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The Bangor Area School District got a helping hand Tuesday night from its Five Points Richmond Road neighbor, a woman across the street who has agreed to lease land to the district for $1 a year.
The three-year lease is a big win for the district’s high school marching band. It now has a place to practice and not share with the school’s other teams.
The school board has been wrestling for months with various proposals to upgrade or expand its outdoor athletic fields.
“It solves a lot of problems,” said board member Bruce Cameron, referring to the district’s lease with Carol B. Heinsohn.
In a related move, the district is planning for a $38,000 upgrade of the baseball field at the senior high school.
The board also voted to reappoint Pam Colton as “temporary president,” and approved a new solicitor’s agreement with Don Spry of the firm King, Spry, Herman, Freund & Faul for legal services.
Board member Robert Cartwright and Ken Brewer argued the district should have put the contract out to bid but their attempts failed.
“What do we have to lose”? Cartwright asked, referring to the bidding process and the possibility of lower legal bills.
Residents in Moore Township have some good news this holiday season when it comes to the 2015 proposed budget.
During Tuesday night's board of supervisors' meeting, secretary and treasurer Richard Gable noted there would be no tax increase for residents thanks to a variety of factors, including reworking their health insurance rates, lowering their liability insurance between 5 to 8 percent, and purchasing two used police cars in a strategic manner, he said.
Members of the public will have a chance to review the proposed budget starting on December 8.
Supervisors are expected to vote on the budget at 3:30 p.m. on December 29.
In other business supervisors instructed solicitor David Backenstoe to investigate the legal requirement of instituting an ordinance to protect township roads by enacting weight limits on vehicles.
Currently there are many township roads without weight limits, exposing them to use by heavy vehicles, which spur road maintenance in a shorter amount of time than is normal.
Chairman David Tashner said the process for enacting weight limits is one that must be approached delicately.
Case in point is that townships must provide motorists alternative routes to travel.
The township has 46 miles of state roads, according to Tashner, providing trucks and trailers over the limits many options.
"You also can't prevent agricultural vehicles from moving their product," Tashner said, adding that "he wouldn't want to do that" anyway.
The township would also have to allow for local delivery no matter what weight limit they may eventually adopt, according to engineer Al Kortze.
In other news, Gable noted that supervisors would formally sign the application for farmland preservation for the Sunny Slope Farm land the township purchased earlier this year.
The 40-acre farm is located at Beersville Road and Grouse Drive.
The parcel of land had previously received approval for a 35-home subdivision that never came to fruition.
The Boyertown Area School District Board of Directors (BASD) Tuesday elected Stephen Elsier and Jill Dennin as new president and vice president for the next year.
During a reorganization meeting, current vice president Stephen Elsier was elected by a vote of 5-3, over fellow nominee John Landino.
The board also nominated Christine Neiman and Jill Dennin for the vice presidential position.
Board member, Paul Stengle, spoke in favor of Neiman, stressing that it would be beneficial for the board's leadership to have a Berks County representative to mirror the Montgomery County representation that new President Elsier would provide.
The BASD covers areas in both Berks and Montgomery counties.
The board eventually voted 5-3 to elect Jill Dennin as Vice President.
Newly elected president Elsier announced that appointment of new committee members will be deferred to a future meeting.
Outgoing board president, Donna Usavage, thanked her fellow board members for the experience she's had serving and commented that she was happy to have heard comments of reverence from the community, acknowledging the board's ability to work together.
Board member John Landino in turn acknowledged Usavage and thanked her for her service to the district. District Superintendent, Richard Faidley, added that together with the board, "We've tackled many difficult issues over the past year."
There were no public comments at the meeting. On adjournment, the board exited into an executive session to discuss details of the high school renovation contract and possible litigation.
The BASD Board of School Directors will meet again on December 9th.
A trial is underway for a man accused of accidentally shooting an eight-year-old boy who was riding a bicycle.
The trial started today for Wayne Snowden.
Police say Snowden accidentally shot his gun on the porch of his home in North Coventry Township, Chester County back in May.
A boy who was riding his bike nearby was hit in the leg.
Snowden is facing assault charges.
It's already December, which means the holidays are fast approaching.
The Pennsylvania Youth Theatre is getting folks into the spirit of the season.
"Jingle Bells" is just one of the musical numbers children sang while at rehearsal for the Christmas City's Holiday Spectacular on Tuesday.
All ages will perform in the show by the Pennsylvania Youth Theatre that starts on Friday.
At the rehearsal, kids learned from adult actors, while students from Moravian College played live music.
Michael Scuotto, who is a young actor, said "It's been great to work with them, they sound fantastic."
The show isn't just about fun it has an important message.
The artistic director, Jill Dunn Jones, said, "It's a really beautiful story and you watch this little girl journey through and you watch her transformation."
Emily Reed plays a girl who has been described as Ebenezer Scrooge because she doesn't like the fact her birthday falls on Christmas, which is something the young actress is familiar with in real life.
Reed said, "I was born on Christmas and I like it but at the same time it is a little hard too."
In the end, her character discovers the true reason for the season.
Reed said, "She does learn a lesson. She travels around the world and learns that her birthday actually in a wonderful time period."
Christmas is not the only holiday showcased in the play.
Actress Katie Conlon said, "There are so many different cultures and religions that are shown in the play. It just all comes together to make. A big spectacular and that's why it's called the holiday spectacular."
Another reason the play is so unique is that the children change costumes several times and they can go from an elf to Santa in a flash.
Actor Dakotah Kuhns said, "There's one change where I have around 30 seconds to one minute just to change."
The kids say the hard work is worth it.
Conlon said, "It's just a little piece of Broadway put into Pennsylvania and it's just totally the best experience of my life."
The play starts Dec. 5 at the Charles A. Brown Historic Ice House in Bethlehem and lasts until Dec. 21.
Many people will shop online this holiday season, but shoppers aren't the only ones looking for deals.
"The scammers want a piece of the pie, as well," said Benjamin Lewis, a service engineer with EZ Micro Solutions in Whitehall Township.
He offered tips about staying safe online.
"There's one called a phishing attack which is a website that looks like one website but it's actually another," he explained. "If you get a message saying your PayPal account's been compromised or you received a package from UPS and you're not
expecting one, go to PayPal directly, go to ups.com."
If you come across a lesser known website offering something you want to buy, look into it.
"If you haven't heard of the company, definitely do your homework and research. There's got to be reviews out there," said Lewis.
Look for "https" at the beginning of a website, as opposed to "http", especially when you check out. That ensures it's a secure connection.
Lewis offered another tip.
"If there is a button on a website that points you to another website, when you put your mouse over it, make sure that the address that shows up at the bottom left of your screen is actually the address of that website," he said.
Computer security software company McAfee released its "12 Scams of the Holidays."
Among the tips: be aware of apps you download, make sure e-cards you receive are legitimate before you click on them, and be aware of fake online travel deal links if you're looking to book holiday travel plans.
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