The Sanatoga Post

SANATOGA PA – Natural disasters hit Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township pretty hard during 2011. Heavy rains turned Sanatoga Creek, Sprogel’s Run, and the Schuylkill River into raging torrents. Much of what was in the water’s path was flooded and damaged. Properties here weren’t the only ones hit, of course: hurricanes soaked other parts of the Atlantic coast, tornadoes wreaked havoc in Southern and Midwestern states, and wildfires hit Texas

Traffic cones warn drivers away from flooded North Sanatoga Road last September

If you were affected by a natural disaster last year, the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants thinks you should be aware of Internal Revenue Service rules on casualty losses, as well as other financial considerations.

What Qualifies for a Deduction?

Under IRS rules, you are allowed to deduct a casualty loss that is the result of a disaster, but related rules serve to significantly whittle down the amount you can deduct.

First, consider what is eligible for the deduction. A casualty loss is the damage, destruction, or loss of property resulting from an identifiable event that is unexpected, sudden, or unusual. Damages from natural disasters – hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and earthquakes, for examples – are casualty losses. Damage to your home or other property caused by something that is not unexpected, sudden, or unusual, such as accidental breakage of items under normal conditions, progressive deterioration occurring naturally over time or due to the failure to maintain the property, does not qualify as a casualty loss.

If you suffered a casualty loss to your home, household goods, or vehicle due to a disaster, you should be eligible to deduct the amount of that loss on your tax return, less required adjustments. (The same is true if you suffer a loss due to a theft.)

How Does the Deduction Work?

According to the IRS, “If your property is personal-use property, or is not completely destroyed, the amount of your casualty or theft loss is the lesser of: The adjusted basis of your property, or the decrease in the fair market value (FMV) as a result of the casualty or theft.”

To determine your adjusted basis, start with the basis of the property. Your basis in the property is usually how much it cost you. Increase or decrease the property’s basis to reflect any improvements made to the property or depreciation deductions you have taken for the property.

The decrease in the FMV used to determine the casualty loss is the difference between the FMV of the property immediately before the casualty and the FMV of the property immediately after the casualty. The FMV immediately after the casualty frequently is the salvage value of the property. From the lesser of the adjusted basis of the property or the difference in its FMV, subtract any insurance payment or other reimbursement (such as compensation for the loss from a government or employer relief program). This is your casualty loss.

For example, say flooding heavily damaged a finished basement during a recent hurricane. Several items were destroyed by water damage—a washer and dryer, hot water heater, furnace, some furnishing, the basement walls. The basis in these items—what originally was spent on them—amounts to $10,000. The fair market value of these items was $9,500 before the disaster and $500 after, making the decrease in the FMV $9,000. Because the decrease in the FMV of the items is less than the adjusted basis in them, you must use the decrease in the FMV in your loss calculation. Your insurance covers you for a maximum of $5,000 in damages, leaving you with a $4,000 casualty loss.

Final Steps in the Calculation of the Deduction

Before deducting personal property casualty loss on your tax return, there are some last steps you must take. First, you must subtract $100 from every casualty or theft loss you report each year. That lowers the example amount to $3,900.

More significant, you must subtract 10 percent of your adjusted gross income from the loss amount to arrive at your final deduction. If your adjusted gross income was, $30,000 last year, you would subtract $3,000—10 percent—from your loss amount to arrive at $900 as your allowable deduction. If your adjusted gross income in the example was $39,000 or higher, that 10 percent would wipe out your allowable deduction altogether.

Other Sources of Help

For those seeking additional relief, it’s important to be aware that organizations such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) often provide funds and services to those affected by disaster. The agency’s guide, “Help After a Disaster,” offers an overview of what’s available. In addition, “Disaster Recovery: A Guide to Financial Issues” – a joint project of the American Institute of CPAs, the American Red Cross, and the National Endowment for Financial Education – answers questions on how to minimize the consequences in the first days, weeks and months after a disaster.

Contact A Certified Public Accountant

If you have experienced casualty losses due to a disaster, or if you have questions on preparing for or dealing with any financial issue, consult a local CPA. He or she can provide advice to help address a range of financial concerns.

CHINESE STUDENT DELEGATION JOINS THE FALCONS – A group of students and advisers from Harbin Normal University High School in Harbin, China, have been the guests this week (Feb. 12-18, 2012) of Pottsgrove High School. They’ve spent time learning about students, subjects, teaching methods and life here. During spare time they also visited the Philadelphia Premium Outlets in Limerick PA; Harrisburg, Hershey, Philadelphia; and Washington DC. They were honored Wednesday night during what school board President Michael Neiffer said was a “working dinner” for the Pottsgrove exchange program.

Photo from Pottsgrove High School

The assembled 2011 Pottsgrove High School Marching Band

POTTSTOWN PA – March on, Pottsgrove High School band members; march on. The district Board of School Directors said Tuesday (Feb. 14, 2012) it’s willing to put an additional $21,000 worth of pep into your step.

Directors voted to use a portion of about $60,000 raised in the district’s local merchant marketing campaign to pay in advance for marching band uniforms and percussion equipment. That allows the high school music department to place orders for those items before the end of March, ensuring their delivery for the 2012-2013 fall band season. Otherwise, it might not have gotten them until the season was almost over.

Band members, parents, and department heads applauded after the board decision.

Music education in Pottsgrove is happily suffering from a success problem, teachers Kathy Williams and Victor Holladay told the Board of School Directors last October (2011). Dozens of Pottsgrove Middle School students headed for the high school next year have already indicated they intend to join the band. Dozens more are ready to follow them from the elementary school music program in later years.

“The numbers are drastically improving,” Holladay said with a smile. “The band will more than double its size next year.”

Its fast growth, and its invitations to play later this spring in locations like Washington DC, have caused an immediate demand for percussion instruments valued at about $12,400 and 25 new band uniforms that will cost about $9,050, he explained Tuesday.

The department has already added those items to its 2012-2013 budget request. Problem is, Business Administrator David Nester noted, Holladay can’t spend what the board hasn’t yet approved … and potential acceptance of any budget remains months away. If the order is delayed, band members wouldn’t have their needs met until November or December.

Board President Michael Neiffer, who is a band volunteer and whose children are band members, notably abstained from voting. He announced his conflict of interest at the start of the discussion, but nonetheless advocated board approval of the advance purchase. “We don’t want to nickle-and-dime this,” he said specifically of the uniforms.

The money will be taken from revenue raised under the district’s partnership with the MarketStreet Sports Group of Lancaster PA. MarketStreet make a business of attracting local, regional and national companies to school districts primarily for advertising and promotional purposes. In Pottsgrove, it has signed the TriCounty Area Federal Credit Union, Mishock Physical Therapy and Associates, and Hallman Retirement Neighborhoods as clients.

The $60,000 fund was initially planned to be used for improvements and renovations to the high school girls’ softball field, Nester said. Enough money may be left to do that work too, he said.

Related:

• March On! Pottsgrove OKs Buying Instruments, Uniforms
• Successful Pottsgrove Music Programs On A (Drum) Roll

Related (to the Pottsgrove Board of School Directors’ Feb. 14 meeting):

• March On! Pottsgrove OKs Buying Instruments, Uniforms
• Pottsgrove Multi-Tasks Through MCIU Budget Approval
• State Suspends $3.2M In Ringing Rocks’ Reimbursement

POTTSTOWN PA – Pennsylvania’s teen driver law, which in part requires all occupants age 18 or younger of any vehicle to wear a seat belt, took effect late last December (2011). Now Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township Police want to ensure it takes hold in the minds of teens themselves.

18 or younger? Buckle up, or face the music

Traffic Safety Ofc. Robert Diesinger and School Resource Ofc. Wil James got to work Tuesday (Feb. 14, 2012) at Pottsgrove High School on Kauffman Road to introduce the law and its ramifications to students there. They’re scheduled to conduct several seminars on the subject, reaching every grade level, through March 4.

The police department will make sure the consequences of non-compliance are felt, too.

In a little less than two weeks – beginning Feb. 28 and continuing through March 2 – department patrols will concentrate on enforcing the law along Kauffman Road, Buchert Road, North Charlotte Street, and other roadways within the townships. Violators should be prepared to be stopped, questioned, reminded of the law, and possibly be issued warnings or citations.

“This new law is a primary violation, and subjects can be stopped solely for not wearing a seat belt,” Diesinger said.

Parents and other adult drivers should pay attention, too. They are responsible for the safety of those in their vehicles, and can be cited if passengers who by law must wear seat belts are found without them.

The intent, of course, is to raise awareness of the law now on the books. Lower Pottsgrove’s effort is being funded by a $1,000 “teen-driver safety enforcement mobilization” grant, and the township was chosen as a recipient specifically because of its educational outreach, Diesinger noted.

Parents and teens who have questions about the law, or the department program, can call Diesinger for more information at 610-326-1508.

POTTSTOWN PA – Students at Pottsgrove High School, 1345 Kauffman Rd., Pottstown PA, were named Wednesday (Feb. 15, 2012) as having achieved “distinguished honors” on its honor roll for the 2011-2012 school year’s first quarter, and dozens more were named with “honors.”

On the honor roll were:

Grade 12 Distinguished Honors

Samantha Brockway, Matthew Cimino, Amy Defnet, Joseph Di Paolo, Erica Edwards, Kassandra Forster, Ashleigh Kleinschmidt, Benjamin Macluckie, Alysa Adams Murray, Courtney Nealy, Alexandra Schurr, Jessica Stewart, Emily Stump, Michael Vennettilli, Lara Weisbach, Allison Weller.

Grade 12 Honors

Jordan Adkins, Steven Ambs, Ahmed Amer, Lauren Antenucci, Emily Bowen, Ian Brennan, Amy Cherico, Donna Chu, Ceara Coseo, Matthew Dao, Gwendolynne Davis, Emily Delena, Shelby Edelson, Lauren Edmunds, Tyler Gross, Trevor Hallman, Maura Hannum, Tillman Harris, Samantha Hunkel, Ryan Ivins, Wasay Khan,  Achilles Kontostathis, Jennifer Korb, Elliott Koss, Matthew Krieger, Stacie Kuneck, Austin Lastoskie, Megan Lazowicki, Meghan Luna, Caitlin Macfarland, Gabrielle Mack, Storm McLeod, Mallory McMenamin, Rowan Meador, Branden Mercier, Daniel Michaels, Megan Monzo, Allison Neel, Madeline OBrien, Casey Payne, Vincent Pellechio, Kevin Phillips, Edith Pineda, Brian Price, Justin Purdom, Victoria Queen, Brooke Rafalowski, Christopher Rathgeber, Carrie Robinson, Taylor Robinson, Deanna Robles, Jenna Saylor, Nicholas Sotera, Mark Teaford, Anthony Tremble, Cordelia Urquhart, Jared Valentine, Maurice Webster, Jarrod Wentzel, Tylar White, Jessica Williams, Jessica Wrubel, Yinan Xiong, Paige Yerger, Colleen Young, Bao Steven Zheng.

Grade 11 Distinguished Honors

Zachary Birch, Nathan Breidenbach, Nathan Fretz, Nia Gonzalez, Mackenzie Gross, Kiera Howard, Nicholas Hunsberger, Kelsey Lloyd, Adam Maynard, Daniel McNamara, Ashley Monzo, Justin Munro, Tanmay Patel, Kevin Rathgeber, David Brandon Stone, Ian Yanusko.

Grade 11 Honors

Jaclyn Bealer, Amanda Birard, Dominic Bridi, Christie Christ, Nicole Chu, Patrick Collins, Danielle Czekaj, Jessica Diaz, Jessica Evans, Nicole Finn, Jessica Fiore, Chloe Grebe, Ashley Haraczka, Daniel Harp, Brittany John, Julia Kemper, Benjamin Kunrath, Marc Ludwig, Troy Lutcavage, Michael Makoid, Alexander McCarthy, Rachelle Mewshaw, Qwhadir Miller, Tiara Mitchell, Tyler Mitchell, Robert Mohollen,  Aaron Roberts, Shawn Robles, Alexandra Rodriguez, Andrew Rodriguez, Caitlin Smith, Jamira Stephenson, Abbey Sullivan, Anthony Tartaglia, Allysha Towson, Ian Valway, Bridgette Vuotto, Kaitlyn Wagner, Ceirra Walton, Jasmyn West, Cameron Williams.

Grade 10 Distinguished Honors

Jeffrey Adams, Arizona Brennan, Angelica Glaeser, Christopher Haslam, Jacob Hunsberger, Daniel Kaiser, Jaid Mark, Thomas Sephakis, Gabriella Tammaro, Hayley Tomaselli, Jay Young, Kylie Yuchimiuk.

Grade 10 Honors

Ethan Abdalla, Alexis Adair, Marquis Barefield, David Bieleski, Teodoro Calabretta, Kacy Carroll, Joshua Chamberlain, Audrey Eiland, Kylie Fulmer, Thomas Galamba, John Garges, Ferryn Garner, Noel Geniza, Abigail Girafalco, Charles Gulick, Elizabeth Harley, Ashley Hoffman, Gaia Houseal, Abagail Hudock, Taylor Inhof, Tyler Kline, Dana Landes, Kelsey Lee, Mollie Marko, Megan Montey, Natalya Nodolski, Brittany Opokwu, Sene Polamalu, Kayla Polen, Nicole Raimondi, Hannah Robinson, Ashlyn Sassaman, Kaleigh Tillman, Joshua Toth, Christopher Vecchio, James Walmsley, Grant West, Maxton Wickward.

Grade 9 Distinguished Honors

Joseph Buchler, Aubrey Christman, Samantha Goins, Renee Hunsberger, Chloe Klaus, Kyle Reed, Julia Tartaglia.

Grade 9 Honors

Andrew Bayless, Danielle Buchanan, Matthew Bush, Danielle Cook, Olivia Vanessa Cortez, Brianna Costira, Damian Creasy, Patrick Finn, Chad Flannery, Shayna Flint, Macie Frame, Caitlin Gillette, Evan Hillen, Kelsey Hutchinson, Hailey Jacobs, Katherine Likman, Sarah Lindgren, David Macartney, Cole Meitzler, Eric Mitchell, Autumn Mortimer, Meganne Natale, Sean OBrien, Andrew Phillips, Emily Ryan, Cassandra Shields, Kristi Shultz, Bernard Steyaert, Alexandria Thierry, Jacob Trexler, Hailee Tyson, Courtney Weaver, Allison Wentzel, Brianna West, Keely Zaborsky.

POTTSTOWN PA – As they listened to administrative comments during their meeting Tuesday (Feb. 14, 2012), members of the Pottsgrove Board of School Directors were keeping their fingers busy, too.

Earlier in the evening, directors gave the Pottsgrove School District’s official approval to the 2012-2013 budget of the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit, the countywide schools’ partnership through which the district purchases some goods and several services. MCIU by-laws require not only a voice vote on its budget, but also that each director complete and sign an individual ballot.

So while other business was being conducted, board members were simultaneously signing. Board President Michael Neiffer tried to be polite about the distraction. He held up a paper ballot for the audience at Pottsgrove Middle School to see, and explained the procedure. Board members were done, and attentive, by the time public comments were offered.

MCIU’s budget consists of four components. For next year, it will spend:

• $1,030,789 on general administrative services; Pottsgrove pays no share of those costs.
• Curriculum, instruction and professional development is budgeted at $2,338,776; Pottsgrove’s share, $1,300;
• Legislative and grant development, $294,115, Pottsgrove’s share, $3,539; and
• Technology and information sciences, $4,507,180, with Pottsgrove’s share as $24,139.

Pottsgrove shares of these costs do not include the tens of thousands of dollars it pays MCIU annually for services like special education, district Business Administrator David Nester noted.

Related (to the Pottsgrove Board of School Directors’ Feb. 14 meeting):

• Pottsgrove Multi-Tasks Through MCIU Budget Approval
• State Suspends $3.2M In Ringing Rocks’ Reimbursement

Photo from Google Images

POTTSTOWN PA – “The devil is in the details,” Pottsgrove School District Business Administrator David Nester regularly reminds its Board of School Directors. And as Nester has rummaged through details of last week’s state budget address by Gov. Tom Corbett, he told board members Tuesday (Feb. 14, 2012) he’s discovered a roughly $3.2 million devil.

Business Administrator David Nester works before Tuesday's board meeting at Pottsgrove Middle School

That’s how much money the state Department of Education promised, back in 2010, to partially compensate Pottsgrove for the $16 million debt it incurred in rebuilding and expanding Ringing Rocks Elementary School on Kauffman Road. The so-called PlanCon money hasn’t yet been paid by the state and now, under the Corbett budget unveiled Feb. 7, the potential exists it could stiff the district for that amount.

Nester announced the Education Department last year ran out of money for PlanCon, the lengthy and paperwork-filled process for planning and construction of public schools statewide. Corbett’s budget calls for a one-year moratorium on new PlanCon submissions, Nester said, and casts doubt upon the future of payments approved but not banked.

“I don’t know whether or not we’ll receive any compensation from the state for building Ringing Rocks,” he reported.

If the PlanCon cash falls through, district taxpayers might end up paying the $3.2 million, about 20 percent more of Ringing’s cost than they were told to anticipate. “It’d be a substantial amount to deal with,” Nester warned.

Worse yet, he added, there are indications the moratorium could be lengthened beyond a year, and perhaps indefinitely. Such a move probably would not affect Pottsgrove during the next few years. However, members of the Pottstown school board learned to their dismay – also Tuesday – that the moratorium will force them to re-think plans to close one of Pottstown’s five elementary schools and add classrooms on to others.

• Read a story by reporter Evan Brant on the Pottstown school dilemma, titled “Corbett budget skewers Pottstown elementary school plans” and published Wednesday (Feb. 15) in The (Pottstown PA) Mercury newspaper, here.

The Education Department officially takes the position that it has made no commitment for PlanCon payments until its money is actually delivered, according to Nester. He doesn’t think that argument can stand, and hints other districts with more owed than Pottsgrove probably would challenge such a contention in court, if it persists.

“We just have to wait and see how it shakes out,” he said after the meeting.

Nester also confirmed for the board earlier reports that Pottsgrove otherwise made out “as positively as we could have hoped” in preliminary estimates of state budget funding for the 2012-2013 school year. Under Corbett’s plan to consolidate four different, formula-based revenue streams into a single block grant, Pottsgrove could receive between $70,000 and $100,000 more in education and other subsidies than initially expected, Nester said.

Again, however, he warned all was not what it seemed. In future years, the grant structure abandons automatic funding increases tied to inflation or other rising costs. So if the district pays more for busing of either public or private students because fuel prices spike higher, or if it employs more teachers, it won’t necessarily win the extra state financial support it depended on in the past.

Related (to Ringing Rocks Elementary School renovations):

• State Suspends $3.2M In Ringing Rocks’ Reimbursement
• Ringing’s Big Move Now Follows Tuesday’s Big Snip-Snip
• Pottsgrove Shows Off Its Newest Jewel, Ringing Rocks
• Pottsgrove Opens Ringing Rocks Tonight For Tours
• Pottsgrove Plans Open House At New Ringing Rocks
• Color Him White With Anger Over Pottsgrove Vandalism
• Hear That? It’s The Ticking Deadline Clock At Ringing
• Ringing Rocks Delivery Could Be On Santa’s Wishlist
• Pottsgrove Board Tours, And Likes, Progress At Ringing
• No Power For Ringing Library Computers ‘An Omission’
• Blasting A Possibility, But Not Yet, At Ringing Rocks
• Few Change Orders, So Far, At Ringing Rocks
• Rigs Arrive At Ringing Site To Drill Deep For Geo-Heat
• Exterior Demolition To Begin At Ringing Rocks
• Digging’s Done, Now Real Work Starts At Ringing
• Ringing Rocks Ground-Breaking Set For Thursday
• After Month’s Work, Pius Deemed Set For Ringing Pupils
• Ringing Rocks Bids Accepted, At $1.5 Million Less
• Final Words On Ringing Rocks: Okey-Dokey
• Ringing Rocks Gets Final Plan OK
• Borrowing Authorized For Ringing Rocks Project
• Pottsgrove Signs Pius Lease For Ringing Students
• Pottsgrove Authorizes Pius Lease For Ringing Relocation
• Call Goes Out For Ringing Rocks Construction Bids
• Board OKs Ringing Rocks’ Preliminary Plans
• School Vestibule Design OK; No Decision On Rocks’ Relocation
• Ringing Rocks Plan Approval Held Until May
• Ringing Relocation Decision Deferred Again
• Township Legal Move Saves District Time, Money
• Economic Tales, Exec Sessions, And Long Night At Pottsgrove
• Geothermal Now ‘Locked’ Into Ringing Re-Build
• How Estimated Costs For Ringing Shape Up
• Less Is More In School Project, Planners Learn
• Bids Sought For Ringing Project Asbestos Removal
• Ringing Relocation Decision Possible In Two Weeks
• Restaurant, Ringing Projects Win Conditional Uses
• Ringing Rocks, Restaurant Hearing Topics Tonight
• Pottsgrove Student Enrollment: Up? Yes. Down? Yes Again
• Green Discussion At Ringing Results In Red Faces
• Pottsgrove, Archdiocese Still Discussing Pius Lease
• Ringing Rocks Relocation Discussion Set For Tonight
• In The Ringing Rebuild, Whither Pius?
• Ringing Rocks Relocation Plan: Modulars At MS
• Ringing Rocks Construction Cost Hearing Tonight
• Planners OK Ringing Rocks Land Sketch
• District Sets Dec. 3 Hearing On Rocks Budget
• Pottsgrove Asks State Help To Pay For Ringing Re-Build
• As School Opens, Progress On Ringing Rocks’ Project
• Surprise Enrollment Spurs Demographic Interest
• District Assembles Ringing Rocks Planning Team
• District OKs Architect Negotiations
• Consensus On Ringing Renovations: $16M
• Ringing Rocks Proposals Aired Tuesday
• Ringing Rocks Re-Examined April 14
• Pottsgrove To Trust-But-Verify On Ringing Plans
• Ringing Rocks Plans Take Another Step
• No Shortage Of Ideas At Pottsgrove Meeting
• Weigh In On Pottsgrove Renovations
• Framing The Rocks Discussion
• Response Mixed To Pottsgrove Improvements
• District Invites Public For Study Results
• A Different Rocks, But Only As A Concept

Related (to the Pottsgrove Board of School Directors’ Feb. 14 meeting):

• State Suspends $3.2M In Ringing Rocks’ Reimbursement

Girl Scout Senior Troop 49 met in Lower Pottsgrove in the 1950s

By Beth Scherer
of the Lower Pottsgrove Historical Society,
for The Sanatoga Post

SANATOGA PA – It occurs every year at this time, that gnawing hunger for Thin Mints, Shortbread, Peanut Butter Patties, and Caramel Delites. Those and other Girl Scout cookies are as much a part of the snack-time landscape across Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township as anywhere else.

Lower Pottsgrove Brownies bake holiday cookies for state hospital residents in 1959

Local troops during 2012 are marking the Scouts’ 100th anniversary. To commemorate the milestone, a new lemon flavored cookie – Savannah Smiles – was introduced this year to the popular cookie line-up.

Girl Scouting has been active in Lower Pottsgrove since the 1940s. The Sanatoga Grange was among the first Girl Scout troop sponsors in the area. Pottsgrove schools have also sponsored troops throughout the years.

Troops of the Pottstown Council of Girl Scouts helped earn money through cookie sales in 1956 for the purchase of Camp Forest Glen, which was near Huff’s Church. They enjoyed troop and day camping there for a number of years.

Many area women have volunteered their time and energy as Girl Scout leaders.  One of the most influential was the late Sally Moyer, former secretary at Lower Pottsgrove Elementary School, and former township treasurer. Girl Scouting opportunities in the township increased in the early 1970s due to her efforts. Her very active Cadet Troop 470 was sponsored by the Sanatoga Fire Company.

If you’re hungry for cookies this week, they’re still available. The Girl Scouts’ Cookie Finder website reports cookies will be sold by troops at these and many other locations:

• Today (Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2012) through Friday (Feb. 17) from noon to 9 p.m. at Coventry Mall, 351 W. Schuylkill Rd., Pottstown PA;
• Saturday (Feb. 18) from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at he Philadelphia Premium Outlets, 18 W. Lightcap Rd., Limerick PA; and
• Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. in Boscov’s Department Store at Coventry Mall.

Editor’s note: The Lower Pottsgrove Historical Society was formed in 1985 to share the heritage of Lower Pottsgrove Township with its residents. It meets on the second Wednesday of every month from April through December at its museum and offices in the former Sanatoga Chapel, 2341 E. High St., Sanatoga PA. Author and society President Beth Scherer writes about Lower Pottsgrove history monthly for The Post.

Articles in this series:

• In Township, Scouts And Cookies (Yum!) Have A History
• Family Appliance Business Has Long History In Santa-toga
• Love NASCAR Now? You Would Have Adored Sanatoga
• Timeless Treasures Fill Historical Society Chapel Offices
• Hilltop’s Still Making History, 59 Years After Opening
• Historic Answer To Heat: Township Swimmin’ Holes
• Need A Local Hotel? There Once Were Four, Right Here
• What’s Changed Most In ‘Grove Grads? Their Schools
• Shantz’s Mound Presence Made Sanatoga ‘Pheverous’
• Stars Danced In Lower Pottsgrove Long Before TV Show
• Never Heard Of Sanatoga’s Longview Hotel? Here’s Why

Be safe and smart, Lower Pottsgrove Police request. Make sure your car doors are locked.

SANATOGA PA – An investigation is continuing by Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township Police into alleged thefts of materials from unlocked vehicles in the area of Pebble Beach Lane, Pinehurst Drive, Country Drive and Sunnyside Avenue, according to police Sgt. Timothy Walters.

Early last week (Feb. 6, 2012; Monday), Walters stopped four Pottstown residents – an adult male and three juveniles ranging in age from 16 to 18 – after he found them “acting suspiciously” near the intersection of Country and Sunnyside. Walters subsequently discovered “various items of property” that police said they believe were abandoned by the suspects when they saw Walters’ patrol car approach.

Charges against the subjects are pending further investigation, Walters reported. To that end, the Lower Pottsgrove department is asking for public help. Anyone with information regarding the alleged thefts, or anyone who may have determined items in their cars were recently missing, are being asked to call police at 610-326-1508. Missing property may include cameras, cell phones, loose change, and other items, Walters said.

Police also hope to locate owners of the property already recovered.

Acting Police Chief Michael Foltz and Ofc. Scott Weidenhammer met during January with a group of Pebble Beach Lane residents to discuss their concerns regarding the perception of rising crime in the area. Increased street lighting, the potential placement of certain fences, and the creation of a volunteer Neighborhood Watch group for the area are among possible solutions still being discussed, Foltz told the Board of Commissioners during their meeting last Monday.

Foltz also issued a list of what he called “immediate measures” that would help deter he threat of thefts in all areas of the township:

• Keep all vehicles and homes locked at all times;
• Do not leave valuables inside cars where potential thieves can see them;
• Record serial numbers along with the make and model of all valuables;
• Place identifying marks – but not Social Security numbers – on all valuables. The police department has an engraving tool it can loan for such purposes, Foltz said;
• Photograph all valuables, particularly jewelry, coins and precious metals;
• Keep receipts for all valuables to provide proof of ownership to insurers;
• Install outdoor porch, post, and flood lights on timers or motion sensors to light the areas around a home;
• When leaving home, ell neighbors of your plans, and have them keep watch there;
• Immediately report any suspicious activity to police; and
• Consider investing in security or surveillance systems for a home, and identify their use with signage.

THEIR FIRST WIN OF 2012 – Members of the Pottsgrove High School’s Indoor Percussion Ensemble won their first competitive outing of the year Saturday (Feb. 1, 2012), with a judges’ score of 72.30 over Egg Harbor High School, which scored 64.40. Although many of the eight groups that entered the percussion segment of the contest fall into different classifications, Pottsgrove’s score ranked second-highest among all competitors. The show was sponsored by the Cavalcade of Bands Association at Wissahickon High School in Ambler PA. The ensemble is next scheduled to compete Feb. 18 (Saturday) in a contest at Ephrata High School.

• Watch a video of the ensemble, above, as they played Thursday (Feb. 9, 2012) for family and friends at the Pottsgrove High School gym, or see it at The Post’s YouTube channel. Pottsgrove graduate and composer Kevin Smith, whose “Dreamscapes” piece is played by the ensemble, opens the video by talking about the creative process.