What are you looking forward to this summer?

Transcription

What are you looking forward to this summer?
Here’s to those Summer nights when feet hit the sand and
waves break your falls and friends outnumber the stars.
What are you looking forward to this summer?
Interviews and photos by Frank DiRenzo
Jane Divok
Clyde Hoch
Nancy Roberts
Carol Gayman
Quakertown
Pennsburg
Quakertown
Quakertown
I look forward to having good
weather so we can enjoy
the outdoors.
The biggest thing I look
forward to is nice weather so
I can work on my yard.
I love being out in the fresh air
and seeing all the nice people
that you don’t see all year.
Spending time outdoors,
picnics, camping, and just
enjoying God’s creation.
2
• Upper Bucks Free Press • June 2011
Upper Bucks Community Events
June 1 - 4
Coopersburg Fire Company Carnival,
Main St., Coopersburg (Wed/Thurs
6pm-10pm) (Fri/Sat 6pm-11pm) call
firehouse for daily info.
June 3
Vendor Blender Shopping Event
(benfits Cystic Fibrosis), 6pm-9pm,
Passer Community Ctr, Coopersburg
267-371-0456
June 3 & 4
Charity Yard/Bake Sale sponsored by
Upper Bucks Sertoma to benefit local
charities, 9am-3pm, 811 W. Mill St,
Qtwn (rain date June 10 & 11)
June 4
20th Annual Quakertown Pet Fair held
at Qtwn Veterinary Clinic, 10am-3pm,
2250 N. Old Bethlehem Pike, John
Grogan in person 11am-1pm, lots to
see and do. (rain date June 5)
35th Annual Flea Market, by Upper
Saucon Lions Club! 8am-3pm, Living
Memorial Grounds, Rt 309 & Fairmont St, Coopersburg, $10 in advance
($12 day of event), 610-282-1776 or
www.uslionsclub.com
9th Annual Memorial Walk & Butterfly Release, Lenape Park in Perkasie,
sponsored by Compassionate FriendsQtwn Chapter, Info at 215-536-0173
or tcfquakertownchapter@verizon.net
Country Marketplace, 9am-2pm Haycock Firehouse, lots of events going
on, hosted by Haycock Historical Society, more info at 215-490-4940 or
chandschin@verizon.net
Flea Mkt/Craft Show, 8am-1pm, Dublin Fire Co, Route 313, $15/space,
call 215-249-3089 (rain date June 11)
Haycock Country Marketplace, 9am2pm, classic cars, live music, food,
flea market, horse & wagon, etc. 850
Old Bethlehem Rd, Qtwn, benefits
Haycock Historical Society
Firefighters Olympics, 10am until ?,
Benner Hall, 1260 Cherry Rd, Richlandtown. Lots of food, fun, and
events. Hosted by Richlandtown Fire
Co. for more info.
Take out Chicken BBQ at Springtown
Fire Co, 11am-4pm or sold out, 3010
Rte 212, Springtown, 610-346-8383
Zumbathon & World Record attempt,
11am-1pm at Mill Street Park, Qtwn,
register online www.prideofquakertown.org. Bring non-perishable food
to donate to Qtwn Food Pantry, funds
benefit POQ scholarship program
June 5
Laps of Love Walkathon at Animals
in Distress, 5075 Limeport Pike, Coopersburg, 10am, bring your friends
and dogs. 610-966-9383
34th Anniversary Celebration &
Alumni Day Pets & People Party,
12pm-4pm, 5075 Limeport Pike, Coopersburg, call Animals in Distress at
610-966-9383 x8
Basket Bingo at St. John U.C.C. at
Riegelsville Firehouse at 1pm, doors
open noon, Tickets & reservations
at 610-749-2551 (leave message w/
name, phone, & tickets wanted)
Penny Party 1pm (doors open noon)
8040 Easton Rd, Ottsville, details at
610-847-8178
13th Annual Garden Tour, 10am-4pm,
www.bedminsterlandconservancy.org
June 5 - 9
Upper Bucks Senior Ctr Wildwood Trip, Montego Bay Resort
215-535-3066, upperbuckssac.com
June 6 & 20
Qtwn Blood Drive, 3pm-7pm at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran, 102 N.
Hellertown Ave, Qtwn
June 7
Engineers Without Borders, presented
by Rotary Club of Saucon, 7:30am at
DeSales University Ctr, 215-538-1437
Red Cross Blood Drive at UBYMCA,
401 Fairview Ave, Qtwn, 1pm-7pm,
redcrossblood.org (enter code 8749)
June 8
June 11
Strawberry Festival/Lawn Fete at First
UCC, 4th & Park Ave, Quakertown,
4:30pm-8:30pm, Food, fun, games,
silent auction, and Qtwn Band. Supports Sunday School program, 215536-4447 or www.firstucc.net
Pet Adoption Day at PetSmart in
Quakertown, 11am-3pm, 620 North
West End Blvd, www.lastchanceranch.org or 215-538-2510
Last Chance Ranch fundraiser at Critter Corral in Coopersburg, more details at www.lastchanceranch.org or
215-538-2510
Yard Sale/Flea Mkt, 8am-1pm at St.
Isidore’s, 2545 W. Pumping Station
Rd, Qtwn, Benefits Landscape Committee, call to reserve a space at 215620-3553 (rain date June 18)
Annual Yard Sale at MorningStar Moravian, 234 S. Main St.
Coopersburg
Rotary Club of Saucon presents Tetsushi (Japanese exchange student) will
discuss his homeland and America,
7:30am at DeSales University Ctr,
215-538-1437
June 17
Friday Night Dance w/The Blue
Notes, 7-10pm at Milford Vol. Fire
Social Hall, 2183 Milford Sq. Pike,
Milford Square, 215-536-3066 www.
upperbuckssac.com
June 19
9th Annual Silver Creek Father’s Day
Car Show, 8am-3pm, Route 212,
Springtown, PA, entertainment, food,
50/50, etc. Benefits baseball and softball programs, www.silvercreekathleticassociation.org or 610-346-6840
St. Joseph Festival w/food, games,
music, etc., 12pm-8pm, chance to
win 4 Josh Groban tickets! St. Joseph
Church, 5050 St. Joseph’s Rd, Limeport
Upper Bucks Chamber of Commerce
Business Card Exchange, 5pm-7pm,
at Comfort Inn, 1905 John Fries Hwy
(Route 663), Qtwn, complimentary
refreshments, business card drawing,
$10 for non-members, 215-536-3211
or www.ubcc.org
June 11 & 12
AAUW Doylestown Branch, Annual Dinner & Meeting, 5:30pm at
Doylestown Country Club, “Multifaith Youth Leadership Initiative”,
Scholarship Awards, 215-230-8330
June 12
June 21
Quakertown Alive presents Garden
Affaires, 11am-4pm, tour various gardens in Qtwn area, refreshments, experts to answer questions, etc. Ticket
info at www.Quakertownalive.com or
GardenAffaires@gmail.com
Rotary Club of Saucon presents an update on the Gambet Center’s new construction project, 7:30am at DeSales
University Center, 215-538-1437
2nd Annual Average Joe or Joan
Sprint Triathlon, 7am check-in for
ages 13+, www.ubymca.org
Jail House Rock Party, 11am
($10 tickets bought in advance)
215-536-3066, upperbuckssac.com
Cruise Nights “2011” at Quakertown
Dairy Queen, 4:30pm until ?, $1/car
donated to Children’s Miracle Network
cruzin@good-timemotorvators.com
June 23
Music
Memorabilia/Art
Show
& Sale, (Sat. 12pm-7pm) (Sun.
12pm-6pm) at Big Tree Studios,
1991 California Rd, Richlandtown
bigtreestudios@hotmail.com
June 14
QNA POT LUCK Meeting, 7pm
in Trumbauersville Boro Park,
“Flavors of the Neighborhood”Bring a recipe to share and a recipe
card for a new QNA cookbook.
www.QuakertownNA.org
June 20 – 24
PandaMania Vacation Bible School,
6pm-8:30pm,
Emmanuel
Episcopal
Church,
215-536-3040,
www.quakertown.net/vbs
June 22
Bucks Co Small Business Forum
hosted by Sen. Bob Mensch, 6pm8pm, Milford Twp Building, 2100
Krammes Rd, Spinnerstown, RSVP
215-541-2388
June 25
Joyful Noise at St. Paul’s Evangelical,
(community music festival) 10am7pm, 837 Old Bethlehem Rd, Qtwn
June 2011 • Upper Bucks Free Press •
Find the Upper Bucks
Free Press!
Quakertown
A-Plus Mini Market
Beer City
Cafe on the Way
Classic Temps
Captain Bob’s Seafood
Dairy Queen
Dominick’s Pizza
Express Food Mkt (former Wawa)
Faraco’s Pizza
First United Church of Christ
Frank’s Pizza
Giant Food Markets
Giovanni’s Pizza
The Grundy House
Hobo’s Bar & Grill
James Michener Library
John’s Plain & Fancy
Karlton Cafe
Melody Lakes Estates
Quaker Cleaners
Quakertown Family Restaurant
QNB Bank
Quaker Bakery
Redner’s Market
Sal’s Pizza Randa
Sine’s 5 & 10
Wawa
Suelkes Roadstand
Swann’s Pantry
Upper Bucks Senior Center
Upper Bucks YMCA
Yum Yum Donuts
Sellersville
A & N Diner
Village Market
Perkasie
Bravo’s Pizza
Giant Food Markets
Landis Food Markets
Pierce Library
Trumbauersville
Fino’s La Cantina
Silver Shears
Spor’s General Store
Trum Tavern
Coopersburg
Coopersburg Diner
CVS Pharmacy
Giant Food Markets
The Inside Scoop
Moyer’s Copy & Printing Center
QNB Bank
Weis Markets
and lots of other high traffic
locations between here
and there.
Community Events
Continued
(Applebachsville, Haycock Twp)
benefits Quakertown Food Pantry
June 26
Tour 5 Gorgeous Gardens by Perkasie
Garden Club, Tickets $12 in advance,
$15 day of tour at Cannon Garden in
Menlo Park, Perkasie. 267-424-1315
3
4
• Upper Bucks Free Press • June 2011
QNA Announces Second
Annual Photo Contest
The Quakertown Neighborhood
Association (QNA) is pleased to announce our Second Annual Photography Contest! Last year we focused on
the students at the Quakertown High
School. This year we are running a
dual competition. One will be for the
students at the Quakertown Freshman
Center and one will be for the entire
Quakertown School District Community.
For the community wide contest
you will have two words to choose
from that must be represented in your
photograph – COMMUNITY and/
or HELPING. The community wide
contest is open to amateur photographers of all ages residing within the
Quakertown School District. This
area includes Quakertown Borough,
Trumbauersville Borough, Haycock
Township, Milford Township, Richlandtown Borough, and Richland
Township. The Freshman Center students will have two words to choose
from – NEIGHBORLY GESTURES
and/or FRIENDSHIP. The QNA has
teamed with Freshman Center teach-
er, Ms. Migliore. Ms. Migliore is an
Art Educator at the Freshman Center.
Please note that the photograph submitted must also be taken within the
School District. There are great events
coming up that will be great subjects
for your photographs. Get out and explore your community. Check out our
website for a list of upcoming community events.
Both contest winners will receive a
new camera valued at over $400.00
donated by Olympus America. The
final submission date for the contest
is July 5, 2011. Any questions and
your submission and should be sent to
secretary@quakertownna.org in jpeg
format. One submission per person.
Please include the title of your submission, your name, phone number,
address, the area the photograph was
taken, and if applicable the person(s)
in the photograph. A flyer for each of
the competitions can be found on our
website www.quakertownna.org. We
look very forward to receiving your
entries. The entries will be posted
on our website when received. Stay
tuned to the Upper Bucks Free Press
for the winning entries.
Ryan Miller Receives
Partnership Scholarship
QCHS senior Ryan Miller accepted
a check for $750 from Ron Bernstein, Executive Director of Foundations Community Partnership, for the
Partners in Education Scholarship.
Ryan is one of 16 Bucks County seniors to receive the award. The money
will help Ryan offset the cost of his
books at Lehigh University, where he
will double major in Civil Engineering and Architecture. In the five-year
co-op program, Ryan will gain career
experience in internships. He already
interned with the Crossroads Group, a
civil engineering firm in Quakertown.
The Partnership award comes with
an opportunity for Ryan to work a
paid internship in the summer of 2012
at a community service organization. Foundations will give him a list
of groups from which to choose. He
can wind up with 3 college credits for
the 32-hour-per-week gig.
No stranger to community group
work, Ryan said he decided to go to
a local college so he can continue to
direct his bell choir at church. For
his Graduation Project, Ryan raised
$10,000 to purchase the bells.
Summer Camp Offers
Pennridge Students Help
with Reading, Math
It's at a school during the summer,
but it's not summer school. It's a
camp, but there are no relay races.
Rather, R.a.M. Camp is a fun, optional way for some Pennridge students to get a little extra help in reading and math during the summer. Now
in its second year, the purely academic
camp came about after concerns expressed during meetings Superintendent Dr. Robert Kish holds monthly
with parents.
"There seemed to be a need to help
students making the transition from
elementary school to middle school,
and from middle school to the high
school," said Jennifer Polinchock, the
district's K-8 Reading and Language
Arts Supervisor.
R.a.M. Camp aims to do just that. It
is designed for Pennridge students entering grades 6 through 9 in September who would benefit from additional
instruction and proactive help with
either math concepts and applications,
or reading and writing strategies. Students who already receive math or
reading support, or who have been unable to achieve proficiency on PSSA
Reading or Math assessment are ideal
candidates to attend R.a.M. Camp.
Campers will participate in guided
and independent practice using specialized computer software programs,
and flexible, small group instructions.
All teachers are certified by the state
Department of Education.
R.a.M Camp runs Monday through
Thursday from 9 a.m. until 11:30 a.m.
for four weeks -- from July 11 through
August 4. All activities are held at
Pennridge North Middle School.
Students attending the math camp
will focus on numbers and operations,
measurement and geometry, algebraic
concepts and data and probability. The
reading camp will emphasize comprehension, fluency and vocabulary,
along with elements of effective composition.
Tuition is $230 per student, which
includes all materials. A $60 deposit
is due by June 1. Full tuition is due
by June 24. No refunds are available
after June 30.
For more information about R.a.M.
Camp, call Jen Polinchock (reading)
at 215-453-2340 or Howard Vogel
(math) at 215-453-2343.
June 2011 • Upper Bucks Free Press •
5
There’s Plenty to do at
Upper Bucks Libraries
The following programs are offered
by the Quakertown Branch of the
Bucks County Free Library. The library is located at 401 W. Mill St.
in Quakertown. For more information, or to register for the programs,
please call 215-536-3306 or online at
www.buckslib.org .
June 3 5 Things – Digital Photography 1 – 2:30pm OR 2:30 – 4pm Learn
more about today's digital cameras.
Take better pictures. Register online,
over the phone, or in person at the
Quakertown Branch today!
June 8 5 Things Volunteer Orientation
4 – 5:30pm Learn how you can volunteer with the 5 Things Project as a
trainer or a buddy. Trainers teach the
classes and buddies assist participants
during the classes. Volunteers should
be able to assist with classes weekdays
and must have basic computer skills.
Registration is requested for this orientation and may be completed online.
June 9 5 Things Volunteer Orientation
10:30am – 12noon Learn how you can
volunteer with the 5 Things Project as
a trainer or a buddy. Trainers teach the
classes and buddies assist participants
during the classes. Volunteers should
be able to assist with classes weekdays
and must have basic computer skills.
Registration is requested for this orientation and may be completed online.
June 10 & 11 Used Paperback Book
Sale 10am – 4pm Come get your beach
reads at the bargain price of 25-cents
each! Sponsored by the Friends of the
Library. All proceeds benefit your
community library.
June 18 Opening Program Summer
Reading 2011 9am – 3pm Join us for
free activities and pick-up your summer reading logs. Register for summer
programs too! The first 100 kids will
receive a special bag and t-shirt. No
registration for this program is necessary, just drop in to make cool things!
June 21 & 28 Porch Stories 12noon –
12:45pm Bring a blanket, your lunch,
and enjoy stories and songs on our
front porch. No registration is needed
for this free family program, just drop
in!
June 21 Eyes of the Wild 7pm – 8pm
Don’t miss this rare opportunity to see
a live wallaby and other furry friends!
No registration is needed for this free
family program. Arrive early for good
seats and a great time!
June 22 & 29 One World, Many Stories 2pm – 3pm Travel to a different
world each week. Log the amount of
minutes you read for weekly incentives and the Wolf Lodge Grand Prize
Drawing. No registration is needed for
this free weekly program for schoolage children.
June 23 & 30 One World, Many
Stories 10:30am – 11:30am Travel
to a different world each week. Log
the amount of minutes you read for
weekly incentives and the Wolf Lodge
Grand Prize Drawing. No registration
is needed for this free weekly program
for school-age children.
June 27 Michener Monday: Grimm
Fairy Tales & Other Folklore 7pm –
8pm Join us as we kickoff the 2011
series of Michener Mondays with
Grimm Fairy Tales performed by
Charles Kiernan. You’ll hear tales
you’ve never heard before, along with
a variety of Greek folktales and Irish
folklore. No registration is needed for
this free family program. Join us as
we begin our journey through, “One
World, Many Stories.”
June 28 The Magic of Tom McDonnell 4pm – 5pm Love optical illusions,
card tricks, and other acts of magic?
Join us for an afternoon of fantastical
illusions and other tricks of the trade
performed by magician Tom McDonnell. No registration is needed for this
free family program. Arrive early for
good seats and a great time!
June 28 Murder Mystery Party for
Teens 6:30 – 7:30pm It's back! Join
us for a world-class murder mystery
party as part of the 2011 Summer
Reading Program for teens, "You Are
Here." Registration is requested to
save your seat and it begins on Saturday, June 18th. Don't miss out on this
annual event!
The following programs are offered
by the Perkasie Branch of the Bucks
County Free Library. The library is
located at 491 Arthur Ave. in Perkasie. For more information, or to
register for the programs, please call
215-257-9718 or online at www.buckslib.org .
June 1 Babies Love Books 10:30 –
11am Children ages 6 months to 24
months and their caregivers are welcome to come and join us for a half
hour of stories, fingerplays and activities. This is a four week session. Registration preferred, walk-ins welcome.
June 2 Terrific Toddlers Storytime
10:30 – 11am Ages 2-3. Come join us
for stories, songs, games, and much
more! This is a four week session.
Registration preferred, walk-ins welcome
Preschool Storytime 1:30 – 2:15pm
Ages 4-6. Come join us for stories,
songs, games, and other fun activities!
This is a four week session. Registration preferred, walk-ins welcome.
in our grand prize drawing to win a
trip to Great Wolf Lodge or a Nook!
June 20 The Magic of Brain Richards
3pm
June 21 Eyes of the Wild Show 4pm
Don’t miss this rare opportunity to see
a live wallaby and other furry friends!
No registration is needed for this free
family program. Arrive early for good
seats and a great time!
June 21 & 28 Around the World Stories 1:30 – 2:15pm
June 22 & 29 Around the World Stories 10:30 – 11:15am
June 22 & 29 Super Science Wednesdays 1:30pm Fall grades 3 – 5 A
different science theme each week,
including robots, fingerprints, and rivers! Wednesdays through August 3.
June 28 Magician Tom McDonnell
Love optical illusions, card tricks, and
other acts of magic? Join us for an
afternoon of fantastical illusions and
other tricks of the trade performed by
magician Tom McDonnell. No registration is needed for this free family
program.
June 8 Great Book Discussion 1pm –
2pm Group discussion of Great Books.
Presenter: Claire Malchiodi
Beginning June 18, teens can fill out a
slip when they check out to receive a
free candy bar and be entered into the
grand prize drawing. Teen volunteers
also needed to help with summer programs! Volunteers must be between
the ages of 13 and 18.
June 18 Summer Programs Kick-off
and Registration 10am – 3pm Preschool – grade 5. Come pick up your
reading log, get your face painted,
take home a balloon animal, and
more! Return each week with your
reading log for a prize and be entered
Lemonade Stand Contest Ages 7-12.
Design and build a lemonade stand
and business plan and fill out an entry form to be in the drawing to
win a $500 grand prize! Contest
rules and forms will be available at
www.buckslib.org beginning June 18.
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6
• Upper Bucks Free Press • June 2011
Digital Wireless Accessories
Available In Amplification
One hundred years ago, the best
thing going in amplification was the
ear trumpet. The portable, funnelshaped device could be easily held at
the opening of any person’s ear canal
and hearing was enhanced. There was
no right or left model. No testing was
required for a proper fit. It was one
size fits all.
In 2011, we are well into the spaceage technology of the future. Hearing aids are custom fit physically
and acoustically. Long gone are the
straight amplifiers that made all sound
louder. Now, speech can be extracted
and emphasized away from competing
noise signal. Digital amplification can
be reprogrammed over and over as the
wearer’s hearing acuity changes. The
life of computerized hearing aids is
upwards of ten years.
The best part of all these developments? YOU are living right now and
have the opportunity to be helped with
the latest and greatest high-tech amplification if you have an aidable loss.
One revolutionary wireless communication interface device is the iCOM.
The iCOM will integrate the hearing
system instantly and seamlessly with
virtually any Bluetooth enabled phone
or audio device. The iCOM connects
to cell phones, laptops, mp3 players, televisions, and stereo systems.
Once Bluetooth pairing is accomplished, the wearer/user is able to
move the sound input from the source
to the person and experienced an enhanced hearing lifestyle.
The iCOM provides a convenient
manner to interface a particular brand
of wireless hearing instruments to
modern communication devices.
The binaural StereoSound digital
transmission is super when faced with
any sort of interference. In addition to
offers a stereo jack for cabled connections and can integrate an FM receiver
by way of a europlug. The incoming
signals are prioritized automatically
and the hearing instruments will automatically switch to the individual
hearing programs EasyAudio and
EasyBluetooth. The large central button allows users to easily accept and
reject a call or start and stop streaming
audio. The iCOM offers the most
convenient way to interface any wireless
Phonak hearing instrument (excl.
Petite models) to modern communication
devices. The binaural StereoSound
digital transmission is extremely robust against any sort of interference. It
wirelessly connects the hearing instru-
ments to Bluetooth devices or phones
and also offers a 3.5mm stereo jack
for cabled connections and can integrate an FM receiver via europlug.
Incoming signals are prioritized automatically and the hearing instruments
will automatically switch to the individual hearing programs EasyAudio
and EasyBluetooth. The large central
button makes sure all users can easily accept and reject a call or stop and
start streaming audio.
The iCOM is handsfree operation
with a rechargeable battery and range
of about 100 feet.
The overall size is about two inches
square and one half inch thick.
The iCOM has a TVLink basestation option. This new television solution turns a particular manufacturer’s
hearing instruments into the lightest
wireless TV headset ever. The basestation
wirelessly sends audio signals from
the TV or any other audio source to the
iCOM within one hundred feet. The
StereoSound feature ensures a perfect
listening experience. The Click’nTalk
cell phone accessory is compatible
with Sony Ericsson cell phones. The
caller’s voice is sent directly to both
of the instruments.
The Click’nTalk provides the best
sound quality available for improved
cell phone use.
The cell phone attachment has optimal performance within fifteen inches
of the hearing aids.
The past fifteen years has witnessed
the advent of new digital (computerized) technology for hearing aids.
Gone are the days of crude assistive
devices like ear trumpets and analog
hearing aids. Wireless technology has finally and successfully
met digital hearing aids. This collision has become the Super Nova
in better hearing.
How is your hearing? Not sure?
Has it been a while since you last had
it checked?
Find out what you are missing. If
new hearing aids are prescribed, then
follow through and bring your ears
back in focus. While you’re at it, feast
on the newest digital wireless accessories.
Murphy Hearing Services is a full-service
hearing health care proprietorship owned by
Patrick M. Murphy, M.Ed., CCC-A, FAAA. Mr.
Murphy is a Certified and Licensed Audiologist
and Registered Hearing Aid Dealer in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Mr. Murphy knows first-hand about hearing loss. He has had a bilateral mild-to-moderate sensorineural hearing loss all of his life
and is a binaural in-the-canal hearing aid user.
Mr. Murphy has been in practice in Pennsylvania
since receiving his Master of Education in Audiology from the University of Virginia in the
Spring of 1987.
June 2011 • Upper Bucks Free Press •
7
Retired Math Teacher’s
Bike Collection Wows
Crowd at Street Fest
It’s called the Conference Bike and
there are only perhaps three hundred
of them in the world. The one belonging to Bob Swaim the Bike Man
was drawing quite a bit of attention
at Quakertown’s Arts Alive! festival.
Altogether, Bob brought about twenty
assorted bikes and scooters with him
to delight the crowd.
Bob has been collecting unusual bicycles for approximately ten years.
His current collection numbers “about
one hundred”. A retired Souderton
math teacher of thirty years, Bob is
now is enjoying himself thoroughly
with his impressive bicycle collection.
He does about fifty presentations a
year, bringing his bikes to all sorts of
different events and schools.
The onlooking adults seemed to appreciate Bob’s Big Wheel for grownups the most. He gathers speed and
then brakes suddenly while turning the
handlebars, a classic “burnout” move
that many remember doing when they
were small and rode the old plastic
Big Wheel bikes. One young boy remarked that it actually looked like a
Big Green Machine. While amazed
that someone so young would know
what a Big Green Machine is, Bob’s
bike is a Big Wheel.
Kids and adults alike appreciated the
many varied types of bicycles that Bob
brought along with him to Arts Alive.
He demonstrated most of them and
looked like he had a good time doing
it. Onlookers were invited to join him
on some of the bicycles.
As you might imagine, he is a great
advocate of riding bicycles. He maintains that teens would perhaps be better off riding a bicycle than learning
to drive as soon as the law allows and
subsequently “being a slave” to a car.
He points out that a car requires a continual stream of money in payments,
fuel, insurance costs, and potential repair bills; whereas a bicycle tends to
be more economically as well as environmentally friendly.
The Conference Bike definitely
caught everyone’s attention as Bob
guided it around the Broad Street split
near the train station at Arts Alive!
with six people onboard helping him
pedal. While all seven people can pedal, there is only one person that steers
the bike…which, on a personal note,
can be a little disconcerting for someone who is traveling backwards and
cannot see exactly where she is going.
Bob has ridden the Conference Bike
in various parades from the Penn State
Homecoming Parade to the famous
Miss America parade on the Atlantic
City Boardwalk. Of all of his bikes,
the big read Conference Bike is usually the crowd favorite.
As big as the Conference Bike is,
at the other end of the size spectrum
Bob also brought a tiny 2-seater tandem bike that looks like something
you might see in a circus clown act.
There are bicycles that take exercising
to new levels. The Elliptigo works like
an elliptical machine you might find
in any gym, but this one has wheels
and handlebars. The Stepper is another gym-machine-inspired model. It is
powered by the rider “stepping” exactly as you would in the gym.
There’s also the wooden bike,
which is styled to look almost like a
motorcycle. Bob once rode this bike
16 miles in Las Vegas. He says it is
surprisingly comfortable ride, except
that people keep stopping him to ask
him about the bike.
When asked why he decided to start
collecting bikes, Bob pauses for a moments and then answers, “I suppose
it’s revisiting my childhood. I delivered newspapers on my bike and I always rode as a child.” A friend with
a unicycle collection was also an inspiration.
It’s not just bicycles that Bob enjoys. He also does math presentations.
His demonstration on potential energy
utilizes 11,000 golf balls. A soccer
ball is also a handy tool for getting
people’s interest piqued about math.
If you would like to contact Bob
Swaim to arrange a free bicycle (or
math) presentation for your school or
organization, you can contact him at
swaimr@yahoo.com.
Once Scoreless, Now
Victorious: Quakertown
Cougars Take Top Title in
Pennsylvania
On May 15th, the Quakertown U15
boys team (Cougars) won the Championship of the EPYSA Challenge
Cup over FC Elite, in a thrilling 5-3
overtime victory at the United Sports
Training Center in Downingtown, PA.
The Q-town boys were trailing 3-1
with 6 minutes left to play, and scored
two goals to tie the game and send it
into overtime. The teams then had to
play two full 15 minute overtime periods to decide the eventual champion.
The Cougars took control in the extra sessions, putting two goals in the
back of the net to take first place in the
two-month-long statewide tournament
called the Pennsylvania State Challenge Cups. Scoring for the Cougars
in the finals were Chris Taylor, Bobby
Harlow, Kyle Woulfe, Brendon Quinn
and John Mannino.
Quakertown was dominant throughout the tournament, scoring 27 goals
while only allowing 4. Of note:
Kyle Woulfe led the team with 13
goals and the team posted 3 shutouts
due to the strong play of goalie Matt
“Mo” Overholtzer and an aggressive
defense. This was a complete team
effort by a great group of young men.
The roster consisted of Matt Basile,
Colin Brandis, Bobby Harlow, Albert
Haynes, Davis Haynes, Jose Hernandez, Bobby Hertensteiner, John
Mannino, Colin McLaughlin, Matt
Overholtzer, Brendon Quinn, Aaron
Scholl, Nick Soriano, Chris Taylor,
Austin Wilson, Ishmael Wright and
Kyle Woulfe.
This is the second State wide championship this season for the Cougars. They won the EPYSA Indoor
State Cup Championships in January, beating the West Chester United
Eagles ‘95 by a score of 6-2. Their
coach, Kevin Woulfe, and assistant
coaches Ed Scholl and Scott Brandis have been with them since they
were U9 players and didn’t win a
single game.
8
• Upper Bucks Free Press • June 2011
Dr. Lori Tells Them “What It’s Worth”
at Antiques & Artisans Event
It was a bit humid on the night of
May 25, but that did not discourage
about two-hundred and fifty people
from coming out to the Tobin Art
Gallery on California Road to enjoy
a night out and help raise money for a
good cause. Antiques & Artisans included a reception for the guests, a silent auction, and a “What It’s Worth”
program hosted by TV personality
and expert arts & antiques appraiser,
Dr. Lori. The fun was all for a good
cause. Money was raised for the
new Springhouse Park Project at the
Phoebe Richland Healthcare Center in
Richlandtown.
Kristin Kiehstaller, program coordinator at Phoebe, was excited anticipating the Antiques & Artisans event and
the good it would do for the residents
of the healthcare center. The Springhouse Park Project, scheduled for
dedication on June 24, is a 40-foot by
80-foot garden area designed to attract
butterflies and birds and be a pleasant place for Phoebe Richland’s residents to come outside. The handicapaccessible park can be enjoyed by all
of the residents, regardless of physical
limitations. Kristin mentioned that the
residents are “really excited” at the
prospect of their new garden area.
Phoebe Ministries is a non-profit organization that caters to senior healthcare, housing, and support services
with sixteen communities in eastern
and central Pennsylvania. Phoebe
Richland is a 143-bed facility in Richlandtown that offers skilled and intermediate services as well as hospice
care. The residents are an active part
of the community participating in different local events.
The Springhouse Park Project is
just one of Phoebe Richland’s latest
endeavors. The facility also hopes to
add another 80 beds to better serve the
community in the near future. Fundraisers like Antiques and Artisans as
well as generous donations help them
to bring these projects to fruition.
This evening included a silent auction featuring gift baskets full of
goods and services donated by local
businesses. As the auction drew to
a close, people claimed seats for the
much-anticipated part of the evening’s
program – it was time for “What’s It
Worth?” with Dr. Lori.
After words of greeting and thanks
to all who came out to support Phoebe
Richland from administrator MaryKay
McMahon as well as President and
CEO of Phoebe Ministries Scott Stevenson, Dr. Lori took the microphone
and immediate control of the room.
With her characteristic humor and
quick wit, she entertained and educated the audience about yard sales
(“Never spend over ten dollars”), the
importance of signed pieces (“Nothing has to be signed to be worth a lot
of money”), and why you should fill
out the forms when Dr. Lori asks you
to do so before an appraisal program
(No quote here, just trust me on this
one. She’ll make an example of you
in front of everyone, all in good fun
of course.) According to Dr. Lori,
when you’re laughing, you’re learning. And everyone who watched her
in action appraising items and giving
mini-history lessons had opportunity
to learn a lot.
People brought all sorts of items
for Dr. Lori to examine. Family treasures, yard sale finds, art prints, antique household tools were all set out
for her perusal. It was a fast-paced
exercise in valuing disparate items.
She engaged the owners in the conversation as she appraised their items. It
was fascinating to hear Dr. Lori pick
up a watch, a rolling pin, and a doll
and be able to rattle off facts about
each before she had to ask for specif-
Justyna Pepkowski (center) has just signed with Elizabethtown College with a softball scholarship. Coach Rich Scott (left) and Asst. Coach Vanessa Kirshman (right)
photo by frank direnzo
are proud of her athletic and scholastic accomplishments.
ic history. She would then given the
object’s value; sometimes confirming what the owner had suspected,
sometimes doling out disappointment
that a family treasure or find wasn’t
as valuable as hoped, and a few times
startling the room by pronouncing a
high monetary value on some items.
One of the more interesting stories:
“Steve” of Bethlehem brought a map
of the Battle of Gettysburg. Ten years
ago, his mother had found a tube
containing three of these maps in a
dumpster. Dr. Lori asked him to remove the tissue paper covering so that
she could see it more clearly. After a
moment’s examination, she jokingly
warned him to not take this map to
Gettysburg because “they would really want to keep it.” It turns out
that this map is from the 1876 Centennial Exhibition and has a value
of $16,000. Remember, “Steve”
has three maps, one for each day
of the Battle of Gettysburg. Moral
of this story: don’t throw just anything
away. As Dr. Lori advises, “find out
what you have before you let it go.”
Maybe also this: don’t throw old maps
of historical battles printed for historical events away in the dumpster.
Michele Buono, editorial coordinator for the Upper Bucks Free Press, shows off
the latest issue at the Upper Bucks Chamber of Commerce Business Expo in May
at Quakertown High School. UBFP was a sponsor of the event. photo by frank direnzo
June 2011 • Upper Bucks Free Press •
9
Me & My Girl Performance
Well Received
The 66-member cast of Me and My aspects of the show were unbelievably
Girl, along with a full orchestra, set
the stage of Quakertown High School
ablaze with four spectacular performances on May 20, 21, and 22. Director, Jonathan Lechner, and Assistant
Director, Darcy McConahy, worked
tirelessly with this group of students
for over two months, to prepare them
for the show. The cast received enthusiastic standing ovations at each
show. The dancing was superb and
the extremely-catchy songs featured
in this British comedy are still running through the heads of those who
attended. The sets, designed by Lynn
Kraft, lighting handled by Wayne McConahy, costumes and props and oher
detailed and really added to the sense
of being at a Broadway show. We
were awe struck by the exceptional,
unamplified singing of the leads and
cast members which filled the auditorium. This was a community effort,
and our thanks are extended to the
staff and crew, as well as to the countless community businesses and volunteers who were involved in this wonderful production! What a gift it is to
the Quakertown Community to have a
music program capable of producing
such well-prepared and highly-capable
students. Congratulations! Kudos!
Bravo! Thank you for an unforgettable show! submitted by karen quinn
10
• Upper Bucks Free Press • June 2011
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Pennridge Awards Merkel
Scholarships
Thanks to the generosity of former Pennridge teachers Clair J. and
Katherine B. Merkel, three seniors
will have a nice portion of their college tuition paid for the next four
years.
In their will, the Merkels designated a portion of their estate go to
deserving Pennridge graduates. The
students chosen for the scholarship
will recevie $10,000 each over the
next four years.
Criteria for the scholarship include
financial need, academic achievement, work ethic, and an ability to
succeeed in college.
Sruthi will attend Bryn War College and major in Cognitive Science.
Lucas will attend George Washington University to double-major in
International Affairs and Spanish.
April will attend Drexel University, where she will pursue a double
major
in
Architecture
and
Civil Engineering.
June 2011 • Upper Bucks Free Press •
Sleepless Vigil Nets
$93,000 in Battle
on Cancer
11
START BUILDING
YOUR BALANCE
Mary's Angels. (back row) Denise Hildenbrand, Erin McGettigan, Misty Finkle, Norm
Wilkinson, Brian Wilkinson, Doug Statler, Kendra Wolfslagle, carolyn Martin, Krissy Gorel,
Steve Wiseman. (front row) Julia Ries, Lisa Van Sant, Mary Wilkinson, Aubrey Diehl, Katie
Wilkinson, Erin gero, Kelly Wilkinson, Jenn Rutledge, Brittany Burns. photo by michele buono
The walkers keep going all through the
night. “Cancer never sleeps” and so the
Relay for Life participants would continue
their mobile vigil during the darkest hours
while most of us sleep. Teams camped
out overnight in tents and teammates took
turns walking around the track to help
raise money and awareness for the American Cancer Society’s goal of a world with
“less cancer and more birthdays”.
The 2011 Relay for Life of Upper Bucks
event was May 14 – 15 at Memorial Park
in Quakertown. This is the 12th year for
the event, which has grown so much that
a few years back it was moved from its
original location at the Quakertown High
School to Memorial Park. Fifty-six teams
participated this year all walking to raise
awareness and in hopes of a cure for cancer. Just over $93,000 was raised this
year.
Local businesses and groups came out
in force under the tents and all over the
park. There was good food to be had and
plenty of entertainment for the whole family. “Carnival for a Cure” was this year’s
theme and many teams tried to work that
into their campsites.
This was the first year for the Mary’s
Angels team. Katie Wilkinson wanted the
team to honor the memory of her mother
Mary, who lost her 15-month battle with
leukemia eleven years ago. Team Captain
Misty Finkle organized the members, 30
strong, for this event. Their camp sign
read “Mary’s Angels would jump through
hoops to find a cure”.
Norm Wilkinson is proud of his daughter and remarks that she takes after her
mother Mary, of whom he says “there was
no better woman on the planet. She was
Mom to everybody.” Teammates agree
and start to reminisce about their memories of Mary Wilkinson. It seems that all
the neighborhood kids knew the family
and would stop by their home frequently
to enjoy whatever was being cooked in the
Wilikinson’s kitchen.
Mary overcame various health problems throughout her life. She was told that
she would not be able to have children.
Mary beat the odds and had three children. She was a well-loved wife, mother,
and friend who believed that “God will
get you through it”. She fought a fifteenmonth battle with leukemia and passed
away eleven years ago.
The idea of Relay for Life began with
on e person. Dr. Gordy Klatt, a colorectal
surgeon in Tacoma, Washington, wanted
to show support for cancer patients and
raise funds for the local branch of the
American Cancer Society. Dr. Klatt enjoyed running marathons and so decided
to use that to raise awareness and funds.
In May of 1985, Dr. Klatt ran more than
83 miles on a track at the University of
Puget Sound’s Baker Stadium. He raised
$27,000.
From there, Dr. Klatt formed a committee to plan a team relay event. The teams
would walk for 24 hours because “cancer
never sleeps”. The relay event was held in
1986 with 19 teams that raised $33,000.
Today there are over 5,000 events nationally with $388 million raised in 2010.
Milford 7th graders went to their annual Outdoor School at Camp Nockamixon.
They participated in numerous activities.
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In the Northern Hemisphere, Summer Solstice begins
on Jun 21 2011 at 1:16 P.M. EDT
12
• Upper Bucks Free Press • June 2011
But We’re Still Here!
As I drove down 309 on a rainy
day on Friday, May 20th I couldn’t
help but notice a van pulling in the
vacant parking lot across from Wawa
and Rite Aid. The van was covered
in signs proclaiming “Judgment Day
is May 21st, 2011” and “The Bible is
Truth.” Knowing the Bible myself, I
couldn’t help myself to pull over and
interview this guy.
Last time I checked my Bible, it
never said the world was going to end
on May 21st 2011. I pulled over and
got out of my car to approach the guy
who was in the van. I was welcomed
by a friendly old man named Fred
Detweiler. I introduced myself and I
asked “Can you explain to me what is
going to happen this Saturday?” Fred
explained to me that there was going
to be a massive earthquake in New
Zealand. He continued to tell me that
was going to be an earthquake that no
man could ever fathom. At the same
time as the earthquake would take
place Christens all around the world
would be “raptured” He then explained
to me that not every Christian would
be saved.
I asked him how could this be because in John 3:16, it states that if
we simply believe in Jesus Christ we
could be saved and have eternal life.
“For God so loved the world that he
gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish
but have eternal life.” Fred told me
that God already has chosen who is
and isn’t going to Heaven and we as
people could not do anything about it
to change it. According to his beliefs,
someone may say they believe that
Christ is there savor but still not go to
Heaven. I sat there puzzled and asked
how could someone believe and not go
to heaven? He compared saving someone like “Instant pudding;” you can’t
just save someone over night. God
must work in them and it is in God’s
control if they change or not. They as
individuals have no control over their
faith. If they don’t follow the 10 commandments, it’s clear they don’t want
to live a Godly life and therefore may
not go to Heaven according to Fred.
This puzzled me even more because
the whole purpose was for Jesus to
come and die for our sins… not some,
but all of them! However he believed
something totally different. He believed that if we weren’t good enough,
we were not true believers in Christ.
Therefore we’re not Christians and
will not be allowed to go to Heaven.
He said most churches today are not
what the Bible teaches. He explained
how the devil is inside our churches
teaching a false prophecy.
I then asked him about Mark 13:32,
which states “However, no one knows
the day or hour when these things will
happen, not even the angels in heaven
or the Son himself. Only the Father
knows.” I asked how he can say the
world is ending May 22nd if the Bible
clearly states that no one knows but
God himself. Fred explained that verse
was only meant for a certain time period and wasn’t meant for people to
read it like that in our time period.
I asked him how he prepared for
and how long he believed this. He
answered that for over 10 years he
has been preparing for the end of the
world on May 22nd. He has worked
less since he is self employed and
is ready for the world to end. I then
asked Fred my final question “What
would happen if the world doesn’t
end?” He got an upset look on his face
and responded “Everyone asks me
this question, That’s not even a reasonable question. There is no doubt
it will happen.” He would not take it
in account that it maybe couldn’t happen. Now I sit here writing this article
knowing that the world didn’t end. I
guess God wasn’t kidding when he
wrote that no one not even Jesus knew
when the world will end. Guess they
were wrong yet again. God bless!
Motorcycle Pilgrimage Brings Tearful Memories of
Attack, Raises Funds for Scholarships and Programs
“You just gotta touch it, “ says Charlene Ramer as she stood in front of the
rust-colored piece of steel I-beam. She
put her hand on it and reflected that
she was “teary-eyed” just thinking
about the events that changed America
forever on September 11, 2001. The
chunk of steel I-beam from the World
Trade Center was on loan from the
Richlandtown Fire Department.
Eighty people on fifty motorcycles
made the 30-mile pilgrimage from
Richlandtown to the Garden of Reflection, Bucks County’s memorial of
9/11. Afterwards, they all returned
to Benner Hall in Richlandtown to
enjoy good music and good food as
apart of the 2nd Annual Pig Roast and
Bike Run to support America’s 911
Foundation. Andy Young of the local
America’s 911 Foundation chapter re-
marks that the Garden of Reflection in
Yardley is a “sacred place” and it was
very moving to be there to remember
the victims of September 11th.
Ted Sjurseth from Leesburg, VA
began America’s 911 Foundation
about a month after the September
11 attack. He & some others rallied
a group of motorcyclists to ride from
Washington, DC to New York City in
November of that year to remember
the fallen by laying over 1,000 roses
at Ground Zero and to bring revenue
into the city. Every year since, the size
of the memorial ride has grown. This
year’s ride is in August and thousands
are expected to participate. Today, the
foundation raises money to fund scholarships for children of first responders
and is working to become to become
an accessible resource for emergency
personnel seeking funding and assist
replacing often out dated and neces-
(above) Ted Sjurseth, Andy and Tina Young, Sharon Luma, Tim, Luma, Lisa Sjurseth of America’s 911 Foundation (below) Part of a steel beam from the WTC brought by Richlandtown
Fire Department to Benner Hall for display during the benefit.
sary equipment and tools. They have
also created the first National Volunteer Emergency Team Database serving the entire nation. This allows anyone to register and assist their local
community and/or nationally during a
time of need
Locally, the Foundation has helped
the Quakertown Police Department’s
K-9 Unit with a donation of $6,000
toward the purchases of specific vehicles for K-9 teams.
The team of Andy and Tina Young
and Tim and Sharon Luma head up
the local chapter of America’s 911
Foundation. They organized the Benner Hall fundraiser. Tim and Sharon
both mentioned that last year’s benefit
was done more hastily than this one.
They are pleased with how the effort
has grown.
Local businesses donated goods
photos by michele buono
and services that were made into gift
baskets to be raffled off. There was
also a silent auction of donated items
& services, including an official autographed Philadelphia Flyers hockey
puck. All in all it was a very successful event.
To contact America’s 911 Foundation for more information about how
you can help, please visit www.americas911foundation.org
June 2011 • Upper Bucks Free Press •
13
UBACE Rocks Lehigh University
Arts Center
Middle and high school students of
UBACE (Upper Bucks Alliance for
Creative Expression) rocked the house
at Zoellner Arts Center on the campus
of Lehigh University.
The May 14 show entitled “Monster
Rock Hits of the 80’s [Part 1],” staged
an impressive opening of Dire Straits,
“I Want My MTV” with 16 musicians including singers, drummers,
keyboardists, brass and guitar sections. Mike Donahue of Hatfield, PA
came to see his friend Victoria Players, a Souderton High School senior.
“We’re having a great time,” he said.
Donahue’s sentiment was echoed by
friend Kim Caspa whom he brought to
see Players.
“It’s amazing,” Caspa agreed, “I
really didn’t expect this level of a performance. It’s fantastic.”
One of several stand outs among the
night’s performance was 12th grade
Souderton High School student Dakota Dell’s vocal rendition of Twisted
Sister’s gritty, “I Wanna Rock.”
Musical director and guitarist Mike
Stanley, surprised by Dell’s pink sequined costume with the blue feathered boa, laughed as Dell came on
stage, noting he had not seen the costume prior to the show. Dell’s talent
made the costume pale in comparison.
Equally impressive were the ultra-cool
licks of Quakertown freshman guitarist Wade VanValkenburgh.
Dell has played guitar for seven
years. He got involved when he saw
friend and fellow UBACE member
Jake Smith, whom he refers to as Sasquatch, play in the Woodstock show
several years ago.
“I came to a concert and I had just
started playing guitar,” Dell said,
so he decided to join. While he still
mainly plays guitar, he also sings and
plays bass, keyboards and drums.
One glaring point about the students
of UBACE is that they are multi-talented. Several, like Courtney Clark,
play more than one instrument and can
be seen in several different numbers.
She’s a freshman at Lehigh Valley
Charter High School for the Performing Arts and wows the crowd in the
brass section as a saxophonist. She
appears too in other numbers playing
her guitar.
Playing that night in his fourth
UBACE show, senior Tom Brucker
from Dublin, PA began playing drums
about six years ago and joined UBACE
two years ago. Keyboardist and friend
Jeremy Neidert, also a Pennridge senior said, “Tom and I actually started
together. It was four shows ago.”
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The Board of Directors of QNB
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at a regular meeting May 24, 2011
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$.25 per share. The dividend is payable June 24, 2011 to shareholders of
record June 3, 2011.
“Southern Fried Rock’” they said
in unison. Another UBACE member
Brian Tur got us them involved according to Brucker.
Neidert continued, “We heard about
that and we decided to get involved
and I’ve loved it. It’s definitely and
experience I wouldn’t have had otherwise.”
“I’ve definitely become more confident in my playing and a better musician out of this,” Brucker added.
That is music to the ears of President and Co-founder of UBACE, Scott
Soost who explained that the original
idea for UBACE was to provide a
space and opportunity in the Quaker-
Jackie Landis, a senior at Christopher Dock,
a singer who has been involved with UBACE
since the 7th grade. photo by kimberly kratz
town area for students who excel in
the arts to connect outside of school.
Six years ago, he said UBACE started
with one concert as a fundraiser. They
expected to do one show with Craig
Thatcher and Mike Dugan’s bands
with 13 kids in the original show.
To date, Soost says, “We’ve done 12
or 13 shows.” Interestingly, though
not a surprise, the program has grown
to accommodate the 30 performers in
the evening’s 80’s show. Each and
every one is worth a double take for
their talent and bravado.
“We have a number of different
school districts involved too and so
the kids get to collaborate and they’ve
gotten to know one another. And a
number of bands have actually spun
off. So they also use DeVoe’s sometimes to practice,” said Soost.
Jackie Landis a senior at Christopher Dock is a singer who has been
involved with UBACE since she was
in 7th grade. Numbers in which she
sang lead were: Tina Turner’s “What’s
Love Got to Do With It”, Pat Benetar’s, “Hit Me With Your Best Shot”
and Patty Smyth’s, “The Warrior.”
Of UBACE Landis said, “I like the
friendships I get to make and I also
DEATH NOTICES
F. Lillian (Harrington) McNair
of Quakertown, PA on May 15,
2011. Age 85. Place of death:
Phoebe
Richland
Healthcare
Center. Memorials to a charity of
one’s choice.
Death notices are published free of charge
in the Free Press and can be sent to
info@ubfp.org.
like that they treat us like we’re professionals even though we’re kids.
Like, it’s hard to find an organization
where there’s older people and younger people but we all feel like equals
and friends. It’s really nice to learn
from them.”
Similar sentiment was offered by
Meara Hayden, tenor sax player and
Pennridge sophomore. In her third
show, performing most notably in
UBACE’s creative interpretation of
the Talking Heads, “Once in a Lifetime”, Hayden exclaimed, “I love it!
It’s so much fun, especially the people, like everyone is so friendly.”
Hayden has made many friends since
she’s been involved with the group enthusiastically saying, “The whole social group is just a part of UBACE.”
Producer Samantha Beattie said DeVoe’s Music in Quakertown “donates
the space to rehearse for three months
for all of our events. “Not only for this
show,” she said. As she put it, “We
have a sort of a core band. [There
are] some kids who want to do more,
so we’ve got about a dozen, so on top
of everything else, they rehearse every
Monday night or Sunday afternoon.”
Beattie produces everything from
the auditions to the wrap up. Though
the equipment belongs to the students,
“Tonight [we] used City Entertainment
as a sound company,” she explained
adding, “but we have had a PA system
donated by a parent so when we play
smaller shows, we use that.”
UBACE recently played a wellattended fundraiser at Country Creek
Winery, and a review of their 80’s
show at the Arts Alive! festival in
Quakertown.
It’s one thing to go out and watch
young people perform when you are
their parent, relative or friend but Meg
Schell and her husband of Northampton, who enjoyed the performance together paid the performers the highest compliment saying, “I think it’s a
great show. I think the kids worked
really hard. I don’t know anybody
in the show but I’m really enjoying
watching them.
Be sure to catch them at their upcoming events: June 4 at Wehrung’s
Lumber in Ottsville for the “Wash
& Roll” event from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
There they’ll stage a car wash, great
live music and goodies to eat.
They’ll also be playing at Trumbauersville Carnival July 21, 7:30 p.m. to
10:30 p.m. right before the fireworks,
and they will be performing at National Night out, Tuesday August 2, 2011
in Quakertown. For more information, visit www.ubace.org
Quakertown
Streetscape
Project Shows
Progress
Quakertown Alive! would like to
update information on the downtown
streetscapes project. All funds received for this project are from Federal and State grants written by Quakertown Alive! and the Borough of
Quakertown in 2005 and 2006 to provide physical enhancements in downtown Quakertown. The funds are specifically designated for “Streetscapes”
projects.
The U.S. Department of Transportation offers grants to communities for
streetscape projects to make streets
safer. This is done by making streets
more bicycle and pedestrian friendly.
This is accomplished by improving
existing elements and adding new features. This results in making the area
more attractive to residents and businesses by improving the community
practically and aesthetically.
The work being done downtown
includes a complete redo of the Triangle park, reconfiguring the triangle
parking lot, adding bicycle racks, and
more benches, new crosswalks and
street lights in the downtown area.
Contractor S&H is in the process of
obtaining approval for electrical and
ADA sumissions. They are also working to establish a grading plan, which
was not provided in the approved
plans. They are on site this week performing demo work and anticipate
layout of the triangle area this week
for pavers and sidewalk.
The triangle parking lot will be
closed at certain times to all vehicles
while this part of the project is ongoing.
We have waited for 5 years for the
paperwork to clear Penn DOT on this
project. The approval and release of
this funding comes at a pivotal time
for our downtown. During this tough
economy, that we can receive these
funds and make these long needed
improvements is a blessing for businesses, residents and visitors to Quakertown.
14
• Upper Bucks Free Press • June 2011
Youth Street Teams
Celebrate at Summit
“Nora’s List of the Top Ten Things
You Have to Do In High School,” was
the focus of Nora Katz’s keynote address to over 50 youth who attended
the May 26 annual Upper Bucks Youth
Summit at the YMCA in Quakertown.
One of two youth keynote speakers, the Palisades High School junior
offered practical advice based on her
personal experience to middle school
students. The youths from Quakertown and Palisades will face the transition into high school in the fall.
Addressing the group with candor
and humor, Katz captured the group’s
attention elaborating on such suggestions as: challenge yourself, get involved in sports, music and activities,
or identify a teacher who inspires you.
“You will find teachers who are going to change your life. That is the
Nora guarantee,” she said.
With a tough act to follow, Elizabethtown College freshman Nate Fosbenner delivered and equally impressive presentation.
UBHCHY Chair Ray Fox, a former
Quakertown Community High School
counselor, introduced Fosbenner noting he was the top student in the 2010
graduating class at Quakertown. He
was also a part of the National Honor
society, played baseball, coaches Special Olympics basketball and volunteered at a nursing home.
One key suggestion Fosbenner
made to help with the transition into
high school was to stay involved with
extracurricular activities. “It’s just a
good way to kind of immerse yourself
with a good group of people, to help
you make friends,” he said, adding,
“ Just get involved with as much as
you can, with as many different things
that you like, and you’ll get to meet
lots of different people and make good
friends that way.”
Similarly, he promoted volunteerism, saying it’s especially gratifying
if it’s “something you like,” because
you are helping others and it makes
a difference in a student’s future opportunities.
“You’d really be surprised,” he
said, “how far it can take you. Obviously, you get the benefit of helping
other people out, but you’d be surprised just how good ‘I volunteer’ can
look on a college application.”
Once the two well-received speech
makers were done, groups of students
attended Asset Building workshops.
One interactive session, entitled “So I
Am Not Going Crazy – It’s My Brain
Growing,” hosted by therapist Lois
Dobson, helped students learn and
understand what happens in the adolescent brain that makes them sometimes feel as though they lack control
of their emotions. Together, students
identified instances in their own lives
where they felt powerless over emotion and then brainstormed ways in
which they could adjust.
Brian Gilbert, Chandler Gilbert, Emily DeMatteo, and Lucas Schon participate in a team
activity at this year’s Youth Summit. photo by kimberly kratz
“The Marshmallow Problem,” an
interactive activity hosted by coordinator Lee Rush, helped students
identify leaders, build teams and utilize problem-solving skills. Student
groups had a time limit to construct
a tower of raw spaghetti noodles and
jumbo marshmallows. One group
constructed a geodesic dome.
The culminating highlight of the
summit was when each of the attending middle schools shared with the
larger group, the results of their recent
Social Norms Marketing campaign
which they conducted in their respective buildings this spring.
UBHCHY describes the Social
Norms campaigns as being “led by a
‘street team’ of 15-25 youth in each
building. The street team, under the
guidance of a teacher or counselor
creates a strategy to share the message
that the vast majority of youth do the
right thing most of the time.”
When asked what youth keynote
speakers, Katz and Fosbenner plan for
their future, neither was completely
sure, but it’s clear they understand
what it takes to be successful, productive citizens. It’s encouraging to
know that they have led the summit
of 50 plus youth in celebrating their
achievements so far. The future for
these Upper Bucks Students is indeed
bright.
The UBHCHY (Upper Bucks
Healthy Communities Healthy Youth
Coalition) is made up of youth and
adults living and working in Upper
Bucks County and is coordinated by
justCommunity, Inc. (www.justcommunity.com) a non-profit youth development organization based in Quakertown, PA.
Tech School Debuts
New Logo for
Changing Times
A new logo was recently debuted
at the Upper Bucks County Technical
School (UBCTS).
Kyle Brad, a senior in the UBCTS
Graphic Communications Program
and Quakertown High School, designed the logo as part of an in class
competition. Lee Noecker and Michael Jerzak, juniors in the Graphic
Communications program and Palisades High School, acted as project
assistants. The process included logo
design, proofing, digital file preparation, file conversion, digital file output and production of school forms
and stationary.
Student entries were judges by the
UBCTS student body, Joint Operating
Committee (JOC), General Advisory
Committee (GAC), and the Marketing Committee. Mr. Charles Kollar,
Graphic Communications Instructor,
coordinated the in class competition.
The new UBCTS logo is an updated
graphic image designed to be representative of the change in direction
of career & technical education from
its old mission of training students for
entry level jobs to the new mission of
preparing students for college and career success.
June 2011 • Upper Bucks Free Press •
15
Locals Plan to Zumba
into the Record Books
Community members can be a part
of world history on June 4 as Pride of
Quakertown hosts the “First Annual
Summer Zumbathon.”
Participants will attempt to set a new
Guinness World Record® for the most
Zumba® participants simultaneously
dancing and exercising in one place
ever at Quakertown’s Memorial Field.
Sign-in/registration for those not already pre-registered begins at 10 a.m.
The
$10-per-person participation fee for
the event, which runs from 11 a.m.
to 1 p.m., will support the scholarship
fund. The fund enables local, underprivileged kids to participate in extracurricular activities. Each registrant
is encouraged to bring a non-perishable item to benefit the Quakertown
Food Pantry.
Kevin Reich, President of POQ’s
Board of Directors said, “We have
many instructors and people who have
pre-registered from all over Bucks,
Montgomery, Philadelphia and Lehigh
counties. We are highly encouraging
people to preregister.” The Guinness
World Record ® attempt portion, lasting 30 minutes will begin promptly
when all participants are signed in.
It is requested that participants arrive early as a big crowd is expected
and everyone must have a number bib
in order to be counted as an official
participant for the record. The event
promises to be fun as POQ will provide a DJ, vendors and door prizes
during the course of the event.
Reich says the event is the brainchild of one of POQ’s events committee members who loves Zumba® and
had the idea for the event after attending a class.
As of February 2011, the record is
250 people, though Reich said, “we
are currently trying to get an update on
if the record was broken [in the meantime]. Our goal is 251 participants.
We expect to have between 250-500
participants.”
“The world record attempt is for the
"most people doing Zumba® simultaneously for 1/2 hour,” he added. Preregister at prideofquakertown.org.
Morales Headed to National Health
Occupations Students Competition
QCHS senior Stephanie Morales
will travel to Anaheim, California
June 21-26 to compete at the National
HOSA (Health Occupations Students
of America) competition. Three other
Upper Bucks County Technical School
(UBCTS) students will join her.
The four qualified at the recent state
HOSA conference in Lansdale. Stephanie competed in Physical Therapy.
She said she took a test of 100 questions before showing her skills to judges. She showed them how well she can
help people with crutches and a cane
and how to apply an ice pack, among
other skills. She said she “nailed” the
skills part and was so close in points to
the gold-medal winner, that if she had
studied for the written test, she would
have won. She plans to study before
heading to Anaheim.
Stephanie has also competed in
several Skills USA contests. For her
internship, she works as a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) at Phoebe
Nursing Home in Richlandtown.
“I take care of the residents, get
them up and moving around,” she
said. “I like talking to them. They’re
pretty cool. They tell good stories.
She will take some pre-credit classes
at Bucks County Community College
and has applied to St. Luke’s School
of Nursing in Bethlehem to become an
LPN. She plans to become an RN and
BSN at Temple University. She wants
to work in pediatrics in a hospital.
“I have three younger sisters and
I’m always babysitting,” said Stephanie, who will become the first person
in her family to attend college.
Irick Named QCHS
Student of the Month
The QCHS and Rotary International
“Student of the Month” for May is
Andrew Irick. Quakertown teacher
Steve Kimball nominated Andrew
for the award. Andrew is an exceptional young man and leader in the
senior class.Andrew is an all around
outstanding student and person of
high quality. He is a conscientious
student who takes great pride in his
work. Andrew is also a natural leader
willing to help classmates, his school
and community. He has helped his
community by taking part in Adopta-Highway and volunteer landscaping.
Andrew is a senior class officer,
Key Club treasurer, member of the
National Honor Society and Student
Government. Through his involvement in these activities, Andrew is respected by his peers as a motivational
force in promoting school spirit.
Andrew has a strong involvement
in athletics. He was a member of
the golf and tennis teams for the high
school but his greatest achievement
was in ski racing. Andrew was chosen to compete in the East Coast and
New England High School Ski Racing
Championships this winter.
Andrew has been accepted to Penn
State and plans to study aerospace engineering.
In the coming weeks customers will notice major shifts of the renovation construction at the
Quakertown Walmart. The store is in the final months of expansion into a SuperWalmart.
The Grand Reopening is scheduled for October 6 of this year. photo by michele buono
16
• Upper Bucks Free Press • June 2011
Ongoing
Community
Events
Free Community Meals in Qtwn, 6pm at
Richland Friends Quaker Meeting on second, fourth & fifth Weds. every month.
Mill Rd & Main St. 215-536-0395
Upper Bucks Sertoma meets at Karlton
Café in Qtwn Thursday mornings, 7:15am
Speaker, ends 8:30am
Miller-Keystone Blood Center Mobile
comes to Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church 1st and 3rd Monday of each
month, 3pm-7pm
Bingo at Richland Twp Fire & Rescue every Tues. 5:30pm, 64 Shelly Rd, Qtwn.
215-536-7226
Upper Bucks Kiwanis meets for lunch 2nd
& 4th Wednesdays at John’s Plain & Fancy, Qtwn, 12:30pm, Meet new friends.
upperbuckskiwanis@hotmail.com
Bedminster Nar-Anon Family Group
meets every Tuesday 7:30pm at Deep Run
West Mennonite Church, 1008 Deep Run
Rd, Perkasie 18944. Support group for
family & friends with loved ones struggling with addiction, bedminster.naranon@yahoo.com or 267-897-0695
Community Meal-every third Thursday of
the month, First UCC, 4th & Park, Qtwn,
215-536-4447
Quakertown Neighborhood Association –
meets 3rd Tuesday every month, 6:30pm,
www.quakertownna.org, 267-424-0479
“Singles Drop In,” every Wednesday,
5-7:30pm, Revivals Restaurant, Perkasie,
215-258-3463
The Upper Bucks
Free Press is
made possible by
our sponsors and
advertisers.
I had my biopsy
on April 25, against
my better judgment.
I told everyone that
it wasn’t going to go
well. I felt it deep
in my gut. But the
surgeon, Dr. Bob, and my daughter
insisted. I have an amazing lack of
curiosity as to my lung cancer. It is
what it is. But I let my daughter drive
me to the hospital that morning.
My first two encounters made me
wonder if maybe things were going to
be better than I feared. First, the receptionist who checked me in asked if
I wrote this column, and told me she
really enjoyed it. Then the volunteer
who led me to the pre-op area told me
the same thing. They both said they
had thought of emailing to tell me, but
didn’t want to bother me. Please bother me. This was the first feedback I
have had in a year.
I changed into a gown, and settled
in a bed to wait. And wait. And wait
a little more. About an hour later, a
nurse came and let me know that the
IR doctor was delayed, stuck in traffic, but it wouldn’t be much longer.
So I waited some more. About 45
minutes later, I was taken to the procedure room. Where we waited. And
waited. And waited some more. One
nurse and I joked around about the
latest Charlie Sheen news (one of the
Goddesses’ had broken up with him
via text message), but mostly it was
lying there, waiting.
After about a half hour, the room
was needed for another procedure, so
I was taken out and left in the hall by
X-ray. Where I waited. And waited.
And waited some more. Four hours
passed from the time of my appointment. As I was wheeled back into the
room, I said, “You better get this done
now. I’m about to change my mind.”
The IR doctor heard this and rushed to
my side, introduced himself to me and
explains the procedure.
The procedure is done using a CAT
scan to locate the mass and ensure that
the needle is hitting the right area.
After locating the mass in my upper
right lung, the nurse started the sedation. I was floating in a way, conscience of what has happening, but
detached. The first pinch and I envisioned a thumbtack going into the
plywood of my lung. The doctor had
explained he’d first take a tiny sample,
let the pathologist confirm he was in
the right place, and then would take
a larger sample. The second pinch;
then “BANG”, a sound like a nail gun
into hardwood. I almost immediately
started coming out of sedation, hearing a nurse say something about my
“levels” were dropping.
I was taken back to the pre op area
and an hour later, was taken for a
chest x-ray. The IR doc came in the
X-ray room soon after and explained
that my right lung had collapsed. It
required a chest tube to inflate it. I
will admit that I took this news with
less than good graces. Much less.
“I told everyone that this would
happen!” I sobbed. I sobbed into the
room, sobbed on the table, and then
started screaming until I thought my
throat would burst. It never occurred
to me that it would be done with no
sedation. The pain was mind blowing
agony as the tube was inserted through
my chest wall and shoved down into
the cavity.
I immediately found it nearly impossible to breathe because the pain was
so severe. I was given a couple of
The first presidential proclamation honoring fathers
was issued in 1966 when President Lyndon Johnson
designated the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day.
Father’s Day has been celebrated annually since
1972 when President Richard Nixon signed the public
law that made it permanent.
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St. Luke’s Bone & Joint
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Orthopaedics • Neurosurgery • Pain Medicine • Foot & Ankle Specialty Care
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Occumed Resources • Radiology
pills, but they did nothing. Four hours later,
the nurse was finally
authorized to give me
an injection of a strong
pain killer. In seconds,
the pain ended. My little
groans with every breath stopped. I
could breathe easier.
My roommate talked in her sleep,
and a woman down the hall screamed
every ten seconds. Needless to say,
I sat up and watched TV all night.
When the shot wore off, things got
a little worse and without going into
gory details, it was very hard night.
The next morning, I let them know
I did not want to stay. I wanted the
tube out of my chest and I wanted to
go home. A chest X-ray showed my
lung was only half inflated because the
chest tube was too low into the cavity.
It was readjusted (with sedation) and
by noon, it was removed and I went
home. My lung was only two thirds
expanded, but it was holding air and
would finish on its own.
I called Dr. Bob and left a message
as to what had happened. He called
back and before I could say anything,
“I know, you told me so, you told me
so, you told me so.” At least he remembered. It is non small cell cancer, very slow growing. It is the same
cancer that Dana Reeves had; the kind
that hits non-smokers. Which is funny, since I do smoke.
I’ve said that if I have the surgery,
I will not recover. I will get sick and
die. I was right about the biopsy. I’d
rather live my years or however long
I have without that sort of suffering. I
will suffer in the end anyway. Why
invite the suffering sooner?
Beth Coulter is a long time resident
and historian of the Quakertown area.
She holds degrees in Communications
and American Studies.
Follow her
writings on Facebook@ Beth Coulter
Writings and Thoughts. Email her at
Beth@ubfp.org.
June 2011 • Upper Bucks Free Press •
GRADUATION
FLAG DAY
SUMMER BEGINS
VACATION
FATHERS DAY
BARBECUE
COOKOUT
DIPLOMA
CAP AND GOWN
SUNNY DAYS
SWIMMING
CAMPING
TRAVEL
SOLSTICE
FUN
POOL
17
SHORTS
SANDALS
NO SCHOOL
PICNIC
BUTTERFLY
TANNING
SIMPLICITY
GAMES
So, What’s the Deal
with Flag Day?
“Resolved, That the flag of the
United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union
be thirteen stars, white in a blue
field, representing a new Constellation.” So determined the Second
Continental Congress on June 14,
1777. The American flag has added
thirty-seven stars since then to its
present fifty, each star representing
a state of the union. The thirteen alternating red and white stripes symbolize the original Thirteen Colonies.
Was Betsy Ross really approached
in May of 1777 by a secret committee, including George Washington, who asked her to construct a
flag for the fledging country? It’s
certainly true that she would have
known Mr. Washington and the
other committee members, Robert Morris and George Ross. And
the widowed Betsy Ross did have
an upholstery shop. According to
the story, General Washington approached her with a flag design that
included a six-pointed star. Betsy,
knowing a thing or two about patterns, showed him how she could do
a five-pointed star with a single snip.
Apparently that trick impressed the
committee enough that Betsy was
then commissioned to construct
the first flag.
And so, in June of 1777, the new
country of the United States of
America had a flag to rally under.
Since that time, our American flag
has undergone some changes.
As of May of 1795, the flag had
15 stars and 15 stripes.
President James Monroe signed
an act in 1818, which declared that
the flag would have 13 stripes and
one star per state, with a new star
added on July 4th following the admission of each new state.
In 1912, President Taft, signed
an Executive Order establishing
proportions of the flag and how
the stars would be arranged on the
blue field. While forty-eight states
fit nicely in the arrangement of six
rows each with eight stars, by 1959
there were fifty states and so another Executive Order was needed.
President Eisenhower signed 2 orders to re-re-arrange the stars to include Alaska and Hawaii.
And that is the American flag that
we proudly fly today!
18
• Upper Bucks Free Press • June 2011
The Very Real Effects of Cyberbullying
It’s an unthinkable thought that
your child would die, not only before
you, but at only 13 years old with
her whole life ahead of her. It is only
compounded when the child takes her
own life. And yet this is the reality
that Tina Meier lives with every day.
You may remember the story of her
daughter, 13 year-old Megan Meier
from a small Missouri town who felt
driven to commit suicide in 2006 as a
result of a cruel hoax orchestrated by
an adult neighbor.
Megan Meier was excited that a
cute boy wanted to be her friend on
MySpace. She was a young girl who
hadn’t had a very easy time of it in
school over the years. She had attention deficit disorder and went through
depression. Megan also had a small
weight problem, but recently shed 20
pounds. She was in a new school and
seemed to be doing much better. And
then 16 year-old Josh Evans introduced himself to her via MySpace.
Over a six-week period, Josh and
Megan became online friends. Megan’s mother, Tina Meier, had a
strict MySpace policy. Tina had the
password, not Megan, and she closely monitored her daughter’s activity. When Megan wanted to become
online friends with Josh, Tina was
wary, but acceded to Megan’s pleas.
It went well at first, but after only a
few weeks Josh sent messages that
were hurtful. In his last message he
told Megan that “the world would be a
better place without you.” Extremely
upset, Megan ran upstairs to her room
and hanged herself. She died the next
day despite attempts to revive her.
Tina Meier has lived through the
Hell of having her child commit suicide. She has dedicated herself to educating others on the dangers of cyberspace. “If only I could get out there,
if one kid is helped, ” she says, “what
a legacy that would be for Megan.”
Tina was recently at Pennridge High
School in Perkasie as part of the Verizon Foundation’s Cybersafe Philly
bullying, but had no experience with
it and didn’t think her friends had either. After hearing Tina speak about
not only Megan’s story, but about
other tragic victims of cyberbullies,
Barbara remarked that she was moved
beyond words. “We don’t think of the
extremes. Nothing is ever that bad.”
Vanessa commented on how emotion-
Vanessa Rice and grandmother Barbara Wise sign the anti-cyberbullying pledge
board after the presentation at Pennridge High School. photo by michele buono
Summit. The Verizon Foundation believes it is their responsibility to be
proactive and help people understand
how to use the technology of the Internet safely. Thus, the Verizon Cybersafe Philly Summit, a series of presentations featuring Tina Meier.
Barbara Wise of Sellersville brought
her granddaughter Vanessa Rice with
her to hear the presentation. Barbara
figures that it emphasizes the point
sometimes when kids hear about serious matters from those other than
family. They hadn’t heard Tina’s
story about her daughter before this
night. Vanessa had heard of cyber-
al it was – she said it felt like an emotional punch to the stomach.
A recent study showed that about
43% of teens have been victims of cyberbullies. Almost 20% of teens had a
cyberbully pretend to be someone else
in order to trick them into revealing
personal information online. The truly
disturbing number is that only 11% of
teens talked to their parents when they
had trouble with a cyberbully. Over
the past year or so, there have been
several high profile cases of cyberbullying across the nation, sometimes
with tragic results. Tyler Clementi, an
18 year-old Rutgers University student
‘In The Arithmetic Of Love, One Plus One Equals Everything,
And Two Minus One Equals Nothing.’
- Mignon Mclaughlin
Nausea
Poisoning
Abdominal Pain
Animal Bites
Choking
Falls
Sprains
Chest Pain
Slips
Burns
Deep Cuts
Severe Bleeding
Headache
committed suicide after his dorm-mate
streamed a homosexual encounter online. Alexis Pilkington, a 17 year-old
Long Island teenager, killed herself
after being viciously taunted on a social media site. Phoebe Prince, a 15
year-old Irish immigrant, was relentlessly bullied by her new classmates
and hanged herself. The list goes on.
Tina had thought she was doing
everything right. Megan could not
log onto MySpace by herself because
only her parents had the password.
The computer was in a shared family
space. Tina monitored all her daughter’s online activity. The fact is that
sometimes, parents can do all the right
things and tragedy still occurs. Suicide
is the third leading cause of those between in ages of 15 – 24 years old,
that’s about 4,400 people annually.
Another disturbing statistic - over
14% of high school students have considered suicide, and almost 7% have
attempted it. Tina presses on, telling
her story and warning of the dangers
of the online world, how bullying
can lead to unintended tragic
consequences.
A few weeks after Megan’s death,
the truth came out that there was no
“Josh Evans”. He was an online creation of an adult neighbor and some
of her friends. There were no criminal
charges filed. Currently there are no
laws on the books to cover what was
done to 13 year-old Megan Meier.
Tina says that now it’s “not about vengeance” at this point. She will never
forgive her former neighbor, but she
channels her energy into the Megan
Meier Foundation which promotes
cybersafety.
For more of Megan’s story and what
you can do to promote cybersafety,
visit meganmeierfoundation.org.
TheraPlay Opens
New Upper
Bucks Facility in
Milford Township
Fracture
Vomiting
The key to dealing with an emergency is to be prepared.
The key to dealing with a medical emergency is knowing
that St. Luke’s Quakertown Hospital is only minutes away.
Don’t wait for an emergency to choose your emergency
department. Our experienced staff and state-of-the-art
technology will get you back in action FASTER.
1-866-STLUKES • www.slhn.org
Theraplay, Inc, a provider of physical, occupational and speech therapy services to children in Southeastern Pennsylvania, was very
excited to celebrate the opening of
their newest center in Milford Township
in April.
June 2011 • Upper Bucks Free Press •
19
Quakertown
Native Takes On
Mount McKinley
“It’ll be the biggest adventure of my
life,” says Brian Reiss of his upcoming trip to scale Mount McKinley.
The Haycock resident is preparing for
a trip that will take him to the highest point in North America. Reiss,
a Quakertown native, will leave for
Alaska on May 21st. His first stop will
be Anchorage, then on to Talkeenta.
From there, a bush plane will take Brian and the rest of the six-member team
to a glacier with a 7200-foot altitude at
the base of the mountain.
An avid adventure racer and mountain climber, Brian just couldn’t say
no when a friend called and asked if
he’d like to join the expedition to scale
Mount McKinley. He made sure that
he could get the time off from his employer Carson Helicopters and, more
importantly, that his wife Kelly approved of the trip. Kelly demonstrated
remarkable understanding and told
him “if that’s what you want to do”.
Brian was set to join the team of six
(and two guides) on this mountaineering adventure.
As mentioned, Brian enjoys mountain climbing. He has a personal goal
to climb the highest peaks in each of
the fifty states. So far, he’s scaled
twenty-eight of them. And it is a family affair; his fifteen year-old daughter
Madison has joined her dad on twenty
of those climbs. She has also joined
her father on quite a few of the adventure races as well.
Brian’s mom Arlene, while proud
of her son, is a bit worried about her
son going on this trip. “They always
say to me ‘Mom, you don’t want to
know.’ ”She understands though that
this is what her son wants to do and
that he has the ability to accomplish
it. But you cannot blame her for being trepidatious. Mount McKinley
(elevation 20,156 feet), or Denali as
it is commonly known, is considered
the 9th most dangerous climb in the
world. Its vertical rise is higher than
Mount Everest – 18,000 feet compared to Everest’s 12,000.
Temperature is also an important
consideration. Brian and the team are
preparing for temperatures as low as
–40 degrees. And that’s what the temperature can be in late May and early
June; it can get as low as –75 degrees
with a wind chill of –118 degrees during winter. The team is bringing fourseason gear to deal with the weather.
Each member of the team will be responsible for a 60-pound backpack
plus a 40-pound sled full of equipment
and supplies. The crew expects to
spend 2 ½ - 3 weeks climbing Mount
McKinley. Interestingly enough, the
descent should only take two days or
so. Besides “down” being an easier
direction to travel on a mountain, the
team will need to spend extra days on
the ascent acclimating themselves to
the higher and higher altitude.
We wish Brian and friends the best
of luck reaching the mountain’s summit. He is taking a pragmatic view
of the expedition. If for some reason
they do not reach the summit of the
mountain, Brian says that he’ll still appreciate the opportunity he’s had to go
on this adventure. Next month, we’ll
have the after-story of this trip to scale
the mighty Mount McKinley.
Senior Center Action
Upper Bucks Senior Center
2183 Milford Sq. Pike
215-536-3066
www.upperbuckssac.com
Exercise – Tues. and Fri. 10am
Line Dancing – Fri. 9am
Yoga – Tues. 9am
Pinochle – Fri. 12:30pm
Bingo – Tues. and Thurs. 12:15pm
Pennridge Senior Center
Debbie Scollon
215-453-7027
Bingo - 1st and 4th Wed. every
month at 12:30pm, open to public
Belly Dancing – Tues. 1-2pm,
Wed. 7-8pm
Tai Chi - Thurs.1-2pm, Fri. 1011am, Tues. 7-8:30pm
Mt. McKinley was first scaled successfully by American
explorer Hudson Stuck in 1913.
(left) The speaker at this year's Memorial Day ceremony at Menlo Park was Lt. Col. Bill Griffith, PAANG Vice-Commander 111th Fighter
Wing who read the original general orders of Memorial Day and spoke of some of his own memories of fallen soldiers and the meaning
of the day. photo by michele buono (right) Members of VFW Post 242 listen intently during an invocation at Quakertown’s annual Memorial
Day ceremony. photo by frank direnzo
20
• Upper Bucks Free Press • June 2011
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