More on Main Street

Becky Fought, Regional Main Street Director
MUNCY – Hughesville resident and Regional Main Street Coordinator, Becky Fought has relocated from her downtown office in Williamsport with the Williamsport Lycoming Chamber of Commerce to a nearby office on 13 S. Main Street in Muncy.
An open house is scheduled for Friday, August 20 from 5 to 7 p.m. Young, talented artist, Sabrina Barner will be on hand during the Open House painting the front of Fought’s desk. Sabrina is a 9 yr. old artist from Muncy who designed the inspiring art work for the front of the Main Street desk and presented it to Fought. Door prizes will be handed out and light refreshments will be served.
Fought will be sharing some window space in the same building next to PSP Embroidery owned by Paul and Sandy Putney. The Putneys also work as volunteers and chair committees for the Main Street Program offering assistance and support to improve the economic development and business retention for the Muncy Main Street community. “We work together to organize, promote and design the economic restructuring in the individual communities,” said Fought. “It is a nice partnership,” she added.
Partnering with other civic and community entities is necessary to bring about change and improvement explained Fought who is in charge of five communities within the county. She meets with a core group of volunteers in each community to work on beautifying projects such as building and restoring gazebos, adding new landscaping or bike racks, painting buildings and benches or even establishing farmers markets. Each project is unique and specific to the local community it serves. Volunteers make everything happen and partial funding is available from the PA Dept. of Community and Economic Development, Lycoming County municipalities and donations from community members and organizations.
Residents and community members can also pick up a chance to win a Carnival Cruise to any destination. Raffle tickets will be sold during the open house. “This is our first fundraiser, and there will be chances to win other prizes too,” Fought said. Other prizes include a David Seybold print, custom designed jewelry, savings bonds, manicures and pedicures, gift certificates and too many prizes to list according to Fought.

Rick Lowe, CPA
Proceeds will go to Our Town 2010 and the Main Street programs. The drawing for the winner will be done during the Corvette Show scheduled for September 18.
Fought plans on spending her mornings at her new location before heading out to the various communities which are Jersey Shore, Montoursville, Hughesville, Muncy and Montgomery. She can be reached at 570-447-6252.
7 South Main Street
MUNCY- Growning up a young lad in Muncy, it only seemed natural for Rick Lowe to open his own accounting firm in his hometown. A graduate of 1984 from Muncy High School and close friends with Layne Oden whom he shares the building with, Lowe opened up his business on August 2 at the Main Street location. Previously, he worked 14 years at Lindsay and Hager Associates in Fairfield Township. “It has always been my dream to have my own practice. My wife, Kim, has given me great emotional support along the way,” Lowe explained. They are the parents of 3 children, Jacob, Seth and Sara who attend the East Lycoming School District.
His career started in the Army where he enlisted for two years before he decided on being an accountant. He said, “Oddly enough, one day while waiting in the barracks, I saw another soldier reading a copy of The Luminary that was sent to him. I said to him, ‘You are from Muncy’ and he replied, How did you know?’ Lowe said, ‘I recognize the newspaper. I am from Muncy too.”
“It was my former teachers that influenced me to this career. Mr. Winn from Muncy High, Mr. Sones and Mrs. Sampsell were all very inspirational to me,” he added. He said that he excelled in his math classes and enjoyed math while in high school.
After leaving the military, Lowe started working for the federal government for a year before deciding to go into private practice.
Lowe deals with all realms of tax corporation and audits and although he has a good client base, he said he is always looking for more clients. He also likes working with non-profit organizations and assists with the Muncy Creek and Muncy Townships as well as Clinton and Brady Townships. He is also busy with the Hughesville and Montgomery Boroughs.
“I like it here,” he stated, “coming back to where I originally started. I hope to be here for the rest of my life.” Lowe is the son of Charles and the late Delores Lowe. He is a direct descendant of Ramin Lowe who owned Lowe’s Super Market. His father, Charles (Buddy) helped Rick remodel his part of the building. Besides lots of painting, they added walls and dividers to include 4 offices and a conference room. Lowe has offered the use of the conference room for meetings with the Main Street Program, and he hopes to be available during the open house on the 20th. A ribbon cutting ceremony is being planned for the near future according to Becky Fought, Main Street Coordinator.
Lowe can be reached at 935-0172 and is open Monday through Friday from 8 to 5.
- Rick Lowe, CPA