Burns comes through (again) for Blacklick Township
$34,052 grant is replacing fencing in three parks, removing Prideaux’s rotted trees
Rep. Frank Burns May 18, 2026 | 1:31 PM
JOHNSTOWN, May 18 – New metal fencing is replacing decayed wooden fences in three Blacklick Township parks – and huge rotted trees are being cut down in Prideaux Park – because of state Rep. Frank Burns’ ability to deliver a $34,052 state grant.
Beverly Sherwood Burns, vice chairperson of the Blacklick Board of Supervisors, said none of the work could be done without the intervention of Rep. Burns, who has proven his mettle in delivering funding to Blacklick.
“We’ve applied for grants in the past without reaching out to Frank – and we didn’t receive them. He was vital in obtaining this grant,” said Sherwood Burns, who is not related to the representative. “Pretty much we knew that the fencing needed replaced, but we didn’t have the tax base to do it. We applied for the grant, and then I did talk to Frank about it.”
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“Frank comes through for us. We wouldn’t have got this grant without Frank. I know that.” – Beverly Sherwood Burns, vice chairperson of the Blacklick Township board of supervisors.
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Sherwood Burns said the established level of familiarity between township leaders and the person who represents them in Harrisburg once again yielded results – this time improving Prideaux, another park on North Street and a third one by the municipal building.
“Frank reaches out to us about once a month, to see how things are going in the township,” Sherwood Burns said. “He expresses true interest. He pays as much attention to us in the smaller townships as he does the larger municipalities (in his district).
“Frank comes through for us. We wouldn’t have got this grant without Frank. I know that.”
Rich Miller, chairman of the supervisors’ board governing the 1,800-person township, said the grant helps the community by simultaneously improving recreation and public safety.
“It gives people a chance to enjoy the parks that we have,” Miller said. “But those five trees are full of carpenter ants, which was a danger to the community. These are huge trees near power lines. I’d say they’re 60 feet tall or better, with heavy, hollow branches.”
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“Frank’s always been very, very good to us since he’s gotten back to our area. He was out of it (as our representative) for a while, and we struggled as far as getting any type of funding. You could ask for a flag and you’d get a flag – but that was about it.” – Rich Miller, chairman of the Blacklick Township board of supervisors.
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Miller is effusive in crediting Burns for helping Blacklick, noting a profound dry spell in acquiring state funds during the period when redistricting took the township out of Burns’ 72nd Legislative District.
“Frank’s always been very, very good to us since he’s gotten back to our area. He was out of it (as our representative) for a while, and we struggled as far as getting any type of funding,” Miller said. “You could ask for a flag and you’d get a flag – but that was about it.
“We even tried to go with (using) a grant writer for the county. We wanted to do some paving in our park, and they told us that the area that we wanted to pave, it wasn’t a low-income-type area. But another township got funding, so I really didn’t understand that. But we really do appreciate all Frank’s done for us.”
Denny Zanin, the third Blacklick supervisor and its assistant roadmaster, said a high priority was better fencing for Prideaux Park, which is located along busy State Route 271 near the Twin Rocks post office.
“It was key to get good, sturdy fencing along there, so a kid doesn’t wander onto Route 271,” Zanin said, adding that it would have been expensive for the township to do the fence upgrade and remove the 50-plus-year-old maple trees on its own.
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“I just get the sense from talking to Frank that he does care about local municipalities, and in helping us out.”— Denny Zanin, Blacklick Township supervisor and assistant roadmaster.
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“Thanks to Frank Burns, who cares about the local municipalities and fights for us, he got us money,” Zanin said. “For a small township like us, with a very limited budget, even though it’s not a huge dollar amount, it’s big to us.
“I just get the sense from talking to Frank that he does care about local municipalities, and in helping us out.”