The Sanatoga Post

POTTSTOWN PA – It probably is not what Zeus and other Greek gods envisioned as an ultimate athletic competition among humans. Then again, they’re not going to be the judges when the first-ever local Page Olympics get under way tomorrow (Saturday, Aug. 1, 2009) at 1 p.m. in Pottstown Public Library, 500 High St.

• Watch a 00m:34s video, above, hosted at the Pottstown Library user account on YouTube, created as a commercial to publicize the Page Olympics. Press the “play” button.

Library pages are behind-the-scenes people, usually teen-age students, who re-stock shelves with books, catalog and file newspapers and magazines, help with check-out and, truth be told, generally pick up after library patrons. What they do requires skill, dedication, and yes, a little bit of athleticism, library Director Mike Packard admits.

He and the Pottstown staff invited other libraries in the Montgomery County (PA) system to put themselves on the line Saturday in a competition of pages. The afternoon’s events include an extended arms book-hold, a chair push, a stair climb, book-shelving accuracy, bookshelf straightening, team back-shelving, and a holds obstacle course. The public is invited to attend and cheer the competitors on.

They produced two videos promoting the event, posted during the last two weeks on YouTube.

• Watch a second video of 00m:26s, above, hosted at the Pottstown Library user account on YouTube, that calls for Page Olympics judges. Press the “play” button.

The Page Olympics even got publicly plugged last Thursday (July 23, 2009), when Packard was a guest of Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township commissioners during their second monthly meeting in the township municipal building on Buchert Road. Commissioners, who this year donated $60,000 to library operations, laughed over one video Packard screened and congratulated him for the effort.

Sadly, though, like Greek gods spurned, responses to the Pottstown page challenge have been slow in coming. As of last week, only the Indian Valley Public Library in Telford PA – 24 miles northwest of the borough – had agreed to field a team. A trophy will be awarded to the winning library.

Packard said he expected a total of just nine Olympians for the opening contest, but hoped for more at the last minute. “Some libraries probably just don’t know what to make of it yet,” he said. “But I think it’ll build over time.”

Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners’ meeting of July 23):

• Board Approves Interchange Mapping Costs
• Antiquated Files Headed For Township Shredder
• Commissioners OK Zoning Board Appointments
• No Need To Ask Them Twice
• Township Says No To Sunnybrook Grant, Citing Risks
• Commissioners Cancel Next Meeting

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SANATOGA PA – Summer in Sanatoga has become house-cleaning time in the Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township municipal building, 2199 Buchert Rd. The local government is ridding its files of documents it no longer is legally required to keep.

Filled boxes and a ton of weighty paper will be headed for the shredder, township Secretary Michele Cappelletti said.

The township Board of Commissioners authorized this purge last Thursday (July 23, 2009) during its second monthly meeting in the same building. Board members unanimously approved a resolution declaring their intent to dispose of outdated public records as outlined under the state’s Open Records Law enacted last year.

Most files to be removed have long outlived any usefulness, and probably haven’t been viewed by human eyes in years, township Solicitor R. Kurtz Holloway assured board members. As examples, Cappelletti cited ethics disclosure forms from the late 1990s, which by law must be kept only five years; and contractor bid awards from the early 2000s, which need to be kept only six years.

“This is not just good practice,” board Vice President Jonathan Spadt noted. “It’s highly recommended by the state that we follow” disposal guidelines, he said.

Nothing protected by law, and nothing that reflects official board actions, is being removed, Holloway said.

While the records disposal may free up some cabinet space, it likely won’t do much to add maneuvering room inside the municipal building.

Commissioners and township staff members have, during the past two years, kicked around the idea of either building an extension to the increasingly crowded offices, which house both Lower Pottsgrove’s business operations and its police department, or finding new quarters. The issue was most recently mentioned in passing during a May (2009) commissioners’ meeting.

The prospect of incurring the cost of a move, however, is deemed by all as economically unfeasible now.

Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners’ meeting of July 23):

• Board Approves Interchange Mapping Costs
• Antiquated Files Headed For Township Shredder
• Commissioners OK Zoning Board Appointments
• No Need To Ask Them Twice
• Township Says No To Sunnybrook Grant, Citing Risks
• Commissioners Cancel Next Meeting

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SANATOGA PA – The more than 400 acres that will be included in the joint Lower Pottsgrove-Limerick (PA) townships’ master plan for the Sanatoga interchange at U.S. Route 422 must be officially mapped in detail, and Lower Pottsgrove’s Board of Commissioners last week agreed to pay $10,000 as its share of the cost to have the work done.

The Sanatoga interchange at U.S. Route 422.

The mapping will be undertaken by Simone Collins, the Berwyn PA-based consultant both townships are relying upon to create a unified plan for what is known as the Interchange District. The firm will make zoning recommendations, suggest publicly and privately funded improvements, set standards for new roads and street scape design, and guide the district’s overall appearance.

Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the expense last Thursday (July 23, 2009) during their second monthly meeting in the township municipal building on Buchert Road. The approval is subject to a review by township Solicitor R. Kurtz Holloway of an accompanying contract.

About 150 acres, roughly a third of the area, lie within Lower Pottsgrove boundaries, township Manager Rodney Hawthorne explained. The mapping effort will be the latest, and possibly final, step that must be completed before the two municipalities can start to address legal language that will help them with the district’s regulation.

Hawthorne reported representatives of both townships met most recently on June 5, 11 and 23 for district-related discussions and “made significant progress.”

Back in May, both townships agreed to cooperate in the district’s planning and development. Re-working the highway’s exit ramps, widening existing roads, creating a feeder or frontage road system, and installing traffic control systems there – all to accommodate future growth – is expected to cost tens of millions of dollars. Neither municipality can afford it alone, they concede.

Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners’ meeting of July 23):

• Board Approves Interchange Mapping Costs
• Commissioners OK Zoning Board Appointments
• No Need To Ask Them Twice
• Township Says No To Sunnybrook Grant, Citing Risks
• Commissioners Cancel Next Meeting

Related (to Sanatoga interchange development):

• Townships Agree To Interchange Planning
• Township Interviews For ‘Bigger Picture’
• Missing Walks Latest Bridge Complaint
• Trying, Trying Again At The Interchange
• Just One Speaker At Sanatoga Springs Hearing
• The Overlooked Users Of Sanatoga Springs
• County Suggests Cooperation On Sanatoga Springs
• Improving The Odds At The Interchange
• More About … Sanatoga Springs (No. 1 In A Series)
• Trial Balloon: An Inter-Municipal Agreement
• Lobbyists Court Lower Pottsgrove
• A New Arrival In “Sanatoga Springs”

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SANATOGA PA – Weekend activities for Sanatogans (and anyone else!), July 31-Aug. 2:

• These events have been added to The Post calendar.

Friday, July 31

Enjoying the memories.

The CK Scrapbook Convention, an exposition of scrapbooking materials and make-and-take activities, will be held July 31 (2009; Friday) beginning at 10 a.m., and Aug. 1 (2009; Saturday) in the Valley Forge Convention Center, 1160 First Ave., King of Prussia PA. Tickets cost $7 in advance and $10 at the door; admission is free for children age 9 and younger. Enrollment in a variety of scrapbooking workshops is at additional cost. For more information, call 610-337-4000. (This event from CultureMob)

Up for a challenge? The Amity Chess Club meets from 7-10 p.m. at St. Paul’s UCC Church, 1312 Old Swede Rd., Douglassville PA, for chess matches and lessons at all ages and skill levels. For more information, call 610-385-6324.

Saturday, Aug. 1

It’s the first Saturday of August, and that means the monthly First Saturday Celebraton in downtown Pottstown PA, sponsored by the Pottstown Downtown Improvement District Authority (PDIDA) and The Gallery on High, will be in full swing from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Throughout the day, visitors can treat themselves to a self-guided ArtWalk, play Hop Scotch at Smith Family Plaza at High and Hanover Streets, and have their faces painted by members of the Gallery Art Club. There’s also a full day’s agenda of scheduled activities:

• 10 a.m., Power Walk, led by Jeff Harrison of Pottstown Health Club
• 11:15 a.m., Yoga with Barbara Kosciewcz, sponsored by the Academy of Massage
• 11 a.m., Pottstown Library story hour and used book sale
• 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Free mini-massage special at Smith Family Plaza
• Noon, Music by John Hain, “Those songs you know by Heart”
• Noon to 4 p.m., Help The Gallery School of Pottstown, at its activity tent, create a collection of handmade butterflies for the Holocaust Museum of Houston TX. The museum’s goal is to collect 1.5 million hand-made butterflies. The Gallery School also hopes to display butterflies during the third annual Schuylkill River Festival in Pottstown this fall.
• 1 p.m., Music by singer and songwriter Tim Harakal
• 2 p.m., A High Street music showcase for jazz featuring Lois Reiger, Dan Townsend and Zach Holliday
• 3 p.m. Music by singer and songwriter Mike Holliday
• 4-9 p.m., Classic Car Show on High Street

Frecon Farms in Boyertown PA will hold its annual Peach Festival Aug. 1 and 2 (2009; Saturday and Sunday). The festival features the traditional sale of peaches, peachy foods and desserts, as well as a recipe contest with cash prizes, wine tastings and a surprise wine release party. Live music will be performed by the Manatawny Creek Ramblers.

The long-awaited return of the Glenn Miller Orchestra to the world-famous Sunnybrook Ballroom is scheduled for 8 p.m. in the ballroom’s main facility, 50 Sunnybrook Rd., Sanatoga PA. A limited number of tickets may be available at the door. The orchestra is coming back to Sunnybrook for the first time since the 1970s. For more information, call 484-624-5186.

Did you ever wonder what nature’s like at night; what creatures and critters are out and about? An adventurous but family-friendly guided walk to experience the dark side of Warwick County Park is scheduled from 8-9:30 p.m. in the park, 191 County Park Rd., Knauertown PA. Flashlights are permitted on this trek, according to park ranger and guide Jay Erb. Advanced registration is required. For more information or to register, call the park at 610-469-1916.

The Boyertown PA Farmers Market will operate from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 100 S. Walnut St., Boyertown PA. The market is located in the parking lot of The Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles, two blocks south of the intersection of Routes 562 and 73. Its farmer-vendors offer a selection of produce, beef, poultry, and baked goods.

Sunday, Aug. 2

The open-air producers’ market sponsored by the Pottstown Downtown Foundation runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the parking lot located at the corner of Charlotte and High Streets, Pottstown PA. Vendors of home-grown fruits and vegetables, as well as crafters and artisans, are expected to be on hand to sell their wares to the public. Free live entertainment will feature local talent. For more information on the weekly event, call the office of Pottstown Main Street Manager Bill Haley at 610-323-5400.

The Left Edge, classic rock band, are the featured performers during this week’s edition of the free Summer Concert Series of the Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township Parks and Recreation Board. It launches at 6 p.m. from the band shell at Sanatoga Park, 200 S. Sanatoga Rd., Sanatoga PA. Township residents and their guests are invited to bring a beach blanket or chair and enjoy a night of family-friendly entertainment. No reservations required. In case of rain, concerts will be re-scheduled for the following Monday at 7 p.m.

The Red Hill Jazz Band, sponsored by Phoenixville Federal Bank and Trust, will perform Sunday at 6 p.m. in Limerick Community Park, Swamp Pike and Ziegler Road, Limerick PA, as the second of three free musical concerts scheduled by the Limerick (PA) Township Parks and Recreation Department. For more information, call the department at 610-495-6432, Ext. 150.

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POTTSTOWN PA – Besides “The book was never returned!,” maybe the worst sentence that could be uttered in a public library is, “The computer system is down!”

The library on High Street in downtown Pottstown PA.

Cover your ears. For two days in early September, the system will be down in the Pottstown Public Library, 500 High St., and all other facilities in the 15-member Montgomery County (PA) Library and Information Network Consortium (MCLINC).

Mike Packard, executive director of Pottstown’s library, reports new software is being installed Sept. 2 and 3 (2009; Wednesday and Thursday) across the MCLINC system beginning at 8 a.m. The online catalog will be unavailable. Patron account information and electronic check-out will be inaccessible too, so if you plan to borrow a book either day, bring your library card with you.

• This event has been added to The Post calendar.

Unaffected by the upgrade, Packard said Wednesday (July 29, 2009) is library Internet access. Consequently, users can drive search engines to the limit, or scour remote databases like the AccessPennsylvania POWER Library (the acronym stands for Pennsylvania Online World of Electronic Resources) to their hearts’ content.

Despite the temporary interruption it poses to patrons, the new software will have its upside. Once installed, Packard said, it will allow MCLINC members to send initial overdue notices via e-mail to patrons who sign up for the service. Computer users will have the ability to create personal log-on accounts. Online catalog title lists will be sortable by requests, items out, and reading histories, and get several other improvements too.

In addition to Pottstown, MCLINC libraries include those in Abington, Cheltenham, Springfield, Horsham, Huntingdon Valley, Jenkintown, Lower Providence, Norristown, Narberth, Upper Dublin, Upper Merion, Upper Moreland, Wissahickon Valley, and Whitemarsh.

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The CDC worries about school children the flu.

HARRISBURG PA – Virtually all cases of flu recently identified to the Pennsylvania Department of Health are of the “swine flu” or H1N1 variety, state health officials said earlier this month. Now they’re preparing guidelines to direct schools on dealing with swine flu later this fall.

The state is awaiting advice from the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) before issuing its recommendations to the Pottsgrove, Spring-Ford, and Pottstown school districts, and hundreds of others statewide.

The CDC scheduled a press conference Wednesday (July 29, 2009) to discuss its recommendations on the use and distribution of a proposed swine flu vaccine. Vaccines are expected to be offered to school-age children by October, before the winter flu season gets under way.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration last week announced it had approved a vaccine for seasonal use, but said that shot would not provide swine flu protection.

The CDC also has said it wants schools to be more aggressive in ensuring flu-sickened students are kept home by their parents or guardians.

Photo by Clipart.com

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Cars and consumers crowd NY Route 90 during the 50-Mile Garage Sale Saturday north of Summerhill NY. The sale starts in Homer.

HOMER NY – The central New York village of Homer is one of those sleepy little places in rural America often described in books about the countryside. There are a few thousand more dairy cows at pasture in its green, open spaces than there are residents in its homes. For one weekend every year during the past three decades, though, Homer wakes up and sells itself.

The garage sale route, in purple.

Literally.

Last Saturday and Sunday (July 25-26, 2009) the village once again was the starting point of the annual Finger Lakes’ 50-Mile Garage Sale.

It’s not a single sale, of course. Instead, house and business owners along NY Route 90 – between Homer, 3 miles west of Cortland, north to Montezuma NY, at the top of Cayuga Lake – band together to hold hundreds of lawn, yard, porch and garage sales. The object, besides getting rid of unwanted junk, is to attract outside tourists. They come in droves.

• See a Post gallery of more than 50 photos from the excursion here.

The selection of merchandise is broad, varied, and eclectic. From carburetors to hand-sewn toaster covers, from kids’ clothes to kids (meaning, baby goats), from music (much of it country) to antique muskets, people sell ‘em at interesting prices. Some are bona fide bargains. Others, not so much.

The old school desk sold for $25; the lobster trap, for $40. Other stuff was less of a deal.

Badman’s Bushel Basket, a roadside stand in Summerhill NY – the birthplace of U.S. President Millard Fillmore – offers personally grown vegetables picked fresh from a two-acre garden behind the owner’s home. A pint of heirloom tomatoes is marked at $1.59. Three cucumbers for dollar. Onions, five for a buck.

Navigating the sales can be a challenge. The narrow, two-lane highway is crowded with both slow-moving people, walking to and fro, and cars piloted by motorists in a hurry; not an ideal combination.

Moreover, a 10-mile stretch of Route 90 between the villages of Locke and Genoa NY, north of Homer, is an unwary driver’s nightmare. The road is at first heavily wooded on both sides, and climbs a steep hill north out of Locke in twists and turns that rival European highways.

At the crest of the hill, and on the plateau beyond, lie hundreds of acres of cultivated farmland. The prime crop is corn, most of which will be ground into winter silage for animals. The damp, musky smell of manure, freshly distributed on the fields as nature’s fertilizer, hangs heavy in the air.

Travelers along the route often see more trucks and tractors than cars.

The only place within miles of Genoa to buy groceries is Smith’s, a market that bills itself as the “oldest IGA in the universe.” IGA is a franchise whose acronym stands for Independent Grocers Alliance. It was a buying cooperative that began in the 1920s. Today, 40 Smith’s can fit into the new Giant Food Market at Upland Square, with room to spare.

Cayuga Lake wine country seems to unofficially begin in Kings Ferry NY, at about the mid-point of the trip. The village is on the lake’s east side, and it’s the first hamlet where grape arbors are visible in many back yards.

An array of duck decoys available for purchase in Aurora NY.

Still farther north is Aurora NY, where the lake laps at the roadside and elaborate summer villas built by the wealthy appear to sprout from well-manicured lawns. The residents here are wine consumers, not creators. Aurora is the home of Wells College, named for benefactor, former resident and American Express founder Henry Wells. Its several sales involve fine art and are accompanied by appropriately fine prices.

While all often seems peaceful along the route, there are signs of political turmoil. As bargain hunters get closer to Montezuma, they more frequently see signs that shout “No Sovereign Nation! No Reservation!” They refer to a land claim lawsuit, made by Cayuga Indians and now working itself through the courts, that threatens to take private properties.

Back in Cortland, it looks a lot like the Lehigh Valley. Just as Lehigh University is playing host this week to the Philadelphia Eagles’ football training camps, the State University of New York at Cortland is preparing for its annual summer visitors, the New York Jets.

A sign of greeting for The Jets.

Although that professional team’s arrival is still a couple of weeks away, a banner hung Saturday over the downtown Cortland intersection of Main and Groton Streets, welcoming players, coaches, visitors and the media. In adjacent  Cortlandville, where some practices will also be held, there are signs of greeting outside many businesses.

Editor’s Note: When The Post takes a road trip, its readers go too. “Travels With The Post” is a series that reports on places and activities beyond our usual coverage area, but most often within a drive of three hours or less.

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SANATOGA PA – If you couldn’t attend Monday’s (July 27, 2009) scheduled meeting of the Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township Parks and Recreation Board, and worried you had missed something exciting, fear not.

The meeting was canceled, the township announced on its website.

The board’s next regularly scheduled meeting is Aug. 24 (2009). An agenda for its business usually is available here about a day in advance.

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