Borough updates

The Youngsville Borough office and services will be closed Friday, April 10, in observance of Good Friday.

The Youngsville Borough office will resume being open by phone, emails, and through the drop-box to the right of the front doors on Monday, April 13.

On the Borough Facebook page, the following question related to the temporary countywide “burn ban” policy was addressed:

Question: Can’t wildland firefighters maintain social distancing while firefighting?

Answer: Wildland firefighting has inherent risks – COVID-19 increases or at least complicates those risks. Due to COVID-19, wildland fire incidents often result in high smoke exposure which compounds the potential risks of respiratory COVID-19 virus.

Briefings, which are essential to wildland firefighting to make sure everyone is up-to-date with current and predicted fire activity, cannot be conducted in large groups which elevates the potential that information may not be shared with everyone.

To practice social distancing, each firefighter should drive his/her own vehicle to and from incidents which means more vehicles responding and higher risks to those individuals. Driving to and from wildfires is actually one of the highest-risk, wildland fire-related activities.

The temporary burn ban was issued by the commissioners effective April 2 until the end of the month. For the latest Borough information, visit the Youngsville Borough’s Facebook page.

You can learn details about various programs, COVID-19 safety information, post your own questions, and even find more FAQ’s about the burn ban. Contact the Borough at (814) 563-4604 with further questions.

Public library updates

As mandated by Governor Tom Wolf, there was a statewide closure of all public libraries in PA in alignment with school closures. Since Governor Wolf has continued to extend the K-12 closures, public libraries will continue to be closed as well (unless informed otherwise).

However, Youngsville Public Library continues to provide reliable information and links on our website regarding COVID-19. At YoungsvileLibrary.org (reference tab) you will find direct links to the PA Department of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization, Johns Hopkins University and Medicine, Warren General Hospital, local government information (city of Warren, Warren County), and more. There are also links to resources that have been temporarily made freely available by their publishers due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Additional school resources for kids and parents are available on the YoungsvilleLibrary.org website (under references tab/general references). There are direct links to a free educational sites and resources for parents and kids. The reference page is frequently updated to include additional educational resources that have been temporarily made freely available by their publishers due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Access to these educational resources will be temporary (at the discretion of the publishers of the data bases), but parents and kids will be able to utilize learning resources for all ages via links on our website. Such resources include Tumblebooks, which provides K-6 math and reading databases, virtual story time links, Lerner Publishing Group (help at home learning), and more.

Free E-book/audio book access for all: Although students can access to free, grade appropriate books through Khan Academy (see above), it is also possible to access additional e-books and audio books through our Overdrive system for kids and adults alike.

During this time of library and school closures, it is now possible for area residents to access a vast collection of digital material, including eBooks and downloadable audiobooks through our OverDrive e-collection. Don’t have a library card? Lost your library card? Have a library card but don’t remember your password? No problem. It is now possible to create a temporary online “digital library card” through OverDrive that will stay active through the mandated public library closures. The link to OverDrive can be found on the home page of our library’s website: YoungsvilleLibrary.org. When registering for a “digital library card” you will need to provide a mobile phone number and your first and last name, to verify that you are a resident within Warren County. The OverDrive system will then send you a verification code (via text message to your mobile phone) to verify the mobile phone number is associated with you. Once you are validated as having a residential address within your library’s service area, your mobile phone number will serve as your digital library card and you will be able to access and checkout digital content from our Seneca District OverDrive digital collection. Once our libraries are allowed to reopen, patrons just need to come into the library to get an actual library card so that they can continue to access free eMaterials through our OverDrive services from the account that temporarily created. We are creating this new service in an effort to continue to offer e-resources while we must be physically closed.

Virtual church services options

Youngsville Free Methodist Church (179 Davis Street) is now holding virtual church services on Sundays at 9:30 a.m. Children’s lessons will be held at that time as well. Go to YBFree.org to view the latest sermon videos and to learn how to connect to the live, virtual Worship Services on Sunday mornings via Facebook, YouTube, and more.

Under the Programming Updates tab, you can also quick link to additional Sunday services options, children’s church lessons, youth ministry information, and much more.

There will be no on-site Easter Sunday services at EUM Church and First United Methodist Church (18 Second street and 225 East Main, respectively). However, all are invited to participate in their virtualPraise online worship service on Sundays at 10 a.m. Go to www.youngsvilleumcharge.org and click on the link to see their service broadcasts. An online Maundy (Holy) Thursday service will be held at 7 p.m. on April 9. It is also possible to view past virtualPraise sermons through their Facebook page which can be accessed through www.youngsvilleumcharge.org, worship tab.