(1/2024) Happy 2024! I hope everyone is having a safe and happy new year. We want to thank our former Police Chief Sherri Hansen for all that she has done for our Police Department and the Township. Chief Hansen left our full-time position to become Chief at Bonneauville Borough Police Department more than a year ago, but she has been a great asset to us by graciously staying on part-time as we navigated our next steps and searched for a Chief.

At our December 5th Board of Supervisors meeting, we accepted her resignation and hired/promoted Liberty Township Officer Don Boehs as our part-time Police Chief. Chief Boehs previously served as the Chief of Police in Cumberland Township, and we are confident that he will continue to lead the Liberty Township Police Department in the right direction. We were fortunate to have well qualified applicants for the position, and the Township is grateful to all who applied.

Liberty Township wants to thank both Highland Township and Freedom Township for continuing to have faith in our Police Department to serve their communities. An especially big thank you to Freedom Township for voting to have our Police Department provide their Township with an extra ten hours of service per month.

Also at our December meeting, we voted in favor of donating a total of $15,000 to local fire departments. We donated $7,500 to the Vigilant Hose Co. in Emmitsburg, $5,000 to the Fairfield Fire and EMS, and $2,500 to the Fountaindale Volunteer Fire Department. We appreciate the work of all first responders and the services that they continue to provide year after year.

Be sure to service your furnaces and top off your fuel tanks to maintain your heating source safely through the winter weather. I want to remind residents that as it gets colder, ice will be forming on driveways, roads, and bridges. Be mindful of ice patches developing at the end of your driveway and of black ice spots on the roads. Your patience is appreciated during snowfalls, as we will have a maximum of two trucks on the roads at any given time.

Our first priority is to open Bullfrog, Pecher, Topper, Orchard, and Boyle roads. Once those roads are opened, the secondary roads will be cleared. We also ask that you trim back any dead trees where your property borders the road. Heavy snow and wind regularly bring down trees and limbs on to the roadways. Our road crew is dispatched as quickly as possible, but prevention can go a long way to avoid these dangers.

If you are looking for local indoor activities this winter season, check out the calendar of events for the Adams County Library. The library is a great resource of community services and receives annual donations from the surrounding municipalities. Be sure to take advantage of the many free activities for children, teens, and adults offered at the Carroll Valley Branch in Fairfield.

On January 4 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. adults can come to the library and learn how to be a good environmental steward of their property and neighborhood, while teens 13-18 can bring a snack to share and attend a book club meeting at the same time in another room. Please continue to support local events and businesses.

The Tax Collector has closed collection on 2023 per capita and real estate taxes, so if you are delinquent you will need to pay your bill through the collection agencies. School taxes are now in penalty phase and must be paid by March 31. You will see no increase to your 2024 municipal real estate tax bill. Look for those bills in early March and take advantage of the 2% discount period if paid by April 30.