Howard Brown Backs Growing Stop The Violence Campaign In Pottstown

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

POTTSTOWN, PA — A local hoops legend lent his support Monday night to the anti-violence movement that began in the borough a little more than a month ago.

“When I heard about this, it’s just a natural thing for me to want to be involved in some capacity,” said Howard Brown, the Pottstown grad who went on to play basketball at Villanova and internationally. “We’re actually drumming up a lot of residents and former residents to just not only bring awareness but to talk about some of the issues that we do have, to change.”

With a driving rain cancelling plans for a full march, the Stop the Violence campaign moved indoors at the Ricketts Center, where players in the Olivet Boys and Girls Club’s summer basketball league gathered together between games to pose for a picture and show their support of the movement.

A Maryland resident now, Brown is in town for a combine for his basketball agency, iBall United, which will be held over the weekend both in Valley Forge and at The Hill School.

Read more: http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20140714/howard-brown-backs-growing-stop-the-violence-campaign-in-pottstown

Pottstown NAACP Leaders Question Spending Priorities

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

Editor’s note:  I question a lot more than the spending priorities in Pottstown.  The municipal government is corrupt, dysfunctional and has a spending addiction.  Taxpayers are overburdened and get very little in return for their hard-earned money.  There is no leadership, no vision, no commitment to improving the quality of life in the borough and the list goes on and on.  The overpaid manager doesn’t even live in Pottstown along with most of the municipal employees in borough hall.  The state needs to take over before it’s too late.

POTTSTOWN — The president and vice president of the Pottstown chapter of the NAACP told borough council Monday that if the borough and school district can find $5 million to fix sidewalks and install bike lanes, they should also be able to find similar amounts to build a pool in Pottstown and help the Ricketts Community Center.

“I went by Memorial Park the other day and I saw kids swimming in the Manatawny (Creek),” NAACP Vice President Johnny Corson told council.

“I know I wouldn’t let my children swim in that creek. Who knows what’s in it, animal feces and the like,” Corson said. “If we had a pool, we wouldn’t have to worry about that.”

Pottstown did have a pool, Gruber Pool, but it closed in 2000 when it was discovered that long-deferred maintenance on the electrical system posed a safety hazard to swimmers.

Read more: http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20130815/NEWS01/130819644/pottstown-naacp-leaders-question-spending-priorities#full_story

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.