Blogger's Note:The following was provided by Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site.
Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site has announced it is now open seven days a week, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Saturday, Oct. 14.
In addition to offering programs daily, on Saturday, Aug. 5, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Hopewell Furnace will celebrate its 79th birthday with Establishment Day.
The legislation creating Hopewell Furnace NHS was signed into law on Aug. 3, 1938.
Establishment Day provides opportunities for visitors to step back in time, experiencing facets of daily life in the 1820s and ‘30s, the heyday of the furnace.
There will be weaving and spinning demonstrations, molding demonstrations, and demos on cooking with cast iron Dutch ovens.
Volunteer colliers will be demonstrating the fine art of making charcoal, lighting the pile at 11 am. After a short presentation, there will be birthday cake at 2 pm.
Programs and special events will be offered throughout the summer.
The highlight of weekends at Hopewell Furnace are molding and casting demonstrations (dependent on staffing).
The historic Village Store will be open on a daily basis, offering 19th C games, crafts, and Hopewell charcoal for sale. There will be staff in the historic village daily, providing programs, answering questions and sharing insights of the community, its history, and the process of making iron.
Finally, the fall is ushered in with apple picking. For over 30 years Hopewell Furnace has offered apple picking ($1 a pound) of numerous heritage varieties.
Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site preserves and interprets an early American industrial landscape and community. Showcasing an iron making community and its surrounding countryside,
Hopewell Furnace was active from 1771 to 1883.
The park’s facilities are currently open daily, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. Hopewell Furnace is located five miles south of Birdsboro, PA, off of Route 345.
Admission to the park is free. For more information, stop by the park's visitor center, call 610-582-8773, or visit the park's web site at www.nps.gov/hofu
Blogger's Note:The following was provided by Pottsgrove Manor.
Living History is happening every Sunday in August as Pottsgrove Manor presents Living History Sundays.
Pottsgrove Manor is coming alive on August 6th, 13th, 20th, and 27th for Living History Sundays.
From 1 p.m to 4 p.m., staff and volunteers will be interpreting 18th century trades and everyday life with demonstrations and hands-on activities.
Explore how to make butter and tape weave using box looms with period interpreters. See and smell food being prepared in the reproduction colonial kitchen. Try your hand at embroidery and needlework, and find out how to make 18th century soap. Learn about the skills needed to spin wool into yarn and more.
In addition to the activities each week, there will be colonial games for everyone in the whole family to play with and enjoy.
The activities will vary week by week, so be sure to check the website (www.montcopa.org/pottsgrovemanor) or call Pottsgrove Manor (610-326-4014) to discover what will be happening on the days you’d like to visit.
Colonial ironmaster John Potts’ 1752 manor house will also be open for tours during the day. The current exhibit, "Rise and Shine at the Manor," delves into the daily morning routines of both the Potts family and their household staff.
Visitors will also be able to shop at the manor’s museum store for colonial games, books, and unique gifts.
These programs welcomes all ages; suggested donation $2 per person. The programs will be held rain or shine!
Pottsgrove Manor is located at 100 West King Street near the intersection of King Street and Route 100, just off Route 422 near the Carousel at Pottstown and Manatawny Green Miniature Golf Course.
Pottsgrove Manor is operated by the Montgomery County Division of Parks, Trails, and Historic Sites.
Members of the Pottstown School Board and administration look over their work in a team-building exercise on what makes a good teacher, administrator and school board member?
Just over half the membership of the Pottstown School Board got together for a "workshop" meeting Thursday night that was less focused on the school district, and more focused on themselves.
To be more specific, the workshop was geared toward how to be more effective as a board, which in turn obviously benefits the school district as well.
Although it took place in the high school library instead of a locker room, the goal was the same -- team-building.
Superintendent Stephen Rodriguez led the board through several exercises, readings and discussions all of which were aimed at being effective leaders, how to work together better as a team and specific changes that might be made to bring those goals about.
For the most part, the Tweets below tell the story. Have a look.
A look at the possible trail connections throughout the greater Pottstown region as under consideration in the master trail plan that will be the subject of a public hearing Wednesday, Aug. 2 at 6 p.m. in Pottstown Borough Hall
Blogger's Note:The following was provided by the Pottstown Metropolitan Regional Planning Committee
Local residents, stakeholders, recreation enthusiasts and all others are urged to attend the public meeting to share their opinions on a planning study that examined non-motorized transportation options connecting parks, neighborhoods and business hubs to the Schuylkill River Trail.
The purpose of this study is to consolidate municipal and county planning efforts into a unified regional trail plan addressing major obstacles to providing equitable transportation alternatives, opportunities for healthy lifestyles and economic vitality.
The results of this study will help guide communities in determining the most feasible locations for these trails, outline a concise implementation plan to integrate local trail networks and provide a marketing vehicle to obtain implementation grants.
The first public meeting was March 29, 2016.
The final study outlines a plan for expanding existing public trail systems via four primary trail corridors anticipated to travel through portions of Pottstown Borough, West Pottsgrove Township, Upper Pottsgrove Township, Douglass Township (Berks County), Lower Pottsgrove Township, Douglass Township (Montgomery County), New Hanover Township, North Coventry Township and East Coventry Township.
The public meeting will be held at 6:00 p.m., Wednesday Aug. 2, 2017 in Pottstown Borough Hall, Council Chambers Room, 100 East High Stree. The meeting will begin with a presentation of the primary trail alignments before opening for Q&A from those in attendance.
Funding for this study was made possible by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) and the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. DVRPC is leading the planning study with assistance from the Pottstown Area Regional Recreation Coordinator.
An attempt was scheduled Wednesday night for the recreation committee to make a pitch about this study and other regional efforts to the area's elected state officials, state representatives Tom Quigley, Tim Hennessey and Marcy Toepel.
None of them showed up, although Quigley did send a representative from his office. Evidently, they were recalled to Harrisburg to work on the unfinished state budget.
No doubt we will see the results of their efforts in tomorrow's headlines.
Ahem.
Anyway, here are the Tweets of what they would have learned if they had attended the meeting put together specifically for their benefit and, ultimately, the benefit of their constituents.
The event will again be held at the neighborhood park Washington and Chestnut streets.
Blogger's Note:The following was provided by Genesis Housing Corp.
Genesis Housing Corporation and the Victory Christian Life Center are pleased to announce that the annual National Night Out Community Block Party will be held on the first Tuesday in August, Tuesday, Aug. 1 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Chestnut Street Park located on Washington and Chestnut Streets, in Pottstown.
The event will promote neighborhood spirit, community partnership, law enforcement and residents for a safer Pottstown at a free community block party filled with family fun, music, games, info and food. Come out and meet your neighbors at the Chestnut Street Park. (Rain or Shine).
The event kicks off with DJ dance music and great community information. There will be free food – hot dogs, hamburgers, nacho chips, water ice, soft drinks and more. The Phillies Fire Company is bringing a fire truck and will be providing a water spray demo.
Be a part of Pottstown’s National Night Out to learn about businesses and non-profit agencies in the area. This year’s participating groups include Art Fusion, BB&T, Genesis Housing, Grace Lutheran Church, Habitat Montco, Harris Family, Hobart’s Run, Pottstown Human Relations, Maternal and Child Health of Chester County, Maternity Care Coalition: Early Head Start, Matt Green - Glocker Realty, Mosaic Community Land Trust, Pottstown Cluster, Victory Christian Life Center, Women’s Center and YWCA Tri-County.
The National Night Out Community Block Party is funded, in part, by BB&T Bank and the Pottstown Neighborhood Partnership.
More information is available by calling Victory Christian Life Center at 484-941-0693 or Genesis Housing Corporation at 610-275-4357.
Since 1994, Genesis Housing Corporation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, has served Montgomery County as a community housing development organization (CHDO) and is dedicated to the development of affordable housing, neighborhood revitalization and the education of consumers on housing and financial issues.
For more information about Genesis Housing Corporation, our programs and housing counseling classes, please visit our website at www.genesishousing.org, email at info@genesishousing.org, visit us on Facebook or call 610-275-4357.
Twenty-eight people spoke on the subject of Pottstown School District's school uniform policy (or dress code) during Monday night's special meeting of the school board policy committee.
Of them, 17 spoke against them, 11 in favor and one whose opinion was hard to pin down.
Objections raised included the cost, the failure of uniforms to cut down on bullying and bad behavior, especially at the middle school, a reduction of school spirit and the suppression of individual expression.
Support argued that in fact uniforms are cheaper, make mornings easier and do reduce bullying, increase school and community spirit and make Pottstown students stand out from others.
Among the more notable opponents was Pottstown High School Principal Danielle McCoy who told the committee that school spirit (among the staff as well as the students) went up and discipline problems went down when uniforms were eliminated two years ago and that school was allowed to implement a dress code.
"We became the uniform police," McCoy said of the staff. "And how am I supposed to send a student home because he can't learn as well in a pink shirt as he can in a blue one?" she said.
By contrast, some of the parents said since the uniform requirement was lifted at the high school, student dress has become more lurid and that the policy is not implemented evenly.
Others asked for proof that the uniforms did what they were supposed to do, improve discipline.
School Board Vice President Emanuel Wilkerson, who championed the lifting of the uniform policy at the high school, said the policy committee has received data on that subject and it will be posted on the district web site shortly.
In the meantime, it seems, the discussion will go on because, as Superintendent Stephen Rodriguez noted at the start of the meeting, whatever change is made, if any, it will NOT be implemented in the 2017-2018 school year which begins next month.
A volunteer prepares a historic brick for placement in the walksways being installed at the Colebrookdale Railroad's station in Boyertown.
Blogger's Note:The following was provided by the Colebrookdale Railroad
The Colebrookdale Railroad Preservation Trust announced it has received a $10, 750 grant to support its passenger car restoration and Boyertown Station area improvements.
The scenic railroad runs between downtown Boyertown and Memorial Park in Pottstown.
The grant comes from the Community Conservation Partnerships Program, under the administration of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Recreation, in support of the Schuylkill Highlands Mini-Grant Program administered jointly by Natural Lands and the Schuylkill River Heritage Association.
The award will match other funding to continue work on the creation of an ADA-compatible railcar and to create walkways in the Boyertown rail yard using century-old paving brick.
Both projects will forward the Trust's mission of being one of the only recreational and tourist railroads in the nation to embrace, rather than merely accommodate, persons with disabilities.
"The challenges inherent to making a century-and-a-half old railroad accessible to persons with mobility issues is technically challenging and financially overwhelming,” said Nathaniel Guest, Executive Director of the Trust. "The Mini-Grant’s support is an honor, a major help, and truly remarkable, as funding for ADA projects is sadly otherwise almost non-existent,” he said.
"The Mini-Grant program has helped dozens of projects in the Schuylkill Highlands region open up the beauty and culture of the region to a larger population, said Carol DeWolf of Natural Lands.
"We are proud to lead partners like the Trust in making a real and measurable impact economically and in the quality of life of people in the Schuylkill Highlands and look forward to even better things to come in the future," said Tim Fenchel of the Schuylkill River Heritage Association.
The Colebrookdale Railroad Preservation Trust has a mission to develop the best tourist railroad of the 1900-1920 era and drive economic development in the Tri-County Area. Tickets for adventures into the railroad's Secret Valley can be found at www.colebrookdalerailroad.com.
It might not be the kind of race that sets your blood pumping, but winning is always nice -- and there were more than 70 winners in this year's Pottstown Rotary Club Duck Race, held during the GoFourth Celebration in Memorial Park.
Almost more rubber (plastic?) ducks than you can count, each with an assigned number, were placed in Manatawny Creek and those which crossed the finish line first were declared the winners.
The event raises money for dozens of local non-profits, which get to keep a portion of the proceeds from their duck sales.
Without further ado, here are the winners.
1 $1000 Cash: Ticket number 5698, held by Jennifer Isett
2 49" HDTV Television: Ticket number 2968, held by Adriane Rodenbaugh
3 Apple Smart Watch: Ticket number 3494, held by Barbara Eschbach
4 1-hr Hot Air Balloon Ride for 2: Ticket number 207 held by Frank Cebular
5 Complimentary Round of Golf (4) Gilbertsville Golf Club: Ticket number 1751, held by Jill
Bolonski
6 $50 Gift Certificate to Wawa: Ticket number 1091 held by Glenn Stefanowicz
7 1-year Dining Membership to Brookside Country Club: Ticket number 4323, held by William Pappentick
8 30-minute Intro to Flight Lesson: Ticket number 3124, held by Ross Belovich
9 $50 Gift Certificate to Wawa: Ticket number 5024, held by Kelly Taylor
10 $25 Gift Certificate to Eleanor Russel Ltd: Ticket number 5021, held by Kaitlin Doyle
11 Sea Glass Picture: Ticket number 5196, held by Dean Marks
12 $50 Gift Certificate to Wawa: Ticket number 2057, held by Marine Corp League
13 Round of Golf for 4 at Brookside Country Club: Ticket number 2507, held by Louis Ballas
14 Full Detail at Wheels in Motion: Ticket number 1714, held by Mike Sluffegtt
15 Sly Fox Growler with refill card: Ticket number 4669, held by Roger Baumann
16 $25 Gift Certificate Coventry Pub: Ticket number 2544, held by Anthony Catanzaro
17 $10 Gift Certificate to Wawa: Ticket number 165, held by Jim Leveille
18 $20 Gift Certificate to Wawa: Ticket number 1296, held by Colleen Spence
19 Bird House: Ticket number 1972, held by Marine Corp League
20 Gift Certificate for Golf Twosome at Water Gap Country Club: Ticket number 3588, held by Butsy McElroy
21 $100 Gift Certificate to Weitzenkorn's: Ticket number 1842, held by Gary Felter
22 $20 Gift Certificate Camelot Salon: Ticket number 1320, held by Jacqui Batzel
23 $25 Gift Certificate to Wawa: Ticket number 1327, held by Carol Wozonick
24 $20 Gift Certificate Camelot Salon: Ticket number 2344, held by Joan Landis
25 $25 Gift Certificate to Eleanor Russel Ltd: Ticket number 4487, held by Philip Ciofalo
26 $60 Gift Certificate to Wawa: Ticket number 4775, held by Mark Saylor
27 $50 Gift Certificate to Wawa: Ticket number 291, held by Jonathan Fietkau
28 $10 Gift Certificate to Wawa: Ticket number 1664, held by Ruth Worrell
29 $25 Gift Certificate Redner's: Ticket number 5782, held by Ronald Dinnocerti
30 Bird Feeder: Ticket number 2798, held by John Fry
51 30-minute Intro to Flight Lesson: Ticket number 4615, held by Julius Banyal
52 1 free Half Hour Massage - Infinity Chiropractor: Ticket number 2910, held by Nev Lynch
53 $25 Gift Certificate Redner's: Ticket number 1724, held by Peggy Snider
54 $50 Gift Certificate to Lilly's Grille: Ticket number 178, held by Steve Anspach
55 $10 Gift Certificate to Wawa: Ticket number 1064, held by Brandy Smale
56 $25 Gift Certificate to Wawa: Ticket number 3107, held by Linda Jacobs
57 $20 Gift Certificate Camelot Salon: Ticket number 2077, held by Marine Corp League
58 $35 Gift Certificate to Mike's Brick Oven Pizza: Ticket number 2553, held by Steven Smith
59 1 Oil Change M & M Lube and Automotive: Ticket number 5757, held by Kathleen Louden
60 $20 Gift Certificate Camelot Salon: Ticket number 2247, held by Marine Corp League
61 $20 Gift Certificate to Olive Garden: Ticket number 190, held by Kelly Taylor
62 $20 Gift Certificate to Ice House: Ticket number 2140, held by Joanne Augustine
63 $100 Chili's Gift Certificat: Ticket number 5025, held by Alison Wagner
64 $25 Gift Certificate to Downtown Records: Ticket number 3339, held by Diena and Billy Boyer
65 $20 Gift Certificate to Ice House: Ticket number 170, held by Dana Logue
66 $41 Gift Certificate to T&N Saloon: Ticket number 1705, held by David Akers
67 $41 Gift Certificate to T&N Saloon: Ticket number 169, held by Rich Graver
68 $20 Gift Certificate to Wawa: Ticket number 3659, held by David Akers
69 $20 Gift Certificate to Wawa: Ticket number 4801, held by Holly Chang
70 $50 Gift Certificate to Best Buy: Ticket number 3660, held by Anita Slobodin
71 $50 Gift Certificate Downtown Stores "Last Duck In": Ticket number 259, held by Jeff Schulbert
An early version of the site plan which received preliminary approval last night from the commissioners.
With a 4-1 vote by the Lower Pottsgrove Commissioners, the $146 million proposal to build 500 homes and apartments, a hotel and large medical building near the Limerick outlets took an important step forward Thursday night.
Sanatoga Green, as the project is called, proposes a 60,000 square-foot medical building, a 108-room hotel, 17 multi-family apartment buildings with a total of 343 units and 147 townhomes, all on about 50 acres off Evergreen Road opposite the Costco.
First envisioned in 2014 and carried forward by Castle Caldecott LLC, the project received preliminary site plan approval from the township commissioners last night.
But a 90-minute meeting Monday between the developers, the township staff and Commissioners Chairman Bruce Foltz and Vice Chairman Stephen Klotz produced a compromise.
As Township Solicitor Charles D. Garner Jr. explained, one of the 38 conditions attached to the approval is an incentive for the developer to move forward with the commercial aspects of the project.
Several months ago, these were the townhouse renderings
presented to the commissioners by Castle Caldecott, LLC
The developers have agreed to put up $375,000 in cash or a line of credit to ensure that after the first, townhouse phase of the project moves forward, that the second residential phase, the apartments, will not begin until building permits have been pulled for either of the two commercial elements of the plan.
Should the developers approach the commissioners about beginning the second residential phase before the commercial, "I imagine there would be some negotiation or the township might obtain the $375,000 by default," Garner said.
"It was not easy to get them to agree to that," said Foltz. "They didn't want to put up any money at all."
Both Foltz and Klotz praised the efforts on all sides.
"I think this shows the township is business friendly," said Klotz, who praised the professionalism if both the developer's staff and the township's.
The developers also presented a rendering of what the hotel on the site may look like several months ago.
But not everyone was so enthusiastic.
Commissioner Ray Lopez cast the lone dissenting vote.
He said he voted no because of how many people who live in the area where the development is proposed have contacted him and asked him to oppose it.
"They're opposed to it because of the traffic, the zoning changes, the impact on the schools, and they would like to see a different plan, one that has more commercial elements and I agree with them," Lopez said.
However, the tale is not yet fully told.
Having won preliminary site plan approval, Castle Caldecott must now go back to the planning commission and do more work to seek a recommendation for final site plan approval, which can only be granted by the township commissioners.
"They've still got a long way to go," said Klotz.
But you, dear reader, don't have far to go to find the Tweets from the very brief meeting.
Blogger's Note:The following was provided by Pottstown's Rollerderby Rockstars
Pottstown's Roller Derby Rockstars will join leagues across the country to launch a national blood drive series next week called "Make ‘Em Bleed."
The drive is organized in partnership with The American Red Cross and Brown Paper Tickets and will take place here on Wednesday, July 26 from 2 to 7 p.m. at Ringing Hill Fire Company, 815 White Pine Lane in Lower Pottsgrove.
(If you can't make the Pottstown blood drive, another will be held in Philadelphia on Sunday, Aug. 13 when the Philly Roller Derby will be at Roxborough Memorial Hospital, 5800 Ridge Ave., from from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.)
Roller derby athletes will offer autographs, photo opportunities and more to attract donors, like other blood drives in the Make 'em Bleed series which are often the most popular community service events of the year in many of the cities where they are hosted.
Make ‘Em Bleed roller derby blood drives have collected more than 900 units of blood over the past 4 years -- enough to have helped to save up to 2,700 lives.
“The Make ‘Em Bleed blood drives provide a fantastic atmosphere, with roller derby athletes skating in uniform, refreshments, giveaways and an all-around good time,” said Justin Mueller, representative for the American Red Cross.“ The summer is one of the most difficult times for the Red Cross to collect blood, so Make ‘Em Bleed has really made a difference to help ensure blood is available for patients in need.”
In 2017, the Make ‘Em Bleed roller derby blood drive series is part of World Roller Derby Week, Aug. 13-19, a series of events celebrating the 82nd birthday of the invention of the sport by Leo Seltzer in 1935.
Roller derby is one of only three major sports invented in the United State. Currently, almost 2,000 women’s, men’s and junior leagues are skating, competing and giving back to their communities worldwide.
One could be forgiven for believing most matters of discussion at a water and sewer authority have to do with matters of water and sewage.
And to be sure, they do.
In that particular vein, the authority board unanimously (absent David Renn) officially approved the 14 percent hike in water and sewer rates that it tentatively approved in May.
The average household will pay about $35 more per year for water as the result of the vote.
The increase will generate additional revenues of $350,000 in 2017 and about $700,000 when the new fees have been in place for a full year by the end of 2018, according to Robert Plenderleith, the borough’s utilities administrator.
Much of that will go into the authority’s capital budget, which is being used according to a regularly updated five-year plan to repair and replace aging infrastructure in a water and sewer system now nearly 100 years old.
Repairs to that aging infrastructure -- and in particular the re-paving of the streets once that infrastructure is in place -- was of particular concern during Tuesday's authority board meeting.
Member Tom Carroll confirmed that when the authority re-paves a borough street after pipe work has been done, it is done "curb to curb."
Public Works Director Doug Yerger also said that when borough roads are re-paved from the liquid fuels fund simply because it needs it, it too is re-paved from curb to curb.
But if drivers of High Street were hoping for the same treatment, they will be disappointed. The $4 million water line re-placement that began last year and will continue on Aug. 2, when connections along Washington, Adams and Bailey streets will begin.
As engineer Tom Weld explained, because High Street is owned by the state, the curb-to-curb rule does not apply, so only the northern side of the street will be re-paved.
The final paving schedule for High Street will "hopefully" be finalized by the end of the month, according to Yerger.
As for keeping those streets clean, that's not happening any more.
Also under Carroll's questioning, Borougth (and authority) Manager Mark Flanders confirmed the last three years of annual street sweeping was paid through a $500,000 settlement with the Pottstown Landfill several years ago in exchange for treating the closed landfill's dwindling leachate run-off.
But after using some of the money to buy the trademark blue recycling containers, the rest went toward removing the 160 to 212 tons of grit off the streets each year.
"But that money is now exhausted," said Flanders. To pay for more street sweeping would require something else not being paid for.
Carroll offered the opinion that dirty streets keep "the kind of people we want to attract" from buying homes in the borough, and instead leads to residents who "don't care."
"I take pride in the upkeep of my house," said Carroll. "Seeing what's going on in other towns, if I could sell my house and get out of this town I would because I am tired of looking at the filth."
On that happy note, here are the Tweets from last night's borough authority meeting.
One of the nice things about those long summer nights, combined with Douglass supervisors meetings that rarely last more than an hour, is that you can run out after the meeting and get photos of some of the objects of discussion.
Bingo also continues to be held at the social hall on Route 73.
Chief among these last night was the fall-out from the closure of the Gilbertsville Fire Co. social hall, which came up during the solicitor's report.
The gist of it seems to be that games of chance operating at the social hall may have been a violation of the liquor license, and since the township was the de-facto property owner, that made the township liable for the violations.
The social hall was closed, except for charitable fund-raising events like Bike Night on Aug. 19 and the two-day craft show after Thanksgiving.
We'll have a little more on that in subsequent reports in The Mercury when we have a bit more information.
Also of interest was not only the pending expansion of Gilbertsville animal Hospital, which won preliminary support from the supervisors, but also a proposed use for the intersection of Route 100 and Jackson Road.
The property owners received a positive reception for their zoning variance requests from the supervisors in exchange for committing to working with them on the design of the building.
Proposed Mooney self-storage facility.
Chairman Anthony Kuklinski described the Wawa near that intersection as "rural, but not," and said "the township does not want any big yellow boxes."
Not the bury the lead or anything, but the supervisors also voted unanimously to borrow just under $1.2 to pay for the new township public works building now taking shape on Municipal drive.
The new public works building is taking shape.
Bob Dries, who is overseeing the construction, said the floor slab has been poured and walls are going up on the new facility.
He said the roof joists should be in position shortly and that some utilities have already been put in position.
The township broke ground on the new building on a rainy day in May and Dries said work is progressing quickly enough that "we should have everything under roof by winter."
That's about it for last night's meeting. Here are the Tweets.
Blogger's Note:The following was provided by YWCA Tri-County Area.
YWCA Tri-County Area approved two members to its board of directors at its Annual Meeting in June.
Frankie Casanas of Douglassville and Karen McDougal of Pottstown were approved to join the board of directors for three-year terms.
Casanas, a shift manager at the John Middleton Co., is a member of National Women in Manufacturing. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Occupational Safety and Health, and currently is pursuing an MBA.
Karen McDougal
She served in the U.S. Navy for 12 years, where she was a board member for the Aviation Boatswains Mate Association. At YWCA Tri-County Area, she has served on the Governance and Special Events committees.
McDougal has more than a decade of experience in public accounting and auditing, and two decades teaching university accounting and finance, currently at Penn State Brandywine.
She operates a private accounting and tax practice for individuals, small businesses, and non-profit organizations, and delivers workshops and presentations in financial planning, accounting, and taxation. She works with the Pottstown chapter of SCORE to assist local businesses.
MdDougal is a licensed Certified Public Accountant, and holds a BBA in Accounting from Temple University, an MBA in Taxation from Widener University, and a PhD in Accounting from Temple University. She serves on YWCA Tri-County Area’s Development Committee.
YWCA Tri-County Area is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. YWCA Tri-County Area is a leader in advocacy for women and girls, works to eliminate racism, and empowers women through quality affordable childcare, adult literacy, and a host of programs to support the health and vitality of women, girls, and families.
Blogger's Note:The following was provided by Pottsgrove Manor.
Do you have what it takes to be a “Jack of All Trades” at Pottsgrove Manor?
There will be cooking in our reproduction 18th century kitchen where you can learn the skills needed to make a Georgian meal in a hearth fireplace.
Weavers will be working on tape looms and turning wool into yarn and thread.
The mason, or brick/stone layer, will be illustrating the steps in stone carving by hand.
Discover what a seamstress will be piecing together to create and hand-sew colonial garments.
Explore what a book binder, colonial shoe maker, and broom maker are showcasing, teaching about their craft, and showing off their wares.
Hands-on activities allow everyone to experience the noises, sights, and smells of the different 18th century careers and skills that crafted both everyday and luxury items.
It will be held Saturday, July 22, 2017 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Colonial ironmaster John Potts’ 1752 manor house will be open for tours during the day.
Trades were a necessary part of colonial life as friends and neighbors worked to sell and share their wares and services. Visitors will also be able to shop at the manor’s museum shop for colonial games, books, and unique gifts.
This program welcomes all ages; suggested donation $2 per person for the event. The event will be held rain or shine.
Pottsgrove Manor is located at 100 West King Street near the intersection of King Street and Route 100, just off Route 422 near the Carousel at Potttown and Manatawny Green Miniature Golf Course, in Pottsown.
Pottsgrove Manor is operated by the Montgomery County Division of Parks, Trails, and Historic Sites.
No matter if its red, blue or green, the streets colored on this map are on the schedule to be paved. The colors simply indicate whether the paving is in concert with a water project, sewer project or straight out of the liquid fuels fund.
Pottstown has 70 miles of streets and 15 miles of alleys. Ten miles of those roads are state roads.
And between now and Oct. 30, about four miles of them are going to be paved.
At least that's what I Tweeted from Monday's council meeting.
The borough has since posted this map on its web site, indicating all the streets that will be re-paved, either as the result of a water line project, a sewer line project, or just straight paving (hence the different colors).
It looks like more than 3.95 miles to me, which is what I saw at the bottom of a list of the streets to be paved, so maybe I was looking at the wrong list.
Some of the re-paving will follow water or sewer line replacements,
like this one on High Street last year.
Anyhoo, people complain on The Mercury's Facebook page all the time about the condition of the roads in town, so it occurred to me you might be interested in the fact that some of them are going to get better.
I also Tweeted to check the borough web site for a list, but I couldn't find one, so, my bad.
If you're still having trouble figuring out if the paver is coming your way, contact the borough council member in your ward. They LOVE answering questions like this.
If you're interested in backyard fires, large murals or new bridges, Pottstown Borough Council was the place to be Monday night.
PennDOT held a public hearing on the $3.5 million plan to replace the King Street bridge over Manatawny Creek.
The bridge, built in 1957 carries about 9,000 vehicles per day and its structurally deficient.
Work is slated to begin after July 4, 2019.
Yes, you read that right, it's still two years away.
As for the backyard fire pits and such, council approved that ordinance change unanimously, despite the objection of Michelle Chasin, who said the smoke is dangerous and she has had problems with her neighbor's fire pit.
Two other residents spoke out in favor of it.
The vote on the new mural ordinance was not unanimous. Councilman Dennis Arms remained opposed, saying the requirements that a maintenance agreement be secured before a permit is issued is needless.
It was a pretty quick meeting overall, as the Tweets below will show.
Blogger's Note:The following was provided by the Colebrookdale Railroad Preservation Trust.
Nathaniel C Guest, Executive Director of the Colebrookdale Railroad Preservation Trust, has announced that Frank Buttaro, Jr., of Pottstown joined the staff of the Colebrookdale Railroad as Director of Marketing and Business Development on July 1.
Frank is well known in the Tri-County Area and brings a unique blend of for-profit and not-for- profit experience. He has served as Director of Business Development for BerksAmericana, National Sales Manager for Pro-Tool Industries, and worked for the American Heart Association among other affiliations. He brings more than 25 years of experience in sales and marketing to the Colebrookdale Railroad.
His community work spans local government and a variety of non-profit involvements. Frank serves on the Development Committee of the Bethany Children’s Home, Advisory Board of Olivet Boys and Girls Club (Pottstown location), and the Events Committee of the Reading Symphony.
“Frank brings a wealth of experience in sales and building relationships” according to Guest.
Frank’s appointment signals another milestone of the development for the railroad. Charged with developing new partnerships with area businesses and securing new ridership, Buttaro will interface with business and community groups to build continuing support for economic growth.
In the coming months, 118,000 paving bricks manufactured in the early 1900s, salvaged from a scrap pile in Western Pennsylvania, will be installed as walkways that will provide paths from Philadelphia Avenue into the railyard at third and Washington Street in Boyertown.
In Pottstown, plans are progressing to build a station in Memorial Park where the railroad crosses King Street.
According to Building a Better Boyertown (BBB) more than 12 new businesses have located to Boyertown as a result of the railroad’s development.
Serving Montgomery and Berks County, the Colebrookdale Railroad Preservation Trust is a 503(c)(3) dedicated to restoring rail service to Eastern Berks County and developing the Civil War-era Colebrookdale Railroad into a tourist destination which will drive economic development in the Tri-County Area.
Since carrying its first passengers in 2014, the railroad has carried over 50,000 passengers from 48 states and five foreign countries through the Secret Valley where iron helped forge a nation.
It's hard to picture a better way to enjoy the lazy days of summer, than along the shores of our own Schuylkill River.
Luckily for us all, the Schuylkill River Heritage Area is located right here in Pottstown in Riverfront Park and has a number of upcoming events to appeal to the historian, padder or pedaler in your family.
Early Bird pricing ends July 15 for the Ride for the River.
On Sept. 30 the heritage area is bringing the Ride for the River back for a second year. Take a 16- or 40-mile ride along the Schuylkill River Trail from Pottstown to Reading, beginning and ending at Sly Fox Can Jam festival where riders can enjoy eight hours of free live music
All proceeds benefit the Schuylkill River Heritage Area, which works
with partners to build, maintain and promote the Schuylkill River Trail.
Volunteers for Ride for the River are also needed. Interested in volunteering? Email Laura at lcatalano@schuylkillriver.org
On Friday, July 21, the heritage center will hold Schuylkill Explorers Family Day.
A free two-hour program from 9 to 11 a.m., the program gets kids outdoors and teaches the importance of protecting our natural resources.
Visit the Schuylkill River Heritage Area's River of Revolutions Interpretive Center, walk on the Pottstown RiverWalk, and participate in an environmental education activity
Appropriate for children ages 5 and up; parents must accompany children during the program
The first of three popular Pedal and Paddle Tours is scheduled for Saturday, July 22 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will focus on water quality.
Pedal and Paddles begin with a 4.5 mile bike ride from Pottstown’s
Riverfront Park to Douglassville, using yellow cruisers from the Bike Pottstown
bike share program.
Participants either take a guided tour of Morlatton
Village's four 18th century buildings including the oldest home in
Berks County or ride directly to Douglassville’s Ganshahawny Park for a
lesson on water quality.
Events with a water quality focus include more
on-water time, with stops for water testing.
All events include a picnic
lunch(provided) and receive a brief introduction to kayaking from
outfitter Doug Chapman of Take it Outdoors Adventures.
Then, they paddle back to Pottstown via the Schuylkill River. Food, bikes, kayaks and all kayaking gear are provided. Must be 16 or older to participate.
The cost is $40 and each event is limited to 15 people.
The second Pedal and Paddle Tour takes place on Saturday, Aug. 12 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will include a tour of Morlatton Village.
The third takes place on Saturday, Sept. 9 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and again will focus on water quality.
Or maybe you would rather take a Pedal and Paddle Tour in Mont Clare along Lock 60 and the Schuylkill Canal that takes place on Saturday, Aug. 26 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m..
This will consist of a bike ride along the Schuylkill River Trail and a
kayaking loop that begins on the river and returns via the canal. It
will include a guided tour of the canal and Lock Tenders House.
There's no question that the Schuylkill River it itself a work of art.
But the Schuylkill River Heritage Area loves to see it portrayed in art, which is why is sponsors an annual art show, 2017, Scenes of the Schuylkill Art Show.
Now in its 14th year, the show is hosted by the Schuylkill River Heritage Area every fall at the Montgomery County Community College West Campus gallery in Pottstown. This year's show runs
from Nov. 2-Dec. 17.
There will be cash prizes from the Schuylkill River Heritage Area and gift certificates from North Penn Art.
Best of Show winner will receive $300 cash and a $400 gift certificate; 2nd Prize: $200 cash and a $250 gift certificate; 3rd Prize: $100 cash and a $100 gift certificate; Staff Choice $50 cash and a $50 gift certificate; two honorable mentions for paintings:$50 each and $50 gift certificates; two honorable mentions for photography: $50 each and $50 gift certificates.
The Heritage Area will collect a 20 percent commission fee from all sales that result from the show and exhibit. If your work is sold, the 20 percent commission fee is tax-deductible.
The 2017 show will be juried by Rachel McCay, assistant curator at Woodmere Museum of Art.
The proposal to build a hotel, medical office building and about 500 housing units did not win the preliminary site plan approval the developers were so obviously expecting Thursday night.
Rather, after disagreements surfaced about details and whether limits could be placed on residential developments to guarantee commercial developments could be built, both sides retreated to re-group.
There was a lot of talk -- after all lawyers, engineers and politicians were involved -- but the essential issue comes down to this.
The township commissioners have seen too many "mixed use developments" flounder after the residential portion of the project was built, leaving the schools with more students but no commercial tax base to offset the cost.
So the township wants "phasing," with one of the commercial developments being built after the townhomes, for which the developers already have a contract.
From the developers' standpoint, they don't control the market and don't control which type of partner they secure and when. Limiting the project to a schedule phasing undermines the ability to get the financing to undertake all the site work at the same time, a considerable savings.
Suffice it to say that no compromise was reached Wednesday night, although a few were floated. However, the pending signing of a contract for the 60,000 square-foot medical facility may break the log-jam.
A meeting between the township staff and developers, along with two commissioners, has been scheduled with anticipation that the preliminary approval can be accomplished at the July 20 meeting.
The project calls for 60,000 square-foot medical building, a 108-room hotel, 17 multi-family apartment buildings with a total of 343 units & and 147 townhomes, all on about 50 acres off Evergreen Road opposite the Limerick outlets.
That said, you can read the Tweets if you want the long version, including the catty exchange between Township Solicitor Charles D. Garner Jr. and Frank Bartle, the developers' attorney.
Pottstown's newest police officer, Timothy Coffland and his wife Jessica, center, moments after being sworn in by Pottstown Mayor Sharon Thomas, right, and Police Chief Richard Drumheller, left.
Pottstown swore in its newest police officer, Timothy Coffland, just in time Monday night.
But while we may have enough police officers to handle Pottstown's crime, we had trouble finding enough borough council members Wednesday to handle the borough's business.
When council convened, only Council President Dan Weand, Vice President Sheryl Miller, member Dennis Arms and Mayor Sharon Thomas were present.
The first of these meetings almost didn't happen, due to lack of a quorum.
Since the mayor only votes in a tie, council was one vote short of the four voting members needed to form a quorum on the seven-member board.
But Twitter saved the day.
When I tagged Councilman Ryan Procsal in mentioning the inability to conduct business, he responded with "be right there."
It seems he just got back from vacation and had not thought he would be available for the council meeting, but when he saw the need, he came running.
Absent were council members Carol Kulp, Rita Pez and Joe Kirkland.
What with the shootings, I'm afraid I can't give you a terribly complete report on the meeting as I was otherwise engaged.
Suffice it to say that the major topics of discussion were stormwater control measures; changes to the proposed law governing murals on buildings; a request to mount a Latino-themed mural either on the Carousel building or the old borough garage on Beech Street; concern about allowing more backyard burning and praise for the July 4th Parade and GoFourth celebrations of the past several days.
The rest, I'm afraid, you will have to intuit from the Tweets below and whatever articles get written out of the meeting.
Are they any less "American" than those of us who were born here?
I would argue that getting to this country from another, sometimes under difficult circumstances, in some cases learning a new language and learning the history and structure of your adopted nation makes them more of an American than those of us whose only qualify characteristic is being born.
These folks had to work for it.
Chin Su Kim of South Korea received his US Citizenship papers last year in a ceremony at Pottsgrove High School.
They had to want it.
If the only real American is someone born here, one could argue that the only real Americans are the descendants of those who were here before Columbus; before Ponce de Leon; before the Mayflower blundered its way into Massachusetts Bay.
Frankly, Native Americans have a pretty solid claim, and the only practical way to dispute it is to put a pin in the timeline of the continent's history and say only those born after 1776 (or 1789) and their descendants are real Americans.
But that seems a bit capricious in the broader scheme of history.
In truth, all Americans are from somewhere else. Its just a matter of how far back you go.
And lately, we have been going way back.
It has never been easier -- or more lucrative for the Internet companies doing the searching -- to trace our descendants back through the generations to Ireland, or Italy or Slovenia and, if the commercials are to be believed, millions of us are delighted to be doing so every day.
To celebrate our non-American origins and, in the same breath, refuse to confer the status of "American" on those who came a decade or two later is beyond ironic.
It's moronic and it borders on the kind of willful and belligerent ignorance in which, sadly, we have begun to specialize in recent years.
Perhaps being a real American has less to do with where we're born and more to do with what we believe.
And no, I don't mean belief in God or being a Christian nation. We are, rather, a nation that was founded by Christians (many of them "diests," who believed in God but not religion).
The Christians who founded this nation knew their history, they knew the centuries of blood spilled in Europe in wars over who was the right kind of Christian.
This nation was founded by Christians who specifically wanted to keep Christianity out of government; to make worship a matter of personal belief and not one of government mandate.
When I say maybe a real American is defined by her belief, I mean someone who believes in the ideals of America; our right to pursue life, liberty and happiness; our right to be free to speak our minds; to worship as we wish.
Perhaps a real American is someone who understands and exercises the rights that are due every American thanks to our Constitution and its predecessor which we celebrate so noisily on this day every year with fireworks (or in Pottstown's case, lasers.)
Consider the curious case of Colin Kaepernick, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback who refused to stand for the National Anthem because of what he saw as unfair treatment of non-white Americans.
Many viewed this choice as "un-American."
I say what could be more American than to peacefully protest what you see as the unfair treatment of a minority?
When you can be pulled over for "driving while black," or a jury decides that a police officer did not commit murder when he shot a black driver because he is justified to be "in fear for his life" because of the color of the driver's skin, something has gone wrong. That is a violation of America's highest ideals.
Is it not the finest American tradition to stand up, or in Kaepernick's case, kneel down, for what you believe to be un-American? Let's not forget the "all men are created equal" part of the document we are celebrating today folks.
To argue that all men are being treated as equals in America today is to deny the evidence of your own eyes.
To argue that all men (and women) are provided with the same opportunities in today's public school systems is to deny the facts.
To argue that protesting such unfair treatment, sometimes peacefully, sometimes in more riotous fashion causing property damage, is un-American is to deny our own history.
After all, what was the Boston Tea Party we so venerate but a bunch of costumed hooligans destroying private property in protest over how the majority in England was treating the minority -- the colonists?
In truth, I believe this argument over "real Americans" -- most recently crystalized in a new NRA advertisements pasted below in which the word "they" is featured prominently -- is really about the dry science of demographics.
The U.S. Census predicts that in a few years, white Americans will become a minority in this country.
Its hard to win elections that way, which is why for years, Jeb Bush was trying unsuccessfully to rouse his party to this reality with the phrase "demographics is destiny" and urging the GOP to be more welcoming to Hispanics.
But instead of embracing this new majority and winning them over in the marketplace of ideas, the multi-pronged methodology now underway is to subvert that looming majority to maintain control of the country for as long as possible -- a desperate strategy to hold on to what is believed to belong only to the "real Americans."
It's pretty simple stuff when you take a step back and look at the big picture.
First, you make it harder for "them" to vote.
Purging voter rolls, requiring photo IDs and a national investigation of non-existent voter fraud as an excuse to collect state voter data is a good way to start.
Another necessity is to undermine public education.
Citizens who are taught to think for themselves are hard to fool and even harder to rule, particularly when there are a lot of them. So rather than recognize that different people learn in different ways and devote our efforts to educating each student in the best way we can, we have standardized education; using standardized tests which discriminate against non-traditional learners and, by what I'm sure is pure coincidence, non-whites and those raised in poverty.
If you don't fit the mold, you don't move ahead through the system. How did we come to this in a country where we celebrate the idea of independence every year?
We've punished and demeaned teachers for so long now, that the number of people willing to undertake this most vital and, more recently, thankless job, is dwindling to the crisis point.
And of course, trust in the media must be undermined as well.
You can't have those who may point out inconsistencies and outright lies; those charged with speaking truth to power and holding it to account; those who so often remind us how alike we all truly are and how much we actually have in common; running around unimpeded when you are so desperately working to instill fear with an "us" and "them" narrative.
Fearful people are easy to manipulate, particularly when you claim to have an easy solution that we can understand. Never mind that it doesn't work. What's important is that its comforting and that it reaffirms what we've always believed about who truly deserves the rewards of being a real American.
Certainly, it's not "them."
As for me, I plan to celebrate July 4th by celebrating the idea that real Americans fight for what's fair, what's right, because it makes us a better country. It brings us closer to being the country we say we aspire to be.
I plan to celebrate July 4th by celebrating the idea that the best American is an American educated enough to make decisions based more on facts than feelings, to know her rights and to exercise them with vigor, who knows that oppression of any of us is oppression of all of us.
I plan to celebrate the birth of America by celebrating an idea best articulated by a fictional Englishman, that we have come to a time in our history when we will all have to make a choice -- between what is right, and what is easy.
