News Release

From the U.S. Small Business Administration, Disaster Field Operations Center East

Release Date: Feb. 8, 2023

Release Number: 23-236, PA 17775

Contact: Michael Lampton (404) 331-0333 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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ATLANTA – The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced today that Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) are available in parts of northeast Pennsylvania and New York for small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture, and most private nonprofit organizations affected by drought from July 1 through Oct. 1, 2022.

The declaration includes the primary counties of Susquehanna and Wyoming, and the adjacent counties of Bradford, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Sullivan, and Wayne in Pennsylvania; and Broome and Tioga in New York.

“When the Secretary of Agriculture issues a disaster declaration to help farmers recover from damages and losses to crops, the Small Business Administration issues a declaration to eligible entities, affected by the same disaster,” said Kem Fleming, director of SBA’s Field Operations Center East.

Under this declaration, the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program is available to eligible farm-related and nonfarm-related entities that suffered financial losses as a direct result of this disaster. Apart from aquaculture enterprises, SBA cannot provide disaster loans to agricultural producers, farmers or ranchers. Nurseries are eligible to apply for economic injury disaster loans for losses caused by drought conditions.

The loan amount can be up to $2 million with interest rates of 2.935 percent for small businesses and 1.875 percent for private nonprofit organizations, with terms up to 30 years. These working capital loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills that could have been paid had the disaster not occurred. The loans are not intended to replace lost sales or profits.

Applicants may apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via SBA’s secure website at https://disasterloanassistance.sba.gov/ela/s/ and should apply under SBA declaration # 17775.

Disaster loan information and application forms can also be obtained by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 (if you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services) or sending an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Loan applications can also be downloaded from sba.gov/disaster. Completed applications should be mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.

Submit completed loan applications to SBA no later than Oct. 2, 2023.

PA 17775-Sec Ag Fact Sheet.pdf92.71 KB

About the U.S. Small Business Administration

Recently, U.S. SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman announced a policy change granting 12 months of no payments and 0 percent interest. This pertains to all disaster loans approved in response to disasters declared on or after Sept. 21, 2022, through Sept. 30, 2023. This policy change will benefit disaster survivors and help them to decrease the overall cost of recovery by reducing the amount of accrued interest they must repay. Details are available through the SBA Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955. Individuals with verbal or hearing impairments may dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET, Monday to Friday, or email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow, expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.

Frontier is in the middle of an infrastructure build-out called “Building Gigabit America”.

This involves the installation of brand new, high-speed fiber optics in Pennsylvania and other areas, with the goal of providing high-speed “Fiber to the Home” to 10 million households and businesses by the end of 2025.

As part of that build-out, we are installing new Fiber Optic cabling all over Luzerne County, including in Butler Township. Much of that build-out is being done underground, using sophisticated horizontal boring machines, which is why you’ve been seeing all those trucks and heavy equipment in your area lately.

By installing underground as much as possible, we can greatly minimize the surface disruptions, and except for a few plastic boxes that are mounted flush with the ground, and the occasional metal cabinet attached to a telephone pole, you won’t even see the infrastructure once the work is complete.

Naturally, we always try to minimize any disruptions, work as safely as possible, and make a real effort to restore any surface areas we disturb. Good relations with the communities we serve are important to us and we try hard to keep it that way.

Eric Scher
Frontier Project Manager

April 2023

The Butler Township Supervisors will hold a hearing on Tuesday, April 11, 2023 at 6:00 PM at the Butler Township Community Center located at 83 Corporate Drive, Drums, PA to consider an amendment to the Zoning Ordinance making application referrals to the Township Planning Commission in variance cases discretionary not mandatory. A copy of the Zoning Amendment is available for inspection at the Municipal Building and the Standard Speaker during normal business hours. The public hearing will be immediately followed by the regular meeting of the Supervisors at which time they intend to adopt the amendment.

Donald G Karpowich, Esq.
Butler Township Solicitor
85 Drasher Road
Drums, PA 18222

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that Butler Township will receive sealed bids for the purchase of scrap metal. The material can be examined at the Drums Wastewater Facility off of South Beisels road in Drums. Call 570-788-3547 to schedule access.

Bids must be sent or delivered to the office of the Manager on or before 3:00 P.M. prevailing time on April 5, 2023. Bids must be submitted in sealed envelopes marked on the outside with the name, address and legal designation of the business (e.g. corporation, partnership or individual) of the Bidder and the Township of Butler, 83 Corporate Drive, Drums, PA 18222. Bids will be publicly opened at a special meeting scheduled for 9:00 A.M. on Thursday, April 6, 2023 at the Municipal Building.

Each bid must be accompanied by a certified check, bank cashier’s check or money order in the amount of 10% of the amount of the bid, which amount shall be forfeited in case the bidder shall fail to complete the sale, if awarded.

Butler Township reserves the right after opening of the bids to reject any and all bids.

March 2023

SEALED PROPOSALS will be received by Butler Township Supervisors of Luzerne County at the Municipal Building until 12:45 p.m. on March 14th, 2023 for the following:

• #2 Low Sulfur Diesel Fuel (on road), #2 Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel Fuel (off road), and Unleaded Gasoline (87 octane)
  * Estimated quantity only, the actual amount purchased will vary with the requirements of the municipality.

Interested bidders who have questions can do so by contacting the Butler Township Manager at 570-788-3547. 

All bids shall be submitted on letterhead stating Name, address and contact informationof bidder along with your bid amount. 

Bids must be delivered or mailed to the Municipal Office at 83 Corporate Drive, Drums, PA  18222 on or prior to March 14, 2023 at 12:45 p.m. and will be publicly opened at 1 p.m.

The Township reserves the right to reject any or all proposals.

February 2023

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Butler Township Supervisors will hold their remaining regular meetings for 2023 at 6:00 PM at the Municipal Building located at 83 Corporate Drive, Drums, PA 18222 as follows: 

• February 14
• March 14,
• April 11
• May 9
• June 13
• July 11
• August 8
• September 12
• October 10
• November 14
• December 12

Work Sessions will be held at 9:00 AM as follows: 

• February 9
• March 9
• April 6
• May 4
• June 8
• July 6
• August 3
• September 7
• October 5
• November 9
• December 7

Planning Commission meetings will be held on the first Monday of the month at 6:00 PM, except for September, which will be held on the following day, September 5.

Zoning Hearing Board meetings will be held on the third Tuesday of the month at 6:00 PM.

Recreation Board meetings will be held on the fourth Monday of the month at 6 PM, except for December, which will be held on the following day, December 26.

The Transparency in Coverage Rule issued by the federal government requires health insurers and group health plans to provide detailed pricing data for all covered items and services to the public in the form of Machine Readable Files (MRFs).

Highmark is committed to helping self-funded customers comply with this new rule and will create and publish the MRFs on your behalf. Highmark will make this information available through the link: https://mrfdata.hmhs.com.

Information will be updated monthly. The detailed pricing information must include:

• In-Network Rates for all covered in-network items and services
• Out-of-Network historical rates for all covered items, services and prescription drugs
• In-Network negotiated rates and historical net prices for all covered prescription drugs by plan at the pharmacy location level. This prescription drug information has been delayed pending additional rules.

This link leads to the machine readable files that are made available in response to the federal Transparency in Coverage Rule and includes negotiated service rates and out-of-network allowed amounts between health plans and healthcare providers. The machine-readable files are formatted to allow researchers, regulators, and application developers to more easily access and analyze data.

For additional information, see the guide below:

User Guide - Navigation of Machine Readable Files Resource - 2022

Harrisburg, PA – Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine announced that in lieu of in-person free potassium iodide, or KI, tablet distribution the department has provided in previous years, the tablets are available to all Pennsylvanians who live or work within 10 miles of the state’s five nuclear power plants by calling the Department of Health at 1-877-724-3258 (1-877-PA-HEALTH) or at county and municipal health departments or state health centers.

“Emergency preparedness is an important aspect of public health and having potassium iodide tablets for residents who live or work within 10 miles of a nuclear facility is an essential preparedness action in the case of a radiological emergency,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said. “However, with continuing to efforts to limit indoor gatherings, we want Pennsylvanians to know about alternative ways to obtain these tablets.”

KI helps protect the thyroid gland against harmful radioactive iodine and can be taken by anyone, if they are not allergic to it. It is safe for pregnant women and those who are breastfeeding, people on thyroid medication, children and infants. Individuals who are unsure if they should take potassium iodide should ask a health care provider first.

“It’s important to remember potassium iodide should only be taken when instructed to by state health officials or the governor, and it is not a substitute for evacuation in the case of a radiological emergency at one of Pennsylvania’s nuclear facilities,” Dr. Levine said.

With the current COVID-19 pandemic and Governor Tom Wolf’s and Sec. Levine’s Targeted Mitigation Order limiting indoor gatherings to 25 people, the decision was made to cancel the KI distribution events for 2020. KI tablets are still recommended for people living and working within 10 miles of the Three Mile Island Generating Station, which closed in September 2019.

Individuals requesting KI tablets may do so for other family members or those who are unable to get the tablets on their own. School districts and employers within a 10-mile radius can also arrange to obtain their supply of KI tablets from the department.

Information sheets explaining how many KI tablets should be taken, when to take the tablets, and how to store them are provided with the packages. Health nurses can answer questions about the process over the phone as well.

The state’s five nuclear facilities are closely regulated, secure and well-maintained. The facilities are: Beaver Valley Power Station; Limerick Generating Station; Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station; Susquehanna Steam Electric Station; and recently closed Three Mile Island Generating Station.

Additional information on potassium iodide (KI) tablets and nuclear power plant safety can be found on the Department of Health’s website at health.pa.gov or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

MEDIA CONTACT:             Nate Wardle, 717-787-1783 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.