Interstate 70 Modernization Projects To Move Highway Into 21st Century

Belle Vernon/ Speers Bridge (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Editor’s note:  This road was a death-trap when I was living in the Mon Valley back in the 1970’s.  Glad it only took 40 years for PennDot to realize it!

A grassy mound in the backyard of Melvin “Bucky” Walkush’s childhood home is the only visible reminder of the popular carhop restaurant that served the best pizza he’s ever tasted.

It was the 1950s. Elvis topped the charts. Ike was in the White House. The Ford Thunderbird was one of the hottest cars around.

And the New 71 Barbeque along old state Route 71 in North Belle Vernon, owned by Walkush’s brother Joe and his wife, Adeline, was the place to stop for anyone using the highway linking Greensburg and Washington, Pa.

The restaurant is gone now, and the stretch of Route 71 that Walkush, 84, remembers was decommissioned in the 1960s to become part of Interstate 70 between New Stanton and Washington.

Read more: http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/5870537-74/washington-walkush-highway#ixzz32BzJh8u9
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Tours To Show Off Different Facets Of Pittsburgh

A map of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with its neighborhoods labeled. For use primarily in the list of Pittsburgh neighborhoods. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A decades-old Pittsburgh transportation company is adding to its repertoire a series of tours exploring the city’s quirky and eclectic side, from its famed slaw-and-fries sandwich to a Hill District home once rented by Pirates great Roberto Clemente.

Pittsburgh Tours and More, a division of Pittsburgh Transportation Group, also will offer a look at Western Pennsylvania’s Amish life and silver-screen locations, as well as stops at breweries where patrons can wash down local history with a cold pint.

“This provides another way to spotlight the city,” said Sherris Moreira, director of Tours and More. “We saw there was a need in Pittsburgh.”

Read more: http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/6084363-74/pittsburgh-tours-tour#ixzz32BuqKqrt
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Activists: Death Toll In Syria’s War Tops 160,000

BEIRUT — The death toll in Syria’s three-year conflict has climbed past 160,000, an activist group said Monday, a harrowing figure that reflects the relentless bloodletting in a civil war that appears no closer to being resolved.

The grim tally, however, only presents one facet of the tremendous suffering that Syrians have endured since the revolt against President Bashar Assad erupted in March 2011. The crisis has also uprooted some 6.5 million people from their homes, forced 2.7 million to flee the country, laid waste to cities and towns alike, and unleashed sectarian hatreds that have rippled across the region.

The government has presented Syria’s June 3 presidential election, which Assad is widely expected to win, as a means to end the conflict. The Syrian opposition and its Western allies have denounced the vote as a farce aimed solely at lending Assad a veneer of electoral legitimacy.

It also remains unclear how the government can hold a credible vote when the nation is engulfed in fighting and a significant chunk of the country is in opposition hands.

Read more here: http://www.centredaily.com/2014/05/19/4183994/activists-death-toll-in-syrias.html?sp=/99/264/&ihp=1#storylink=cpy

Tacony Hopes Fresh Face-Lift Lures Flocks Of Folks

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Philadelphia County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

SCOTT DeGIRALOMO, owner of Computer Guy on Torresdale Avenue near Disston, said he’s very happy with the new, huge “Computer Guy” letters that light up in cool blue across the former Tacony post office that now houses his high-tech services business.

“They replaced my hanging disaster of an old sign outside that was about to fall and crush somebody,” DeGiralomo said dryly.

Like Bull’s Eye Dart Supplies next door, Computer Guy is one of 15 businesses along Torresdale Avenue that got a major face-lift, thanks to the Tacony Community Development Corp. and its business corridor manager, Alex Balloon.

“Alex is our general and our cheerleader,” DeGiralomo said, smiling. “I see him marching around here, talking up Tacony’s positives to store owners until he rah-rahs us into being a team.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20140519_Tacony_hopes_fresh_face-lift_lures_flocks_of_folks.html#k3dFxEk0DoZZQWY6.99

Food Trucks, Beer Bring Crowd To Sly Fox Brewery In Pottstown

POTTSTOWN, PA — The parking lot in front of the Sly Fox Brewery and Tasting Room was transformed into a laid-back party scene Saturday during the Taps, Tunes and Trucks event.

The first ever combination event was the brain child of John Giannopoulis, who teamed up with representatives from the ODDyssey Half Marathon, which organized the preceding 5K race.

“(We) wanted to do a race out at the brewery and we were also talking about having a food truck event so we tied the two events together,” he said. “It’s about beer, food, running and music.”

While relaxing after the run, several teams of two lined up to play a larger-than-life version of beer pong that used trash cans painted red instead of cups and soccer balls instead of ping pong balls.

Read more: http://www.timesherald.com/lifestyle/20140519/food-trucks-beer-bring-crowd-to-sly-fox-brewery-in-pottstown

MCCC Graduates Transfer To Bucknell; Students Become Summer Scholars

Bucknell Summer Scholars: Six Montgomery County Community College students were accepted into the Summer 2014 Residency Program as part of the Bucknell University Community College Scholars Program, which provides for tuition, room and board and books. Pictured (from left) are students Brian Richmond, Mary Colleen Watson, Yinquing (Lindsay) Pan, Margaret Crush, and Summer Grenyion-Smith. Jeremy Lowery is not pictured. Photo by Sandi Yanisko

Bucknell Transfer: Five Montgomery County Community College graduates were accepted for Fall 2014 transfer to Bucknell University with full tuition scholarships. Pictured (from left) are students Mallory Murphy, Brian Hipwell, Ken Stephon, David Reedel, and Lydia Crush. Photo by Sandi Yanisko

Blue Bell, Pa. — Eleven Montgomery County Community College students soon will be attending Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa., through the Bucknell Community College Scholars Program.

Six of the students—Margaret Crush, North Wales; Summer Grenyion-Smith, Ambler; Jeremy Lowery, Gilbertsville; Yinquing (Lindsay) Pan, Blue Bell; Brian Richmond, Gilbertsville; and Mary Colleen Watson, Phoenixville, will participate in Bucknell’s Summer 2014 Residency Program.

During the summer program, selected students enroll in two courses and work with student and faculty mentors for six weeks. The program is free for the students and includes tuition, room and board and books. Participating students then have the opportunity to apply to Bucknell in 2014, and if accepted, they will transfer to the university with junior status on full-tuition scholarships.

Five of the students who participated in last year’s summer program— Lydia Crush, North Wales; Brian Hipwell, Cheltenham; Mallory Murphy, West Lawn; David Reedel, Roslyn; and Ken Stephon, Doylestown—were selected to transfer to the university in the fall as juniors with full-tuition scholarships from Bucknell.

Initially funded for four years by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, the Bucknell Community College Scholars Program enables high-achieving, low-income community college students to complete their undergraduate education at the university. According to Mark Davies, Bucknell’s Assistant Vice President for Enrollment Management and the liaison for the Community College Scholars Program, the university is committed to continuing the program, which it has funded for the past four years.

During an annual scholarship reception on May 14, MCCC and Bucknell alumnus Oscar Beteta spoke about how the program enabled him to reach his goals. After earning his associate’s degree at Montgomery County Community College, he transferred to Bucknell on full-tuition scholarship and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering.  He now works as an engineer at Air Products and Chemicals. Inc. Beteta was part of the first summer cohort to participate Bucknell Community College Scholars Program.

Montgomery County Community College has participated in Bucknell’s Community College Scholars Program since 2006. Including this year’s scholars, a total of 54 students attended the summer residency program, and, including this year’s graduates, a total of 36 students transferred to Bucknell on full-tuition scholarships.

Bucknell’s program extends to five community colleges:  Montgomery County Community College, Garrett College, Lehigh Carbon Community College, Community College of Philadelphia and Harrisburg Area Community College.

2014 Commencement Creates ‘Digital Moment’ For MCCC Grads

Grad 1: Graduates take selfies during Montgomery County Community College’s 2014 Commencement ceremony on May 15, creating a unique “digital moment.” Photo by John Welsh

Grad 2: Michelle Sikora, Lansdale, was inspiring during her remarks as student commencement speaker. Photo by John Welsh

Grad 3: Vice President for Academic Affairs & Provost Dr. Vicki Bastecki-Perez presents Jill Beccaris-Pescatore, Glenside, Assistant Professor of Economics, with the Pearlstine Award for Teaching Excellence. Photo by John Welsh

Blue Bell, Pa.—Montgomery County Community College’s class of 2014 made history on May 15, as graduates, faculty and guests participated in what may very well be the largest group of “selfie” photos taken simultaneously.

Dr. Celeste Schwartz, alumna and Vice President for Information Technology and College Services, initiated the selfie during her Commencement keynote address, encouraging close to 5,000 graduates, faculty and guests to take and share selfies to commemorate the evening.

Shared with the hashtag #ThinkBigGrad to a variety of social media platforms, many of these photos are archived on the College’s Think Success blog at mc3success.wordpress.com or Pinterest at pinterest.com/mc3mustangs.

With a combined 90 years of service to MCCC, Dr. Schwartz along with Professor of Economics Dr. Lee Bender were selected as 2014 Commencement keynote speakers as part of the College’s 50th anniversary celebration. Together, they painted a picture of 1960s and imparted wisdom from lessons learned to graduates from the Class of 2014.

One of those graduates, Michelle Sikora, Lansdale, had the opportunity to share her story as the selected student commencement speaker. During her remarks, Sikora a single parent to a child with significant medical needs, shared the challenges of balancing coursework with doctor appointments and hospital visits.

“Some trials are just a part of life. They are life’s pop quizzes; they are opportunities for growth and improvement, and they have rewards,” she shared. “We can benefit even from life’s toughest challenges by asking, ‘what can I learn from this experience? How can I approach this in a new way, and what can I change? And, most importantly, how can I use this experience to help others?’”

Graduating with a degree in Liberal Studies, Sikora will return to the College in the fall to pursue a degree in Nursing.

Sikora was one of 1,491 graduates from the class of 2014, who collectively earned 1,525 degrees and certificates. Included among these are a record 52 military veterans, who, for the first time, wore navy blue stoles embroidered with the words “Valor & Respect;” a record 340 students who completed their coursework at the College’s West Campus in Pottstown; 275 members of Phi Theta Kappa international honor society; 75 students with a grade point average (GPA) of 3.9 or higher; 35 international students from 17 different countries; a record 21 graduates from the College’s Honors Program; and 21 Mustangs student athletes.

Class of 2014 graduates range in aged from 17 to 81. Of note, 99 graduates began their college careers as dual enrollment students from 34 regional and cyber high schools.

Graduates were not the only ones lauded for their accomplishments during the ceremony. Assistant Professor of Economics Jill Beccaris-Pescatore, Glenside, received the 2014 Pearlstine Award for Teaching Excellence. The award, given on alternating years with the Lindback Award for Teaching Excellence, is named in honor of founding Trustee Gladys Pearlstine and is presented to a faculty member who embodies the principles on which the College was founded and who is nominated his/her peers and students.

During the presentation, Beccaris-Pescatore, who has taught at MCCC since 2003, was recognized for using new media and current events to teach complex economic principles, as well as her energy and enthusiasm in the classroom and her participation in college activities. She is also an avid runner and has completed the Boston Marathon in each of the last two years.

Several dignitaries celebrated with the graduates, including Pennsylvania State Senator John Rafferty, Montgomery County Commissions Josh Shapiro and Bruce Castor, and members of the College’s Board of Trustees. In addition to these, 19 alumni who graduated between 1968-1972 attended the ceremony to commemorate the College’s 50th anniversary.