For anglers, it’s time to buy fishing licenses and permits and get your gear organized. Get your copy of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission’s (PFBC) 2021 trout stocking schedule and the PA Fishing and Boating Handbook at my Gettysburg office, online and on the FishBoatPA mobile app. This year, the PFBC began trout stocking in mid-February to ensure most waters would be stocked in advance of the single, statewide Mentored Youth Trout Fishing Day on Saturday, March 27, and the single, statewide Opening Day of Trout Season on Saturday, April 3. For more information about stocking, fishing and licensing, click here. The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) announced it will open 16 additional state parks on April 2 to accommodate overnight fishermen. This will bring to 34 the number of parks that will be open statewide.

Area Entrepreneurs Invited to FREE Startup ‘Boot Camp’

Ben Franklin’s TechCelerator@South Central PA is inviting entrepreneurs from Adams and seven other central PA counties to participate in a virtual 10-week Business Startup Boot Camp. The boot camp is comprised of a weekly, three-hour group session with content experts, and a weekly one-hour session with your startup business mentor to discuss individual needs and development opportunities.

The program provides a framework that will enable you to determine if it’s the right time to start your tech business. If you want to expand your network, engage with serial entrepreneurs and experts in marketing, sales and finance, to help shape your business and develop a pitch presentation, apply now as space is limited. Application deadline is March 23. Questions? Contact Joe Hackett at 717-858-3046 or JoeHackett@cnp.benfranklin.org.

Volunteer Fire Assistance Grant Program

The 2021 round of Volunteer Fire Assistance Grants to aid rural areas or communities with populations under 10,000 people opened on March 15, and will close on May 13. Administered through the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) and funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the program is geared to organizing, training and equipping local forces to prevent, control and suppress fires, which threaten human life, livestock, wildlife, crops, pastures, orchards, woodlands and farmsteads.

The key objectives of this program are to save lives and protect property in unprotected or inadequately protected rural areas. Therefore, the selection of the participating agencies must be based on vulnerability and the adequacy of existing fire protection. The maximum grant is $10,000. For details, click here. Applications will be made through the DCNR Grant portal here.

Automated Education Portal Created for PA National Guard

The Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency collaborated to create a portal that automates the education benefits application process for Pennsylvania National Guard members and their families. The new electronic process, which can now be completed from any computer, tablet or smart phone, allows for submission of applications for the Military Family Education Program (MFEP) and the Education Assistance Program, as well as the ability to change/update enrollment information, assign beneficiaries, and change credit allocations. Pennsylvania has the second-largest National Guard in the country with approximately 18,000 members located in more than 80 armories and readiness centers statewide. To learn more about valuable education benefits that help the PNG retain and strengthen its readiness visit www.pa.ng.mil/education.

National Guard to Aid Vaccine Distribution Under New Law

A new state law will call on the Pennsylvania National Guard to improve the coordination and distribution of COVID-19 vaccine in the Commonwealth. The bill was approved unanimously in the House and Senate last month and signed into law by the governor this week. Under Act 4 of 2021, the guard will work with the Department of Health and Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency to develop plans for the establishment and operation of community vaccination sites in each region of the state. The law also requires the governor to submit a report to the General Assembly outlining how the National Guard has been integrated into the state’s vaccine plan.