Nosey Newsies clobber cancer

Take some time out to donate to a worthwhile cause.

Berks-Mont Newspapers’ own Nosey Newsies led by Antoinette Colon, editor for The Community Connection, will participate in the first annual Boyertown American Cancer Society Relay for Life beginning today at 7 p.m. and there’s still time to get involved.

To show your support drop by the Boyertown High School Memorial Stadium or to donate visit the event website and select the Donate to Participant or Donate to a Team options.

Fill in the name of the person or team you would like to donate to and follow the directions on the site.

Or contact Antoinette directly with your interest. Go Newsies!

Hot news now available at BerksMontNews.com

Last week’s heat wave was so unbearable it even figured heavily in Hamburg Area Item editor Joshua Sophy’s blog.

Josh wrote:

It was a scorcher outside Saturday and Sunday, and Monday only promises to be the hottest day of the year, yet. I cruised Hamburg today looking for some heat imagery to relay to readers in the most artistic sense, but found not much happening. The streets were pretty much empty, and since I don't know where the pool is, just yet, or if there is even a public pool (Should I be admitting that?), so there wasn't much in the art department from that angle.

Interestingly, since the heat and the violent storms that followed shortly after and took out power in some areas occurred just about on top of our production cycle, little if anything about the weather made it into our papers.

Such are the fortunes of the weekly newspaper cycle. By this week it was all old news.

But thanks to our growing web presence, and increasing cooperation with our local daily paper, The Mercury, that is beginning to change.

This week The Boyertown Area Times broke an important story on line, days ahead of our ability to break it in our print edition as concerned parents and students successfully stopped “the block” at The Boyertown Area School District, a controversial plan to introduce block scheduling at the high school, perhaps as early as next year.

Breaking news on line has given us an ability previously beyond the reach of weeklies to tell important stories as they happen while still keeping our community focus as “local news for local people.”

Blackbirds sing at Boyertown expo

Richard Barnes, Media, and Michael A. Salsburg, Phoenixville, are two tenths of a group specializing in jazz, pop, swing and blues standards from the 20’s and 30’s.

The 2 to 10 piece Blackbird Society Orchestra takes its name from the Broadway show “Blackbirds of 1928” which introduced the song “I can’t give you anything but love”, but Barnes and Salsburg appeared in the here and now on East Philadelphia Avenue Tuesday.

The occasion was Boyertown’s 43rd annual Sidewalk Expo sponsored by the Berks-Mont Business Association attracting more than 5,000 to the borough’s downtown, according to organizers.

“It’s pretty comparable if not a little bit better,” said association vice president Matthew Robb of the turnout, adding that the expo had attracted more vendors—over 100—than in previous years.

The purpose of the expo, which featured booths sponsored by local businesses, food and street entertainment, is to promote local business in the community, Robb said.

Barnes and Salsburg found many interested in their performance including a few who stopped to sing old pop tunes from by gone eras that they could still recall.

Salsburg says he was first drawn to the style by jazz icon Joe Venuto while Barnes recalls playing in a variety of rock bands until seeing a performance by singer Leon Redbone that changed the course of his musical career.

“It’s just happy music,” said Barnes. “There’s no anger. It’s toe tapping. Everyone likes it everywhere we go."