SHAMOKIN - A city firm will begin making 3-D glasses next week in a project that links the region with a burgeoning global demand for the latest movie and TV viewing technology.
D/E Associates Inc. expects to employ 50 people within weeks and as many as 100 people on two shifts by year's end as production ramps up toward a goal of at least 1.5 million glasses per month.
The good economic news for a city that two years ago sought help from the state to reverse its growing debt comes through D/E's partnership with 3D Global Glasses LLC, a New Jersey-based company that next week will promote its new, 100-percent recyclable plastic glasses at the ShoWest trade show in Las Vegas.
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Noteworthy
SAHS band to present concert
COAL TOWNSHIP - The Shamokin Area High School Symphonic Band will present its annual spring concert, "Rhythms of Spring," at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 16 in the Shamokin Area High School Auditorium.
The concert, under the direction of Kevin B. Styer, is being held in March in conjunction with the Music Educators National Conference's observance of Music in Our Schools Month.
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HARRISBURG - The House Labor Relations Committee has approved legislation introduced by state Rep. Robert E. Belfanti Jr. that would designate certain state law enforcement officials "essential" under Pennsylvania law, giving them the same status as state police, prison guards and certain court employees.
Belfanti, who is chairman of the committee, said the bill (H.B. 1244) would designate state probation and parole officers, Liquor Control Board enforcement agents and state narcotics investigators as essential employees, meaning they could no longer strike as a response to a collective bargaining impasse.
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SHAMOKIN - D/E Associates has been producing products using injection molding and other ordinary machining techniques for decades.
And while it's now moving on to futuristic 3-D glasses, the procedure is little changed.
"The assembly process is pretty basic," said George DeLellis, project manager and secretary-treasurer for D/E. "It's an emerging market (3D glasses), but it's all old production processes."
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SUNBURY - Two former Northumberland County deputy sheriffs fired in January for violating the department's computer policy have been awarded unemployment compensation, but the county can still appeal the ruling.
Northumberland County Human Resources Director Joseph Picarelli confirmed Thursday that Michael Boris and Joseph Jones were granted compensation, retroactive to Jan. 16. The News-Item attempted to obtain the amount of compensation granted to Boris and Jones, but was unsuccessful.
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COAL TOWNSHIP - Township commissioners Thursday evening fine-tuned proposed uses for a possible $170,000 in federal funds.
Federal budget allocations for the fiscal year 2010 aren't available yet, but the state Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) had the township plan a budget based on last year's allocation of $170,000.
The township has proposed the following uses:
- $95,000 to improve Walnut Street.
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SHAMOKIN - The success of "Avatar" in the worldwide box office is indicative of a future for cinema and home entertainment that will be coming at us in three dimensions.
"The technology (in the past) isn't what it is today," said Kirk Lysek, co-owner of New Jersey-based 3D Global Glasses LLC, which has partnered with D/E Associates Inc. in Shamokin to manufacture 3-D glasses for movie theatres.
Although 3-D trends have come and gone, Lysek is convinced this new wave is different.
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Tickets for Shamokin Area's spring musical, "Guys and Dolls," are now on sale for Friday, April 9 and Saturday, April 10 performances. The music and A/V departments are proud to announce that the school district's new LED Lighting System will be featured. Lighting for "Guys and Dolls" will be more complex than ever before. Automated lighting designs will add a new dimension to spring musicals. Technical director, Ben Anderson will lead a crew of students, Scott Bradley and Nick Kleman on lights, Joey Wightman and Chad Bohner, on spotlights, and Danielle Egick and Steph Pancher on sound. SAHS alumnus Dave Stefanovige will also serve as a technical assistant. The production team for "Guys and Dolls" consists of director, Rebecca Brandt, producer, Kevin Styer, choreographer, Amanda Keister, and art director, Shawn McGugan.
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The League of Voters of Montour County invites the public to an open discussion of Pennsylvania's Right-to-Know Law Tuesday, in Danville.
The forum, entitled "The Government's Business is the People's Business," will include an overview of the state's new open records law and how to use it, as well as an open discussion about what the law means to citizens and public officials. Speaking will be Kim de Bourbon, executive director of the Pennsylvania Freedom of Information Coalition, and Susan Schwartz, a reporter at The Press-Enterprise, who is the Pennsylvania Project Sunshine chairwoman with the Society of Professional Journalists.
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WEIGH SCALES - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) thinks it can help fund part of the Shamokin-Coal Township Joint Sewer Authority's multi-million dollar plant project.
John Williams and Tom Wellington, from the USDA's Farmers Home Administration, met with the authority during Wednesday's meeting to discuss the possibility of a loan.
"We toured the facilities this afternoon," Williams said. "It looks well and sound. Unfortunately, it's about $40 million."
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