Mahanoy Downtown Inc. holds business mixer
BY LESLIE RICHARDSON STAFF WRITER
- REPUBLICAN & Herald
01/20/2007
MAHANOY CITY - Progress is better seen than heard.
Mahanoy Downtown Inc. held a business mixer at the Elk's
Lodge on Friday night to show the area business people what the downtown
revitalization group has accomplished and what its goals are for the
future.
"Mahanoy City is the Missouri of Pennsylvania,"
Mahanoy City Borough Manager and MDI member Jerry Teter said. "Show
me. They want to be shown what has been done. They have been hearing
that we are going to make changes to improve the downtown but they
have been hearing that kind of thing for years. They want to see it."
According to MDI President James J. Rhoades Jr., the
residents of Mahanoy City will see some major changes.
"Since we held our first town meeting in 2004 we
have made a lot of progress in our quest to become a designated Main
Street Community," Rhoades said. "It is a lot of time-consuming
work at first and many things have gone unnoticed because it is behind-the-scenes
things, but big things are beginning to happen."
Rhoades listed the very successful event, Night at the
Boardwalk, held the first weekend in July 2005, as a way the group
got the community on the move. Some of the events the group has also
participated in include: a new business Welcome Wreath program; the
Upper Schuylkill Pedestrian and Motor Safety Program; the Low-Cost,
High-Impact Pedestrian Safety Initiative; and Smith Mansion Jazz Night
as part of Upper Schuylkill Homecoming Weekend.
MDI also assisted borough council in obtaining $337,500
in grants for borough improvements, including the Hometown Streets
Program.
"The people of Mahanoy City will see new signs
in the business district along with new traffic signals at Main and
Centre Streets, as well as crosswalk improvements at the corners to
help calm traffic in that area," Rhoades said.
New residents were intrigued by the group.
"I took over Angela's Restaurant in September and
I wanted to come tonight to see what this was all about," Sherry
Coleman said.
"It is better to come and see for ourselves than
listen to hearsay," Mary Neely, a cook at Angela's said. "When
I moved here eight years ago there wasn't much to do. Now things are
getting better. There are more activities. We need to keep it going."
State Sen. James J. Rhoades, R-29, state Rep. Neal P.
Goodman, D-123, and William Hanley, legislative aid to U.S. Rep. T.
Timothy Holden, joined more than 60 businesspeople to lend support
to the group and the community.
"We wanted to use this night as a tool to get acquainted
with the members of the business community and to let them know we
are getting things accomplished," Rhoades said. "We are
also hoping to get some new members to join our efforts."
© The REPUBLICAN & Herald
2007
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