Jeff_LaG
Jul 06 2007, 12:17 PM
From: http://www.citizensvoice.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18557247&BRD=2259&PAG=461&dept_id=455154&rfi=6
07/06/2007
Campers hold their breath
BY MICHAEL P. BUFFER
STAFF WRITER
KINGSTON TOWNSHIP — Linda Brooke says she’s glad her camping reservation at Frances Slocum State Park ends Sunday.
“It was a fluke,” the Benton resident said Thursday afternoon at the park. “I was not watching the news.”
The news came Tuesday. The park and all other state parks could be closed this Monday if Gov. Ed Rendell and the state Legislature don’t agree on a budget.
Brooke and her husband, John Brooke, arrived at the campsite Wednesday.
“I wish Eddie Rendell would do something,” John Brooke said.
Flo Rieder may not be as lucky as Linda and John Brooke. Her family’s two-week camping reservation ends July 14.
So if there’s no budget Monday, their camping plans will be up in smoke. Reservations made by thousands of campers would be canceled, and 5,550 campsites at state parks would be emptied.
The reason is Rendell plans to furlough more than 25,000 state employees — classified as non-essential workers — if there’s no budget by Monday.
“I think they’ll take care of it,” said Rieder, a Taylor resident who was reading a book in a lawn chair under a trailer awning. “If we have to leave, we have to leave. We’ll take it one day at a time. It won’t spoil a vacation because we’re retired.”
Any money deposited to reserve a campsite at a state park would be completely refunded if state parks close Monday, state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources spokeswoman Chris Novak said. Prices for campsites at state parks range from $10 a night to $263 for a week.
“We are notifying anyone checking into parks now this is a pending issue,” Novak said. “We’re hoping that we can at least make people aware.”
Campers at Frances Slocum State Park said Thursday they had not discussed the situation with state employees. A group of campers didn’t even know about the situation, and they were relieved to learn the park would not close until Monday, the day after they were leaving.
State park workers would notify campers Monday morning if the parks are closing, and they would tell campers to leave by midnight Tuesday, Novak said. Gates at state parks would be closed, and temporary barriers would be erected in some areas, Novak said.
Park managers and salaried rangers — who are full-time, year-round employees — would continue to work to protect state property and enforce the closure, Novak said.
If state parks close Monday, state employees would begin notifying by telephone anyone who has reserved a camp site in a state park, and people who made reservations online will get e-mail notices, Novak said. There are currently about 12,000 reservations for camping in state parks, Novak said.
The state government has been operating without a budget since Sunday.
“I could trim a lot of fat from the budget,” Linda Brooke said. “There is not a valid reason not to come up with a budget.”
[email protected], 570-821-2073
07/06/2007
Campers hold their breath
BY MICHAEL P. BUFFER
STAFF WRITER
KINGSTON TOWNSHIP — Linda Brooke says she’s glad her camping reservation at Frances Slocum State Park ends Sunday.
“It was a fluke,” the Benton resident said Thursday afternoon at the park. “I was not watching the news.”
The news came Tuesday. The park and all other state parks could be closed this Monday if Gov. Ed Rendell and the state Legislature don’t agree on a budget.
Brooke and her husband, John Brooke, arrived at the campsite Wednesday.
“I wish Eddie Rendell would do something,” John Brooke said.
Flo Rieder may not be as lucky as Linda and John Brooke. Her family’s two-week camping reservation ends July 14.
So if there’s no budget Monday, their camping plans will be up in smoke. Reservations made by thousands of campers would be canceled, and 5,550 campsites at state parks would be emptied.
The reason is Rendell plans to furlough more than 25,000 state employees — classified as non-essential workers — if there’s no budget by Monday.
“I think they’ll take care of it,” said Rieder, a Taylor resident who was reading a book in a lawn chair under a trailer awning. “If we have to leave, we have to leave. We’ll take it one day at a time. It won’t spoil a vacation because we’re retired.”
Any money deposited to reserve a campsite at a state park would be completely refunded if state parks close Monday, state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources spokeswoman Chris Novak said. Prices for campsites at state parks range from $10 a night to $263 for a week.
“We are notifying anyone checking into parks now this is a pending issue,” Novak said. “We’re hoping that we can at least make people aware.”
Campers at Frances Slocum State Park said Thursday they had not discussed the situation with state employees. A group of campers didn’t even know about the situation, and they were relieved to learn the park would not close until Monday, the day after they were leaving.
State park workers would notify campers Monday morning if the parks are closing, and they would tell campers to leave by midnight Tuesday, Novak said. Gates at state parks would be closed, and temporary barriers would be erected in some areas, Novak said.
Park managers and salaried rangers — who are full-time, year-round employees — would continue to work to protect state property and enforce the closure, Novak said.
If state parks close Monday, state employees would begin notifying by telephone anyone who has reserved a camp site in a state park, and people who made reservations online will get e-mail notices, Novak said. There are currently about 12,000 reservations for camping in state parks, Novak said.
The state government has been operating without a budget since Sunday.
“I could trim a lot of fat from the budget,” Linda Brooke said. “There is not a valid reason not to come up with a budget.”
[email protected], 570-821-2073