The Sanatoga Post

SANATOGA PA – There was a hint of reverence Thursday (May 20, 2010) in an otherwise quick discussion by the Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township Board of Commissioners on, of all things, sewers.

All hail the mighty sewer, an otherwise little-discussed engine of economic development.

Most folks don’t think much about sewers, Manager Rodney Hawthorne will be the first to admit, and whatever they think is usually distasteful. Sewers cost a lot of money to install. Their installation often tears up a neighborhood for a short time, inconveniencing its residents. And sewers carry … well, what sewers carry most folks don’t like to think much about either.

But, as Hawthorne explained to board members when they met for a second time this month in the municipal building, 2199 Buchert Rd., Pottstown PA, a sewer can be the Holy Grail of economic development. In Lower Pottsgrove’s case that certainly will be true, Hawthorne said, at the Sanatoga interchange of U.S. Route 422.

The state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has approved the township’s plans to install a huge new sewer pipe, called a force main. It will be a foot-and-a-half wide, to carry an awful lot of what sewers are known for down to the borough of Pottstown’s treatment plant. The township also will install upgrades to two of its pumping stations, to keep the sewers flowing smoothly.

Approval is important, Hawthorne noted, because it represents “the first step in the process to open up land at the interchange for development.”

Property within the township’s borders at the interchange is expected to accommodate up to 1.5 million square feet of commercial development in coming years, Hawthorne said. Current plans envision hotels, restaurants, shopping centers, retail stores, and nursing homes. With those will come, eventually, new residential developments nearby.

First, though, come the sewers. Commissioners duly noted the DEP’s acceptance of the township sewer map, formally known as a “537 Plan,” and commended the township staff’s efforts to apply for a state grant to help pay for the pipe and pumps.

There’s nothing like getting someone else to foot the bill, commissioners agreed, for things most folks don’t like to think much about anyway.

Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners’ meeting of May 20):

• Call Goes Out For Ringing Rocks Construction Bids
• Lower Pottsgrove’s Reviled System Generates Reverent Talk
• In Lower Pottsgrove, Legal Paperwork Out The Gazoo
• Cracks, Crumbles Mean Trouble In Township

Photo from Clipart.com

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SANATOGA PA – A traffic accident earlier this month that caused fire police to re-direct drivers off U.S. Route 422, on to East High Street, and over the bridge that crosses Sanatoga Creek just west of Sanatoga Road, had Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township Fire Marshal Lew Babel more than a little worried at the time. He remembered thinking, “Boy, we’re in trouble if this happens when that bridge is closed,” Babel said Thursday (May 20, 2010).

Township police department Lt. Michael Foltz, who also serves as Lower Pottsgrove’s emergency management coordinator, apparently is thinking the same thing and has already plotted several solutions.

More than $2.2 million worth of repair work has started on the bridge, just west of Cutillo’s Restaurant. Traffic flow across the span has already narrowed from double to single lanes as a Pennsylvania Department of Transportation contractor, Crossing Construction Company Inc. of Washington Crossing PA, begins preparatory tasks. The bridge is anticipated to temporarily close between June 13 and Aug. 31.

• See a video, above, of weekend (May 21-22) developments in work on the bridge, or watch it at The Post’s YouTube account.

Once the bridge is out of service, PennDOT and its project manager, Traffic Planning and Design Inc. of Sanatoga, intend to detour East High Street‘s westbound traffic slightly south on Evergreen Road at the Lower Pottsgrove-Limerick townships’ border, then west on to Route 422 to Armand Hammer Boulevard, then north on Armand Hammer back to High Street at Pottstown Memorial Medical Center. The detour would be reversed for High Street’s eastbound traffic.

But if 422 is closed in an emergency, according to the emergency management report Foltz submitted this month to the township Board of Commissioners, then:

• The alternative detour would direct westbound traffic off U.S. Route 422 at the Limerick-Linfield interchange. Drivers would be sent south over Linfield Trappe Road to Route 724, then west over 724 and back on to the parallel 422 at an appropriate interchange. The detour would be reversed for eastbound traffic.
• Traffic backlogged or stuck on 422 westbound would be re-routed to the Limerick-Linfield exit, and on 422 eastbound to the Route 724 exit, and then back to follow the alternative detour.
• All detours would be marked with signs. Green arrows will direct eastbound traffic; black arrows, westbound.
• Printed emergency detour maps and directions would be available for distribution to motorists in the event of a 422 closure, and for drivers with web-enabled cell phones directions would be available on the township website, www.lowerpottsgrove.org.

Foltz is scheduling meetings with first responders to ensure they know how the plan will work, and to address their questions, he reported to commissioners. In addition, Ringing Hill Fire Company assistant chief Chris Wilcox, who serves as deputy emergency management coordinator (EMC), and township Secretary Michele Cappelletti, who has been named assistant EMC, have begun training in software and other tools that will help them help Foltz as needed.

Related (to the East High Street bridge):

• Plans Ready For 422 Emergency When Bridge Closes
• Bridge Work Started, But You Might Miss It
• PennDOT To Fine Contractor For Bridge Work Delays
• Traffic Pattern Shifts Ahead At High Street Bridge
• State Says High St. Bridge Repairs To Cost $2.2M
• PennDOT Offer Sanatoga Bridge Work Timeline
• Details Are In That Pesky Paperwork
• PennDOT Set For Meeting On Bridge Work
• Missing Walks Latest Bridge Complaint
• Will Road Be Closed When School Re-Opens?
• State Says No To Keeping Bridge Open
• Township Looks To Pols For Bridge Help
• Bridge Closing Threatens Businesses, Board Says
• Sanatoga Bridge Closing This Spring
• Bridge Repairs Next Year

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POTTSTOWN PA – Marches, show tunes, and classical numbers all kept a crowd of about 250 people entertained Sunday afternoon (May 23, 2010) as the Pottsgrove Community Band opened its season with a spring concert in the auditorium of Pottsgrove High School, 1345 Kauffman Rd., Pottstown PA.

• See a video, above, of band Director Rodney Boyer conducting his musicians in playing John Philip Sousa’s “Semper Fidelis.”
• See a video, below, of guest conductor and Pottsgrove High School Band Director Victor Holladay leading the Community Band in its rendition of “The National Anthem.”
• Or watch both at The Post’s YouTube account.

For the rest of the spring and summer, the Community Band has already scheduled eight additional concerts, and more are on the way. Its members will play:

• June 7 (2010; Monday) at 7 p.m. on the lawn of Zion Church, Hanover and Chestnut streets, Pottstown PA;
• June 21 (2010; Monday) at 7 p.m. at the Chestnut Knoll Assisted Living Facility, Fifth Street, Boyertown PA;
• June 28 (2010; Monday) at 7 p.m. in Sanatoga Court, Evergreen Road, Pottstown PA;
• July 26 (2010, Monday) at 7 p.m. in Berean Bible Church, East High Street, Pottstown PA;
• Aug. 1 (2010; Sunday) at 6 p.m. at Phoebe Berks Village, U.S. Route 422, Wernersville PA;
• Aug. 2 (2010; Monday) at 7 p.m. at Hearthstone at Amity, Amity PA;
• Aug. 9 (2010; Monday) at 7 p.m. at the Southeastern Veterans Center, Spring City PA; and
• Aug. 15 (2010; Sunday) at 6 p.m. in Sanatoga Park, South Sanatoga Road, Pottstown PA.

Other concerts planned for West and Upper Pottsgrove (PA) townships are expected to be scheduled but have yet to be determined.

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SANATOGA PA – In what it hopes will become an annual affair that – as with big band tunes and polkas – creates another musical niche for itself, the Sunnybrook Foundation on Friday (May 21, 2010) announced it had scheduled its first Blues Festival for July 10 (Saturday) in Sunnybrook Ballroom, 50 Sunnybrook Rd., Pottstown PA.

The day-long event will feature 10 different bands performing both inside the ballroom and outside in its pavilion. Ticket prices were announced as $25 per person in advance, and $30 at the door, with food and refreshments sold on site.

Watch a video, above, of one of the festival headliners, Pennsylvania blues band Midnight Shift, as it performed “Magic Touch” during February 2009 at the Flying Dog Saloon, Earlville PA. It features musicians Mike Mettalia on harmonica and vocals, Mike McMillan on guitar, Paul Pluta on bass, and Chad Edstrom on drums.

Scheduled to appear, the foundation said, are:

• Midnight Shift, with special guest Christopher Dean,
• Irving Street Blues,
• Mike Dean and The Blues Mission,
• Dukes of Destiny,
• The Randy Lippincott Band,
• Mike Guldin and The Rollin’ Tumblin’ Band,
• B.C. and The Blues Crew,
• Mississippi Pig Farmers,
• The Roger Girke Band, and
• The James Supra Band.

Tickets are available now online, or by calling the Sunnybrook box office at 484-624-5186.

Video from the YouTube account of Phantom Engineer

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Two June dates have been scheduled for Pottsgrove physicals.

POTTSTOWN PA – Physical examinations for all Pottsgrove School District students interested in participating in any sport at the high or middle school levels during the 2010-11 school year have been scheduled for two consecutive Wednesdays next month, district Athletic Director Gary Derenzo announced Friday (May 21, 2010).

Dr. Wade Brosius of Spring-Ford Family Practice, South Lewis Road, Royersford PA, will conduct pre-participation physicals June 2 beginning at 3:30 p.m. in the nurses’ suite at Pottsgrove Middle School, 1351 N. Hanover St., Pottstown PA; and June 9 beginning at 2:30 p.m. in the nurses’ suite of Pottsgrove High School, 1345 Kauffman Rd., Pottstown PA. Physicals cost $20 per person; checks are to be made payable to Dr. Brosius.

• These events have been added to The Post calendar.

Paperwork that accompanies submission of the physicals must be completed and signed by students parents or guardians before a physical is conducted. Forms are available in the offices of both the middle and high school, Derenzo said. He reminded all middle and high school students that they must undergo athletic physicals before beginning their season.

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Linda Numagami and her viola.

POTTSTOWN PA – Linda Numagami was thinking ahead in her professional musical career even while she was in third grade.

Years ago, the Pottsgrove High School junior recalls, she began taking violin lessons. But her “older sister was already playing violin, and my brother was playing cello, so he thought I should play viola so we could have a trio,” Numagami explains. She agreed, and switched instruments.

That kind of planning, and huge amounts of dedication and hard work, have earned her the title of one of the “best young musicians from the Delaware Valley,” and a spot “in the highly selective and prestigious Philadelphia Youth Orchestra (PYO),” Pottsgrove School District spokesperson Beth Trapani reported last week.

The orchestra is “one of the oldest and most well respected youth orchestras in the nation, and many of its musicians go on to professional musical careers,” Trapani said. Founded in 1939, it offers gifted and talented students the opportunity to be involved in extraordinary music education through its training and performance programs.

PYO members must audition, and if selected get to perform a full concert season in venues like Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia. That’s where the orchestra, with Numagami playing the viola, will appear June 6 (2010; Sunday) at 7:30 p.m.

“It’s an incredible experience every week,” Linda said of her work with the orchestra. “The things that we learn have really changed my life musically. It’s taken my music to another level.” She also is a member of one of PYO’s companion ensembles, the Philadelphia Young Artists Orchestra.

Although her parents and family members were among her first teachers, and had an indelible impact on her musical life, Numagami notes that neither her brother or her sister pursued music as a career. Her family “really enjoys the arts” though, she said, “and we always have a lot of classical music around.”

Holding a chair in the PYO requires tremendous dedication. The orchestra rehearses every Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to noon. “You don’t want to wake up that early in the morning,” Numagami admits, “but I really have a lot of fun and learn so much that I’m excited to go. I may be a little tired, but it’s worth it.”

Linda said she’s met plenty of interesting people from across the area, including some who have inspired her to practice harder and improve her own musical skills. She practices from two to three hours daily, but insists that is less than many of her fellow musicians.

Numagami also got a chance during April to perform at the Pennsylvania Music Educators All-State Orchestra Festival in Pittsburgh, along with 95 of the state’s best high school musicians. It was her second appearance with the All-State Orchestra, and she was ranked as second chair in viola.

She plans to pursue music after graduation. “I want to be a musician in any shape or in any way. Whether it’s performance or teaching, there’s so many different ways to do it,” Numagami said.

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The Limerick (PA) Post | The Pottstown (PA) Post | The Main Street Post

Published during the week just ended in The Sanatoga Post:

Saturday, May 22

• Keep Healthy Next Week
  A review of free or low-cost local seminars, support groups, screenings, tests and clinics to help you stay healthy and fit, sponsored or conducted by community health care organizations.
• Jobs Spiked Up Statewide During April
  Pennsylvania added more jobs last month than during any monthly period of the last 14 years. The reasons: Census Bureau hirings, and stimulus spending on road and bridge projects. (This story is published by The Pennsylvania Independent, and is hosted on its website.)

Friday, May 21

• In Lower Pottsgrove, Legal Paperwork Out The Gazoo
  The township solicitor wanted to ensure the municipality was protected from legal challenges against its zoning, subdivision and land use laws. Now there’s a paper trail to prove it’s covered.
• Cracks, Crumbles Mean Trouble In Township
  Is your home’s sidewalk safe to tread, its curbs solid? Better hope so. Lower Pottsgrove on Thursday put more bite into street and sidewalk safety laws.
• Slow Down And Buckle Up, Drivers; Police On The Lookout
  Driving within the speed limit, and wearing a seat belt, just make sense. If you’re not the sensible type, state and local police have a couple of tickets with your name on them.

Thursday, May 20

• Drat! Pottsgrove Approves Summer School, Again
  It’s news that creates a sinking feeling in the stomach of almost every kid anywhere. Here’s the good part, though: it’s really only 16 days long.
• Stuff To Do This Weekend
  Keep the car empty: the Pottstown YMCA, Blessed Calcutta in Limerick, and New Hanover Township in Gilbertsville all have fund-raising sales, and the Pottstown library has a used book sale. The Sammy Kaye Orchestra performs in Sanatoga, and the Pottsgrove Community Band plays at Pottsgrove High School.
• Falcons’ Team Lifts To Cover Camp Costs
  (With Video) A penny a pound, a dollar a pound; hey, it all adds up for the Pottsgrove Falcons’ football team. Its members exercised their collective muscle Wednesday night to cover the costs of this summer’s prep camp.
• Go Take A Hike Next Week In Lower Pottsgrove
  It will be “Hiking Week In Pennsylvania” once again. Want some exercise? Don’t look far; there are miles of trails right here in Lower Pottsgrove.
• Caution: Don’t Read This While Driving
  To travel Pennsylvania highways safely, avoid reading PennDOT’s new Twitter feed while behind the wheel.
• Also, In The Pottstown Post
  • YMCA Conducts Yard Sale Saturday
    Come for bargains, the Y promises of this fund-raiser, and come rain or come shine.
  • Olivet Holds Basketball League Sign-Ups
    Registrations for its Villa Blacktop League are being accepted at Pottstown’s Ricketts Center.
  • Foundation Opens Healthy Living Website
    Pottstown’s new Internet venue promotes health in all its forms as a smart lifestyle choice.
• Also, In The Main Street Post
  • Mystery Caller Scamming Restaurants
    Someone claiming to be a health inspector is calling restaurant owners in Montgomery County and elsewhere and asking for business information.
  • TPD Honored For Township Bridge Design
    The Lower Pottsgrove PA engineering firm won its peers’ award for an “outstanding short-span bridge.”

Wednesday, May 19

• Office Conversion OK For Sunnyside Avenue
  A former single-family residence is being planned for conversion into a professional office for the Breidenbach law firm. Township planners Monday said they liked what they saw.
• ‘Not Dead Beats, Maybe Just Dead Broke’
  Montgomery County takes a new tact in dealing with those who can’t pay child support: help them find a job.
• College Announces Honor Society Inductees
  The list includes more than 40 people from Sanatoga and Pottstown, Bechtelsville, Boyertown, East Greenville, Gilbertsville, Green Lane, Pennsburg, Red Hill, and Stowe.
• Band Opens Season With Sunday Concert
  They’re volunteers, yet professionals. They’re hard-working, yet they’re having fun. Hear how good your Pottsgrove musician neighbors are during their first performance of the year.
• Also, In The Limerick Post
  • County Honors Those Age 100 And Older
    Montgomery County is throwing a party for its centenarians this Friday.
  • 4-H Teaches Baby-Sitting Skills In June
    It’s often a good way for teens to make money, but the job requires both patience and preparation. These Cooperative Extension classes offer the latter.
• Also, In The Pottstown Post
  • High Schoolers Jazz Up Tonight’s Fund-Raiser
    Pottstown High School’s Jazz Band is the featured entertainment at a Salvation Army dinner.
  • Facility Plans Car Show, Yard Sale Saturday
    Frederick Mennonite Community opens its activities to the public.
• Also, In The Main Street Post
  • PECO Announces Stock Dividend Payments
    The southeastern Pennsylvania electricity and natural gas utility rewards its investors.
  • Asher’s New VP To Establish Retail Chain Sales
    The candy manufacturer intends to sell its product line in convenience stores and other retail outlets.
  • Teleflex Quarterly Revenue Down Slightly
    The Limerick PA manufacturer of medical equipment components sees strength ahead, though.

Tuesday, May 18

• Grading Permit Change Comes With Limits
  A portion of the still-growing earthen mound near the Turkey Hill convenience store will be spread on the west end of the  vacant property there, and the pile will be lowered to about half its size, thanks to a bit of leverage regained Monday by the Lower Pottsgrove Planning Commission.
• Board OKs Ringing Rocks’ Preliminary Plans
  Lower Pottsgrove’s Planning Commission signed off Monday on drawings for the school reconstruction it’s seen time and time again during recent months. Now the plans head to township commissioners for review, and then to the zoning hearing board.
• TPD Volunteers Help Preserve Pottstown Plantings
  Employees at Traffic Planning And Design Inc. in Sanatoga helped make the Schuylkill River trail a little greener last month.
• ‘Sewing A Notion’ Official In Lower Pottsgrove
  Another entrepreneur has registered a fictitious name with the state to operate a small business within the township.
• Also, In The Limerick Post
  • Garage Construction Requires Limerick Variance
    It’s on the township Zoning Hearing Board agenda for May 26.
  • Physician Discusses Osteoporosis Wednesday
    Bone and joint health in senior citizens is a topic of the seminar in Schwenksville.
  • Kimberton Facility Unveils New Courtyard, Garden
    The assisted living complex at Spring Mill has added new outdoor touches for its residents.
• Also, In The Pottstown Post
  • Seminar Looks At Affordable, Nutritional Meals
    The meal-planning event at Ricketts Center in Pottstown is geared toward good taste, healthy bodies, and budget consciousness.
  • Boyertown Facility Addresses Dementia Help
    Providing care to those in need, and caring for the caregivers too, are topics up for discussion in a session at the assisted living complex.
  • Spring Carnival This Week In Birdsboro
    The borough library wants you to come out and have some fun.
• Also, In The Main Street Post
  • Gateway Marks 25 Years With Networking Event
    The Limerick PA employment resources for disabled workers is marking its anniversary with a guest speaker and a memorable morning.

Monday, May 17

• Notebook Worthy
  No one’s perfect, but here’s an error a proof reader for Exelon should have caught. A new restaurant replaces a former one in Limerick, or so its sign says. Telling history in Pottstown and the Pottsgroves in slice-of-life vignettes. And unusual but growing referrals in local medical care.
• Western Center Looks To Buy Law Training Gear
  The technical studies school, which serves Pottsgrove students, is in the market to buy an interactive law enforcement training system for its protective services program.
• Diamond Among Basketball Benefit Sponsors
  The credit union, headquartered in Lower Pottsgrove, joins a car dealership and a school district in bringing the Philadelphia Eagles to town Tuesday night. But not for football …
• Pottsgrove Schedules Travel Soccer Try-Outs
  They’re being held on three days next week, and you need not be a resident of the Pottsgrove townships to compete.
• Also, In The Limerick Post
  • Limerick Board Cancels, Reschedules Meeting
    Tuesday’s previously announced Board of Supervisors’ meeting has been moved to Thursday.
  • Limerick Industrial Authority Meets This Morning
    It is labeled as a re-organizational session, but other business could be considered too.
  • Fibromyalgia Workshop Tonight In Limerick
    Victory Bank hosts the seminar that discusses symptoms of the illness, and what may be alternatives for relief.
• Also, In The Pottstown Post
  • Play Performances This Week At Hill School
    Its production of “The Good Times Are Killing Me” runs Wednesday through Friday in Pottstown.
  • Blood Drives Coming To Pottstown, Gilbertsville
    Miller-Keystone blood bank employees and volunteers are due Wednesday in Pottstown, May 24 in Gilbertsville, and May 26 in Limerick.
• Also, In The Main Street Post
  • Pottstown Duo Registers Dogs As Business Name
    The owners are familiar as long-time fund-raising volunteers for a variety of local causes.
  • Improving Mailing Returns Is PDMA’s May Topic
    If your business uses mail to promote itself and build sales, here’s a seminar you could benefit from.

Sunday, May 16

• The Post Week In Review
  For May 9-15, 2010

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SANATOGA PA – Health care news for western Montgomery County residents (and anyone else!), for May 23 (2010) and beyond.

• These events have been added to The Post calendar.

Babysitters get prepared for their job in 4-H courses offered next month.

Babysitting courses for teens between the ages of 11 and 14 is scheduled to be held by Penn State Cooperative Extension of Montgomery County at a variety of county locations during June (2010). The course covers babysitter responsibilities, child development, feeding, diapering, infant care, age-appropriate toys, and what to do during an emergency. It costs $20 per student; advance registration is required. For more information, call the 4-H Center in Collegeville PA at 610-489-4315.

A new website, devoted to information about maintaining a healthy lifestyle, has been created by the Pottstown Area Health and Wellness and is located at www.missionhealthyliving.org. The website’s main page continually provides local and national news about healthy living and other health-related issues.

Monday, May 24

A blood drive is scheduled for Monday from 3-8 p.m. at the YMCA, 3065 N. Charlotte St., Gilbertsville PA, by the Miller-Keystone Blood Center. Appointments are required to donate blood. For more information or to make an appointment call Miller-Keystone at 610-926-6060.

Wednesday, May 26

A blood drive is scheduled for Wednesday from 2-7 p.m., sponsored by Daybreak Community Church at the offices of McCormick Chiropractic, 553 W. Ridge Pike, Limerick PA, by the Miller-Keystone Blood Center. Appointments are required to donate blood. For more information or to make an appointment call Miller-Keystone at 610-926-6060.

Thursday, May 27

“Nutritional Meal Planning at Affordable Cost,” a free seminar featuring speaker Leah Scott, is scheduled to be held Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the Olivet Boys and Girls Club at Ricketts Center, 640 Beech St., Pottstown PA. The event is presented by Project Reward, which also will provide activities for children ages 6-10 to entertain them as parents attend the seminar. For more information, call 610-367-8912.

Saturday, May 29

The nine-day “week” of May 29-June 6 (2010; Saturday through Sunday) has been designated as Hiking Week in Pennsylvania. The ninth annual observance is co-sponsored by the trail association and the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Their goal: to conduct at least 100 health-inducing hikes this year. Among the treks scheduled are:

• a 1-mile hike May 29 (Saturday) from 10 a.m. to Noon in French Creek State Park, Elverson PA;
• a 5-mile hike May 30 (Sunday) at 1:30 p.m. at Paradise Farm off Spackman Lane, Exton PA;
• a 5-mile hike June 2 (Wednesday) at 6 p.m. in Valley Forge National Historical Park, King of Prussia PA; and
• 1- and 6-mile hikes June 5 (Saturday) in French Creek State Park, at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., respectively.

Wednesday, June 2

A discussion of how understanding your own personality can help you become healthier is on the agenda June 2 (2010; Wednesday) at 6 p.m. in the conference rooms of the Chesmont Professional Building, 13 Armand Hammer Blvd., Pottstown PA, as Pottstown Memorial Medical Center  sponsors its next Healthy Woman event. The seminar is free and open to the public. Guest speakers are Dr. Carol Henwood and Kathleen Schreiner, RN, MSHA. Refreshments will be served. For more information, call 610-327-PMMC.

Wednesday, June 9

The Valley Forge Mothers of Twins and Triplets Club is scheduled to meet on the second Wednesday of every month between September and June from 7-9:30 p.m. in the King of Prussia Volunteer Fire Company hall, 170 Allendale Rd. King of Prussia PA. The club is a support organization for mothers of twins, triplets, and other multiple-birth children. For more information, call 2009-2010 club President Jessie Hartman at 610-792-1768.

Friday, June 11

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and first aid training sponsored by the American Red Cross will be held June 11 (Friday) at the Pottstown Memorial Medical Center CarePlex, Pottstown PA. For more information, or to schedule a similar class at another facility, call Kathleen O’Hara at 610.326.2300, Ext. 555.

Monday, June 28

Play can shape the brain, open the imagination, and invigorate the soul. That’s the premise of a talk to be offered by Dr. Stuart Brown, founder of the National Institute for Play, as the keynote speech for a day-long Summer Health and Physical Education Conference scheduled for June 28 (2010; Monday) from 7:15 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. at Boyertown Area Senior High School, 120 N. Monroe St., Boyertown PA. For more information, call Stephanie Petri at 610-473-3482.

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POTTSTOWN PA – You just can’t be too careful these days, Lower Pottsgrove’s solicitor figures.

Attorney R. Kurtz Holloway finished a months-long task Thursday night (May 20, 2010) as the township Board of Commissioners unanimously and without comment approved a complete re-enactment of the municipality’s zoning, subdivision and land development laws, some of which are more than 35 years old. The entire exercise, the solicitor explained,  is intended to keep Lower Pottsgrove out of future legal trouble.

Neither Holloway or the commissioners changed a word of the laws as they are currently written.

Other municipalities in recent years have had their ability to enforce laws dealing with real estate use and development challenged because they could not definitively prove when those laws were accepted by their governing bodies. In some cases, Holloway said, written documents – such as a secretary’s minutes that recorded approving votes – were lost or destroyed.

That lack of proof has been used in earlier court cases to undermine municipal authority, and it’s not something he wants to have happen here, the solicitor noted.

As a precaution, Holloway asked commissioners to record for posterity and approve “a compilation of the procedural record” that “protects the township from challenge.” They obliged. To get to Thursday’s vote, however, the township spent about four months and thousands of dollars in the solicitor’s time, a court stenographer’s transcription, published legal notices, and a public hearing, to create a lengthy and hopefully un-lose-able paper trail.

Officially, the board re-enacted Lower Pottsgrove’s subdivision and land development ordinance of Aug. 5, 1974, and Chapter 22 of the 1995 code with all its changes, additions and deletions; its zoning ordinance of June 4, 1973, and Chapter 27 of the 1995 code; and the zoning map.

President Jonathan Spadt was absent from the board’s second meeting of the month, held in the municipal building, 2199 Buchert Rd., Pottstown PA, and did not vote.

Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners’ meeting of May 20):

• In Lower Pottsgrove, Legal Paperwork Out The Gazoo
• Cracks, Crumbles Mean Trouble In Township

Photo from Accountagility.com

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This wouldn't pass muster.

POTTSTOWN PA – Cracked sidewalks. Crumbling curbs. Maybe even uneven driveway aprons. If any pose a problem or a hazard in Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township, the municipality apparently is now better prepared to deal with them.

The township Board of Commissioners approved changes Thursday (May 20, 2010) to local laws that enhance Lower Pottsgrove’s ability to act against owners of private streets or sidewalks deemed to be in disarray. “It gives us a little more meat” – in the form of penalties and restrictions – “to enforce the ordinance,” Manager Rodney Hawthorne said.

Commissioners in recent months have publicly complained about the state of some sidewalks and curbs in residential areas of the township. Board Vice President Bruce Foltz most recently pointed out problems he saw along Sunnyside Avenue. For the most part, fixing such problems are the responsibility of property owners.

Using the changed law as an enforcement tool falls to Zoning and Codes Enforcement Officer Keith Place.

Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners’ meeting of May 20):

• Cracks, Crumbles Mean Trouble In Township

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