Black Forest Broadcasting

 

…Harrison Valley man arrested for writing bad checks….14 year Coudersport boy facing trespass charge….No one hurt in Jones Township accident…. Drought Watch still in effect here…

Potter County

Coudersport state police have charged a 63 year old Harrison Valley man with theft. Troopers claim Larry Metcalf paid a 30 year old Quarryville, PA man for services with two worthless checks. The incident remains under investigation.

A 14 year old Coudersport boy is suspected of criminal trespass in Coudersport just before 9:00pm November 30. The youth hid in a  shed on Ross Street owned by a Falmouth, ME man while state police were looking for him.

Elk County

A St. Marys driver and his passengers escaped injury in a one-vehicle accident Monday night in Jones Township. According to Ridgway state police, Zachary Gausman was traveling east on Market Road his Ford Ranger crossed the road and collided with the end of a guard rail. Gausman and his passengers, Stephanie Sobrina of St. Marys and Barisa Mason Emporium were using seatbelts at the time of the crash.

Region

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced yesterday after a meeting of the Commonwealth Drought Task Force that drought watch has been lifted for 15 counties and remains for five counties.

Carbon, Luzerne, Northampton, Potter, and Schuylkill counties remain on drought watch despite recent rainfall.Drought watch has been lifted for Cameron, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Columbia, Dauphin, Juniata, Lebanon, Lycoming, Mifflin, Montour, Northumberland, Perry, Snyder, and Union counties.For a map of drought declarations updated daily, see the DEP drought web page.Residents on drought watch are asked to reduce their individual water use by 5-10%, or a reduction of three to six gallons of water per day. Varying localized conditions may lead water suppliers or municipalities to ask residents for more stringent conservation actions. See the list of public water suppliers that have requested or mandated water conservation in their communities.

There are many ways to conserve water at home, including:

    Run the dishwasher and washing machine less often, and only with full loads.

    Shorten the time you let the water run to warm up before showering, and take shorter showers. The shower and toilet are the two biggest indoor water guzzlers.

    Check for and repair household leaks. For example, a leaking toilet can waste up to 200 gallons of water daily.

    Install low-flow plumbing fixtures and aerators on faucets.

    Replace older appliances with high-efficiency, front-loading models that use about 30% less water and 40-50% less energy.

How DEP Determines Drought Conditions

To determine drought conditions, DEP assesses information from public water suppliers and data on four indicators: precipitation, surface water (stream and river) flow, groundwater level, and soil moisture.

The DEP Drought Coordinator monitors the indicators in close partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), which maintains gauges in streams and wells in many locations across Pennsylvania.

There are normal ranges for all four indicators. DEP makes drought status recommendations after assessing departures from these ranges for all indicators for periods of 3-12 months. For a map that’s updated daily to show the status of all four indicators for each county, see the USGS Pennsylvania drought condition monitoring website..

DEP shares these data and its recommendations with the state and federal agencies and other organizations that make up the Commonwealth Drought Task Force. Declarations are determined by DEP, with the concurrence of the task force.