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Chippendales comes to Keystone Grand Ballroom at Mohegan Sun Pocono in Plains Township July 16

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Students’ projects on Askam boreholes move forward

<p>HAZLETON &#8212; The city has received several grants which will provide for both construction and color in the downtown area.</p><p>Krista Schneider, executive director of the Downtown Hazleton Alliance for Progress, said the city&#8217;s designation as a &#8220;Main Street&#8221; Community by Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, enabled a $500,000 grant for the downtown Arts Center. The grant matches a Luzerne County LSA grant awarded last year for the project.</p><p>The arts center will occupy an existing building that previously housed the Security Savings Bank but has been vacant for more than a decade.</p><p>Schneider is excited that the Arts Center is already being designed, due in part to a grant received last year from the National Endowment for the Arts. She looks forward to its completion in spring 2017.</p><p>Although Schneider is excited about the project, she sees it as part of a bigger picture of revitalization of the downtown.</p><p>&#8220;The Arts Center project is part of a larger effort to add civic and commercial viability to the core of the downtown,&#8221; she said.</p><p>She credits State Sen. John Yudichak and Rep. Tarah Toohil with both direction and support on the project.</p><p>Schneider also looks forward to building a park on a property adjacent to the arts center on the building&#8217;s west side.</p><p>&#8220;The park will serve as a public gathering space for festivals, outdoor performances and other cultural events,&#8221; said Schneider, &#8220;The city council recently granted our organization a permanent access easement so that we can have the building open up to the park with an entrance and platform that will double as a stage.&#8221;</p><p>Schneider said additional funding will be necessary to move forward to the next phase of the project.</p><p>Schneider has not been without critics among city residents, some asking why the city would fund aesthetic improvements in the midst of crime, blighted properties and city finances already stretched to the limit.</p><p>&#8220;Yes, the City of Hazleton has other critical needs that must be funded,&#8221; she said. &#8220;But, it should be noted that this grant is specific to the downtown revitalization program, which was the result of a public planning process we undertook a year ago.&#8221;</p><p>The alliance is also moving forward with plans to have a mural painted within the central business district. That project is being funded with a grant by the Pennsylvania Council of the Arts and Hazleton POWER! which has been raising matching funds for the painting.</p><p>About 900 square feet of space located on the exterior side wall of the Dragonfly overlooking the parking area behind Hazle Drugs at the corner of Broad and Wyoming streets will soon be filled with color as a tribute to the city&#8217;s spirit and creativity.</p><p>An artist will be selected for the project, which will include engaging other local artists so the project will provide opportunity for both beauty and education.</p><p>Schneider also looks forward to the alliance&#8217;s facade projects, leveraging funds to attract private investment in renovating commercial properties.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">A 900 square foot area near Broad and Wyoming streets in Hazleton will be the site of a community mural. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/web1_mural1-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>A 900 square foot area near Broad and Wyoming streets in Hazleton will be the site of a community mural. </caption0><photoCredit0>Submitted </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/web1_artcenter-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Artist&#8217;s rendering of the interior of the anticipated Arts Center in downtown Hazleton. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/web1_artcenter-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Artist&#8217;s rendering of the interior of the anticipated Arts Center in downtown Hazleton. </caption1><photoCredit1>Submitted </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Geri Gibbons</p><p>ggibbons@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Geri Gibbons at 570-991-6117 or on Twitter @TLGGibbons</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Downtown Hazleton to receive grant fueled improvements