Centre County Pennsylvania Senior Environmental Corps

November 9, 2022 - General Meeting - Willowbank Building Room 245 9:30 AM & BlueJeans

Supplies: There will a second meeting of members of the ad hoc supply committee on Nov. 17. Susan Brantley at PSU has been contacted about testing of two samples from each team once each year. Bill Smith will collect the samples when visiting teams for QC. Supplies will be ordered in January 2023.

Quality Control: Duplicate testing has been completed for 2022. A QC report will be posted on this website.

Publicity Report: Gary set up a table at ClearWater Conservancy's annual meeting.

Grant Procedures: Gary will write up a Grant Submission Procedure to be included in the By-Laws. There will be a new position for Grant Resourse Advisor. Gary volunteered for it.

Training: New members should be given written instructions as well as demonstrations. Ralph will draft instructions for consistancy.

RSVP Advisory Council: CCPaSEC received an invitation to have a representative on the RSVP advisory council. The term will be from Jan. '23-Dec. '25. Anyone interested in this position, please contact Susan Sapp. Susan will take the position if no one else volunteers.

The holiday luncheon is scheduled for 11:30 AM Wednesday, December 14, 2022. The buffet will be available if 30 members make reservations. RSVP to Laurie Jeffreys by Dec. 7. CCPaSEC will invite some special guests to attend.

Officers & Resource Advisors for 2023: Anyone interested in serving as an officer or resource advisor should contact Susan Sapp prior to the February 2023 meeting when voting will take place!

The next regular meeting will be held on Wednesday, December 14, 2022 at 9:30 AM, Room 245, Willowbank Building and online via BlueJeans.

October 12, 2022 - General Meeting - Willowbank Building Room 245 9:30 AM & BlueJeans

Supplies: The members of the ad hoc committee met and discussed equipment needs, what parameters to test, team membership needs. A professor at PSU has been contacted about equipment information. CCPaSEC has 12 complete kits and 1 partial kit.

Quality Control: 3 more teams will need to be duplicate tested for 2022. There is a need for an additional volunteer to help out.

Publicity Report: Ralph and Gary will set up a table at ClearWater Conservancy's annual meeting and CCPaSEC will be included in their annual report as a way to increase our visibility to the public.

Membership Resource Advisor: People who expressed interest at the Bellefonte Expo in joining CCPaSEC have been contacted.

Talleyrand Expo: 3 members manned a booth at the Talleyrand Expo on Oct.1 from noon to 5 PM. 4 people signed up as interested in membership.

Grant Writing:

• It was suggested that team leaders write up an annual report noting stream trends for their team to be combined and used for grant writing. Gary will design a sample one. Team annual reports should be sent to Gary Moorman by January 15, 2023. This report will be shared with Centre County Conservation District and ClearWater.
• Dave Roberts proposed a grant request for $1000 to the PA Chapter of Sierra Club for a joint effort to test surface waters of Spring Creek and Bald Eagle Creek watersheds for PFAS contamination. This would provide CCPaSEC equipment for testing. Sue Brantley, PSU professor, will contact others at PSU for additional help. The grant request was approved conditioned on approval by CWC and the Department of Conservation. This would be a continuation of a PFAS surface water monitoring project conducted by PaSEC and Moshannon Group in March of this Spring.

Webinar: The POWR Lunch and Learn Webinar: "How to Make Instagram Work for You" will be available on Oct. 18. The secretary will email the information to the membership.

The holiday luncheon is scheduled for 11:30 AM Wednesday, December 14, 2022. The buffet will be available if 30 members make reservations which will be taken in November.

The next regular meeting will be held on Wednesday, November 9, 2022 at 9:30 AM, Room 245, Willowbank Building and online via BlueJeans.

September 14, 2022 - General Meeting - Willowbank Building Room 245 9:30 AM & BlueJeans

Supplies: The 7 members of the ad hoc committee will discuss equipment needs on Sept. 28. Clinton County is setting up monitoring teams and will contact Dan for equipment information.

Quality Control: 4 more teams will need to be duplicate tested for 2022. There is a need for an additional volunteer to help out.

Training News & Updates: Ralph and Ken are working on an educational tutorial which can be completed online. There will be a Team Leader (representative) meeting prior to the December 14 Luncheon. The meeting will be in the RSVP office at the Willowbank Building at 9:30 AM in place of a regular meeting.

Membership Resource Advisor: A new member signed up and will be a floater. He has been out with Team 1. Dan also has a new team member..

Talleyrand Expo: At least 2 members will be attending the Talleyrand Expo on Oct.2 from noon to 5 PM. Anyone wishing to sign up should contact Dan.

Decals: Extra decals will go to team leaders to distribute to team members

Information: It is good to report to the public that our streams are in good shape. Since the annual Spring Creek clean-up, there has been less litter at sites that are visited.

save the date: The holiday luncheon is scheduled for 11:30 AM Wednesday, December 14, 2022. The buffet will be available if 30 members make reservations which will be taken in November.

The next regular meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 12, 2022 at 9:30 AM, Room 245, Willowbank Building and online via BlueJeans.

August 10, 2022 - General Meeting - Willowbank Building 9:00 AM & BlueJeans

Supplies: Alkalinity test acid for each team was purchased. Teams should check the expiration date on the alkalinity test acid and replace it if expired.

Publicity: Gary gave a talk to the Spring Creek Conservation group. Another talk is scheduled for November.

Quality Control: Duplicate testing for 2022 is back on track. There is a need for an additional volunteer to help out.

Training News & Updates: Ralph has been working with Ken on an educational quiz which can be completed on the computer.

Membership Resource Advisor: Susan Sapp reported that the second Marsh Creek team is on hold as it is in need of more members. Dave DeCapria will do the equipment for this team.

Copyright: Carolyn learned that a copyright statement can be placed on the website with documents. A notation will be added at the end of the web site.

Mini-manual: The manual is in good shape and Ken would like to ask for it to be published.

Macros: Genie has dates available in October.

Master Naturalist: The class will be held on Sept. 22 at 6pm at Shaver's Creek. Carolyn, Gary, Genie and Dan discussed plans following today's meeting.

The next CCPaSEC meeting will be held in-person at the Willowbank Building, Sept. 14, 2022 9:00 am. The meeting will also be available on BlueJeans online.

save the date: The holiday luncheon was scheduled for 11:30 AM Wednesday, December 14, 2022.

July 13, 2022 - General Meeting - Willowbank Building 9:00 AM & BlueJeans

Committee for future monitoring equipment determination Committee members have been given a list of supplies and prices to be reviewed prior to the first meeting.

Publicity: Gary will speak on July 20 at the Spring Creek Watershed Commission meeting.

Membership Resource Advisors: Susan Robb continues to try contacting prospective members. There needs to be something to refer new members to for more information following training.

Quality Control: Duplicate testing for 2022 has started. There is a need for an additional volunteer to help out.

Copyright: Carolyn learned that a copyright statement can be placed on the website with documents. She will get clarification on the wording from ClearWater Conservancy.

Mini-manual: The manual is in good shape and Ken would like to ask for it to be published.

Clearwater Conservancy Volunteer Appreciation: All are invited to an event to be held on Sunday July 24 from 5-7 at Tudek Park. RSVP by logging onto their website to register.

Meeting Place: We will continue to meet at the RSVP office. Other options include Foxdale and the Benner Township Building but there is a concern about computer connections at those locations.

The next CCPaSEC meeting will be held in-person at the Willowbank Building, August 10, 2022 9:00 am. The meeting will also be available on BlueJeans online.

June 8, 2022 - General Meeting - Zoom 9:00 AM

Chesapeake Bay Data Explorer presentation: (ALLARM) Stephanie Letourneau (community science specialist) & Jinnie Monismith (science advisor) gave an excellent presentation on the Chesapeake Monitoring Cooperative and the Chesapeake Data Explorer. The presentation will be available in the future on the CCPaSEC web site and information can be found at https://cmc.vims.edu/#/home (or google "Chesapeake Data Explorer"). The presenters complimented our group on our data collection. In the future data will be shared with ALLARM yearly. Genie mentioned that the Centre County Water Resource monitoring program also collects data.

Supplies: All team kit keepers are encouraged to keep your Oakton meter probes marinating in pH storage solution when the meter isn’t in use out in the field. As soon as you bring it back home, take the cap off and stick the probe into a small jar filled with enough storage solution to keep the tip submerged. This will increase the life of the probe tips. Standards packets are available for the Oakton meters which should be calibrated before each monthly outing.

Committee for future monitoring equipment determination Dan will chair this committee to discuss our monitoring strategy for future years, and the equipment we would need to implement that strategy. The following people have been contacted by phone and agreed to participate: Rob Fugate, Gary Moorman, Fred Gildow, Dave Roberts, Ken Johnson, Jan Hoffmaster.

Publicity: ClearWater held a family fishing day on June 5. Betsy Blumberg, Jerry Dittman and Kathy Dittman assisted. volunteers are needed to speak on July 20 for the Spring Creek Watershed Commission. They have assisted CCPaSEC with funding.

Membership Resource Advisors: Susan Robb continues to contact potential new members and invite them to visit teams. Team leaders are being contacted to determine which teams need additional members. A committee will be formed to address the issues of placing team members. Susan Sapp will be the liason to communicate with Justin (conservation specialist) for new site locations.

Quality Control: Duplicate testing for 2022 has started. There is a need for an additional volunteer to help out.

Training: Ralph and Ken are creating an automated system that will help new members in asking questions and getting information. This is an extension of the mini-manual. Terry volunteered to field test the system. Joyce suggested that it be housed on the google account with a link to the web site. There was a discussion about copyright. ClearWater will be consulted.

Health Benefits: The mental and physical health benefits of participation in groups like PaSEC should be advertised. Remaining active is important to senior health.

Macros: Genie announced that she will not be available during the month of September. Team leaders need to schedule for her help in August or October.

The next CCPaSEC meeting will be held in-person at the Willowbank Building, July 13, 2022 9:00 am. The meeting will also be available on ZOOM or BlueJeans.

May 11, 2022 - General Meeting - Zoom 9:00 AM

Publicity: A new "Presentations" page on the CCPaSEC website, lists the presentations requested our group to provide. Viewers must first login to the site to view the list. Currently 3 are listed, June 5, 1-5 pm Family Fishing Day at the Tussey ski area; July 20 Spring Creek Watershed Commission; November 3, 11:45 am Nittany Chapter of PARSE (PA Association of Retired State Employees).

Speakers Bureau: Current members are Viqui Gildow, Ralph Locklin, Gary Moorman, Lou Mayer and Carolyn Hatley.

Membership Resource Advisors: Susan Robb continues to contact potential new members and invite them to visit teams. Several suggestions were made to help train and facilitate assigning interested persons to teams. Jan will maintain the Membership spreadsheet while Susan Robb will continue to contact potential new members.

Equipment & Supplies: Supplies have come in. Our uncapped Oakton meter probes should be placed in KCl storage solution when meters are not in use. KCL storage solution can be obtained from Dan. Make sure that you have up to date pH and EC standards also available from Dan.

Quality Control: Duplicate testing for 2022 has started.

Meeting Site Changes: Our meeting room at the Willowbank Building in Bellefonte is no longer available. Suggestions for a new meeting place were: Benner Township Park (outside), Benner Township meeting room, Bald Eagle State Park (inside or outside), ClearWater Conference Room, and Foxdale Village Living Room. They will be checked out. A need for WI-FI access was noted.

Website Changes: A "Presentations" webpage was added as well as site pages, location markers, photos and maps, and links to data sheets for 2 Little Marsh Creek sites for Team 17.

Kits: We have another kit for one more team except for a DO meter. A new team is forming and will share a kit with Team 17. Should we consider writing a grant for purchasing more equipment?

ClearWater Conservancy's Watershed Clean-up Day: April 23, 2022. 10 CCPaSEC members volunteered for Clean-up Day. A big thank you goes out to all who helped! 30 bags of trash plus 4 tires were collected by during four hours of volunteer effort. Genie Robine has been leading the effort since 1997!

CentreGives Donations: This opportuntiy to give to CCPaSEC through ClearWater Conservancy is in its last day today.

"Stream Health and Riparian Buffer Walk": May 21, 2022 $10 led by Penn State Extension.

The next CCPaSEC meeting will be held in-person at The Foxdale Village Living Room, 500 E. Marylyn Ave., State College, June 8, 2022 9:30 am. The meeting will also be available on ZOOM.

March 9, 2022 - General Meeting - Zoom 9:00 AM

Publicity: Gary sent in an article for the Gazette to be published the third Thursday of March. It includes the history of CCPaSEC and information about the 20th anniversary. Gary also wrote a basic script for speakers about CCPaSEC. Susan Sapp submitted a draft proclamation to the Centre County Commissioners for a CCPaSEC Day in April. Susan wrote a letter to the editor of the Centre Daily Times noting the anniversary which will appear in the Sunday "Active Life" edition. Dan, Betsy, Jan, Genie and Ken manned the booth at the Bellefonte Volunteer Day held at the Match Factory. Several prospects signed up. Gary reported that Ralph, Gary and Viqui will talk at the YMCA senior day.

Membership Resource Advisors: A new member joined the Marsh Creek team. The Marsh Creek team will take a team photo and visit a site. The team will be testing two sites in the future.

Equipment & Supplies: YSI model 550A DO meter probes and phosphate standards have been purchased. Chemical reagents and other supplies will arrive in April.

Quality Control: A schedule has been set for duplicate testing for 2022.

Membership: A new member joined the Marsh Creek team. The team will visit the site in April.

20th Anniversary: Details are being finalized for the 20th Anniversary Luncheon on April 13 at Noon. A decal will be handed to each of those attending. A trifold with team photos will be printed. Team photos should be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by the end of March.(cc Joyce and Rob)

Volunteer Hours: Hours submitted should include time at streamside, work in preparation, time spent traveling and time spent on paperwork and recruiting activities. Volunteer hours are important when requesting funding. The hours are forwarded to RSVP and ClearWater Conservancy.

ALLARM: A presentation by ALLARM will be held at our June meeting on our data being included in the Chesapeake Data Explorer Database. Questions for the presenter may be sent to Joyce McKay prior to the presentation.

ClearWater Conservancy's Watershed Clean-up Day: April 23, 2022. Volunteers will meet at The Benner Township Building at 8 AM. Gloves and bags will be provided. There will not be a picnic following the clean-up. Let Genie know if you will be able to attend (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

The next general meeting of CCPaSEC will be held May 11, 2022 9:00 AM via Zoom.

February 9, 2022 - General Meeting - Zoom 9:00 AM

Speakers Bureau: A new Speakers Bureau was approved and will consist of those willing to give presentations to groups requesting information on CCPaSEC. We have already 2 requests, one from the State College YMCA in March and one from the Spring Creek Watershed group in July. Those interested in participation should contact Carolyn Hatley.

Publicity: Gary, Ken, Laurie, and Carolyn composed an article for the 20th Anniversary Celebration. The article, when completed, will be published on our website under the About Us link.

Equipment & Supplies: Another reconditioned YSI model 550A DO meter has been ordered for the Quality Control team. Chemical reagents and other supplies have been ordered.

Mini-manual Revision: A committed was formed to update our mini-manual, which is available on our website.

Training Updates: Ralph reminded the group that the purpose of our activity is to save people from having issues due to nasty stuff in streams. We need to tell each other that what we do is making people safer. We are working on protecting the well-being of community and future generations.

Quality Control: Bill presented the QC Report for 2021 and the January Equipment Check Report for 2022. These reports will be available for viewing on the web site. Bill noted that the nitrates and phosphates were out of the desired 20% RPD for those parameters. It was suggested that the sample cells might need to be better cleaned or replaced. Dan has replacement sample cells. Joyce requested that teams check all of their 2021 data entries prior to the Data Check for 2021 data.

Membership: We have 63 active members and one possible new member. The Marsh Creek team will be looking at possible sites in later February.

2021 Data Check: The checking of 2021 data will begin shortly. Data enterers should review their team's 2021 data before Feb. 28, 2022. Rob, Bill and Joyce will begin checking then.

20th Anniversary: An anniversary luncheon will be held at the Nittany Country Club (110 Country Club Lane, Mingoville, PA 16856) on April 13, 2022. Team leaders should give the information to their team members and send a count to Genie Robine by March 8. A decal will be handed to each of those attending. A trifold with team photos will be printed. Team photos should be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by the end of March.(cc Joyce and Rob)

Moshannon Group of Sierra Club: A coordination & assistance request was received to have CCPaSEC assist with a one-time testing of 3 sites with possible contamination with firefighting fluid from airport firefighting exercises. Assistance was approved and Team 7 will handle the testing. The Moshannon Group will fund the lab testing expenses at a certified lab. CCPaSEC will publish the data on our website.

Election of Officers: Officer elections were held. Results: President - Susan Sapp; VP - Carolyn Hatley; Treasurer - Rob Fugate; Secretary - Pat DeLotto.

The next general meeting of CCPaSEC will be held March 9, 2022 9:00 AM via Zoom.