Walker Township supervisors remind residents that the property assessment surveyors will be collecting data again on properties in the next two weeks.

Schuylkill County is doing a reassessment of county properties. The reassessment, the first since 1996, began in Walker Township in December and will continue into the spring.

Surveyors will have proper credentials and ask homeowners’ permission before accessing their properties. They will not enter homes.

Break-ins, thefts

Township officials are telling residents to be alert for shed break-ins.

Township Secretary Ann Ostergaard said she knew one person who lost tools and a generator.

“There is a lot of small, petty crime in the area,” Ostergaard said. “Another problem is ‘porch pirates,’ people who steal packages from peoples’ porches.”

Residents are urged to be vigilant and contact police if they see any suspicious activity.

Grant training program

Ostergaard told supervisors that the Appalachian Regional Commission recently made it possible for municipalities to get grants.

Ostergaard will attend a four-week, online training program and see about getting a $50,000 grant from the ARC. Part of the training will include what projects are eligible for the grants.

for what project that grant can be used.

The Appalachian Regional Commission is an economic development partnership entity of the federal government and 13 state governments focusing on 423 counties across the Appalachian Region. Its mission is to innovate, partner, and invest to build community capacity and strengthen economic growth in Appalachia. According to maps on the commission’s website, Carbon County is one of the counties in Pennsylvania that is part of the Appalachian Region.

Fire company report

New England Fire Company had 8 calls in January - two tanker task force events, a helicopter landing at Heisler’s, one vehicle accident, two tree down calls, and an automatic fire alarm. New England had 73 calls last year.

Fire company representative Chad Felty said that he had attended a meeting of fire chiefs and the fire commissioner at Penn State University recently.

“They are looking at providing $10,000 for each fire company to go toward additional insurance for firefighters,” Felty said. “I don’t have all the details yet on who, what, and how the firefighters would be covered.”