax (CNI) and are
relieved the Governor
took any Capital Stock
and
Franchise
Tax
(CSFT) discussion off the
table. Now begins the discussion to realistically
(Connued on page 10)
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™ Tioga Freedomist– People-Powered Press - Volume 4, Issue 6 - March 18th, 2015
STAFF- Wellsboro residents who are also veterans will be excited to
learn that a new VA Clinic has just opened right
in the town proper.
The new VA Clinic is
located at 1834 Shumway Hill Road in Wellsboro. The clinic is going to
be opened every Tuesday,
Wednesday, and Friday.
The hours the clinic will
be open are set to be
8:00AM to 4:30PM.
If you would like more
information, be sure to
call the clinic at 607-6644680.
You can reach the clinic
toll-free
at
877-8453247, extension 44680.
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Handicapped
Accessible: Full and easy access
for all veterans.
Personal Care: A health
care team consisting of a
provider, nurse, and LPN
provide primary care services at the clinic, stressing health maintenance
and preventative medicine.
Laboratory: Blood drawing services available.
The Wellsboro Clinic's
service are listed as:
Primary Care Services,
to include Home Based
Primary Care (HBPC), for
veterans in Northern PA,
Potter and Tioga counties.
Prescriptions: Routine
prescriptions processed
through the mail.
Parking: Free parking
on premises.
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™ Tioga Freedomist– People-Powered Press - Volume 4, Issue 6 - March 18th, 2015
STAFF- We covered the
story of the Mansfield
University Brass Band
heading to the North
American Brass Band
Championships this past
weekend (March 13-14).
At the time, we quoted
the Band Director, Nathan Rinnert, as saying
this about the competition, “Competing is important to the band. Not
competition that leads to
bringing home a trophy,
but
competition
that
serves each individual
and the group to make
us all better today than
we were yesterday. We’ll
do our best.”
Well, we're sure Rinnert
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and his Brass band must
have learned a lot about
themselves and the group
in
this
competition.
That, in and of itself,
would have been enough.
But it wasn't enough for
the MU Brass Band that
came out of this competition with a second place
award behind the first
place
winner,
Chapel
Brass, out of Ohio.
Chapel Brass nudged out
the MU group by a slim
three-tenths of a point,
scoring 277 out of a possible 300 points.
“Participation in such a
high quality contest, with
a variety of brass bands
from across the country
and Canada, has certainly served as motivation
for the band to ‘up its
game’ and raise its performance
standards,”
Rinnert said. “The commitment and diligence
displayed by band members over the past few
months has paid off with
a significant showing for
the MUBB in its first contest of any kind. Reception of the band's performance and participation
from those in attendance
at the contest was overwhelming and extremely
welcoming.
Comments
from the three adjudicators were also positive,
encouraging and con-
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structive.”
“The MUBB will continue to serve the university
and local communities
through regular performances each semester,
both on and off campus,
and at the December
Commencement ceremony,” Rinnert said. “If all
goes according to plan,
regular attendance at the
NABBA contest will also
be in the band's future.”
Be sure to take advantage of the chance to
hear the award-winning
MUBB this April 27th, on
Monday at 7:30PM at the
Steadman Theatre. This
is a free concert open to
the public.
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Paul Gordon CollierLocal Attorney, Mary F.
Morris, has announced
her intention to run for
District of Attorney of Tioga County PA. She will
be running for the Republican nomination in
this May's primary. She
is currently the Chief
Public Defender for Tioga
County, a position she
has held since 2010. She
was previously the Assistant District Attorney in
Tioga County. Many may
know Mary by her married name of Alafoginis She has always gone by
Mary F. Morris profes-
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™ Tioga Freedomist– People-Powered Press - Volume 4, Issue 6 - March 18th, 2015
sionally.
Here
is
the official
announcement
released
by
the Mary F
Morris campaign:
Mary
F.
Morris, Esquire
has
announced
her nomination
for
District Attorney
of
Tioga County. She seeks
the Republican nomination. Morris, a Farming-
ton
Township
resident,
said
she
has
more
than
25 years of
balanced
legal experience
that
makes
her
an ideal candidate.
“My
nearly
10 years of
prior experience as an
Assistant
District Attorney in both
Tioga and Potter Counties gives me a level of
expertise that would permit me to serve the citi-
zens of Tioga County at
the level that they fully
deserve,” she said.
Morris earned her law
degree from the University of Baltimore in 1987
and began her career as
an assistant State’s Attorney in Maryland. She
has also served in the
Public Defender’s office in
Franklin County, before
returning to the area to
serve as an Assistant
Public Defender in Lycoming County.
Since
that time, she has been
an Assistant District Attorney in Potter County
before serving nearly 5
years as the Assistant
(Connued on page 13)
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™ Tioga Freedomist– People-Powered Press - Volume 4, Issue 6 - March 18th, 2015
PRESS RELEASE- Friday, March 13 was a
lucky day for Animal
Care Sanctuary.
That was the day Animal Care Sanctuary Executive Director Joan
Smith-Reese and Wellsboro
Director
Wendy
Reber accepted a Subaru
of America, Inc. “Share
the Love” check for
$9,514 from Cole & Burd
Subaru
of
Mansfield
Sales Manager, Mark
Burd, and General Manager, Tuck Farrer.
Participating
in
the
presentation was Adam
Woodhull, District Sales
Manager of Subaru of
America, Inc. Eastern
Region,
Philadelphia
Zone. He said, “Our goal
with the ‘Share the Love’
event and the ‘Hometown
Charity’ selection is to
provide support to the
causes that are most
connected to our retailers
and that of their local
communities and customers.”
Also attending was Shar
Farrer of Mansfield with
Ruby, the dog she and
her husband, Tuck, recently adopted from Animal Care Sanctuary’s
East Smithfield shelter.
Ruby is a Shih Tzu poodle, one of 21 dogs res(Connued on page 13)
8
This Thursday, March
19th, from 5PM to 7PM,
the Wellsboro Chamber
of Commerce will be
holding
their
annual
Member Mixer and Brochure Swap. The event
will be held at the Warehouse Theater on Central
Avenue right in Wellsboro.
Charlie Messina, Chairman of the Chamber’s
Tourism Committee, said,
“The Mixer gives the public an opportunity to
learn more about the
Wellsboro Area Chamber
of Commerce and its
members, to participate
in the live and silent auctions, and enjoy refreshments.”
There will be a live auction held at the event,
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which will include a 2month quarter page ad
package offered by the
Tioga Freedomist. Dan
Strausser, the Wellsboro Borough Manager, will also be there to
give a presentation on
the past year of accomplishments by the
Borough.
Auction proceeds will
go to help the Pennsylvania State Laurel Festival
Children’s Health and
Family Fun Day, which is
to be held Saturday,
June 13th.
Light refreshments will
be offered at the event,
which is free and open to
the public.
The Tioga
Freedomist will be there,
including
our
Editor,
Paul Gordon Collier, and
our Senior Marketing
Consultant, Susan Laurie
Graver. Be sure to come
by to say "hi" to us.
For information about
the
Wellsboro
Area
Chamber of Commerce or
the Chamber Mixer and
Brochure Swap, visitwww.wellsboropa.com or
call 570-724-1926.
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T I O G A
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(Connued from page 2)
not only in Tioga County,
but across much of our
large Pennsylvania acreage position. Our next
Utica exploration well is
planned for fiscal 2016.”
The first gas boom in
Tioga County was from
the
Marcellus
Shale.
This gas boom, if it materializes, will be from the
Utica Shale. Parts of the
deposits lie underneath
the Grand Canyon of PA
so some of the potential
development could come
in direct conflict with
competing interests, such
as the tourist industry.
The Utica Shale is a few
10
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™ Tioga Freedomist– People-Powered Press - Volume 4, Issue 6 - March 18th, 2015
thousand feet below the
Marcellus Shale, making
it more costly to extract
gas. It also takes up a
greater territorial region
from Upstate New York
down as far south as
West Virginia.
This news, coupled with
last
September's
announcement by Royal
Dutch Shell of a completion of two Utica Shale
wells in Tioga County,
suggests
even
more
strongly that a gas boom
may be just around the
corner. But, like many in
Tioga County, perhaps
we will all believe it when
we see it.
(Connued from page 4)
reach these goals," Majority Leader Reed responded.
Governor Wolf does offer a higher tax forgiveness threshold from
$32,000 a year for a family of four to $36,400 a
year.
One of the key components of his budget is to
add $2 billion in public
education funding. Wolf
explained
that
"This
budget increases our investment
in
public
schools at every grade
level. It also recognizes
that our responsibility to
provide a great education
does not begin at kindergarten and end with high
school. That’s why my
budget also expands access to early childhood
education by increasing
the number of children in
Pre-K by 75 percent."
What
is
noticeably
missing from this budget
is a campaign promise by
Governor Wolf to create a
progressive personal income tax.
His flat tax
increase in personal income tax goes against his
campaign promise to not
burden families making
$70,000 to $90,000 a
year with any tax increase. His budget pro(Connued on page 11)
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™ Tioga Freedomist– People-Powered Press - Volume 4, Issue 6 - March 18th, 2015
(Connued from page 10)
posal seeks to offset
those tax increases with
reductions in property
taxes.
Republicans
believe
that the lack of a progressive tax is either because Wolf knew he did
not have the PA constitutional authority to enact
such a tax or he knew
such a tax would never
pass
a
republicancontrolled House.
Even
Democrats
acknowledge the budget
is ambitious, “The Governor deserves credit for
proposing an aggressive
approach aimed at solving Pennsylvania’s most
pressing problems,” Senate Democratic Leader
Sen.
Jay
Costa
(DAllegheny) said about the
$29.88 billion spending
plan. “It is bold; it is responsible; and, it is necessary in light of the
structural deficit that exceeds $2 billion, the gaping education funding
hole and jobs deficit that
Pennsylvania faces."
Republicans responded
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by stating "The Governor
is proposing devastating
tax increases totaling
$4.7 billion for the upcoming fiscal year – the
largest in state history.
His proposal would raise
taxes by $12 billion over
the next two fiscal years –
about $1,000 for every
man, woman and child in
Pennsylvania.
Families
will pay more in personal
income taxes and sales
and use taxes, which,
under the Wolf plan, increases and makes additional items taxable. It is
immensely
concerning
that in his proposal,
there is nothing that will
keep property taxes from
going back up."
Our local State Senator,
Joe Scarnati III, also the
Senate
President
Pro
Tempore, reacted to Wolf
budget with this statement, “Over the past four
years
Pennsylvania’s
economy has been on the
right track, as Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate
is at the lowest rate in
more than six years and
with the right fiscal policies, it can go lower. We
will not allow the irresponsible budget proposed by Tom Wolf to destroy the hard work we
have done over the past
several years to develop a
strong business climate
and increase access to
good
family-sustaining
jobs across Pennsylvania.”
Our local State representative, Matt Baker,
stated, "The recently unveiled 2015-16 budget
proposal by Gov. Tom
Wolf represents the largest tax increase proposal
in the history of Pennsylvania. It would be a $4.7
billion tax hike, which is
a 16 percent increase
over this year’s budget,
for a total of $33.8 billion
in spending. I strongly
oppose this unprecedented and massive tax-andspend plan that would
11
hurt so many working
families struggling to pay
their bills and provide for
their
families.....The
Sales and Use Tax, under
his plan, would now include things like baby
diapers, child day care,
textbooks, doctor’s visits,
attorney’s fees, long-term
care, wheelchairs, coffins
and many other items
and services. ... (On the
Severance natural gas
tax) This is an industry
that has provided many
families with good jobs
and boosted the local
economy throughout the
Northern Tier. I think we
need to be careful that
we do not drive this economic giant and job creator out of the state due to
such heavy financial burdens."
Read the full article on
Tiogafreedomist.com.
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™ Tioga Freedomist– People-Powered Press - Volume 4, Issue 6 - March 18th, 2015
(Connued from page 8)
(Connued from page 7)
District Attorney in Tioga
County. Since 2010 Morris has been the chief
public defender for Tioga
County.
Morris
has
handled
criminal and civil cases
in both Pennsylvania and
Maryland, and she has
also worked with juveniles in a group home
setting. She is a member
of the American Bar Association, Tioga County
Bar Association as well
as the Women’s Bar Association.
If elected, Morris would
seek to be tough on crime
while providing additional resources directed toward education, treatment, and early intervention. She plans to work
toward the following:
*Establish a specialized
“Drug Court” to have several offices and agencies
review each case to ensure that offenders are
not only punished, but
that they are given access
to the tools necessary to
combat addiction.
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* Establish a countywide drug awareness and
education program similar
to
the
national
D.A.R.E. program for all
county elementary and
high schools. The goal of
this program would be to
involve both children and
parents in learning about
the dangers of drug and
alcohol abuse, as well as
providing resources to
overcome these type of
issues.
* Establish a “Mental
Health Court” to begin
addressing the issues
facing those individuals
who have mental health
issues as they are processed through the court
system.
“I want Tioga County to
be safe for all of its citizens,” said Morris. “My
many years of experience
on both sides of the law
would provide a balanced
approach due to my understanding of both the
prosecutorial and defense
perspectives in criminal
matters.”
cued in February from a
hoarding situation. All 21
have found their forever
homes.
Smith-Reese said, “"We
are so pleased to have
Cole and Byrd as partners to improve the lives
of Tioga County pets.
Subaru's commitment to
‘hometown’ is not only
unique but vital for communities and ACS appreciates Cole and Burd's
support."
Reber added, “We are so
thankful and amazed at
the amount of this very
large check from our
friends at Cole & Burd. I
want to express the deepest gratitude to our local
residents who selected
PHOTO PROVIDED- -Cole &
Burd Sales Manager Mark Burd
(fourth from le<) , General
Manager Tuck Farrer, and Subaru of America, Inc. Region
District Sales Manager Adam
Woodhull present the check to
Animal Care Sanctuary Execu@ve Director Joan Smith-Reese
(third from le<) and Wellsboro
Director Wendy Reber.
ACS as their charity of
choice during the campaign. Thank you, Subaru of America for loving
(Connued on page 14)
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™ Tioga Freedomist– People-Powered Press - Volume 4, Issue 6 - March 18th, 2015
(Connued from page 13)
Juanita Berguson- If
you are looking for a special Easter Service, April
5 is right around the corner.
And, if you’re in
need of a church family,
Covington
Baptist
Church may be the place
for you. Services, including Easter, run 9:45 to
11:00 a.m.
Johnny and I had a
wonderful time worshipping with the folks at
Covington
Baptist
Church.
Pastor Adam
Pereira brought a solid
Biblical message.
He
really used scripture to
unpack what the church
is. The music was a nice
take
on
traditional
hymns down in an upbeat style including gui-
14
tars and other instruments.
We really enjoyed it.
The bulletin is packed
with activities for every
age, from MOPS-Mothers
of Preschoolers to The
Rock Youth Group to
prayer and Bible Study,
there is something to engage everyone.
Visit
them on the web at covingtonbaptist.net. Their
mission is to live, love
and proclaim the gospel
both within our community of faith and to our
world. Included in their
Core Values is Biblical
Community. Yes! If you
are looking for friendly
people and good Bible
teaching, visit Covington
Baptist Church soon!
pets.”
For 2014-2015 Subaru
chose four national nonprofit charity partners to
participate in “Share the
Love.” They are the
ASPCA (Animal Society
for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), Make-AWish, Meals On Wheels
and the National Park
Foundation.
For the seventh annual
“Share the Love” event,
Subaru retailers selected
608 non-profit hometown
charity partners. Among
them was Cole & Burd’s
Subaru
of
Mansfield
dealership selection - Animal Care Sanctuary.
This animal welfare organization is based in
East Smithfield, Bradford
County and Wellsboro,
Tioga County and finds
homes for pets in its care
throughout the Twin Tiers.
During the “Share the
Love” event, each customer who purchased or
leased a new Subaru between Nov. 20, 2014 and
Jan. 2, 2015 had the op-
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portunity to designate
which charity would receive a $250 contribution.
The equivalent of 38
customers
who
purchased a Subaru from
Cole & Burd of Mansfield
or from another dealership decided to donate
the money to Animal
Care Sanctuary. Burd
noted, “Some of the people who buy or lease a
car during the ‘Share the
Love’ event do not designate a charity. In that
case, Subaru of America,
Inc. divides those funds
between all of the charities, which this year included four national and
608 local non-profits.
That’s why you can’t divide the donated funds
by $250 to determine exactly how many people
bought or leased cars
here.”
"We have already invited Animal Care Sanctuary to partner with us
again for the 2015-2016
'Share the Love' event,"
Burd said.
Last year, ACS received
$3,458.32 through its
partnership with Cole &
Burd.
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Trout Unlimited Tiadaghton
Chapter
#688’s Annual Banquet
Saturday, March 28th,
5:30PM at the Penn Wells
Hotel. Deadline for registration and payment by
members and public is
Friday,
March
20th.
There will be no tickets
available at the door.
The keynote speaker
will be Dennis Charney,
who will give a presentation on “Centre Limestone.”
“Blast and Cast” raffle
winners’ names will be
drawn at the banquet for
four prizes: a Savage Axis
rifle or $300 cash, Orvis
Clearwater Fly Rod outfit,
Marlin XT-22 rifle or
$150
cash,
and
a
Cabela’s chest or waist
pack. Tickets are $5 each
or five for $20. Ticket
holders need not be present to win.
The Deck of Cards raffle
prize is a Pennsylvania
Trout Unlimited custombuilt 9-foot, 5-weight, 3piece fly rod with tube.
Banquet tickets are $32
for adults and $5 for children. Reservations must
be made by March 20.
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15
™ Tioga Freedomist– People-Powered Press - Volume 4, Issue 6 - March 18th, 2015
For
reservations
and
Blast and Cast tickets
call 570-724-1801 ext.
113 or email [email protected].
Contra Dancing Event
Saturday, March 21st,
will be a Contra Dance
Event to be held at 7PM
at the Deane Center’s
Coolidge Theatre at 104
Main Street in Wellsboro.
There will be a 30minute session for folks
who do not know how to
do Contra Dancing to get
an introduction to it. The
Dance will then proceed
at 7:30PM.
“Whether
you
enjoy
dancing or not, this is a
great chance to listen to
good music while socializing with others,” said
Kevin Connelly, Deane
Center Executive Director. “Contra dancing is
social interaction, meeting people and making
new friends, all set to
music.”
For more information,
call 570-724-6220.
STAFF- Are you a veteran of the Persian Gulf
War? Did you serve in
Desert Storm or Desert
Shield? Did you know
you may be missing out
on money the government wants to give
you? State Representative Matt Baker sent us
a reminder to our Persian
Gulf Veterans about a
monthly bonus for which
they are eligible.
According to Baker's
office, "The bonus pays
$75 per month for qualifying, active-duty service
members, up to a $525
maximum. For personnel
whose death was related
to illness or injury received in the line of duty
in
Operations
Desert
Shield or Desert Storm,
there is an additional
$5,000 available to the
surviving family. Service
members who were declared prisoners of war
may also be eligible for
an additional $5,000."
If you think you qualify
(Connued on page 20)
(Connued on page 16)
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(Connued from page 15)
Board Game Fun for
Kids
Second through fifthgrade youngsters are invited to register now for a
special art class being
held this April at the
Gmeiner Art and Cultural
Center’s Art Studio at
134 Main Street in Wellsboro. Marshall Ehlinger
of Mansfield has been
involved
in
creating
board games through his
work at a summer camp.
He and Anna Wales,
Gmeiner Director, are
teaming up to offer this
class. The students will
meet from 9-11 a.m. on
four consecutive Satur-
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™ Tioga Freedomist– People-Powered Press - Volume 4, Issue 6 - March 18th, 2015
days, April 4, 11, 18 and
25.
The students will be
creating a new board
game with a Greek Mythology theme. They will
learn about Greek Mythology, then build their
own game.
Parents can register
students by calling 570724-1917 or by emailing
Wales at
[email protected] before Saturday, March 28.
The $25 non-refundable
per student fee must be
mailed to the Gmeiner
Art and Cultural Center
at 134 Main Street,
Wellsboro, PA 16901 or
dropped
off
at
the
Gmeiner between 2 and 5
p.m. weekdays and weekends.
Johnny Berguson- At about
noon, I drove
past the Tioga
County
Courthouse and saw a
man standing on
the
sidewalk
with two placards. He looked
like he was ‘on
strike’ or perhaps protesting something.
Suddenly,
I
was
amazed when I saw he
had a Bible raised in one
hand and he was preaching to those going by.
His front placard said,
“Jesus Must Be Your
Lord or He Will Not Be
Your Savior.”
I thought, “WOW! A
Christian
street
preacher in Wellsboro.”
That’s
what most of the
New
Testament
heroes of the Bible were, street
preachers.
I immediately
put on my turn
signal
to
go
around the block, park,
and go up to him. Then,
I got suspicious, “Is he
really a Christian? Is he
a cultist? Is he a nutcase? Why should I be
suspicious? Why should I
immediately question in
my mind the validity of
someone’s
message,
(Connued on page 20)
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NATIONAL OPINION
Paul Gordon Collier- We
think we are a democracy
because we actually ARE
a democracy, in direct
violation of the spirit and
intent of the Constitution.
First, we created a power concentrated in national parties, two to be
exact. Now, we have concentrated that power in
one office, the Imperial
Presidency.
That path
was laid by republicans
and
democrats
alike.
And the power it has created serves only itself
and the dependents of
that system, no matter
their political persuasion.
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™ Tioga Freedomist– People-Powered Press - Volume 4, Issue 6 - March 18th, 2015
Here is how we got to this
point:
In 1913, we had two
amendments, one resultthe death of the Constitutional Republic. The
20th Century was the
slow-roll death of that
Republic.
Within a couple of decades of the passage of
these two amendments,
we had ourselves a mobocracy, one manipulated
by central power national
parties, with a rank and
file enabling body that is
fed
with
government
bribes in the form of welfare, corporate welfare,
benefits,
grants,
etc,
aimed squarely at the
producers, the middle
class.
On February 3rd, 1913,
the Sixteenth Amendment was ratified, giving
the Federal government
the power to create taxes
for any reason whatsoever, removing the safeguard that limited Federal power:
In the same year that
the power of the states to
limit Federal power to
levy taxes was ended, the
17th Amendment ended
the republican form of
government by creating
direct-election offices in
the US Senate, as opposed to state legislativeappointed Senators. This
amendment was ratified
on May 30, 1913.
"The Senate of the United States shall be com-
posed of two Senators
from each State, elected
by the people thereof, for
six years; and each Senator shall have one vote.
The electors in each State
shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State
legislatures."
In the span of 3 months
and 27 days (a little less
than four months), two
amendments significantly
empowered national parties and national power,
while significantly reducing the power of the
states.
If I say to you that the
US Senate once was selected by the State legislatures and that the 17th
Amendment, ratified in
(Connued on page 18)
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17
18
(Connued from page 17)
1913, changed that process to direct elections,
you will probably think
that more direct elections
of the Senate are much
more in keeping with
freedom and liberty than
the state legislatures selecting the Senators.
If you support democracies, then yes, this is a
good move, but if, like
me, you view democracies as the playground of
tyrants, then you view it
as being directly oppositional to freedom.
The Senate was intended to be a check on mob
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™ Tioga Freedomist– People-Powered Press - Volume 4, Issue 6 - March 18th, 2015
power. You might think
that mob power is a good
thing. You might think
mob power just means
the 'voice of the people
rules.'
But what you are failing
to see is how a Senate
directly elected by the
people empowers national parties. Our Senators
of today are the fruit of
this amendment. They
are far more beholden to
the national parties than
they are the states.
The Senate was intended to be a governing body
that
represented
the
GOVERNMENTS of the
states, not the people of
the states. This mechanism made it much more
difficult for small groups
of people to consolidate
power at the national level.
The House was intended to represent the people, the rank and file
folks. The Senate was
intended to represent the
producers. The checks
were intended to prevent
the producers from dictating to the rank and file
folks and the rank and
file folks from dictating to
the producers.
With the 16th and 17th
Amendments, the very
wealthy soon had the
power, through their manipulation of government
dependents, to dictate to
the producers. And you,
the
sheep
who
cry
'democracy', are their unwitting partners, happy
to get your trifling cut of
a much larger booty
these super wealthy elites
began collecting from the
producers.
The 16th Amendment
gave the Federal government the power to tax the
producers directly, then
the 17th Amendment
gave the super wealthy
the power to control the
election of every national
official directly. Two national parties, who both
control the election laws,
were able to concentrate
their wealth and power to
create the narratives you,
the sheep, would accept.
You voted for a central
power whose only real
ideology was to control
(Connued on page 19)
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™ Tioga Freedomist– People-Powered Press - Volume 4, Issue 6 - March 18th, 2015
(Connued from page 18)
the wealth and keep it for
themselves. In exchange,
you got a few scraps from
their banquet table, a
banquet ripped from the
arms of the producers
who prepared the food.
We transitioned, in an
accelerated manner, in
the last 15 years, from a
national party consolidation to an Imperial Presidency.
It took almost
100 years for the fruit of
these blows to become
transparent with the rise
of the Imperial Presidency that has culminated
with the Obama Presidency.
To be sure,
Obama is the benefactor
TF
of a century of preparation for his Presidency
and the next President,
be he or she republican
or democrat, is sure to be
the benefactor of that
century plus the years
Obama has helped to further that consolidation of
power.
The culmination of the
rising tyranny that occurs in any mobocracy is
seen today in the office of
the Presidency, where
most all power resides,
with some residual power
still left in the Judiciary.
The Presidency, with
the power to appoint regulators who now have the
power to make new law
at will, is the only nation-
al office that matters in
the American mobocracy
of today. It is only a matter of time, unless we repeal the 16th and 17th
amendments, before the
illusion of a republic is
openly discarded, and the
reality of the tyranny we
now live under becomes
overtly embraced by the
very wealthy manipulating the rank and file to
pick the bones of the producers.
The death of the republic is an accomplished
fact. There is hope in
restoring the republic,
but not in saving a
corpse. Repeal the 16th
Amendment and you gut
Federal power immediately. The power to manipulate states, corporations, individuals, to behave as the Federal gov-
19
ernment wants them to
behave goes away overnight. Repeal the 17th
Amendment and you gut
the power of the national
parties to control the
Federal
government
through mass, easilymanipulated elections.
This is not a republican
or democratic problem.
This isn't even a bipartisan problem. This is a
problem with us, the people, who have accepted
this death, or ignored it,
because sometimes the
power benefits our party
of choice.
Restore the
power of the states and
you restore the republic.
You can do this by repealing the 16th and
17th amendments. Are
you ready to get started?
Read the full article at
Tiogafreedomist.com.
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20
™ Tioga Freedomist– People-Powered Press - Volume 4, Issue 6 - March 18th, 2015
LETTER FROM
THE
EDITORPaul
Gordon
Collier- We are
approaching
three years of
existence as the
Tioga Freedomist.
We began
our ‘life’ as a primarily
print
newspaper
that
quickly became a digital
and print newspaper.
We began as an experiment in what my brother,
Bill Collier, the original
editor of the Tioga Freedomist, calls a PeoplePowered Community Free
Press.
We have called ourselves a “Bill of Rights
Initiative”, operating under the values we hold in
the Bill of Rights.
We viewed our work as
setting a tone, an example for others to follow
about how to be the
agents of freedom you are
calling others to be.
Along the way, we have
discovered a lot about
what it means to run a
newspaper and to be responsible
for
sharing
news with an increasingly larger news community.
While both my brother
and I have had experience running newspapers, running newspapers in the Social Media
age is a different animal.
Our goal is to produce
for our audience useful
information and a platform to share that information with one another.
This audience is what
our
advertisers
most
20
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(Connued from page 16)
(Connued from page 15)
want from us.
Without the audience, we have
no advertisers.
Without the advertisers,
we
don’t keep the
lights on.
We are moving
toward a goal of presenting Tioga Freedomist 2.0
in the beginning of June
that will reflect all of the
lessons we have learned
and the feedback we have
gotten from our community. Having heard this
community tell us what
they like about what we
do and where they believe
we can improve, we have
developed a comprehensive strategy for transitioning from Tioga Freedomist 1.0 to Tioga Freedomist 2.0.
We are, at present, an
online and print newspaper. We are moving towards becoming a digital
newspaper and a print
news journal.
We ask for your patience as we complete the
remodeling work over
these next few months.
You will first see us return to on-the-ground
reporting of major breaking news stories, then
you will see new elements
come into play as we
complete the work of remodeling
that
began
when I assumed the role
of Editor in February.
much less his Christianity, just because he is exercising his rights of freedom of speech and freedom of religion?”
He could see I had
parked and was intentionally walking up to
him. He made eye contact with me and asked,
“Would you like a Bible
tract?” I said, “No, you
can save that for someone else. I have been
saved for many years and
Jesus is my lord.”
He
said, “Glad to hear it.”
But I was still suspicious. Was he part of a
cult? I asked him, “What
church are you associated with?”
He replied,
“I’m part of the body of
Christ.”
Red flags went
up in my mind again.
But why? All he was saying he was a Christian.
All Christians should see
ourselves as ‘one church
- many congregations.’
We should all describe
ourselves as part of the
body of Christ because,
in fact, that is what we
are. We are a part of
God’s church in spite of
our many congregations.
for this bonus, visit
Baker’s
website
at RepBaker.com and
click on “Persian Gulf
Conflict Veterans’ Bonus.”
Here are the qualifications:
Served with the U.S.
Armed Forces, a reserve
component of the U.S.
Armed Forces or the
Pennsylvania
National
Guard.
Served on active duty in
the Persian Gulf Theater
of Operations during the
period from Aug. 2, 1990,
until Aug. 31, 1991, and
received the Southwest
Asia Service Medal.
Been a legal resident of
Pennsylvania at the time
of active duty service.
Been discharged from
active duty under honorable conditions, if not
currently on active duty.
Received the Southwest
Asia Service Medal.
If you have applied for
this benefit before and
were turned down, the
Department of Military
Affairs encourages you to
apply again. The deadline to apply, or re-apply,
is August 31st.
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