http://www.billtownboards.com/forums Discuss Williamsport, PA and Life in Lycoming County en Mon, 06 Sep 2010 23:59:50 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.billtownboards.com/forums/images/aimgle/misc/rss.jpg http://www.billtownboards.com/forums http://www.billtownboards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1870&goto=newpost Sun, 05 Sep 2010 23:46:36 GMT We came up Thursday night with three friends; a fourth arrived on Friday. Saturday was shopping for the ladies (4), relaxing and cooking for the... We came up Thursday night with three friends; a fourth arrived on Friday.

Saturday was shopping for the ladies (4), relaxing and cooking for the guys (2). A grand dinner featuring Steak Au Poivre--everyone is impressed when I flame the cognac!

Yesterday, an excellent brunch at home, then we went to the Grand Canyon, had a wine cheese and bread (Rosencrans') picnic on the square in Wellsboro--followed by "dinner" at the Crippled Bear--for a bit of variety.

Today was brunch at the Frog after church and then a run to Woolrich--followed by dinner at Eders!!!!!

Added in edit: how could I go without mentioning the weather---what a relief from such a hot summer:eek:

Life doesn't get better than that :D ]]> What We Love thecatskinner http://www.billtownboards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1870 http://www.billtownboards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1869&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Sep 2010 03:14:26 GMT Make sure trees don’t lead to disputes with your neighbours: * Don’t plant a tree close to neighbours’ buildings on soils prone to subsidence.... Make sure trees don’t lead to disputes with your neighbours:

• Don’t plant a tree close to neighbours’ buildings on soils prone to subsidence. Consider the eventual height and spread. Is the tree likely in time to overhang your neighbour’s property or restrict their light? There are legal positions on both of these issues, and these also apply to neighbouring trees that overhang your own property.

• If you want to remove branches that overhang your garden from next door, first ask your neighbour if they are willing to cut them back. If they refuse — and the tree is not protected by a tree preservation order (TPO) — you are legally entitled to prune within the following criteria. You must only cut on your side of the boundary; you must not trespass on your neighbour’s property; you must offer the prunings to your neighbour; if your neighbour doesn’t want them, you must dispose of them in a responsible way (you mustn’t leave them in your neighbour’s garden without permission). If the tree is protected by a TPO, or is within a Conservation Area you must apply to your local authority for permission to prune. To find out if a tree is has a TPO, contact your local authority.

• There is very little legal protection related to the loss of light caused by single trees or deciduous trees. What there is only applies to the windows of a property and not to the garden.

]]> Gardening skyvia http://www.billtownboards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1869 http://www.billtownboards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1868&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Sep 2010 03:13:14 GMT These small and medium-sized trees earn their keep with more than one season of interest. *1* Acer griseum offers great shape, superb autumn... These small and medium-sized trees earn their keep with more than one season of interest.
1 Acer griseum offers great shape, superb autumn colour and shaggy, peeling, gingery bark that shows up best in winter.
2 Caragana arborescens (Siberian pea tree) is an unusual tree for a ‘difficult’ situation, as it withstands heat, cold and wind. It has a light canopy of ladder-like leaves and yellow pea flowers followed by pods. It’s also good in pots.
3 Cercis siliquastrum (Judas tree) produces pink pea-flowers that sprout straight from the branches and trunk, before the heart-shaped leaves appear. These are followed by red pods.
4 Myrtus communis (myrtle) is a multipurpose evergreen with small bay-like leaves, gingery bark and spiky white flowers in late summer, followed by black berries that birds adore. It has culinary uses, and takes kindly to trimming and shaping so is ideal for pots.
5 Aralia elata ‘Variegata’ (Japanese angelica tree) forms a large shrub or smallish multistemmed tree with beautiful variegated foliage and large heads of frothy off-white flowers in autumn. The spiky trunks show up well in winter. ]]> Gardening skyvia http://www.billtownboards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1868 http://www.billtownboards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1867&goto=newpost Fri, 03 Sep 2010 03:10:50 GMT 1. *Get an idea.* Is this going to be a vegetable garden (http://www.bhg.com/topics/lawn-and-garden/fruits-and-vegetables/vegetable-garden.htm)? An... 1. Get an idea. Is this going to be a vegetable garden? An herb garden? A flower garden? If you choose to grow flowers, do you want annuals, which you must replant each year but which give color most of the summer? Or do you prefer perennials, which have a shorter bloom time but come back year after year? You can mix any of the above -- after all, it's your garden. Just one bit of advice: Start small. 'Tis better to succeed just a little, than to fail grandly.
2. Pick a place. Almost all vegetables and most flowers need about six hours of full sun each day. Spend a day in your chosen spot and watch how the sun moves across the space. It might receive more sun than you think. But don't despair if your lot is largely sunless; many plants tolerate shade. Check plant tags or ask the staff at your local garden center to find out how much sun a plant requires.
Put the garden where you can't ignore its pleas for attention -- outside the back door, near the mailbox, by the window you stare out when you dry your hair. Place it close enough to a water spigot that you won't have to drag the hose to the hinterlands.
3. Clear the ground. Get rid of the sod covering the area you plan to plant. If you want quick results, you can dig it out, but it's easier to smother it with newspaper. A layer of five sheets is usually thick enough; double that if your lawn is Bermudagrass or St. Augustine grass. Spread a 3-inch layer of compost (or combination of potting soil and topsoil) on the newspaper and wait. It'll take about four months for the compost and paper to decompose.
4. Improve the soil. Invariably, soil needs a boost. The solution is simple: organic matter. Add a 2- to 3-inch layer of compost, decayed leaves, dry grass clippings, or old manure. If you dig soil (see Step 5), till the organic matter into the soil. If you decide not to dig or are working with an established bed you can't dig, leave the organic matter on the surface and it will work its way into the soil in a few months.
To learn more about your soil, have a soil test done through your county cooperative extension office. They'll lead you through the procedure: how much soil to send from which parts of the garden, and the best time to obtain samples. Expect a two-week wait for their findings, which will tell you what your soil lacks and how to amend it.
5. Dig or don't. Digging loosens the soil so roots can penetrate more easily. But digging when the soil is too wet or too dry can ruin its structure. Dig only when the soil is moist enough to form a loose ball in your fist, but dry enough to fall apart when you drop it. Use a spade or spading fork to gently turn the top 8 to 12 inches of soil, mixing in the organic matter from Step 4. In vegetable gardens and beds of annual flowers, turn the soil only once a year in the spring before you plant. ]]> Gardening skyvia http://www.billtownboards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1867 http://www.billtownboards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1866&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Sep 2010 07:28:18 GMT *Ingredients* * 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil * 3 tablespoons unsalted butter * 5 cloves garlic, chopped * Kosher salt * Pinch of... Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 5 cloves garlic, chopped
• Kosher salt
• Pinch of red pepper flakes
• 8 1/2-inch-thick slices crusty bread
• 1 1/4 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails intact
• 3/4 cup dry white wine or low-sodium chicken broth
• Grated zest and juice of 1/2 lemon, plus lemon wedges for serving
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh chives

]]> skyvia http://www.billtownboards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1866 http://www.billtownboards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1865&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Sep 2010 07:24:05 GMT Image: http://www.how-to-make-beaded-jewelry.com/images/DSCF4214.jpg Chandelier earrings add a classic touch to any outfit. You can adjust the length... Chandelier earrings add a classic touch to any outfit. You can adjust the length and style of the earrings to suite your personality and outfit. You will need some chandelier components that are available in a wide variety of styles.
What you need:

• 2 earring wires
• 2 chandelier earring components
• headpins
• beads or crystals of your choice
• 20g or 22g wire
• round nose pliers
• wire or side cutters
• safety glasses
• Step 1:
  
  
  Make both earrings step-by-step together. Follow the steps for making a double eye pin using one crystal bead as described on the page double eye pin.
• Step 2:
  
  
  When your double eye pin is ready, open one of the loops with your round nose pliers and slide the earring hook onto the loop. Close the loop completely.
• Step 3:
  
  
  Again open the other loop of the double eye pin with your round nose pliers, and slide the top of the chandelier component onto the loop. Close the loop completely.
• Step 4:
  
  
  Take 3 headpins and slide one crystal onto each headpin. You can add a small spacer bead for the central headpin.
• Step 5:
  
  
  Follow the steps for making a loop on a headpin as described on the page headpin loop. Make loops for all three headpins using your round nose pliers.
• Step 6:
  
  
  Take the central headpin and open the loop slightly with your round nose pliers. Attach it to the central, bottom part of the component. Close the loop completely.
• Step 7:
  
  
  Attach the other two headpins to the remaining parts of the component the same way you’ve attached the first one. Your earrings are now ready to wear!

]]> Jewelry Making skyvia http://www.billtownboards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1865 http://www.billtownboards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1864&goto=newpost Thu, 02 Sep 2010 07:20:38 GMT Image: http://www.how-to-make-beaded-jewelry.com/images/DSCF5269.jpg These elegant crystal briolette earrings are made using a technique called a ... These elegant crystal briolette earrings are made using a technique called a briolette wrap. A briolette wrap is used when you work with top drilled beads, whith holes drilled horizontally from side to side and not vertically from top to bottom.

I’ve used blue Swarovski crystal beads and rondelles to make these earrings, but feel free to use any crystal beads and color choices of your own. You’ll be able to find swarovski crystals easily. Local bead shops, online bead stores as well as ebay have plenty of swarovski crystals available. By using clear crystal beads, you can use this project to make beautiful bridal or evening earrings.
What you need:

• 2 briolette crystal beads (10mm), color of your choice
• 4 swarovski crystal disc beads (5mm)
• 2 swarovski roundelles 5mm
• 22g (0.6mm) wire
• 2 french hook earring wires
• round nose pliers
• chain or flat nose pliers
• wire or side cutters
• safety glasses (optional)

]]> Jewelry Making skyvia http://www.billtownboards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1864 http://www.billtownboards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1863&goto=newpost Fri, 27 Aug 2010 03:41:44 GMT Hello everyone, I am new to this site and also to Williamsport. I just moved here with my boyfriend about a month ago. I am looking for friends! :)... Hello everyone,
I am new to this site and also to Williamsport. I just moved here with my boyfriend about a month ago. I am looking for friends! :) Anyways I have been with my boyfriend for 3 years. I have 2 bunnies, No kids as of right now. I am working on getting my cosmetology license. not sure what else to put. ]]> Member Introductions PinkButterfly http://www.billtownboards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1863 http://www.billtownboards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1861&goto=newpost Sat, 14 Aug 2010 23:09:58 GMT While we enjoy the local restaurant scene, I love to cook and often prefer that to going out. So--tonight was eat in---fresh Alaskan Salmon from... While we enjoy the local restaurant scene, I love to cook and often prefer that to going out.

So--tonight was eat in---fresh Alaskan Salmon from Wegmans @ $14.99/ lb--0.75 lbs, fresh water shrimp from Weis at $10.99/ lb (8-12 count)--1 pound, sweet corn from Snyder's just north of the Montoursville exit of I-180, tomatoes from my Amish friend Jesse Beiler at Turbotville, fresh thyme and basil for my herb garden---charcoal fire, cedar plank---and for less than $30 for two---a feast fit for a Queen (and a king):D ]]> thecatskinner http://www.billtownboards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1861 http://www.billtownboards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1712&goto=newpost Thu, 12 Aug 2010 15:14:48 GMT Best if you get out of town--but even in town some of this should be visible: Perseid Meteor shower. (http://www.chiff.com/science/perseids.htm)... Best if you get out of town--but even in town some of this should be visible:

Perseid Meteor shower.

We have a steep incline in the back yard that is perfect to lay on and watch the night sky--wonderfully unpolluted by light out were we are.:) ]]> Hobbies thecatskinner http://www.billtownboards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1712 http://www.billtownboards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1711&goto=newpost Wed, 11 Aug 2010 01:26:18 GMT From the 1906 Centennial 4th of July parade in the downtown. I don't recognize where this is, though:



It is for sale, but too rich for my blood:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=140436941664

]]> Downtown billtowner http://www.billtownboards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1711 http://www.billtownboards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1710&goto=newpost Sun, 08 Aug 2010 08:06:12 GMT http://www.standard-journal.com/articles/2010/08/07/news/doc4c5ccf71b64d9652083243.txt Tough economy hasn’t slowed increases By Kevin Mertz... http://www.standard-journal.com/arti...9652083243.txt

Tough economy hasn’t
slowed increases
By Kevin Mertz
Staff writer
Published:
Saturday, August 7, 2010 3:05 AM CDT
With statewide superintendent salaries averaging over $125,000, several local school officials are offering their perspective on the six-figure taxpayer-funded pay rates of four local superintendents.

Dr. Mark DiRocco, of the Lewisburg Area School District, is the highest paid superintendent of four local school districts. The board recently granted a pay raise to DiRocco, who will see his salary hit $154,500 in July.

The top-paying superintendent in the state earns more than double that amount, $365,500, according to the Pennsylvania School Board Association (PSBA).

Next on the local pay scale behind DiRocco is Warrior Run Superintendent Dan Sheaffer, who is retiring at the end of this year. He earns $115,824 per year. Milton’s new superintendent, Cathy Groller, makes $115,000. Mifflinburg’s new superintendent, Dan Lichtel earns $100,000.

Over the last six-to-10 years, though, those salaries have spiked anywhere from 18.3 years in six years at Milton to nearly 39 percent over the last eight years in Lewisburg. Mifflinburg’s superintendent salary rose 29.4 percent in 10 years and Warrior Run’s salary spiked 16 percent in seven years.

Meanwhile, statistics provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor show that the average salary for a worker in Northumberland County in 2009 was $31,824, up 28.4 percent from 1999, but the same as in 2008, meaning there was no growth during that time. In Union County, the average salary is $37.336, up 37.4 percent from 1999. Salaries backed up in Northumberland County from 2005-2006 and grew by just $1 from 2001-2002. In Union County, figures backed up from 2005-2006.

Even Congress has voted two years straight to decline itself a salary increase.

Jill Shambach, president of the Mifflinburg Area School District school board, said the board gave careful consideration when setting Lichtel’s salary.

“We looked at what the trends were, what is it going to cost to get the right person for the job. We wanted the most qualified candidate to lead the district,” she said

“We weren’t willing to pay a less salary for a less-qualified person,” Shambach said. “Can you get someone for a less salary? Yes. What quality are you going to give up for that?”

Kathy Swope, president of the Lewisburg Area School District School board, said the Lewisburg board also spent a lot of time studying both the salary and compensation packages for local superintendents when setting DiRocco’s new salary.

“We realized that we were at risk, due to our lack of competitiveness, of losing an individual with exceptional leadership skills,” Swope said. “That drove us to evaluate compensation packages throughout Central Pennsylvania. That led us to make the decisions to retain our existing superintendent.”

She also believes the salaries of superintendents in the Milton, Warrior Run and Mifflinburg school districts may be too low for the region.

“The three others don’t reflect well the Central Pennsylvania compensation packages,” she said. “The area that we need to be competitive (in) spans much larger than those three districts.”

Unlike the other three districts, Swope said Lewisburg’s policy requires the superintendent hold a doctoral degree.

Swope recently attended a conference offered by the PSBA. At that conference, she learned there is a nationwide shortage of superintendents.

“Young educators are not choosing to go on to be superintendents due to the type of job it is,” Swope said. “It is an incredible amount of time. It is incredibly difficult and stressful.”

She said younger administrators can chose to accept other positions in a central office where they still earn “good salaries” yet they avoid stepping into a public position.

On top of the shortage of qualified candidates, Swope also believes the Pennsylvania pension formula has led to the spike in superintendent salaries over the last 10 years.

“The pension formula is based on the highest three year’s earnings,” Swope explained.

She noted that DiRocco turned down an opportunity to make $210,000 at a southwestern Pennsylvania school district. Had he accepted the opportunity, Swope said his pension would have doubled due to the fact that the formula is based on the highest three years of earnings.

“(Superintendents) have to plan for their financial future,” she said. “That’s how districts are recruiting and drawing top superintendents into their organizations. That has been what’s driven this, in my view.”

Swope also believes it’s crucial for districts to retain a good superintendent when they have one.

“When you have stability in the superintendency, that is one of the factors that drives student achievement higher,” she said, noting that national statistics back up that statement. “That is the key line for school boards, student achievement.”

Dr. Robert Witten, CSIU executive director, offered his thoughts by prepared comment when contacted by Standard Journal for his input on the increasing salaries of local superintendents.

Witten, who earns $284,000 per year plus incentives, is in his 45th year of working in the education field. Through his position with the intermediate unit, he has assisted several local districts in the search for new superintendents, including Milton.

“There are greater expectations on superintendents today than there ever were,” Witten wrote in his statement to Standard Journal. “Combined with the business of educating students are the highly litigious everyday personnel, financial and program operations.”

Witten said superintendents must also be conscious of how they spend district dollars.

“Superintendents must have the intellectual capacity to do what is right and the courage to do it,” Witten continued. “Every decision they make has the potential to impact not just today’s students, but also the community’s citizens of tomorrow.”

He said superintendents must also stay abreast of the latest information in areas such as early childhood education and autism.

“This requires superintendents to spend hours beyond the work day to learn about these issues so they can make wise decisions,” Witten added.

He also said there’s an intense recruiting competition across the country, with more than 15,000 superintendent positions in the United States.

“School board members, faculty and parents want a superintendent who is innovative, smart, creative, fair and courageous,” Witten wrote. “It is up to them to do what it takes to attract and keep a strong leader in their communities.”

Attempts to reach board presidents from the Milton and Warrior Run school districts were unsuccessful this week.

Chris Brady contributed to this story. To comment, e-mail newsroom@standard-journal.com ]]> The Nation Albert62 http://www.billtownboards.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1710