Residents in one Luzerne County community will no longer have to travel miles for at least one of their basic needs.
After the September floods, Shickshinny's only supermarket closed, along with the post office and the bank.
Now a new bank will open in Shickshinny, on higher ground.
A Berwick-based bank plans to open a branch on a vacant car lot outside the flood plain in the community of Shickshinny. Ever since the September flood, people who live there had no bank, no post office and no market.
"Bad, bad. When you have to go here and there go shopping in Berwick, Wilkes-Barre, go to the bank in Plymouth. It`s testing, that it is," said Jeffrey Noss of Shickshinny.
Shickshinny's one and only bank before the flood, Wells Fargo, never reopened because of all the water damage. Customers were told to use the Wells Fargo branch in Plymouth, a 15 mile trip one way.
The building is now slated for a future demolition.
A spokesperson for First Keystone Community Bank, based out of Berwick, told Newswatch 16 an agreement exists between the bank and the owner of the former Hasay Chevrolet to build a branch similar to one in Hanover Township in Shickshinny.
Wayne Wolfe opened the Five Mountain Hardware Store in downtown Shickshinny last month and said a bank coming back to Shickshinny will help the community.
"The more things you have in town, the more people will come here, the better it is for everybody. You get those key businesses in town, that keeps people coming into town from outlining areas and that's what keeps you in business here," Wolfe said.
The spokesperson for First Keystone said the company still needs to finalize permits and construction will likely take about four months.
