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Golf Team Loses To West Chester Rustin HS

From the Daily Local News sports desk word that Octorara's golf team fell to West Chester Rustin High School golf team in a match played yesterday afternoon at Moccasin Run Golf Course.

Boys Golf

W.C. Rustin 192, Octorara 213: Dan Myers fired a one-under 34 as West Chester Rustin remained in the chase for first place in the Ches-Mont American Division.

Tanner Swanson and Jack Fritz carded 39s for the Golden Knights (7-2 league).

Joey Myers led Octorara (4-7 league) with a 40.

9 holes — Par 35

At Moccasin Run G.C.

Rustin: D. Myers 34, Swanson 39, Fritz 39, Paris 40, M. Myers 40.

Octorara: Myers 40, Murray 43, King 43, Reilly 43, Kastner 44.

DLN Editorializes Train Station Discussion

The Daily Local News followed their Thursday front page story on upgrading Parkesburg train station with an editorial this morning noting the need for a better train stop in western Chester County and encouraging those participating in the discussion about where to place the new station to find an appropriate solution.

The money quote:

We hope that all those involved will keep up the good work to determine the best way to attract more riders to the train line.

Here's the editorial in full:

__________________________________

Parkesburg's push for new or updated station worthwhile

Daily Local News Editorial

Amtrak service allows people who live in western Chester County or eastern Lancaster County to work in Philadelphia or Harrisburg (or to spend a vacation weekend in New York City) without putting miles on their cars and carbon monoxide in the air by driving to those locations.

And there are more than a few people who do just that. According to Amtrak figures, almost 50,000 riders annually use the Parkesburg station to get on one of the railroad system's trains — a number quite comparable with the popular Downingtown train station. But how many more riders would avail themselves of the service if there was a better appointed, and better located, train station in Parkesburg?

That's a partial question that a number of groups have tried to answer over the past several months, leading to meetings last month which asked residents and riders what they thought of the station and its future. Should it stay where it has been for decades at West First and South Culvert streets or should a new station be built behind the Parkesburg Borough building, or someplace in between?

What the community wants is a station that would project "a more welcoming environment," said Jim Thomas, Parkesburg borough manager, with better lighting, better parking and a better track crossover, Thomas said. Location is a big issue, too.

Parkesburg is a stop on Amtrak's Keystone Corridor Service route and falls between the stops in Lancaster and Coatesville, another station studying its options.

Parkesburg has a respectable ridership volume of 48,784 annually. The Downingtown Train Station has 59,129 Amtrak riders while Coatesville has 14,382 Amtrak riders. The busiest Amtrak stop in Chester County is Paoli with 153,154 Amtrak riders. According to Amtrak's website, the number of passengers using the Keystone Corridor service has increased by approximately 80 percent over the past four years.

"This is the last train station in Chester County next to Lancaster County," Thomas said. "For western Chester County and eastern Lancaster County, this is the transportation hub. It has easy access to routes 41, 30, 10 and 372."

But the issue of relocating the train station is problematic. The Parkesburg one-story train station (south side of the tracks) is very old and owned by Amtrak. Because it is owned by the railroad company, "the borough can't use it," Thomas said. "It's under a very restrictive contract." If the borough bought it from Amtrak, then it could become a museum or visitors' center, Thomas added.

All of those considerations, however, are pretty far down the track.

"This is a project we really want to do," Thomas said about the station upgrades or relocation. "We want to get it done for safety's sake for everybody."

We hope that all those involved will keep up the good work to determine the best way to attract more riders to the train line.

Octorara High School Band Does New Holland

Two videos of the Octorara High School Band in their First Place Performance in Wednesday's Spectacle of Bands Parade in New Holland.
The first from Jenny Hagans:

The second video from Ellen Brown:

September 29th Jr-Sr High School Announcements

9.29.2011 Jr-Sr High School Announcements

Costume Dinner Party Planned For Beale Manor

You're invited to a costume party at the Beale Manor on October 22nd. 

The staff at Beale Manor hope this will be an annual event highlighting a new theme each year. 

October 22nd is coming up and tickets are selling fast. We'd love to see you there.

Click to enlarge

For more information and to buy tickets call 610-857-5555 or visit Beale Manor's web site.

Octorara Homecoming Festivities Kick Off Thursday

Note:

As of Thursday afternoon at 4:00 PM, the football game against Sun Valley High School scheduled for 7:00 PM this evening has been postponed due to weather.  The game will played on Saturday, October 1st at 4:00 PM.  All other events are being rescheduled to accommodate the change.  Check back here on Friday for an updated schedule of Homecoming events 

___________________________

Octorara Homecoming 2011 has officially begun and there is a full slate of events happening throughout the week. 

Festivities kick off with the first home football game of the season, a game against Sun Valley High School on Thursday, September 29, 2011.  The game starts at 7:00 p.m. 

On Friday, September 30th, the homecoming parade will be held in Atglen at 7:00pm. 

On Saturday October 1st, events begin with a pancake breakfast sponsored by the soccer boosters at 8:00 a.m. in the high school cafeteria followed by numerous athletic matches versus Oxford High School.  

Here's the unofficial schedule as assembled by Jack Mariano:

• 8:00 a.m. Ladies Alumni Field Hockey
• 9:00 a.m.- Girls Varsity Volleyball v/s Oxford (H. S. Gymnasium)
• 10:00 a.m.- Girls Varsity Tennis v/s Oxford
• 11:30 - Girl’s Varsity Soccer v/s Oxford
• 11:30 - Girls' JV Soccer is also at the PLC 
• 1:00 p.m.- Girls Varsity Field Hockey v/s Oxford
• 2:00 p.m.- Boys Junior Varsity Soccer v/s Oxford
• 4:00 p.m.- Boys Varsity Soccer v/s Oxford

At 3:30 p.m. we will recognize the Octorara Sports Hall of Fame class of 2011 on the varsity soccer field followed at 3:45 by the coronation of the homecoming king and queen. 

Homecoming finally comes to an end with its culminating event, the Homecoming Dance at 7pm. 

For more information, please contact Jon Propper at jpropper@octorara.org or call 610-593-8254.

From the Daily Local News sports desk this morning a brief summary of an intense girl's soccer team between Octorara and Avon Grove yesterday afternoon:

Devin Simpson’s goal with five minutes left in the first overtime period gave Octorara a wild 5-4 win over visiting Avon Grove in a Ches-Mont League girls soccer match on Wednesday.

Sarah Kunko, Taylar Nines, Rachel Lamb and Devin Tuel were other standouts for Octorara (3-2 league).

Sarah Stolzfus netted a pair of goals to lead Avon Grove (1-6 league).

Avon Grove 2 2 0 — 4

Octorara 2 2 1 — 5

Avon Grove goals: Stoltzfus 2, Esposito, Fenstermacher.

Octorara goals: Miller, Simpson, Sokso, own goal Simpson.

Goalie saves: Moore (AG) 7, Moran (AG) 3; Fannon (O) 16.

Is The Train Station Heading East?

A fantastic picture of Parkesburg's train station taken by Tom Kelly IV of the Daily Local News

An article in this morning's Daily Local News regarding the debate being waged over the future of Parkesburg's century old train station and whether a better location for the proposed new station being planned by PennDOT would be a quarter mile to the east behind Borough Hall on the South and Rocco and Anna's on the north side of the tracks.

At stake are better access from Routes 10, 30 and 41, better lighting, better parking and a better crossover for train riders and pedestrians alike.

Read the article here.

The money quote comes from Borough Manager Jim Thomas:

"This is the last train station in Chester County next to Lancaster County.  For western Chester County and eastern Lancaster County, this is the transportation hub. It has easy access to routes 41, 30, 10 and 372."

Parkesburg Yesterday

Main Street in Parkesburg looking west in front of the Methodist Church in January 1942 as posted on Facebook yesterday by Betsy Wilde Benner. 

Vogelsong Finishes Strong, Beats Rockies

Ryan Vogelsong pitched the last game of his 2011 storybook comeback season Monday night by beating the Colorado Rockies 3-1 in front of a sold out stadium in San Francisco .

Vogelsong not only wanted to thank the home town fans for their support, but wanted to prove to himself and his distractors that this season was anything but a fluke.

Prove it he did.  The 34-year-old Octorara grad threw seven shutout innings, allowing just four hits and no walks while striking out four batters finishing with a 13-7 record for the year.

The performance capped what many are saying is the most remarkable comeback performance of the year. 

The money quote:

"I've kind of tried to play start to start throughout the whole season and tried not to dwell too much on the start before or everything else.  I had a little bit of time during the All-Star Game. I kind of kicked back for a couple days and could think about it. But once I get home and melt down a little bit from the season, there's going to be a lot of good thoughts. I'm probably going to realize how amazing it all is." 

 Read the entire story and watch a video of Ryan's performance on MLB's home page here.

Octorara Field Hockey Hang Tough In Loss To Downingtown East

This from Wednesday's Daily Local News regarding Octorara's tough 1-0 loss to Downingtown East Tuesday afternoon:

Downingtown East 1, Octorara 0: The Cougars (5-1) earned the hard-fought Ches-Mont victory as Izzy Giordano scored the game-winner in the second half.

Octorara (2-3, 5-3) received strong games from Missy Stefanosky, Jay Johnston and Ryan Morlando in the loss.

Downingtown East 0 1 -- 1

Octorara 0 0 -- 0

Downingtown East: Giordano.

Goalie saves: Marcia (DE) 3; Morlando (OCT) 8.

September 28th Octorara Jr-Sr High School Announcements

9.28.2011 Octorara Jr-Sr High School Announcements

Octorara Bucks Lancaster County SAT Trend

Click to enlarge

Word this morning that Octorara High students bucked a Lancaster County trend this year, in a good way.

According to a LancasterOnliine article, scores for the college entrance exam SAT for Lancaster County public school students declined for the third year in a row. 

Octorara's scores, on the other hand, went up.

Not only did 44 more Octorara students take the SAT in 2011 than sat for the exam 2010, but thier Reading, Math and Writing scores increased 12, 4 and 17 points respectively.

The money quote from the article:

The total average for Pequea Valley students, for instance, dropped by 73 points in 2011, one year after it rose by 72 points. Octorara followed a similar pattern, boosting its scores by 33 points a year after the 2010 average declined by 47 points.

This year's increase came despite an additional 44 Octorara students taking the test.

Octorara High School Principal Scott Rohrer said it's difficult to compare results from one year to the next because every graduating class is different.

But he said Octorara's teaching staff has "made a concerted effort to enhance critical thinking skills" for all students and has challenged more pupils to take advanced courses, which may have helped boost the 2011 scores.

Read the entire article here.

Register Now For Covered Bridge Run

Join us for this year's Covered Bridge Run

1 Mile Fun Run  -  5K Run/Walk  -  10 Mile Run

Saturday, October 15

Penningtonville Church, Atglen, PA

Registration begins at 7:30 am

Register Online Now 

Overall top male and top female winners in the 10 mile will be awarded an original covered bridge painting, on rustic barn wood, by local artist Gary Stern.
Top male and female winners in the 5K will receive a framed, covered bridge print.  


Refreshments will be provided for participants after the race and lunch items are available for purchase by Oh My Lunch!  

Adults receive dry-fit shirts and youth receive t-shirts if registered by October 1. All shirts subject to availability after October 1.

$25 adult / $10 youth if received before October 13

$30 adult / $15 youth on race day 

Register Now! 

Online registration open until October 13.

For more information download the brochure or contact
Sherri Findley at 610-869-9622 ext. 2543 or sfindley@ymcabwv.org.

3 State Reps Will Host Property Tax Forum Next Month In Parkesburg

Representative John Lawrence will be hosting a Property Tax Forum on October 11 at 7:00 pm at Parkesburg Borough Hall on First Avenue in Parkesburg. 

Joining Representative Lawrence will be Representatives Bryan Cutler from Quarryville, and Seth Grove from York County.   

The Forum will begin with a presentation detailing the current school funding system in Pennsylvania, challenges and opportunities for reform, and where those reform efforts are heading. 

There will be time for Q&A from those in attendance, and all residents of Southern Chester and Lancaster counties are welcome to attend.  Please RSVP to (610) 869-1602.  

Tennis, Volleyball Score Victories Over Oxford

With the rush of news about the storm Friday evening and Octorara's football loss to Great Valley, I missed these two Octorara victories.

Thanks to Maggie Feld for bringing them to my attention.

From the Daily Local News sports desk:

Girls Tennis:

Octorara 7, Oxford 0: Octorara improved to 2-7 with the nonleague win.

Anna Bortle and Ava Bortle lost the first set at third doubles, but rallied for a 6-7 (3), 7-5, 6-3 decision.

Geneva Blaha trailed 5-0 in the first set of her match at third singles but prevailed 7-5, 6-3.

Singles

1. King (OC) def. Franjesh 6-1,, 6-2; 2. Graber (OC) def. Sexton 6-1, 6-0; 3. Blaha (OC) def. Keeler 7-5, 6-3.

Doubles

1. Zavala-Feld (OC) def. DeFrank-Johnson 6-3, 6-1; 2. Black-Lewis (OC) def. Roper-Manco 6-2, 6-0; 3. An. Bortle-Av. Bortle (OC) def. Calibey-Green 6-7 (3), 7-5, 6-3; 4. Holly-Camacho (OC) def. Denzler-Charlton 6-0, 6-0.

Girls Volleyball

Octorara 3, Oxford 0: Octorara (4-5) earned its fourth straight win by beating Oxford 25-9, 25-4, 25-10 in the nonleague match.

Emily Maxwell notched 13 kills for the Braves, Lindsay Wilde 12 kills and three blocks, and Miranda Kauffman 23 assists.

In the second game, Octorara's Catherine Smith served 23 straight points.

Parkesburg And Pomeroy Rescue Trapped Driver

EMS Captian Penny Knotts and Lt Nick Mandell crossing the flooded road to check on the driver.

Friday evening's downpour brought even more moisture to an area already soaked by a month of record-breaking rain.

Often overlooked in storms, area fire and emergency volunteers were pressed into action to rescue drivers caught in their vehicles.

This from Pomeroy Fire Company's home page describing the joint effort of Parkesburg and Pomeroy emergency volunteers to rescue a woman trapped in her car on Limestone Road (Route 10) south of Parkesburg:

Parkesburg Fire and Rescue along with Pomeroy EMS as part of the joint EMS coverage were alerted at approximately 18:30 hours this evening for a reported car in the water with a subject trapped inside. Rescue 28 (Parkesburg) made the response along with Ambulance 29-2.

Units were sent to the area of South Limestone Road and Valley View Drive, and on the arrival of Rescue 28 a vehicle was found stuck in the high water from a continual torrential rainfall that had started earlier in the day. As rescue personnel were crossing the high water 2 by-standers who had helped push the stranded motorist out crossed back to the Parkesburg side. They reported that the woman inside was fine, but scared, and the car had stalled out from the high water.

After making sure the driver was safe Ambulance 29-2 was recalled, fire police and Highland Township closed both sides of Limestone Road and Rescue 28 cleared the scene.

Public Invited To Meet With Octorara Superintendent Tonight

Per LancasterOnline Superintendent Tom Newcome will host his first Superintendent Advisory Committee meeting of the new school year this evening.

The Superintendent's Advisory Committee, hosted by Octorara Superintendent Thomas Newcome, will next meet at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 26, in the district conference room next to the superintendent's office.

Newcome said the committee is open to interested community members and parents.  The meeting will be a forum for questions and suggestions.  Newcome, who also often holds town meetings in the district's communities, plans to hold these advisory committees at 6:30 p.m. on the fourth Monday of each month.

The district office is located between the junior and senior high schools on Highland Road.     

Senator Pileggi Carries Washington's Water In Harrisburg

Senator Pileggi (right) tours Chester's PPL Soccer Stadium with other business and government officials earlier this month. The stadium, first proposed by then Governor Ed Rendell and Senator Pileggi in 2008, was financed with $47 million of Pennsylvania tax dollars.

What do you think our state Senator is fighting for in Harrisburg?

You would think as President of Pennsylvania's State Senate, our Senator would be working overtime on matters important to the people of Parkesburg, Octorara and Southeast Pennsylvania like getting Pennsylvanians back to work or property tax reform.

Not Senator Dominic Pileggi.  Instead of fighting for us in Harrisburg, Senator Pileggi is fighting for Washington.

Last week Pileggi introduce legislation that would amend Pennsylvania’s Election Code by allocating Electoral College votes based on the vote for president in each congressional district, rather than the state as a whole.

According to Philly.com under the plan introduced by Pileggi, Barack Obama would have walked away with just 11 of Pennsylvania’s 21 Electoral votes in the 2008 presidential election while challenger John McCain would have received the other 10.

In a press release Pileggi stated his reasoning for proposing the legislation, "This proposal will more fairly align Pennsylvania's electoral college votes with the results of the popular vote." 

Pileggi of course hopes his efforts will re-engineer the Electoral College process since no Republican candidate has won the Pennsylvania presidential vote since George H. W. Bush beat Michael Dukakis in 1988, 23 years ago.

Senator Pileggi’s Republican party controls the State Senate, the State House and the Governor’s office; all three branches of Pennsylvania’s government. Yet, with all that power consolidated in the hands of a single party, changing how Electoral Votes are allocated is the best the party can do.

I offer two suggestions for Senator Pileggi.

First, in the free-market that are elections, for 5 straight presidential election Pennsylvanians have s voiced their preference for the Democratic presidential candidate.  If you want your party’s presidential candidates to have a chance at any of Pensylvania's 21 Electoral Votes, work harder within your Republican Party to nominate candidates more in sync with the views of everyday Pennsylvanians. 

Second, if you expect to win your reelection battle in 2012, starting today you must fight for voters in Parkesburg and the Octorara region by fixing Pennsylvania’s long-broken property taxes system. 

Carry our water Senator.  Fight for us Mr. Pileggi, not your friends in Washington.

Pileggi Sponsors Financial Seminar, In Delaware County

Senator Pileggi Sponsors Financial Seminar
Nice to see our representatives in Harrisburg sponsoring real-life events like this.  One wonders why its not done more often and in Senator Pileggi's case, why so many of the Senator's special events are in the Delaware County end of his district.

Senator Pileggi, we in Chester County have financial concerns, and for that matter kids, too.

Don't forget about us.

Soccer, Field Hockey Teams Rain On Oxford's Homecoming Parade

Two convincing wins by Octorara teams at Oxford's Homecoming weekend as reported by the Daily Local News sports wrap this morning:

Boys Soccer:

Octorara 4, Oxford 0: Keegan Wilson scored a pair of goals and assisted on another to lead Octorara in the nonleague meeting.

Nestor Zavala and Ian Byerly tacked on goals, while John Muchow, Daulton Rutter and Ben Makansi were other standouts for the Braves (6-2).

Octorara 1 3 — 4

Oxford 0 0 — 0

Octorara goals: Wilson 2, Byerly, Zavala.

Goalie saves: Jones (OC) 4, Muchow (OC) 1; Gomez (OX) 8.

Field Hockey

Octorara 4, Oxford 1: Melanie Lowry netted three goals, one on a penalty stroke, to power Octorara in the nonleague match.

Taylor Markward also scored a goal for Octorara.

Ashlie Pilotti netted the goal for Oxford (4-3).

Octorara 1 3 — 4

Oxford 0 1 — 1

Octorara goals: Lowry 3, Markward.

Oxford goal: Pilotti.

Goalie saves: Morlando (OC) 9; Biddle (OX) 14.

Octorara Runner Finishes In Top 10 At Media Event

The Daily Local News this morning gave a nice shout-out to an Octorara sports team that gets little notice or press; the girls cross county team.

Reporting on the small-school Bulldog Invitation meet in Media yesterday, the Daily local took note of the strong performance of Octorara runner Lauren King and several of her teammates.  They wrote:

The first area runner to cross the line was Octorara's Lauren King, who finished ninth with a clocking of 22:02.0.

"I got out well," said King. "I ran in the second pack with about 15-20 girls for the first mile. My mile time was 6:30, which is an average time for me. I felt pretty good at the mile. I tried to keep the same pace for the second mile because it was all downhill.

"I closed to 10th place by the two-mile mark. In the third mile, I went after the girl in the grey shirt (Upper Merion's Coleen Butler). We stayed together for the last 800 (meters) and she came in a few seconds before me."

The Braves placed two other runners in the Top 25. Elle Wisot came across in 17th place with a time of 23.10.2 and Lily Padora checked in at number 21 with a clocking of 23:26.9.

"It was a tough race but it went by pretty quickly," said Wisot, a junior. "There was one hill that was really tough. I almost started walking it - but I didn't. The best part of the race was the finish. I passed a couple people in the last 800 meters."

Octorara's other finishers were Bailey Peterson, who was 40th at 25:06.7, and Hannah Dieringer, who placed 46th at 25:37.7.

 Read the entire Daily Local article here.

Great Valley Turns The Table On Octorara

Having defeated Pequea Valley 33-0 just a week ago, Octorara saw the same trick pulled on them by the  Patriots of Great Valley High School.

Final Score: Great valley 40, Octorara 0

Updated at 4:41 on Saturday September 24th:

By Jack(!) Mariano

Before taking the field for Friday's Ches-Mont League American Division opener at Great Valley, quarterback Dan Solomon and Octorara were riding high on a three-game winning streak. Unfortunately for the Braves, even in a driving rainstorm that blanketed the field and hampered Solomon's arm, they had to contend with another force of nature.

Mack Hasz turned in a monster game for the Patriots (1-0, 2-2), powering his way to 296 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries to lead Great Valley to a 40-0 blowout win over the previously undefeated Braves (0-1, 3-1) in the league opener for both teams. The senior rattled off five runs of more than 25 yards in a watershed performance, putting the Patriots on his back and his name into the conversation for the area's best tailback. 

The Braves offense juggernaut sputtered a bit and Great Valley was successful at mounting their run attack against Octorara, something that Big Spring tried to do, two weeks ago but failed as Octorara outscored them. 

There is no doubt the weather played a part in the way the Braves played.  Octorara’s forte is a potent passing attack which depends on good footing and the ability to catch and run.  In fact the Daily Local News article this morning more that says the same as Andy Edwards reports: “Before taking the field for Friday's Ches-Mont League American Division opener at Great Valley, quarterback Dan Solomon and Octorara were riding high on a three-game winning streak. Unfortunately for the Braves, even in a driving rainstorm that blanketed the field and hampered Solomon's arm, they had to contend with another force of nature.”

”Mack Hasz turned in a monster game for the Patriots (1-0, 2-2), powering his way to 296 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries to lead Great Valley to a 40-0 blowout win over the previously undefeated Braves (0-1, 3-1) in the league opener for both teams. The senior rattled off five runs of more than 25 yards in a watershed performance, putting the Patriots on his back and his name into the conversation for the area's best tailback”.

Octorara’s Dan Solomon, earlier named the Daily Local News “Athlete of the Week” finished seven-for-22 for 164 yards and three interceptions, two more than he had thrown in the season's first three game.  

The Braves must quickly regroup as they face Sun Valley on Thursday evening to kick off homecoming weekend at Octorara’s field. 

Read more about the game here.

Lines

Note: Several months ago, after striking up a friendship with Raoul Cervantes on Facebook, I asked him to consider writing a piece or two about his memories growing up in P'burg.   This post recalling the impact Sonny Skiles had on his life, both in the classroom and at Minch Park, is the first of what I hope will be many such entries here on Parkesburg Today. 

By Raoul Cervantes

In the summers, between the ages of 9 and 15, I spent most of my summer days at the playground, later named Minch Park. Every summer became a new milestone in my life, starting with being able to hit a ball thrown by another person, to eventually being able to control a fastball, so that it would land in the catcher’s mitt right at the batter’s knees, on the inside corner. 

But it was in the summer of 1964, when I was 13 years old, that I learned the fine art of “lining the field.”  In the late afternoon, after the kids finished using the baseball field, older people played baseball and softball.  A league made up of mainly high school students used the field once or twice a week, and a softball league, consisting of four teams, manned by grown ups used the field the rest of the week.  But the games could not be properly played without lines.

My apprenticeship in lining the field came about because the playground supervisor, Mr. Skiles, asked me to help him one afternoon.  Looking back, I am not sure why he did this.  It is possible that he actually needed someone to help him, since stretching out the string, and anchoring it in the ground, was no doubt easier with two people, even if one of them was a kid, with no lining experience.  It is also possible that this was just a logical extension of my relationship with Mr. Skiles.  He was my 8th grade social studies teacher before he became playground supervisor.  It is also possible that Mr. Skiles thought I could use an adult male role model, not that these exact words would have passed through his brain in 1964.  He might have thought I could use some “guidance” or maybe he sensed I needed something that he could offer, whatever that might be.  Nevertheless, one afternoon, he asked me if I wanted to hang around and help him line the field, and I said yes, I would.

Mr. Skiles was a clear voice in my head when I was in junior high school.  He had the most sublet way of motivating me.  I sat at my desk, riveted to his tales of American history in the 8th grade.  He was a captivating storyteller, who seemed to be oblivious to his narrative talents.  I listened to his tales and remembered everything. I was able to always get a solid “B” on his tests, without having to read one page or take any notes at all.  This, I think, caused Mr. Skiles to think I was lazy.

We had this thick 8th grade history book, that I mainly used to keep my pencils and old quizzes that Mr. Skiles graded and gave back to us.  We were assigned pages in this book every day to read and given Conestoga notebooks, with the light brown, covers, which we were to fill with notes, based on our reading.  All year long, I  never read any of the pages, nor took any notes.  Of course, I knew that one day, Mr. Skiles would collect the notebooks and see that I had not done my homework.  But, like the day I would die, or any other unpleasant event that occurred in a future exceeding the current week, I kept myself in complete denial.

One week, in May, Mr. Skiles announced that he would be collecting our notebooks and grading them for our work for the year.  That week, I worked for about an hour, writing notes, filling three pages, until I realized my attempt was completely futile, and quit.  It was then that Mr. Skiles said those words to me that I would never forget, “Gary, you will never go to college. You are too lazy.”  I wasn’t upset or angry, I just took it as a bit of knowledge that Mr. Skiles was sharing, and since he went to college himself, he would know.  Years later, I recalled that bit of advice, when I actually did go to college. But, Mr. Skiles was not one for sugar coating the truth, no new age, self esteem words of encouragement, just the simple truth, “You are just too lazy to go to college.”  So, I took that to mean that if I wasn’t so lazy, I could go to college.  He was right.

The opportunity to help Mr. Skiles line the field offered me a chance at redemption.  This was my moment to show him that I was not lazy, that I could finish the job, that I could do whatever it took, to line the field.  So, I often, during that summer, in the afternoon, went with Mr. Skiles, with the white lime, with that little lining machine, and the string, and the peg to anchor the string into the ground.  I held the peg, to stretch the string, to make a perfectly straight line, that we could trace, with the lime machine, to make a beautiful, white line on the grass and infield dirt.

The field needed to be lined, no matter how important the game.  The lines made the game possible, and the quality of the lines were important.  Every game deserved clean, well formed lines.  This was another lesson I took away from that job.  Sometimes it is not our game, and it may not seem important at first, but may later be seen as critical.  As people who lined the field, we had our own responsibilities.  The teams played baseball, we lined.

After we lined the field, we put away the equipment, and went home.  Later, that afternoon, after watching Mr. Ed, of which Mr. Skiles let me know, in no uncertain words, was a show that insulted his intelligence, I would return to the playground and watch the older kids or softball teams play and run down the field, down the lines I had helped draw, beautiful white lines.

Board Approves Cell Phone Pilot

Once banned cell phones are now OK under a board-approved pilot program being run at Octorara High School according to this article in My Octorara News:

The Octorara Area school board gave formal approval Monday to a high school pilot program giving students the right to responsibly use their cell phones in school.

High school Principal Scott Rohrer said that in February he will provide a full report on its success or failure, giving the board the chance to make the policy permanent.

"The best thing so far is students are using them outside the classroom rather than having them taken away in class," Rohrer said.

The entire article is here. 

Soloman Named Athlete Of The Week

The Daily Local News' announced this afternoon that Octorara's senior quarterback Dan Soloman was its Athlete of the Week based on Soloman's performance in two games last week, one on Monday and the second Friday night, when he threw for 8 touchdowns and over 500 yards.

Congrats to Dan and the entire Octorara High School football team!

 

Nickel Mines Remembered

Five years after an emotionally troubled truck driver seized an Amish school house killing 5 Amish school girls and wounding 5 others before turning the gun on himself, Elizabetown College hosted a conference entitled ""The Power of Forgiveness: Lessons from Nickel Mines."

The tragedy, which saw Parkesburg fire, EMT and police called into action, was remembered at the conference not so much for the horrible loss of life, recriminations or anguish, but for the remarkable spirit of forgiveness that emulated out of the Amish community just hours after the event.

At the conference a presenter read a note from a parent of one of the children wounded in the incident, describing how the surviving girls are doing:

"Four are doing well, while one — Rosanna King, now 11 — suffers the consequences of brain trauma.  Emotionally, it has been a roller coaster ride the last five years for everybody, but it seems as if all are doing as well as can be expected,"

The world saw first hand the Amish' remarkable spirit of forgiveness.  The sun had not set on that horrible day when Elders from the Nickel Mines Amish community visited the living room of the gunman's widow comforting her and offering their condolences and heartfelt sorrow.  As one speaker at the conference noted:

"Forgiveness is a way of life.  It is, at heart, a set of communal practices."

Read the entire article about the conference in this morning's LancasterOnline .

June 2011 Library Board Meeting Minutes

June 2011 Parkesburg Library Board Minutes

Octorara Faces Great Valley Tonight In Malvern

Team captains meet at mid field prior to the kickoff of last week' Battle of the Braves" game that saw Octorara easily handle Pequea Valley.

Fresh off their 33-0 shellacking of Pequea Valley last week, Octorara's football team comes up against cross-county rival Great Valley tonight.

Even though they come into the game with an impressive 3-0 record, according to the Daily Local News, the Braves still have something to prove when they face the bigger, more experienced Patriots this evening.  Here's how they see the game unfolding:

Octorara at Great Valley: A battle of two pretty good quarterbacks in Octorara’s Dan Solomon and Great Valley’s Chris Geiss.

Pick: Great Valley 24, Octorara 21.

We'll see.  Should be a good one!

The game kicks-off tonight at 7:00 PM at Valley Stadium in Malvern.

Driving directions to Great Valley High School from Parkesburg, per Mr. Google, are as follows:

Follow PA-10 north

Turn right onto U.S. 30 E

Slight right to stay on U.S. 30 E  

Keep right at the fork, follow signs for US-202 N/King of Prussia and merge onto US-202 N

Take the PA-401 W exit

Turn left onto PA-401 W/Conestoga Rd

Take the 2nd right onto Phoenixville Pike

Destination will be on the right

Great Valley High School

225 Phoenixville Pike

Malvern, PA 19355

Octorara Jr-Sr High School Announcements 9.21.2011

9.21.2011 Jr-Sr High School Announcements

Lions Club Announce Flea Market

THE PARKESBURG LIONS CLUB WILL BE HOSTING A FLEA/FARMERS MARKET

DATE:   SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 24TH    1ST AVENUE AT GRAND SPORTS AUTO LOT

                VENDORS AND NON-VENDORS INVITED TO ATTEND

TIME:   9 AM TILL 3 PM

COST:   $15.00/TABLE  (please bring your own table)

                    TEELS CHICKEN BBQ WILL ALSO BE ON SITE

CONTACT:   610-888-2969 FOR DETAILS AND TO REGISTER YOUR SPOT

Boys Cross Country Score Defeat Church Farm School

From the Daily Local News Wednesday sports wrap this update of a convincing win for Octorara's boys cross country team over Church Farm School:

Octorara 20, Church Farm 35: Kevin Carr (18:58) finished second with a time of 18:58 to help Octorara (1-4) defeat Church Farm in the non-league meet.

Zac Cornell (19:45) raced to a third-place mark, while Franky Mills of Church Farm was the meet’s top runner at 17:38.

1. Mills (C) 17:38; 2. Carr (O) 18:58; 3. Cornell (O) 19:45; 4. Creveling (O) 19:55; 5. Fritz (O) 20:01; 6. Graber (O) 20:09; 7. Schultz (C) 20:27; 8. Soto (C) 20:34; 9. Owens (C) 20:55; 10. Nicholson (C) 21:18.

Monday's School Board Notes And Articles

Earlier this week Ellen Brown posted notes yesterday from Monday evening's School Board meeting on her Octorara Report Blog here.

Aside from the usual resignations and hirings, topics discussed during the board meeting include:

• Group purchasing opportunities
• PSSA test results
• Cell phone policy pilot
• The 2011-2012 budget calendar
• Time change for the High School Dedication (moved to 2:00 PM)
• A new monthly Superintendent's Advisory Meeting open to the public

In addition to Ellen's blog, local journalist Debbie Wygent weighed in with a good article on My Octorara News about the PSSA test results as reported by Assistannt Superintendent Nancy Bishop Monday evening.

The first three paragraphs of Debbie's story read as follows:

Students in the Octorara Area School District earned strong SAT scores compared with other students statewide, but three of the district's five schools did not make adequate yearly progress on 2011 PSSA tests, Assistant Superintendent Nancy Bishop told the school board Monday night.

As a district, Octorara did show improvement on PSSA tests.  Seventy-two percent of all district students were proficient in reading — up from 63 percent in years 2008-10 — and district students scored 67 percent proficient in math, which is up from 56 percent in the years 2008-10. 
   
However, both the high school and intermediate school did not make AYP in either reading or math because of scores from their special education, or IEP, subgroups.  The elementary school missed AYP in reading because of scores from its IEP and economically disadvantaged subgroups, but met all performance targets in math.  The Primary Learning Center and middle school made AYP in both subjects.

Read Debbie's entire test scores article here.

Mental Health Break

This YouTube clip was borrowed from Andrew Sullivan's The Dish blog.  Mr. Sullivan blogs about current events many times a day and occasionally tosses in something fun or thought provoking as a reminder about life outside of the Washington bubble.

This morning, Sullivan posted this clip from Fred Rogers accepting a Lifetime Achievement Emmy award in 1997 together with the following comment from a reader:

I can't help but pass on Fred Rogers' extraordinary acceptance speech receiving a lifetime achievement Emmy Award in 1997.  Notice the momentary tittering in the audience when Mr. Rogers says he'll watch the time, while they all observe ten seconds of silence.  The tittering very quickly disappears, and a profound sense of contemplation fills the room.  In his quiet, gentle manner, he commands everyone's attention, and directs it AWAY from himself; directs it inwardly and compels each person there to actually reflect on a meaningful aspect of their lives.  I can't quite describe how magical and moving this is to me. It was a gift he blessed with, applicable to both children and adults, and he applied it, tirelessly, throughout his entire career. Enjoy the clip, if you haven't seen it already.

 Pretty much sums up why we love Fred Rogers as we do.

Soccer Boosters Plan Pancake Breakfast

Click to enlarge

Fine Arts And Craft Festival Benefits Haiti

The Clini Med, a three story medical clinic that has been serving the people of Port Au Prince for the last 13 years

Fine Arts And Craft Festival for the benefit of the Bridges of Life Medical Foundation of Haiti, Inc.

When: October 7 – 9, 2012

Where: Twin Brook Winery, 5697 Strasburg Road, Gap, PA

Twenty artists will be displaying their talents at a fine arts and crafts festival which will be held at the Twin Brook Winery on October 7 – 9. 

All of the proceeds from the mixed-media event will be sent to Haiti to assist in the medical mission work of Dr. Patrick Jeudy and to further the construction of a new surgical clinic in Port Au Prince.

The art and craft festival in October will feature some of the finest arts and crafts artists in the area. The following artists will be donating one of their pieces for the raffle table: 

• Jamie Cox (Stormflight Designs)/jewelry; 
• Larry Denver (Nature’s Form Wood Creations/ wood sculpture; 
• Paula Graham/ water color; 
• Cheryl Gross/ jewelry; 
• Carol Habig/ botanical prints; 
• Karen Hurd/ nationally known decorative and reproduction tinsmith; 
• Wanda Kelly/ water color; 
• Annette LeMaire/oils and pastels; 
• Jason Link (Picket Creations)/furniture and home dec; 
• Terri Morse/water colors; 
• Karen O’lone-Hahn (House of the Rising Star Art Studio)/pottery and paint; 
• Judy Petersen (Touch of Earth Studio)/charcoal and paint; 
• Stacey Peterson (Stormflight Designs)/jewelry
• Linda Weigel/paint. 
• Dan Miller (Dean and professor at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art/wood block prints
• Beth Secor/paint, prints, furniture.

The raffle table will also include donations from friends and local businesses. Priscilla Jordan has donated a freshwater cultured coin pearl set valued at $150 which includes an 18” knotted pearl necklace with silver clasp, matching pearl bracelet and sterling silver earrings. Alyce Denver, who teaches yoga at Twin Brook Winery, will offer a certificate for an eight-week series of yoga lessons at Twin Brook, value $90.

In addition to the pieces offered for sale by the artists and the great items that will be on the raffle table, there will be items made by Haitian artists offered for sale: paintings, stone and wood carvings, necklaces, and leather masks.

To add to the festivities, Twin Brook Winery will be holding a wine-tasting event during the weekend. The wine-tasting will be in the winery and the art festival will be across the parking lot in the greenhouse event building. 

The weekend opens with an artists’ reception Friday evening, October 7 from 7:00 – 9:00. The reception is free and open to the public as is the rest of the weekend. 

Be sure to come Friday evening, meet the artists and get the first look at their work. The festival and wine-tasting continues on Saturday from 10:00 – 4:00 and on Sunday from 10:00 – 3:00.

Twin Brook Winery is located at 5697 Strasburg Road, Gap, PA. For more information contact Alyce Denver via email: alycetdenver@yahoo.com or by phone: 610-405-2819.

Background:

The devastating earthquake in January 2010 which killed over 100,000 people has left tens of thousands still living in tents a year and a half later. Out of that tragedy three people were brought together and founded the Bridges of Life Medical Foundation of Haiti (B.O.L.). Dr. Patrick Jeudy, Haitian-trained surgeon, was interviewed by a reporter for National Public Radio in March of 2010 and described the trauma of the Haitian people, the difficulty of treating patients who refused to enter the damaged clinic for fear that it would collapse on them and the loss of so many family members and friends. The interview was heard by Alyce Denver as she was driving into Philadelphia. After contacting NPR for more information, Alyce was put in touch with both Dr. Jeudy in Port Au Prince and Opal Golden who lives in western New York. Opal had taken relief supplies in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake to friends she had made through a soccer program she had begun several years ago and was introduced to Dr. Jeudy.

Dr. Jeudy and his wife Lise are committed to remaining in Haiti to help rebuild their country. Opal and Alyce with Dr. Jeudy founded B.O.L. in order to bring hope through improved health care to the people of Haiti. In just a year, B.O.L. has provided funding to raise the walls of a new clinic. It is a two-story block building that will be used for surgery and obstetrics and will have fourteen beds. Once this building is completed and functioning, the old clinic (Clini-Med) will temporarily be closed and the walls reinforced. Once it is refurbished, Clini-Med will be used as an out-patient facility. The next project will be to build another clinic in Caberet which is an hour north of Port Au Prince. Dr. Jeudy currently conducts open-air clinics in Cabaret several times a year – treating as many as a thousand people over a three-day weekend.