The Bellefonte Borough will be doing smoke testing on the sanitation lines in the downtown area. The testing will be the week of June 17-20 from 7:00AM to 3:00PM. The affected areas will be Allegheny Street from Howard to Bishop Streets and High Street from Ridge to Potter Streets. Please do not be alarmed if you notice smoke coming from floor drains, sink drains, downspouts, manholes, or storm drains.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation during this time.

Mayor Kent Addis and Police Chief Shawn Weaver will appear on Jerry Fisher’s “All Things Bellefonte” talk show on WBLF, 970 AM, on Thursday, June 20, from 8 to 9 a.m.

The Centre County Recycling & Refuse Authority will now accept post consumer vinyl siding at the Dale Summit Transfer Station at a discounted rate of $20 per ton.

To qualify for this reduced rate, the acceptable load should include only the following: vinyl siding, corner posts, J-channel.

Unacceptable load items include the following: no vinyl shutters; no vinyl with insulation attached, no organics to include paper, wood, plastic, metal or glass. Loads containing these items will be charged the normal MSW tipping fee of $67 per ton.

Please let the Scale Operator know if you have an acceptable load of vinyl that would qualify for the reduced rate.

For more information on this and other Centre County recycling and refuse questions, please visit the Centre County Recycling and Refuse Authority website at www.centrecountyrecycles.com

Centre County Recycling and Refuse Authority has placed a container by Burger King for recycling specialty plastics such as plastic butter tubs, cups, yogurt containers, and fruit containers.

Bellefonte Borough Council has agreed to extend the skunk removal program into 2013. If you are experiencing a problem with a skunk after April 1, please contact the Borough Office  at 355-1501, Ext. 10. Arrangements will be made for a trap to be set up at your location. This year there will be no cost to the resident; however, next year there will be a shared fee arrangement between the Borough and the homeowner. Reasonable efforts will be made to capture the skunk in a timely manner.

In speaking with the Game Commission, here are some things you can do to keep skunks from becoming frequent visitors at your home:

1.    Remove bird seed (this is also good advice to keep the black bear away)

2.    Do not leave cat/dog food outside

3.    Purchase Spectracide for your yard, which will kill the grubs that the skunks dig for

Due to DEP Regulations effective January 1, 2013, we are no longer able to collect electronics with your regular trash.  Electronics must be recycled. Electronics need to be taken directly to the Centre County Refuse and Recycling Center on Transfer Road.  There is no fee.

The Borough landfill is open on Saturdays . The hours it will be open are 8:00 a.m. until Noon. The last Saturday it will be open is November 23, 2013.

The Borough now has a Facebook page. Please ‘like’ us at Borough of Bellefonte.

If you have any brush or grass to dispose of , you may take it to the Bellefonte Borough landfill on Musser Lane. Come to the Borough office during business hours to get a key.  You will need to complete a form and provide a $10 deposit, which is returned to you when you bring the key back to the Borough office. The key must be returned by 4:30 p.m. the day you borrow it.

Any resident who wants a grass or brush container, please contact the Borough so we can get the container to you. There is a one-time fee of $50.00 for each container. This fee will be added to your next quarterly water/sewer/refuse bill under the heading “Past Due Balance.”

Grass and brush collection is every Wednesday.

On Monday, August 6, 2012 crews began to set traffic control signs for the project to improve traffic flow and provide a smoother ride quality on Route 550. This project stretches from PennDOT’s Maintenance Building to the Route 26/220 intersection.  The Project completion date is anticipated to be the Fall of 2013.

Traffic will be restricted to one lane during working hours, and flaggers may be in the roadway. Travel delays should be expected during work hours. Drivers need to be alert for slowed or stopped traffic.

Project work will stretch through the 2013 construction season. Overall work will include roadway reconstruction, roadway widening, installation of a left turn lane, drainage improvements, sewer and water line relocation, sidewalk improvements, paving and miscellaneous items.

HRI Inc of State College is the contractor for the $2.9 million project. All work is weather and schedule dependent. PennDOT reminds motorists to remain alert for bicyclists using the highway, to use caution when driving near bicyclists and to share the road.

Drivers are reminded to obey posted speed limits, proceed through work zones with caution, and always buckle up.