Special Project: East Coventry Farm Exemplifies Sustainability Movement

East Coventry Township, PA – From the front, the white house at 253 Harley Road looks like any other home in the neighborhood. A short walk back reveals that appearances can be deceiving. For behind this particular house, there’s a chicken coop, greenhouses and a small farm where sustainable, organic growing is taking place.

Jubilee Hill Farm was started about three years ago by owners David and Wendy Ryle. The married couple grows produce on 1.5 acres of a 10-acre property left to Wendy by her grandparents. She said they plant food for humans but they want the land to also be a safe space for other living creatures.

“The idea was that this would be a wildlife refuge and it still is…it’s not a battle of the wildlife, it’s just sort of living in harmony with them,” she said.

Sustainability practices are those that keep in mind that the future survival of humans and other organisms are dependent on preserving the natural environment, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency .

Read more:

http://www.dailylocal.com/general-news/20150406/special-project-east-coventry-farm-exemplifies-sustainability-movement

April Showers Swamp Region, Trigger Flooding

The rains came heavy Tuesday into Wednesday as if all those metaphorical April showers waited until the last day of the month to show up.

It all started when a low-pressure front slinked into the region Tuesday and started dumping rain into the area to the point that by 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, a United States Geological Survey rain gauge along the Schuylkill River had recorded nearly 5 inches of rain in a 24-hour period.

And, as you might expect, the result was creeks bursting their banks — along with the Schuylkill River they ultimately feed — and flooded roads, and then trapping some motorists on those roads after they tried to drive through the water.

One of at least four “water rescues” in the area occurred on Bethel Church Road in East Coventry when a small blue sedan stalled in a deep swell of water on the road.

Read more: http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20140430/april-showers-swamp-region-trigger-flooding

$2.3M Restoration Of Frick’s Lock Village Unveiled

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

EAST COVENTRY TOWNSHIP, PA — In its heyday, Frick’s Lock Village was one of dozens of stops along the Schuylkill Navigation for coal making its way from the coal regions and the river’s headwaters to energy-starved industrial cities like Philadelphia.

But it lost its economic lustre when the railroads took over the job of carrying the coal and it slipped from public view entirely in 1969, when it was purchased by PECO as part of the construction of the Limerick nuclear plant.

But it never slipped entirely from memory, at least not for people like Bill Carl, who lived in the former locktender’s house in the late 1930s, when it had no electricity and no plumbing.

“We rented this from the Reading Railroad Co. for $5 a month,” he said.

Read more:  http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20130512/NEWS01/130519819/-2-3m-restoration-of-frick-s-lock-village-unveiled#full_story

Judge Rules Greist Must Remain In State Hospital – Killer’s ‘Progress’ Gets Off-Site Privileges Increased

English: Historic post-card (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

WEST CHESTER, PA – Killer Richard Greist must remain committed against his will to Norristown State Hospital for another year, a Chester County Court judge has ruled, but can be given expanded off-ground privileges as he continues to progress in his psychiatric treatment.

Judge Edward Griffith filed an order recommitting Greist on Tuesday, agreeing with the recommendation of his treating psychiatrist at Norristown that he needs to remain in the secure environment of the hospital for fear that if released, he could decompensate mentally and see the psychosis that led to the killing of his wife and infant son re-emerge.

“However,” wrote the judge in his seven-page opinion and order, ”based on the progress in therapy that Mr. Greist has made during the past year, which is demonstrated by insight into his daily choices, greater self-awareness, expressions of sadness and remorse over his past conduct … as well as his conduct on and off (Norristown) grounds, we have permitted Mr. Greist additional off-ground, unsupervised privileges.”

Instead of the current quarterly, 12-hour, unsupervised, off-ground passes, beginning this year Greist will have such privileges every two months in a row, and then a 24-hour overnight pass in the third month. He is also permitted supervised, off-grounds passes overseen by Norristown staff as he has had in the past, and is once more allowed to attend Sunday church services at the Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall Temple in West Norriton.

Read more:  http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20130510/NEWS01/130509266/judge-rules-greist-must–remain-in–state-hospital–killer-s-progress-gets-off-site-privileges-increased-#full_story

Pottstown Regional Recreation Post Could Wear Many Hats

POTTSTOWN — Sometimes things just fall into your lap just when you need them.

Just one day after members of the Pottstown School Board and borough council brainstormed about ways they can work together to cut costs and market Pottstown to a broader region, an opportunity to do just that for free was again presenting itself.

During their first joint meeting of the year on Feb. 25, members of both Pottstown boards echoed a common lament, the need to market what Pottstown has to offer to a wider audience, to better coordinate and add to major events and the need for additional funding help from outside sources and the surrounding townships.

On Tuesday, the Pottstown Metropolitan Regional Planning Committee heard about an opportunity being developed over the last year with the help of the Pottstown Health and Wellness Foundation to do many of those things at a ridiculously low cost.

Read more:  http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20130304/NEWS01/130309833/pottstown-regional-rec-post-could-wear-many-hats#full_story

OJR School Enrollments Predicted Down Over Next 10 Years

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

SOUTH COVENTRY — Enrollments in the Owen J. Roberts School District are expected to remain flat or even decrease over the next ten years, according to new enrollment projections presented to the board at a recent committee of the whole meeting.

Projections show the overall student population rising slightly through 2016, from the current 5,121 students to 5,240. If the projections prove true, the numbers will begin dropping in 2017, when 5,233 students are expected to be registered, rising and falling in some years, but hitting 5,218 students in 2022.

Those predictions, presented by Director of Pupil Services Holly W. Acosta, are based on a new study by Decision Insite, an enrollment impact firm which looks at kindergarten enrollments, planned residential developments, and student cohorts through each grade level.

The numbers are a far cry from the steady growth the district had been experiencing in the past, with district wide enrollments climbing by over 1,000 students in 10 years, from 4,050 in 2002 to 5,121 in 2012.  That’s a reflection of the economy and the dip in the housing market which has put a number of large scale development projects on hold, according to Superintendent Michael Christian.

Read more:  http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20130118/NEWS01/130119426/ojr-school-enrollments-predicted-down-over-next-10-years-#full_story

Pottstown Borough Authority Adopts New Policy In Wake Of Water Theft Case

POTTSTOWN,PA — If a silver lining could be said to exist in the case of the landlord accused of stealing borough water at multiple properties, it could be said that it brought the problem to the attention of the authorities.

Or, in this case, the Pottstown Borough Authority.

In June, landlord Frank McLaughlin of East Coventry was arrested  by Pottstown police and charged with theft of services after devices designed to by-pass water meters were found inside multiple properties he owned.

That case is still working its way through the courts, but the borough authority’s board wasted no time in acting at its Nov. 27 meeting and adopting a policy designed to minimize the loss once such a by-pass device has been discovered.

Read more:  http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20121202/NEWS01/121209923/pottstown-borough-authority-adopts-new-policy-in-wake-of-water-theft-case#full_story

Killer Greist Wants Case Shifted To Federal Court

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Killer Richard Greist has for many years wanted a change of scenery — a release from his involuntary commitment to Norristown State Hospital for mental health treatment. Now, he wants a change of venue.

In December, Greist filed a petition to remove his civil commitment case from the Common Pleas Court in Chester County to U.S. District Court in Philadelphia. He said, acting as his own attorney, that his confinement at Norristown violated his constitutional rights, as well as the American with Disabilities Act.

He contends that his case should be moved to federal court because authorities have altered his commitment status from civil to criminal; have refused to order his annual commitment hearings closed to the public; have not considered a “trial release plan” for him into the community; and have failed to consider what the “least restrictive setting” for him would be.

In response, the county District Attorney’s Office, acting as an intervener in the commitment proceedings, asked the court to dismiss Greist’s petition, calling his assertions “patently false,” “nonsensical,” and delusional.

Read more: http://www.dailylocal.com/articles/2012/01/23/news/srv0000016988163.txt?viewmode=fullstory

Pottstown Regional Public Meeting – September 8, 2011 @ 7:00 PM