Latest news with #AppalachianRegionalCommission
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Yahoo
Tanglewood Nature Center in Elmira kicks off public fundraiser for new treetop walkway
Elmira's Tanglewood Nature Center & Museum, which last year was awarded a $1 million federal grant to help fund a new treetop walkway project, is now turning to the public for additional support. Tanglewood officials hope to raise another $1 million through the public phase of its fund drive for a project that's expected to be a major tourist draw for the Southern Tier at the facility located at 443 Coleman Ave. in Elmira. The Tanglewood Treetop Walkway will give a panoramic look at the northern mixed hardwood forests, nature center officials said. This region is part of the Allegheny Plateau and Appalachian foothills. Visible from the walkway will also be the rolling hills, large valleys, and surrounding topography resulting from the glacial movement nearly 20,000 years ago. Visitors can observe the forest from a bird's-eye view and gain a new perspective of the ecosystem, according to a Tanglewood news release. "Tanglewood Nature Center is a pillar in our community for education, conservation, recreation, and local tourism," Congressman Nick Langworthy said last year when he announced the Appalachian Regional Commission grant for the treetop walkway. The project aims to attract 24,300 new day visitors and 16,200 overnight visitors annually, generating an estimated $171,000 in new tax revenue within three years of its completion, Langworthy's office said. Total project funding is about $3.5 million, and also includes $600,000 in state grants and $1.93 million in local funding. Tanglewood officials hope to attract birders, artists, photographers, educators, students, and families, both from the local region and beyond. The goal is to boost tourism, spark creativity, support education, and generate revenue that will support the entire community. Tourism NY roadside attractions: Five destinations to check out while traveling The walkway will also be handicap-accessible. To learn more about Tanglewood Nature Center's Treetop Walkway, and to donate to the project fundraiser, go to The Tanglewood Nature Center now maintains over 10 miles of trails, offering educational programming for children and adults. It has exhibits for more than 40 native and exotic animal species. The Tanglewood Nature Center currently welcomes over 35,000 visitors a year. Follow Jeff Murray on X (Twitter) @SGJeffMurray. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today. This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Tanglewood Nature Center hopes to raise $1 million for treetop walkway
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lawmakers announce $800,000 for high-speed internet access
WASHINGTON — Western Maryland will receive $800,000 in federal funding from the Appalachian Regional Commission to expand broadband connectivity and increase access to reliable, high-speed internet. U.S. Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks, and U.S. Rep April McClain Delaney, all Maryland Democrats, announced the award in a joint statement Friday. 'In today's world, access to the internet is an essential service — for families and businesses alike,' Van Hollen said. 'This federal investment from the Appalachian Regional Commission will help further close the digital divide that Allegany and Garrett counties have faced for far too long. Not only will this project deliver high-speed internet to local households, it will also generate new opportunities that will help the region's economy grow in the years to come.' The funding will support the Garrett County Middle Mile Infrastructure Project and fund the construction of about 138,288 feet of middle-mile fiber optic cable across Garrett and Allegany counties. 'I know this investment will support our economy and the lives of so many Western Maryland families,' Alsobrooks said. The new fiber optic network will improve internet connectivity in areas of the counties where access gaps have persisted. It will also support a new e-commerce distribution center that will help strengthen the supply chain and support business growth in the region — while making the counties more attractive for additional investment in the future. 'This ARC investment in middle mile infrastructure will strengthen our region's digital infrastructure so that families, students, and small businesses are not left behind. I will also keep fighting for the resources that Allegany and Garrett Counties need to attract business investment and further workforce development,' Delaney said.
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lawmakers announce $800,000 for high-speed internet access
WASHINGTON — Western Maryland will receive $800,000 in federal funding from the Appalachian Regional Commission to expand broadband connectivity and increase access to reliable, high-speed internet. U.S. Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks, and U.S. Rep April McClain Delaney, all Maryland Democrats, announced the award in a joint statement Friday. 'In today's world, access to the internet is an essential service — for families and businesses alike,' Van Hollen said. 'This federal investment from the Appalachian Regional Commission will help further close the digital divide that Allegany and Garrett counties have faced for far too long. Not only will this project deliver high-speed internet to local households, it will also generate new opportunities that will help the region's economy grow in the years to come.' The funding will support the Garrett County Middle Mile Infrastructure Project and fund the construction of about 138,288 feet of middle-mile fiber optic cable across Garrett and Allegany counties. 'I know this investment will support our economy and the lives of so many Western Maryland families,' Alsobrooks said. The new fiber optic network will improve internet connectivity in areas of the counties where access gaps have persisted. It will also support a new e-commerce distribution center that will help strengthen the supply chain and support business growth in the region — while making the counties more attractive for additional investment in the future. 'This ARC investment in middle mile infrastructure will strengthen our region's digital infrastructure so that families, students, and small businesses are not left behind. I will also keep fighting for the resources that Allegany and Garrett Counties need to attract business investment and further workforce development,' Delaney said.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Corry City Councilman Jeff Fike resoundingly wins Republican nomination for Corry mayor
The race for the Republican nomination for Corry mayor wasn't much of a race, according to unofficial municipal primary results. Corry City Councilman Jeff Fike defeated incumbent Mayor Michael Baker by a 3-1 margin, 346 votes to 108, to win the Republican nomination for mayor. There were no Democratic candidates. "We just tried to keep everything positive the whole time," Fike said of his campaign. "We heard a lot of, 'We're tired of this,' and 'they shouldn't get away with this.' We just tried to stay positive to do what we can to turn things around and get positive momentum in the city of Corry." Fike campaigned on a platform of honesty, transparency and progress. "We've got to get some confidence back from different organizations and from agencies that awarded the city grants that were turned back for no good reason," Fike said. "We have to instill confidence again so we can get projects completed." Fike is a Corry city councilman who opposed council votes to return a state grant for trail improvements and to refuse an Appalachian Regional Commission grant for fiber broadband development. He is a retired state police trooper. Fike called the nomination win "humbling." "We had a lot of support from the community," he said. Corry city dynamics are almost certain to change dramatically next year, and not only because of the likely change in mayor. Erie County Executive race: Christina Vogel upsets Perry Wood to clinch Democratic nod Impact Corry Executive Director Chuck Gray and Bill Roche, a member of Impact Corry's board of directors and a former city councilman, won nominations for City Council, Gray on the Republican ticket and Roche on the Democratic. Impact Corry led planning for the trail and fiber projects. Former Corry mayor and councilman Charles Campbell also won a Republican nomination for council. Contact Valerie Myers at vmyers@ This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Jeff Fike defeats incumbent Corry mayor Michael Baker for nomination
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Dunmore to improve Keystone Industrial Park Road with $1.8M in grants
Dunmore will use nearly $2 million in grants to improve the crumbling Keystone Industrial Park Road, giving drivers a smoother surface and pedestrians a safer path to work. Borough council voted Monday to approve a resolution authorizing and directing borough Manager Greg Wolff to sign an agreement with the state Department of Transportation to improve Keystone Industrial Park Road, council President Janet Brier said. The project, now more than 3½ years in the making, will use $1.8 million in grants to repave the borough-owned industrial park road and add a bike/walking lane for pedestrians, Brier said. The work will extend from the O'Neill Highway intersection to the Throop border, she said. In its current state, the pockmarked Keystone Industrial Park Road is shrinking at the edges as the shoulders crumble, she said, estimating it hasn't been repaved in at least 20 years. 'It looks like it was a war zone up there,' Brier said. * A vehicle reflected in a side mirror makes its way down Keystone Industrial Park Drive in Dunmore Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG) * Keystone Industrial Park Drive in Dunmore Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG) * Vehicles drive on Keystone Industrial Park Road in Dunmore Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) * Keystone Industrial Park Drive in Dunmore Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG) Show Caption 1 of 4 A vehicle reflected in a side mirror makes its way down Keystone Industrial Park Drive in Dunmore Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG) Expand With the traffic lines fading and the crumbled shoulders, Brier said she was concerned seeing people walking along the road on the way to work. 'It's super dangerous,' she said. 'There's heavy truck traffic.' The borough first applied for $1 million through the state's Multimodal Transportation Fund in July 2022, but the town only received $200,000, which wasn't enough for the project, Brier said. So, former Councilman Vince Amico, who was council president at the time, contacted the Appalachian Regional Commission, or ARC, Brier said. The ARC is an economic development partnership involving the federal government and 13 state governments, focusing on 423 counties across the Appalachian Region, including Lackawanna County, according to the ARC's website. The ARC's mission is to 'innovate, partner and invest to build community capacity and strengthen economic growth in Appalachia to help the region achieve socioeconomic parity with the nation,' according to the organization. Dunmore applied for funding for the project through the ARC. Following a lengthy process that included bringing in a grant writer to assist the borough, the town received $1.6 million for the industrial park road, Brier said. The preapplication process alone included contacting dozens of businesses to document growth in the industrial park, Brier said. 'They don't want to invest in a stagnant area,' she said. For example, Brier learned Maid-Rite Steak Co. Inc., 105 Keystone Industrial Park Road, was closing one of its offices and relocating about 45 people to its Dunmore location in the industrial park, she said. 'They want to see that type of growth,' she said of the ARC. Dunmore hired engineering firm Greenman-Pedersen Inc., which has an office on Montage Mountain, for the project's engineering, Brier said. The borough will now be working with PennDOT on the project, with the agency handling the construction process, she said. Brier did not yet have a timeline for when the work will take place, though she hopes it will bring more businesses to the borough. The industrial park itself is an attractive location because of its proximity to major roads like Interstates 80, 380 and 81, as well as the Casey Highway, she said. 'We want to attract business in Dunmore, and it's very unattractive for a business to come in here and see the roads that they'll be using to go in and out of their business, that their employees will be using,' Brier said. 'I'd like to make it look more attractive for businesses to want to come here.' Prior to council voting on the road improvements, the borough honored Dunmore resident and centenarian Charles Arnone with a proclamation for his 100th birthday, according to Councilman Tom Hallinan. Arnone served in both World War II and the Korean War, Hallinan said. Dunmore Mayor Max Conway, left, poses with resident and centenarian Charles Arnone on Monday at the Dunmore Community Center. The borough honored Arnone, who is a World War II and Korean War veteran, with a proclamation for his 100th birthday. (COURTESY OF COUNCILMAN TOM HALLINAN)
