The long-awaited grand reopening of Penn Forest Township Volunteer Fire Co. No. 1's renovated banquet hall was celebrated with a ribbon cutting ceremony and open house on Saturday, December 18th.

With dignitaries, fire company personnel, and local residents looking on, County Commissioner Bill O'Gurek did the honors of cutting the ribbon to the applause of all.This was a million dollar investment made possible with a grant for $632,000 received through Speaker of the House Keith McCall and financing by the fire company obtained through the Jim Thorpe National bank.The year-long project included work on the social hall, new larger windows, a large covered portico at the entrance, upgrading the kitchen, upgrading the structure's insulation, a new roof over the engine bay, repaving the parking lot, and a new septic system.To conform to Red Cross standards for sheltering, the restrooms now have shower facilities which will be available for emergency situations requiring sheltering people.The fire company has an emergency generator and has been used in the past to house people during emergencies such as widespread prolonged power outages.The banquet hall will also be a source of raising funds to support the fire company through bookings such as for weddings, banquets, and other affairs with the upgraded kitchen making it easier to cook for a large amount of people.Fire company Vice President Gerry Dotter noted that "every effort was made to keep as much of the work as local as possible with Kesk Construction as the general contractor and Kresge Electric doing all of the electrical work."Among the many outstanding new features at the fire company are a large covered portico at the main entrance to protect people from inclement weather as they enter and exit the facility, a new lobby which was decorated and furnished courtesy of Mary Enck Realty, a cloak room in the foyer, and new larger windows allowing more outside light to come into the banquet hall.After almost a year without it, hopefully about the middle of January BINGO will be able to resume in the social hall.Anyone having questions about or interested in booking the banquet hall can contact either Sue Whiteley at (570) 325-2549 or Brenda Hill at (570) 325-5533.