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Stage Listings: Jan. 31 to Feb. 6, 2014

First Posted: 1/31/2014 WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Freezing temperatures in January have depleted funds available to needy families to help pay their heating bills.
Dave Ritter, director of housing/outreach at the Commission on Economic Opportunity, said more than half the money in the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Fuel Fund at CEO has already been allocated.
And with a forecast of a cold and storm-filled February on the horizon, Ritter said donations are needed.
On a positive note, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Scranton, announced Friday that Pennsylvania will receive an additional $27.5 million in additional heating assistance funds.
In 2013, Luzerne County residents received nearly $7 million in LIHEAP funds, representing some 4,278 households in Luzerne County, 387 in Wyoming County and 1,899 in Lackawanna County who received grants.
Ritter said the Dr. Martin Luther King Fuel Fund is funded through local private donations.
&#8220;With the recent deadly cold temperatures, if our eligible families don&#8217;t receive help to pay their heating bills, they could be at risk,&#8221; he said
Ritter said the program helps 12 local families. He said of the $7,038 received for 2014, more than half has been expended in January. He said the fund collected and disbursed a little over $10,000 in 2013.
Ritter said donations are collected by the First Presbyterian Church in Wilkes-Barre and then forwarded to CEO. He said recipients must present their fuel bill and CEO pays the bill direct. No money is given to the recipients, Ritter said.
&#8220;All of the money collected &#8212; 100 percent of the donations &#8212; goes to the purchase of fuel,&#8221; Ritter said. &#8220;The recipients are elderly, families with children and disabled people in our community.&#8221;
He said the recipients are deemed ineligible for government programs like the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).
&#8220;Or in some case, families who have exhausted all other resources are given allocations,&#8221; Ritter said.
He said with the low temperatures and the high cost of fuel, the program is vital for families and individuals.
&#8220;We had a very cold January,&#8221; Ritter said. &#8220;Those low temperatures put a strain on heating system and increases bills dramatically. We&#8217;re pleased that we can help a little bit.&#8221;
LIHEAP funds increased
Casey, D-Scranton, Casey has been pushing for an increased investment in the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and he called for the release of funds to Pennsylvania&#8217;s seniors and families who are struggling with the cold.
&#8220;LIHEAP has a significant impact for those families and provides a positive boost to the economy,&#8221; Casey said in a news release. &#8220;I&#8217;m hopeful that in the coming year Congress will increase investment in heating assistance especially at a time when only 20 percent of those eligible are accessing the program.&#8221;
Casey&#8217;s office did not know what Luzerne County would receive. A message left at the Luzerne County office of the state Department of Public Welfare was not returned.
LIHEAP is administered by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and is designed to assist low income households, particularly those with the lowest incomes that pay a high proportion of household income for home energy, primarily in meeting their immediate home energy needs.

Bitter cold has depleted heating assistance funds