Local Senior Wins $10,000 Arts Scholarship

Scholarship winner Jaid Mark with “Her Flaws” watercolor and acrylic in background

POTTSTOWN, PA – On Saturday, May 31, the Greater Pottstown Foundation awarded a $10,000 scholarship to Jaid Mark, a Pottsgrove High School senior. Jaid is the 2014 winner of The Greater Pottstown Foundation Scholarship for the Arts, which is designed to financially assist a local high school senior in obtaining a degree from accredited academic institutions of higher learning for study in the arts.

Jaid will be attending Philadelphia University this fall to pursue a degree in art therapy. Cynthia Scherer, her high school art teacher, said: “This young lady has a wonderful work ethic, a motivational spirit that influences others and creativity which will help her to excel in her college endeavor.”

The scholarship was awarded based on an essay and on artwork that Jaid created for a show currently on display at ArtFusion 19464. The three pieces she entered into the competition will become part of the Foundation’s permanent collection. This is the fourth year that ArtFusion has partnered with the Foundation to present this scholarship.

The show will be on display at ArtFusion through June 14 and can be seen any time during normal gallery hours: Tuesday through Friday from 10am to 5pm and Saturday 10am to 3pm. ArtFusion is closed on Sundays and Mondays.

ArtFusion 19464 is a 501(c)3 non-profit community art center located at 254 E. High St. in downtown Pottstown. The school offers day, evening and weekend classes to all ages. The goal of these classes is to help students develop their creative skills through self-expression and independence. ArtFusion’s gallery hosts rotating shows featuring local artists. The gallery also sells handcrafted, one-of-a-kind gift items.  The gallery is open Tuesday through Friday from 10am-5pm and Saturday 10am-3pm. The gallery is closed Sunday and Monday.

Mt. Lebanon Church Channels Hollywood With ‘Fault In Our Stars’ Screening

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

It was like Oscar night and prom rolled into one.

Thursday night, men and women of all ages gathered at the Galleria of Mt. Lebanon in anticipation of the night’s main event: a screening of the film “The Fault in Our Stars,” adapted from John Green’s best-selling teen novel. Wearing dresses and suits — or, for a fancy few, gowns and tuxedos — most of the filmgoers, more than 300, chose to go Hollywood.

But for many of these attendees, the film had added significance in their community. The evening, which began with a gala-style red carpet event before the screening, was organized and planned by St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Mt. Lebanon — which was used as one of the film’s set locations. In the movie, main characters Hazel (Shailene Woodley) and Augustus (Ansel Elgort), two teens who meet during a cancer support group that is held within the walls of a church.

Lisa Brown, the church’s communications director and its children’s ministry director, said she fondly remembers when the film was being shot at the church in fall 2013. As the church is near the neighborhood schools, teenagers would arrive on set in order to meet Mr. Green and the film’s stars after classes ended, oftentimes dodging police officers. Ms. Brown said she wanted to capitalize on that excitement.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/ae/2014/06/06/Church-channels-Hollywood-with-Fault-screening/stories/201406060103#ixzz33y9fXUKQ

Crime Spree Starts In Hazleton, Ends In New York City

Downtown Hazleton, PA (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

HAZLETON, PA — A 125-mile crime spree Friday morning that started in Hazleton and ended in New York City involved the kidnapping of one woman, the attempted kidnapping of another and a dramatic ending when a stolen Cadillac Escalade crashed on the George Washington Bridge, police said.

Authorities said a 33-year-old man from New York allegedly kidnapped a woman by force from her residence on North Church Street Friday morning and was captured hours later after the bridge crash.

At a news conference, Hazleton Police Chief Frank DeAndrea identified the suspect as Luis Figueroa. Court records list Figueroa’s address as Walter Avenue, Bronx, New York.

According to DeAndrea, Hazleton police responded to 149 N. Church St. at about 8:30 a.m. after a man armed with a shotgun attempted to abduct a pregnant woman. One of the women in the house had a protection-from-abuse order against Figueroa, the chief said.

Read more: http://timesleader.com/news/local-news-news/1448833/Crime-spree-starts-in-Hazleton-ends-in-New-York-City