Pottstown Police Use Pepper Spray To Break Up Fight After Domestic Disturbance

Location of Pottstown in Montgomery County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Editor’s note:  Let me guess….another rental property.

POTTSTOWN — Police had to use pepper spray to break up an altercation after an alleged domestic disturbance escalated on Friday afternoon.

Around 1 p.m., borough police responded to a call for a domestic dispute in the 500 block of Chestnut Street but when police arrived, the situation moved into the street.

Pottstown Police Chief Richard Drumheller said a man at the residence hit the windshield of a car multiple times, possibly with a baseball bat, and kicked in the front door of the three-story home. The residents locked themselves in the basement.

Read more:  http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20130511/NEWS01/130519922/pottstown-police-use-pepper-spray-to-break-up-fight-after-domestic-disturbance#full_story

Pottstown Homeless Man Jailed After He Admits To Borough Arson

MONTGOMERY COUNTY COURTHOUSE — A onetime homeless man is now residing in a jail cell after he admitted to starting a fire inside a vacant Pottstown apartment that resulted in a response from Pottstown fire officials.

Brian Jay Staub, 38, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 11 ½-to-23 months in the county jail after he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of arson endangering property in connection with the March fire at an apartment in the 400 block of Manatawny Street.

Judge William R. Carpenter, who accepted a plea agreement in the case, also ordered Staub to complete four years’ probation after he’s paroled from jail.  The judge also ordered Staub to complete any drug or alcohol treatment that might be recommended by probation officials.

Staub, who court records indicate once listed an address in the 300 block of Chestnut Street in Pottstown, also must pay $1,000 restitution to Spring Hill Realty Inc., of Harleysville, which owned the property.

Read more:  http://www.timesherald.com/article/20121217/NEWS03/121219567/pottstown-homeless-man-jailed-after-he-admits-to-borough-arson#full_story

Creating Beauty In West Reading, One Tile At A Time

On the sidewalk along Penn Avenue in West Reading, Pam Roule glued down glass tiles under the late morning sun.

“It’s like a jigsaw puzzle,” the borough resident said as she placed the small pieces. “These are the clouds.”

Nearby, Mayor Shane J. Keller cut additional pieces of glass as the occasional West Reading Farmers Market patron stopped, groceries in hand, to view the progress on what eventually will be one of five mosaics on Chestnut Street near West Reading Elementary Center.

“The more you work with it, the more you learn,” said Roule, an artist with a studio on Playground Drive. “And it gets kind of addicting.”

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=422717

 

MOSAIC To Hold “Open Garden” In Pottstown

August 29, 2012 – Pottstown, PA – MOSAIC Community Land Trust is holding an “Open Garden” on Saturday, September 22 from 12-2 pm.  All are invited into the Community Garden at 423 Chestnut Street in Pottstown to participate in a salsa-making workshop, learn how the garden works, and pick vegetables to take home.

“The idea of many people gardening their own plot within a larger space may have seemed unusual last spring when this was just a vacant lot,” said David Jackson, President of MOSAIC’s Board of Trustees.  “We want to welcome the community to see the garden in action.”

The Community Garden has plots being tended by Pottstown residents, including groups from Pottstown Middle School, the Olivet Boys and Girls Club, and the Maternity Care Coalition/Early Head Start.  Hundreds of pounds of squash, tomatoes, kale, basil and many other vegetables and herbs are being harvested.  Members weigh their produce and record it on a sheet; totals will be announced at the end of the season.

Garden guests on September 22 will be able to take home vegetables and herbs from one of MOSAIC’s community plots. There will also be salsa-making demonstrations and tastings, along with pesto made from basil grown in the garden. MOSAIC is now seeking another site in Pottstown to add a garden next year.  Interested residents can get on a list for next year’s gardens.

Support for acquisition and construction of the garden on Chestnut Street came from the Pottstown School District, Pottstown Area Health and Wellness Foundation, National Penn Bank, Genesis Housing Corporation, Susquehanna Bank, Lowes, Borough of Pottstown, Davey Tree Experts, and Andrew Monastra, Esq.

MOSAIC Community Land Trust’s a mission to increase homeownership in Pottstown, develop community gardens, and support the arts.  Their office and gallery is at 10 S. Hannover Street. Membership in the CLT is open to all; details can be found at their website at www.mosaiccommunitylandtrust.org or by calling David Jackson at 484-949-4235.

Art Blossoms In MOSAIC Community Garden Summer Program

Pottstown, Pa - Campers at the Pottstown branch of the Olivet Boys and Girls Club are learning about fresh, organic vegetables while keeping their creativity humming in a unique summer program at the MOSAIC Community Garden at 423 Chestnut Street in Pottstown.

About twenty campers, aged 10-12 years old, are participating in the six-week program.  One morning each week they walk from the Ricketts Center to the garden, where they spend a couple of hours working on an art project and caring for their organization’s two plots as well as the communal plots around the perimeter of the garden.  So far the children have painted benches in whimsical colors, learned how to use binoculars from a birding expert, and painted birdhouses to take home.  They have also taken home collard greens and had the chance to sample blueberries and cherry tomatoes while watering the many plants being grown around the perimeter of the garden.

Funding for the program, which was designed by Pottstown resident Hannah Davis, is being provided by Susquehanna Bank through Genesis Housing Corporation.  Ms. Davis is teaching the art classes along with Natalie Cyphers.

“We’re grateful to Susquehanna and Judy Memberg of Genesis for making it possible for us to offer programming in our first year of operating the garden,” said David Jackson, president of MOSAIC.  “We want young people especially to experience the benefits of gardening and the arts.”

The remaining three workshops will focus on the life cycle of butterflies and making butterfly mobiles, creating mosaic tile stepping-stones for the garden, and making pizzas at the Ricketts Center with ingredients picked fresh from the garden.

The MOSAIC Community Garden is owned and operated by MOSAIC Community Land Trust, which is seeking additional community garden sites for 2013 in order to expand the supply of fresh vegetables and healthy lifestyle choices for Pottstown residents.  Support for acquisition and construction of the garden came from the Pottstown School District, Pottstown Area Health and Wellness Foundation, National Penn Bank, Genesis Housing Corporation, Susquehanna Bank, Lowes, Borough of Pottstown, Davey Tree Experts, and Andrew Monastra, Esq.

MOSAIC Community Land Trust (CLT) has an office and art gallery at 10 S. Hanover Street in downtown Pottstown.  They welcome donations in support of their mission to increase homeownership, develop community gardens, and support the arts in Pottstown.  Membership in the CLT is open to all; details can be found at their website at www.mosaiccommunitylandtrust.org or by calling David Jackson at 484-949-4235.

MOSAIC Community Land Trust To Hold Artist Reception This Saturday In Pottstown‏

Pottstown, Pa. – Local photographer Sharon K. Merkel will be on hand at MOSAIC Gallery, 10 S. Hanover Street in Pottstown, this Saturday, July 21 from 6-8 pm.  All are welcome to attend this free reception.

Ms. Merkel’s work is on view now at the gallery along with the paintings of Sharon McGinley in MOSAIC’s latest show, Nurturing Hope.  The show highlights the beauty in nature and in urban spaces, much like a community garden.  MOSAIC Community Land Trust, which runs the gallery, built Pottstown’s first community garden at 423 Chestnut Street this past spring.  Gardeners are now realizing the fruits of their labor at the garden site.

In the artist’s statement on her website, Ms. Merkel says, “My photographic work looks at my world with a very direct approach.  Photography is the art of exclusion – knowing what to include and what to leave out to create the correct balance and narrative.”  Her photos of urban buildings and barns often feature intersections with a brilliant sky or a lone tree.  Several prints of industrial buildings in Pottstown are included and for sale at MOSAIC Gallery.

MOSAIC receives a standard 30% commission on all art sales, so a purchase not only supports these local artists, but also the community garden, arts, and affordable housing mission of MOSAIC Community Land Trust.

This show is being curated by MOSAIC summer interns Amanda Hoffman and Blake Wrigley, who spent their early years in Pottstown and graduated from Boyertown High School.  Blake is a recent graduate of Messiah College and Amanda is a senior art major there.

Nurturing Hope will run through July 28. The MOSAIC gallery is located at 10 S. Hanover Street in Pottstown. Regular gallery hours are Thursday-Saturday from 4-7 pm. MOSAIC’s website is www.mosaiccommunitylandtrust.org.  Sharon Merkel’s website is www.skmerkel.com.

Mosaic Community Garden – Pottstown’s Hidden Jewel On Chestnut Street

Pottstown, PA – I was given a tour of the new Community Garden on Chestnut Street yesterday by Katy Jackson.  The garden was formerly a broken down playground full of weeds, drug dealers and hookers.  The school district and the borough worked with Mosaic to make this project happen.  It is now a source of pride and a stabilizing factor in the neighborhood.

The large space was cleared and has been subdivided into 34 individual plots that people are using to grow their own vegetables.  There is also a flower garden near the front entrance, a patio area and a common gathering area in the rear.  An amphitheater is being constructed for lectures and programs.  There is a shed full of tools, three hoses for water and several adult and child picnic tables.  In addition, there is a composter in the rear of the property that will be brought back into working order so that gardeners can all contribute to the communal composter.

There is an educational component to the garden as well as the ability to grow one’s own food.  There is art programming at the garden this summer in conjunction with the Olivet Boys & Girls Club/Ricketts Center.  20-25 children are attending.  The children have painted the benches the past three Thursday mornings and this Thursday they are gathering at the garden to paint bird houses.

There is special kids pizza garden and a middle school garden.

People are harvesting green beans, lettuce, yellow squash and tomatoes.

This Saturday, July 14^th, there is a composting workshop at the garden.  Lectures will be given on traditional composting and worm composting.  This workshop runs from 9am to 11am.  The presenters will be Laura Washington and Scott Winter.

Future plans include selling produce grown from the garden and additional community garden sites being added in Pottstown.  There are many volunteers who have put hours of sweat equity into making this garden a huge success.  They should all be commended!

For more information about the tremendous project, click here: http://pottstownclt.wordpress.com/