Corrections Officer, Others Charged In Prison Drug-Smuggling Scheme

Eight people, including a Chester County correctional officer, inmates and their friends, have been arrested in an operation to smuggle drugs into the county prison, according to prosecutors.

The Chester County District Attorney’s Office said the group concocted a scheme for the correctional officer to bring in heroin, prescription drugs and other contraband to inmates at the Chester County Prison.

Correctional Officer Douglas Keck, 45, would obtain the contraband from inmates’ friends outside of the detention facility, then bring the smuggled goods to the inmates, officials said. He was paid $100 per delivery.

“We expect members of the criminal justice system to keep drugs away from criminals, not act as an in-person drug dealer,” District Attorney Tom Hogan said in a statement.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20150428_Corrections_officer__others_charged_in_prison_drug-smuggling_scheme.html#29ufP9sCum30fbyo.99

New ‘Flagship’ Wawa In Center City To Have Seating

Wawa will open its first store with interior seating in Center City Philadelphia this year, the company announced Thursday as it celebrated its 51st anniversary by giving away free coffee.

Work on the store at South Broad and Walnut Streets should begin in May and be finished in time for a Thanksgiving opening, said Lori Bruce, a Wawa spokeswoman.

Wawas in Florida and several other locations have outside seating, but not indoors.

Bruce said besides the seating the “new flagship store … will feature many new design concepts.”

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20150417_Wawa_celebrates_anniversary_with_free_coffee.html#L3Rq2Z2yXVzmS5Lj.99

Cops: Irate Wawa Customer Tries To Strangle Worker

When Wawa employees told Terron Reed his order couldn’t be prepared as requested, he apparently didn’t take the news too well.

Instead of adjusting his meal, the 36-year-old Bear, Del., man threw a coffee display stand at a worker, then tried to strangle her, threw her to the ground, and threatened to shoot other employees before leaving the convenience store, according to Delaware State Police.

Police said the bizarre altercation happened at the Wawa at 1400 Beaverbrook Plaza in New Castle about 2:30 a.m. Thursday.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20150220_Cops__Irate_Wawa_customer_tries_to_strangle_worker.html#kVscl58Vque331mJ.99

Wawa’s Pizza Will Probably Make You Sad

When Wawa announced earlier this week that it had begun selling pizza, it seemed—for however brief a moment—that the pizza gods had smiled down on this city, giving us yet another treat made convenient.

“Finally,” we Philadelphians thought, “a place to grab a pie at literally any time of day. And it’s Wawa, so surely the pizza is decent.”

Indeed, Wawa seemed equally confident, rolling out their newfound pizza program at all of the chain’s stores under a “Deep Dish Focaccia Pizza” moniker. What’s more, it’s available in five styles—plain, pepperoni, buffalo chicken, veggie and bacon-jalapeño—so you can change up your order depending on your preference—and all for about $6 a pop.

Unfortunately, though, what we’re dealing with here is pizza in name only.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/food_department/Wawas-pizza-will-probably-make-you-sad.html#Jpz5C35DqcBUciSw.99

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.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/trending/George-Takei-has-a-bone-to-pick-with-Wawa.html#1PywPH7AR3VUCEkQ.99

Phoenixville Man Accused Of Following Woman For 21 Miles

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

WEST GOSHEN TOWNSHIP, PA ­— A 25-year-old Phoenixville man is facing stalking and related charges after he allegedly made numerous unwanted sexual advances toward a woman before following her car for more than 21 miles.

During the early morning hours of Jan. 3, a young woman was driving when she noticed another vehicle following closely behind her own vehicle, according to the West Goshen Police Department. When the victim stopped at a Wawa store, the driver of the other vehicle approached her both inside and outside of the store and repeatedly asked for the victim’s telephone number.

Police said the driver of the vehicle, a silver Honda Civic with Pennsylvania tags, was later identified as Scott Andrew Rosenberg.

Investigators said that when the victim refused to give Rosenberg her phone number, he continued to harass her and suggested various sexual encounters he said he would like to have with the victim.

Read more: http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20140117/phoenixville-man-accused-of-following-woman-for-21-miles

Pottstown Halloween Parade Planned, Funds Needed

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

POTTSTOWN, PA — With civic groups working to make Pottstown “the place to be” for Halloween, it would be remiss not to mention the event that got it all started — the Halloween Parade.

As Halloween-parade lovers may recall, last year’s parade almost didn’t happen when it was revealed that the organizers did not have the fee waiver they thought they had from borough council.

Council eventually agreed to pay half the fee for police overtime services to $2,500, but it was a scramble to come up with the money.

Dick Frantz is the Pottstown Rotary Club’s point man on parade matters and he said the club, which co-sponsors the parade with the Pottstown AMBUCS, hopes to avoid that last minute scramble this year.

Rad more: http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20131006/pottstown-halloween-parade-planned-funds-needed

Youth Leadership Conference To Be Held In Pottstown

The TCN Youth Development Committee in partnership with the Pottstown School District will hold a Youth Leadership Conference at Pottstown Middle School on Wednesday, May 15.  There will be several workshops on topics such as banking basics, social networking, safe dating, emergency preparedness, healthy lifestyles, drug and alcohol abuse, and stress management.

The Conference will also include brain break activities, an educational movie, and a resource fair for students to learn more about after school programs.  Students from both Pottstown and Pottsgrove Middle Schools will participate.

Special thanks to event sponsors:  Pottstown Area Health & Wellness Foundation, Susquehanna Bank, Coqui Studio, Wawa, Freshstart Fitness, Rita’s Water Ice, and Giant.  For more information, please contact TCN at 610-705-3301.

Route 422 East Reopens After Bomb Scare At Wawa Amity (video)

Westbound U.S. Route 422 (Benjamin Franklin Highway) approaching the intersection with Pennsylvania Route 662 in Douglassville, Pennsylvania. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

DOUGLASSVILLE, PA – The Wawa on Benjamin Franklin Highway was closed for over an hour on Friday night while police investigated a possible bomb threat.

It turns out, the threat was a false alarm because the bomb was actually an electrical conduit covered in PVC pipe from an old lamp in the back parking lot.

Police responded to the Wawa around 5:30 p.m. and when they arrived, the connivence store had already been cleared of customers and the employees were sitting on the far edge of the grass lawn near the westbound highway traffic.

The continuos rush hour westbound traffic was a strange juxtaposition to empty eastbound lanes of the highway.

Read more:  http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20130511/NEWS01/130519886/route-422-east-reopens-after-bomb-scare-at-wawa-amity-(video)#full_story

Conshohocken Retains Its Sense Of Community

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

Forty-nine years ago, Conshohocken leaders began crafting a comprehensive plan to transform the grimy old mill town into a modern, livable municipality, albeit a small one.

At just over one square mile, Conshohocken is shoehorned into a bend of the Schuylkill River, but is within earshot of I-476 and the Schuylkill Expressway, two of the region’s major arteries.

It took several decades, but between the vision of past leaders and the impact of that pair of highways, Conshohocken has become one of the region’s hottest neighborhoods, with sleek condo towers, destination restaurants and corporate headquarters along the waterfront, and a locally owned, family-friendly strip of restaurants, bars, and stores along Fayette Street.

Over the last decade, Conshohocken’s population has grown younger, wealthier and whiter, according to U.S. Census data.

Read more:  http://www.philly.com/philly/neighbors/main_line/20130429_Conshohocken_retains_its_sense_of_community.html

Wawa vs. Sheetz: Fast-Food Chains Mark Their Own Territories

English: Interior of a Super Sheetz in Altoona, PA. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Pennsylvania divides a few ways: Phillies vs. Pirates. Democratic ex-factory towns vs. Republican ex-farming townships. Nittany Lions fans vs. everyone else.

And Wawa vs. Sheetz – though that might be the least bitter rivalry:  The state’s two big gas-and-milk, Cokes-and-smokes, Tastykakes-and-store-built sandwich chains try not to fight.  They’re not like Ford vs. GM. Instead, they have mostly drawn lines and split the land between them.  Like Comcast and TimeWarner Cable.

Which you prefer depends on where you were raised:

Wawa is Philly and the Shore from Jersey to Virginia Beach.  Also Florida, since last year.

Sheetz is Pittsburgh and the valley highways below the green ridges, all the way to Greensboro, N.C.

English: Wawa gas station located along Pennsylvania Route 611 (Easton Road) in Horsham, Pennsylvania. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Read more:  http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20130331_Wawa_vs__Sheetz__Fast-food_chains_mark_their_own_territories.html

Wawa’s New Boss Pledges A Bread Oven In Every Store: Update

UPDATE:  After readers asked about changes to Wawa’s cold-cuts prep, spokeswoman Lori Bruce says: “We have been phasing out slicers for a few years now; we currently have them in about 100 stores. ” Most stores now use pre-sliced meats and cheeses “received fresh… on a daily basis” through Wawa’s South Jersey-based supplpy chain (there’s a different chain for Florida stores) from Berks, Giordano’s, and other cold-cut houses; Dietz and Watson has not been a supplier.

EARLIER:  Chris Gheysens, who’s been Wawa’s CEO since New Year’s Day, lives in South Jersey and works at company HQ in Delaware County when he’s not running around 600 -plus Wawa stores from North Jersey to Orlando.

So he doesn’t get downtown much, Gheysens admitted to the Irish American Business Chamber & Network (corrected) at its Pyramid Club luncheon today.  “You know how it is.  I’ve got four kids.  So not a dollar on me” when he had to feed a meter this morning, he said.

Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/inq-phillydeals/Wawas-new-boss-pledges-a-bakery-in-every-store.html#ixzz2IIF8yFhO
Watch sports videos you won’t find anywhere else

In Post-Lower Macungie Development Boom, Talk Of ‘Smart Growth’

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

Jim Palmquist is one 66-year-old who has the time, motivation and legs to walk the nearly two-miles from his Lower Macungie home to the closest restaurant.

What he doesn’t have is a death wish.

With the proliferation of cars and trucks clogging roads between his Fresh Meadow Drive neighborhood and the closest Brookside Road businesses, walking can be a life-risking proposition, particularly because of the sporadic placement of sidewalks and walkways that go virtually nowhere.

“This is a township that is completely auto driven,” said Palmquist ,who recently did a thorough study of sidewalks in the area of Lower Macungie and Brookside roads. “You can’t walk to the Wawa. You can’t walk to the township building.”

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/local/eastpenn/mc-lower-macungie-smart-growth-20120930,0,2415679.story

Recession Buster Alert!

Image via Wikipedia

Wawa stores are offering any size Wawa coffee for $1.00, the entire month of January.  So if you live near Wawa and like coffee, you might want to include them in your daily routine this month!

Gotta take advantage of those savings when we can!