Jersey Shore Concerned Citizens Association provides added service to community

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JERSEY SHORE - Change within the borough is coming, and it's from an unlikely source - concerned citizens.

The Jersey Shore Concerned Citizens Association formed three years ago and has been working to keep the borough a great place to live since.

But this year, the association has one word on its mind - revitalization - and with the help of volunteers is making it happen.

The Jersey Shore Concerned Citizens group got excited about revitalization after a visit from Dale Fox, a Ridgway resident who helped change his town for the better.

"When Dale came, she said don't expect the town officials to do what needs to be done," said John Colocino, president of the group. "The citizens need to take charge."

After Fox's visit, the group was energized to clean up Grieco Park and ended up collecting two truck loads of weeds and debris.

"We (Jersey Shore Concerned Citizens) have always been interested in taking care of the town," Colocino said. "We need to clean up the town to draw people here."

Marguerite Dyroff, another member of the group, agreed with Colocino on beautifying the town and said, "We need to attract people and businesses to Jersey Shore. We need to spruce up our town and make sure the weeds are pulled and the sidewalks look good."

Dyroff said one year from now she would like to see more businesses in Jersey Shore.

"Revitalization is important in all the small communities for a number of reasons," said Becky Fought, Regional Main Street Coordinator. "One component of revitalization is educating the population about the need to support local businesses."

"This is important because it means more money stays in the community compared to shopping at a 'big box' store where less of your dollars spent stay in the community," she added.

Dyroff also said she thinks the town has a lot of potential because the Pine Creek draws many people to the area.

Dyroff has been working to get more organizations in the borough to come to the Concerned Citizens meetings, so the group can take up different projects, such as weeding, planting flowers and painting.

Both Dyroff and Colocino said one of the next projects on the list is to paint the gazebo downtown and continue to clean the streets.

"We also want to have a dinner and give the proceeds to the two volunteer fire companies in the borough," Dyroff said for the association's future plans.

Although Becky Fought, the regional Main Street coordinator, said she doesn't consider the Concerned Citizens group Main Street volunteers, she knows how important their volunteerism is needed for revitalization.

"My hopes are that these groups like the garden club, historical society, Concerned Citizens Association, the Lions Club, students from the school and whoever keeps moving forward with creative, innovative ideas give Jersey Shore a renewed life in the downtown area as well as community wide," Fought said.