By Krissy Turner
CLEARFIELD – Mason Strouse has long been a friend to his community, and has plans of making it an even better place in his new role as Clearfield Borough mayor.
Recently, Strouse outlined his long-term plans for Clearfield. “As mayor, it will always be my goal to work collaboratively with many people to make Clearfield a better place to live, work and visit.
“We have a great community with many great people who are ready and willing to make it even better. I’m already making myself accessible to the various departments, as well to our residents.
“It’s important for the mayor to be visible and accessible to hear the thoughts and concerns for the community they serve. I’d like to see Clearfield step into the future instead of living into the past.
“We tend to look backward and talk about what Clearfield used to be ‘back in the day.’ It’s time to learn from our past and move forward and look at what we have and make the best use of that.
“It’s time to clean up some of these dilapidated properties, focus on upgrading our infrastructure, bringing our equipment up to date and working to make what we have even better.
“It’s time to educate our public, learn from each other and actively work together to make this place we call home better. This all can be done while still maintaining the spirit and drive of the ‘All-American City’ that Clearfield once was.”
Strouse went on to discuss events that he has planned for Clearfield. “Within a few days of being sworn-in as mayor, I organized a snowman building contest.
“We received 43 submissions and over 6,500 votes. That was a positive experience for our community.”
Strouse also worked with PennDOT and the Pennsylvania State Police to help bring the “Love the Bus” program to first-grade students at Clearfield Area Elementary where he’s a first-grade teacher. The focus there was bus safety.
Additionally, he serves as a non-voting member of the Clearfield Revitalization Corp. (CRC) board, which he said has several annual community events and festivals.
He was also recently contacted by members of the ABATE Motorcycle Club and will be assisting them with organizing a day to bring awareness to motorcycle safety on May 14.
Strouse, who has been the face of CAST, said the theater also has several productions in the works for its 2022 season, and is coming off a successful Valentine weekend dinner-theater program at River’s Landing.
But Strouse said he has a lot of help in the Clearfield community. “The residents of Clearfield are fortunate to have a very active and dedicated borough council that represents them.
“They truly work hard to make decisions to better the community they serve. Council right now is made up of a very diverse group of people, and I think that is important when making various decisions within the borough.
“They spend a lot of time planning, researching and presenting solutions to problems, and work very hard to keep the various departments in the borough operating efficiently.
“Recently, council agreed to make the functions of borough government more accessible and transparent by better utilizing social media and the borough’s Web site. These resources are being updated so they can be better tools for our residents.”
Strouse also established how he was going to keep Clearfield safe, “My job focuses heavily on overseeing our police department, and they make my job easy. We have a tremendous police force.
“Supporting them will also be a priority of mine. I can confidently say that members of our police department are well trained, well managed and well represented in our community.
“This is thanks, in large part, to the support they receive from our local government and our community in general. Our local government does all we can, within our means, to support those who keep us safe. Our community is also very supportive.
“A recent study showed that it costs about $14 per borough resident per month to have the police department that we currently do. This is a small price to pay for the protection our community receives.
“Another group of dedicated individuals I have the pleasure of working with would be our volunteer fire department. They work tirelessly to keep our community safe.
“Like the police department, they are also well trained, well managed and well represented in our community. When you hear the fire whistles blowing, within minutes they are responding.
“I encourage everyone to support their local first responders in any way you can. We all owe a tremendous amount of gratitude to them.”
Strouse declared plans he has for area youth and their development, “Teaching is my passion. I am a first-grade teacher with the Clearfield Area School District. I love watching my students learn and grow.
“After the recent bus safety programs, we had at the school, a resident suggested that we organize a bike safety program. I would like to work with our skatepark committee and police department to organize bike and skateboard safety sessions.
“We also have some plans in the works for nature events within our parks this summer. Each year, I work with talented people to bring an arts camp to our area students.
“I look forward to our library offering its youth programs. Clearfield has a lot to offer their youth, and I feel like more is being offered each year. These are just a few examples.
“I encourage parents and caregivers to get their children participating in these events. Even if they aren’t participating in specific events, visiting the local parks, playgrounds and businesses is important to develop a feeling of civic pride in our young people.”
If you want to connect with Strouse, you can visit his Web site at www.ClearfieldBoro.com/mayor or find him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.
You can also e-mail him at mayor@clearfieldpa.us or call the Clearfield Borough Police at 814-765-7819.