The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

Local News

March 29, 2008

Shenango River Watchers celebrates flow of success

By Joe Pinchot

SHENANGO RIVER AREA — Jennifer Barborak, one of the founders of the Shenango River Watchers, marvels at how much the group has accomplished in seven years.

What began as an organization to clean up sections of the river has turned into one that organizes community projects, sponsors canoe trips and administers grant programs, while still removing tens of thousands of tons of garbage from the river and its banks.

It seems that the group has reached the limits of capability each year, and then exceeds them, Ms. Barborak said Saturday at the group’s annual banquet.

Once primarily focused on the Shenango Valley, the group has projects on the horizon in the Pymatuning State Park area and Lawrence County.

The efforts have turned the heads of skeptics who thought the group was a bunch of eco-radicals or crazies. People come out for events and organizers feed off their excitement and enthusiasm, Ms. Barborak said.

“Every years it gets bigger and bigger,” said board member Tom Amundsen, Mercer County controller.

The group still is young, but board members such as Joyce Cuff realize that real change comes over time, when people stay with the goals long after the people who have set them have moved on.

“To whom will we be passing the torch?” Ms. Cuff said. “Who will be taking up the cause?”

The group awards a scholarship each year to a high school senior entering college to promote the efforts of a young person who could conceivably accept the torch. This year, Andrew Thiel, a Hickory High School student, was awarded the $1,500 prize.

Andrew, who applied by writing an essay on how he has helped the environment, solicited two reference letters and provided a list of his activities, has participated in Boy Scouts and his school’s Green Team. He has performed more than 300 hours of community service on projects such as clearing and marking trails, developing educational materials for children and building bird houses.

“Reading his list of activities is mind-boggling,” Ms. Cuff said.

Andrew gives Ms. Cuff hope that the Shenango River Watchers could become a lasting contributor to the quality of life in the region.

“Rest assured, it will be in good hands,” Ms. Cuff said of the metaphorical torch.

Honored for helping with group causes were:

• Dan Micsky of L.V. Excavating Co., Delaware Township, business friend of the river for donating use of a backhoe in last year’s dump cleanup in Greenville. “We did it because we live down-stream,” said Micsky, referring to the group slogan “We all live down stream.” Micsky is a Delaware Township supervisor.

• Leonard Nasser of Lenny’s Auto Service, Sharon, business friend of the river for removing rims from tires on tire recycling days.

• Joe Kurtanich, friend of the river, for donating a boundary survey of Bicentennial Park in Sharon, which put the group over the top in meeting the match needed for a state grant to come up with a plan to improve the park. “The environment pertains to all of us and all of our children and grandchildren,” he said.

These efforts in mind show that the Shenango River Watchers, in only seven years, have improved the quality of the river, Ms. Barborak said.

“It is getting better,” she said. “It is.”



Info: 724-342-5453 and www.shenangoriverwatchers.org

Text Only
Local News
  • Store owner busted again for fake pot sales

    The owner of a Grove City store already facing charges related to the sale of synthetic marijuana has been arrested a second time for selling the drug.

    Ala H. Nassar, 27, of 125 S. Seventh St., Sharpsville, was arrested Thursday on charges of delivery, possession and possession with intent to deliver synthetic pot, criminal use of a cellular telephone and conspiracy to commit delivery.

    Abdallah H. Matariyeh, 27, of the same address, also was arrested on charges of delivery and possession with intent to deliver.

    February 10, 2012

  • Bids opened for work to widen Rt. 760

    PennDOT officials opened bids Thursday for the first two sections of a three-section widening of Route 760 in Wheatland, Farrell and Sharon.

    February 10, 2012

  • Timeline now at center of negligence lawsuit

    A jury will decide whether the normal statute of limitations applies in a lawsuit filed by a Sharon man accusing a Sewickley agency of negligence that resulted in numerous injuries to his disabled son.

    February 10, 2012

  • Social media alert first responders

    The Mercer County Fire/EMS alerts’ Facebook page is two years strong and continues to attract followers who want the latest updates on traffic accidents, fires and other emergencies.

    February 10, 2012

  • State cuts trickle down to township

    Brookfield Township “is in a world of hurt.”

    February 9, 2012

  • Toth takes $30k to settle lawsuit

    It’s typical for lawsuit settlement agreements to include a confidentiality clause that bars the parties from discussing the terms of the settlement.

    February 9, 2012

  • Taking flight

    Some kids probably daydream about sending their homework up into the atmosphere, but that really happened this week for a few classes of Jamestown Area High School students.

    February 9, 2012

  • GC man called suspect in Jan. 27 bank robbery

    A Grove City man charged with robbing a Zelienople bank Monday is a suspect in the Jan. 27 robbery of a Sandy Lake bank.

    February 8, 2012

  • Committee to focus on finances for future

    Sharon city leaders have money on their minds as they look to the future of the once-vibrant town struggling with a limited tax base and higher costs of doing business.

    February 8, 2012

  • Summer work turns into year-round part-time job

    A Sharpsville resident asked council members this week why the man hired as summer help is still on the payroll in the middle of winter.

    February 8, 2012