Welcome to R.E.S.C.U.E.

R.E.S.C.U.E.

History

In the late 1970's, a group calling itself the Concerned Citizens of New Milford began the long, legal battle to get the leaking Lyncott Landfill cleaned up and closed down. At the end of the seemingly endless tunnel of documents, court appearances, and clerical and research labors, emerged a group of weary, but victorious volunteers carrying the banner of R.E.S.C.U.E.!

R.E.S.C.U.E. Recycling was an offshoot of R.E.S.C.U.E., created for the sole purpose of initiating a recycling program. After a couple of years, the program was turned over to Susquehanna County and is now a thriving, county-wide recycling program.

The first "chapter" to join R.E.S.C.U.E. was a group in the Friendsville area, the Concerned Citizens of North Branch (commonly known as the North Branch Chapter) who fought long and hard to close down the Clymar Landfill which had totally contaminated, and continues to contaminate, the area's groundwater supply. This caused John and Helene Guiton, key members of that chapter, to sell off their dairy because the cows were dying. Although they succeeded in getting the landfill closed, they were unable to get any clean up accomplished. The problem still exists.

The next group to join was Apolacon R.E.S.C.U.E. This group was trying to prevent a mining operation that threatened to destroy unique natural limestone formations. The Apolacon chapter merged with the North Branch Chapter in June of 2006.

Wayne/Susquehanna R.E.S.C.U.E. started in 1988 when the area was faced with the prospect of a new, large landfill in Ararat, on property that had once been a local landfill. It was developed by the man who was well known for his inability to get rid of the contents of a "garbage barge", travelling unsuccessfully from country to country. Vacation homeowners and locals led the rallying cry against the landfill and raised $10,000 at a day-long affair including a pancake breakfast, lunch and dinner.

A major mailing to all taxpayers in the surrounding communities, yielded a membership of almost a thousand families, and a solid financial basis for the organization. The result of that massive effort was a permit denial by the DER (Dept. of Environmental Regulation, now DEP, Dept. of Environmental Protection).

This chapter continues to monitor the water quality in the area of the existing local landfill.

R.E.S.C.U.E. Wyoming grew out of TARGET (Take Action Responsibly for our Garbage, our Environment, and Traffic) when SWCSWA (the short-lived Susquehanna and Wyoming Counties' Solid Waste Authority. pronounced "swick-swa"), in its infinite intelligence, began considering incinerator proposals, one of which was to be sited at what later became the Siltex site. In the fight against Siltex, just a stone's throw from Lake Carey, R.E.S.C.U.E. Wyoming sought, but failed to achieve Scenic Rivers designation for Meshoppen Creek.

Led by efforts of Ms. Sally Willoughby, the chapter worked hard to fight Wyoming Sand and Stone's permit to mine gravel on Jaynes Bend.

The owner of Siltex stole away into the night leaving a mess, and an appeal to the Environmental Hearing Board to prevent mining on the Bend denied.

Unfortunately, many people worked very hard, but couldn't win the fight. As the chapter closed its doors, Ms. Willoughby commented, "And that is the long and short of it. Somehow we should have won more to justify the gray hair and heartburn." R.E.S.C.U.E. Wyoming ceased functioning early in 2002.

The threat of a new landfill to be constructed somewhere in either the Route 29 or Route 11 corridor caused the formation of another chapter known as Clean Acres and the creation of the New Milford-Lenox Chapter out of what was the original R.E.S.C.U.E.! Clean Acres ceased operations shortly after the landfill issue became history.

In June of 2006 the New Milford-Lenox merged with Wayne/Susquehanna R.E.S.C.U.E. and will function under the name of the latter. The treasury of the New Milford-Lenox Chapter has been transferred to Wayne/Susquehanna and is earmarked for an emergency fund with interest providing funds for the continuance of the annual Ben Stone Scholarship Award.

Up until June, 2006 an umbrella group functioned to share information amongst the various chapters. The recent mergers of the New Milford-Lenox Chapter with Wayne/Susquehanna R.E.S.C.U.E and the merger of the Apolacon Chapter with the North Branch Chapter no longer require an umbrella group. See the June 2006 newsletter for a complete report of the mergers.

Through all of this, there have been myriad fund-raisers annual participation at the Harford Fair, occasional environmental fairs, often in conjunction with Earth Day. The environmental fairs are filled with prizes, contests, food, special attractions, etc., all to raise money. We've had bluegrass concerts and bake sales, chicken barbecues and bluebird house sales. Most of our funding now comes from our general membership funds, annual membership dues, and newsletter subscriptions.