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Trees Boost Your Property Value Reduced energy costs and improved water and air quality are among the benefits of trees in a community. Trees provide shade, serve as windbreakers, deter runoff and erosion, and provide food for wildlife, according to the Arbor Day Foundation. According to TreeVitalize, a partnership to restore tree cover in the state’s communities, one of the biggest boosts for individuals planting trees is an increase in property value. At a time when property values are so important to homeowners, buyers and sellers, trees boost property values five to fifteen percent. The Arbor Day Foundation suggests that trees may increase property values as much as 20 percent. The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources reports many urban street trees die within the first seven years of planting. In order to promote the planting and successful growth of the Commonwealth’s trees, training will be offered to citizens through the Tree Tenders Training. Municipal staff, current and prospective Shade Tree Commission members, and others responsible for the long term care and management of public shade trees are invited to attend the Municipal Tree Institute. TreeVitalize, a program initiated by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and conducted with the support and involvement of the PA Horticultural Society, the Western PA Conservancy, county governments, and public agencies, among others, is committed to a five-year goal to plant one million trees by 2012. ---------- Time for PA One Call Attention all homeowners and contractors -- whether you are planting shrubs and trees or tunneling, grading, boring, blasting, demolishing, or any similar work requiring excavation, first pick up the phone and dial 811 for the PA One Call System to prevent fires, explosions, and major outages. Contacting PA One Call triggers an alert to all the necessary underground facility owners that in turn, identify any underground lines or facilities at the intended dig site. Area utility companies will visit the site to mark the location of their respective underground facilities. Calls to 811 must be placed no less than three business days prior to beginning a digging or excavation project to allow sufficient time to identify impediments. PA One Call System, Inc. is a non-profit Pennsylvania corporation created to protect underground facilities before anyone begins to disturb the earth. The system, serving 67 counties and employing 70 people, is as important to excavators, contractors, plumbers, builders, and designers, as it is to the general public in preventing a disastrous outcome for a project. ---------- Report Potholes for Repairs Spring has sprung and so have the potholes. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) is reminding motorists to call the toll-free number 1-800-FIX-ROAD (1-800-349-7623) to report the location of potholes. Motorists are also encouraged to report other problems and information, including:
Since its inception in July 1997, the year-round hotline has received between 500 and 1,000 calls per month statewide. Callers are asked to be as specific as possible when providing locations of maintenance problems. PennDOT requests the report include the county, municipality, street name, and the traffic route or the state route (SR) number to assist Engineering Districts & County Maintenance Offices in making prompt repairs. State Route numbers are located on small black-and-white signs posted along state highways. Callers should also provide a description of any familiar landmarks to further help PennDOT locate the problem area. ---------- 2010 Trout Season Opens in PA Pennsylvania will once again observe two opening days for the regular 2010 trout season, according to the PA Fish & Boat Commission (PF&BC). The remaining 18 counties in southeastern PA opened trout fishing on April 3. Trout season kicks off at 8 a.m. on the first Saturday after March 28 for those southeastern counties. Opening Day in the 49 other counties begins at 8 a.m. on the first Saturday after April 11 and continues until midnight on Labor Day. PA residents age 16 – 64 may purchase a license from issuing agents located statewide or through The Outdoor Shop for $22.70, valid December 1, 2009 through December 31, 2010. The PF&BC issues a number of other licenses including (scroll to bottom of linked page), Senior Resident, Senior Resident Lifetime, National Guard & Armed Forces Reserve Resident, Prisoner of War, Non-resident and three different Tourist licenses, among others. ---------- Great American Cleanup of PA Sweeps the State Have you signed up to participate in the “Great American Cleanup of PA” or “Pick It Up PA Days” set to run through May 2010? Joint sponsors, the Pennsylvania Departments of Transportation and of Environmental Protection are encouraging all Pennsylvanians to join ranks with community and civic associations, school and youth groups, families and friends, hunting and fishing clubs, conservation organizations, sports teams, and others removing litter and trash from Pennsylvania's roadways, parks, forests, riverbanks, neighborhoods, and open spaces. The 2009 Great American Cleanup of PA brought out 171,940 volunteers for 4,837 events that yielded 344,021 bags of trash or 6,880,420 pounds. They cleaned 16,498 miles of roads, railroad tracks, trails, waterways, and shorelines, and 6,986 acres of parks and or wetlands. The volunteers also planted 6,264 trees, bulbs, and plants in an effort to keep Pennsylvania beautiful. Contact the “Keep America Beautiful” representative for the Pennsylvania Affiliate in your area and get involved. ---------- April is Child Abuse Prevention Month April 2010 has been designated “Child Abuse Prevention Month” in the Commonwealth with the support of the Pennsylvania Senate and Senate Resolution 278 of 2010. Across the country, more than one million children are documented as victims of child abuse and at least 1,500 die annually from the abuse. Children ages four and younger account for 81 percent of the fatalities. The Senate of Pennsylvania has adopted a number of measures to address this issue including Senate Bill 654 of 2001, the Newborn Protection Act of 2002. In 2003, an amendment to the PA Constitution was approved by the electorate permitting child victims and child material witnesses the option of testifying electronically. A comprehensive child abuse reform package, Act 179 of 2006, was enacted to update the Child Protective Services Law and lengthen the criminal statute of limitations for sexual offenses against children. S.R. 278 of 2010 recognizes much more still needs to be done to prevent child abuse and victimization; commends those who work to treat and prevent child abuse, and urges all Pennsylvanians to do their part in preventing child abuse. Suspected child abuse in PA can be reported around-the-clock to ChildLine at 1-800-932-0313. ---------- |