Their Apples Are Golden

Photos by Dave Cannard of Pinnacle Photography

Members of Elk Lodge 814 present a $1,000 donation to the Pottstown Area Senior Center.

Blogger's Note: The following was provided by Pottstown Area Senior Center Executive Director Brian Parkes.

The Pottstown Area Seniors’ Center kicked off Phase II of their capital campaign with a rock and roll gala on Saturday, April 5. 

Nearly 100 people turned out for the Golden Apple Gala at Copperfields Inn in Limerick.

Bill Haley Jr. and The Comets rocked the Golden Apple Gala.

The dress was formal, but the mood was light as attendees danced the night away to the sounds of Bill Haley Jr. and The Comets.

“What a way to kick off phase II of our campaign,” said Brian Parkes, executive director of the senior center. “Thank you to everyone who came out to be a part of the event.”

The gala marked the beginning of a final fundraising push by the senior center to raise an additional $750,000 to complete the renovations of their building on Moser Road in Pottstown. 

The building is the former site of the Pottstown Health Club. 

The event provided a major boost to the campaign. In addition to the money raised at the event, the Elks Lodge 814 was on hand to present a $1,000 check.

The biggest news of the evening came when Parkes announced a $100,000 matching grant from the Pottstown Area Health and Wellness Foundation.

“Support from the Pottstown Area Health and Wellness Foundation has been incredible,” said Parkes. “If you were waiting to give to the campaign – now is the time. Every dollar, or commitment, given to the center by June 30 will be matched by the Foundation, up to $100,000.”

Donations to the campaign may be sent to PASC, 288 Moser Road, Suite 1, Pottstown, PA 19464.

Once renovations are complete, the senior center will have more than 18,000 square feet of programming and office space. 

Currently, the center is offering most of its programs and services from a temporary location at the Berean Bible Church on East High Street in Pottstown.

Major supporters of the Golden Apple Gala include Keller Williams, Kiwanis, Pottstown Rotary Club, Douglas Diamonds, Sly Fox Brewery, FastSigns, Bill Haley Jr. and The Comets, CzarStar Security, Sealstrip, U.S. Axle, Wolf Baldwin and Associates, and Columbia Cottage.

The Pottstown Area Seniors’ Center serves adults age 50 and better with programs and services including information and referral assistance, a daily lunch, exercise programs, social activities, and much more. 

The mission of the Pottstown Area Seniors’ Center is to enhance the well-being of its members by providing services and activities that promote an independent and healthy life style. 

Brian Parkes announces a $100,000 

matching grant from the Health and Wellness Foundation.

The Pottstown Area Seniors’ Center has more than 3,400 members residing in the tri-county area. Anyone living in the tri-county area (Berks, Chester and Montgomery Counties) who is 50+ years of age is welcome to join the senior center. 

Learn more at www.greaterpasc.com.

About the Foundation: The Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation’s mission is to enhance the health and wellness of area residents, providing education, funding and programs that motivate people to adopt healthy lifestyles. 

Visit www.pottstownfoundatino.org for more information about the Foundation. 

Discover Pottstown area’s online community at www.missionhealthyliving.org to learn and share great information on how to lead a healthier life!

Pottsgrove is Kicking Butts

From left, Regan Bradley, Natalie LoBello, Tyler Apple, and Kimberly Kelly

Blogger's Note: The following was provided by the Pottsgrove School District:

On March 19 --- “Kick Butts Day” ---- youth across the country stood up to Big Tobacco and voiced their determination to live tobacco-free lives.

As part of the day, supporters teamed up with youth to applaud CVS/Caremark for their decision to stop selling tobacco products as of Oct. 1, 2014.

Locally, members of the Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Montgomery County visited 21 CVS stores to present them with a certificate of appreciation from the coalition at large and from the presenting coalition member’s organization.

Nine remaining stores received their certificate by mail.

Kimberly Kelly, Community Counselor from The Lincoln Center, works with youth in the Pottsgrove School District. She and three of her students visited the CVS on North Charlotte Street to present them with their certificate from the coalition. 

These young people made a powerful statement against the tobacco companies’ targeting of young, “replacement” customers --- new smokers to replace the ones who continue to die of lung disease. 

The sad truth is that every day, another 700 kids become smokers, and one-third of them will die prematurely as a result of smoking-related diseases.

A Peek Into the Future

What will Montgomery County be like in 2040? Attend a meeting Monday and help decide.

So what are the chances you have a few views on traffic?

How about parks and trails?

We KNOW you have views about housing.

Economic development as well.

So why not share them with people who can actually do something about them?

Your chance comes on Monday, April 21 from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Photo by Evan Brandt

One of the comprehensive plan workshops held at 

Steel River Playhouse in November.

That's when representatives from the Montgomery County Planning Planning Commission will return to the borough to get input from residents on the Montgomery County Comprehensive Plan, now under construction.

The listening session will be held at Kingdom Life Church, 380 Walnut St., between North Charlotte and North Franklin streets in Pottstown.

In addition to listening to your input to help guide the writing of the comprehensive plan, county personnel will also update those who attend on the plan's progress.

If you're wondering what a comprehensive plan is, this link will take you to an 18-minute video in which County Planning Section Chief Brian O'Leary gives an overview.

The short version is this: The main purpose of a comprehensive plan at the county level is pretty simple: “to plan for those issues that transcend local boundaries,” things like highways, bridges, housing policy, economic policy, "said O'Leary.

You can find links to other comprehensive plans for Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Philadelphia counties by clicking here.

The county released an 11-page draft of the plan's goals and themes last month, which you can read by clicking here.

If you like  maps, you can look at all sorts of trends in Montgomery County through a series of maps put together in preparation for this comprehensive plan by clicking here.

This will be the county's first visit back to the borough since November, when a listening session for the comprehensive plan was conducted at the Steel River Playhouse.

The 70-or-so people who gathered in the smaller theater there in November were participating in the first of four work sessions undertaken across the county by the Montgomery County Planning Commission as a way to gather input before embarking on the writing of the new comprehensive plan: “Montco 2040, A Shared Vision.”

The county outreach effort to get public input included workshops, like the one held in Pottstown, attended by over 150 people, 2,400 completed surveys, a strong web presence, and comments received through social media.

Many issues were raised during this process. The most important appeared to be transportation, jobs and the economy, infrastructure, revitalization, and taxes.

This will be the first new comprehensive plan since 2005 and it is hoped it will be completed by this time next year.

“We’re here to anticipate the future, decide where we want to be, and then to plan for it,” Jody Holton, the planning commission’s executive director.

For more information on this effort, visit http://www.montcopa.org/2040Compplan.

Capital Music

The Pottstown High School Clarinet Ensemble performed recently in the Capital rotunda in Harrisburg.

Blogger's Note: The following was provided by the Pottstown School District and its omnipresent spokesperson, John J. Armato.

The Pottstown School District Music Department brought their award winning talents to the state

A portion of the Pottstown Middle School Brass Ensemble performs.

capital in Harrisburg.

Students from both middle and high school music departments were accompanied by Ben Hayes and  Nancy Mest as they performed in the Rotunda of the state capitol building as part of the Music In Our Schools Month program sponsored by the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association.

The middle school ensembles performing included brass, clarinet, and flute. 

They were accompanied by the high school flute and clarinet ensembles.

The brass ensemble received a very warm round of applause in appreciation of performing their  version of “Steal Away” and “Amazing Grace.”

“This is a tremendous opportunity for our students to perform in such a prestigious venue as the state

Other members of the Pottstown Middle School  Brass Ensemble.

capitol Rotunda," Hayes said.

"Our students are experiencing a once in a lifetime opportunity that they will remember for the rest of
their lives.”

As an added treat, State Senator Robert Mensch visited with the groups and talked to them about the value of music in our schools and related to them his involvement in music as a high school student. 

He emphasized that many of the habits which he developed as a band member have proved to be valuable to him in his adult life.

All the Pottstown music students in the Capital rotunda.

Council Gets Conditional

Photo by Evan Brandt

Spring has sprung and the trees in Smith Family Plaza are blooming.

Scrubbing the Schuylkill

Blogger's Note: The following was provided by the Schuylkill Action Network:

An estimated 1,500 people will participate in the two-month Schuylkill Scrub by picking up litter near the Schuylkill River, Pennsylvania’s River of Year.

Anyone hosting a cleanup before May 31 can register their event at SchuylkillScrub.org.

Those who do will be eligible to win a money-saving rain barrel. Events registered with Keep

No one benefits from having this junk in the river.

Pennsylvania Beautiful’s Great American Cleanup of PA will also have access to free gloves, trash bags, and safety vests at participating events. 

And they can benefit from free or reduced disposal fees at participating landfills during Pick It Up PA Days, from April 12 to May 5.

“Many people are aware of the Philly Spring Cleanup on April 5, but what happens if you’re busy during those five hours?” said Tom Davidock, an employee of the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary who coordinates the Schuylkill Action Network. “That’s what’s so great about the Schuylkill Scrub; you’ve got a hundred events from which to choose.”

Eleven members of the Schuylkill Action Network have joined forces to improve on last year’s campaign, which attracted over 1,500 volunteers to almost 100 litter cleanups. 

These spanned almost 100 miles across Southeast Pennsylvania, from downtown Philadelphia to Pottsville in Schuylkill County.

Participating in the Schuylkill Scrub contributes to the success of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful’s Great American Cleanup of PA. 

Last year, this organization tracked over 50,000 people volunteering in each of the five counties bordering the Schuylkill River. Together they collected more than 900 tons of trash; enough to fill almost 400 extra-large commercial dumpsters.

The Green Valleys Association and the Hay Creek Watershed Association of greater Pottstown founded the Schuylkill Scrub in 2010. Since then, dozens of organizations have partnered to promote local cleanups as part of the Schuylkill Scrub. 

Perhaps the most active is the Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy located in Schwenksville.

Approximately 2,000 square miles of land drain to the Schuylkill River. This makes it the largest influence on the tidal Delaware River and Bay, otherwise known as the Delaware Estuary. 

Cities along its 130-mile path include West Philadelphia, Norristown, Pottstown, Phoenixville, Royersford, Birdsboro, Reading, and Pottsville. 

 Over 2,400 Pennsylvanians selected the Schuylkill as their River of the Year in January.

Information and online registration is available at SchuylkillScrub.org. Volunteers can also call Tom Davidock of the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary at (800) 445-4935, extension 109.