May 26 2015

News From The Althouse Arboretum‏

In the News

The entrance to our parking lot is done! Soon (with the help of our volunteers!) the handicapped gardens will be in place. The shed is almost finished so we’ll be able to move all the gardening tools out of the house. Plants are blooming, some we identify and add pictures of on our facebook page. Come visit!

Gardening Series

A lecture series presented by Master Gardeners and other experts in their field. Please preregister here Starts Tuesday, May 26, 7pm Donation $5 First in our series is Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Composting. Do you need a bin? If so what size? What do you put in it? How do you use it? All questions answered! Also a limited supply of native plants will be available for purchase.

Volunteer Weekend

May 30th & 31st, 2015, The last Saturday and Sunday of each month, Come any time in between 10am & 3pm We’ll be doing a little of everything! Planting, weeding, moving, choose your favorite activity, meet your neighbors and have fun! Families welcomed! No experience necessary! No preregistration required!

Summer Camps 2015

Children grades K through 4th June 22-26, 9am to 12pm –Nature Explorers Learn about nature by exploring it! Campers become detectives looking for clues to reveal each day’s nature mystery and wonder. July 13-17, 9am to 12pm – Wildlife Week Looking closely you can find wildlife everywhere in our nature center! Campers will see, collect and identify familiar and quite strange creatures in our woods, fields and ponds. (8am arrival available) Click on the picture for more info and registration.

Recycling Day – Scrap Metal and Tires

Saturday, June 27th, 9 am to 1 pm Support the Arboretum and clean out the garage at the same time! No fee, all donations appreciated. (Please drop off only during recycling hours)

Apr 27 2015

Plum Officials: District Won’t Inhibit ‘Constitutionally Protected Speech’

Plum Borough School District administrators and borough police walked back assertions they made last week suggesting students could be arrested for “irresponsible” talk or social media postings about investigations into teacher sex abuse allegations.

“The district will not prevent or inhibit any individuals from engaging in constitutionally protected speech,” said Superintendent Timothy Glasspool in a letter the district released Monday. Glasspool did not respond to requests for comment.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania said the district’s statement was “more cryptic than we would have liked,” but the group said it accepted the clarification of the issue, according to ACLU-PA legal director Witold Walczak.

The ACLU became involved when local police and high school administrators held an assembly and cautioned students against discussing the investigation publicly, telling them they could be arrested for “irresponsible” and “immature” talk, tweets, texts, emails, or posts to Facebook.

Jan 12 2015

Pottstown Borough Council President Toroney Won’t Seek A 5th Term

Editor’s note: We hope this leadership change will usher in a new era of reduced crime and economic prosperity for Pottstown. The taxpayers have waited long enough to see their tax burden lessened and to feel safe in their homes.

POTTSTOWN, PA – Borough Council President Stephen Toroney announced Monday night that he will not seek election to a fifth term in the November election.

Toroney read from a prepared statement, saying “the decision not to run was easy.”

He did not elaborate.

However, he did choke up slightly when he said “what will be difficult is not serving this borough which I love.”

Sep 17 2014

Attack On Gay Couple Prompts Outraged Citizens To Use Twitter To Try To Solve The Crime

English: Map of Philadelphia County highlighting Center City (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The video Philadelphia police posted online represented a major break in a horrific case – capturing images of a group suspected in a vicious Center City attack on a gay couple.

The suspects in the video – a group of young men and women, laughing, smiling and dressed for a night out – had allegedly mocked two men walking near Rittenhouse Square before beating them badly, sending both to the hospital. One of the men was also robbed, police said.

Word spread, and within hours, people took to Twitter and the Internet, trawling through social media in an attempt to identify the men and women in the video and forwarding their findings to police.

As detectives in the case zeroed in on the suspects and fielded tips, the online effort to identify them became something of a crowdsourced investigation.

Aug 12 2014

George Takei Has A Bone To Pick With Wawa

Math: It’s hard, especially if you’re a convenience store like, say, Wawa. But don’t worry—best friend to the Internet, George Takei, is here to clear everything up.

Takei recently posted up an image of none other than a Wawa coffee cup to his massively popular Facebook page (7.4 million likes and counting) with a few sections underlined.

Yes, because math, indeed. Takei apparently took this perceived error to heart, calling the labels “rather misleading.” As you can imagine, the comments section of the post has gone into full-fervor mode, with Wawa’s endless line of zealots (AKA us) kindly—and not so kindly—explaining why, in fact, Wawa is never wrong. Like, ever.

Aug 4 2014

With No State Oversight, Local Districts Set Their Own Communication Policies

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

Luzerne County authorities last winter charged three school district employees with having sex with students.

A county jury last Wednesday acquitted one of them — suspended Hanover Area School District teacher Edward Evans. The other two face trial on charges they had sex with students.

After the Evans trial concluded, jury foreman Jeffrey Lotz said the jury couldn’t definitively determine if Evans had sex with an 18-year-old student, but he said Evans put himself in a bad position by taking the student into his bedroom. Evans admitted he picked the student up and took him back to his house to go over pamphlets on sexually transmitted diseases.

School districts can set their own policies on contact and communication between teachers and students outside of school. With no official state oversight of out-of-class communication, policies vary by school district.

Apr 7 2014

These Artists In War-Ravaged Damascus Have Broken A Guinness World Record

Editor’s Note: This is very inspiring and there are many pictures you can view when you click on the link below. Love how people triumph over adversity!

Six Syrian artists have set a 2014 Guinness World Record. Using scraps from the streets of war-ravaged Damascus, in January they built the largest mural made from recycled material, beautifying the area outside a primary school in Syria’s capital.

It took Syrian artist Moaffak Makhoul and his team six months to complete the mural in the upscale Al Mazzeh area of Damascus. Guinness announced the win on Facebook on March 26.

The team used scrap objects like broken mirrors, bicycle wheels, and aluminum cans to construct the mural, measuring 7,749.98 feet across.

Dec 23 2013

Man Shot To Death By Lititz Police Officer Is Identified As 2009 Warwick Grad

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

The Lititz man fatally shot by police Saturday was a 2009 graduate of Warwick High School and attended Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, where he was named to the dean’s list multiple times.

Officials on Sunday released the name of the shooting victim, David P. Giliberti, who was shot and killed by a Lititz police officer.

According to his Facebook profile, the 22-year-old originally was from Cassadaga, N.Y.

The shooting occurred after police responded to 101 Arrowhead Drive just after 3 a.m. Saturday after Giliberti’s grandmother called 911 and said she needed help.

Oct 1 2013

Amazon To Hire 70,000 Seasonal Workers

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

Amazon.com Inc said it expects to hire more than 70,000 full-time seasonal employees across its order fulfillment centers in the United States, a 40 percent increase from last year.

Amazon operates a fulfillment center in Upper Macungie Township. That warehouse had about 2,000 Amazon employees last year, making it the Lehigh Valley‘s ninth-largest employer.

Amazon, which has about 88,400 employees, said it has converted more than 7,000 temporary employees in the United States into full-time employees so far this year.

Sep 21 2013

Vick Autograph Signing Postponed Due To Death Threats

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick after the Eagles’ training camp in Lehigh, Pennsylvania. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

An autograph signing by Eagles quarterback Michael Vick in York, Pa. has been canceled temporarily, thanks to death threats made against the event’s organizer.

According to WHP CBS 21, event organizer Joe Bartolo claims death threats were made against him, his wife and their family for organizing the Vick signing, which had been scheduled for October 31 at a local Buffalo Wild Wings. Bartolo also says he was forced to shut down JJ Cards-N-Toys Facebook page.

“The message was, ‘I wish your wife and kids would die,'” Bartolo told WHP CBS 21.

Sep 20 2013

Pottsgrove Manor To Host Homeschool Day

Pottstown, PA – On Friday, October 4, 2013 from 10:00am to 2:00pm, bring homeschoolers out to historic Pottsgrove Manor for a fun-filled and educational field trip that will let them explore the skills, trades, and pastimes of the 18th century with the site’s fourth annual Homeschool Day.

Around the grounds, children will be able to participate in hands-on activities led by Pottsgrove Manor’s staff and volunteers. Activities will include candle-dipping, apple cider-pressing, writing with a quill pen, dancing and etiquette lessons, tape-weaving, and much more. Guests will get to meet sheep from Red Rope Farm and learn how their hair would be spun into yarn. Demonstrations of open-hearth cooking will take place in the manor’s kitchen. The first floor of the Pottsgrove Manor mansion will be open for self-guided tours, with volunteers stationed in the rooms to share the house’s history and answer questions. The museum shop will be open for the purchase of books, games, souvenirs, and more.

This program is ideal for elementary-aged students and is open to individual homeschool families, homeschool groups, and small school and church groups. The cost is $5.00 per child. Call 610-326-4014 to preregister or for more information. Groups are encouraged to preregister. Activities will be ongoing throughout the day; allow at least two hours for the visit. As most activities will be outdoors, this program will be held weather-permitting. Limited parking and handicapped spots are available in the Pottsgrove Manor parking lot. Visitors may also park directly across on King Street in the Quality Inn parking lot.

Pottsgrove Manor can also be toured during regular museum hours Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00am to 4:00pm, and Sunday from 1:00pm to 4:00pm. Tours are given on the hour. The last tour of the day begins at 3:00pm. The site is closed Mondays and major holidays. Groups of ten or more should preregister by calling 610-326-4014.

Pottstown Manor is located at 100 West King Street near the intersection of King Street and Route 100, just off Route 422, in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. Pottsgrove Manor is operated by MontgomeryCounty under the direction of the Parks, Trails, and Historic Sites Division of the Assets and Infrastructure Department. For more information, please call 610-326-4014, or visit the website at www.montcopa.org/pottsgrovemanor. Like Pottsgrove Manor on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pottsgrovemanor.

Aug 30 2013

Allentown Four-Corner Rally Opposes U.S. Strike In Syria

English: City of Allentown (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Hundreds of local Syrian-Americans crammed into the four corners of a major Allentown intersection Thursday evening to oppose threatened U.S. military action in Syria.

“Hands Off Syria,” read many of the protesters’ signs, held up to the traffic at Airport Road and Union Boulevard.

“We want peace! We want peace!” they chanted in large groups, Syrian and U.S. flags waving above them.

The demonstrators said they don’t believe Syrian leader Bashar Assad has killed rebels with chemical weapons, as President Barack Obama has said in making the case for an attack on Syria.

Jul 22 2013

New Facebook Page, Crime In Pottstown, Is Valuable Tool For Residents

There’s a new Facebook page dedicated to crime in Pottstown. Unfortunately, there is a need for such a thing to exist. The delusional leadership doesn’t seem to think there are any problems in town but if you read this page you will see ordinary citizens telling their stories about being victims of crime. Burglary is a big problem in Pottstown along with drugs. Probably because they go hand in hand. This is an eye-opening read which helps keep residents and those who work in town up to date. We urge you to share information and keep informed.

We have listed Crime in Pottstown under our Important Pottstown Sites on the right hand side of the page. Here is a link to click on which will take you directly there.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Crime-in-Pottstown/149360611925992

Jul 9 2013

Scranton Just Wild About Derek Jeter

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

SCRANTON — Casey Prudente chased a rumor and wound up with a story even she finds hard to believe.

Lucky she has the pictures to prove it.

When the captain of the New York Yankees calls you over to his car, it doesn’t matter if the light has turned green. Traffic on a Scanton corner waited Sunday morning while Derek Jeter snapped photos with Prudente and three friends.

When the passenger window rolled down and he called them over, she was thrilled. The Scott Township resident had been waiting at the Hilton Scranton and Conference Center since 7 a.m. Sunday, hoping Jeter might be staying there.

Jun 23 2013

Feds Investigating McDonald’s Franchise Over Payroll Debit Cards

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

Federal investigators are looking into whether a McDonald’s franchise in Luzerne County is breaking any laws by forcing employees to accept paychecks in the form of fee-carrying debit cards.

Meanwhile, lawyers for the franchise owners say the lawsuit’s contention that employees incur fees on all transactions is wrong and there are several ways workers could access their money for free.

Attorney Michael Cefalo of West Pittson recently filed the class action lawsuit in Luzerne County Court on behalf of Natalie Gunshannon, a Dallas Township woman who quit her job at the McDonald’s in Shavertown after the company issued her a debit card as pay and refused to pay her by check or direct deposit.

Days after the suit was filed and appeared nationally in the media, Cefalo said an investigator with the U.S. Department of Labor contacted his law office.

May 9 2013

New Pottstown Police Chief: Use Increased Patrols, Social Media To Fight Crime

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

Editor’s note: The social media aspect doesn’t really strike me an a great crime fighting tool; however, crime mapping and focused patrols in problem areas are certainly a good start. We can only hope things move in a positive direction with the police department. Unless crime can be brought under control, revitalization and economic development cannot happen on a large enough scale to truly have a transformative impact on the Borough of Pottstown.

POTTSTOWN — Even before taking the oath Wednesday night as the borough’s new police chief, Richard Drumheller had some ideas to help make the community safer, even if it means using unconventional tactics.

Drumheller plans on using Facebook and Twitter to create a better connection with residents, increase patrols in high-crime areas and streamline the way police calls are dispatched.

One of the first changes he wants to make as the new chief is creating a department presence on social media as a way to engage with the residents of Pottstown.

He said people want to know what is going on in the borough and he wants to use Facebook and Twitter as a way to keep them informed.

Apr 4 2013

Reading Teen Lied About Fight Details, Police Say

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

A 17-year-old Reading boy who told police he was attacked by a crowd of youths and nearly hit with a hammer during an after-school melee last week lied about the incident, according to city detectives.

The youth was at least truthful about one part of his story: He was surrounded in City Park by a large group of youths, some of whom carried wooden boards. A video that someone posted to YouTube, however, clearly showed that the crowd was actually cheering on him and another youth as they squared off and then fought, said Sgt. John M. Solecki of the criminal investigations division.

The boy had told officers who arrived and found him bloodied on the ground with an injured left shoulder that he entered the crowd to find his cousin, only to be pulled down, punched and kicked.

“As city police investigated, video footage was found that showed he and another youth were the initial combatants in a mutually agreed-upon fistfight, and during the fistfight he injured his shoulder,” Solecki said.

Mar 29 2013

Reading Police Still Probing After-School Melees

A wooden table leg, a baseball bat, a hammer and a two-by-four.

Those were just a few of the weapons wielded during after-school brawls among 75 to 100 teenagers, city police Sgt. John M. Solecki said Thursday.

City detectives were still sorting through video from surveillance cameras and from bystanders, who posted footage of the fighting Wednesday on Facebook.

And the fact that city schools started spring break Thursday wasn’t helping, police.

Mar 7 2013

Facebook To Change News Feed To A ‘Personalized Newspaper’

Facebook logo Español: Logotipo de Facebook Français : Logo de Facebook Tiếng Việt: Logo Facebook (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Facebook announced a revamp of its news feed Thursday, unveiling a minimalist design that puts a central focus on photos, graphics and video and that the company hopes will attract new advertisers.

The news feed, which provides a running list of updates from a user’s network, will serve as a “personalized newspaper” for Facebook’s 1 billion users, chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said at a news conference at the company’s California headquarters.

The redesign is critical in Facebook’s effort to convince advertisers of the value of working with the social network. The company already allows users to pay to promote posts, buy goods through its network and buy gift cards directly from the site.

Jan 2 2013

Many Skip School At Brandywine Heights High Over Social Media Rumor

Map of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States Public School Districts (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Editor’s note: Given recent events, can you blame parents for keeping their children home!

Despite assurances from the school district there was nothing to be concerned about, 40 percent of Brandywine Heights High School students stayed home Wednesday in light of rumors a student was planning to bring a gun to school.

Dr. Martin D. Handler, superintendent, said rumors began circulating through Facebook, email and other venues over winter break that a student planned to bring a gun to school Wednesday.

District officials alerted state police, who interviewed the student and his mother and determined there was no threat.

Just to be on the safe side, Handler said, state police were on hand at the start of school Wednesday.

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