The Sanatoga Post

LIMERICK PA – When Lower Pottsgrove and Limerick (PA) township representatives receive awards today (Oct. 20, 2010) for regional planning cooperation, it will be in front of a packed house at the newly re-opened Copperfield Inn, according to TriCounty Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Vice President Eileen Dautrich.

The chamber, sponsor of the greater Pottstown area annual Economic Development Luncheon that begins at 11:30 a.m. this morning in the restaurant at 594 W. Ridge Pike, Limerick PA, declared the event a sell-out after receiving “overwhelming support” from the business community, Dautrich said.

The Sanatoga interchange at U.S. Route 422.

The townships are scheduled to be presented with the chamber planning award in acknowledgment of their combined efforts to manage commercial growth at the Sanatoga interchange of U.S. Route 422. Both are working to solve common problems with land use, traffic management, and controlled growth at the interchange, and are marketing to attract business to the area.

The luncheon’s solidly sold status means no further registrations were being accepted as of last Friday (Oct. 15), and no tickets are available at the door. “We apologize for any inconvenience,” Dautrich added, but the chamber is obviously pleased with such success. Its next event, she reminded members, will be a breakfast meeting planned for Nov. 11.

Photo from Google Maps

The Keim Street bridge shows its deterioration, corroded by rust on the east side of the span seen from Industrial Highway in Pottstown.

POTTSTOWN PA – The South Keim Street bridge across the Schuylkill River between Pottstown and North Coventry (PA) Township will be closed for at least eight weeks, and maybe longer, Montgomery County Communications Director John Corcoran said Tuesday (Oct. 19, 2010).

Almost two months should be enough time, Corcoran said in a press release, to “conduct an in-depth inspection” of the span and “determine the extent of the repairs needed to safely reopen it to traffic.” But the closure could extend beyond that time, he suggested, as inspectors “estimate how long the bridge will have to remain closed and the costs associated with (its) repairs.”

The bridge between Industrial Highway in Pottstown and Route 724 in North Coventry carried an estimated 9,400 vehicles daily, according to a recent Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission report cited by Corcoran. It was closed to vehicular and pedestrian traffic six days ago (Oct. 13), following an inspection by a consulting engineer to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

PennDOT’s consultant concluded its condition was unsafe, although specific problems were not made public. The Keim Street bridge was said to be in a shape similar to that of another bridge in Western Pennsylvania that “failed” and also was closed.

A detour has been set up to direct traffic on both sides from Keim Street to the bridge at Hanover Street, the closest river-crossing at 1-1/4 miles away. Corcoran noted that state, county and municipal officials are exploring whether temporary traffic signals would alleviate traffic congestion along the detour route.

Related:

• County Closes Keim Street Bridge Over Schuylkill

SANATOGA PA – An annual Halloween safe house for area children, sponsored by the Genesis Health Care centers, will be held Oct. 28 (2010; Thursday) from 5-7:30 p.m. at Sanatoga Court and Sanatoga Center, 227 and 225 Evergreen Rd. (respectively), Pottstown PA, according to Admissions and Marketing Director Earl Stingel.

• This event has been added to The Post calendar.

The free event features trick-or-treating at the rooms of some of the facilities’ residents, games, a mildly haunted house, food, and generally “freaky fun,” Stingel said. For more information, call 610-718-0900.

Photo from Clipart.com

A Judy Lupas art work.

POTTSTOWN PA — An artist’s reception is scheduled for Saturday (Oct. 23, 2010) from 4-6 p.m. to acknowledge a new exhibit of abstract paintings, “Sojourners — October 15, 2009 to Present” by Judy Lupas, at the Gallery on High, 254 E. High St., Pottstown PA. The exhibit continues through Nov. 13.

Gallery hours Tuesdays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Lupas said her paintings reflect her impressions after her husband, Dr. Jack Lupas, was injured last in an automobile accident.

• This event has been added to The Post calendar.

POTTSTOWN PA – A Pottsgrove School District 9th grade field hockey game against Perkiomen Valley, which was to have been played Tuesday (Oct. 19, 2010) but was postponed due to rain, will be played today (Oct. 20), district Athletic Director Gary DeRenzo reports.

The game is scheduled for 3:45 p.m. on the fields behind Lower Pottsgrove Elementary School, 1329 Buchert Rd., Pottstown PA.

Wet weather has extracted its toll on the ninth grade team in particular. Its game scheduled for last week (Oct. 15) at the fields of Boyertown West also was canceled due to rain. That match won’t be made up until this Friday (Oct. 22) at Boyertown, also at 3:45 p.m., DeRenzo said.

Is this the cause of firefighters

SANATOGA PA – Lower Pottsgrove Township Manager Rodney Hawthorne knows government, knows politics, knows bureaucracy. Given his years of experience in municipal work, he might even be considered an expert in all three. He isn’t a physician, though, and neither, he thinks, are many members of the Pennsylvania Legislature.

So why, Hawthorne asks, do they want to play doctor?

The manager and – as of its last meeting – the township Board of Commissioners, opposes a bill titled the “Firefighter Cancer Presumption Legislation” (HB1231) that was approved 45-4 on Friday (Oct. 15, 2010) by the state Senate. It reportedly presumes any cancer affecting any firefighter in the state was caused while combating a blaze, and changes the state Workers’ Compensation Act to provide medical insurance coverage for it as an “occupational disease.”

“It’s another unfunded mandate that will cost us (the township) more money,” Hawthorne says.

Although members of the Sanatoga and Ringing Hill fire companies are volunteers, Lower Pottsgrove pays their workmen’s compensation insurance premiums. The cancer presumption bill if finally approved could send the cost of those premiums much higher, Hawthorne estimates, leaving few municipalities prepared to cover the added expense in a tight economy.

In a letter unanimously adopted Oct. 4 (2010) by commissioners for distribution to members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, the Lower Pottsgrove board proclaimed its “strong opposition” to the law and its anticipated effects.

The state’s firefighter advocacy group, the Pennsylvania Professional Firefighters’ Association (PPFFA), responds that municipalities have it all wrong.

Local officials like those in Lower Pottsgrove have mistakenly been scared “into speaking out negatively about the legislation,” which covers not all but only a select list of cancers, PPFFA President Art Martynuska wrote last week. The coverage isn’t for a lifetime, either, Martynuska adds, but for a maximum of 11-1/2 years.

By attempting to block the bill’s passage, Martynuska warns ominously, municipalities and other opponents are “playing with fire fighters’ lives.”

The state House of Representatives passed the bill last year. Once it and the Senate work out language details on the version approved Friday, it seems destined sometime during November or later to be sent to the governor’s office. The outcome of this year’s gubernatorial elections is likely to play a role in whether the bill is rejected or finally signed into law.

Related:

• Bill would give cancer coverage for firefighters exposed on the job (Philadelphia PA Inquirer)

Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners’ meeting of Oct. 4):

• Lower Pottsgrove Opposes Firefighter Cancer Mandate
• The Marshal? Sorry, He’s Kinda Busy Right Now …
• Former Reporter Asks Commissioners To Support 422 Tolls
• Welcoming The Newest Of Lower Pottsgrove’s Finest
• Lower Pottsgrove Gives Gift Its Diesel Fuel Business
• Lower Pottsgrove Commissioners May Reward Bidders

Photo from Clipart.com

Enjoy a hay ride, like these folks did last year in Sanatoga Park.

SANATOGA PA – Dress up as a clown, or a hobo, or a politician (no, there’s no joke intended). Get in costume as a lion or a tiger or a bear. But no matter how you or the children you accompany look, Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township hopes you’ll get down to Sanatoga Park on Sunday (Oct. 24, 2010) for its annual Fall Festival.

The event takes place beginning at 1 p.m. in the upper level of the park, next to the Tot Lot playground, at 200 S. Sanatoga Rd., Pottstown PA. It’s free, and open to township residents and their guests.

• This event has been added to The Post calendar.

Sponsored by the Parks and Recreation Board, the festival features hayrides, a show prepared especially for children, games, and (of course) a costume contest. Children participating in the contest must be registered in advance; forms for the purpose are available at the municipal building, 2199 Buchert Rd., Pottstown, and also can be completed at the festival on Sunday afternoon.

POTTSTOWN PA – Pottstown resident Joseph A. Trianosky has been named vice president of commercial real estate for Continental Bank, which is headquartered in Plymouth Meeting PA and operates a branch office in Limerick PA, the bank announced Oct. 6 (2010).

Trianosky formerly worked as vice president and relationship manager for commercial real estate and construction lending customers at First Niagara. Earlier, he was with Mellon Bank as assistant vice president and relationship manager, primarily serving customers in the New England and Atlanta, Georgia regions.

Trianosky holds a Bachelor of Science degree in real estate from Pennsylvania State University and an MBA in finance from Temple University. He is a resident of Pottstown, Pennsylvania.

Continental Bank is a $495 million community bank with 10 locations that was formed in September 2005.

SANATOGA PA – Monday night’s (Oct. 18, 2010) meeting of the Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township Planning Commission was abruptly canceled, according to a message that appeared after 3 on Monday afternoon at the township website. No reason was offered for the postponement.

Planners are next scheduled to meet Nov. 15 (2010; Monday) at 6:30 p.m. in the municipal building, 2199 Buchert Rd., Pottstown PA.

• This event has been added to The Post calendar.

Likely to top their agenda at that time is the selection of a chairman. Former Chairman Geoffrey Dailey officially retired from the position during the board’s September meeting without the remaining members choosing his successor.

SANATOGA PA – You’ve arrived at the enhanced edition of The Sanatoga Post, one of four hyper-local news resources published by The Post Publications of Sanatoga PA. We also produce The Limerick (PA) Post, The Pottstown Post, and The Main Street Post.