Fast Three: An Eagle Scout in Stowe, 26 Off to Kutztown, and Getting Hands Dirty in Pottstown
SANATOGA PA – The Post doesn’t play with the news, but we do experiment with it. A lot.
What you’re reading is “Fast Three,” The Post’s latest effort to keep readers informed and entertained. Our weekdays-only goal is to find three local newsworthy items daily between 11 a.m. and 1:55 p.m. (just shy of three hours), condense them into a fast read of three or fewer paragraphs each, and publish them by 2 p.m.
Let us know what you think. Drop an e-mail to thesanatogapost@gmail.com.
Stowe’s Simon Keen Earns Eagle Scout Honors
Stowe PA resident Simon Keen (above at left) was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout – the highest achievement available in the Boy Scouts of America – during a court of honor ceremony Saturday (Aug. 8, 2020), and 24th District state Sen. Bob Mensch (at right) was among the many who congratulated him on the accomplishment. Mensch’s district includes Upper and West Pottsgrove townships.
Keen is a member of Troop 99 in Pottstown, sponsored by Grace Lutheran Church. In a Monday (Aug. 10) afternoon media release and accompanying photo, Mensch reported Keen completed his Eagle requirements last October, and during the past four years had held the positions of Assistant Patrol Leader, Patrol Leader, Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, and Senior Patrol Leader.
All Eagle candidates are required to complete a community project. For his, Keen and his colleagues spent hours at Althouse Arboretum on Gilbertsville Road, operated by GreenAllies and Upper Pottsgrove. They cleaned and maintained a heavily wooded area, along with clearing out a section of the arboretum and refilling it with mulch so that individuals are able to walk on the path. He also cleaned and mounted birdhouses onto permanent structures.
Photo from Sen. Bob Mensch
They’ll start their college experiences in Kutztown
Eighteen Pottstown area residents who graduated from Pottsgrove, Pottstown, Boyertown, and Spring-Ford high schools, and the Renaissance Academy, will start their college educations this fall at Berks County’s Kutztown University, it announced Monday at 1:11 p.m. They are:
From Pottsgrove High: Joshua Cerrito, Seth Clemmer, Rebecca Delp, John Heydt, Brian McGlinchey, Ahmed Moussa, Rielie Sawyer, John Stilwell, and Emily Teixeira; Pottstown High: Alexis White and Emme Wolfel; Boyertown High: Emily Fanelli, Rafhael Geraldo, Jackson Novak, Kyle Rodriguez, and Adam Walter; from Spring-Ford High: Samantha Lacy; and from Renaissance Academy, Angelina Pagano.
Additionally, Kutztown said, eight other Pottstown residents are transferring into the university from other colleges. They are, from Montgomery County Community College, Rachel Martin, Nathan Miller, Riley Minor, Antonio Moore, and Rasheeda Williams; Arcadia University, Destinee Mason; Harcum College, Channick Erwann Ndong Nkoma; and the Pennsylvania College of Technology, Bethany Perks.
Green Allies, Pottstown Hospital grow food together
GreenAllies earned a second mention Monday. Tower Heath’s Pottstown Hospital reported in a 12:23 p.m. e-mail it had partnered with the environmental education organization to develop a fully subsidized community supported agriculture program called Youth Grow CSA (at top). Its task is to help the hospital address the Pottstown area’s need for “access to healthy food,” according to its 2019 community needs assessment.
GreenAllies and its many local high and middle school, and college, volunteers operate an organic farm in Upper Pottsgrove Township. Hospital funding helped GreenAllies buy additional farm equipment and supplies, and pay for a student intern to expand production. Produce is harvested and bagged on the first and third Thursdays of every month through October, and then delivered for free pick-up by 25 shareholder-families in need at locations in Pottstown, Boyertown and Birdsboro.
Its work with the hospital “provides a unique opportunity to participate in (its) goal” while proving to youth that they can drive community change, GreenAllies Executive Director Ken Hamilton said. As Youth Grow’s season continues, the hospital “is looking for ways to … strengthen the program in 2021 (as well as) opportunities to expand the program to include more shares,” according to hospital Community Wellness Program Manager Casey Fenoglio.
Photos from Pottstown Hospital
