Concert to help RC&D

Event will be held May 17 at Bible Baptist Church in Burnham

By KIERNAN M. SCHALK, Sentinel reporter, kschalk@lewistownsentinel.com
LEWISTOWN — A special concert to benefit Community Partnerships Resource Conservation and Development Council, Inc., will be held at 7 p.m. May 17 at Bible Baptist Church in Burnham.

The concert headliner will be the Chris Ruble band. Lead singer Ruble has won numerous local and regional awards and also has been on the American Idol television show.

“I’ve been singing since I was six ... been out in the public since I was 14, I hope to make a career out of it,” Ruble said.

Community Partnerships RC&D Program Specialist Sam Price said he was thrilled that Ruble agreed to do the concert.

“Sam called me and said that Community Partnerships (was looking to put on a Spring Concert) and I am happy to help any way I can,” Ruble said of the planned performance.

Community Partnerships RC&D coordinator Larry Schardt said Ruble was a “great person and performer who has become a household name in the area.”

“They do a lot of things to help in the community,” Ruble said of all the programs Community Partnerships is involved with.

Price said that people often don’t realize the amount of programs Community Partnerships helps fund.

Price added that one of the least known and most important programs Community Partnerships helps fund is the rural “Dry Hydrant” initiative.

“A dry hydrant is a non-pressurized pipe system permanently installed in existing lakes, ponds, and streams that provides means of suction supply of water to the tank truck. It’s a great program that can save lives and property,” Price said.

He added that in many rural areas, a lack of water mains and domestic fire hydrants sometimes may make it hard for a fire department to do its job quickly and efficiently. Tanker trucks must be used to carry large amounts of water to the fire scene. The success of the operation hinges on the distance the trucks must travel to water "fill-up" points around the county. Unfortunately, the fill-up points are often a long distance from the fire and firefighters are unable to retain an uninterrupted water supply at the scene in many cases.

Another program that Community Partnerships raises money for is the New Years Eve celebration in downtown Lewistown.

“The Great Chip Drop” on Dec. 31, 2007, was a well-attended event that received national and regional news coverage, and plans are already in the making for this year’s celebration.

“It looks as though it will become an annual event,” Price said of the event that he and Sentinel reporter Nick Malawskey helped create.

“The night showed the beauty of community celebration,” Schardt said of the event.

A local volunteer firefighter company, United Rescue, manned the ladder truck that suspended the giant replica potato chip bag nearly 100 feet in the air. The fire company's involvement was especially appropriate as Lewistown is the site of the State Fire Academy.

Price said the event would not have been such a huge success without the help of community business leaders, individuals and volunteers who donated their time, effort and money toward putting on the celebration.

In addition to these programs and events, Community Partnerships also administers the Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts program for Juniata, Mifflin, Perry, Snyder, Union and Northumberland Counties.

The purpose of the program is to support a wide variety of local and community arts activities through re-granting.

Another program Community Partnerships previously administered was a stream sign program, which was designed to raise awareness, connect people to their watersheds and encourage them to protect their water resources.

In addition, Community Partnerships is closely involved with providing funding for the following; RiverFest, Festival of Ice, Margaret McCann School Of Dance, Mifflin-Juniata County Arts Festival, Community Days, Country Memories Days, West Kish Coffeehouse, Generoo Arts Festival, Campus Theatre (Lewisburg) and many other regional events.

“This money is being raised for a very important nonprofit organization (that manages many local programs) ... anybody is welcome to attend the concert,” Ruble said.