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A (National) Night Out on the Town

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Photos by Evan Brandt
Kelise Smith, 16, and Pottstown High School classmate Deandre Sanders, 16, visit with mascots-in-training Trojan Men Aaron Diamond and John Oister during National Night Out celebrations in the park at Washington and Chestnut streets in Pottstown.


There were fewer National Night Out celebrations in Pottstown than there have been in the past, but the two that were held Tuesday night enjoyed overflow attendance.

At Trinity Reformed United Church of Christ, right across the street from The Mercury and an awfully convenient place to get a hot dog, there were so many people out front they were running out of sidewalk.

Erika Hornburg-Cooper, Judy Memberg and
Christopher Willman at the Beech Street Factory display, which was
"creating quite a buzz," according to Hornburg-Cooper.
And at the park at Washington and Chestnut streets a few blocks away, the music blared and people spilled out into the closed section of North Washington Street where food and useful information were being offered in near equal measure.

I had two favorite quotes from the evening, which floated up above the laughter of the kids and the gentle
murmur of adults agreeing with each other.

The first one came from Judy Memberg, the tireless and (most important) effective head of Genesis Housing Corp.

She said, in an almost off-hand way, "“We can rebuild every house in a block, but if we don’t rebuild relationships among neighbors, than we haven’t revitalized the neighborhood.”

Having joined Erika Hornburg-Cooper at the display for the Beech Street Factory project -- which will also be the new home of Hornburg-Cooper's art center -- Memberg was observing that it will take more than physical improvements to spruce up a neighborhood.

Investment in human capital is just as important -- something National Night Out highlights.
Pottstown Mayor Sharon Thomas, right, visits with Gloria Dunn


My other favorite quote came from Mayor Sharon Thomas -- whose church, Victory Christian Life Center, was the other primary sponsor of the evening.

She said, again without a lot of forethought, “National Night Out is very important so neighbors get to know each other instead of just passing each other getting out of their cars.”

The mayor is right, and its sad that she's right, but we have to learn how to get better at being neighbors.

I will admit that there are plenty of people on my block whose names I should know, and I don't.

As the mayor intuited, we are literally nodding acquaintances when we head to our cars and scurry into our blissfully air-conditioned homes.

When kids threw a rock at our front door and broke the glass several years ago, it was the neighbor across the street -- long moved away -- who charged out of his house and chased them while I tried to keep the glass out of the house.

I never did learn his name.

Here are the Tweets and video links from last night's events.


Anti-Crime Street Cameras Coming to Pottstown

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Photos by Evan Brandt
Police Chief Rick Drumheller talks about the benefits of the street camera program being proposed for Pottstown during Wednesday night's borough council meeting.



The arrival last month of a Community Prosecution Unit of the Montgomery County District Attorney's office came with pledges of helping to make Pottstown a safer place.

Last night, they delivered in a major way, announced a plan to establish crime-fighting street cameras in town. The DA's office will use money confiscated from criminals to pay for the installation of a system that can accommodate as many as 36 street cameras.

Montgomery County ADA Brianna Ringwood explains the
camera proposal to borough council Wednesday night.
Additionally, the county office will pay for the first ten cameras and at least the $5,000 cost of the first year of maintenance.

"This is another example of our commitment to this community," said ADA Brianna Ringwood, one of three ADAs assigned to Pottstown.

Hard to argue with that.

Working with the police department, the cameras will be established in high crime areas and monitored 24/7 by the police department.

Also in the news from last night was the announcement that Justin Keller, the area's regional recreation coordinator,has been hired as Pottstown's new assistant borough manager, replacing Erica Batdorf who left last month.

“His demonstrated ability to foster regional cooperation in his current role as Regional Recreational Coordinator and his success in grant acquisitions for our region made Justin the frontrunner in our search to fill the position," Mark Flanders said in a statement sent to The Mercury late Wednesday night.

As the new assistant borough manager, Justin Keller, center, sat
with his new co-workers Keith Place, left, and Janice Lee last night. 
"It has truly been an honor serving the six participating municipalities as the region;s first recreation coordinator,” Keller said in his statement. “I am proud to be part of an unprecedented level of regional cooperation and coordination which has attracted well over a half million dollars of grant investments for area parks and trails.”

Council also had some dis-jointed discussion about the language for the proposed changes to the ordinance which governs  the Pottstown Human Relations Commission.

Solicitor Charles D. Garner Jr. had asked for some guidance. Not so sure if he got what he was looking for.


You can read all about it in the Tweets below.

Donations Sought to Fill School Back Packs

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Blogger's Note:The following was provided by Bethel Community Church.

The Mission's Ministry of Bethel Community Church is preparing to distribute 100+ filled book bags for children returning back to school.

Collection of items will take place every Saturday starting tomorrow, Aug.6  through Aug. 13 from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Open to the community and all those interested in supporting this endeavor.

For more information including, please call the Church Office at 610-326-1700.

Filled back packs will be distributed during the Back to School Gospel Jam scheduled for the afternoon on Saturday, Aug.t 27.

Every Picture Tells a Story (of A Community)

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Our sense of the TCN photo contest is that they are looking for something a little more current than this.
Blogger's Note:The following was provided by TriCounty Community Network and seems like a capital idea to us!

As part of its 10-year anniversary celebration, the TriCounty Community Network (TCN) invites children and adults to share photos of places, things and symbols that inspire them in the Greater Pottstown community.

“The photo contest provides community members with a great way to celebrate the positive aspects of our
Photo by Evan Brandt
Maybe just a photo like these twin homes
on North Charlotte Street.
area,” said Holly L. Parker, TCN executive director. “For example, we encourage people to take photos of places that are special to them or things that inspire pride in our town.”

Photos, with contact information, should be submitted by email to info@tcnetwork.org by Sept. 1.

All photo entries will be displayed during TCN’s anniversary celebration on Sept. 20 as well as in other community spaces. Gift cards will be awarded for winners in two categories: children and youth ages 1-17 and adults age 18 and older.

The TriCounty Community Network is a non-profit partnership of companies and organizations, public agencies and community advocates working together to solve problems in the greater Pottstown region. The network extends across community and workforce sustainability, health, social and environmental sectors of communities in Western Montgomery, Northern Chester and Eastern Berks counties.

To learn more about TCN, visit tcnetwork.org or join the conversation on Twitter @TCN_Pottstown or by searching for TriCounty Community Network on Facebook.

Doug and Cindy Cotter, 50 Years of 'Mixed Marriage'

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Cindy and Tom Cotter celebrate their 50th anniversary at Chatty Monk's Pub in West Reading last month.
Say the words 'mixed marriage' today and it is likely to mean a number of things, a multi-racial marriage, marriage between a Muslim, Jew, Christian or other religion.

But 50 years ago in Pottstown, it meant marriage between two
Christians, albeit from different denominations.

When Cindy and Tom cotter got married on July 23, 1966, it made history, at least locally.

They were the first couple in the Pottstown area, one a Catholic and one an Episcopalian, to have a marriage in a Catholic church as sanctioned by the archdiocese of Philadelphia.

Mrs. Cotter, known at the time of her marriage as Cindy Griffiths, was a member of Christ Episcopal Church and her soon-to-be-husband Tom, a member of the former St. Peter's Catholic Church on South Street.

It was the first marriage in Pottstown allowed under rules, new at the time, that allowed other than all-Catholic weddings in Catholic churches.

The Catholic priest officiating was the Rev. Michael Augustyn and he was joined by the Rev. Wilfred F. Penny of Christ Episcopal.

The announcement and the wedding itself both made headlines in 1966 editions of The Mercury.

The couple recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at Chatty Monk's Pub in West Reading, Pa. where a family party was held.

"I was 20 and Tom was 22 year. 50 years laters of course we are now 70 and 72," Mrs. Cotter wrote in an email to The Mercury.

"Tom works for Bob Fisher Chevrolet in Reading and I work parttime for Seniors Helphing Seniors. We have 3 daughters, Shannon Costa, Danielle Metzger and Taryn DeWald. Eight grandchildren and 1 great grandchild with another expected in January," she wrote.

Congratulations to you both.

Ain't it something how times change?

Pottstown High School Teacher has the Right Constitution for James Madison Award

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Pottstown High School students Samiya Lowe, and Allison Ludwig in Maureen Rieger's classroom.


Maureen S. Rieger, a history teacher at Pottstown High School, has been awarded a James Madison Memorial Fellowship  by an Alexandria, Va.-based foundation of the same name.

This is the foundation's 25th annual fellowship competition and a total of 53 fellowships were awarded this year.

The fellowships support further study of American history by college graduates who aspire to become teachers of American history, American government, and social studies in the nation's secondary schools, as well as by experienced secondary school teachers of the same subjects.

Named in honor of the fourth president of the United States and frequently called the "Father of the Constitution," the fellowship will fund up to $24,000 of Rieger's course of study toward a master's degree. The program must include a concentration of courses on the history and principles of the United States Constitution.

Rieger was selected in competition with applicants from Pennsylvania.

Additional fellowships, funded by income from a U.S. Treasury trust fund and private, foundation and corporate contributions, were awarded in each of the states.

The award is intended to recognize promising and distinguished teachers, to strengthen their knowledge of the origins and development of American constitutional government, and thus to expose the nation's secondary school students to accurate knowledge of the nation's constitutional heritage, according to a release from the foundation.

Founded by an act of Congress in 1986, the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Fou8ndation is an independent agency of the executive branch of the federal government.

For more information, go to www.JamesMadison.gov




Pottstown Council Finally Passes LERTA Tax Break

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Not that they give speed awards for these things, but Monday night's borough council meeting took under an hour.

And, if you wanted to get home to watch some more of the Olympics, that was a good thing.

There were few surprises.

The LERTA tax break council and the school board have been batting back and forth for months was approved unanimously, with little fanfare of comment and that followed on the heels of the approval by the school board.

With the expected approval by the Montgomery County Commissioners, the long-discussed proposal -- which will increase over seven years the tax bill on improved properties -- will become law.

The board also approved -- no surprise here -- the offer from the Montgomery County District Attorney's office to begin installing anti-crime surveillance cameras on the streets of Pottstown.

And finally, the board debated and ultimately moved ahead with the often-confusing re-writing of the ordinance governing the Pottstown Human Relations Commission.

What was approved is the advertising of the ordinance, after which, council will hold a public hearing and, ultimately adopt it, unless major changes come about as the result of the public hearing.

And with that, and the Olympics awaiting me, I present to you the Tweets and video.

Pottsgrove High School Renovation on Schedule, School Board Questions Relay for Life Support

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Photo by Evan Brandt
These two students are the newest members of the Pottsgrove School Board. At left is Mason McIntyre, a junior, who will serve two years, and at right is Maya Stehle, a senior, who will serve for one. At the back trying very hard to stay out of the picture is our good friend Joe Zlomek, editor and publisher of the venerable Sanatoga Post and a damn fine human being.


Here are the two biggest takeaways from last night's Pottsgrove School Board meeting:

1) It looks like the final phase of the $30 million high school renovations will be completed on time, meaning that school will open on time, Sept. 6.

2) Perhaps more surprising is the dwindling support that an increasing majority of the school board has for allowing the Relay for Life to continue to use the district's football stadium for its June event.

The problem for as many as five members is not the local volunteers or the cause, it is the organization that receives all the money raised -- the American Cancer Society.

Board members Al Leach, Jim Lapic, Ashley Custer, Bill Parker and Board President Rick Rabinowitz all expressed reservations about the small amount of the money raised in Pottstown that goes to actual research.

Board member Patricia Grimm, an outspoken cancer survivor, said it is the community spirit and "celebration of life" that is more important. "I don't care where the money goes," she said.

Also, the board decided to reduce the number of times it holds meetings in each of the district's five buildings to once a year.

And here are the Tweets.


And Then There Were Ten (In New Hanover)

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The New Hanover Township supervisors interviewed six of the nine people who applied to fill a vacancy on the board at the township recreation center on Hoffmansville Road, once known as Perkiomen Valley Academy.


 They're at it again.

Grappling with their second surprise resignation this year, the New Hanover Township supervisors met once again Wednesday in special session to interview candidates for the vacancy created by Ralph Fluharty's resignation last month.

And although township supervisors seem to be falling by the wayside all over the place, a whopping 10 township residents applied to take Fluharty's seat.

All the applicants are men. (When the supervisors replaced Doug Muller earlier this year after he stepped down in April, they chose the only woman to apply, Marie Livlsberger.)

Almost as surprising as the number of applicants, are the number of police officers who applied  -- three -- and the number of them who are police chiefs -- two -- as well as the number of them who are members of the Conshohocken Police Department -- two.

Interim Township Manager Greg Prowant provided the names of all 10 candidates. Here they are in no particular order:
Apropos of nothing, one of the
things I discovered last night is that
the rec center has a 'Little Library.'

1) Kurt Zebrowski,
2) Mike Millman,
3) Robert Schurr,
4) Michael Orler,
5) John Auman,
6) Patrick Calvert,
7) Keith Zegiestowsky,
8) Shawn Malloy,
9) Brian Hemmingway,
10) D. W. Boone Flint.

The last six on the list above showed up to be interviewed by the board Wednesday night.

Of those, one said he applied because he had heard rumors of corruption and politics on the board, although he could name no specifics. The supervisors thanked him politely for applying.

Another candidate asked what exactly it is the supervisors do.

You'll have to watch the videos to see who said what.

The first two on the list above are also members of the planning commission -- which was itself filling a vacancy on the same night, due to the resignation of none other than Supervisors Chairman Phil Agliano -- and so could not make the interviews.

Numbers three and four were absent as well.

Schurr is the police chief in North Coventry Township and Orler is the police chief in Conshohocken. Malloy is also an officer for the Conshohocken department.

Because they missed the interviews, the first four will be interviewed during the board's next regular meeting on Monday, Aug. 22. (There is a Pottstown School Board meeting that night as well, so it may not get covered folks.)

"This is going to be a tough decision," said Supervisor Andrew Kelly. "We have some outstanding candidates."

Below are videos that captured most of the interviews of the six who were interviewed last night:

Pottsgrove Students Are New Wellness Ambassadors

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Blogger's Note:The following was provided by Fuel Up to Play 60

Victoria Cappiello and Mya Krueger, students from Pottsgrove School District, were selected as two of 26 students to serve as a Summit Ambassadors for Fuel Up to Play 60, the nation’s largest health and wellness program.

Fuel Up to Play 60, created in partnership with American Dairy Association North East and the NFL, in cooperation with USDA, encourages students to eat healthy, be active and make positive, healthy changes in their schools and communities.

“These student leaders have already demonstrated such impressive leadership skills, and we can’t wait to add them to our larger team,” said Kristina Deecher, ADANE Director of Youth Programs. 

“These incredible students have shown a great passion for Fuel Up to Play 60, and we’re delighted that they’ve chosen to inspire their peers and communities to eat healthy and get active. I look forward to seeing everything they accomplish in the upcoming school year.”

Summit Ambassadors lead the Fuel Up to Play 60 program, which engages youth directly as grassroots leaders to increase access to nutrient-rich foods and 60 minutes of physical activity at school. 

From smoothie stations to walking clubs, Fuel Up to Play 60 helps students create healthier school environments in over 73,000 schools nationwide. The program also encourages and recognizes schools and students with rewards, such as a trip to the Super Bowl, NFL merchandise and NFL player appearances.

Selected from a nationwide search and extensive application process, these Summit Ambassadors enjoyed the opportunity to attend the Fuel Up to Play 60 Student Ambassador Summit at Purdue University this summer. 

The Summit provides Student Ambassadors the opportunity to meet their fellow leaders and help sculpt the program, which relies on the input and participation of students to grow and evolve. 

Students will also have the chance to meet NFL Players and participate in exciting events including unique physical activities, a trip to Fair Oaks Farms, time at the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center (Home of the Indianapolis Colts), and much more.

For more information about Fuel Up to Play 60 and the Student Ambassadors, visit FuelUpToPlay60.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Living History Sundays at Pottsgrove Manor

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Blogger's Note:The following was provided by Pottsgrove Manor.

Pottsgrove Manor’s living history volunteers, dressed in colonial period clothing, will be living life the the 18th century way during Living History Sundays on Aug. 14, 21, and 28, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Come spend a casual summer Sunday afternoon at historic Pottsgrove Manor and enjoy the 18th century surroundings as volunteers demonstrate colonial trades and pastimes. 

Activities may include needlework, tape weaving, hornsmithing, cooking, and more. 

Visitors can watch, learn, and even join in! Activities will vary from week to week, so call ahead or check the site’s webpage at www.montcopa.org/PottsgroveManor to find out what will be offered each day.

A donation of $2 per person is suggested for this program. 

Guests can also tour the manor house, see the museum’s current exhibit, “Potts & Family: Colonial
Consumers,” and shop in the museum.

The “Colonial Consumers” exhibit can also be viewed during a guided tour of Pottsgrove Manor during regular museum hours now through Nov. 6. 

Regular museum hours are Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. 

Tours are given on the hour. The last tour of the day begins at 3 p.m. The site is closed Mondays and major holidays. Groups of ten or more should preregister by calling 610-326-4014.

Pottsgrove Manor is located at 100 West King Street near the intersection of King Street and Route 100, just off Route 422. 

Pottsgrove Manor is operated by Montgomery County under the direction of the Parks, Trails, and Historic Sites Division of the Assets and Infrastructure Department. 

For more information, call 610-326-4014, or visit the website at www.montcopa.org/pottsgrovemanor

Like Pottsgrove Manor on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pottsgrovemanor.

Rotary Club's Duck Race Set for August 20

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Ducks make their way down the raging Manatawny Creek during a previous duck race. 








Blogger's Note:The following was provided by the Rotary Club of Pottstown

The Rotary Club of Pottstown is proud to announce that it will hold its 25th Annual Rotary Duck Race on Saturday, Aug. 20 at 4 p.m. at Memorial Park, Pottstown. 

This year, the Rotary Duck Race, a long- time standing tradition in Pottstown, is being held in conjunction with Pottstown Department of Parks and Recreation’s Veterans’ Community Day. 

This free public event will honor American Veterans and their service to our country and our way of life. The event will include live music, local crafts and artisans, engaging speakers, and more. 

For added family fun, Rotary’s signature 16 foot high big yellow duck will be on hand for the race at Memorial Park on that day. 
Spectators, gripped with anticipation, watch a previous duck race.

Started in 1991 by the Rotary Club of Pottstown, The Rotary Duck Race was founded to help community-based charities/non-profit groups raise money to support their programs. 

Rotary, along with members of the twenty-five participating charities/ non-profit groups, sell tickets for the race, with a pro-rated portion of all ticket sales reverting back to those groups to help support their work in the community. 

Each ticket sold has a number that corresponds to a plastic duck with that same number. 

About 3500 pink, yellow, and blue numbered ducks will be released into Manatawny Creek in Memorial Park for the race and float down to the finish line. 

 A host of prizes are awarded to ticket holders of those ducks fastest to cross the finish line, and a prize is even given for the last duck to finish the race.

Last year, the Rotary Club of Pottstown, along with local individuals and businesses, contributed over 100 prizes for this event, totaling more than $10,000 in value. Rotary expects this year’s event to be an even bigger success, and will be awarding a wide range of prizes, including $1,000 cash, a 40 inch HDTV Television, and a smart watch or Apple watch.
Yes, the giant duck will be there too.

In addition to being lots of fun, the Rotary Duck Race is a great way to support our local community. 

In fact, since its inception, the Rotary Duck Race has enabled The Rotary Club of Pottstown to contribute more than $330,000 to non-profit organizations in the Pottstown area. .

Tickets for this Pottstown tradition can be purchased from participating charities/non-profits or from Pottstown Rotary Club members. 

Rotary will also be selling tickets at the Veterans Community Day on August 20th at Memorial Park. For a complete listing of participating charities/non-profits who will benefit from this event and who are selling Rotary Duck Race tickets, please visit www.PottstownRotary.org.

Here is the list of participating agencies –
  • Pottstown Rotary Community Endowment Fund
  • Abilities in Motion
  • Building Industries Exchange, Pottstown
  • Campfire USA
  • Colebrookdale Railroad Passenger Platform Fund
  • Develomental Enterprises Corp
  • Edgewood Cemetery
  • Linfield U.C.C. Church
  • Marine Corp. League, Chester County, Detachment 286
  • Meals on Wheels, Pottstown
  • National Federation of the Blind
  • PAL – Pottstown Police Athletic league
  • Pottsgrove American Legion Post #244
  • Pottstown 4th of July Festivities
  • Pottstown AMBUCS
  • Pottstown Area Senior Center
  • Pottstown Downtown Foundation
  • Pottstown Historical Society
  • Pottstown Regional Public Library
  • Pottstown-Stowe Lions Club
  • Pottstown Halloween Parade
  • Renovating Hope (Helping Veterans)
  • Soroptomists International of Pottstown
  • Springford Rotary Club
  • Vietnam Veterans
Rotary is a local and international service organization comprised of men and women committed to making a positive contribution in their community and the world. The Rotary Club of Pottstown supports a number of programs in Pottstown, including, the Pottstown Halloween Parade, The Little Free Library program at Riverfront Park and Smith Plaza, student scholarships, Operation Backpack, and Meals on Wheels. The club also sponsors the Pottstown High School Interact Club, a service club for high school students. To learn more about The Rotary Club of Pottstown, please visit www.PottstownRotary.org

Veterans Community Day With Food, Beer and Music

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Blogger's Note:The following was provided by the Pottstown Parks and Recreation Department.

The Pottstown Parks and Recreation Department will host a Community Day in Memorial Park on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

This event will feature free entertainment, family-friendly activities, a bounce house for children provided at no charge, local food stands, a Sly Fox Biergarten, and representatives from multiple regional U.S. Veterans’ organizations.

There is no admission fee.

Hillbilly Shakespeare
A portion of the proceeds, including funds raised in the Sly Fox Biergarten, will be awarded to local veterans’ organizations in support of their missions.

The event will be held on The Island at Memorial Park, amidst the World War II and Vietnam War Veterans’ Memorials. The event begins at 11 a.m. with a short ceremony recognizing American Armed Forces veterans, including two local Korean War Veterans, Al Kutz and Henry “Hank” Saylor who will be recognized with special awards from Glass Tears and Congressman Ryan Costello.

Speakers include Monsignor Thomas Coyle, Army Chaplain Ret.; Bishop Everett Debnam, Pottstown Police Department Chaplain;; and musical performances by Hamilton Celtic Pipe and Drum and Thomas Wang, an award-winning actor who has appeared in numerous theatrical productions as well as in Hollywood, independent and industrial films.

Stephanie Grace
The featured speaker is Captain Robert Boyce, retired commanding officer of the USS Florida, a nuclear Ohio-class submarine, and proud Pennsylvania educator.

Following the ceremonies, the Sly Fox Biergarten will open for business and free concerts will commence from Hillbilly Shakespeare (12 to 2 p.m.) and Stephanie Grace (3 to 5 p.m.).

Activities will be hosted by ArtFusion19464, Stowe Lions Club, and the Pottstown Roller Derby Rockstars, among others.

The long-running Pottstown Rotary Duck Race will also take place at this event, commencing at 4:30 PM. Duck Race tickets will be on sale all day during the event.

Food vendors will include local favorites, Grumpy’s Hand-Carved Sandwiches, Manatawny Green, and The Butcher and the BBQ, offering all of Pottstown’s favorites.

Free parking for this event can be found at 75 West King St, in Memorial Park and more information can be found on the Pottstown Parks and Recreation Department Facebook Page: facebook.com/PottstownParksandRec

The event is rain or shine.

Pottstown is Having a Field Day, Be Part of It

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A Community Field Day to help families learn about low-cost fitness and outdoor activities will be held at the Chestnut Street Park in Pottstown on Saturday, Aug. 27 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The park is located at the corner of Chestnut and Washington streets.

The goal is to have at least 15-17 stations of fitness/sports or other activity for group participation.

Each station will have groups of approximately 10 people participating in the activity for about five minutes.

The DJ will play family appropriate music continuously until the five minutes are up.

Then, the DJ will use audio equipment to yell/announce SWITCH,  and each group will move on to a new station.

Each participant will receive a stamp on their activity pass for every station they complete. Once they complete 10 stations or more, participants will turn in their card and receive a free gift.

This way we can track how many people completed the minimum challenge equating to at least 45 minutes of fitness for each participant.

Organizations that want to participate, man a table, or donate a raffle prize or a gift to give to families for their participation should send an email to Laura Washington at  wash5000@msn.com or call (484) 300-2410.

The even is in need of healthy food items in order to provide free samples, gift bag giveaways and raffle prizes.

Volunteers are also needed for set-up. The set up will begin at 10 a.m. Tables and chairs will be provided but help is needed setting them up along with some of the activity stations.

In addition to the community field day activities, there will be a DJ playing music, children’s table activities and free food samplings.

New School Year, New Teacher Contract

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Photos by Evan Brandt


The Pottstown School Board meeting Monday was briefer than the one that preceded it -- or so I'm told.

I missed Thursday's meeting because I took the day off. Rare, I know.

However, the brevity of the meeting did not diminish the importance of what happened in those 50 minutes.

As is so often the case in Pottstown, the most important item of the meeting appeared nowhere on the agenda.

Having dispensed with eight pages of items -- which included eight resignations, five leaves of absence, three salary changes and 20 new hires, including a new human resources director for $115,000 a year -- with a single vote that elicited no comment from anyone on the board, they proceeded on to an item of business labeled only as "new."

Pottstown Federation of Teachers President Beth Yoder, left,
and Mike DiDonato, right, were part of the negotiating team
that will ensure younger teachers like Rine Strohecker, earn more.
As you have by now no doubt deduced, this "new" item was the ratification of a three-year teacher contract which completely re-constructed the entire salary schedule for the Pottstown Federation of Teachers.

You know, a small item on which the public would doubtful have any comment or thought to share.....

Also absent, were the throngs of fluorescent-green shirted teachers who have previously packed the seats in the high school cafeteria to make their presence -- and their grievances -- known. 

That was the first big clue that something had changed.

Anyhoo, as you have no doubt by now read on the front page of The Mercury, the details of the contract that were available last night are there.

Solicitor Stephen Kalis, whose re-appointment was also part of that discount eight page-for-the-price-of-one vote maneuver,  assured us the new contract will be posted on the district web site shortly for all to peruse.

 In the meantime, here are the Tweets from a brief but significant meeting.




With Feola Departure, Pottsgrove in Holding Pattern

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Well, the somewhat inevitable happened Tuesday night.

Alerted by The Sanatoga Post last week (and subsequently The Mercury), no one was surprised at Tuesday night's Pottsgrove School Board meeting to hear board president Rick Rabinowitz reading a statement regarding Superintendent Shellie Feola's departure.

If you haven't seen the video yet, here it is:




It was, as you might expect, very matter-of-fact, as these personnel matters so often are.

But, as some speakers suggested Tuesday night, this personnel matter was personal too.

Former board president Mike Neiffer seemed to think it goes back to the decision to re-organize Pottsgrove's elementary schools into grade centers.

As Assistant Superintendent at the time, Feola was the face of that unpopular initiative, even though it was the brainchild of former superintendent Brad Landis and the school board.

Or it may have been the black eye the district got over her involvement in the futile effort to secure signatures on a nominating petition for former board member Ted Coffelt, and the investigation which followed.

There may be other reasons.

Not being privy to closed-door executive sessions where personnel matters are discussed, and given that the separation agreement prevents Feola from speaking about it, we may never know.

Feola has always seemed to me to be a person who likes things a certain way, her way, which is not in any way a comment on her competence, which always seemed above average to me.

But perhaps that tendency was in conflict with board members who have the same tendency. Who can say?

Whatever the reason, she had a rough ride, more so since the new board majority took their seats nine months ago.

Who can forget this combative exchange between Feola and board member Bill Parker at a board meeting in June?:



But Feola had her supporters, two of whom came forward publicly Tuesday to praise her.

And they were in a position to know. Mike Neiffer and Scott Fulmer are both former Pottsgrove School Board presidents.

Here is some of what they had to say:




In the end, things have to move forward.

Assistant Superintendent William Shirk, is now also Interim Superintendent William Shirk, and will be for a while.

Board member Bill Parker's motion to immediately begin the process of searching for Feola's replacement only won one other vote -- Patricia Grimm -- who also was the only board member to make the futile gesture of voting against accepting Feola's resignation.

Board President Rick Rabinowitz argued -- apparently without irony -- that the district needed "stability" ... this after coming to "mutual agreement" to have the superintendent leave three weeks before the start of school.

Here are the Tweets and video from Tuesday's brief board meeting.

Taking A TRIP Toward a Career in Science

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Photos by Evan Brandt
The morning and afternoon session groups of this summer's TRIP Initiative at Temple University were very patient about parents taking photos.


While many of us were cavorting on beaches, mowing lawns or tending to the barbecue over the summer, a group of students from throughout the region were particularly focused on the health of flies.

No, not the kind of flies you shoe away from your lemonade, or scrape off the end of a swatter, but the kind you experiment on for six weeks and then present your results to peers and other scientists.

Dr. Amanda Purdy, right, introduces Pottstown student
MaSofia Sosa 
as she begins her presentation last week.

It was all part of a program called the TRIP Initiative, which stands for Teen Research Internship Program, a comprehensive science research training program for high school students interested in scientific careers and a collaboration between Fox Chase Cancer Center and Temple University.

Oh, and by the way, it's free.

Two of the 16 students who took part in the program this summer on Temple's Philadelphia campus were rising Pottstown High School seniors Dylan Brandt (full disclosure: he's my son) and MaSofia Sosa.

All the students, some of whom were as young as 15, conducted their tests on Drosophila melanogaster, also known as common fruit flies, which, the presentations all noted, share 70 percent of their DNA with humans. That makes them useful test subjects for probing theories about how humans would respond to the substances the students tested.

Pottstown High School student Dylan Brandt presents the results
 of his study of the impact of garlic on the health of fruit flies.

The hypotheses tested varied almost as much as the personalities and backgrounds of the students
themselves.

For example, one student tested the impacts of caffeine on male fertility, while another wanted to see if the files are affected by electro-magnetic fields.

One student studied the impacts of sleep deprivation, by keeping a light on the flies 24 hours a day, and another, who told the audience that she uses prescription adderall, wanted to see if the files developed some of the same symptoms she has.

The program, held two half days a week over the course of six weeks, is led by Dr. Amanda Purdy, manager of academic programs and training at Fox Chase Cancer Center and a former adjunct biology professor at Montgomery County Community College.

Pottstown High School engineering teacher Andrew Bachman,
who taught both Brandt and Sosa last year, was on hand for
the final presentations last week.
But the students chosen for the program from among a sizable pool of applicants are chosen by students who participated previously in the program. They review the applications, which include a number of open-ended problem-solving questions, and choose the participants without knowledge of the name, sex, race or home high school of the applicants.

After learning laboratory skills -- how to "sex" and separate flies for example -- the students propose an experiment and, once approved, have to design it to answer the questions posed by their hypothesis.

At the end of the program, each student makes a roughly 15-minute presentation to their fellow students, parents, and several Fox Chase scientists and Temple graduate students who helped in the lab.

Here is some video of Sosa at the start of her presentation:



In addition to describing their experiment, their methods and the conclusions they reached, they also outline their mistakes (my son killed many flies by accident), what they would do differently, and what the results suggests by way of future research.

This is the first year Pottstown students have participated in the TRIP Initiative and Purdy said the program is open to students from any area high school.

You can reach her via e-mail at amanda.purdy@fccc.edu.










The Property Tax Prison of Education Funding

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Invisible though they may be to the naked eye, school district borders increasingly trap low-income students in cash-strapped districts struggling to provide the resources available to their wealthier neighbors.


I sometimes wonder how the inherent unfairness that exists in education funding continues without some kind of revolution taking place.

And then I wake up and remember I live in Pennsylvania.

Perhaps because its a bit complicated and takes more than 15 minutes to understand. Perhaps because not enough people feel any kind of connection with those most adversely affected. Or maybe its just the pall of overall apathy.

Usually, people tend to wake up a bit when faced with examples of kids getting the shaft. After all, we all want the best for our children right.

Maybe we need to broaden the definition of "our children" a bit.

Not that we needed any more evidence of the way cleaving to the property tax as the primary funding source for public education undermines students not fortunate enough to live in a wealthy zip code, but there's more anyway.

It comes in the form of a new report by an organization called EdBuild, a non-profit national organization dedicating to bringing "common sense and fairness to the way states fund public schools."

Their study, "Fault Lines," takes a look at America's most segregated school district borders.

From the examination of more than 33,000 borders between school districts, they the chose the worst 50, the 50 places in America where a line on a map separates well-funded public schools from their polar opposite.

It may surprise you to know that those 50 worst school disparities are concentrated in just 14 states and Pennsylvania is tied with New York for third place. Yay.

Both states have six such districts but perhaps the most shameful part about all of it is that borders between Reading City Schools and those wealthier districts which surround it comprise four of Pennsylvania's six worst disparities.

According to the report, 48 percent of Reading's school children live in poverty.

And four of the districts which surround it -- Schuylkill Valley, Governor Mifflin, Wilson and Wyomissing -- have respective poverty rates of just 10 percent, 11 percent, 11 percent and 12 percent.

We all know these communities to some extent or another. And they are the poster children for the three sentences in the report that crystalize what Pennsylvania's property tax-reliant school funding system is doing to our children.
"Socioeconomic segregation is rising in America's schools, in part because of the structure of education funding. the over-reliance on locally raised property taxes to fund public schools gives wealthier communities the permission to keep their resources away
from the neediest schools. This creates a system of school district borders that trap low-income children in high concentrations of poverty, while more privileged peers live in better resourced communities, often right next door."
Now, if that does not describe the conditions under which Pottstown schools labor every day, then slap my face and call me Sally. Obviously, it also describes Reading.

And we need to recognize this is not just affecting "them."

According to the Center for Education Policy Analysis, more 26 million school children -- 48 percent of all school-age children living in America -- live within the bounds of a high-poverty school district, according to EdBuild's report.

That's half the children in America folks.

Half.

They are "our children."

And as the Fault Lines report sadly observes:
"Often, just on the other side of an invisible but effectively impermeable district border, their more privileged peers live in better-resourced communities and are taught in classrooms where they are able to learn and grow with abundant resources that are unencumbered by the challenges their peers face every day."
That is the reality that half America's children now face thanks to our over-reliance on property taxes and our inability to find another way fund schools.

Those challenges that children in poverty face every day -- and the impact those challenges have on their education -- are well established.

Financial insecurity, high rates of crime, mental, emotional and physical health problems that create trauma in the lives of these young Americans -- literally physiological changes that affect their brain development -- all make succeeding in school that much harder, as if they did not have enough to contend with already.

Add to that limited access to quality early education and its no wonder that they fall behind the minute they walk into their first kindergarten classroom.

To its credit, Pottstown Schools have addressed these problems -- PEAK is a state and national model for providing the best early education possible on a limited budget; and new efforts to understand and address the impacts of trauma on school children are now underway.

But Pottstown schools cannot single-handedly force the state to bridge the funding gap that still exists despite the positive step toward a fair funding formula, and as a result, the school must spend more becoming a driver of the very high-tax, low-tax base merry go-round that creates the problems they face in the first place.

As Pottstown School Board member Thomas Hylton said last week. "We can't keep going on like this. We're going to have to get creative."

And sadly, the burden for untying this Gordian knot will remain firmly on the shoulders of individual school districts so long as our well-paid state legislatures continue to spend their time worrying about meaningless minutiae who sells us our alcohol instead of how our schools are funded.

It's within Harrisburg's power to address this problem, and to do so with limited political pain, always the top consideration under the copper dome.

An effort now being championed by Pottstown Mayor Sharon Thomas and highlighted by The Mercury in May when former state representative and Monroe County Comptroller Kelly Lewis came to town to talk about an organization called Equity First.

He argued, rather convincingly, that the increase in education funding contained in the two most
recent state budgets can do the most good by setting aside a portion of the new pool to be targeted specifically to the 180 school districts in Pennsylvania which are underfunded by $937 million every year.

That would still more more money for the 320 over-funded districts, just not as much.

Pottstown by the way, is Pennsylvania's 14th most underfunded school district. It won't surprise you, given what EdBuild found, to know that Reading is number one on this unenviable list.

Pottstown School District is underfunded every year by $11 million, according to the commission report, said Lewis.

That’s more than 18 percent of this year's $59.6 million Pottstown Schools budget which, by some miracle, did not raise taxes for the second straight year.

Providing an additional share of the additional state educating funding is not a new idea.

In fact it is one of the many recommendations made last year by the fair funding commission, created by former Gov. Tom Corbett and headed by outgoing Republican Representative Mike Vereb of our own Montgomery County, suggesting as much as an additional 10 percent to the underfunded districts over 10 years to help them catch up.

But the General Assembly, in its particular myopic way, focused only on authorizing the formula, not bothering to make sure the funding was arranged to ensure the formula actually does the most good for the schools that need it most.

This allows legislators to go home to the voters and say they did the right thing by "adopting the formula" without most of those voters understanding that they gave out teaspoons to a fleet of floundering ships and said "you're welcome."

As I see it, there are only two ways this changes:
  1. Legislatively, either through the current legislators getting a clue or by replacing them with some who do.
  2. Or Pennsylvanians finally wake up to their raw deal their children are being handed and we get that revolution.

Rotary Names Ken Hamilton Person of the Year

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Ken Hamilton at the Althouse Arboretum.
Blogger's Note:The following was provided by the Rotary Club of Pottstown.

The Rotary Club of Pottstown has announced that Ken Hamilton is its selection as the 2016 Person of the Year.

Ken is an award-winning environmental educator and community leader. He has been recognized as Pennsylvania’s Outstanding Environmental Educator and has been invited to the White House for the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Presidential Environmental Youth Awards for his work with students.

He is the founder of the non-profit Green Allies which formed a partnership with Upper Pottsgrove Township to create the Althouse Arboretum.

The Arboretum is a privately run outdoor education center designed and planned by local students who are empowered to run its educational activities and programs.

The Arboretum also preserves native plant species. This unique treasure is a great resource for the community and has become a regional destination for residents seeking outdoor activities.

The Pottstown Rotary Club annually recognizes a member of the greater Pottstown community for outstanding contributions in areas such as the arts, business, education, health care, non-profit public service, and government service.

Members of the community are invited to the ceremony scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016 at the Rotary Pavilion in Riverfront Park. The ceremony, followed by dinner, will begin at 6 pm. Tickets for adults are $20 and $10 for children.

Though tickets can be purchased at the event, we respectfully request that interested members of the community RSVP to William Brogley at 215-704-2943 or Brogley@Baerlaw.net.

The Pottstown Rotary is a local and international service organization comprised of men and women committed to making a positive contribution in their community and the world.

The Rotary Club of Pottstown supports a number of programs in Pottstown, including, literacy building, the Pottstown Halloween Parade, student scholarships, Operation Backpack, and Meals on Wheels. The club also sponsors the Pottstown High School Interact Club, a service club for high school students.

To learn more about The Rotary Club of Pottstown,  visit www.PottstownRotary.org.

Next PottsTOWN Talk to Focus on Economy

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Emanuel Wilkerson
Pottstown School Board member Emanuel Wilkerson will host his second community meeting of his Pottstown Talks series on Tuesday, Sept. 13.



This talk will focus around economic development and community engagement.

The meeting will take place at Connections on High Café, 238 E High St., starting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 13.

There will be presentation by local economic development authorities and local realtors on how can the community get involved with the redevelopment of Pottstown, along with same small group brainstorming sessions.

“I’m excited to bring the community back together for our second PottsTOWN Talks, so we can brainstorm together on ways to help our local economic development authorities rebuild our town as a united Pottstown," Wilkerson said in a press release.
Discussion at the
last meeting

"I want to urge the community to grow this coalition for the future of Pottstown by coming, sharing and bringing a friend,” he said.

Wilkerson held his first PottstownTOWN Talk on Aug. 1 and it attracted nearly 100 people.

There, a crowd beyond the usual suspects who show up to such meetings reviewed the oft-made complaints about the town, but also talked about what makes Pottstown great and engaged in discussion about solutions as well.

This next meeting is designed, Wilkerson said, to focus that discussion on the subject of economic development and to put the enthusiasm generated at the last meeting to work in focus groups exploring specific actions.






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