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One S. Church Street, Suite 200, Hazleton, PA 18201 |
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CAN DO News
News and information about CAN DO for the community, investors, volunteers and board members.
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CAN DO, Inc., announced updated interest rate options for Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority (PIDA) loans for the 2017 second quarter and program enhancements for machinery and equipment loans and financing for eligible real estate costs. The new rates are in effect for loan applications received through June 30, 2017.
The first program enhancement increases the lending limit for machinery and equipment loans funded from the PIDA-Machinery and Equipment Loan Fund (MELF) account from $400,000 to $1.5 million. The lending increase applies to projects where PIDA is financing machinery and equipment acquisitions for eligible manufacturing, industrial, biotechnology, and computer related service enterprises. A 50 percent match is required. Loans funded via the PIDA-MELF fund are subject to the job retention/creation requirements of one full-time job retained for every $35,000 loaned and/or one full-time job created for every $50,000 loaned.
The second enhancement involves loans that are used to finance eligible real estate costs such as acquisition, construction, or renovation projects. In addition to the customary 15-year term loans with a regular 15-year amortization, PIDA is now offering a 10-year loan term with payments based on a 20-year amortization period and a balloon payment due at the end of the 10-year term.
If a borrower chooses the 10-year term/20-year amortization option, the borrower will be required to pay off the loan in full at the end of the 10-year period or refinance the remaining balance with a lending institution outside of PIDA.
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Humboldt Park Association members learned about an Industry Partnership grant for the Logistics and Transportation sectors that’s valued at more than $50,000 and received the latest updates to the Humboldt Industrial Park’s Emergency Preparedness Plan during a meeting earlier this month at McCann School of Business and Technology in Hazle Township.
Pennsylvania CareerLink® Luzerne County Administrator Christine Jensen announced that PA CareerLink® Luzerne County, along with the Luzerne/Schuylkill Workforce Investment board, recently received a $55,000 Industry Partnership Grant for the Logistics and Transportation industry that will provide businesses in those sectors with partial funding for training in high-priority occupations. As a result of the grant, employers can receive up to a 65 percent cost reimbursement on training programs for their existing workforce.
The grant is available to train employees in a variety of positions, including light and heavy truck and tractor-trailer drivers, maintenance and repair workers, forklift operators, bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists, industrial electricity operators, industrial motor controls operators and programmable logic controllers. The grant is available through June 30. Funding is also available for the manufacturing industry.
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The Packaging Wholesalers, a wholesale retailer of packaging supply chain materials to distributors, held a grand opening celebration and ribbon cutting Thursday for its 300,000 square foot facility at 63 Green Mountain Road in the Humboldt Industrial Park.
This is the company’s third location nationwide, joining its corporate offices and flagship location outside of Chicago and a second facility in Dallas, Texas. Between the three facilities, the company now has more than a million square feet of distribution space and the ability to support customers nationwide. According to its corporate website, The Packaging Wholesalers selected the Humboldt Industrial Park location because the proximity to Interstates 80 and 81 will allow for distribution to 50 percent of its customers within three to four hours.
CAN DO President and CEO Kevin O’Donnell said The Packaging Wholesalers is the latest company to see the impact of opening a facility in Greater Hazleton. “We are excited to welcome The Packaging Wholesalers distribution center to Humboldt Industrial Park. The company is the latest in a long line of tenants to our parks that have seen the benefit of expanding to Greater Hazleton to take advantage of the prime access to the various interstate shipping routes. They are a thriving company and we look forward to their continued success here,” O’Donnell said.
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International Paper’s box plan in the Humboldt Industrial Park in Hazle Township recently marked its 40th year of operation. The facility opened on December 13, 1976 as an Inland Container plant.
CAN DO President Kevin O’Donnell said, “On behalf of everyone at CAN DO, I would like to congratulate International Paper on celebrating 40 years of operation in Hazleton. As one of Humboldt Industrial Park’s original companies, International Paper has been a great asset to Greater Hazleton and we look forward to having them be with us for many years to come.”
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Earlier this month, the CAN DO Student Action Committee hosted its 24th annual CAN DO Community Christmas at Christ Lutheran Church in Hazleton.
The free event was designed around a theme of “Come Celebrate the Arts” and featured musical performances by students in schools throughout Greater Hazleton, refreshments, a Letters to Santa table where children wrote their Christmas wishes and a visit from Santa Claus himself.
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Several seminars and workshops designed to help businesses and industries contract with the state and federal governments and with contracts overseas will be offered in Hazle Township and Scranton during November. The presentations are sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense Office of Economic Adjustment and the Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development through the Northeastern Pennsylvania Defense Transition Partnership. Additional sponsors include Northeastern Pennsylvania Alliance, Northeastern Pennsylvania Industrial Resource Center, Manufacturers Resource Center, Small Business Development Center and Partnerships for Regional Economic Performance.
A workshop entitled “Proposal Writing Strategies and Tips” will be held at Genetti Catering, 1345 North Church Street, in Hazle Township. A Foreign Military Sales course will be offered at the Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel, 700 Lackawanna Avenue, in Scranton.
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The CAN DO Student Action Committee will host its 24th annual CAN DO Community Christmas on Wednesday, Dec. 7 from 6-7:30 p.m. at Christ Lutheran Church, on the corner of Church and Green streets in downtown Hazleton.
The public is invited to attend this free event, which features musical performances by students in schools throughout Greater Hazleton, refreshments, a Letters to Santa table where children can write their Christmas wishes and a visit from Santa Claus himself.
This year’s performers include the MMI Preparatory School Chamber Ensemble under the direction of Tina Lizbinski, the McAdoo-Kelayres Elementary/Middle School Mustang Chorus under the direction of Sandra Hoppey, the Hazleton Area High School Chamber Singers under the direction of Kim Sharonoff, the Hazleton Area High School Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Joseph Stefanko and the Heights Terrace Elementary School Third Grade Chorus under the direction of Rachel Brimmer.
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The CAN DO Student Action Committee delivered a collection of more than 100 boxes containing thousands of items to the American Legion Post 473 in Freeland Thursday as part of the 12th annual Operation: CAN DO drive.
The collected food, entertainment and personal hygiene items will be used to create care packages that will be delivered to soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines serving abroad who have ties to Greater Hazleton. Numerous school groups, businesses and individuals from throughout Greater Hazleton participated in the collection of the items.
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Ten schools throughout Greater Hazleton collected hundreds of non-perishable food and personal hygiene items as part of the CAN DO Student Action Committee’s 12th annual Operation: CAN DO drive. Items collected will be used to assemble care packages for military members with ties to the area who will be stationed abroad for the holidays.
The CAN DO Student Action Committee coordinates the project every year and is encouraging residents throughout Greater Hazleton to submit names and addresses of any family members or friends who are actively serving in the military and have ties to Greater Hazleton. Names can be submitted to Nancy Stasko, Student Action Committee adviser, by calling 570-455-1508 or emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Names can also be mailed to “Operation: CAN DO,” c/o Nancy Stasko, 1 S. Church St., Suite 200, Hazleton, PA 18201.
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Representatives from Commuter Services of Pennsylvania spoke to attendees about the benefits its free commuter ridesharing services offer during a Humboldt Park Association meeting earlier this month.
Rob Mordan, Commuter Services of PA employer outreach manager, and Stacy Newcomer, deputy project manager, said sharing rides to work via carpooling or vanpooling rather than having each employee drive alone helps alleviate traffic congestion and improve on-the-job productivity and job retention among employees.
“Employers can offer this as a benefit to their employees. We help employees save money on their commute or help those without reliable transportation or a license still make it to work every day,” Mordan said. “It’s something that is needed in this area and is a free service so it’s great for businesses. We help employers keep their employees on staff and will work with each company on an individual basis to set up a program that meets your specific needs.”
