The Sanatoga Post

JACKSON NJ – Country singer-songwriter and Pottsgrove High School graduate Kendal Conrad has been named a finalist in a 2010 talent search contest being conducted by Philadelphia television station NBC-10 (WCAU-TV), and Conrad traveled last week to the Six Flags Great Adventure amusement park in New Jersey to perform as part of the competition.

She offered an original composition titled “Get Country,” from a Six Flags stage. It was videotaped and posted online last Saturday (Aug. 7).

• Watch the video, above, or see it at Conrad’s YouTube account.

Related (to Kendal Conrad):

• Pottsgrove Singer At Six Flags For Talent Show Finals
• Pottsgrove Songbird Entertains The Orioles
• Pottsgrove’s Country Fav Releases Two New Songs
• “Music Makers” Graduate From Pottsgrove

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POTTSTOWN  PA – It’s part quilt-making, part animal and pet show, part music, part hay ride, and all fun.

It’s the annual Montgomery County 4-H Fair, which is scheduled to involve dozens of participants from Pottstown, and Lower Pottsgrove and Limerick (PA) townships, beginning today (Thursday, Aug. 12, 2010) and continuing through Saturday at the 4-H Center on Route 113 in Creamery PA, one mile south of Route 73 near Skippack.

• This event has been added to The Post calendar.

Cucumbers grown by Collegeville's Jenna Keim won a red ribbon during last years fair.

Most of the area residents taking active roles in the fair are contestants who have entries in its several home talent competitions, like baking, cooking, growing prize vegetables and fruits, or raising award-winning livestock. The results of their labors and many other projects will be on display inside the 4-H Center Building, as well as outside on the fairgrounds.

In addition, there are free activities for the public to participate in and enjoy.

The fair opens tonight from 6:30 – 9:30, featuring a 4-H mounted drill team presentation, swine show, dairy goat show, pony rides, horse-drawn hay rides, large animal costume class, and special 4-H member and leader recognition awards. In the activity tent, a DJ will provide music and games for youths of all ages. The Graterford Mounted Guard will make a presentation in the horse show rings, and other fun activities for youth also include a kiddie pedal tractor contest and a pedal train ride.

On Friday, the fair is open to the public from 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. It features poultry, rabbit, pygmy goat, beef and dairy 4-H shows. The Elmwood Park Zoo will feature several exotic animals during its demonstration at 11:30 a.m. Preceding that, at 10:15 a.m., will be an award-winning magic show titled “The Magic of Nutrition” that has been featured at numerous schools across the state.

In the activity tent Friday are demonstrations about alpacas (1:30 p.m.) and a special program on “Pet Emergency Preparedness” by the county Animal Rescue Team (1 p.m.). The afternoon will feature music and games by the D.J., a 4-H Seeing Eye Puppy Club obstacle training course, and various children’s crafts. The “World’s Largest Sausage Patty” will be cooked, courtesy of Hatfield Quality Meats, and sold to benefit the 4-H Livestock Club.

As evening approaches, people can watch various horse demonstrations, see the sheep show, and bid on items in the silent auction. Starting at 6:30 p.m., clap along to the popular Daisy Jug Band, which has performed at Musikfest in Bethlehem and at numerous major events along the East Coast.

Key events Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. include the Can-Do Canine drill team, 4-H dog club grooming and showmanship, seeing eye puppy demo, model rocket launch, and open pet show. Equine events include a Parade of Breeds starting at 11 a.m. and a natural horsemanship presentation starting about 1 p.m. “Moms Morning Out” will be at 10:30 a.m. inside the air-conditioned building, and will offer a presentation and information on making healthy meals.

Fair attendees can get their picture taken on a pony (at selected times), visit and learn about agriculture at the Mobile Agriculture Lab, buy fabric at the fabric sale, take a ride on a pedal-powered train, see various tractors on display, and watch quilts being made. Pony rides are available at various times all three days of the fair.

In addition to all activities listed, there are children’s craft areas and food sales throughout the fair. Again this year is a silent auction on both Thursday and Friday night. Bids open at 7 p.m. in the back of the activity tent.

Parking fee is $5 per vehicle (any additional donations are gladly accepted) to help cover fair costs. Numerous vendors will also be on hand to offer education and/or products.

Related:

• From Pottstown East, Dozens Competing In 4-H Fair
• WoodMobile, Ag Lab On Exhibit At 4-H Fair
• Annual 4-H Fair Offers A Wee Bit Of Everything
• Baking Contest Returns To 4-H Fair
• Start Planning Now For 4-H Fair Contests

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SANATOGA PA – Activities for western Montgomery County residents (and anyone else!) from Aug. 13-15, 2010:

• These events have been added to The Post calendar.

Friday, Aug. 13

A series of workshops to enhance the skills of American Sign Language interpreters, and an accompanying Bible conference for the deaf, will be held simultaneously through Friday at the Valley Forge Baptist Temple, 616 S. Trappe Rd., Collegeville PA. The event is acknowledged by the American Sign Language Institute, which will grant continuing education credit for those who qualify and attend. For more information, call Jim Bracelin at 610-948-6834.

Montgomery County’s annual 4-H Fair will be held Friday beginning at 9:30 a.m. and throughout Saturday across the sprawling county 4-H Center on Route 113 in Creamery PA, just south of Skippack.

The Moms Club Of New Hanover Township meets Friday at 10 a.m. at Lutheran Church in Gilbertsville. If you are interested in membership or attending one of the meetings, call 484-300-6466

Phoenixville Parks and Recreation Department summer camps will be celebrate their last day by sharing their special talents in a “Phoenixville’s Got Talent” competition judged by various community leaders, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Reeves Park, Phoenixville PA.

The annual Goschenhoppen Folk Festival opens Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Henry Antes Plantation, 318 Colonial Rd., Perkiomenville PA, just off Route 73 in Upper Frederick Township. Old fashioned foods and Pennsylvania Dutch meals are for sale on the festival grounds. Young and old alike can leisurely enjoy more than 500 skilled and apprentice craftsmen giving live demonstrations of more than 150 skills of the 18th and 19th centuries. Dressed in authentic costumes of the periods, they use authentic tools in recreating traditional home skills, trades, pastimes, foods, and folk music.

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.

Disc Jockey “Enchanted Midnight” will play recorded hits from the 1950s during an adult Sock Hop dance and mixer scheduled Friday from 8-11 p.m. in Sunnybrook Ballroom, 50 Sunnybrook Rd., Sanatoga PA. Guests are encouraged to wear poodle skirts, blue jeans, and slicked-back hair. A $5 admission fee will be charged at the door. The doors open at 7:45 p.m. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 484-624-5186.

Saturday, Aug. 14

A “Dr. Drill Boot Camp Clinic” for fitness that’s open to the public will be held Saturday from 9-10:30 a.m. at the Pottstown YMCA, Adams and Jackson streets, Pottstown PA. Tickets cost $10 per person, and the program geared for those age 14 and older.  Proceeds benefit the annual Y Partners Financial Campaign.

A fund-raising car wash to benefit the Pottsgrove High School marching band will be held Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Lower Pottsgrove Elementary School, 1329 Buchert Rd., Pottstown PA. A donation of $5 per car is requested.

The Phoenixville Farmers Market, located beneath the Gay Street bridge, Phoenixville PA, now runs weekly on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. through November. The market can be reached from Taylors Alley.

The Skippack Farmers Market, located on the south side of Route 73, just east of its intersection with Route 113, Skippack PA, now runs weekly on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. through September.

The Boyertown Farmers Market, located at 100 S. Walnut St., Boyertown PA, now runs weekly on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. through Oct. 30. All markets are rain or shine. The market occupies the parking lot of The Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles, two blocks south of the intersection of Routes 562 and 73.

The Montgomery County 4-H Fair, in Creamery PA. See Friday’s listing.

The Goshenhoppen Folk Festival, in Upper Frederick (PA) Township. See Friday’s listing.

Sunday, Aug. 15

The 11th annual car show known as the Main Street Drag, sponsored by the Collegeville Fire Company, will be held Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Main Street in Collegeville PA. Hundreds of antique cars, street rods, trucks, motorcycles, and modifieds will line the street. Parking will be available on the Ursinus campus with free shuttle service running back and forth to Main Street.

Spend a casual summer Sunday from 1-4 p.m. at Pottsgrove Manor, West King Street, Pottstown PA, as volunteers demonstrate a variety of 18th Century trades and pastimes during the third of five weekly historical adventures called “Living History Sundays.” Costumed interpreters will live life the colonial way, with activities such as needlework, gun-smithing, butter churning, and tape-loom weaving. Visitors can watch, learn, and even join in; activities will vary weekly. A donation of $2 per person is suggested. For more information, call 610-326-4014.

The Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township Parks and Recreation Department concludes its series of summer concerts Sunday at 6 p.m. with a show by the Pottsgrove Community Band at the Sanatoga Park band shell, 200 S. Sanatoga Rd., Pottstown PA. The concerts are sponsored by Exelon Nuclear. In case of inclement weather, the show will be automatically re-scheduled to Monday at 7 p.m. Weather cancellation notices will be posted Sundays after 4 p.m. at the township website.

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Certifications classes are coming.

WOMELSDORF PA – A free snowmobile safety class for drivers between the ages of 10 and 15 has been scheduled for Oct. 16 (2010; Saturday) from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Williamson Lodge Hall in Womelsdorf PA, the Pennsylvania State Snowmobile Association (PSSA) announced last Thursday (Aug. 5). The Berks County class, sponsored by the Appalachian Snowmobile Club and located 38 miles west of Sanatoga PA, is the closest currently scheduled near Lower Pottsgrove Township.

Advance registration is required by Sept. 30. For more information or to be registered, call Joyce E. Hassler at 610-693-5627.

This event has been added to The Post calendar.

Pennsylvania law requires youths to earn a safety certificate before they may lawfully operate a snowmobile in the Commonwealth, except upon lands owned or leased by their parent or legal guardian.

PSSA and its member clubs offer classes conducted by state-certified instructors in all areas of Pennsylvania, according to association Executive Director Lori Elliott. The goal of the class, which was created by the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, is to develop safety-oriented attitudes among all snowmobilers.

Student manuals and workbooks illustrate the sport’s basic principles and safety concepts. The course content includes winter clothing, machine safety, and snowmobile laws and regulations. Class participants qualify for their certificate by completing their workbooks and achieving a score of 80 percent or better on the final examination.

Classes across the state are conducted throughout the fall and generally end with the calendar year. On the day of the course, parents must accompany their children to registration to complete required forms. Parents who wish to stay for the entire day are welcome to attend the class. A full schedule of classes is available by calling 888-411-PSSA.

Photo by Clipart.com

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POTTSTOWN PA – More than 190 area charitable groups of all kinds, from religious bodies to foundations that help worthy students pay for college, are in jeopardy of losing their federal tax-exempt status because they failed to file necessary paperwork with the Internal Revenue Service during the past three years, the government agency said.

Complicating matters, the IRS acknowledges, is the fact that many charities in trouble still may not know the paperwork is overdue.

However, the agency is giving them until Oct. 15 to make amends. A number of them qualify to send what the IRS considers relatively brief forms to cover its reporting needs. That will allow groups to keep their exemptions, on which contributors rely to deduct donations when filing annual income tax returns.

A loss of tax-exempt status could crimp these charities’ fund-raising campaigns. It also could impact thousands of area residents who support the groups’ causes or beliefs, or who benefit from their’ efforts.

The IRS’ lengthy list of local charities facing revocation of their exemption includes:

• One listed with a Sanatoga mailing address, the Pottstown PA chapter of the National AMBUCS Inc.;
• Four designated as having “Pottsgrove” affiliations: Unit 2156 of the American Federation of Teachers, with a mailing address at Pottsgrove High School; the Pottsgrove Girls’ Softball Association, the Pottsgrove chapter of High Twelve International, and a program called “Partners For Safety” that is listed with a North Pleasantview Road, Lower Pottsgrove Township mailing address;
• 49 from Pottstown, 21 from Phoenixville, 16 from Collegeville, 14 from Boyertown, 12 from Harleysville, 11 from Douglassville, nine from Royersford, eight each from Birdsboro and Oley, six each from East Greenville and Spring City, five from Schwenksville, four from Kimberton, three each from Gilbertsville and Stowe, two each from Barto, Limerick, New Berlinville, and Red Hill; and one each from Bechtelsville, Parkerford, Pine Forge, Rahns and Zieglerville.

See a list of all affected local groups, compiled from the complete and most recently available (dated June 30, 2010, and downloaded Monday, Aug. 9) IRS information, here.

• For a list containing names and addresses of more than 12,600 groups at risk across Pennsylvania (including the locals), download a spreadsheet from the IRS here.
• Download the same Pennsylvania list as an Adobe Acrobat document here.

Some listed organizations may no longer be operating. Some may have merged with other groups. Some may have resolved their issues with the IRS after June 30 but have not yet been removed from its list. Unfortunately, according to area accountants, most are still in business as one- or two-person units with limited or no staff or budget, and who haven’t paid attention to notices about the IRS’ rules.

Their problems stem from a Congressional bill known as the Pension Protection Act of 2006, which took effect in 2007. As part of an attempt to encourage growing charitable organizations to be held financially accountable, federal legislators ordered non-profits with gross incomes of less than $25,000 annually to file a report every year with the IRS. It’s known as Form 990.

To ensure non-profits complied, the legislation carried a penalty: those who didn’t file for three consecutive years risked losing their tax-exempt status. Sure enough, three years after the law took effect, the IRS has come knocking on the doors of the delinquents. The IRS video above, hosted at its YouTube account, explains the requirements.

Nationwide, the agency is reported to have sent more than a million letters to non-filing non-profits, reminding them of their obligations. Because so many are in trouble it even created postcard-sized short forms that can be electronically filed.

Groups that lose their exemptions can have them reinstated, but at an average cost of several thousand dollars. The law does not give the IRS any discretion in its enforcement, an agency spokesman added, so  those who do not comply will lose their exemptions early in 2011.

Editor’s note: The Post thanks Chris Huff, a member of the writing team at The Pulse! – the blog of Pottstown advocacy group Code Blue – for suggesting this story and contact sources. If you’ve got a story idea or tip we should explore, e-mail The Post.

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POTTSTOWN PA – The following is a list of 192 organizations – whose mailing addresses are within coverage areas of The Sanatoga Post, The Limerick Post and The Pottstown Post – that as of June 30 (2010) are listed by the federal Internal Revenue Service as in danger of losing their tax-exempt status because they have not filed appropriate paperwork during the past three years.

• This story is a companion to “192 Local Charities Risk Losing Tax Exemptions, IRS Says,” found here.

Editor’s notes: This list was compiled by downloading an IRS spreadsheet of more than 12,600 similarly at risk organizations across Pennsylvania and using database filters to find organizations by desired mailing address zip codes. The Post believes the list to be accurate, but the possibility exists that one or more groups could be missing from its compilation; do not rely solely on it as a guide. Groups identified here should consult with professionals to determine how to resolve whatever issues caused them to be listed. Some groups identified here may already have resolved their issues. For security purposes, The Post has purposely omitted federal tax identification numbers in its compilation; for purposes of brevity, it also omitted zip codes used to filter its search.

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OCEAN CITY NJ – Out on the 50-foot-wide, heavily trampled boardwalk in Ocean City NJ, 105 miles southeast of Sanatoga village center, life happens in ways that likely will never be experienced on East High Street.

The scent of salt air, blowing in from across the nearby Atlantic Ocean, fills the nostrils. A pair of men walk past, holding hands and laughing. A woman stands in line for a custard made solely of creamed frozen bananas and yells to someone behind her, “You want chocolate syrup with that?”

• Watch a video of a ride up the Ferris wheel, above, or see it at The Post’s YouTube account.

An early morning summer ritual in Ocean City NJ: grooming the beach for the day's crowd.

And standing over it all, ready to give visitors a bird’s eye view of it all, is the giant Ferris wheel of Gillian’s Wonderland Pier, at East Sixth Street and the Boardwalk.

Unless it’s viewed from a distance, guests to the Ocean City shore must crane their necks up, up, up to take in the entirety of the 140-foot-high wheel. In their promotional materials its owners claim that, on a clear day, riders in cars at the top can look out as far as Atlantic City, 11 miles away.

But forget the somewhat distant fantasyland of slot machines and gaming tables. The real action is happening just below the wheel’s sky-high seats, as people during days as warm and pleasant as last weekend (Aug. 7-8, 2010) move through the other rides and attractions at Gillian’s. The packed crowd ebbs and flows much like the ocean tides beyond the groomed sandy beach a short walk away.

When the sun is setting may be the best time to ride the wheel. Passengers get a chance to take in the fading orange glow and deepening shadows that settle across Ocean City’s homes, hotels, condos, and corner stores. It’s quieter too: the beach lovers and sun worshipers are mostly gone for the day, and the Boardwalk’s nightlife throng isn’t yet in full force.

Buy your ticket, climb into the steel cage that keeps you and your friends from flying away, and be revolved into the Great Beyond.

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.

Other Travels With The Post:

• Above The Boardwalk, Life Never Seen In Sanatoga
• Postcard Road Trip: Chester PA Old Court House
• Postcard Road Trip: Wyomissing PA Public Library
• Sweet Treats Franchise On Rebound
• On The Road: Area Residents Take On New York
• Garage Sale Bargains For 50 Miles
• On Independence Day, An Unlikely Lifeguard

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SPRING CITY PA – Pottsgrove’s Dr. Bradley Landis, Pottstown’s Dr. Reed Lindley, and Spring-Ford’s Dr. Marsha Hurda are three of six public school district superintendents scheduled as speakers during the September membership breakfast of the TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce, to be held Sept. 9 (2010; Thursday) from 7-9 a.m. at Spring Hollow Golf Club, 3350 Schuylkill Rd., Spring City PA.

• This event has been added to The Post calendar.

The chamber’s first breakfast of its 2010-2011 program year focuses on area education plans and strategies. The superintendents are being asked to showcase main initiatives and projects in preparing high school students for the workplace.

The breakfast is sponsored by Diamond Credit Union. Tickets for chamber members cost $25, or $30 if invoiced, and $50 for non-members. For more information or to register, call 610-326-5158.

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SANATOGA PA – Country songwriter Miranda Lambert always seems to be writing, female vocalist Laurette Johnson-Presto said Sunday (Aug. 8, 2010) “about settin’ things on fire.”

Whether that’s true or not, Lambert’s “Kerosene” -  her third single released during 2005 – was certainly hot that year; it represented her first Top 20 country hit on the national charts. It was a local audience hit as well when Johnson-Presto and the band Mesa played the tune during Lower Pottsgrove’s “Concert In The Park” series last weekend at Sanatoga Park, 200 S. Sanatoga Rd., Pottstown PA.

• Watch Mesa play “Kerosene” in the video above, or see it at The Post’s YouTube account.

Related:

• Band, Audience Alike Enjoyed Themselves In Sanatoga

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SANATOGA PA – Disc Jockey “Enchanted Midnight” will play recorded hits from the 1950s during an adult Sock Hop dance and mixer scheduled Friday (Aug. 13, 2010) from 8-11 p.m. in Sunnybrook Ballroom, 50 Sunnybrook Rd., Sanatoga PA.

• This event has been added to The Post calendar.

Guests are encouraged to wear poodle skirts, blue jeans, and slicked-back hair. A $5 admission fee will be charged at the door. The doors open at 7:45 p.m. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 484-624-5186.

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