Really want to get away but can't afford it?

Then maybe you should shell out the $20 it costs for a raffle ticket for a vacation package valued at $10,000. The raffle is being held by the Boyertown Area Multi-Service which will draw a winner this Friday at its art auction.

Only 1,500 tickets will be sold, so if you're interested, you'd better contact the Multi-Service quick. Tickets are being sold at their center at 200 West Spring St. in Boyertown. You can also call 610-367-6957.

The vacation packages are being offered by AAA Reading.

The art auction is being held at the center from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Friday. There will be light refreshments and the event is open to the public.

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Also coming up this weekend, Sunnybrook is offering a DJ dance party on Friday. WOGL's Bob Pantano will be playing sounds of the 60s, 70s and 80s from 8 p.m. to midnight at the Lower Pottsgrove ballroom. Entry fee is $20 at the door.

The ballroom will also be holding a Sinatra Tribute this weekend, Sept. 12, from 7 to 11 p.m. Tickets cost $25 in advance and $30 at the door.

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Plans for the new prison at Graterford can be viewed by area residents at the Skippack township building.

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A bank proposal in Limerick could be replaced by a drive-thru restaurant.

View Limerick shopping center in a larger map

According to a legal notice in the Tuesday, Sept. 8 edition of The Mercury, Limerick HC Realty Partners, which plans to build a shopping center at Ridge Pike and Township Line Road, is seeking to replace a planned bank building with a drive-thru restaurant that would cover 3,900 square feet. A hearing on Sept. 23 before the zoning board will be held for variances needed for that new use, according to the notice, including parking and buffer variances.

In particular, the developer is seeking a variance to allow parking to be a minimum of 5 feet from the western property line, a variance for a minimum buffer of 5 feet from that same property line, a variance to have a trash collection site a minimum of 5 feet from the western property line, and to have the 25 foot buffer requirement waived because the drive-thru will cover less than 5,000 feet of building area.

The developer also wants a variance for its sign, specifically to permit a freestanding sign to identify the names of more than four tenants "without providing a pull-off lane."

The zoning board hearing will be Sept. 23 at 6:30 p.m. in the Limerick Township building at 646 W. Ridge Pike.

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East Coventry's zoning hearing board is holding a public hearing on a proposal to build an assisted-living facility at Old Schuylkill Road and Schoolhouse Road.

Bittersweet on Schuylkill LLC, of Newtown Square, Pa., is proposing two 23,922-square-foot buildings in the R-3 zone, which is a permitted use.

Public comment will be taken on the plan at the Sept. 15 meeting at 7:30 p.m. in the municipal building, 855 Ellis Woods Road, East Coventry.

Copies of the plan are available by contacting the township's administrative assistant, Bonnie Frisco, during regular business hours at the township building.

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The Natural Lands Trust is seeking proposals for an economic development plan for communities along the Schuylkill River from Reading to Valley Forge.

A preproposal meeting will be held on Sept. at 10 a.m. at the trust's offices to review what the trust is seeking. Natural Lands Trust is headquartered at 1031 Palmers Mill Road, Media.

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Upper Pottsgrove will be hearing public comment on changes to its zoning for the R-2 residential district. The hearing, planned for Sept. 23 at 7:30 p.m. in the township building will address changing the zoning to allow twin-home development.

At the conclusion of the board of commissioners hearing, the changes could be voted on and adopted. A copy of the changes proposed can be viewed at the township building between normal business hours, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.