Cochranville firefighter Ron Christman, left, and retired New York firefighter James Thompson, right, unveil the memorial plaque and chunk of the World Trade Center at a ceremony in Cochranville on Thursday. Both men responded to the attack on Sept. 11, 2001. Staff photo provided by Southern Chester County Weeklies

This from the Avon Grove Sun:

A firefighter who was trapped in Tower No. 2 of the World Trade Center for two days unveiled a piece of the crumbled remains at a ceremony in Cochranville on Thursday night.

James Thompson, 54, of Cochranville was a member of Fire Company 13 in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001 when they received the call to respond.

In the midst of the rescue efforts, the building collapsed around him and he had only his own equipment to find a way out. He said he was inside for more than two days and was forced to cut and leverage debris finally to get free. He called it a “self-rescue.”

His wife, Irene, said waiting and not knowing was the most harrowing time of her life.

Thompson now lives in Cochranville, retired from the fire service and unable to perform those duties because of injuries and illnesses he suffered in the event, including pulmonary fibrosis.

This week Thompson and fellow firefighter Ron Christman stood before about 100 spectators at the Cochranville Fire Company on Route 10 and pulled the veils off a plaque honoring all fallen responders to 9/11 and a chunk of 120 pound chunk of the building. Both items are now securely and permanently on display in front of the firehouse.

See more pictures here and read the rest of the story here.

Another Winning Lottery Ticket Sold In Octorara Region

You've heard those sayings 'When it rains, it pours' and 'Lightning never strikes twice?'

Well if you live in the Octorara area and you play the Pennsylvania Lottery's Cash 5 gam, you can answer a resounding YES IT DOES! to both those age old expressions.

Turns out Friday's winning $225,000 Cash 5 ticket was sold at the Cochranville Turkey Hill at the corner of Route 10 and 41.  This on top of the $740,000 winning ticket sold just a few days earlier by Xpress Stop in Parkesburg.

Here's this morning's announcement from the Pennsylvania Lottery:

One jackpot-winning Cash 5 ticket worth $225,000 from the Sept. 9 drawing was sold at Turkey Hill, 1074 Gap Newport Pike, Cochranville, Chester County.

The ticket correctly matched all five balls, 04-06-10-18-27, to win a jackpot of $225,000, less 25-percent federal withholding.

The retailer will receive a $500 bonus for selling the winning ticket.

Lottery officials cannot confirm the identity of the winner until the prize is claimed and the ticket is validated. Cash 5 winners have one year from the drawing date to claim prizes.

The Lottery encourages the holder of the winning ticket to sign the back of the ticket, call the Lottery at 717-702-8146 and file a claim at Lottery headquarters in Middletown, Dauphin County, or at any of Lottery’s seven area offices.

Golden Agers Meeting

This from Monday's Daily Local News:

Golden Agers Club of Cochranville will have its initial fall meeting on Sept. 13 at 1 p.m. at Cochranville Methodist Church on Church Drive. Members and guests may bring an item for Show and Tell.

Call Bill Bittle, president of the club, at 610-593-5741.

Cochranville Cruisers Announce Car Show

18^th ANNUAL COCHRANVILLE CRUISERS

ANTIQUE, CLASSIC & CUSTOM CAR SHOW

Sunday, September 25, 2011

(Rain date Sunday, October 2, 2011)

 

Hosted by the Cochranville Cruisers

  

Proceeds  benefit  Cochranville  Fire  Company

Show held at Cochranville Fire Company Carnival Grounds, 

Route 10, ¼ mile south of Route 41

For More Information Visit Cochranville Cruisers' home page.

Cochranville Fire Company Plans 9/11 Dedication

This important announcement from the Community Courier:

The Cochranville Fire Company will dedicate and permanently display the World Trade Center artifact received from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The ceremony will take place on Thursday, Sept. 8, at 7 p.m.

In preparation for displaying the steel and plaque, which was partially paid for from donations made at the July carnival, the fire company modified its memorial dedicated to firefighter Chief Wayne Yost, who died in 1999 in the line of duty.

The memorial is designed to remind those passing the station at 3135 Limestone Road, Cochranville, of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the loss of life at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Shanksville.

New Bus Run Takes Parkesburg Kids To Lancaster High School

Parkesburg resident Elvin Kennel, principal of the Lancaster Campus of Lancaster Mennonite School, welcomes high school students in Chester County to use the new school bus serving Oxford, Parkesburg and Cochranville.

This from the Community Courier about a new bus run Lancaster Mennonite School will run each day through Oxford, Cochranville and Parkesburg for students attending LMS.  The bus run will cost students $6 a day and be driven by an LMS teacher who lives in Oxford.

For years, many Chester County families have desired the Christ-centered education and faith-infused opportunities offered by Lancaster Mennonite High (LMH) School, but transportation to the Lancaster Campus was a problem. 

Now, in response to strong demand by Chester County families, Lancaster Mennonite High School has established a bus route that will stop in Oxford, Parkesburg and Cochranville. So far, 14 students have signed up for the new bus route.

Elvin Kennel, Lancaster Mennonite High School principal, is enthusiastic about the new bus route and about getting more students from Chester County. A resident of Parkesburg, Kennel himself is a parent of Lancaster Mennonite School students.

The bus will pick up students at Bethany Christian School in Oxford, the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Parkesburg, and the West Fallowfield Community Center in Cochranville. The air-conditioned 28-passenger vehicle will be driven by Ryan King, an LMH ag-tech teacher who lives in Oxford. 

Using King as the driver allows the school to keep the cost of the bus to $6 per round trip.

Lancaster Mennonite High School welcomes students from many different denominational and racial/ethnic backgrounds. The school currently enrolls students from the greater Lancaster area and surrounding counties in addition to international students from 10 countries.

LMH offers a host of co-curricular activities, 13 sports in the Lancaster-Lebanon League, and programs in music, drama and art. The school also hosts such clubs as FFA, Future Business Leaders of America, and the Family and Consumer Science Association.

For information about enrollment, readers may visit www.lancastermennonite.org/chester or call Curtis Edwards, admissions counselor, at (717) 299-0436, ext. 721, or Christy Horst at ext. 312.

Area Youth Win 4H Fair Awards

More than 200 projects were entered for exhibition at the Chester County 4-H Fair held last week in Chester Springs.

This year's submission featured several projects in sewing, artwork, pet care, woodworking, horticulture, club displays and project record books for horses and livestock.  

The following Octorara area youth won awards:

Grand champion winners include:

• Kyle MacCauley of Atglen for Photography

Educational Poster winners include:

• Lauren Berush, Gabby Smith of Cochranville for Officer's Books

Reserve Grand Champions include:  

• Chris Macauley, of Atglen for Beef Education Poster
• Alex Taylor and Gabby Smith of Cochranville for Officer Club Books

Route 41 Propane Provider Has New Web Presence

Kauffman Gas, a family owned propane provider located along Route 41 between Atglen and Cochranville announced a newly redesigned and redeveloped Website today.

According to owner Ken Kauffman, the new site has been receiving very positive feedback from its new customers and already established customer base.

The new Website features expanded quality content and a design that is both appealing and informative for the user.

“Our online visitors will now experience a more vibrant and informative experience when it comes to Kauffman Gas and how we can help them,” says Ken Kauffman, owner of Kauffman Gas.

“We know that when a customer interacts with us on a personal level, we will do everything we can to ensure a positive experience, and we wanted the same to be true for our Website.

In a world that is becoming more and more dependent on the virtual space, we knew it was important to take full advantage of our opportunity to make an impressive first impression, online.”
 
KauffmanGas.com now aims to extend their reach of propane gas services to a broader range of people in Downingtown, PA and Chester and Lancaster Counties.

Visit Kauffman's new website here.

Huge Community Yard Sale

HUGE COMMUNITY YARD SALE

Honeycroft Village: August 27th 8:30-11:30 a.m.

Summer is winding down fast! Pretty soon the leaves will be turning their brilliant colors and the crisp air of fall will be in full swing.  Celebrate the end of a great summer and join the residents of Honeycroft Village for a fun Saturday of community fellowship, yard sale shopping, and free breakfast! August 27th from 8:30-11:30 tour Honeycroft Village while you shop and get to personally meet the residents who make Honeycroft Village truly a home. Visit our model homes The Linden and The Wisteria for a tasty free breakfast too! 

Hope to see you there!   

SITE ADDRESS:  

2000 Gap-Newport Pike Cochranville, PA 19330  

DIRECTIONS: 

From Chester & Delaware County:

Route 1 South to Route 41 exit. Go Right onto Route 41 North approximately 6.4 miles and site is on your Left.

From Hockessin & Delaware:

Route 41 North into Pennsylvania, approximately 13 miles to site on your Left.

From Lancaster County:

Route 41 South approximately 9.5 miles to site on your Right.  

At Honeycroft Village you get to enjoy the simple beauty of the four seasons 

free from all the yardwork! 

Cochranville Dog Trainer Announces Open House And Cow Bingo

Canine Partners For Life, the Cochranville non-profit dedicated to training service dogs, home companion dogs, and residential companion dogs to assist individuals with physical and cognitive disabilities, will host an open house on September 10, 2011 from 12:00 – 4:00 p.m. at their Faggs Manor Road facilities in Cochranville.

The event will feature food, fun, music and canine demonstrations.

Cricket took 23 minutes to leave her mark last year. If there isn't and over/under bet there should be..

Cricket the cow will be back again this year by popular demand for the main event – Cow Bingo. Cricket has agreed to make herself available to her public prior to the event in her petting area.

Tickets are now on sale, and only 3000 will be sold at $10/each. (winner need not be present – tickets are not tax deductible)

For more information on the event as well as directions to Canine Partners for Life's Cochranville facilities, click here.

New Logo, New Growth Comes To Parkesburg Today

As of this morning, Parkesburg Today has a new logo.  

Designed by Brandon Malone, a 2006 Octorara grad and son of current school board member John Malone, the new logo takes my mug off our front page (a collective 'Thank goodness!' is in order) and ushers in a new era of growth and expansion at Parkesburg Today.

Not to worry though, Parkesburg Today will remain the trusted source of news for all things Parkesburg and Octorara.  

Over time though, these pages will include more information from more people on surrounding towns and townships including Atglen, Highland, Cochranville and West Sadsbury.

In August we'll change our platform and format to allow readers more direct interaction with Parkesburg Today.  

Finally, in August we'll announce Parkesburg Today's first, of what will be several, county-wide sister sites gathering and publishing neighborhood and community news.

Cochranville Fireman's Carnival This Weekend

Cochranville Fire Company member Dennis Keenan prepares for this week's fire company carnival.

This from the Gap-Parkesburg-Oxford Community Courier:

The annual Cochranville Fireman's Carnival brings old-fashioned family fun to the area. This year, the carnival will run Wednesdays through Saturdays, July 20 to 23 and July 27 to 30, with rides, games, food and live music every night.

The carnival will be open from 6 to 10 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday nights and from 6 to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. Every night is family night, with discounted prices for rides available by purchasing wristbands in advance online.

"We try to put a family carnival together so parents can come, teenagers can come and young children can come - there's something for all of the family," carnival committee member Dennis Keenan said. "That's the history of the firehouse. The fire company started having carnivals for fundraising in 1946.

Live music is a big part of the carnival. Each evening there will be a different featured band performing. Several of the bands are popular favorites returning to perform again, plus there are some new bands on the schedule this year. Gene Douglas with Country and More and the West Chester Swing Kings are new additions this year that will appear on July 20 and 21, respectively.

The Band and The Coyotes are country music groups that will perform on July 27 and 28, respectively. Returning favorites Chestnut Ridge, Hung Jury, Brian Clayton and the Green River Band, and Summit Hill are returning bands that will be featured on one of the Friday or Saturday nights.

Last-minute plans for theme nights are still in the works, but information will be available on the fire company website as the carnival opening approaches.

In addition to the fun and excitement of the carnival, this year there will be a chance to get an advance look at a piece of structural steel from the World Trade Center. The piece of I-beam that was once part of a floor structure in one of the towers was salvaged from the wreckage. The fire company sent in an application to the New Jersey and New York Port Authority to receive a piece of the metal and was approved.

"The process took almost a year from the time we sent the application in," Keenan said. "When (I) look at it, I get emotional about it. It's something in history that's going to be in Cochranville."

The plans are to remove the rust from the 115-pound piece of girder, add a protective coating, and then make it a part of the memorial that stands outside the firehouse. A formal dedication ceremony will be held in the fall. "If all plans work out, by Sept. 11 we'll have a memorial to the people who lost their lives on 9-11," Keenan said.

Local firms have contributed their time to the preparation of the steel, and other businesses are building additional brickwork onto the memorial to accommodate it. The present memorial recognizes fire chief Wayne Yost, who died in the line of duty in 1999, suffering a heart attack while at the scene of a fire.

All proceeds from the carnival will benefit the Cochranville Fire Company to help cover operating costs. The fire company is an all-volunteer effort supported by members of the community who give their time and risk their lives for their neighbors.

The fire company building is located at 3135 Limestone Road, Cochranville. For more information, readers may visit the website at www.cochranvillefire.com.

Army National Guard Pvt. Courtney A. Moore has graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C.

During the nine weeks of training, the soldier studied the Army mission, history, tradition and core values, physical fitness, and received instruction and practice in basic combat skills, military weapons, chemical warfare and bayonet training, drill and ceremony, marching, rifle marksmanship, armed and unarmed combat, map reading, field tactics, military courtesy, military justice system, basic first aid, foot marches, and field training exercises.

She is the daughter of Wendy Moore of High Point Road, Cochranville, Pa., and granddaughter of Jim Moore of Hanks Road, Crystal Spring, Pa.

Moore graduated in 2008 from Octorara High School, Atglen, Pa.

Congratulations Courtney!

The Weekly Wrap

A week ago Sunday readers were treated to a video of the beautiful fireworks in Minch Park, a great catch-up for those of us who were unable to make the real show. We were re-introduced to Ryan Vogelsong, a former Octorara student, in his new role as a Major League Baseball All Star player after having pitched for the World Champion Giants this past year with resounding success. We began the day with a Friday pre-fireworks photograph from Jack Mariano, taken from his mother’s front lawn on Fourth Avenue, and were introduced to the new “Report an Issue” feature of the Parkesburg Today that allows residents to report minor, non-emergency problems such as potholes or graffiti on the Internet to alert the rest of the community.

This Monday, we were able to read a piece from The Daily Local News, which finally gave Ryan Vogelsong his due in an article about his achievement in making the National League All Star team this year. Readers were introduced to one of Chester County’s hidden gems, the new Wolf’s Hollow County Park, with a review and photographs of the park. We were given an Independence Day special feature with the lyrics of the national anthem interspersed with photographs of Parkesburg flags in honor of the occasion, including the often ignored second verse of the song.

This Tuesday we found a winner of the Where in Parkesburg contest, Evelyn Townsend, who correctly guessed the identity of the gas station in the photograph (the Turkey Hill now stands in its place) and won two tickets to the Lion’s Club Circus. Taxpayers were alerted to an upcoming Taxpayer Cyber Coalition meeting with keynote speaker, Mr. David Baldinger. Mr. Baldinger proposes to remove the school property tax. We saw notable June 5^th’s throughout history, including the introduction of Spam to the world, the creation of the bikini and the kick start of Elvis Presley’s career. On a tragic note, the Parkesburg community mourned the loss of Collin McElroy, age 16, who was killed in a car accident on Sunday. Our hearts are with his family, and the families of the other boys who were also killed that day.

Wednesday saw the introduction of the Rocco and Anna’s Monday special, an offer that gives, with the purchase of one dinner, the second at half price. Readers were introduced to Miss Abigail Butler, a graduated senior readying herself for an exciting college experience. Other graduates in the news were those from the Canine Partners for Life in Cochranville. The dogs in this program are specially trained to assist individuals with serious impairments due to illness or injury and are now ready to begin bringing light and assistance to many residents’ lives. We also celebrated the 60 years of service provided by Mr.Brayton Hershey to the Christiana Fire Company, who has been working with the company since the age of 18. We also saw the invasion of the Parkesburg Today by a Coatesville filmmaker, Mr. John Hutelmyer, a graduate of Temple University’s Department of Film and Media Arts, and, as it was a very good video, we are willing to overlook this transgression. Tom Houghton, a frequent and successful champion for the reduction of Octorara’s high property taxes was also featured on the blog. Past July 6^th’s were featured as well, including the test of rabies vaccine, the establishment of the dollar as the United States monetary unit, and the day that Anne Frank went into hiding from the Nazis.

On Thursday, we were introduced to Lancaster General Hospital’s plans to build a new outpatient facility at the intersection of Routes 10 and 30. We also learned about Rainbow International, a company that provides water, fire and smoke damage cleanup and restoration to those who need it after disasters. Readers were invited to participate in another “Just for Fun” identification of an old Parkesburg signpost, and Kerry Glenn was disqualified automatically due to his well-known expertise, (though he later answered any way . . . and we're glad he did!).

Friday saw a possible end to the construction in the Octorara High School with photographs of the progress and plans so far. Mr. Kerry Glenn weighed in with his answer to the “Just for Fun” identification process with a well researched, well informed answer and background on the sign and the highway near which it stood. Readers were alerted to a community breakfast on Saturday morning at the Parkesburg United Methodist church (wait, free food?!?!), and to a new recording by local singer/songwriter, Mr. Kevin Patrick.

On Saturday, we learned about a significant past July 9^th, the day in 1868 when the 14^th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, a great step toward the equality of African-American citizens. The upcoming Lions Club Circus on July 14^th was advertised and the Octorara Summer Theater Program, taught by Octorara Alum Ms. Saskia Blaha, an accomplished performer, was highlighted. Readers were introduced to the newest member of the Atglen Fire Company, a brand new fire engine, a highly sophisticated piece of equipment. Readers saw in writing what most of us already suspected – traffic in the area is getting worse. For those who missed the July 3rd Fire Company Fair, a video was posted which included the fireworks display.

Cochranville Dog Trainer Holds Graduation Ceremony

This inspiration story from yesterday's Daily Local News about Canine Partners for Life in Cochranville, an organization that trains dogs to assist victims of serious accidents and life-threatening illnesses.

"U.S. war veteran Edward Afanador said he developed lung damage after inhaling polluted air when his ventilation system failed while he was removing rubble a few weeks after the World Trade Center attacks. That in turn led to problems with his hips and legs.

"Jaretta Magri's epileptic seizures have made her dependent on other people and unable to continue working.

"Maria Paulaitis, a mother and housewife, has a rare disease so severe that doctors advised her to consider nursing home care.

"These and many other victims of serious accidents and life-threatening illnesses are being helped with assistance dogs trained by Canine Partners for Life in Cochranville.

"Money quote from the article:

The first are the home companions, suitable for people who would benefit emotionally and physically from a cooperative and loyal dog.  One such person is 8-year-old Charles Cissel, who was born one of triplets weighing only 1 pound, 13 ounces. Charles is physically small and has mild cerebral palsy and a degree of autism. His companion dog, Andi, is a yellow Lab that does everything with him. "I love Andi," Charles said.

 Read the entire article here.