The Sanatoga Post

SANATOGA PA – U.S. Army Reserve military policeman Spc. Zachary Ball returned Sunday (Feb. 5, 2012) from duty in Afghanistan to his home in Pottstown, saluted en route (left) by firefighters and police escorts from Sanatoga, Ringing Hill, Limerick and the borough. Few of them knew him personally, but many said they wanted to share their joy in having him come safely home to Pennsylvania, his family, and especially the 8-month-old twins whose birth he missed.

Ball was among the latest servicemen and women who have been greeted by a parade of well-wishers mobilized by A Hero’s Welcome, a non-profit group that works to ensure all members of the military return from service knowing their time spent on duty is appreciated by the public. It was founded by 1997 Pottsgrove High School graduate Sharon Hyland Keyser.

Ball “is a wonderful husband and  father … (who) is very humble about his service,” his wife Carlene said in a letter to the group. No wonder, then, that following a 10 a.m. celebratory breakfast at The Limerick Diner on Ridge Road, he was surprised by a Limerick Township police escort accompanied by the Warriors’ Watch motorcycle club.

• Watch a video (above) of the Sanatoga Fire Company preparations and salute Sunday to Spc. Ball, or see it at The Post’s YouTube channel.

Awaiting his arrival, five miles west, were members and families of the Sanatoga and Ringing Hill fire companies of adjacent Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township.

Sanatoga Vice President and Deputy Fire Chief Mark Schaeffer regularly monitors the A Hero’s Welcome website, and saw the news about Ball’s impending return. He contacted Keyser’s mother, Maria, who helped coordinate the logistics for a Sanatoga salute to the soldier.

Three pieces of apparatus from the Sanatoga company, two from the Ringing Hill Fire Company, and a Lower Pottsgrove police cruiser all blared their sirens and honked their horns as the motorcade bearing Ball and his family streamed past the intersection of East High Street and North Pleasant View Road. Dozens of firefighters and their family lined the sidewalks on both sides of East High, holding American flags and waving hello.

The salute took about a day to plan and an hour to prepare, and ended in less than 2 minutes. That didn’t matter to one mother who received a text message about the event from Schaeffer and considered it important to show up. “These kids sacrifice, work hard and get little credit,” she said of military troops. “This is how we show them what they fought for.”

In Ball’s case, one sacrifice was missing the birth of his twin daughters during what was his first deployment overseas. “He has been an amazing father from 7,000 miles away,” his wife noted.

Other coverage:

• See an additional photo from the event, here.

All it needs now is the "Crooked Hill Ridge Runners" logo on its doors

It would be difficult to miss these directional signals

SANATOGA PA – Down at the garage bays of the Sanatoga Fire Company on East High Street in Sanatoga, its volunteers could hardly wait for today (Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012) to arrive.

Barring unforeseen delays, the fire company website confirms it is scheduled to take delivery sometime today of a new Ford F-550 utility vehicle being customized as a traffic control unit for its fire police team. Work on the truck, which was purchased last year, has been under way for the past three months at the KME Division of the Kovatch Organization in Nesquehoning PA, 62 miles northwest of Sanatoga.

Sanatoga’s fire police have worked for several years with a 1989 Ford Yankee Coach ambulance that was converted to meet their needs. That vehicle has seen plenty of action in its time.

During November (2011) alone, the latest month for which statistics are available, Capt. Robin Guber reports 41 fire police volunteers logged more than 42 man-hours in responding to 28 different calls; six of them for mutual aid requests outside the township. That represents just a fraction of the entire department’s activity during the period, Chief Rick Brendlinger noted.

Like proud parents anticipating the birth of a child, members of the Sanatoga crew have made four different treks since last November to the KME plant to inspect progress on the truck and help company workers plan for the layout of its cabinets, other storage spaces, and auxiliary equipment.

The KME Kovatch plant in Nesquehoning PA

KME specializes in such work. It claims to be a “global leader in the supply of customized specialty trucks and vehicles, particularly in the aviation, petro-chemical, industrial, energy, military, police, and fire-rescue markets. Privately held since 1946, the company employs more than 600 people at its Nesquehoning facility. It also operates factories in California, New York and Virginia.

The new truck includes several high-tech innovations, as well as conveniences intended to improve fire police efficiency. Among them, and probably most immediately obvious to the public once the truck goes into service, are bright, flashing directional arrows that rise from the top of the vehicle at an emergency scene. They more quickly re-direct traffic, particularly at night or during inclement weather.

The truck also holds a rear-facing slide-out platform to carry compartmentalized equipment. Pieces and packages can be reached easily at just-above waist height, eliminating the need to bend down or reach inside a compartment when speed and safety are critical.

A dedication and traditional apparatus housing ceremony is being planned, company members say, but no date has yet been announced.

The truck's slide-out rear platform

Photos from the Sanatoga Fire Company and KME Kovatch

SANATOGA PA – Santa’s been known to change his mind on occasion. He’s not opposed, for instance, to moving children from the “naughty” to “nice” category when they merit it, or the other way around when they don’t. Rudolph hasn’t always been the lead reindeer. And there were a few years during which, at the Missus’ urging, the Jolly Old Elf shed a couple of pounds for health reasons, making him lighter but no less jolly.

So it should come as no surprise that he’s changed his mind, too, about his anticipated visit next Saturday (Dec. 17, 2011) to Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township. For the better.

Sanatoga Fire Company President Don Woodley Jr., in an e-mail Friday (Dec. 9) reported that the previously announced list of stops for the firefighters’ annual Santa Run – the one during which they accompany St. Nick to locations around the township for visits with children and parents – has undergone “a few adjustments” since it was initially published by The Post.

The good news: he’ll be out and about for an hour and 20 minutes longer than initially planned, and his list has expanded from 18 to 24 sites.

Here’s the revised list of planned times (all are approximate) and stop locations:

Rosewood Court  and South Sunnybrook Road, 10 a.m.;
Donna and Noel, 10:30;
Maplewood and Oaktree, 10:30;
Heather and Bradley, 10:50;
Bramblewood and 1st Ave, 11 a.m.;
Welsh and Oak, 11:10;
Creekside and Brookview, 11:20;
Welsh and Sunnyslope, 11:30;
Pinehurst and Raleigh; 11:40;
Sanatoga Village – top of hill, 11:50;
Pebble Beach and Julie, 12:05 p.m.;
Blackberry and Commons, 12:20;
Walnut Ridge at the Kepler Rd entrance, 12:25;
Allison and Shelly, 12:40;
Walnut Ridge at the Buchert Rd entrance, 12:50;
Oakdale and Woodmere, 1:10;
Rolling Hills at the office area, 1:30;
Oakdale and Rivendale; 1:30;
Rolling Hills at the Pleasantview Road entrance, 1:50;
Windhaven at the barn area, 2 p.m.;
Prospect Hill Lane, 2:25;
Shaner’s at the bus stop area; 2:25;
Sanatoga Fire House, 2:45; and
Evergreen Road, 3 p.m.

On other thing: In case of inclement weather, Santa and his elves will make their rounds on the following day, Sunday (Dec. 18).

Photo from Google Images

The big guy in the red suit is due for a visit in Sanatoga Dec. 17

SANATOGA PA – Santa Claus used to join members of the Sanatoga Fire Company on an annual drive throughout Lower Pottsgrove (PA) Township, during what was called the Santa Run, to toss candy to children and their parents waiting along the roadside. But with safety and convenience in mind, firefighters again this year are substituting “Santa Stops” for his ride.

The fire company has announced its plans to again make scheduled stops with the season’s jolliest elf on Dec. 17 (2011; Saturday) at a series of 18 locations at specified times.

Planned times and stop locations are:

• Rosewood and South Sunnybrook roads, 10 a.m.
• Donna and Noel, 10:20 a.m.
• Maple and Oaktree, 10:30 a.m.
• Creekside and Brookview, 11 a.m.
• Welsh and Oak, 11:10 a.m.
• Pinehurst and Raleigh, 11:20 a.m.
• Sanatoga Village Condominiums, 11:30 a.m.
• Pebble Beach and Julie, 11:40 a.m.
• Blackberry and Commons, noon
• The Kepler Road entrance to Walnut Ridge, 12:05 p.m.
• Allison and Shelly, 12:20 p.m.
• The Buchert Road entrance to Walnut Ridge, 12:25 p.m.
• Oakdale and Woodmere, 12:45 p.m.
• The office area at Rolling Hills, 12:50 p.m.
• Oakdale and Rivendell, 1 p.m.
• The barn area at Windhaven, 1:15 p.m.
• Sanatoga Fire Company at East High Street, 1:30 p.m., and
• Shaner’s Trailer Park on East High Street, 1:40 p.m.

In case of rain, the stops will be scheduled for Dec. 18 (Sunday).

The prime worry is heavier traffic that threatens both firefighters and families. “Due to the increased volume on our local streets and roads, we have found (the run became) more dangerous for children and our members,” the fire company explains on its website.” At times, traffic backs up behind the apparatus, and even though it is the holiday season, some drivers become quite impatient.”

Santa Stops eliminate most of those hazards.

Area fire companies, including those representing Lower Pottsgrove, gathered last Saturday at Home Depot in Pottstown for public activities to commemorate Fire Prevention Week

SANATOGA PA – It’s National Fire Prevention Week, and that means members of Lower Pottsgrove’s two all-volunteer fire companies – Sanatoga and Ringing Hill – will be out visiting local school children this week to teach them about and encourage fire safety, township Fire Marshal Lew Babel told the Board of Commissioners.

Visits are planned for daycare, public and private schools alike, he said.

This year’s observance, conducted internationally by the National Fire Protection Association, began Sunday (Oct. 9, 2011) and continues through Saturday (Oct. 15). It was founded in 1925 to commemorate the anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, which burned about four square miles of that city and killed hundreds of people.

Although the Chicago conflagration is ancient history to most students with whom firefighters will meet, the message they’ll bring is timely, Babel noted. Fire safety research has changed many of the lessons the Baby Boomer generation learned about dealing with flames and keeping out of harm’s way; teaching the new techniques top the companies’ agendas.

For several years Fire Prevention Week has kicked off locally with day-long activities in the parking lot of Home Depot, Armand Hammer Boulevard, Pottstown PA. It was held last Saturday (Oct. 1) and was heavily attended and the township was well represented, Babel reported. He also submitted to the board fire company service statistics for August 2011:

Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners’ meeting of Oct. 3):

• Local Fire Crews In Schools This Week, Teaching Safety
• Township Bends To Give Garbage Bidders Choices
• The Problems At Pruss Hill Lurk Beneath Its Bridge
• Police Detail At Limerick Hearings Cost $1,468
• Pruss Hill Bridge Might Re-Open With Weight Limit

Photo by Robert Ward from the Sanatoga Fire Company

Where it occurred, according to Montgomery County Public Safety dispatchers

SANATOGA PA – A two-vehicle accident that occurred Wednesday (Sept. 28, 2011) at about 7:40 a.m. in the eastbound lane of East High Street, between Willow Road and Maple Glen Circle in Sanatoga village, drew first responders from the Lower Pottsgrove Police Department, the Sanatoga Fire Company, and Goodwill Ambulance, Montgomery County Public Safety dispatchers reported.

A witness on the scene told dispatchers that an elderly woman in one of the vehicles seemed to be injured and “incoherent,” according to an online incident report. Heavy front-end damage was sustained by at least one of the vehicles in the collision, the report added. An ambulance was seen leaving the area bound for Pottstown Memorial Medical Center, less than a mile west.

Two fire police units, Engine 58-1, at least one ambulance, and several police cruisers were at the site.

Traffic passing the scene, thick with buses taking children to school and adults in cars headed for work or on errands, was stop-and-go for awhile. Fire police metered the flow of vehicles that used the open, westbound lane for two-way movement.

The accident occurred within a hour of heavy thunderstorms that passed across Sanatoga, leaving roads slick. Thirteen other accidents at locations within the county were reported by dispatchers during the 30-minute periods that both preceded and followed the Sanatoga mishap.

SANATOGA PA – If you were among the hundreds of motorists caught Thursday (Sept. 22, 2011) in the hours-long traffic jam caused by an accident on U.S. Route 422 between the Sanatoga and Armand Hammer interchanges, you should take a gander at what you waited for.

Talented local photographer and Sanatoga Fire Company member Robert Ward on Friday (Sept. 23) posted a series of 12 photographs from the rush-hour accident in an album on the company’s Facebook page. Find three of them above and below, and the remainder (trust us, they’re just as fascinating) here.

A crash between a tractor-trailer and maroon car left the truck stuck on the guardrail in 422′s median. Ward noted that company firefighters and fire police, as well as units from companies at Ringing Hill, North Coventry and Pottstown were on the scene, as well as Lower Pottsgrove and Limerick police.

The highway’s westbound land was shutdown Thursday from about 4:30 to 5:45 p.m., and traffic was backed up at one point from Sanatoga to Oaks, a distance of 13 miles.

Photos by Robert Ward

SERVING UP A MEAL FOR HUNDREDS OF NEIGHBORS – Members of the Sanatoga Fire Company fired up grills behind their East High Street, Sanatoga PA, headquarters and prepared tubs in which to marinade chicken Saturday (Sept. 17, 2011; above), during their semi-annual chicken barbeque. Hundreds of prepared dinners were either served in the firehouse garage, which was emptied of apparatus and filled with dining tables and chairs, or packaged to go. Members of the company’s women’s auxiliary, including Barbara Updegrove (bottom) were in the nearby kitchen baking potatoes to accompany the meal.

SANATOGA PA -Hear that growl? It’s your stomach, Sanatoga firefighters claim; it’s hungry, and this weekend they promise to offer a tasty solution to your problem.

As it does twice a year – once in fall, once during spring – the Sanatoga Fire Company will hold its chicken barbecue Saturday (Sept. 17, 2011) from 3-6:30 p.m. at the fire hall, 2222 E. High St., Pottstown PA. Meal tickets are sold only throughout the day from the fire hall doors,  and often are gone by serving time. Hint: get yours early.

• This event has been added to The Post calendar.

The meal consists of a half-chicken, baked potato, baked beans, coleslaw, roll, beverage, and dessert. Take-outs are available. For information, call 610-323-4885.

Photo from Google Images

THEY’VE NEVER FORGOTTEN THE FALLEN – As they have annually since the Sept. 11, 2011, terrorist attacks on New York City, members of the Sanatoga Fire Company again this year erected a simple but persistent reminder that many who died that day and after did so attempting to rescue others. A sign that stands this week outside the garage doors of the firehouse, 2222 E. High St., Sanatoga PA, refers to 343 New York City firefighters who perished as first responders to the stricken towers of the World Trade Center. Sunday marks the 10th anniversary of the tragedy.

The Post sells copies of its photos. See its galleries here.