The Sanatoga Post

POTTSTOWN PA – On the Pottsgrove School District sports schedule for today (Monday, Aug. 23, 2010) through next Monday (Aug. 30):

Today (Monday, Aug. 23)

• Girls Varsity Soccer vs. Ridley (scrimmage), 10 a.m.
• Girls Junior Varsity Soccer vs. Ridley (scrimmage), 10 a.m.

Tuesday, Aug. 24

• Girls Varsity Field Hockey @ Nazareth Academy, 10 a.m.
• Girls Junior Varsity Field Hockey vs. Nazareth Academy (scrimmage), 10 a.m.
• Boys Varsity Golf vs. Methacton High School, 3:20 p.m.

Wednesday, Aug. 25

• Boys Varsity Soccer @ Garnet Valley High (scrimmage), 9:45 a.m.
• Boys Junior Varsity Soccer @ Garnet Valley High, 9:45 a.m.
• Girls Varsity Soccer vs. Coatesville Area HS (scrimmage), 3 p.m.
• Girls Junior Varsity Soccer vs. Coatesville Area HS (scrimmage), 3 p.m.

Thursday, Aug. 26

• Boys Varsity Golf @ Spring-Ford HS, 3 p.m.

Friday, Aug. 27

• Boys Varsity Football vs. Roman Catholic High School (scrimmage), 3 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 28

• Boys Varsity Soccer @ Lampeter-Strasburg (scrimmage), 9 a.m.
• Boys Junior Varsity Soccer @ Lampeter-Strasburg, 9 a.m.

Sunday, Aug. 29

• None scheduled

Monday, Aug. 30

• Boys Varsity Golf vs. Holy Name, 3 p.m.
• Girls Varsity Field Hockey @ Holy Name (scrimmage), 4 p.m.
• Girls Junior Varsity Field Hockey @ Holy Name (scrimmage), 5 p.m.

Schedules from HighSchoolSportsNet
Photofrom Clipart.com

Sign up to get The Sanatoga Post delivered free daily by e-mail. Share this article.
See our galleries for photos that appear in The Post. Got news for us? E-mail The Post.
Find The Posts on Twitter, Facebook, Linked-In, Technorati, Flickr, YouTube, and RSS

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

Published during the week just ended in The Sanatoga Post:

Saturday, Aug. 21

• Keep Healthy Next Week
  A weekly 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.
• Also, In The Limerick Post
  • Wentz Visitors Rate Kitchen Garden Tour
    Bright colors, savory flavors, and heirloom produce; the Wentz Farmstead garden volunteers are ready to show you everything that makes their work so much fun.
• Also, In The Pottstown Post
  • Incoming College Leaders Assume Duty In September
    Women from Pennsburg and Collegeville PA, elected back in May, are student government leaders at MCCC in Pottstown who take office next month.

Friday, Aug. 20

• Sanatoga Bridge Open In 11 Days, PennDOT Promises
  “Open,” however, means one lane and a flagman. That’s better than re-routing school buses, Lower Pottsgrove commissioners said Thursday. “Really open” on both lanes may take a few more weeks.
• Commissioners Support Pottstown Grant Request
  The borough hopes to win $5 million in state funding for its water system upgrades, from which Lower Pottsgrove would directly benefit.
• Physician Long Joins Foot And Ankle Practice
  A medical group with offices in Sanatoga adds another member to its staff.
• Also, In The Limerick Post
  • First Niagara Buying NewAlliance To Create Top-25 Bank
  • Spring-Ford Decides Monday On Road Easement
  • Hoeffel Wants To Appeal Ethics Ruling
  • Two-Generation Art Show Opens MCCC Gallery Season
  • MCCC Again Named to National Military-Friendly List
  • Camphill Challenge Bike Ride Set Oct. 17
  • Pottstown Social Security Office Moves To Limerick
• Also, In The Pottstown Post
  • 2 Injured When Fire Truck, Car Collide In Boyertown
• Also, In The Main Street Post
  • Pottstown Foundation Appoints New Directors
    A Bally PA doctor and a representative of the Pottstown PA Hill School join the leadership of a wellness foundation.

Thursday, Aug. 19

• Bridge Repair Schedule Likely On Tonight’s Agenda
  When Lower Pottsgrove Township commissioners meet tonight at 7 in Sanatoga, they certainly will be looking for answers about the status of the currently closed East High Street bridge.
• Pottsgrove’s 2010-2011 Bus Schedules Now Available
  The school district’s new busing lists for each public and private school it serves can be downloaded now from its website. Schools open in less than two weeks.
• We Made Tires, Steel Here. Why Not Clothes From Paper Too?
  A blogger thinks the industrial mindset that helped build Pottstown and Lower Pottsgrove decades ago can be harnessed for success again, but this time with the environment in mind.
• Clearing Space For Costco’s New Store
  Site preparation for Costco and the Gateway At Sanatoga shopping center, which until now has been hidden from view of U.S. Route 422 drivers, moved much closer Wednesday to the Sanatoga interchange entrance ramp.
• Also, In The Limerick Post
  • Folk Fest Detours Start This Morning
  • Former Teacher Assistant Admits Molesting Boys
  • AG Announces Consumer Protection Settlement With CVS
  • Montco Ethics Ordinance Shot Down Again
• Also, In The Pottstown Post
  • Warwick Park Plans Family Night Hike
    It’s dark, yes. It could be scary, too, but it won’t be. The hike is supervised, kids can bring a flashlight, and everyone will have fun.
  • Festival Presents An Uncomplicated Way Of Life
• Also, In The Main Street Post
  • Wellness Center Hosts Chamber’s Aug. 24 Mixer
    A Pottstown chiropractor’s new office serves as the backdrop for the TriCounty Chamber of Commerce monthly get-together.
  • College Gives Businesses Free Job Posting Service
    If your firm has a career opening, a college with campuses in Pottstown and Blue Bell PA has a place to ensure it gets noticed.

Wednesday, Aug. 18

• If You Grow A Garden, Get Ready For Super Seeds
  Their fruits and vegetables resist drought,  stand up to the cold, fend off disease. Yet they taste like heirloom produce of long ago. The Burpee seed company, a local gardeners’ favorite, shows them off today.
• Specialty Jobs Available In Region, Just Not ‘Locally’
  If you’ve got specialized skills certain employers want, there are jobs open in the region, a web search service says. “In the region,” of course, means you’ll have to commute.
• Penn Foundation Board Names New CEO
  A non-profit mental health organization with offices in Lower Pottsgrove has announced new leadership.
• Also, In The Limerick Post
  • No Charges Expected In Royersford Boy Shooting Death
  • Princeton Review Calls Ursinus “Up And Coming” College
  • FedEx SmartPost Moves Business From Limerick
• Also, In The Pottstown Post
  • School Districts’ Plans Open Chamber Breakfast
    Pottstown’s new school district superintendent will be one of six speakers next month at the chamber of commerce breakfast. They’ll talk about preparing students for the work force.
  • Pottstown Man Faces Insurance Fraud In Storm Claims
  • Giant Food Stores Alerts Customers To Goya Recall
  • Reading PA Coalition Looking For Local Exhibit Artists
• Also, In The Main Street Post
  • Southwest Missouri County Installs CODY Software
    Law enforcement officials in the county that includes the popular resort city of Branson MO will rely on computer software created in Pottstown PA.

Tuesday, Aug. 17

• It’s A Crumb-y Job, But Somebody’s Got To Do It
  So many breads to sample, so many taste buds to entice. Lower Pottsgrove’s state senator and other judges chose the best of the loaves Friday during a baking competition at the annual Montgomery County 4-H Fair.
• Pottstown, Limerick Shopping Centers Owner Gets Bigger
  The owner of local consumer retail havens said it will spend almost $200 million to add to its portfolio of properties.
• Also, In The Limerick Post
  • Limerick’s Major Elected Banking Association Director
    The president of The Victory Bank is representing institutions of its size from across Pennsylvania on the board of a statewide trade group.
• Also, In The Pottstown Post
  • Go Take A Hike, In Pottstown With Sponsor Groups
    Pottstown’s hospital and its wellness foundation are teaming up to encourage women to become healthier with a fun but vigorous walk among friends.
  • TCN Announces September Membership Meeting
    The Pottstown-based network of community providers dealing with health, transportation and environmental issues invites newcomers to join it for an introductory meeting next month.
  • Boyertown’s Cabot Pledges Splash Pad Support
    Cabot Supermetals, the Boyertown PA producer of specialty metals products, has offered its financial support to a project that will help keep kids keep and comfortable during hot weather.

Monday, Aug. 16

• Group Says It’s Got A Deal To Buy WPAZ Radio
  The organizers behind the WPAZ Preservation Association announced the now-silent station’s owner has agreed to a purchase offer.
• Notebook Worthy
  So there are these Lower Pottsgrove commissioners, see, and they’re sitting around the conference room table in Sanatoga. Somebody makes a joke about a building, and it gets a laugh. Somebody makes another joke; bigger laugh. Somebody make a third joke, and light bulbs start popping …
• What They Sold For
  A weekly review of top prices paid for real estate in Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township and surrounding municipalities.
• Also, In The Limerick Post
  • What They Sold For In Limerick
    A review of top prices paid for real estate in Limerick (PA) Township and surrounding municipalities.
  • Get Your Brain Fit With Sept. 18 Event In Frederick
    People with no or any handicap, and of any age, can benefit from brain fitness tips to be offered during this 90-minute seminar next month.
• Also, In The Pottstown Post
  • What They Sold For In Pottstown
    A review of top prices paid for real estate in the borough of Pottstown and its surrounding municipalities.
  • Pottstown Gallery School Plans 9/11 Exhibit
    The gallery and art school in the heart of the borough’s downtown is asking members of the public to describe where they were, and what they were doing, on that fateful day nine years ago.
  • November Dinner Theater Planned For Elks Lodge
    The fund-raising event features a now-popular monologue, singing, before-dinner refreshments, and a meal with the entrée of your choice.
• Also, In The Main Street Post
  • Pottstown Center Offers Free Shred, Stuff Services
    The word “free” is music to any business owners’ ears. The Montgomery County-operated center is helping them, and those who are looking for work, too.
  • Limerick Bank Names Its Newest Representative
    She’ll work with clients at The Victory Bank to help them meet personal financial goals.
  • Chester County Bank Adds Women’s Financial Team
    The bank, which operates a branch in Phoenixville PA, assembled a team of professional women to help others like themselves deal with financial problems.

Sunday, Aug. 15

• The Post Week In Review
  For Aug. 8-14, 2010

Sign up to get The Sanatoga Post delivered free daily by e-mail. Share this article.
See our galleries for photos that appear in The Post. Got news for us? E-mail The Post.
Find The Posts on Twitter, Facebook, Linked-In, Technorati, Flickr, YouTube, and RSS

Women can go take a sponsored hike. See Wednesday's listings.

SANATOGA PA – Health care news for western Montgomery County residents (and anyone else!), for Aug. 22 (2010) and beyond.

• These events have been added to The Post calendar.

Sunday, Aug. 22

A peer-led meeting of Resolve, the National Infertility Association support group, is scheduled to be held weekly on Sundays beginning at 2 p.m., sponsored by Phoenixville Hospital, 140 Nutt Rd., Phoenixville PA. Registration is required. For more information or to register, call 610-917-0006.

Wednesday, Aug. 25

The Pottstown Area Health and Wellness Foundation and Pottstown Memorial Medical Center’s Healthy Woman program are partnering to present a fun, healthy walk along Pottstown’s Schuylkill River Trail on Aug. 25 (2010; Wednesday) beginning at 6 p.m. from the pavilion at Riverfront Park, College Drive, Pottstown PA. Before the walk, all participants will receive bottled water and pedometers supplied for free by the foundation. Following the walk, Healthy Women members will receive coupons good for a discounted meal during the same evening at the Brickhouse Restaurant, at the corner of High and Hanover Streets. Advanced reservations are required. For more information or to register, call 610-327-PMMC or go online.

A free meeting of the Post-Partum Adjustment Group, scheduled for the fourth Wednesday of every month, will be held Aug. 25 (2010; Wednesday) from 6:30-8 p.m. in Suite 300 of Medical Office Building II at Phoenixville Hospital, 140 Nutt Rd., Phoenixville PA. Registration is required. For more information or to register, call 610-983-1288.

Thursday, Aug. 26

Project Prevention, a community service of Phoenixville Hospital that offers blood pressure screenings, diabetes education and health-related referrals through an on-site nurse and case manager, will be held Aug. 26 (2010; Thursday) from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the First United Church of Christ, 145 Chestnut St., Spring City PA.

The monthly meeting of the Visually Impaired Support Group, sponsored by Phoenixville Hospital, will be held Aug. 26 (2010; Thursday) from 10:30 a.m. to noon in the annex at Phoenixville Hospital, 140 Nutt Rd., Phoenixville PA. For more information or to register, call Gail at the Montgomery County Association for the Blind at 215-896-5989.

Saturday, Aug. 28

Prana, a new holistic and wellness center, will conduct its grand opening observance Saturday (Aug. 28, 2010) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the center, at 19 Moser Rd., Pottstown PA. The event is open to the public. Among activities featured there during the day are mini-massages, informational sessions about yoga, reflexology, Reiki, aromatherapy, and food and door prizes.

Sunday, Aug. 29

A peer-led meeting of Resolve, the National Infertility Association support group, is scheduled to be held weekly on Sundays beginning at 2 p.m., sponsored by Phoenixville Hospital, 140 Nutt Rd., Phoenixville PA. Registration is required. For more information or to register, call 610-917-0006.

September is “Healthy Aging Month,” “National Cholesterol Education Month,” “Prostate Health Month,”and “Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.”

Wednesday, Sept. 1

Members of the Senior Circle of Pottstown Memorial Medical Center are invited to a luau Sept. 1 (2010; Wednesday) to celebrate the heath care group’s sixth anniversary. It will be held at noon, rain or shine, under the pavilion at Beulah Land Swim Club, East High Street, Sanatoga PA. A catered lunch will be served, and the day also features door prizes, games and music. A fee of $8 will be charged for members, and $12 for their guests.

Thursday, Sept. 2

Project Prevention, a community service of Phoenixville Hospital that offers blood pressure screenings, diabetes education and health-related referrals through an on-site nurse and case manager, will be held Sept. 2 (2010; Thursday) from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the First United Church of Christ, 145 Chestnut St., Spring City PA.

Blood pressure screenings will be conducted by staff members from Phoenixville Hospital on Sept. 2 (2009; Thursday) from 2-4 p.m. at Genuardi’s Supermarket, 70 Buckwalter Rd., Royersford PA.

Saturday, Sept. 4

Blood pressure screenings will be conducted by staff members from Phoenixville Hospital on Sept. 4 (2010; Saturday) from 4-6 p.m. at Redner’s Warehouse Market, 202 Schuylkill Rd., Phoenixville PA.

Sign up to get The Sanatoga Post delivered free daily by e-mail. Share this article.
See our galleries for photos that appear in The Post. Got news for us? E-mail The Post.
Find The Posts on Twitter, Facebook, Linked-In, Technorati, Flickr, YouTube, and RSS

A mason works Wednesday atop scaffolding on the north facade of the High Street bridge crossing Sanatoga Creek. The bridge should reopen Aug. 30.

Be warned! Police are still ticketing trespassers who try to sneak around the closed bridge.

SANATOGA PA – The currently closed East High Street bridge crossing Sanatoga Creek will be open for vehicular traffic by Aug. 30 (2010; Monday), Pennsylvania Department of Transportation officials have promised.

But there’s “open,” and then there’s “really open,” and then there’s “completed.” Those three definitions probably will be fulfilled on different dates during the next four months, the Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township Board of Commissioners explained Thursday (Aug. 19).

Most important, commissioners said, is that at least one lane will be available in just 11 days for drivers to cross the reconstructed two-lane bridge. That eliminates any need to re-route Pottsgrove School District buses over detours, resolving one of the board’s continuing and primary concerns.

Because only one lane will be open to start, however, the flow of east- and westbound bridge traffic will be controlled by a flagman, commissioners said. So while vehicles can cross in both directions, a back-up and delay may occur at times – particularly in the morning – on East High between Sanatoga Road and Allison Drive, where the bridge is located.

Atop the bridge deck looking east, crews are finishing repairs to and replacement of parts of the roadbed and retaining walls on both sides.

“Really open,” the point at which commissioners indicate both east- and westbound lanes will be unblocked and the flagman gone, may be a few weeks away. “Completed,” when the work is finally finished and the contractors’ crews are gone, probably won’t happen until December, township Manager Rodney Hawthorne noted.

Retaining walls are being finished in a stone face that matches the bridge, with a wide cap.

Commissioners offered the bridge update during the second of their two monthly meetings at the municipal building, 2199 Buchert Rd., Pottstown PA. Collectively, they said they were surprised and pleased by the amount of work the contractor seemed to have finished over a two-week period which followed publicly stated board misgivings that the bridge would open on time.

“They’ve gotten a lot done since,” board Vice President Bruce Foltz admitted.

Lower Pottsgrove Police continue to receive complaints from residents of Sanatoga Ridge Community about drivers who use its private roads to shorten their commute around the bridge, rather than use sanctioned detours. Police say they are actively watching for, and ticketing, trespassers.

Related (to the East High Street bridge):

• Sanatoga Bridge Open In 11 Days, PennDOT Promises
• Bridge Repair Schedule Likely On Tonight’s Agenda
• Commissioners Ask For Bridge Progress Report
• Sanatoga Bridge Torn Up; Choose Alternate Route
• Bridge Closing Affects School Buses This Week
• 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

Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners’ Aug. 19 meeting):

• Sanatoga Bridge Open In 11 Days, PennDOT Promises
• Commissioners Support Pottstown’s Grant Request
• Bridge Repair Schedule Likely On Tonight’s Agenda

Sign up to get The Sanatoga Post delivered free daily by e-mail. Share this article.
See our galleries for photos that appear in The Post. Got news for us? E-mail The Post.
Find The Posts on Twitter, Facebook, Linked-In, Technorati, Flickr, YouTube, and RSS

Both municipalities are vying for grant money.

SANATOGA PA – A borough of Pottstown PA grant application that seeks $5 million from the state to help defray the $7 million cost of upgrading its water treatment plant, which serves many Lower Pottsgrove Township homes and businesses, received the township Board of Commissioners‘ endorsement Thursday (Aug. 19, 2010).

The reason? The more money Pottstown can obtain from the state, the less water rates paid by all users – including township residents – will rise to cover the cost of the required upgrades, Manager Rodney Hawthorne said.

The borough applied for money under the state’s competitive H2O grant program, Hawthorne said, for Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection mandated improvements to its plant’s infrastructure, lagoons, and filtration systems. Pottstown asked for, and by unanimous vote got, a letter of support from commissioners regarding its request. It will be mailed to the state Department of Community Economic Development, which oversees the grant program.

Lower Pottsgrove has at least one H2O grant request of its own in the works, which means it potentially could be racing the borough to a funding finish line. The township would seemingly win in either case.

Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners’ Aug. 19 meeting):

• Commissioners Support Pottstown’s Grant Request
• Bridge Repair Schedule Likely On Tonight’s Agenda

Photo from Clipart.com

Sign up to get The Sanatoga Post delivered free daily by e-mail. Share this article.
See our galleries for photos that appear in The Post. Got news for us? E-mail The Post.
Find The Posts on Twitter, Facebook, Linked-In, Technorati, Flickr, YouTube, and RSS

SANATOGA PA – When will the bridge be finished? Or, perhaps more importantly, will work to repair the East High Street bridge over Sanatoga Creek – between Sanatoga Road and Allison Drive – be completed by the time school buses are scheduled to pick up students later this month?

A backhoe operator digs in the foreground, while masons on scaffolding behind him work Wednesday morning (Aug. 18, 2010) to repair the closed East High Street bridge in Sanatoga.

Both questions weighed heavily two weeks ago on the minds of members of the Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township Board of Commissioners, who asked their engineering firm to get a progress report from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation on the bridge repair schedule.

Tonight (Thursday, Aug. 19, 2010) at 7, when they meet again in the municipal building, 2199 Buchert Rd., Pottstown PA, commissioners are likely to expect answers from the engineers at Bursich Associates. The board’s meeting, its second of the month, is open to the public.

Commissioners have long worried that extended repairs to the crumbling stone arch bridge would interfere with both the bus routes of the Pottsgrove School District, which opens its schools on Aug. 30 (Monday), and traffic to businesses lining East High. During their Aug. 2 meeting they also complained the contractor doing the work for PennDOT seemed to keep irregular hours.

The contractor’s workers were in evidence Wednesday morning (Aug. 18) at 8:20, as crews bustled about tasks atop and on both ides of the closed bridge.

Other items up for board discussion were unknown as of 6:30 a.m. today, because tonight’s meeting agenda had not yet been posted on the township website. If and when it becomes available, it can be downloaded here.

Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners’ Aug. 19 meeting):

• Bridge Repair Schedule Likely On Tonight’s Agenda

Related (to the East High Street bridge):

• Bridge Repair Schedule Likely On Tonight’s Agenda
• Commissioners Ask For Bridge Progress Report
• Sanatoga Bridge Torn Up; Choose Alternate Route
• Bridge Closing Affects School Buses This Week
• 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

Sign up to get The Sanatoga Post delivered free daily by e-mail. Share this article.
See our galleries for photos that appear in The Post. Got news for us? E-mail The Post.
Find The Posts on Twitter, Facebook, Linked-In, Technorati, Flickr, YouTube, and RSS

Pottsgrove buses.

POTTSTOWN PA – CMD Transportation Services, which provides busing for Pottsgrove School District students – as well as students who live within the district but who attend private schools – has finally released its daily bus schedules for the 2010-2011 school year.

Schedules are available to be downloaded now from the district website as Microsoft Word-formatted documents. This year’s schedule delivery was delayed because of personnel transitions at CMD, district Business Manager David Nester said last Friday (Aug. 13, 2010).

Most schedules are identified by bus number, and include stopping points on every bus route as well as morning pick-up and afternoon drop-off times at each stop. High school routes are the exception; they do not include drop-off times.

Schedules available for district-educated students are here:

• Lower Pottsgrove
• Ringing Rocks (the former St. Pius X. High School on North Keim Street)
• West Pottsgrove
• Pottsgrove Middle School
• Pottsgrove High School

Schedules for privately educated students are here:

• Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, Pope John Paul II, Vally Forge Baptist, and Sacred Heart
• St. Aloysius and West-Mont Christian Academy (This schedule is for morning pick-ups only, according to the district; for their return home, students at these schools will ride Pottsgrove Middle School buses).

The schedule page also provides a form with which parents can request transportation for their students to other non-public schools.

School begins in 12 days, on Aug. 30 (2009; Monday).

Sign up to get The Sanatoga Post delivered free daily by e-mail. Share this article.
See our galleries for photos that appear in The Post. Got news for us? E-mail The Post.
Find The Posts on Twitter, Facebook, Linked-In, Technorati, Flickr, YouTube, and RSS

POTTSTOWN PA – Forget rubber tires. Shelve those steel girders, and pass on PVC plastics. Despite the wide array of goods that Pottstown area industries make now or have made in the past, blogger Sue Repko thinks the borough’s manufacturing future can be found in fashion clothing infused with environmental edginess.

The place that produced the Golden Gate Bridge, Pottstown blogger Sue Repko believes, certainly can conquer the world of recycled fashions.

Repko, a native who writes the “Positively Pottstown” blog, on Sunday (Aug. 15, 2010) suggested the borough should actively market itself as a hub for green fashion design, a line of businesses that create clothing in whole or part from recycled materials.

It’s not the first time Repko has mentioned this idea. She referenced it back in June (2010) too, in a lengthier piece about visions for revitalizing Pottstown. She re-visited the theme this week after reading a New York Times article about growing interest among fashion empires in a zero-waste movement.

The former Firestone plant in Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township made tons of tires. Pottstown’s now-gone Bethlehem Steel factories supplied the framework for the Golden Gate Bridge, among other modern marvels. Occidental Chemical (which has similarly disappeared from Lower Pottsgrove) produced polyvinylchloride resins to make plastics.

• Read Repko’s blog entry, “Pottstown As Fashion Hub??,” here.

Photo by Christopher Chan Via Flickr

Sign up to get The Sanatoga Post delivered free daily by e-mail. Share this article.
See our galleries for photos that appear in The Post. Got news for us? E-mail The Post.
Find The Posts on Twitter, Facebook, Linked-In, Technorati, Flickr, YouTube, and RSS

DOYLESTOWN PA – Gardeners across Lower Pottsgrove, Limerick and Pottstown have relied for years on different seed companies to get their flowers and produce growing, but none may be so well-known nationally as the region’s own W. Atlee Burpee and Co., founded in the late 1800s. Now Burpee says it’s ready to give those who love to play in the dirt its version of a super seed.

Burpee says its new heirloom-hybrid super seeds produce disease-resistant vegetables with a flavor and taste gardeners would kill for.

Burpee said it will introduce seeds today (Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2010), at its Fordhook Farm test center in Doylestown PA, that benefit from what it calls “revolutionary new breeding techniques.” The seeds yield fruits and vegetables with the flavor of heirloom stocks – succulent, crisp and tasty – but the disease-resistance and heartiness of scientifically created hybrids.

Debates have long raged over which gardeners prefer. Heirloom seeds descend from plants that commonly grew during earlier periods in history and have remained mostly unchanged over generations. They’re popular among those with backyard gardens. Hybrid seeds have been altered to hold up better under poor weather conditions like drought or cold, and provide higher yields; home growers claim their produce doesn’t taste as good.

Burpee spokeswoman Kristin Grilli gets right to the heart of the fight. “Heirloom devotees vociferously attack hybrids as being second-class fruits and vegetables with no place in a serious garden,” she said.

The company’s hoping to put the argument to rest. Its media open house today lets members of the press (sadly, The Post won’t join them) taste and compare Burpee’s best Heirloom-Hybrid tomatoes. It also plans to unveil its 2011 new vegetable and flower varieties – what local gardeners can expect to see in their seed catalogs next winter – as well as offer guided tours of the farm.

Photo from Clipart.com

Sign up to get The Sanatoga Post delivered free daily by e-mail. Share this article.
See our galleries for photos that appear in The Post. Got news for us? E-mail The Post.
Find The Posts on Twitter, Facebook, Linked-In, Technorati, Flickr, YouTube, and RSS

Work's available for those with special skills, but in mostly within a comunting distance for local residents.

PHILADELPHIA PA – Jobs are growing “slow and steady” in what a Philadelphia area web-search employment service calls “niche career communities,” a group of employers who hire workers with special skills. A scan of its listings, however, indicates that while such growth may be near Lower Pottsgrove, Limerick and Pottstown, it’s not yet really local.

The second-quarter 2010 Career Trend Analysis Report released Monday (Aug. 16, 2010) by Beyond.com Inc. says that 48 percent of industries with which it deals nationwide posted more job openings during April, May and June than in the first three months of the year. That signifies “a healthier economy leading into the second half,” the company claimed.

It also flies in the face of a recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report, which said the national unemployment rate in July was unchanged at 9.5 percent. Beyond.com acknowledged the contradiction, but said its data shows “signs of a recovery” and that “hard-hitting sectors such as retail and travel are beginning to expand once again.”

Career categories that showed greatest quarterly improvement, the company said, included health care and medical, with job postings up 5.57 percent, and sales and sales management, up 2.24 percent.

Using the 19464, 19465 and 19468 zip codes as search filters on the Beyond.com website, however, yielded no results directly within Lower Pottsgrove, Limerick or Pottstown. There were openings within what most area residents consider an acceptable commuting distance; 18 miles east, for example.

In King of Prussia PA, companies sought several computer software developers, a health care account staffing director, a customer service representative, and a senior sales representative. Other openings were farther out, in Doylestown, Conshohocken, Fort Washington, and Philadelphia.

Photo from Clipart.com

Sign up to get The Sanatoga Post delivered free daily by e-mail. Share this article.
See our galleries for photos that appear in The Post. Got news for us? E-mail The Post.
Find The Posts on Twitter, Facebook, Linked-In, Technorati, Flickr, YouTube, and RSS