Jade Heasley

For several decades, the Montgomery Christmas Committee has been providing food and toys for families in town that need a little extra help to make the holiday a happy one. This year was no different, and the committee provided Christmas cheer to 201 households.

All of the toys were donated through Toys for Tots, and the all of the money donated was used to purchase food for the dinner boxes. The Montgomery Christmas Committee is entirely run by volunteers so there are no administrative costs.

Virginia Hill and Jodi Ellis chair the Christmas Committee. They have many volunteers that help wrap toys, pack dinner boxes, and make deliveries. There were some challenges this year, including a large snowfall that kept everyone in their own houses for two days shortly before Christmas, and having to keep all of the coronavirus protocols in place.

The Montgomery Christmas Committee would like to thank the Montgomery and Clinton Township fire companies, the Montgomery Borough Office, the Clinton Township Office, the Post Office, all of the local businesses that had Toys for Tots boxes, the churches and businesses that made donations, St. John’s “Brick” Lutheran Church, all of the individuals who made donations, as well as the volunteers that wrapped gifts and made deliveries.

Do you have a little girl who would be interested in joining the Girl Scouts? There are six troops in Montgomery for those in K-8. Financial aid is available to girls who qualify. For more information, please go to www.gshpa.org or send Margie Mathis a Facebook message.

Montgomery Borough will be doing curbside pickup of discarded Christmas trees each Wednesday during the month of January. Trees must be undecorated.

The Montgomery Borough and Water Authority Offices will remain closed to the public until further notice due to coronavirus concerns. The offices can be contacted at (570) 547-1671. Customers may still use the mail slot to drop their water bill. Borough meetings will be held on Zoom and the public is invited to participate. Go to www.montgomeryborough.org, go the calendar and click on the date for the meetings you wish to attend to access the link.

The library is open to patrons but everyone is asked to please wear a mask, use hand sanitizer when entering, and practice social distancing. No events will be held in the building during the month of January. The Adult Book Club will meet online and Nicole will be reading stories for children and posting them on the Miss Nicole’s MAPL Moments Facebook page. For those who don’t wish to go into the building, items can be requested and renewed by calling (570) 547-6212. The hours are 10 am-6 pm Monday through Friday, and 10 am-3 pm on Saturday. The library is requesting people to stay home if they have symptoms of COVID-19.

If you want to stay informed of weather events, emergency instructions, and local COVID-19 statistics, follow the Montgomery Emergency Management Facebook page. If you are interested in volunteering with the agency please call Dennis Gruver at (570) 547-6777.

Our local fire companies need volunteers to serve as emergency responders and in non-emergency support roles. To learn more call either the Montgomery Volunteer Fire Company at (570) 547-1380 or the Clinton Township Fire Department at (570) 547-1000.

If you want to join the Montgomery Lions Club, contact Roger McRae at (570) 971-2825.

THOT – “Just don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.” – Ella Fitzgerald