The Sanatoga Post

Janet and Gina at the library.

POTTSTOWN PA – The public library usually is a palace of serenity, a haven of quiet activity, and a place to satisfy mankind’s thirst for knowledge. That is, of course, unless the creators of the “Hip Places To Be Scene In Pottstown” website invade the building.

Janet Flack and Gina Stango, sometimes known as Pottstown’s Scenic Girls, took their video camera to the Pottstown Regional Public Library, on High Street in Pottstown PA, to explore programs and amenities it offers. They roam the stacks and shelves of the library’s two-story public area; play Wii games in its Teen Cave; and join in the children’s story time, accompanied by guitar-strumming library Executive Director Mike Packard.

• Watch the video (above) that was posted Friday (Christmas Eve, Dec. 2, 2010), or see it at the YouTube account of user PottstownScenicGirls.

Outside Sam's.

On Thursday (Dec. 23, 2010), well before the heavy snowfall that’s been predicted for early this week, employees at Sam’s Auto Fitness Center on Sunset Drive in Pottstown PA were enduring numbing cold and tired muscles as they chopped through ice to get their car wash running.

Some car owners wanted to spruce up their rides before Christmas. The folks at Sam’s were happy to oblige. But first, they had to free nozzles and hoses of huge chunks of ice … the combination of residual water from work the previous day, and temperatures that fell to 15 degrees on Wednesday night (Dec. 22).

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

Up to 6 inches of snow is predicted to fall tonight (Sunday, Dec. 26) and Monday (Dec. 27) in the first major winter storm to hit Limerick, Lower Pottsgrove, and Pottstown.

POTTSTOWN PA – A series of free and fun activities for families are scheduled over two consecutive nights during the second week of January (2011) at the Freedom Valley YMCA, 724 N. Adams St., Pottstown PA, its organizers say.

A ZUMBA Night for families with children age 8 and older, which features the international dance fitness program, will be held Jan. 5 (Wednesday) from 6-7 p.m. Then, on Jan. 6 (Thursday) from 6-7:30 p.m., the Y plans a Family Sing-A-Long and Swim program for those with children age 6 and younger.

• This event has been added to The Post calendar.

At least one parent must accompany their children for either program. Advance registration is required by Jan. 3 (Monday). For more information or to register, call Lynn at 610-323-7300.

POTTSTOWN PA – The 7th annual Winter Blast Invitational “Swim Your Own Age” Meet, conducted by the Freedom Valley YMCA, is scheduled to be held Dec. 27 (2010; Monday), with warm-ups starting at noon and the meet at 2 p.m. in the Y, 724 N. Adams St., Pottstown PA.

• This event has been added to The Post calendar.

The meet is open to youths age 12 and younger, and they are not required to be a current member of a swim team to participate. Ribbons and meet winner awards will be presented, along with a gift to all entrants. Entry costs are $3.50 per individual or $14 per relay. In case of inclement weather, the meet will be re-scheduled to Dec. 28 (Tuesday).

For more information, call 610-323-7300.

POTTSTOWN PA – What’s in a name? Recognition, honor, power … and possibly confusion for drivers along the border between the borough of Pottstown and Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township.

The corner of Armand Hammer Boulevard and East High Street in Pottstown borough.

Borough Council, during its meeting Monday night (Dec. 13, 2010) in downtown Pottstown, again heard a plea from Newstell Marable, president of the Pottstown chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), to rename Armand Hammer Boulevard for slain civil rights leader the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., according to Roy’s Rants blogger Roy Keeler. Marable has promoted re-naming the short, four-lane highway after King for several years.

Monday night’s suggestion carried a new twist, though, Keeler wrote after attending the session. Marable told council members they should approve the name change for the portion of the boulevard under Pottstown’s jurisdiction, even if Lower Pottsgrove refused to approve a similar change for the portion within its borders.

Under Marable’s plan, the same street could conceivably bear two different names, with the change occurring at about its mid-point.

The township Board of Commissioners in September 2008 voted unanimously against Marable’s written request to rename the boulevard. At the time, board members said the change would create an economic hardship for business owners who must pay to have signs, letterheads, business cards, and official documents reflect a new name.

Marable told council members he has spoken to representatives of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation regarding the re-naming, and urged the council to involve state Sen. John Rafferty – who represents residents of both municipalities in the Pennsylvania Senate – and PennDOT in the effort.

The council took no official action on Marable’s request, Keeler indicated.

• Read the Roy’s Rants article, “Pottstown Borough Council Meeting 12/13/10,” here.
• Read a Post story on the September 2008 commissioners’ decision, here.

POTTSTOWN PA – Positively!Pottstown, the online community blog that is dedicated to promoting Pottstown and its activities, is offering two $100 scholarships to pay for attendance at an upcoming series of small business workshop being taught by members of the Pottstown chapter of the Service Corps of Retired Executives. Scholarships are available to anyone who is already running a business, or planning to open a business, in the borough.

Sue Repko.

“I wanted to offer something specific to the small business entrepreneur who is trying to make it in Pottstown,” explained Sue Repko, founder of the community blog that promotes Pottstown. “It’s a holiday gift to a couple of deserving business owners to start 2011 on the right foot.”

SCORE is the Service Corps of Retired Executives, a nonprofit association sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Association. Course instructors are experienced practitioners who teach practical, real-life skills and strategies to those interested in starting a business or learning how to run their business better.

By attending a SCORE workshop, entrepreneurs will be introduced to a network of supportive professionals who want to see them succeed. “The folks at SCORE have been great to work with. They’re such a valuable resource, and they’re right in town,” Repko said.

The Pottstown chapter’s next workshop series will be held Jan. 10, 17, 24 and 31 (2011) from 7-9:30 p.m. held at the TriCounty Chamber of Commerce, 152 High St., Suite 360, Pottstown PA. Registration begins at 6:45 p.m. The course includes a manual on preparing a business plan, and covers these topics:

• Jan. 10 – Sources of Information, and the Tax and Legal Implications of the Different Legal Structures;
• Jan. 17 – The Business Plan and The Business Loan;
• Jan. 24 – Sources of Market Information and Marketing; and
• Jan. 31 – It’s All About Profit

To be considered for a scholarship, download application forms available at Positively!Pottstown. Applicants must write a few paragraphs about their current business or business plans, and include information about their past business or work experience. A resume is not required.

Mail completed applications and written statements by Dec. 28 (2010) to Sue Repko, Positively Pottstown, P.O. Box 1509, Pottstown PA 19464; or e-mail them to positivelypottstown@gmail.com. Winners will be announced on the Positively!Pottstown blog on Jan. 3 (2011).

Photo from Sue Repko

Moving through Pottstown.

POTTSTOWN PA – Borough resident Leonard F. Shaner Jr. is pretty handy with a video camera; in fact, he owns his own production company. It’s not leading ladies or bicep-built action heroes who are the stars of Shaner’s films, though.

It’s trains.

Shaner is a self-professed railfan, a lover of locomotives old and new, of all types and sizes. He’s shared hours of video footage of trains at work via YouTube with thousands of other railfans across the country. If you’re a railfan too, you’ve undoubtedly seen his films somewhere. They’re that well known.

Every once in awhile, Shaner will focus his lens on something that’s train-related but which more than the average railfan will enjoy. That was the case last Monday (Nov. 29, 2010), as he traveled 41 miles northwest from Pottstown PA to Port Clinton PA, above Hamburg, to see the Christmas train display of Reading and Northern.

• Watch the video, above, or see it at the YouTube account of user Conrail6370.

POTTSTOWN PA – Workers from EZ Signs LLC in Philadelphia PA were on site Saturday morning (Dec. 4, 2010) at the east side Pottstown office of Wachovia Bank, 1470 E. High St., to install signs that by month’s end will re-brand the branch as part of Wells Fargo Bank. Wachovia and Wells Fargo merged last year when Wachovia fell into financial troubles, and the transition nationwide has been phased in over a period of several months.

Sparks flew as the crew prepared the existing post facing East High Street to accept its new sign. The branch has undergone other changes during the past two months as well: its exterior received a new coat of stucco and paint, the parking lot was repaved and new curbs and directional signs added, and the automatic teller machine has been upgraded to make electronic and teller-less banking easier.

Once installed, the Wells Fargo signs are purposely being obscured with Wachovia banners. Then, when the transition is announced as official, all Wachovia branch offices will appear to have been magically transformed – overnight – to their Wells Fargo ownership.

On the run.

POTTSTOWN PA – The deer population in Montgomery County PA usually keeps to the security of local woods, and emerges only around dusk for feeding. When a hot air balloonist flew over Pottstown PA last week, he and his passengers saw a surprised herd running across a road and field, most likely scared by the noise of the balloon’s gas-powered flame.

One of the balloon’s occupants caught the herd’s movement on video, and uploaded it last Sunday (Oct. 24, 2010) to YouTube.

• See the video above, or watch it at the YouTube user account of netpatel.

Dancing is good for the hips, and the Hipsters.

POTTSTOWN PA – Pottstown’s Scenic Girls are giving new meaning to their “Hip Places To Be Scene” tagline. The emphasis, in this instance, is on the hips.

Janet Flack and Gina Stango operate “Hip Places To Be Scene In Pottstown,” a popular borough-oriented activities page on Facebook. They took video cameras this week to dance their blues away, and exercise until they were blue in the face, with Zumba Fitness in The Ballroom On High Street in Pottstown PA. They’re shown getting into a rhythm all their own in a video posted online Thursday (Oct. 28, 2010).

• See the Scenic Girls get dancin’, above, or watch the video at their YouTube user account.

Related:

• Digital Printing Firm Gets Zapped By Scenic Girls
• Pottstown Bloggers Dress Up In New Looks
• Scenic Girls Give Pottstown’s Y A Workout