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Pottstown PAL Starting Girls Lacrosse Program

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The Pottstown Police Athletic League is starting a new girls lacrosse program for players in fifth through eighth grade.

Players will "learn and develop the fundamentals of lacrosse and play against area teams."

Practice and home games will be at the PAL Sports Complex at 1455 Chestnut Grove Road, which is near the Route 100 and North State Street interchange.

Away games could be played in Boyertown, Phoenixville, Methacton, Upper Perk, Perk Valley and in the Coventries.

PAL is part of the Philadelphia Area Girls Lacrosse Association's Tri-County Division, (Visit for more information.)
www.pagla.org

Practices begin in March and games will extend through May.

Registration is now open at www.pottstownpal.org and the $100 registration fee includes membership with PAGLA, insurance, use of practice and game pinnys and team socks.

The team will be led by Shelby Iezzi, who played at Owen J. Roberts High School and Bloomsberg University and has coached Pope John Paul II and Dynamite Lacrosse since 2012.

Contact her at sjiezzi@gmail.com with questions or concerns.

Ambulance Order Cancelled, Cell Tower Unopposed

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Upper Providence Township Supervisors took two votes Monday night undoing actions taken by the previous board.

The first was to rescind instruction given by the previous board to oppose at a zoning hearing an application by a company with Verizon as its client to build a "stealth" cell tower at 248 Rittenhouse Road, near Pope John Paul II High School.

Newly installed Board president John Pearson said he was inclined to let the zoning board "do its job" without having the township solicitor there objecting.

There was no shortage of residents opposed to the project objecting at last night's meeting. Supervisor Al Vagnozzi voted to continue the township's objections with the zoning board, but Pearson was joined by supervisors Helen Calci and Laurie Higgins in letting the matter be decided without township input.

The second vote stirred more passion when the board voted unanimously to cancel an order for a new ambulance and take 60 days to come up with a broader plan for emergency medical services.

It grows out of concern that response times in the township, generally under 10 minutes, are still too long and that an ambulance needs to be stationed in the township to improve them.

Although Vagnozzi voted with the majority, he was the one defending the previous vote to buy the ambulance saying that it had been discussed for years and it was a way to defray costs for one of the two companies now providing service, Trappe and Friendship.

But Pearson and Higgins, who interrupted Vagnozzi several times as he tried to speak, described the action as haphazard.

Vagnozzi ultimately agreed that the new board members should be given more time and suggested a committee of himself and Calci work with the administration to come up with a plan.

But despite the general agreement, some bickering continued with Pearson saying "you can threaten me all you want" after resident Michael Fil said if anyone died because of a delayed ambulance during the 60-day delay on which the supervisors agreed that would "bring it back to this board."

And, when resident Kevin Holohan began a lengthy response to Pearson's evidently rhetorical question about previous board action, Pearson turned to Vagnozzi and said "Al, do you want to call your dog off?"

Holohan told Pearson to "enjoy your time back on the board while you still can."

The board also approved final site plans for a new Starbucks on Egypt Road.

You can read all about it below in the live Tweets and video from the meeting.


Ridge Pike Plans and A Brief Gerrymandering Debate

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The property surrounded by the red line is proposed for redevelopment.
There may be some changes coming to the intersection of Ridge Pike and Fruitville Road and Airport Road, but you'll only be able so see one of them.

A series of issues before the Limerick Township Supervisors Tuesday night gave a glimpse of what's in store.

The more visible of the two changes are plans to build two retail commercial properties and 19 single family attached homes on a combined 5.5 acres on the northwest corner of the intersection of Ridge Pike and Fruitville Road.

Its a site that has served as several unsuccessful bars and restaurants.

This plan shows two commercial buildings along Ridge Pike,

and the housing units in the rear.
Piazza Realty was before the supervisors seeking permission to raze that building and erect several new ones.

Both the commercial buildings and the town homes would comply with the zoning ordinances architectural design standards, the developers testified.

And a traffic study concluded the re-development would have no adverse impact on the intersection or surrounding roads.

The supervisors took the testimony under advisement and will render a decision within 35 days.

The other change coming is across the street and is, for the most part, invisible.

It turns out part of the property used by Triad Truck Equipment Co., on the southwest corner of Ridge Pike and Airport Road, is actually owned by the adjacent Pottstown-Limerick Airport and has been rented for years. The airport now wants to sell the property and Triad wants to merge the two parcels into one.

What was debated Tuesday was whether that should trigger the Main Street zoning streetscaping and landscaping requirements as will be undertaken at the other project across the street.

But over the strenuous objections of Supervisor Thomas Neafcy, the three remaining board members (Chairperson Elaine DeWan was absent) said it would be silly, since the truck company could buy the property, not merge the parcels, and would be required to do nothing.

"Time and time again, this board has had an opportunity to do the Main Street streetscaping and this board waives it. I don't understand it," lamented Neafcy.

As the meeting wound down, resident Oliver Kennedy presented the board with a copy of a resolution adopted by neighboring Upper Providence Township supporting a Constitutional amendment to have Pennsylvania Congressional and statehouse districts be drawn up by a citizens commission instead of the politicians who benefit from them.

Kennedy criticized the board for appearing to be ignoring it, just as new Supervisor Patrick Morroney was making a motion to adopt the resolution.

Neafcy lashed out at the criticism, noting that Morroney was reading from a prepared statement. "This is a set-up," he said.

Kennedy said he only asked the board to consider the resolution and Vice Chairman Ken Sperring, who was running the meeting in DeWan's absence, said the board would, noting that currently the issue is in the hands of the courts.

"It's been adopted by Upper Providence," said Kennedy, to which Sperring replied curtly, "this isn't Upper Providence."

There was no second to Morroney's motion and the board adjourned, after which Neafcy and Kennedy continued to debate the matter in the audience, each accusing the other of bringing politics into the issue.

Committee Can't Find Ways to Cut 12% Tax Hike

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The long wait to see how a special council ad hoc committee would be able to lower this year's 12 percent tax hike came to and end last night.

The short answer is, they can't.

In a letter to council (which was mysteriously missing from the links of other documents on the agenda), the seven members of committee said none of the options they explored could be implemented in time to affect this year's budget.

Sadly, this was not a check to solve the borough's fiscal woes, but a 
$1,900 check from the Pottstown Rotary Club to help with upkeep 
and repairs to the war memorials in Memorial Park.
They recommended keeping the millage adopted in December -- which represents a 12 percent increase over last year's rate.

They also noted that the borough has been notified that its bond rating may be downgraded "if finances don't immediately improve."

The group will continue to meet and any savings resulting from short-term suggestions should be directed to the general fund reserves -- the same reserves council raided for the past three years to keep taxes down.

Reserves are also needed, they wrote "to re-establish contributions to the capital fund deficit of approximately $1 million."

Short-term suggestions include more closely assessing the services provided by an employee and adjusting the fee schedule to better recoup costs; as well as cease the Wednesday night late hours from 4 to 7 p.m. in order to save on over time and heating and lighting costs.

As these things are going on, the borough will also be benefiting from a consultant paid for by the state's Early Intervention Program, who will be tasked with finding ways to further streamline and bolster the borough's finances.

Other suggestions include moving to a "cashless" system for paying utility bills and taxes which will ultimately allow for the elimination of one of the window positions.

Here are the Tweets from the meeting:

New Phoenixville Board Member, Phantom Tax Hike

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Photos by Evan Brandt
Meet David Goldberg, the newest member of the Phoenixville Area School Board.


Seven people applied to replace Mike Ellis on the Phoenixville School Board, but after two withdrew, the board chose one from among five remaining applicants.

The school board conducted public interviews with all five -- Troy Johnson Jr., Maureen Ahearn, David Goldberg, Sandra Tucker and Ayisha Sereni -- each individually, according to School Board President Lisa Longo.

The board re-convened and all but Tucker were the subject of a vote, as her nomination did not receive a second.
David Goldberg takes the oath of office as Phoenixville's newest

school board member,

Goldberg, 45, is a Schuylkill Township resident and assistant professor of criminal justice at Goldey-Beacom College in Wilmington, Del.

He said concern about his children's homework load brought him to his first board meeting and remains a concern of his.

(When that subject was raised Thursday night, Superintendent Alan Fegley convinced the board to let the staff "have first crack at it," rather than have it discussed in the policy committee. Board member Kevin Pattinson said he did not think setting a specific policy was a good idea as "it puts the board in the classroom.")

Goldberg said his other issues of interest are the discussions of later start times and budget and taxes.

He said a friend pointed the vacancy out to him and he applied. "If you had told me three weeks ago that I was about to be a school board member, I would have laughed at you," he said.

He will service until the expiration of Ellis' term, December of 2019. Goldberg said he has "absolutely no idea" if he will seek a full four-year term at that time.

The school board also adopted a preliminary $94 million budget for the 2018-2019 school year which finance committee chairman Eric Daugherty took great pains to say "will not be the final budget we adopt in June."

Nonetheless, the budget passed with all but Goldberg's vote (he abstained), would raise the millage by 4 percent to 32 mills, using "exceptions" for school construction and special education to exceed the state-imposed tax cap of 2.4 percent.

Even with the $875,000 generated by those exceptions, the preliminary budget has a $3.2 million deficit which would, under current circumstances, have to be made up with reserves.

Longo said the district's successful challenge of the tax exempt status of Tower Health, which has been appealed in Chester County courts, makes is "likely" that at least this year, Phoenixville Hospital will be  paying its tax bill of $950,000.

However, she said, the budget adopted last night is conservative in the sense that does not include that revenue.

The board's last act was to vote unanimously (Goldberg abstained) to adopt a resolution opposing Pennsylvania State Senate Bill 2, which, board member Blake Emmanuel explained, "opens the door" to vouchers and could impact Phoenixville, even though it is not an "under-performing school district."

Here are the Tweets from the meeting.

Pottstown Basketball Team Honors Fallen Trojan

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The Pottstown High School Basketball Team, shown hear wearing special T-shirts with his name, honored the memory of Shamir Edwards at their final game of the season.








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

The Pottstown Boys Basketball Team honored Fallen Trojan Shamir Edwards before their last home game recently.

Shamir was a student at the high school from 2012 to 2016, he received his diploma in June of 2016
Shamir's jersey
and was accepted to East Stroudsburg University. 

In November of 2016, early in his freshman year, he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. 

Six months later, in June of 2016, at the age of 19, Shamir passed away.

His family, friends, teachers, teammates and his school have mourned his passing. 

The players, coaches and administration paid honor to his memory by dedicating the game in his name. 

The game, also served as a fundraiser to establish a scholarship in his name to be given to a graduating senior athlete exemplifying the qualities of courage and humility. 

An empty seat was placed on the Pottstown bench draped with a number 11 jersey symbolizing his loss. 

His family along with friends and honored guests, were asked to come to center-court to be introduced. 

Shamir's memory will live on in the hearts of his family and teammates.He will be an honored chapter in Trojan Basketball history.

Shamir's family was on-hand for the ceremony, indicating his number, 11, with their fingers.

PHS Alum Urged to Aid With New Directory

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About time for a new one don't you think?
Blogger's Note: The Following was provided by the Foundation for Pottstown Education.

The Foundation for Pottstown Education is currently working with Publishing Concepts Inc (PCI) on updating the Alumni Directory that was last published in 2009. 

Postcards and email to Pottstown High School Alumni were sent beginning Friday.

The Foundation would like to encourage all alumni to respond to the mailings. 

While there will be options to purchase the directories in hard copies or electronic versions, no purchases are required. 

If you are a Pottstown High School alumni, 
look for this notice in your mailbox
The Foundation does not receive any proceeds from this publication, but will receive copies of the final book in both forms. 

The information from this book can be helpful to the classes trying to contact their classmates and the Foundation will be happy to assist with this process.

The timeline for this process is as follows:
  • Feb. 9: mailings to Alumni begin
  • Feb. 12: inbound phone lines to PCI will be open
  • Aug. 10: last day to update contact information
  • Dec.: final publication will be shipped
If any alumni do not receive the mailings, they are encouraged to contact the Foundation Office 610-970-6616. The Foundation Office hours typically are Mondays through Fridays 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.. 

The office is closed on any days that the Pottstown School District is not open. During closed times, leave a message which will be returned as soon as possible.

Pottstown Takes Expensive Step for Redevelopment

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Pottstown Plating is located at the intersection of Industrial Highway

and South Washington St.
Rebuilding and redeveloping an old industrial town involves tough choices.

When an industrial company goes under, it means it has no money to pay employees, or for anything else -- particularly an expensive environmental clean-up.

So it's little surprise that when Pottstown Plating finally went belly up more than 10 years ago, it not only wasn't paying its taxes, or its water and sewer bills, there's no way it was paying to clean up the mess decades of plating operations had left behind at the South Washington Street facility.

As the unpaid taxes and fees build up, the potential for someone to come along and take on not only the liability for the environmental clean-up, but also the financial liability of the ever-escalating fees and taxes, dwindles.

Usually, to unlock this Gordian Knot, something has to give. Monday night, borough council indicated its willingness to not so much give, as forgive.

Even though Interim Borough Manager Justin Keller would not reveal the identity of the developer who is interested, brought through PAID Executive Editor Peggy Lee-Clark, council willingly voted unanimously to forgive more than $225,000 worth of unpaid taxes and water/sewer bills.

That's because they know that it may be the only way that property starts generating tax revenue again, and without that forgiveness, the numbers of uncollected taxes, funds and fines will keep growing with little hope of ever collecting it -- little more than numbers on a page.

The money is already written off, and so is not revenue expected for this year's budget. The mystery developers will still need to convince the school board to forgive another $308,000 that the property owes the school district to move forward.

Keller said that will be on Thursday's school board meeting agenda.

Before the forgiveness becomes final, the developers must present -- and council must approve -- a business plan for the property

Keller, noting that the developer has plans to invest $2 million into the property to get it back onto the tax rolls, said "quite frankly we're lucky to have a developer take on these risks and expenses,"

Apparently, council agreed. 


Boyertown Adopts $115M Preliminary Budget That Raises Taxes 5.4%, Pledges to Bring Increase Down

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The Boyertown Area School Board voted 8-1 Tuesday night to adopt a $115 million preliminary budget for the 2018-19 school year that would raise taxes by 5.44 percent.

Even tax hawks Clay Breece, Robert Caso and Ruth Dierolf voted for the plan convinced, evidently by Interim Superintendent David Krem's argument that not adopting the plan would limit flixibility later on.

Board member Christine Neiman cast the only dissenting vote.

"I want to keep all programs, but comes a time in life when something's got to give," she said. "We have to stop spending unnecessarily on stuff, be more fiscally responsible to community."

Breece, Dierolf and Caso had also all indicated their opposition to the plan until Krem spoke.

"Even if you decide to close a school, the state procedure takes 24 months. It would not affect the coming budget," said Krem, arguing for the necessity of the "flexibility" applying for exceptions gives.

Krem was referring to the "exceptions" contained in Act 1 which requires school boards to either adopt a preliminary budget that stays within the state-imposed tax cap, or index, by the end of February; or adopt a resolution pledging to keep within that index in the final budget adoption in June.

Boyertown has adopted that resolution in recent years, but a motion to do so two weeks ago failed on a 5-4 vote, with Caso, Breece, Dierolf and Neiman all voting to stay within the cap.

Under Act 1, if you don't stay within the index, which for Boyertown this year is 2.9 percent, you need to seek voter approval in the spring primary -- unless you seek "exceptions" from the state for a set of prescribed reasons that include pension payments, special education and construction.

In Boyertown's case, they are seeking the special education exception, approved by the board with only Dierolf and Neiman voting no, that allows the spending of up to $1,583,570 above the amount raised by the index.

"The hammer hasn't even dropped yet in terms of what's coming in the next two or three years," said Krem, referring to the pension crisis, urging the board to ensure it has all its options available to deal with the difficult decisions ahead. 

Not adopting the preliminary budget before the February deadline means, "you're basically cutting your own throat," he said.

"Take special education for example," said Krem. "If don't approve this budget, that's $1.5 million you can't claim that your taxpayers will have to make up," he said.

The budget, as it stands now early in the process, has a deficit of nearly $5 million — $4,973,252 to be exact -- according to the agenda.

Raising taxes to the index would reduce the deficit to $3.2 million and adding extra revenue from the exceptions would reduce it further still to $1.6 million.

Residents also supported the board's choice.

GOOD JOB: School Resource Officer Gregory Miller, right,
a former 

Boyertown Police Officer, is congratulated
by Brandon Foose on being 
named Police Liaison
Officer of the Year by the Community Youth 
Aid
Panel of Berks County.
Resident Stephanie Deiterich said regular, manageable increases are like investing in a retirement account, except the beneficiaries over time are the community and the students.
She urged board members to stop using "houses up for sheriff's sale" for non-payment of taxes as a tool to instill fear about the budget. She said her research shows less than 1 percent of the homes in the district are up for tax sale.

John Landio, the board's former president, said some had "duped the community into thinking we can have zero tax hikes, and said the board needs to "work together," noting that The Philadelphia Eagles did not win the Super Bowl as individuals, but as a team.

Lisa Hogan of Gilbertsville said she has four children in school and although she "loves my money," she advocated for increased taxes to preserve the programs and reputation of the school district.

As Finance Committee Chairman Steve Eisler pointed out, it is very early in the process and the figures are likely to change several times before June.

In the interests of maintaining flexibility, Caso and Breece both said they would change their vote. Ultimately, so too did Dierolf. "Let's pass it, get it over with and sharpen the pencils afterward," said Caso.

Caso also criticized the previous board for failing to undertake a year-long budget review and Krem agreed. "when you're doing a budget, you should also be looking two and three years out," he said.

Eisler agreed.

"We need a new CFO, new look, and new ideas. We need new blood," he said. 

Longtime Chief Financial Officer David Szablowski announced his departure in November.

"So much of what we do is mandated, we have so little control of much of our budget," said School Board president Donna Usavage. "What's left is close to the students."

Board member Brandon Foose suggested the board set up a workshop meeting dedicated solely to brainstorming about ways to cut costs and trim the tax hike without cutting programs.

Resident Ruth Baker offered up some suggestions, including using solar power, having energy audits done to sdave on operating costs; cutting the number of vice principals in the high schools and planting trees to shade buildings and cut down on air conditioning costs.

In another matter of interest, the board also voted to spend $16,000 on further study and suggested solutions to structural problems at the Memorial Stadium at Boyertown Area Senior High School.

We'll have more on that in later editions of The Mercury.

In the meantime, here are the Tweets.

Nominate An Exceptional Woman You Know

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Blogger's Note:The following was provided by the YWCA Tri-County Area

Nominations for 2018’s Tribute to Exceptional Women, sponsored by YWCA Tri-County Area, are open through Monday, Feb. 19.

Community members are invited to nominate women for their achievements in leadership, service, and career in the following categories: Arts, Business, Education, Health, Racial Justice, Non-Profit, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), the Rising Star Award for women 18-30, the Coretta Scott King Award for an agent of change, and Sally Lee Lifetime Achievement Award.

Nomination forms may be found online at www.ywcatricountyarea.org

The 23 rd annual Tribute to Exceptional Women will be Thursday, March 29, at the River Crest Golf
Club and Preserve in Phoenixville. 

Tribute to Exceptional Women recognizes women for their ability to lead by example, embrace community responsibility, and excel in their careers.

YW3CA has been proud to provide this opportunity for the community to recognize and celebrate the exceptional contributions made by women in the Tri-County and surrounding areas.

Marjorie Margolies will be the keynote speaker for the Tribute to Exceptional Women. 
Marjorie Margolies

Ms. Margolies is the president of Women’s Campaign International, an organization that works worldwide to help women build knowledge, skills and leadership that can transform communities in developing nations. Ms. Margolies has served on the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania, where she is an alumna. 

She is a former broadcast journalist, and represented Pennsylvania’s 13th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993-95. 

In 1995, she served as the Director of the United States delegation to the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing.

Tickets for the event are on sale now. 

The evening’s program includes cocktails and a popular silent auction, the Tribute dinner, and presentation of awards.

Proceeds from Tribute to Exceptional Women support YWCA Tri-County Area’s mission to

eliminate racism, empower women, and promote peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all.

YW3CA is a leader in advocacy for women and girls, and educates children, youth, families, and and communities through programming that empowers individuals to learn and grow across the lifespan, providing the foundation for a healthy and thriving community; empowers people to learn, grow, and take a stand; and advocates for the health and safety and empowerment and economic development of women and girls, and for racial and social justice.

Pottstown Raises, Tax Breaks and A Little Mermaid

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Six months and one school board election after punting on a decision to grant raises to administrators, and non-teacher-union personnel, the newly constituted board voted unanimously to provide 4 percent raises to all.

In August, former board member Polly Weand had made a strident objection to the raises and had predicted they would be adopted after her term was up.

She was right.

School Board member Kurt Heidel apologized that it had taken so long, but the raises are retroactive to July 1, so I'm guessing all will be forgiven.

Board member Susan Lawrence said she finds it "unconscionable that our support staff is not paid a living wage."

With those raises, the lowest hourly wage paid to that group of employees will be $11.22 per hour, according to the helpful spreadsheet provided as an attachment to the agenda by Maureen Jampo, who apparently understands that showing the current wage, and the new one, is helpful when assessing impact.

That same document indicated that the 18 administrators who do not have individual contracts with the school district received raises totaling $61,500 in new spending. The new salaries ranged from a high of $119,000 for Deena Cellini, human resources director, to a low of $64,000 for transportation coordinator Lisa Schade.

Seven of those 16 administrators now earn more than $100,000 per year.

Here is another way community members can

learn how to be more effective advocates
for the school district.
"I know a lot of people in Pottstown will say 'wow, 4 percent, that's pretty high,' but you all should know its unlikely there will be any raises next year, so think of this as a two-year raise," said Heidel.

The board also followed in borough council's lead and unanimously voting to forgive unpaid back taxes at the former Pottstown Plating works on South Washington Street in an attempt to get the potentially polluted property redeveloped.

The board further gave Superintendent Stephen Rodriguez direction to create a citizens budget advisory committee, although some on the board seemed to doubt many would be interested
Board member John Armato said the effort is worthwhile, even it the only benefit is greater awareness about the fiscal challenges faced by the board and the district.

Previous attempts to get input from the community have all fallen very flat.

Board member Ron Williams urged the community (and the media) to suggest potential members to Heidel, who had come up with idea.

But apparently, Heidel is only interested in ideas from residents, no matter how good the outside expertise.

As Williams requested, this reporter approached Heidel after the meeting and suggested Peggy Lee-Clark, executive director of Pottstown Area Industrial Development, who might bring an economic development expertise to the discussion, and the Rev. Vernon Ross, who heads a large community church in town and once served as a school board member in Norristown, as possible advisory board members.

But Heidel said because they do not live in Pottstown, he did not think they would be right. "I want stakeholders," he said. Apparently, the fact that the school district is among the public entities which pay Lee-Clark's salary; and the fact that Ross has steadfastly resisted outside pressure and refused to move his church outside the borough, and is a proven fund-raiser and community leader, are not stake enough.
Ariel, Triton, Sebastian and Prince Eric prepare to perform for the board.

So the only budget ideas worth considering, according to Heidel, must come from inside the borough borders. How's that been working out for us so far?

Hopefully, he will continue to consider budget ideas from the district's superintendent, who not only does not live in Pottstown, but lives in a whole different county!

"But maybe other board members have other ideas," said Heidel, who has professed a desire to involve former board member Tom Hylton. Well, at least they all live in the borough.

And what would an early spring school board meeting be without an appearance from the district's performing artists? Boring that's what.

Luckily, the cast members of "The Little Mermaid," this year's district-wide music, which has nearly 180 students involved, was anything but boring in their preview

Below, amid the Tweets, you will find several videos of the two performance pieces they offered. They sounded great, so buy those tickets before they're sold out.


No Tears, No Sweat But Plenty of Blood from PHS

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Photos courtesy of the Pottstown School District
Pottstown High School Senior Eriq Johnson donates blood for the seventh time.











Student proctor Tim Mutter has given blood more than 100 times.
Blogger's Note:The following was provided by the Pottstown School District.

Pottstown High School students and staff showed their love for the community by literally giving a gift from the heart.

Forty-three units of blood were donated during the recent blood drive sponsored by the high school Health Occupations class in partnership with the Miller Keystone Blood Bank. 

Nala Johnson was among the Pottstown students who donated.
Senior Eriq Johnson, a Culinary Arts student, who has already donated six times said, "the first time I was just curious about my blood type, but I have come to realize how important giving blood is to the efforts of saving people's lives."

He plans to enter the military as a chef and, when he returns to civilian life. open a restaurant. 

Student proctor Tim Mutter is no stranger to caring and giving since entering the military in 1969 he has donated over 100 units of life saving blood. 

Pottstown High School studdnt Bryce Redd
was happy to donate blood.
"Knowing that I can help a family in need, just like I would want someone to help my family is important," said Mutter. 

Health Occupations teacher Michaela Johnson said "I am very proud of our students and staff for many years Pottstown High School has been one of the top donors in the region."

Johnson added,  "our efforts are truly a expression of caring for the Pottstown community."

The donations stay right here in Pottstown with every unit able to help save seven lives.


Electronics Recycling Saturday at Hillside Acquatics

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Blogger's Note:The following was provided by Green Allies.

The GreenAllies organization, managers of the Althouse Arboretum in Upper Pottstgrove, will be hosting an electronics and appliance recycling event at the Hillside Aquatic Club parking lot, located at 134 W. Moyer Road on Saturday, Feb. 24 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

There is a $10 donation per vehicle (unlimited amount). Student volunteers will be there to assist and unload each vehicle.

The recycling day is open to everyone and some charges do apply. 

Properly recycle all your electronics for a $10 fee, EXCEPT for air conditioners ($5), dehumidifiers ($5), refrigerators ($10). 

 Old TV’s and computer monitors are also accepted for safe and proper disposal for a fee of $45 up to 30 inches and $65 for anything larger. 

All materials will be recycled by PAR Recycling Services. 

More information can be found at www.althousearboretum.org or by calling 267-371-2288.

Spring-Ford Looks at Armed Guards in Each Building

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The travels of my company's sole municipal reporter for the region can take me far and wide ... and sometimes to more meetings than one in a night.

Having been attracted to the Limerick Township Supervisors meeting by a vote on a new police contract -- more on that tomorrow -- I found myself free by 8 p.m., only a half-hour into the Spring-Ford School Board meeting just down the road.

And so your intrepid reporter trundled down Lewis Road to what, according to the agenda, would be the back half of meeting with no big news anticipated.

And then Mark Dehnert spoke.

Noting the recent tragedy at Marjorie Stoneman Douglass High School in Parkland, Florida, Dehnert said he would like to see the administration look into having armed security in every school building.

And suddenly, there was news, both timely and poignant.

It just goes to show you, never trust an agenda.

Anyway, as you will be able to see from the Tweets below, the conversation ranged from whether armed security would be effective -- "the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun," said Dehnert in his best NRA impression of NRA President Wayne LaPierre -- to when and how longs the doors to the school are open.

The fact that the district just had a security audit two years ago seemed relevant, said Superintendent David Goodin. After all, the district already has two armed security guards based at the high school, but which visit all 11 buildings, he said.

Ultimately, the board agreed to ask for a cost-analysis of having armed security in each building, as well as a cursory review of the two-year-old audit by the company that did it.

You can read about that, and more, in the Tweets below:

Limerick Cops Get 4-Year Deal, 3% Raise Each Year

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The Limerick Board of Supervisor s voted unanimously Tuesday to award a four-year contract to the township's unionized police officers that provides a 3 percent raise in each year.

The previous contract expired on Dec. 31. the raises are retroactive to Jan. 1, said township Manager Dan Kerr.

The new contract will apply to 28 of the department's 30 officers, but does not include the chief and lieutenant.

Beth F. DiPrete, Limerick's assistant manager and treasurer, said over the course of the next four years, those raises will cost taxpayers an additional $358,000.

She indicated that a starting patrol officer's salary in 2018 is $69,483 and the top patrol officer's salary in 2018 will be $97,008.

In a related vote, the supervisors also approved a request from the police union to extend the DROP early retirement incentive from two to three years. It was not immediately evident what, if any, financial impact results from that vote.

In addition to approving the new police contract, the board also moved forward with the purchase of a three-acre property at 1310 Main St. near the Schuylkill River in the Linfield section of the township.

It is adjacent to 16 acres of open space the township owns near the river but does not have access to, but now will as a result of the pending purchase.

Kerr said discussions to obtain the property have been going on intermittently for the past 10 years.

The cost of the property is $225,000 and will be paid out of the park capital fund, said Kerr.

The meeting lasted about an hour. Here are the Tweets:

High Street Property Purchase, Resignation Accepted

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The Lower Pottsgrove Township Commissioners made quick work of some pretty consequential items during Thursday's 15-minute board meeting.

Firstly, they formally accepted the resignation of Stephen Klotz, who announced at the last commissioners meeting that he is moving out of state and must step down from the board.

Those interested in replacing him should submit a letter of interest to Township Manager Ed Wagner by March 1.

Secondly, the commissioners, absent Chairman Bruce Foltz, voted unanimously to purchase 2270 E. High St. and 2272 E. High St., each for $100,000.

Together, the two comprise .57 acres.

The two parcels have houses on them, and so the commissioners also approved a month-to-month contract with Zuber Realty to collect the rent on those homes for a 6 percent commission.

The closing date has been set for March 26.

After that, the township will look at possibly combining five different adjacent parcels as the possible new home of a township campus, for a new township building and police headquarters.

And then everyone went home.

Here are the Tweets:

Focus on Healthy Eating at West-Mont Christian

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Photos provided by West-Mont Christian Academy
Guest chefs Yvonne Westlake and Eric Myers discuss health eating at a workshop earlier this month at West-Mont Christian Academy.








Blogger's Note:The following was provided by West-Mont Christian Academy.

At West-Mont Christian Academy, there is a strong emphasis on healthy lifestyle choices. 

In connection with the schools Wellness Team, a Healthy Eating Workshop was offered to the community on the evening of Feb. 6. 

The healthy eating workshop was well-attended.
The well-attended free event was led by two West-Mont parents who are trained chefs, and currently, work at Wegmans in the seafood department. 

The evening was fully sponsored by Wegmans, and the guest chefs, Yvonne Westlake, and Eric Myers discussed healthy eating options, the myths and realities of organic eating, how to shop intentionally, and ways to sneak more fruits and veggies into your families!

The cooking duo demonstrated three recipes that were then sampled by everyone. 

The school also recently hosted a free Essential Oil Workshop that was a big hit; families are asking for more of the same! 

West-Mont plans to schedule future events to the public that are similar. Keep an eye on www.west-mont.org/health-wellness for future wellness efforts.

Getting the Job Done and Putting People to Work

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Submitted Photos
Glenn McCauley and Charles Purvis work at American Keg Co. in Pottstown. Both graduated in the first class of Pottstown Works last May.

It's the classic re-joinder -- "Get a job!"
Damaris Martinez of Pottstown graduated from the
Pottstown Works program in August
and is employed in the deli at Giant, Upland Square.

But what if you don't have a car?

Who will take care of your kids while you work?

What if you don't know how to clinch a job interview?

What if you're homeless?

These are all barriers, among others faced by the folks who walk through the doors at Pottstown Works, a non-profit program based in the Salvation Army building at 137 King St. in Pottstown that is geared toward one thing -- helping people find and, more importantly, keep a job.
From left, Lynn Slusser, Joan Johnston and Coleen McKnight

It all began with four women -- Lynn Slusser, Wendy Egolf, Joan Johnston and Coleen McKnight -- who wanted to address what they saw as a need in the area, teaching basic job skills, which they did in the former Community Media Lab as The Mercury.

Frustrated that those they helped obtain jobs, often could not keep them, they dug deeper and discovered Cincinnati Works, a proven program that specializes in providing support after their clients get the job. They asked for help and now the program is here.

Since May, Pottstown Works has graduated three classes of four members each and put 12 previously unemployed people into the work force.

The first class of Pottstown Works graduated in May.
Since then, the program has grown to 18 graduates, all of whom
are employed or actively seeking employment.
From left, Tony Stauffer, who works at Dana; Jodeci Andrews;
Glenn McCauley and Charles Purvis.
Most of them were either homeless, or close to it, when they entered the program. None have cars and in most cases walk to work every day, in all kinds of weather.

Candidates are drug-screened and criminal background checks are conducted before they can participate in a week-long Job Readiness Workshop—a 40-hour curriculum dedicated to teaching the standards of professionalism needed to get and keep a job; things like how to dress for work, how to speak to co-workers, the importance of being on time.

As highlighted in a cover story in the winter edition of "Well-Informed," the quarterly newsletter of the Pottstown Area Health and Wellness Foundation, "Pottstown Works partners with local employers such as Pottstown Hospital,
From left, state Rep. Tom Quigley, Pottstown Works Program
Director Nancy March, State Rep. Marcy Toepel, during a
recent visit to the classroom in Pottstown.
American Keg Company, Spherion Staffing and Giant to help place members in jobs for the long term. It also strives to find people jobs within walking distance, on a bus route or both.

“We gave four of our members, all of whom work in factories, bikes of their own so they can get to and from work,” said Nancy March, program director and, full disclosure, my former boss and good friend.

This year March says the goal is to shoot for 50 members and six classes.

The program has caught the attention of two local state Representatives, Marcy Toepel, R-147th Dist. and Tom Quigley, R-146th Dist., who visited recently.



March told the legislators that the program is designed to hold the students' attention.

"There's one point in the week where Wendy will come in and interrupt me, and I give her all kinds of attitude and she gives me attitude back. And then after, we discuss it. 'What did the employee do wrong? What could the boss have done better? But the bottom line is, the boss is always right,'" March told Toepel and Quigley.

And for their clients, the program is right too.

"I was always one who was very nervous during interviews, not sure how to answer the question," said Karen Liverman, who graduated from the program in January.

"It had been many years since I had been on an interview, and things had changed, times have change, technology has changed. In the class, I learned more about the skills that I need, to successfully interview and to land the position," she said.

"So I'm just so thankful for this program and I hope it continues for many, many years, because so much is needed here in Pottstown."

We agree Karen. Keep up the good work, Pottstown Works!






Pottstown High's Interact Club Springs Into Action

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Submitted Photos
The Pottstown High School Interact Club undertook a coat drive to keep people warm in winter.








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

The Pottstown High School Interact Club believes in letting their actions speak for themselves. 

The club has a long list of community and school service projects that demonstrate their commitment to others. 
The club collected treats to give out at Halloween.
Members conducted fundraising which enabled them to provide over 300 bags of Halloween treats for the Salvation Army, Senior Center, Operation Backpack and PEAK. 

They provided three dozen gloves and hats to elementary students who are part of the Walking School Bus Program. 

The club's donation of 90 items of hats,gloves,scarves and coats helped the Salvation Army keep people warm during the Winter. 

They supported fellow students in need with bags toiletries collected during the Holidays. 

More than 75 Veterans had a brighter Holiday after receiving a personal card from club members. 

On Valentine's Day more than 100 high school students received a kindness note form the club. 
Zoe Wallace and Abby Richter man the information booth at
Sunnybrook  during the Pottstown Pottsgrove Border Battle
Wrestling Match.

Yearly the members support both the Pottstown CARES and PEAK Day of The Child events with a informational booth and activities for children. 

The club has taken on the mission of raising awareness and calling for action in the fight against human trafficking. 

The students set up fundraising events and informational tables at community events and in school. 

Teachers Diane Fox and Diane Shoffstall sponsor the club, which is a service organization for high school students who desire to volunteer their time to aid school and community. 

It seems there is no end to the Interact Club's activities.
Interact is an international organization sponsored by the Pottstown Rotary Club and this month the students will make a presentation to the Rotary Club. 

The word Interact stands for international action. The club which numbers 26 members has an impressive list of projects on which they have spent more than 300 hours working. 

The club's officers include; Co Chairs Courteney Parry and Zoe Wallace, Maggie Onate Vice chair, Jakhaya Beckem Treasurer and Abby Richter Historian. 

"Our students have shown a commitment to making a positive change in the world and a degree of maturity beyond their age. With young people like this taking leadership roles, our future is bright," said Fox and Shoffstall.  

Four Times a Charm for OJR School Board Vacancy

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Photos by Evan Brandt
Matthew Fitzgerald is the newest member of the Owen J. Roberts School board , but it wasn't easy.

Filling a vacancy on the Owen J. Roberts School Board Monday night took three hours, four votes, a non-vote and a recess.

The vacancy was created by the unexpected death of board member James B. Frees on Feb. 1.

Frees, who had just won another four-year term in November, was recognized by the school board,
Superintendent Susan Lloyd, left, and School Board President 
Melissa Booth present the family of James Frees with a resolution
and keepsake Wildcat.
which provided a resolution and Wildcat statue, and by state Rep. Tim Hennessey, R-26th Dist., who provided proclamations passed in both the Pennsylvania House and State.

A total of four people applied to fill the vacancy. Two of them, Don Foy and Robert Rasmussen, had run in the November election and lost and a third, William Kleinfelter, had just finished a term on the board.

But the eventual winner -- after a long and drawn-out process -- was Matthew Fitzgerald, a 51-year-old engineer from East Vincent Township.

He told reporters after the meeting that he had intended to run in the next round of local elections but the death of Frees, who was a personal friend, "accelerated my timetable."

What was not accelerated was the process by which he was chosen.

At 6:30 p.m., all four candidates were interviewed by the board, which is to say all four spoke and all four were then asked one question -- whether they intended to run once the term is up in two years.

(Because Frees had just been reelected, state law dictates the person chosen to replace him only holds the seat until the next municipal election, which will be in November of 2019.)

Then, the vote on which candidate would be chosen was placed at the end of the night's agenda. This being employee and student recognition night, more than 100 people were in attendance and there were a lot of awards to give out before the board got down to business.
The voting finally began before 9 p.m., with each board member naming the candidate of their choice.

On the first round, Kleinfelter received one vote, Fitzgerald three, Rasmussen two and Foy two.

So Kleinfelter was dropped from the voting and in the second round, Foy received two, Rasmussen three and Fitzgerald three.

The board then decided to take a recess, so they could talk among themselves, so long as no more than five spoke together at once, because that would be a quorum and violate the Open Meetings Law.

But before the recess, they decided to take public comment, which took another 20 minutes.

Finally they returned and were deadlocked once again because board member Karel Minor declined to vote at all or, as he put, just voted no. That left Rasmussen with three and Fitzgerald with three votes each and School Board President Melissa Booth need not cast her vote.

Finally, board member Douglas Hughes, who called Minor's action "disappointing," switched his vote from Rasmussen to Fitzgerald -- seemingly as much to get a result as anything.

He was joined by Booth and they, along with members Pamela Clouser-White, Cathie Whitlock, Leslie Proffitt, who voted by speaker phone, and that got them to the requisite five votes.

Here are the Tweets from the meeting:

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