New Florence
Borough

119 Franklin Street
P.O. Box 272
New Florence PA 15944
724-235-2000
secretary1@nfborough.comcastbiz.net

New Florence
Borough

119 Franklin Street
P.O. Box 272
New Florence PA 15944
724-235-2000
secretary1@nfborough.comcastbiz.net

2021 News Archive

31 December 2021

20 December 2021

The agenda for this month’s borough council meeting is now available.  AGENDA 12-21-21  Next, the New Florence Volunteer Fire Department announced their administration and line officer appointments for 2022.  The firemen will also be helping Santa tour the town on December 24th starting around 11 am.  Kids, big and small, come out and wave to Santa.   Finally, there will be a special borough council meeting on January 3rd to reorganize the council and make appointments. 

9 December 2021

The New Florence Community Library will be hosting another crafting event with Sue Buckles on December 20th.  Participants will be painting wooden mittens.  Everyone had a great time with Sue during last month’s wreath making class.  Please check out the flyer below and the event posting for details.   The library also has a huge special thank to their neighbors, Geoff & Kay Mayer, for donating a new American Flag to them.  Next, the New Florence Senior Center is selling raffle tickets for a February 14th, 2022.  Look to the Event Calendar for more information.  Finally, the Volunteer Fire Department would like everyone to be safe this holiday season.  Check out their safety tips for holiday lights.

Thank you Geoff & Kay Mayer!

New Florence Senior Center is selling raffle tickets.

 

The New Florence Volunteer Fire Department is sharing some safety tips for holiday lights.

4 December 2021

 A lot of information was posted to the website today.  First, the Police Report – November 2021 from Chief Jeff Janciga, St. Clair Township Police Department was posted to the website.  The Chief also would like everyone to know that Captain Kinkopf resigned from the department on November 18th.  He was instrumental in helping set up the department in its infancy.  Next, the MINUTES 10-19-21 were posted to the website.   The borough council also had two ads posted in the local newspaper.  The ads are about the proposed 2022 budget and tax rate.  The two ads can be viewed here:  2022 Budget Ad and 2022 Tax Ordinance Ad.  Finally, the Westmoreland County voting office has posted official results for the 2021 November election.  To view the full report for the county election results please go to the Residents – Voting page and follow the link for the election results.  An excerpt of the full report is posted below showing results of various races with New Florence.  More information is on the Voting page.  Finally, as the holiday season quickly approaches, please be careful and safe.  Look out for friends, neighbors, and others within the community.  Thank you.

30 November 2021

 Two events were added to the calendar.  First, the New Florence United Methodist Church will be having a collection of nativity sets on display on December 4th.  The kids can also visit with Santa that day.  There is also going to be a Festivis For The Rest of Us 5K Race on the 19th of December.  Please see the event postings for more information.  Next, the New Florence/St. Clair Township Sewage Authority has updates for residents.  They have a new email address for the authority.  It is NFSCTSA@outlook.com.  The authority also moved into the old New Florence Police Department section of the borough building at 117 Franklin Street.  They are in the process of getting a sign made for the door.  People will also be able to drop off payments in the slot of their door.  Lastly, their next meeting will be January 25th, 2022, at 6:30 pm at the borough building.  Finally, the New Florence Community Library would like folks to be aware of what days they’ll be closed over the holidays.  Please see the flyer below for more information.

15 November 2021

 The agenda for this week’s borough council meeting is now available.  AGENDA 11-16-21

The New Florence Community Library has many activities coming up.  First, as part of their yearly fundraising activities there are lots of Christmas baskets available for purchase.  Please stop by the library and check them out.  Next the library is hosting a Make-A-Wreath with Sue Buckles event on November 30th.  Sue is really gifted in her craft making abilities.  Please check out the flyer below and the event posting for details.   The library is also teaming up with the Children’s Bookstore for a 2-week online Book Fair from November 29th to December 13th.  The library earns a portion of every sale.  Please check out the flyer below.  You can find the link in this document Children’s Bookstore Flyer with Link if you’d like to participate.  Finally, the library is continuing their Book Bunch for kids 5 to 8 years old.  The next group meeting is December 14th.  Please see the flyer below and the Event Calendar for more information.

8 November 2021

Six activities were recently added to the Events Calendar.  First, the New Florence Community Development announced two events for December.  They will host the Annual Tree Lighting Event on Sunday, December 5th, at 5 PM, at the empty lot by Erie Insurance on Ligonier St.  The group is also going to have a House Decorating Contest this year.  Houses will be judged on December 5th.  The deadline to sign up is November 27th at the library and there is a $10 fee to participate.  Next, the New Florence Senior Center will be hosting their Christmas Party on Wednesday, December 15th, from 5 to 7 PM.  The New Florence VFW Post 7622 also has several upcoming events.  The first is a Veteran’s Day Breakfast on November 11th starting at 10 AM.  The next is a Turkey Raffle on November 12th starting at 7 PM.  Finally, Santa will be stopping by the club the 15th of December to visit with kids from 6 to 9 PM.  Please look to the individual events on the calendar for more information and possible changes at events are fine tuned.  Lastly, Chief Jeff Janciga from the St. Clair Township Police Department provided the October Police Report for posting to the website.  Police Report – October 2021

3 November 2021

A special borough council meeting was just added to the Event Calendar.  The special council meeting on Thursday, November 4, 2021, will be to discuss the 2022 Budget. The meeting will take place at 6:00 PM at the borough building.  This meeting is open to the public.

25 October 2021

 The minutes for the September borough council meeting were posted to the website.  MINUTES 09-21-21 

Multiple positions will be voted on during the Municipal Election being held on November 2nd, 2021, for the Borough of New Florence.  Some of the local positions being contested are:

New Florence Borough Mayor
Tax Collector
Council (select 4)  Please note Jim Moore, Gwen Dellett, and Ron Gyure positions will not expire until 8 January 2024.  A vote for one of these three individuals will be a wasted vote.
Constable
Judge of Elections
Inspector of Elections

Please come out and vote.

The New Florence Community Development group over the last month had Danny Durler rebuild the Memorial Park sign at the site of the old red school building on the lower end of town.  Please enjoy these pictures of the work.  Many thanks to the group for working to improve our community.

Finally, for the spring town-wide yard sale the supplier did not get the straw brooms to the Lions Club in time for the weekend.  However, if you’d like to get one of their brooms, they are available at the New Florence Family Restaurant on Ligonier St.  Check out the neat little display.

22 October 2021

Obituary of Keith W. Boring, Sr.

Keith Boring, 56, New Florence, passed away October 19, 2021, at Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center.  Born January 21, 1965, in Johnstown the son of the late Othea and Delphia (McIntire) Boring.  Also preceded in death by brothers Othea “Jack” Jr. and Curt Boring. 

Survived by wife of 24 years Melissa (Ewt) Boring, New Florence; sons Keith Boring, Jr., and wife Julie, Blairsville; Andru Boring and partner Jillian Roddy, New Florence; Ryan Boring and girlfriend Destiny Sheriff, New Florence; granddaughter Arya “Pappy’s Girl”; brother Kevin who had a special bond with Keith; along with these brothers and sisters, Ilene, Lethia, Clarence, Robin, Rose and Orbin; and numerous nieces, nephews, and extended family members. 

Keith was an auto mechanic having started with Cloyd Graff in New Florence then working for Farabaugh Chevrolet in Ligonier before starting his own business, K&M Auto in New Florence. He was a life member of New Florence Vol. Fire Co. having served as Chief for the past 24 years, and previous served as an EMT for West End and Laurel Valley Ambulance Services. Keith was president of New Florence VFW Home Assoc., also a member of St. Clair Tremont Club and The Russian Club, both Johnstown. He enjoyed camping, riding his motorcycle, golfing, vacationing in Florida, and was an avid NASCAR fan having attended many races. His great joy was spending time with his granddaughter. 

Friends received 2-4 and 6-8 pm Sunday at Richard C. Stuart Funeral Home, 392 E. Philadelphia St., Armagh where Keith’s life will be celebrated 11 am Monday. Interment Armagh Cemetery. In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made to the New Florence Vol. Fire Co. PO Box 19, New Florence, PA, 15944.

 

19 October 2021

Here is the agenda for tonight’s borough council meeting.  AGENDA 10-19-21

12 October 2021

First, the September Police Report from Chief Jeff Janciga, St. Clair Township Police Department was posted to the website.  Next, the New Florence Volunteer Fire Department will host a Halloween-themed Drag Queen Bingo on 30 October 2021.  Also, the Laurel Valley Area Historical Society announced their next meeting will be on November 2nd.  Please see the Events Calendar for more information.  Finally, the New Florence Community Library has lots of different reading groups.  Please check out the flyer below for more information regarding times and dates of the various groups. 

30 September 2021

Quite a few activities were added to the Events Calendar.  First, the borough will be holding their fall dumpster days on October 14th and 15th.  Next, the New Florence Community Development also announced two events.  They will host a Pumpkin Carving Party on Sunday, October 17th, at the playground.  Also, the Halloween Parade will be October 31st followed by Trick-or-Treating.  Then the New Florence Volunteer Fire Department added their next BBQ Chicken fundraiser and their next Rippie Night fundraiser.  Please see the Events Calendar for more information on all these activities.  Finally, the Borough Employees webpage was updated to reflect that during the 21 September 2021 Borough Council Executive Session the board hired Orville Saunders for the maintenance position.

23 September 2021

There are a lot of change and additions to the website.  First, with COVID-19 on the decrease borough council meetings are now being held back in the borough building instead of the old yellow school building.  The October, November, and December meeting on the Events Calendar have been updated to reflect this change.

Next, additions were made to the Utilities webpage.  Verizon contacted the borough to provide an updated link for their Pennsylvania specific services they offer.  The New Florence/St. Clair Sanitation Authority information was also updated on the page to include their meeting times, location, and schedule.  Sanitation Authority meetings are every other month (January, March, May, July, September, and November) on the fourth Tuesday of the month.  The meetings start at 6:30 pm at the New Florence Borough building.  The meetings are open to the public.  Any changes to the schedule are posted in the Johnstown Tribune Democrat newspaper.  The November meeting was posted to the Events Calendar. 

Under the Emergency Services page a link was added for the Safe2Say Something program.  Safe2Say Something is a youth violence prevention program run by the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General.  Please follow the links for more information.

The New Florence United Methodist Church is starting up a free weekly Stretch and Strengthen class on Monday evenings.  Please check out their flyer for the first class.  A notice will be posted the first Monday of each month on the Events Calendar to remind folks of the ongoing classes.  Enjoy.

During the 21 September 2021 council meeting, Greg Csehoski, provided an update on the status of the borough’s website.  The report provided lots of metrics on usage.  Of particularly great success is the Events Calendar.  It provides a lot of visibility for residents on what’s going on in the community.  Here is the report for review.  NF Borough Website Update for Council Meeting – 21 Sep 2021 

Multiple documents were added to the website.  The first is borough council minutes from the August 2021 meeting MINUTES 08-17-21.  The second is Resolution 3 of 2021, Purchase of Ordinance Enforcement Service from Seward.  Please follow the link for more information on this resolution.  The last document is Ordinance No. 2 of 2021, STORMWATER MANAGEMENT ORDIANCE.  A hardcopy version of this document is available for review at the borough office.  An electronic version of the document will be posted to the website when it becomes available.

20 September 2021

Two documents were added to the website.  The first is borough council minutes from the July 2021 meeting MINUTES 07-20-21.  The other is the agenda for this week’s council meeting AGENDA 09-21-21.

19 September 2021

The upcoming two meetings of the Type II Diabetes Support Group were added to the Events Calendar.  Lots of good information is shared in the meetings on diabetes so please attend if you need help.  Next, some outdated information was removed from the Residents section.  In the Emergency Services page, any reference to the Laurel Valley Ambulance/Fayette EMS was deleted.  This organization closed 4 December 2019.  Then in the Community Organizations page the reference to the New Florence (PA) Area Historical Society was dropped.  This group was renamed the Laurel Valley Area Historical Society (LVAHS) with an expanded area of historical coverage.  The deleted information was moved to the 2021 News Archive.  Additionally, a wonderful image of the New Florence Volunteer Fire Department’s 46-2 engine was added in the Emergency Services page.  Finally, the New Florence Lions Club deserves a big shoutout.  On September 14th the club donated school supplies to Principal Wayne Waugh at the Laurel Valley Elementary School in New Florence for students in need.  Pictured below are Wayne Hepner, Rich Lichtenfels, Principal Waugh, Ricky Davis, Secretary Treasure BeJoe Nanni, and King Lion Bud Lewis.  Great job everyone.

New Florence Volunteer Fire Department’s 46-2 Engine

The following information was removed from the website today.

Laurel Valley Ambulance/Fayette EMS (Closed 4 December 2019 – Please see the News page for more information)
174 13th Street
New Florence, PA 15944
724-235-9900
For emergency call 911
Facebook: Laurel Valley Ambulance Service

New Florence (PA) Area Historical Society (superseded by LVAHS)

New Florence (PA) Area Historical Society
President: Kathleen Mack
724-235-2688
fkmack@verizon.net
Secretary/Treasurer: Doug Hull
724-719-8390
dchull88@gmail.com
Facebook: New Florence (PA) Area Historical Society

10 September 2021

There are several additions to the website.  First, Chief Jeffery W. Janciga of the St. Clair Township Police Department provide the Police Report – August 2021 for residents of New Florence to see what policing occurred in the community.  Next, several items were added to the Events Calendar.  The Valley Grace Brethren Church of Armagh will be hosting a Dino Party on September 25th.  The children of New Florence and the surrounding area are invited to attend.   Please see the flyer on the calendar for more information.  The New Florence/St. Clair Township Sanitary Authority will be holding their next meeting on September 22nd.   The meeting is open to the public.  Finally, progress is being made on the town’s keystone markers by the Laurel Valley Area Historical Society (LVAHS).  Below are some images of the signs being refurbished.  They go from being sandblasted, primed (using spray can), painted blue (using a chip brush), and then yellow lettering (a foam brush was used).  For comparison you can look at the two images at the bottom of this page to see how they’ve changed.  More photographs and information are available on the LVAHS Facebook page.  Please click on the photos below to expand.  Enjoy.

2 September 2021

Several items were added to the website.  First, the New Florence Community Library would like everyone to know they are changing their hours.  The new hours that go into effect 7 September 2021.  The library will also be conducting a PA Scratch-Off Tickets fundraiser later this year.  The drawing will be Wednesday, December 15th, 2021.  Finally, the VFW is advertising a Flight 93 Memorial motorcycle ride.  Please look at the items on the Events Calendar or check out the flyers below for details.  Please continue to click on the image to see a larger version.

1 September 2021

Here is an image pulled from a video on Facebook taken approximately 4 pm, 1 September 2021.  Be careful!

31 August 2021

Be safe everyone.  There is a lot of rain expected over the next several days.  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has put out a warning for the Conemaugh River in Seward.  There’s a good probability that Route 56 will be closed sometime Wednesday until the water recedes Thursday or Friday.  The chart below has the expected water levels.  Plan accordingly.  Remember, don’t drown, turn around.  Thanks.

18 August 2021

The New Florence VFD will be holding another Chicken BBQ fundraiser.  Please see the flyer below for more information.  Lots of folks are saying great things about how good the meals are.  Please come out and support the fire department.  Thanks.

17 August 2021

Chief of Police, Jeffrey W. Janciga, St. Clair Township Police Department, provided the Police Report – July 2021 for inclusion on the website.  The report is very detailed.  The five-page summary at the start of the report is especially informative.  Please take a few minutes and read the report.

16 August 2021

The agenda for tomorrow’s council meeting was just posted.  AGENDA 08-17-21

Several items were added to the website.  First, the minutes of the June borough council meeting were posted.  MINUTES 06-15-21  Next, a few items were added to the Events Calendar.  The New Florence Volunteer Fire Department will be holding their next Rippie Party on September 9th.  The New Florence Center for Active Adults will also be holding a Rippie Party on October 9th.  Updates were also posted under two areas of the Residents section.  Paula Gregory was listed as the manager for the Library.  Also, under the Community Organizations section the New Florence Community Development group has an additional telephone number and email for contacting the group.  Finally, keep in mind the Ligonier Valley School District school has its first day of instruction set for August 30th.  Please watch out for kids and school buses.  

8 August 2021

The New Florence Community Library just had an activity added to the Events Calendar for August 19th.

Has anyone noticed something missing from the edges of town?  Members of the Laurel Valley Area Historical Society are working on restoring our Keystone Markers!  Special thanks to Greg Csehoski, Todd Gable, Doug Hull, Fred Mack, Seth Mack, and George Mack for their efforts!  If you would like to know more about these historical markers, check out the Keystone Marker Trust website at: Keystone Marker Trust  If you would like to see photographs of the progress being made please check out the group’s Facebook page at:  Laurel Valley Area Historical Society.  Scroll down through their page until you find the album of photographs.  If you look at the photos you’ll see the Furnace Lane sign is on an original post whereas the VFW sign is on a plain metal post.  It looks like at one time the sign was probably damaged by a vehicle accident.  If anyone has any knowledge of that incident the historical group would love to hear about it.  Also, the group is hoping to get a replacement original post for the VFW sign and finials for the tops of the posts which were original.  Stay tuned for more information. 

Kathy Mack, President
Laurel Valley Area Historical Society
Email: fkmack@verizon.net
Phone: 724-235-2688

Furnace Lane Keystone Marker Removal

5 August 2021

Lots of items were just added to the Events Calendar.  First, there will be a special meeting of the Laurel Valley Historical Society on August 10th.  This meeting will be at the Brickyard Café in Bolivar to discuss some of Bolivar’s history.  The next item is a Back-to-School Scavenger Hunt sponsored by the New Florence Community Development organization on August 15th.  Then, the New Florence Public Library in conjunction with the New Florence Senior Center will have a presentation on Scotland.  This will include demonstrations of the Highland bagpipe and the ancient dances of Scotland.  This event is August 23rd and will be held at the senior center.  On September 18th the New Florence Community Development group will hold another Vendor and Craft Fair at the town’s playground.  Please see the event flyers for more information on how vendors can participate and what activities will be included.  Finally, the last event added is on September 25th, the New Florence Volunteer Fire Department will hold a gun bash at the fire hall.  Please check out all the flyers within the events for more information.

23 July 2021 

Chief Janciga provided the Police Report – March 2021 and Police Report – April 2021 reports for posting to the website after seeing the first postings.  These two reports were the first ones created by the department.  The format of the four monthly reports varies slightly as the format was being tweaked to provide ease of reading.  The May and June reports should both be in the most current format.

22 July 2021

 A major change has been made to the borough’s website for the law enforcement section.  In July 2020 the New Florence Police Department ceased operations.  In January 2021 the borough council contracted with the St. Clair Township Police Department for coverage.  To properly capture these changes the website menu has been changed.  Under Government the Police Department submenu has been removed.  Instead, a new submenu titled Police has been added.  Under this submenu two sections have been added: New Florence Department and St. Clair Township Department.  Both sections now accurately capture the history and current situation of law enforcement policing for New Florence.  One major advantage of this change is the monthly police reports from the St. Clair Township Police Department can easily be found.  The first two police reports have been presented to the New Florence Borough Council.  They are the Police Report – May 2021 and Police Report – June 2021 reports.  Additional reports will be published as they are presented to the council.  Please see both police department sections for more information. 

19 July 2021

The agenda for the 20 July 2021 borough council meeting was just posted.  AGENDA 07-20-21

11 July 2021

A new item was placed on the calendar.  The New Florence VFD will be holding their next Rippie fundraiser on August 12th.  Please come out and support the fire department.

3 July 2021

Several items have been added to the website.  First, the minutes for the May council meeting MINUTES 05-18-21 were posted.  Next, quite a few events were placed on the calendar.  The first is the next Laurel Valley Area Historical Society (LVAHS) meeting on July 6th.  Here is the agenda for the meeting LVAHS Meeting Agenda 6 July 2021.  Then the New Florence VFD will be holding a Rippie fundraiser on July 8th.  They are hoping to make this a monthly event on the second Thursday of each month.  Stay tuned for more information. 

Finally, the New Florence VFW will be holding their summer picnic on 15 August 2021.  Details are still being worked out and will be posted once finalized.   

As previously posted, the New Florence/St. Clair Sanitary Authority was short three board members.  During the June New Florence borough council meeting the council appointed two members to the board.  They are Pat O’Shell and Tony Rivera.  Please contact the sewage authority if you want more information.

23 June 2021

The New Florence VFD will be holding another Chicken BBQ fundraiser.  Please see the flyer below for more information.  Lots of folks are saying great things about how good the meals are.  Please come out and support the fire department.  Thanks.

15 June 2021

The agenda for tonight’s borough council meeting was just posted.  AGENDA 06-15-21  Also, the Senior Center in town reopened on June 1st for those that didn’t see their sign board.  They also have a new supervisor, Teresa Caldwell.  She can be reached at tcaldwellsupervisor@gmail.com.  Thank you.

14 June 2021

The New Florence United Methodist Church and the New Florence Community Development Committee will be hosting a summer block party at the town playground on 18 July 2021.  Please check out the flyer below or look to the Event Calendar for more information.  If you have any questions, please contact the church at 724-235-9961 or Taylor Solich, President, NF Community Development, at 724-599-7163 or taylorsolich@yahoo.com.

4 June 2021

Hi everyone,  I got a last minute request from the NF VFD to post this flyer for their BBQ Chicken event during the yard sale this Saturday.  I know they did one of these fundraisers about a month ago and I heard the chicken was great.  Please come out and support them if you can.  Thanks.

2 June 2021

The 2021 Spring Dumpster Days activities were added to the Events Calendar today.  Please see below for more information.  Also, the MINUTES 04-20-21 for the borough council meeting were posted to the website.  Don’t forget, the town-wide yard sale is coming up.  Should be a busy time in town as things get back to normal.  Be safe everyone.

30 May 2021

The next meeting of the Laurel Valley Area Historical Society (LVAHS) was added to the Events Calendar.  Everyone please have a safe and thoughtful Memorial Day.

19 May 2021

The New Florence Borough and Volunteer Fire Department are working together to fund a project to renovate and equip the Fire Hall as an Emergency Shelter in case of a disaster. This funding will cover the cost of power upgrades, a new HVAC system, new sidewalks, doors and ramp to the Social Hall, new roof, storm shutters, and restroom reconfiguring to include an ADA shower. The money for this project will hopefully come through a grant request to the Emergency Solutions Grants Program which is part of the Cares Act funding to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The requested amount to fully fund this project is $128,650. Working together to strengthen our community benefits us all! If you have any comment about this project, please contact us by email at secretary1@nfborough.comcastbiz.net

The New Florence/St. Clair Sanitation Authority is seeking multiple board members.  Anyone interested in serving on the board can contact the authority at 724-541-0030 or leave a message with the borough at 724.235.2000.”

18 May 2021

Here is the agenda for tonight’s borough council meeting.  AGENDA 05-18-20

8 May 2021

Two items were added to the Events Calendar today.  The first is a fundraiser for Scouts BSA Troops 1123 & 2123 that meet at the New Florence United Methodist Church.  The scouts will be doing a yard sale fundraiser on Saturday, June 5th during New Florence’s town-wide yard sale.  They are looking for donations of items to sale.  Please see the flyer for more information.  Next, the Squirrel Hill Hunting Club will hold their 6th Annual Lifetime Hunt for Kids Golf Outing on July 18th, 2021 at Champion Lakes Golf Resort.  The fundraiser benefits children with a life-threatening illness.  Their flyer contains additional information on how to participate.  Please click on the flyers to see larger images.  Thank you.

30 April 2021

St. Clair Township Police Department Coverage

Police coverage history in New Florence:  Last year, both New Florence police officers resigned late summer.  On January 19th, 2021, the New Florence borough council passed Ordinance No. 1 of 2021, Purchase of Police Services from St. Clair Township.  Police coverage will now be provided by the St. Clair Township Police Department.  If available, the on duty officer will attend the regular New Florence Borough meetings.  Below is more information about the department.

Contact Information

550 Seward Street
Seward, PA 15954
724-600-7300 (Westmoreland County non-emergency number)
In the event of an emergency or requesting police CALL 911
Facebook: St. Clair Township Police Department 
Please be aware that the Facebook page is not constantly monitored, and all requests for police need to go through 911 or the non-emergency number provided above.

Department Personnel

Chief of Police, Officer Jeff Janciga
Captain, Officer Karl Kinkopf
Officer Mark Kasterko
Officer Lindsay Green

The St. Clair Township Board of Supervisors are continuing to grow their police department.  Personnel may be added in the future depending upon the need and Seward’s and New Florence’s participation in a cooperative agreement beyond the initial trial term.  Under the agreement, the police are treating New Florence, Seward, and St. Clair Township as one single coverage area.  Details such as monthly summary reports and policing priorities are still being worked out.  Speeding, use of jake brakes, and illegal drug usage are concerns of the New Florence borough council that will be addressed.  Ordinance violations within New Florence will not be addressed by the St. Clair Township Police Department.  Administrative questions regarding police coverage in New Florence should be sent to the New Florence borough office at 724-235-2000 or the borough email at secretary1@nfborough.comcastbiz.net.  Administrative questions concerning the St. Clair Township Police Department should be sent to the St. Clair Township supervisors at 814-446-5211.  Please keep in mind that calling either office will not result in the dispatching of an officer.  Residents must be aware that calling an office is not a substitute for calling 911 or the Westmoreland County non-emergency number.  Thank you.

New Florence Police Department Update, Summer 2020:  Effective 20 July 2020 Chief Chad Salley and Officer Clint Chilcote both resigned from the police department.  Borough council is not seeking replacement officers.

24 April 2021

Several documents have been added to the website.  First, the minutes for the March council meeting MINUTES 03-16-21 and the agenda for the April meeting AGENDA 04-20-21 were posted.  Next, two events were placed on the calendar.  The first is the next Laurel Valley Area Historical Society (LVAHS) meeting on April 28th and the second is a gun bash for the Squirrel Hill Hunting Club to be held June 19th.  The gun bash supports the club’s Lifetime Hunt for Kids program.  Finally, Westmoreland County would like to remind residents that rental assistance is still available.  Please look at the following document for more information. Westmoreland County’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP)

5 April 2021

Westmoreland County is getting ready to launch The Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes Program and needs help spreading the word!  The Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes Program is a Federally Funded Grant Program, which focuses on homes built prior to 1978 since they are more likely to contain lead-based paint. Additional requirements include households must meet maximums income limits per household size as listed on the flyer below. *Eligible households must also have a child(ren) 6 years or under (that includes a pregnant woman) that either live in the home, or visits the residence at least 3 hours, 2 times per week, for 60 hours or more per year. For instance, if a grandparent cares for a grandchild who is under the age of 6 years in their home at a minimum of 3 hours/twice a week, their home was built prior to 1978, and the grandparents meet the income requirements for household, they could qualify. This program covers lead-based paint abatement and possibly other hazards that are related to lead poisoning in the home e.g., lead in windows, siding, and railings, and/or contributing factors that could lead to lead poisoning such as a leaky roof (water causing paint that contains lead to chip).

This program focuses on young children because, they are the most impacted by the effects of lead poisoning but, it also effects adults as well. An informative flyer from the Environmental Protection Agency on lead and its effects can be found at: Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home

Please click on the links below for more information from Westmoreland County.  There is also a flyer for possible employment as a lead-abatement contractor.  If you have any questions, please contact the program coordinator at the Westmoreland County office of Community Development.

Londe Dandar
Intake Clerk/Interviewer
Westmoreland County Community Development
Fifth Floor, Suite 520
40 North Pennsylvania Avenue
Greensburg, PA  15601
Ph: (724) 830-3366
Fax: 724 830-3611
ldandar@co.westmoreland.pa.us

The Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes Program Brochure

Get the Lead Out Flier 2021

Lead Hazard Control Contractors Needed Flyer

VFW Post 7622 New Florence, PA.  The local VFW had two different Facebook pages.  Originally, they were using New Florence vfw 7622 but now use VFW Post 7622 New Florence, PA.  If you follow the club on Facebook please follow the correct page.

24 March 2021

Several additions have been made to the website.  First, the minutes for the February council meeting were posted.  MINUTES 02-16-21  Next, Mark Watt, the borough maintenance employee announced he will be retiring later this spring.  The council will be searching for a replacement.  Please look at the flyer for more information.  Lots of good information is posted on the community bulletin board located at the post office.  Please remember to follow the rules.  Lately, several flyers have been taped to the glass.  Finally, the scouting troops are starting back up as activities and life move back to normal with the pandemic more under control.  Below is all the contact information in case you have a son or daughter who’d like to become involved.    

Scouts BSA

BSA Troop 1123 – Boy Troop
Scoutmaster: Timothy Martin
814-961-1497
E-mail: tjmartconstru@yahoo.com
Meets Thursday nights at 7:00 p.m.
Location: New Florence United Methodist Church, 200 9th St, New Florence, PA 15944

BSA Troop 1123 – Girl Troop
Scoutmaster: Scott Hamley
724-859-6745
E-mail: enonvalleyinc@hotmail.com
Meets Thursday nights at 7:00 p.m.
Location: New Florence United Methodist Church, 200 9th St, New Florence, PA 15944

Chartered Organization: New Florence United Methodist Church
Charter Representative: Mr. John Hayes
703-930-9514
E-mail: john@laurelhill.net

BSA Cub Scout Pack 1123 New Florence United Methodist Church

Note: The Cub Scout Pack stopped meeting when the COVID-19 pandemic starting in the spring of 2020.  Unfortunately, the pack has not restarted.  They are searching for someone willing to be the Cubmaster.  If interested, please contact John Hayes.

Click on the images below to learn more information about scouting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

16 March 2021

Here is the agenda for tonight’s borough council meeting.  AGENDA 03-16-21

13 March 2021

 As previously posted, the upgrade to the borough website is finished.  Over the next few weeks there will be a review of each page and make sure everything is up to date.  Visitors to the website should only see minor changes and tweaks as this review is conducted.  Things are slow right now with the COVID-19 virus and most of daily life put on hold.  However, we appreciate that folks visit the website daily.  Do you ever wonder how many folks check out the site?  Below is a snapshot of visitors and how many pages they look.  It’s not many now but just before the town’s sesquicentennial in August of 2019 we were averaging over 100 visitors a day to the website.  Lots of people used the website to see what was happening with the event.  Thank you!

As things get back to normal more activities will start occurring in our community.  For example, the New Florence VFW will be holding their yearly gun bash the end of June this year if all goes well.  The gun bash was added to the Events Calendar on the right for June.  Please check out the event for more information. 

Do you know how COVID-19 has affected our small town?  Below are three screen captures from the Pennsylvania COVID-19 Dashboard using the Zip Code Case Data.  The data is from the third day of the month for January, February, and March for New Florence, Zip Code 15944.  One can see how the virus is trending in the community.  Please everyone, practice social distancing and wear a mask.  Only about 10% of the population has been vaccinated.  We need to get the vaccination rate closer to 90% before life will really get back to normal.  Be safe!

3 Jan 2021
3 Feb 2021
3 Mar 2021

                                January       February         March

Confirmed:               105                  131                  133

Probable:                   31                    54                    60

Not a case:                 634                 709                 736

18 February 2021

The upgrade to the borough website is complete.  There are two main things visitors will see differently.  First, the new theme for the website has a slide show banner of three images.  There is the main New Florence sign, the Sesquicentennial logo, and a Google satellite image of New Florence.  These images really define our community to the outside world.  Additionally, down the right side of the page is the Events Calendar.  It now displays the next five events instead of three.  As life gets back too normal after COVID-19, we’re hoping to be posting lots of community activities.  Life will get better.

There were several other updates to the website these last few days.  A “Proclamations and Resolutions” Quick Link was added to the lower right side of the Welcome page.  It will make this information easier to find.  Next, the council has hired Cheryl Priest for the position of borough secretary to replace Mary Strucaly.  Two resolutions were added to the website.  The first is Resolution 1 of 2021 – Access to Intuit and the second is Resolution 2 of 2021 – Access to Berkheimer.  Both resolutions give the new secretary legal access to various business systems.  Also, the New Florence Police Department 2020 Yearly Summary yearly summary was posted to the Police Department section.  While New Florence no longer has their own department, this document completes the activities of the past department.  Next, the borough received a notice from the Westmoreland County Parks & Recreation department.  The notice is for a grant program that’s available for local art organizations and local government entities.  For more information, please see Westmoreland County Local Arts Grant Program.  Finally, stay tuned for more changes to the website.  We will be developing a different technique for news updates.  We are hoping to make it easier for residents to receive the information in a timelier manner and to make the website easier to maintain.

12 February 2021

 

The agenda for the February council meeting is now available.  AGENDA 02-16-21

 

3 February 2021

 

 Several documents were recently added to the website.  The December 2020 borough council minutes were posted.  MINUTES 12-15-20  Also, the finalized budget approved in December was posted in the Budgets section.  Finally, Ordinance No. 1 of 2021 – Purchase of Police Services from St. Clair Township was published.  This ordinance authorized the borough council to obtain police services from the township.

 

Website Update:  There will be changes coming to the website.  The borough contracted with CourseVector to provide website hosting services in the fall of 2017.  The original website was built using the Artisteer WordPress theme as a starting point to make a customized New Florence Borough theme.  Unfortunately, Artisteer will be dying and become unsupported over the next few months.  CourseVector will be migrating the New Florence website to a new theme.  However, the configuration will be changing so the look and feel of the borough’s website will evolve.  Every effort will be made to keep borough residents updated on the timeline and extent of changes.  Thank you.

 

19 January 2021

 

The agenda for the 19 January borough council meeting was just posted.  AGENDA 01-19-21

 

16 January 2021

 

Borough Ordinance Update:  In 2018 borough council had the company General Code do a review of the borough ordinances.  General Code specializes in codifying municipality laws by putting them in an orderly form.  Codification allows your local legislation to be gathered by topic and systematically arranged into an accurate and enforceable code of laws. Your municipal code clearly articulates a unique legislative framework that enables everyone in your community to live and work safely, productively and with mutual respect.  Codification also helps to deter the municipal legislative body from enacting redundant or inconsistent new ordinances, and lets the council or board view the body of law as a whole and note any gaps in coverage which may need legislation.  The result of the General Code review was a seven-page report giving the disposition status of all the materials submitted.  The original report is General Code Ordinance Disposition List.  A lot of the items ended up being identified as NCM, Not Code Material (legislation is not general or permanent in nature).  Most items fell into 5 categories.  The borough website administrator took the original report and converted it into an Excel spreadsheet.  Council members can easily work with this file format.  That full converted listing can be found in a PDF report here: NF Ordinance Disposition Master List 16 Jul 2020.  If one reviews the report, you’ll find seven different sections.  In Section 5 are items identified in the General Code report that appear to be valid code material.  There are 54 items in this category.  Each of these items needs to be reviewed and acted on by the borough council.  These items can be kept as is, update, or cancelled as need be.  Two of these items are currently listed on the borough website on the Ordinance page.  A PDF version of this subset is here: NF Ordinance Disposition Section 5 Subset List 16 Jul 2020.  Council has set up a subcommittee to review all these items and determine the proper course of action for each item.  An interesting historical tidbit is the first unnumbered ordinance that was enacted on the 7th of December 1869.  Its title is: Governing of New Florence Borough.  This appears to be the creation of governing body for New Florence.  Over time Section 5 will result in more ordinances being clarified within the borough laws.  As those laws are updated their disposition will be clarified on the website.  If you have any questions on the above information, please contact a member of the borough council.

 

12 January 2021

 

Final Order Take 2 Deadline: New Florence Sesquicentennial Yearbook

 

One last time… I have had even more requests for more New Florence Sesquicentennial Yearbooks so I will make one FINAL order. I will take orders until the end of the month, January 31, 2021 at 11:59 p.m.  Books are normally $25.00 each but I may need to adjust the price a little if it is a small order to cover the shipping, handling, etc. costs. I won’t know the final price until the order is placed but I expect it to remain pretty close to the $25. Who still wants to order one?  Please, if you order books, I need your contact information.  A cell phone number to text you when the book arrives would be helpful.  Also, a street address so I know where to drop it off (obviously if you’re local).  My contact information is below.  Thank you, Doug.

 

Douglas C. Hull
1134 Bethel Cemetery Rd
New Florence, PA 15944

 

Email:            doughull88@gmail.com
Telephone:    724-719-8390 after 6 p.m.

 

 

Note: The date was fixed on all the reorders.

 

9 January 2021

 

News Web Page:  The News section is a collection of all the information that’s been posted in the past to the borough website on the Welcome Page and many other pages.  It ends up being a great historical archive of a lot of activities in the community.  This section was reorganized on 9 January 2021 by year.  This way the pages will be smaller and load faster.  Enjoy looking through all the information.  Thank you.

 

3 January 2021

 

 

 As we start the new year let’s hope for a better, safer year than last.  With the new year comes lots of updates to the website.  First, the 12 normal monthly borough council meetings were added to the Events Calendar.  These meetings will be held in the basement of the old yellow school building until the COVID-19 crisis has slowed to were the meetings can resume back in the borough building.  The 2021 Borough Council Meeting Minutes Archive 2021 table was created and added to the Monthly Meetings page.  This table contains the agendas and minutes of the borough council meetings.  Next, with the passing of Mary Strucaly, the borough secretary/treasurer position is vacant.  An ad is being published for hiring a new borough secretary/treasurer.  You can review the ad here if interested.  NF Secretary – Treasure Hiring Announcement January 2021 After much discussion, the borough council has agreed to move forward in conjunction with the Seward borough on purchasing police services from St. Clair Township.  Attached is the notice of the pending ordinance adopting said services planned for the January 19th, 2021, council meeting.  Notice of Pending Ordinance Adoption for Police Service 12.17.20 Also, during the December council meeting the 2021 budget and tax rate was passed.  The information is in Resolution 4 of 2020, Tax Resolution for 2021.  To help complete the website updates the minutes for the November 2020 council meeting were posted.  Finally, the borough council was saddened to hear of the unexpected passing of State Representative Mike Reese.  He cared about the communities he served and will be missed.  More information on the story can be found at State Representative Mike Reese Dead at 42.

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