Now in its 32nd year, “Science in the Summer” programs will take place in the coming weeks at libraries in Pottstown, Royersford, Red Hill and Schwenksville.
The hands-on programs are co-sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline and The Franklin Institute and feature hands-on science activities for children from second through sixth grades.
Level one classes are best for students in second and third grade, while level two classes are best for students entering fourth, fifth and sixth grades.
Examples of this year’s activities include making and operating straw rockets; comparing the effects of UV rays on UV-sensitive beads (they glow when exposed), with and without sunscreen; and making and operating rockets made of film canisters fueled with antacids and water.
Many of the activities can be repeated at home.
“Scientists and astronomers have made extraordinary discoveries about the universe in recent years, making this an exciting time to introduce young people to world beyond ours,” said Marti Skold-Jordan, manager of community partnerships for GSK.
“The Science of Space classes will make the connection between these discoveries and STEM concepts and skills in a way that children will remember for years to come, and that will help ignite their scientific curiosity for a lifetime,” she said.
STEM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering and math.
“By introducing STEM materials at a young age, we’re preparing them for future opportunities in STEM careers,” said Karen Elinich, director of science content and learning technologies for The Franklin Institute.
The classes will be taught by certified local teachers and the libraries that participate will receive children’s science book donations to support continued science learning.
Registration is ongoing until classes fill up, or start, whichever comes first. Call your local library for details.
Here is a list of programs and location organized by date:
• July 2-3, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Level 1 — Perkiomen Valley Library, 290 Second St., Schwenksville
• July 2-3, 1 to 3 p.m., Level 2 — Perkiomen Valley Library, 290 Second St., Schwenksville
• July 2-3, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Level 1 — Upper Perkiomen Library, 350 Main St., Red Hill
• July 2-3, 1 to 3 p.m., Level 2 — Upper Perkiomen Library, 350 Main St., Red Hill
• July 23-24, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Level 1 — Pottstown Regional Public Library, 500 High St., Pottstown
• July 23-24, 1 to 3 p.m., Level 2 — Pottstown Regional Public Library, 500 High St., Pottstown
• July 25-26, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Level 1 — Pottstown Regional Public Library, 500 High St., Pottstown
• July 25-26, 1 to 3 p.m., Level 1 — Pottstown Regional Public Library, 500 High St., Pottstown
• July 30-31, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Level 1 — Royersford Free Public Library, 200 S. Fourth St., Royersford
• July 30-31, 1 to 3 p.m., Level 2 — Royersford Free Public Library, 200 S. Fourth St., Royersford
Eric Jarrell, section chief of community planning for the Montgomery County Planning Commission, illustrates all the area of interest investigated in the draft Multi-Regional Greenways and Stewardship Study during the meeting Wednesday of the Pottstown Metropolitan Area Regional Planning Committee.
Perhaps the first and most important thing to remember about environmentally sensitive areas, greenways and the like, is that many of those acres are under private ownership.
As a result, there is only so much that governments and non-profit preservation agencies can do directly to ensure the protection and proper function of critical woodlands, wetlands, meadows and streams.
Now in its third year and in preliminary draft form, a study that looks at such properties in 26 municipalities over 195 square miles in western Montgomery and northern Chester counties, looks to maximize that protection at a minimum of cost.
This map shows public parks, preserved
farmland, conservation lands and even
'Main Street Greenways' in purple.
"We can't just buy every property of value," said Eric Jarrell, section chief for
community planning with the Montgomery County Planning Commission.
Jarrell was in Pottstown Wednesday to update the Pottstown Area Metropolitan Regional Planning Committee on the progress of the study since its introduction in November of 2015.
The massive undertaking, assisted by the non-profit preservation group Natural Lands and the Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy, will be in final form by the end of the year.
Not only will it contain "best practices" for specific habitats and landscape types out in the undeveloped area, but also specific ways to improve specific greenways in boroughs, villages and downtown areas, said Jarrell.
Such efforts will also help in stormwater management efforts, he said.
But it can't cover everything.
One improvement Jarrell said the study is
like to suggest, is to use vegetation to
replace some of the "ocean of asphalt" that
surrounds the firehouse in Gilbertsville.
For example, the study group looked at 38 public parks, but there are about 300 that it didn't. So father than try to devise a specific plan for each park, it will outline the "best management practices" for areas near streams, called "riparian buffers," woodlands and the like.
And those practices will not just be for municipal or protected lands, but also those in private hands as well. Jarrell said when complete, owners of those properties believed to have important or sensitive natural features will be invited to learn how to better manage them for maximum natural benefit.
They won't be pushy, he said in response to a concern raised by New Hanover Supervisor Kurt Zebrowski. "I think we'll have our hands full just trying to meet the needs of those landowners who respond and want our help," Jarrell said.
A separate guide will be produced for the management and improvement of Main Street greenways, said Jarrell, as well as guidelines for mustering a force of volunteers who can properly undertake such tasks as plant trees and remove invasive species.
Hopefully, private landowners may be able to take advantage of such volunteer groups as well.
And with that, here are the Tweets from the meeting:
U.S. Rep. Ryan Costello, R-6th, second from right, and PA Rep. David Maloney, R-130th Dist., meet with USDA officials about efforts to combat the invasion by the spotted lanternfly
Blogger's Note:The following was provided by the office of U.S. Rep. Ryan Costello
In February, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a grant to combat the spotted lanternfly, a pest that is native to Southeastern Asia and first appeared in the United States in Berks County.
Last week, federal and state officials came together for an update on the grant program. U.S. Rep. Ryan Costello R-6th Dist., and Pennsylvania state Rep. David Maloney, R-130th Dist., heard from USDA Deputy Administrator for APHIS Plan Protection and Quarantine Osama A El-Lissy and USDA Under Secretary Greg Ibach, who leads the Office of Marketing and Regulatory Programs.
The office oversees the $17.5 million that Costello helped secure to combat the spotted lanternfly in the residential areas, wooded areas, and commercial agriculture areas.
All three communities need specific approaches to combat the fly, and Costello and Maloney were briefed on the approach taken by the USDA. The department’s initial steps are to suppress the fly and stop the spread of the fly until it can be eliminated entirely.
“Pennsylvanians have shared how their farms and homes have been impacted by the spotted lanternfly. The ongoing partnership between federal and state officials is critical to stopping the spread of this pest in the Commonwealth, and I thank State Rep. Maloney and the USDA for their work and attention on this issue,” said Rep. Costello, who represents parts of Berks, Chester, Lebanon, and Montgomery counties.
Each county is currently under quarantine for the spotted lanternfly.
“Knowing how important eliminating this pest is to our community, I was pleased to join Rep. Costello for a progress update from the USDA and thank federal officials for their commitment to resolve this threat in Southeastern Pennsylvania. The continued focus on the core and the perimeter will be a key part of successful treatment,” said Maloney. “I also brought attention to the growing concerns related to Chronic Wasting Disease, another new challenge we are facing in Pennsylvania.”
Maloney has been working to address the spotted lanternfly since it was discovered in Pennsylvania, and has urged state and federal officials to take an aggressive approach. Information provided during the meeting was the first evidence that this aggressive approach was showing signs of progress, according to Maloney.
Both Rep. Costello and State Rep. Maloney have previously urged officials to take action to control the pest.
If Pennsylvanians notice the spotted lanternfly in their neighborhood, they should contact the Automated Invasive Species Report Line at 1-888-4BAD-FLY (1-888-422-3359).
NEW DECA OFFICERS: Standing are Angela Calel, Jen Hainsey, Emily Weber. Kneeling are David Hicks and Devyn Lopez.
Blogger's Note:The following was provided by the Pottstown School District
Pottstown High DECA sponsors, Lyndsay Hashem and Kevin Pascal have announced the 2018-19 DECA officers.
DECA is an international association of high school and college students.
The organization’s goals are to improve education and provide opportunities for students interested in careers in marketing, management, and entrepreneurship in business, finance, hospitality, and marketing sales.
DECA helps students to develop skills for successful business careers providing opportunities for students to build self-esteem, experience, leadership, and practice community service.
The new officers are:
Jen Hainsey - President
David Hicks - Vice President
Devyn Lopez - Executive Director (Officer of Communications)
Emily Weber - Management Director (Officer of Membership)
Angelica Calel - Event Director (Officer of Competition Prep and Fundraisers)
WHAT'S IN A BUILDING?: Journalists, sales reps, circulation workers, business office workers, publishers (sometimes), drivers and a whole lot of history.
It's no secret to many of you in the greater Pottstown area that I am a bit of a smart-ass.
But I will confess to being truly humbled by the actions taken in the past two weeks by the elected bodies I have spent more than 20 years covering and, in more than one instance, criticizing.
It takes a large measure of character to step outside oneself and see the greater good in an institution whose function is to tell you, and thousands of people, that you're screwing something up.
Certainly, that is not all The Mercury does in its coverage of local government. Like the elected officials and staffs themselves, we want to see Pottstown and the surrounding municipalities thrive and succeed. After all, that affects our health too.
But as I have said many times before, perhaps to the point that some of you are tired of hearing it, the First Amendment was not added to the Constitution just so the local newspaper would have the right to cover car crashes -- no matter how much people like to read about them and shake their heads over the photographs.
Our purpose for being, other than making money, is to hold government and the powerful accountable or, as E. K. Hornbeck once said "Mr. Brady, it is the duty of a newspaper to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable."
So to have the people whom we so regularly afflict stand up and say "we need you here," is not only humbling, but reflects, at least in my opinion, a measure of their broader vision about the rolls we all take on.
Without any request from us, both Pottstown Borough Council and the Pottstown School Board took it upon themselves to vote (unanimously I might add) to send letters to the company that owns The Mercury in what will likely be an unsuccessful attempt to reverse the decision to close-up the newspaper's long-time home at King and North Hanover streets and move it to the printing plant in Exton.
Here is the borough's letter, authorized by a vote on June 11:
It's a little hard to read, so, at the risk of seeming self-serving, I'll quote the key sentences: "The award-winning, Pultizer Prize-winning journalists are the backbone of Pottstown, its community and its residents, providing stories and information each and every day. Local news, local government and school information allows officials and the public to remain transparent and accountable to its fellow-constituents and fulfills the mission and goals of true journalism."
And here is the school board's letter which the board members agreed to sign at the June 21 meeting:
Also a bit hard to read, so again here are some salient sentences: "Shuttering of the building will have serious negative economic effects on our community's efforts to revitalize our downtown business area. In a small community of 5.2 square miles with a population of 22,000 people, the loss of every physical asset has a tremendous negative economic and psychological effect."
Here is a video of the discussion had by the school board prior to the vote. (Apologies in advance. Like my photos, my video skills remain stubbornly rudimentary):
Sadly not caught on camera were comments by Board Vice President Katina Bearden, a lifelong resident of Pottstown, who talked about what The Mercury has meant to her over the years.
(How odd that I got something in both eyes at just as Bearden began speaking that made it hard to see the controls on my i-Phone through my watering eyes...)
Katina Bearden
When the school district was in the process of deciding whether to desegregate its buildings decades ago, due to the fact that a high concentration of minority students lived in the attendance area of the former Jefferson Elementary School, it was The Mercury, she said, who gave that effort voice.
"The Mercury was on the forefront of desegregation. That was the first time I saw minority faces on the front page, in a big spread, that were not there because they had done something wrong," she said.
"The roots of The Mercury are deep in this town and we need an entity which keeps people accountable," Bearden said.
My sincere thanks to both council and the school on behalf of The Mercury staff, none of whom look forward to this re-location.
However, it is time for a reality check.
Appreciated as your letters are, the council and board members need to know they will not change the decision to re-locate The Mercury's operations to its printing plant. It has already happened to The Daily Local News in West Chester, The Times-Herald in Norristown and even to The Denver Post -- all owned by Digital First Media.
Remember, all those newspapers are still publishing every day and so will The Mercury for the foreseeable future. For the average reader, there will be no change. It will still be there in the driveway or the corner store every morning.
I will continue, for the most part, to operate here in borough, mostly from my attic office which, if I can get my act together, may soon have an air conditioning unit. No doubt, occasional visits to Exton will be necessary.
It is also incumbent on us all, as we wrestle with this question of how to keep local news sustainable, to recognize the relocation is better than the alternative.
Newspapers across the nation are struggling and, with the exception of the
The JRO printing facility in Exton, will be the new official home of The Mercury operations.
occasional billionaire who buys up a local publication and is willing to except meager or non-existent profits to keep it alive, there are not a lot of buyers out there.
The Philadelphia Inquirer/Daily News is experimenting with a non-profit model. We all wish them luck in hopefully blazing a new path for the business that others can follow.
So yes, the owners of Digital First Media, the New York-based hedge fund Alden Global Capital, is not in the business to invest in their newspapers to make them grow. That has been proven difficult to do and that is not their business model.
They are owners of newspapers not to build them, but to "right size" them, as they recently told the Denver Post newsroom, and primarily to extract profits and yes, the evidence suggests they are doing so rapaciously. Welcome to the capitalist system.
But, as one well-placed source put the question to me recently, "when you have to choose between death today or the death of a thousand cuts, which one keeps you alive longer?"
It's a fair point.
This is not a new, or terribly energy efficient building and its upkeep requires a lot of money.
So if The Mercury can save $300,000 or $400,000 or $500,000 a year in overhead by not operating a building that is too large for its needs, is it not the prudent business decision to take that savings and live to publish another day?
And will some of the profit from those savings go to the owners with high profit demands? Most likely. But without a buyer for the paper, there are no other options.
In truth, we three entities are not much different.
Did the school district not just outsource its entire transportation department and close its copy center to save money?
Did the borough not ask the state to conduct a complete audit of its finances and operations to find every savings possible to prevent another 12 percent tax hike?
Much like The Mercury is battling reduced advertising (and subscription) revenues due to a splintering of its audience on the Internet, the borough and school district are trying to compensate for reduced tax revenues from dwindling property assessments -- and the loss of Pottstown Hospital from the tax rolls -- and are making savings everywhere they can.
So must we.
It's an emotional thing to leave a place you worked for 20 years, particularly when you will still see it every day.
But times change.
And so while I recognize that the shuttering of The Mercury building may be an unavoidable financial decision if we want to continue to publish, it's gratifying to be able report the "official" recognition of the elected officials I am paid to oversee and, when warranted, expose or criticize, that such work is necessary in the service of democracy.
In the meantime, see you on Twitter. Speaking of which, here are the Tweets from Thursday's school board meeting:
