Exeter tile project

Students, teachers and parents in the Exeter community have been working on a mosaic mural project that is becoming an addition the high school's stadium.

Thanks to teacher Kim Lopez, I was able to run a few photos this week.

The mosaic includes thousands and thousands of glass tiles to make the picture. It was neat hearing about the project in phone interviews but even more exciting see what it looks like.

It’s great to see projects like this that brings people together.

If you know of any school or community projects, please e-mail htassmer@berksmontnews.com.

Vote for your favorite pet contest

If you read this week's paper, you will see the entries for the Pet Halloween Costume Contest. Please cast your vote by Nov. 7. You have several options with voting: you can respond to this blog, mail in the ballot form, or e-mail me at htassmer@berksmontnews.com.
If you are e-mailing or responding to the blog, please include your name, city of residence, phone number (in case we need to speak with you), name of your favorite pet photo and any other comments.
I just figured out that I can only load two photos at a time on here so I will post the other two contestants in another blog entry. The two included in this post are 1. "Hot Dog" Lady of Douglassville and 2. "Pocahontas" Isabelle of Reading/Exeter.

Exeter Township School Board appoints new member

Photo by Heather Tassmer
News school board member Andrea Sandusky.


The Exeter Township School Board appointed a new member, Andrea Sandusky, after a public interview yesterday.

Sandusky was sworn in today at the administration building.

For more information and stories, continue to read my blog, our newspaper web site, www.berksmontnews.com and the newspaper.

Exeter graduate news

This week I'm planning on running two stories relating to the Exeter Township School District. One is about an Exeter graduate and another is about the Exeter Alumni Association. If you have any story ideas about Exeter graduates, please call or e-mail me. My e-mail is htassmer@berksmontnews.com and my number is 610-367-6041 ext 225. The Southern Berks News also covers the Daniel Boone Area and Antietam school districts so if you have any stories about graduates from those areas, feel free to contact me. Thanks!

Traffic on 422

I was traveling on Route 422 through Amity and Exeter townships this Tuesday and encountered construction and delays.
In Amity, there was a short delay not far from where you make a left to go to Route 82. Then I encountered quite a delay when I reached Exeter due to a lane closure close to the Exeter Commons construction site.

Exeter Commons is a new shopping center that is scheduled to open in 2009. The center is going to be anchored by Target, Giant and Lowe’s. A groundbreaking ceremony was held at the end of May in Exeter. Officials and developers have named creation of jobs, additional places to shop, increasing the commerical tax base and fixing up roads as benefits of the center. A total of $18 million is being used to improve parts of Route 422.

In Exeter it was a stop and go situation and I felt a little frustrated since I had not even reached my destination yet. (I was probably delayed along the stretch of highway near Gibraltar Road for about 10 minutes, which seems a lot worse when you’re in a hurry.)

On the positive side, it looked like the lane was going to be widened so that will be great when it’s all done. Township officials have said that construction is also going to take place in the evenings which will definitely eliminate delays for drivers.

For updates on the Exeter Commons project, keep reading The Southern Berks News and visit the Exeter Township Web site, http://www.co.berks.pa.us/exeter/site/default.asp.

I think it’s great Exeter Township and developers are keeping the public updated through the Web site rather than leaving area residents wonder what's going on.