The Innovative Manufacturers’ Center (IMC) is proud to announce the award recipients for the “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing?” (WSCM) Central Susquehanna student video contest awards. The ceremony premiered, online, on Thursday, May 14, 2020 on YouTube. The video with the most votes, during three days of online voting in April, received the “Viewers Choice Award.” A panel of judges reviewed the videos for awards in three other categories: Outstanding Overall Program, Outstanding Team Spirit and Outstanding Brand Placement. The WSCM contest partners students, from schools in Columbia, Lycoming, Northumberland, Snyder, and Union counties, with local manufacturers. Each student team scripted, shot, edited and promoted a short video that documents their experience, highlighting what is “cool” about manufacturing. One video in the region will be moving on to represent Central Susquehanna at the third-annual statewide competition in June. “We had a really great contest our first year, and we’re so excited to share the videos and winners during our awards ceremony online,” said Dan Manetta, Executive Director/CEO IMC. “The students, the teachers and the manufacturers put in so much hard work to build this inaugural contest, and with everything that is happening right now, it’s important to be able to celebrate their accomplishments.” This year’s awards and their winners are as follows: 1. Outstanding Overall Program: Millville Area Middle School – SEKISUI KYDEX 2. Outstanding Team Spirit: Central Columbia Middle School – Autoneum North America, Inc. 3. Outstanding Brand Placement: Lewisburg Area Middle School – GAF 4. Viewers Choice Award: Mount Carmel Middle School – Brush Industries, Inc./Qcard Congratulations to the Millville Area Middle School and SEKISUI KYDEX team who are moving on to the statewide competition in June. Partnering with Innovative Manufacturers’ Center, Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit and The Foundation of the Columbia Montour Chamber of Commerce for the project are Manufacturers Resource Center (MRC), eMediaWorks, Sahl Communications, Inc, and EmpowerStar Marketing. To view the WSCM Central Susquehanna Awards video, visit WSCMCenCSQ Awards Show. Visit WhatsSoCool.org for more information and resources and follow on Facebook.
Today, May 15th, Governor Wolf announced that Columbia County will move from the red to the yellow phase at 12:01 a.m. next Friday, May 22nd. This change lifts the stay at home order for individuals and allows more businesses to resume operations, with safety protocols in place.
Businesses that remain closed under the yellow phase include indoor recreation, health and wellness facilities, personal care services (salons, barbers, spas), entertainment, indoor malls, and restaurants and bars for dine-in. Additional details and guidance for businesses allowed to reopen is available on the Chamber’s website.
With the governor’s announcement, the resolution passed by the Columbia County Commissioners is nullified.
Today, May 13th, the Columbia County Commissioners unanimously passed a resolution to move the county from the red to yellow phase related to Governor Wolf’s COVID-19 reopening plan. While the change is scheduled to take effect Friday, May 15th, the commissioners have offered to comply with the red phase if the Governor announces moving Columbia County to the yellow phase by the 22nd. The PA Supreme Court has ruled that the governor has the authority to order businesses to close under a disaster declaration.
During the meeting, Columbia County District Attorney Thomas Leipold stated that he would advise local law enforcement against prosecution of businesses that resumed operations, as long as they comply with safety protocols issued by the Department of Health. The commissioners cautioned that the county cannot defend businesses against any enforcement actions taken by the state. On Monday, Governor Wolf outlined consequences to counties and businesses that do not abide by his order to remain closed:
- Counties will not be eligible for federal stimulus discretionary funds the state receives and intends to provide to counties with populations of fewer than 500,000.
- Businesses that do not abide by the law risk liability insurance coverage.
- Restaurants that reopen for dine-in service will be at risk of losing their liquor license.
- Other businesses that reopen will be at risk of losing occupancy permits and state-issued licenses.
The governor did not publicly indicate any plan for identifying and penalizing businesses that violate the order.
Several bills have been introduced in both the House and Senate in Harrisburg that would limit the governor’s role as it relates to business closures and give the authority of easing restrictions to the counties. Gov. Wolf has previously vetoed legislation with similar intentions.
More than 435 businesses and organizations belong to the Chamber to receive benefits and support efforts to strengthen their businesses and the region. Increased membership allows the Chamber to offer additional programs and benefits, have a stronger voice in advocacy, and be involved in more activities and initiatives. The Chamber welcomes Freas Farm Winery to help us fulfill our mission.
Freas Farm Winery is located outside of Berwick, in the village of Summerhill. They began producing wine in the fall of 2013 and bottling in spring 2014, offering PA Preferred farm to table wines. For additional information, visit their website or Facebook page.
More than 430 businesses and organizations belong to the Chamber to receive benefits and support efforts to strengthen their businesses and the region. Increased membership allows the Chamber to offer additional programs and benefits, have a stronger voice in advocacy and be involved in more activities and initiatives. The Chamber welcomes Harry’s Sporting Goods to help us fulfill our mission.
Harry’s Sporting Goods is located in downtown Berwick. They carry a variety of brands, and specialize in athletic goods including sneakers, clothing, equipment, and more. For additional information, visit their website or Facebook page.
Updated 3/21/22 at 9:00 a.m.
Business Operations
– The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) new masking guidelines focus less on positive test results and more on what’s happening at local hospitals. At the high level, it is recommended that everyone continue to wear masks indoors. In medium-level counties, individuals who are at high risk should continue to wear a mask. At the low level, individuals should stay up to date with vaccines and get tested if they’re sick, but do not need to wear masks indoors. Regardless of a county’s status, employers and businesses can continue to enforce masking policies.
As of 3/21/22, Columbia and Montour County are at low risk.
County status information is available on the CDC’s website.
These changes do not impact the requirement to wear a mask while on public transportation or an airline. Those requirements fall under a separate order.
– Click here for the latest guidance on quarantine and isolation from the CDC.
Vaccination and Testing
Vaccination
The Columbia Montour Chamber of Commerce is partnering with Geisinger in encouraging eligible individuals to get vaccinated. Click here for information.
Click here to find vaccination sites statewide.
Resources to help employers communicate with their employees about vaccination are available from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
SHRM, the Society for Human Resource Management, provides recommendations for developing a workplace vaccination strategy.
Testing
Geisinger offers both symptomatic testing and testing for travel. Visit here for details.
If you are exhibiting flu-like symptoms, contact your physician for a referral to a testing site.
Financial Assistance
Local programs
– The Chamber’s low-interest loan program is offering loans of up to $10,000 for members at 3% interest for 30 months, with interest only payments for the first 12 months. If you are interested in the Chamber’s loan program, contact Fred Gaffney at the Chamber of Commerce at 570-784-2522 as funds are limited.
More than 430 businesses and organizations belong to the Chamber to receive benefits and support efforts to strengthen their businesses and the region. Increased membership allows the Chamber to offer additional programs and benefits, have a stronger voice in advocacy and be involved in more activities and initiatives. The Chamber welcomes Raceway Self & Mobile Storage to help us fulfill our mission.
Raceway Self & Mobile Storage has locations in Hughesville, Milton, and Bloomsburg. They provide solutions for moving, temporary storage, during construction, between housing, military deployments, or just extra space. For more information, visit their website.
More than 430 businesses and organizations belong to the Chamber to receive benefits and support efforts to strengthen their businesses and the region. Increased membership allows the Chamber to offer additional programs and benefits, have a stronger voice in advocacy and be involved in more activities and initiatives. The Chamber welcomes State Farm- Laurie Powell to help us fulfill our mission.
Located in Berwick, State Farm- Laurie Powell provides insurance for: auto, home, business, property, life, health & more. For more information, visit their website.
As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, non-essential businesses have been ordered to shutdown in Pennsylvania. Many of these businesses that are affected are small businesses. The Chamber has created a website to sell gift certificates on behalf of members, with no cost or fees to the business. This website will provide a way for people to support our local businesses now despite them being closed or only partially operational. Participating members will receive funds for gift certificate purchases on a weekly basis. We hope to launch this website later this week with just a few members signing up. The attached FAQ sheet provides more details about the program.
If a member would like to have gift certificates available for purchase on the website, please email certificates@columbiamontourchamber.com.
In addition to the purchasing of gift certificates, the Chamber is encouraging the public to support local restaurants that are still offering take-out or delivery service.
From President Bashar Hanna
Bloomsburg University will deliver academic courses online for the remainder of the Spring 2020 semester, beginning March 23. We will allow students to continue to retrieve belongings from residence halls and academic buildings this week, through Saturday, March 21, with the knowledge that they should remove all their belongings. Students will have an opportunity to move out at a later date if they choose not to do so this week.
We are certain there are many questions regarding refunds and other financial matters. University leadership is working on a solution and will communicate the decision as soon as it becomes available.
We strongly discourage students from remaining in off-campus housing through the rest of the semester.
We implore students to take this situation seriously and to heed the guidance from public health officials.
Thank you for your e-mails and questions as they assist us in identifying information you’re requesting. While it is impossible to respond to the volume of individual e-mails at this time, we will do our best to include answers in these broader communications. This daily communication serves as the University’s official method of sharing updates relating to the Coronavirus.