OJR mechanic gets scholarship

By Michael Hays
mhays@pottsmerc.com
NORTH COVENTRY — It was Nathan Ewing’s stepdad who first captured his interest in auto body work. Now Ewing has decided to make a career of it, a choice made easier thanks to a full scholarship from WyoTech, a trades institute in Blairsville.
A senior at Owen J. Roberts High School and student of CAT Pickering in Phoenixville, Ewing recently won a top prize for his automotive finishing skills at the 2008 Skills USA competition and is now moving on to a nationwide contest in Kansas City, June 22-28.
That distinction comes as no surprise to Rick Dotterer, who employs Ewing after school at Dotterer Auto Body in North Coventry Township.
“He specializes in refinishing,” Dotterer said. “He’s worked on the Mustang here, and any type of collision work.”
Refinishing often involves taking a scratch — on a car’s fender, for instance — and then sanding it, priming it and painting it to make the blemish disappear.
Ewing also won partial scholarships to two other institutes, but he plans to pursue an associates degree in auto body collision at WyoTech this fall.
After college, the job market could be robust with openings in automotive refinishing.

Food drive brings in tons for the needy

Curves, the world’s largest fitness franchiser, has announced that the 2008 Curves Food Drive brought in 2,150 pounds in Spring City, which will benefit Spring City’s Food Bank.
Worldwide, Curves members donated almost 3,000 tons of food.
This was Curves International’s 10th Annual Food Drive and Curves of Spring City’s fourth time to participate.
During this drive, women had the opportunity to donate a bag of groceries for a reduced Curves membership fee.
Thousands of women took advantage of this opportunity to help themselves become healthier while contributing to the needs of their community’s less fortunate residents.
The food drive accounted for 20 new memberships at the Spring City Curves. Overall, the Food Drive accounted for almost 75,000 new Curves memberships.
“Curves and our members are delighted to help our community,” said Lynn Hayes and Jennifer Bower, Spring City Curves franchise owner. “The food drive is an excellent program that fits perfectly with the Curves philosophy: promoting the health of the whole woman. The opportunity for our members to give back to the Spring City community promotes the spirit of giving.”
Curves works every major muscle group with strength training, cardio and stretching in every 30-minute workout. And now there’s CurvesComplete.com: an online subscription diet and fitness solution based on founder Gary Heavin’s New York Times bestselling book Curves, Permanent Results Without Permanent Dieting and the results of an ongoing university study.
Heavin and his wife Diane are considered the innovators of the express fitness phenomenon that has made exercise available to more than 4 million women worldwide.

Free Kid's 'Fun Day' June 14 in Trappe

The Lower Perk Longhorns, the area’s longest-running youth football and cheerleading organization for children ages 5-14, will be having their second annual Kid’s “Fun Day” event on Saturday, June 14, from 1 to 4 PM at their field on Route 113 in Trappe – located just behind the Trappe VFW.
This completely free event – which is open to all kids in the Collegeville/Trappe/Royersford and surrounding areas – will feature a variety of fun games and activities including a moon-bounce, face-painting, football skills competitions, and much more. Prizes will be awarded and free hot dogs and sodas will also be provided.
Children interested in participating with the Longhorns for the 2008 season will also be able to sign-up during the event and everyone registering on or prior to the event will be able to obtain their uniforms for the upcoming season – including first “dibs” on jersey numbers and new equipment.
“We hosted our first ‘Fun Day’ last year and it was an enormous success with over 100 kids stopping by to join in on the fun including many who were thrilled not only with the free games, but also for the chance to sign-up and get their game jerseys so early,” said Mike DiLeva of the Lower Perk Longhorns. “This year’s event is again open to all kids in the community whether they’re part of our organization or not and we’ve added many more games and activities to make things even more fun for this year’s event.”
The event is open to children of all ages from Collegeville, Trappe and the surrounding area and is free with fun games, activities, food and prizes. It will be held at the Longhorn Field, Route 113, in Trappe,(behind the Trappe VFW – look for the Army Tank at the driveway entrance)
For additional information, please contact:Mike DiLeva mike_experior@comcast.net or visit www.lplonghorns.org

Spring-Ford students help patients

ROYERSFORD – Spring-Ford seventh-graders raised over $2,500 for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society through a “Pennies for Patients” drive that was conducted Feb. 25 through March 14. The 7th Grade Center’s “Busy Teens” leadership group, with the help of the Guidance Department, organized the fundraiser and challenged students in homerooms to donate loose change to benefit the cause. The homeroom that raised the most, the Orange Team, received a pizza party for collecting $460.68. Spring-Ford’s 7th Grade Center is located at 833 S. Lewis Road in Royersford.

PMMC volunteer honored for 20 years of service

POTTSTOWN -- A 20-year volunteer at Pottstown Memorial Medical Center was recently honored as part of the hospital’s observance of National Volunteers Week.

Val Udell, 91, became a PMMC volunteer in 1988 and has since logged 7,500 hours of service. The Upper Frederick resident has volunteered in the mailroom, the pharmacy, the reception desk and in medical records.

He also heads a team that every six weeks assembles 700 admission packets for incoming patients.

A retired high school teacher, Udell maintains a two-acre property and also volunteers at Fellowship Farm and at the Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy, where he coordinates monthly trips to wildflower sites.

According to Sharon Steinmetz, manager of volunteer services, PMMC donated 39,893 hours of service in 2007. Teen volunteers contributed an additional 7,950 hours of service.

Royersford students deck the walls

One of the most surprising and impressive exhibitions of student art seen in the Spring-Ford area is on display at the Royersford Elementary School this week.

Surprising, because under the guidance of art teacher Jennifer Low, the students — kindergarten through fourth grade — not only learned and mastered many artistic techniques developed through civilized history, but they also brought these works of art to vibrant life in a manner only children can do.

The halls of Royersford Elementary School were transformed into galleries of Greek theatrical masks, Mayan gods “of Love,” beautiful Impressionist pastels, block prints, abstract interpretations and realistic self portraits of the students themselves done in graphite. All this with the preverbial question posted on the wall: "What is Art? And what is it trying to tell us?"

One function of art education is to maintain culture — its values, ideals and patterns of living. In art, this maintenance is sometimes difficult because the arts have not been generally recognized as central to culture. But one stroll through these students’ creations will tell a different story.

Here are reflections of what is good and noble in American culture; a curriculum well worth encouraging.

The Royersford Elementary Art Show will remain on display this week and then all the Spring-Ford Schools will converge for the annual District Arts Festival on Saturday, May 10, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Spring-Ford High School. For more information call 610-705-600.

American culture, quality education and fine art are alive and well at Spring-Ford School District. Come and see for yourself.

— Michael Quay

Planting for the Earth

The Spring Valley YMCA’s 2- and 3-year-old pre-k classes celebrated Earth Day April 23 by planting a Japanese Snowball tree, petunias and sunflowers in the corner of their playground at St. James First United Church of Christ in Limerick.
The students took turns helping put dirt on the newly planted tree and dug and planted the petunias.
Leading up to the day, the kids had class worms and made their own compost from their leftover healthy snacks.
The kids also had class cocoons that hatched into butterflies that were set free the same day.
The students donated the mulch ,dirt and compost. Mary Frassenei, a local business woman, donated the entire cost of the tree and Becky Conrad from Towne and Country Home and Garden Center in Limerick donated a flat of free flowers for the event.