Celebrating Women's History month

In honor of Women’s History Month, The Southern Berks News is inviting readers to nominate women that have made a difference in their communities throughout the years.
Please nominate someone from The Southern Berks News’ coverage areas:
• Townships: Lower Alsace, Exeter, Amity, Union
• Other coverage areas include Amityville, Baumstown, Douglassville, Geigertown, Gibraltar, Jacksonwald, Kulptown, Limekiln, Reiffton, St. Lawrence, Stonersville and Yellow House.
Please mail your nominations to editor Heather Tassmer, 124 North Chestnut Street, Boyertown, Pa., or e-mail htassmer@berksmontnews.com. Write the woman’s name and why you are nominating her. Please also include your name, phone number and e-mail address.

Send in your Christmas greetings

ABOVE PHOTO: Steph Weikel hangs out by the Christmas tree while reading our sister paper, The Mercury. Photo by Matthew Reichl


At the Boyertown office of Berks-Mont, the Christmas season started at the end of October when someone put up a tree in the production department. A bit early for that, yes I know. But now I think is the proper time to let readers know that we are welcoming Christmas greetings from offices and organizations. Send in pictures of your office all dressed in Christmas colors or with Christmas decorations to Heather Tassmer, htassmer@berksmontnews.com. You can also mail them in too. (See last post for address or find the address on page 4 of The Southern Berks News.) If you live in the Boyertown or The Connection coverage areas, you can send your greetings to Matthew Reichl or Antoinette Colon (same mailing address.)

'Hot Dog' Lady wins contest

"Hot Dog" Lady won the pet costume contest! Congratulations!

"Dragon" Smokey came in second.

For full coverage of the pet contest, turn to the Faces and Features page of The Southern Berks News this week.

Thanks to the contestants' owners and area voters that made this contest a success. I hope to conduct another contest like this in the near future.

Dragon Smokey is in the lead!!!!

"Dragon" Smokey has taken the lead in The Southern Berks News' Halloween pet contest! Smokey has garnered 18 votes.
Here's a rundown of our other contestants:

• "Santa" Coco-16 votes
• "Hot Dog" Lady-13 votes
• "Pocahontas" Isabelle-3 votes

If you haven't been able to vote yet, don't stress. The deadline is Nov. 7. As long as we have the vote before midnight, the vote will count. Please only one vote per person.

And don't forget to vote today for president and local representatives!!!!!! You have until 8 p.m. My suggestion is don't wait until the last minute with that.

"Santa" Coco leading in the polls for pet contest

"Santa" Coco of Douglassville is leading in the polls for the pet contest! Coco received 13 votes so far. "Hot Dog" Lady received one vote. "Pocahontas" Isabelle and "Dragon" Smokey have not received any votes yet. Readers have until Nov. 7 to place their votes. Don't forget to vote for the The Southern Berks News' Halloween pet photo contest! Thanks for your support!

Book Review: "My Sister's Keeper"

Here's my review of "My Sister's Keeper" that ran in the Aug. 20 issue of The Southern Berks News.

Picoult’s ‘My Sister’s Keeper’ a tragic, emotional story

“My Sister’s Keeper” shows how far people will go just to keep a sick family member alive.

The book was written by Jodi Picoult and published by Washington Square Press.

The beginning of the novel introduces readers to Anna Fitzgerald, a 13-year-old who was conceived in order to save her sister, Kate who has acute promyelocytic leukemia, through “preimplantation genetic diagnosis.” The whole point of having another child was so that he or she could be a donor for Kate.

The girls’ parents, Brian and Sara Fitzgerald, have relied on Anna to come through for her sister with all kinds of health crisises, and even use Anna’s umbilical cord to help Kate.

When Anna was a young girl, she donated bone marrow for her sister.

The first chapter plunges into drama when Anna approaches a lawyer to gain her own medical rights after she finds out that Kate needs a kidney transplant; if the judge would rule in favor of Anna, her parents could no longer make medical decisions for her.

“My Sister’s Keeper” has various voices throughout the book. The chapters rotate and are written in first person, with Anna, Brian, Sara, Jesse (the girls' brother) and other characters talking about their feelings, memories and lives.

Usually I don’t like it when novelists write this way because it's hard to remember what happens, but I think that having numerous voices in this book, really added excitement to the story. It was interesting to see what kind of emotions and thought processes each character had, especially the mother.

I think the numerous characters also made you feel sympathy for each one. I felt sorry for Anna, having to go to the hospital so much and be poked with needles. I felt sorry for Jesse because he was kind of the outcast and forgotten about. I felt bad for 16-year-old Kate because she was always sick and never seemed to enjoy herself. I sympathized with the parents, who only wanted the best and longest lives for their children.

What I didn't like about the book, is the way the way the novelist made Anna talk. It made it seem like she was older than 13. I imagine maybe this was on purpose because Picoult wanted to make it seem like Anna was very mature for her age, but the language she used like “aversion,” I don’t think I even knew what that word meant at 13.

At the beginning of the book, I was thinking what kind of parents would put a child through all of medical turmoil just to save another? Near the end, I kind of felt the same way, but I felt that the parents really did love both children and that it must have been hard thinking that their daughter wouldn’t live to see her high school graduation.

All throughout the book, Anna is faced with indecision and inner turmoil. She doesn’t want her sister to die, but she doesn’t want to have to go through another surgery. She knows that no matter what the judge decides it’s not going to be a winning situation for anyone.

Just as the beginning of the book brings on the drama, so does the end and this time, even with more emotion so don’t leave your tissues behind.

Editor’s note: According to WebMD, “Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD)” is a technique used to identify genetic defects in embryos created through in vitro fertilization (IVF) before transferring them into the uterus. Because only unaffected embryos are transferred to the uterus for implantation, PGD provides an alternative to current postconception diagnostic procedures, ie, amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling, which are frequently followed by pregnancy termination if results are unfavorable. PGD is performed in conjunction with IVF and is offered to fertile and infertile couples.

National Night Out

Intern Ben Dalton covered National Night Out at Antietam Valley Recreation Center on Aug. 5. This community event is conducted across the nation, bringing police departments and community members together to fight crime.

Some of the money made during the community event will be donated to the families of officers Scott Wertz and Michael Wise who were killed while serving in Reading.

Ben took a lot of great photos but I was only able to use one in the paper due to space. If I have time, maybe I can post more on here.

It's been a busy couple of days. Just came back from vacation on Saturday. On Sunday, I came back to work to find my e-mail inbox flooded with press releases and other information. If you've sent me an e-mail in the past couple of weeks, you may want to follow up with a call just to make sure I have it since I have so much e-mail!!

Tuesday I helped out The Free Press in Quakertown. It was nice to be in a different office for the day and I have spent time in Quakertown before with my boyfriend so I was familiar with some of the area.

In other TassMania and Berks-Mont Newspaper News, we are looking for interns and freelancers. Those who are interested can send resumes to Heather Tassmer, The Southern Berks News, 124 N. Chestnut Street, P. O. Box 565, Boyertown, Pa. 19512. Our interns have kept busy this summer and have covered a variety of stories ranging from county news, features and other stories.

Tough Economy

In the May 7, 2008, issue of The Southern Berks News, there was a story about how the increasing gas and food prices are affecting local residents.
I talked to people at a Wawa gas station to get their opinions on the economy. This was challenging of course because at 8:30 a.m. people were on their way to get to work and it's understandable some didn't want to take the time out to talk with me.
The humorous part of the morning was a response of an older, cranky man. I asked him what he thought about gas prices and he answered "Ah they suck! I don't want to talk about it!"
During a school board meeting this week, I was reminded of how schools are being affected by gas and foods going up in price. School meals will be going up in price for Exeter. I wouldn't be surprised to see other schools raising their meal prices.
In other Tassmania economic news, I received my economic stimulus check the beginning of May and had to spend most of it the same day to get an oil change for the car and an inspection. But oh well. My car treats me well so I must spend money to maintain it.

Idol contestants mediocre so far

A few weeks ago, I told myself as well as other people I wasn’t going to get drawn into this season of “American Idol.” I was sucked in last season and well, I have to admit I was sucked in again.

As I’ve been watching the show this season, I’ve been disappointed with a lot of the performances. Like Simon Cowell said last week, the judges are looking for someone who would be a good recording artist. There are maybe three people out of the new bunch that have that potential.

I watched the guys perform last night and I enjoyed David Hernandez's “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” the best. He looked like he was enjoying himself and he had charisma. It’s definitely a song that you can get into or jam out to.

Jason Yeager’s “Long Train Running” turned out to be like something you would hear from a cruise ship singer or karaoke in my opinion.

I think Chikezie is a good singer but the song he chose to sing was really boring. He needed to choose something different that would show more of his range and charisma.

Jason Castro’s “I want to be your everything” was boring. I agree with Paula...it would be good to see him without the guitar.

David Cook, who sang “All Right Now” was leaning on guitar playing too much. I wanted to hear more singing and the band seemed like they carried him I thought cook was overstepping his bounds with telling Simon that he had to win the crowd over.
Luke Menard sang Queen’s “Killer Queen.” I see him as someone that would be in a musical instead of someone who would have an album out.

Robbie Carrico sang “Hotblooded.” I agree with Randy. “Didn’t have that umph.” To be a rocker, you need to have a lot of power in your songs and have confidence. I didn’t see either.

Michael Johns sang “You can go your own way.”Again, the singer needed to have more power, especially while singing a Fleetwood Mac song.

Danny Noriega sang “Superstar.” It was kind of forgettable and just average.

David Archuleta's "Imagine" was decent. I think he's a good singer but I didn't like the song choice for him.

Life of Crime for a 76-year-old?

This week's issue of Feb. 6 features a story about some burglary victims getting their belongings back. Well, some of their items. Their high-end jewelry was not found. Big surprise there.

According to police, a 76-year-old man, Kermit Gabel, allegedly stole these items that Exeter Police displayed on Feb. 1 and Feb. 2 for victims.

If Gabel, a.k.a. "The Silver Burglar" (for allegedly taking silverware) had been a burglar all of his life, do you realize how sad that is? It's sad choosing to do things that mess with people's feelings and memories instead live a life of freedom. It makes me think about the decisions that people make that shape their lives. And how people fall into this lifestyle of crime.

I was happy to find out that a lot of burglary victims were able to find their belongings. I'm sure it gives people a lot of relief too.

Welcome to TassMania

While you read the title of my blog/look at my profile picture, you will see I am a fan of Taz.

My nickname has been Taz since middle school because of my last name being pronounced “Taz-mer.” Hence the reason I chose to name my column in The Southern Berks News “Taz’s Tidbits.”

I figured since so many people share their lives with us for the paper, in turn this blog will let me share my life and thoughts with you.

I’ve been the editor of The Southern Berks News since the end of October, and let me tell you, has it ever been a ride so far.

Before working for Berks-Mont newspapers, I was a reporter/photographer for an Army newspaper, APG News, at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., where I was responsible for my stories and chipping in with copy editing other stories in the paper.

Since I started working as the editor of The Southern Berks News, I’ve been challenged with making decisions that affect the paper as a whole: what will be printed on the front page, locations of other stories and which pictures will be used to accompany the stories.

Other challenges I’ve been faced with is understanding the issues that affect the municipalities in The Southern Berks News coverage area and learning to write about taxes.

One of the most exciting and darkest days on the job was Jan. 9 when I covered the stabbing at Antietam Middle-Senior High School.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get the scoop of what was happening until about 9:30 or 10 a.m., and by the time I arrived at the school, the students had been transferred to the Mt. Penn Primary Center and their parents had taken them home.

Although it was depressing to hear about a student taking out his anger in this manner, I was glad I had the opportunity to cover the story that day and the meeting between the school administration and parents the same week. It was very interesting to hear what the parents thought about the incident and it gave me the perspective of what the community was like.

Even though Antietam was interesting to cover, I do not want bad news on the front page of the paper every week. Then it will feel like the news on TV and I will hate that. Every time I turn on the TV, I hear about murder, death, the economy crumbling, adults acting like children.

My goal is to try to balance out the good with the bad. If negative things happen in the coverage areas, it is still my duty to get it in the paper. I’m just saying that there is no reason of why we shouldn’t get some good news in when it happens too.

I’m always open to hearing story ideas so if you have one, feel free to give me a call at the office 610-367-6041 ext. 225, or send me an e-mail htassmer@berksmontnews.com.