During the three-hour workshop, instructor and artist Emily Smucker-Beidler will introduce students to fraktur through the history and creation of one of its most popular motifs: the tulip. Participants will explore how fraktur artists used pattern and color to create colorful tulips. They will start with their choice of a tulip template and then be shown how to create a small, finished piece in their own individual style.

The workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. The cost is $65 for non-members and $60 for members. Students can bring their own watercolors or buy a fraktur watercolor set from Emily for $20. Preregistration is required and class size is limited. To register, visit mhep.org/events or call 215-256-3020.

Programming at the Mennonite Heritage Center shares Anabaptist-Mennonite stories in order to educate, inspire and witness to the church and community. For more information, visit mhep.org.

Over 80 fire companies joined forces to create branding and a website, www.montcofirefighters.org, so community members interested can locate their local fire company, learn more about the volunteer experience and fill out an inquiry form to get connected.

Since then, more than 150 interested residents have filled out inquiry forms. All materials lead back to the recruitment website and in the first year, the campaign raised awareness through media coverage, videos featuring testimonials from volunteers throughout the county, social media and digital marketing, a recruitment brochure, lawn signs and an outdoor booth display for community events to spread awareness county-wide.

Interestingly, a driving force of this campaign comes from the lawn signs spread across the county. Each fire company received 100 lawn signs to pepper in front of residential lawns, intersections, and businesses. More than 76 people saw the lawn signs and took action by filling out an inquiry form on the website.

“I grew up volunteering as a firefighter in Montgomery County and stopped roughly nine years ago because of my career,” said Ray Forlano, a firefighter at Towamencin Fire Company. “I saw lawn signs around my neighborhood and due to a recent career shift I have more time, so I figured I’d join my closest fire company.”

As a fire truck driver, Forlano noted, “There are many ways you can help that don’t involve running into a burning building. There’s a common misconception that when you get older you can’t do much to help; fire companies need fire police to direct traffic and administrative members to help with funding.”

In the news

Not only did the campaign bring back former firefighters to their roots, but it also sparked the interest of community members with no previous experience or knowledge of firefighting.

Recent national news about California wildfires inspired Micah Moono to research firefighting. After delving deeper into his research, he found the Montgomery County Fire Chiefs’ website and filled out an inquiry form.

“I began reading more local news sources about volunteer firefighters and that made me realize the urgency, especially in Pennsylvania,” said Moono. “My biggest questions were answered on the Montco firefighter’s website, www.montcofirefighters.org, so I filled out an inquiry form to get connected with my closest fire company.”

A couple of months ago, Moono was voted into the Perkiomen Fire Company as an official member.

“As a mixed-race individual, I’m not always sure what to expect in a new situation or environment. Since the first day of walking into the station the other members have been nothing but warm and welcoming,” said Moono. “Everyone shares bits of advice or feedback, or helps me get better training.”

Learning new skills

As a new volunteer firefighter, Moono assists with exterior firefighting when responding to emergency calls and participates in weekly training nights at the fire station. When he finishes his courses at the Montgomery County Fire Academy at the end of this year, he will receive his Firefighter I certificate and be able to fight interior fires.

“Although I don’t have my Firefighter I certificate yet, I learn a lot during training nights at the fire station. It’s a refreshing change of pace from my 9-5 desk job and very fun,” said Moono. He elaborated, “We learn how to do forcible entry, work the hoses, and light things on fire. At the same time, we’re learning life-saving skills.”

The fire chief’s recruitment campaign tagline is “Ordinary People, Trained for the Extraordinary” because anybody can volunteer. Volunteer firefighters come from all different walks of life, with all various work backgrounds.

“We want to spread the word in hopes people understand, regardless of their background we can use their help,” said Montgomery County Fire Chiefs Association President George Wilmott II. “Most people don’t realize their local firefighters are volunteers.”

Many volunteers, similar to Moono, have no experience fighting fires. Montgomery County fire companies pay for state-of-the-art training at Montgomery County Fire Academy and the equipment necessary to answer the emergency call safely.

While the campaign is leading to an increase in new volunteer firefighters, there is still an urgent need for volunteers countywide. Fortunately, the Montgomery County Fire Chiefs Association will have another three years to recruit more volunteers thanks to a Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response grant by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Looking ahead, the campaign will include billboard ads and more on-camera testimonials, media coverage, digital advertising including geofencing and social media marketing and outreach at community events.

“As we continue with this campaign, we hope to increase and retain the number of trained firefighters in our communities,” said Limerick Fire Department Deputy Chief Glen Russell. “It’s been a great year and we can’t wait for what’s in store next year.”

To learn more about the campaign or fill out an inquiry form and take the next steps toward volunteering, visit www.montcofirefighters.org.

The call came at the school board’s final action meeting of the year. The parents specifically took issue with the lack of transparency around committee meetings, which are not recorded and do not include presentations or other materials in the meeting minutes and agendas.

As a solution, the parents urged the board to record and/or livestream both committee and board action meetings and attach presentations and financial documents to meetings and agendas, deeming such actions as crucial to parental engagement.

“I really do think that’s how we’re gonna get more people engaged and involved. These changes would allow parents faster access to this important information that’s being shared,” said Corinne DeGeiso. “We want to be involved; we just need to be given more opportunities to do that.”

“Transparency is not a buzzword; it’s a commitment to fostering trust, engagement and an informed community,” said Alexandra Wisser. “As a board that campaigned to champion parental rights, I hope that you will be able to give crucial information that will impact our district and students to all parents.”

While the board took no immediate action on the parents’ requests, vice president Stephen Nelson promised to take their comments into consideration.

On another note, student representative Colin Hughes reported on some recent events at Souderton Area High School, including holiday concerts, the tech department’s winter workshop, a number of fundraising and donation drives, an Allebach Communications commercial for Wise potato chips involving numerous students and an athletic leadership council. He also reported on a few upcoming events, including Keystone testing, the end of the first semester and the winter ball.

The board took time to recognize the high school football team for winning the Suburban One League Continental Conference.

The next Souderton School Board meeting is on January 25 at 7 p.m. For more information, visit soudertonsd.org.

Perry Boucher, 49, of Bethlehem, entered an open guilty plea in Montgomery County on Wednesday on one felony count of endangering the welfare of a child, with a misdemeanor count of corruption of minors being dropped in exchange. The charges stem from an investigation by the Souderton Borough Police Department, which revealed Boucher had groomed and sexually assaulted a former student on multiple occasions in 2008.

An open guilty plea means the defense and the prosecution agreed on which charges Boucher would plead guilty to, as well as which ones would be dismissed. However, there is no agreement on sentencing, meaning a judge will ultimately levy the sentence.

A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for Feb. 21, 2024, and a spokesperson for the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office said sentencing guidelines recommend a three-to-12-month jail sentence.

Boucher is currently in custody at the Lehigh County Correctional Facility, after being sentenced in November to six to 23 months in jail on a possession of child pornography charge. Court records show Boucher was initially arrested in August 2022 in Bethlehem, and his sentence was the result of a plea agreement with prosecutors that saw an additional count of possession of child pornography as well as a felony criminal use of a communication facility charge dropped in exchange for his plea.

In Montgomery County, the investigation began in September 2021 after a former female student contacted police alleging she had been sexually assaulted by Boucher during the 2008-2009 school year at the old Souderton Area High School on North School Lane. Boucher worked for the district as a part-time instructor from sometime before 2002 through 2012, police said.

The former student said she had met Boucher through band practice in 2007, when Boucher noted she seemed distracted and offered his friendship and said he could be a good listener, according to charging documents. The student began to talk to Boucher about her personal problems, and he began providing her gifts including clothing, a necklace, an iPod, and a cell phone, police said.

Boucher continued to communicate with the student via text and through MySpace, and while the initial conversations were described as professional by police, they eventually evolved into more personal and sexual discussions, investigators said. Messages from Boucher became constant throughout the day and became controlling in nature, along with creating guilt when the student wouldn’t immediately respond, according to the criminal complaint.

By the school year beginning in 2008, the relationship became physical, police said, with Boucher sexually assaulting the girl — who was still a juvenile at the time — at least twice in a janitor’s closet, according to the complaint.

Police also allege that Boucher gave the teen four or five oxycodone pills when she mentioned she had a headache, which she forced herself to throw up after learning what they were.

Charges were filed against Boucher on June 14.

In response to a request for comment, Souderton Area School District Superintendent Frank T. Gallagher said he could only confirm that Boucher worked as a part-time employee with the band program from 2002 through 2012, adding there was no record of any such complaints while he was an employee with the district.

An online search shows a student-launched petition to retain Boucher after his contract with the Souderton Area School District was not renewed in 2012. Boucher also appears to have gone on to hold some type of marching band instructor roles with several other high schools in Bucks and Montgomery counties.

Following our initial report in June, police issued a call for potential additional victims to come forward, as well as anyone else who may have information that could aid in the investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Souderton Borough Police Department at 215-723-6500. Anonymous tips can be made here.

This article appears courtesy of a content-sharing agreement between North Penn Now and The Reporter. To read more stories like this, visit www.NorthPennNow.com.

Telford Borough Police were dispatched to the 100 block of North Fourth Street at 10:06 a.m. on Nov. 27 for a report of an assault. Arriving police spoke with a woman who claimed her neighbor, identified as 54-year-old Shervene Edens, had allegedly threatened her and sprayed her and her dog with pepper spray near the entryway to her apartment.

The woman told police she was returning from walking her dog when Edens approached her in a common area and demanded that she move, police said. Edens also threatened to hit the woman and her dog with her cane, according to charging documents.

Following the threat, Edens — who was accompanied by a young child — immediately pepper sprayed the woman and her dog, then continued inside, police said.

Investigators said a review of security footage corroborated the woman’s account of the incident and showed that at no point was the woman obstructing Edens’ walking path. Police also learned that Edens had struck the dog with her cane three days prior to the incident and had threatened to hit the woman’s 10-year-old son with her cane as well, according to the criminal complaint.

Police attempted to make contact with Edens at her door and via phone, however they were unsuccessful.

As a result of the incident, Edens has been charged with simple assault, cruelty to animals, disorderly conduct, and harassment. She is currently awaiting a preliminary hearing on the charges, which hasn’t been scheduled at the time of publishing.

All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.

This article appears courtesy of a content-sharing agreement between North Penn Now and The Reporter. To read more stories like this, visit www.NorthPennNow.com.

Developed by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform, the program identifies middle schools that are meeting or exceeding 37 research-based criteria, including academic excellence, developmental responsiveness, social equity and organizational structures and processes. The schools are recognized for three years, after which they must re-apply to continue to be recognized.

Souderton Charter School Collaborative was officially recognized 12 years ago and has been re-designated four times. The other schools include Beaver Area Middle School, Dorseyville Middle School, Eastern York Middle School, West Hempfield Middle School, Central Valley Middle School, Cambria Heights Middle School, Canon-McMillan Middle School, Kennet Middle School and Titusville Middle School, according to a PA STW press release.

The schools will be recognized at the Pennsylvania Association for Middle Level Education State Conference on Feb. 24-26 at the Crowne Plaza in King of Prussia. Each of these schools will have a local celebration in either May or June. They will also be recognized nationally with all the other recognized STW schools across the country in Washington DC at the National Forum’s National Schools to Watch Conference on June 20-22.

“We congratulate these schools for being places that do great things for all of their students. These schools demonstrate that high-performing middle grades schools are places that focus on academic growth and achievement,” said Bruce Vosburgh, PA State STW director. “They are also places that recognize the importance of meeting the needs of all of their students and ensure that every child has access to a challenging, high-quality education. These schools have proven that it is possible to overcome barriers to achieve excellence, and any middle-level school in any state can truly learn from their examples.”

The Schools to Watch selection process is based on a written application that requires schools to show how they met criteria developed by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform. Schools that appear to meet the criteria are then visited by a state team, which observes classrooms, interviews administrators, teachers, students and parents, and looks at achievement data, suspension rates, quality of lessons and student work.

Schools must demonstrate progress on specific goals to be re-designated. Unlike the Blue Ribbon recognition program, “Schools to Watch” requires schools to not just identify strengths, but also focus on areas for continuous improvement; thus the three-year re-designation. The re-designation process is based on the school’s continued growth since their last STW recognition, said the release.

For more information about the STW program, visit the National Forum’s website at www.middlegradesforum.org or the PAMLE website at www.pamle.org/Schools-to-Watch.

Hosted at the Generations of Indian Valley senior center, the luncheon was held to recognize the work of Montgomery County American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant recipients.

Passed back in March 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act is a $1.9 trillion federal economic stimulus bill aimed at helping states, counties and municipalities recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. After receiving $161.4 million in funding, the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners established the Recovery Office to allocate the funds in a “responsible, effective and equitable manner.”

In August 2022, the Recovery Office approved a four-year recovery plan with grant funding for more than 100 projects, including aid to small businesses, infrastructure improvements, youth mental health programs, strengthened community services and more. To date, the office has allocated $83 million in funding, with the deadline to allocate the remaining funds in 2026.

At Tuesday’s luncheon, dozens of grant recipients turned out to receive recognition for their work and network with other community partners. A handful of recipients spoke about the impact of the grants on their organizations.

Pamela Martin of Expressive Path, a nonprofit that provides art and music workshops for disadvantaged teens in Norristown, used her grant to develop a Friday night social group that provides the teens with a safe space to do creative art projects with likeminded peers and local creators.

“We are excited to continue to grow this program,” said Martin. “This group of students from all walks of life and personal challenges who may have never talked in their school have become a family. They all look after each other, and they love seeing each other every Friday night.”

Tamra Williams of the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services spent her agency’s grant on school-based behavioral health programs in every Montgomery County school district, noting the detrimental effects on youth mental health during the pandemic. She highlighted one program implemented by the Pottsgrove School District, which provides individual, group and family therapy, crisis services and professional development to mend relationships between students and staff.

“This program has been shown to significantly reduce out of school placements due to behavioral health needs,” she said. “And, importantly, the cost savings generated by these services makes the program a sustainable practice.”

Williams announced that the grant will additionally fund a new emergency behavioral health center.

“There will be more to come in the next year, but we are excited to be able to expand options for people when they have an emergency,” she said.

Nelly Jimenez of ACLAMO, a Norristown-based social services non-profit serving needs of Latinos and others, invested her grant in a new community center, featuring an elevator to facilitate access to the senior center, building-wide Wi-Fi and smartboards for every classroom.

“We used the money very well,” she said. “We have worked with all our partners to make sure we can do the best with the money we have to make a space that we can all be proud of.”

Montgomery County Commissioners Ken Lawrence and Jamila Winder also spoke at the luncheon, hailing the “innovative” and “transformative” nature of the ARPA-funded projects.

“Each organization represented here today represents progress and innovation,” said Winder. “Your initiatives have not only met the immediate needs of our residents but have laid down the foundation for a brighter and more inclusive future for our county.”

Lawrence noted that the Recovery Office received more than 400 project submissions and made an effort to prioritize underserved communities.

“When schools closed, most of our school districts pivoted very quickly to online learning, but three of our school districts had to figure out how to feed their children, because over half of their students receive over two meals a day at school,” he said. “Part of what we’ve tried to do is build up all of our communities.”

Tom Bonner, director of the Recovery Office, closed by previewing some of the recovery plan’s upcoming projects, including large-scale affordable housing construction, innovative child care and emergency medical care solutions, new data-sharing infrastructure and more.

“The results of those efforts will inform future investments far beyond the reach of us and provide opportunities for better serving our communities,” he said. “I am grateful for your work with us, for pushing all of us to think of new ideas.”

The budget projects a total revenue of $3.76 million and total expenditures of $3.21 million, yielding a surplus of nearly $550,000. Council attributed the surplus to the sale of the old borough building, an open space grant from the Trinity UCC property and unspent American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.

The budget notably increases the borough’s contribution to the Indian Valley Public Library from $45,000 to $60,000, reversing a funding cut made by council earlier this year to increase police funding. Wendy Leshinskie, the council’s liaison to the library, had requested additional funding due to rising material costs.

Library funding has been a point of contention in Telford over the past year with council members and residents sparring over allegations of inappropriate material in the children’s section and some council members campaigning to revoke the borough’s financial contribution to the library.

In other news, council approved the installation of recording equipment in council chambers to enable livestreaming of council meetings. The project’s total cost is $5,310, which includes a 4K high resolution automated camera and 12 omnidirectional microphones. Borough manager Kyle Detweiler said that the materials have not yet been delivered but that the physical installation should only take a few days.

Council also tabled for a second time a public meeting and attendance policy to add language that clarifies the term “resident” and allows borough business owners and customers of Telford Borough Authority to participate in public comment. Prior to the meeting, the policy was revised to remove language that discouraged recording members of the public due to community opposition.

On another note, council tabled a change to the fowl and small animal zoning ordinance due to a dispute over enclosure distance requirements from neighboring properties and concerns about potential violations of the Pennsylvania state code.

Council additionally tabled a resolution to join the Pennsylvania junior council person program, which allows high school students to gain experience in local government, on the agreement that the resolution will be voted on at the January meeting with the chosen candidate in attendance.

The next Telford Borough Council meeting is on January 8 at 7:30 p.m. For more information, visit telfordborough.org.

The new members include Republicans Mike Barnacz and Kim Wheeler. Republican Bill Formica, who was appointed to fill a vacancy in June, and Republican incumbents Ken Keith and Nick Braccio, who won re-election, were also seated.

Following the seating of new members, the board unanimously re-elected Ken Keith and Stephen Nelson as president and vice president of the board, respectively.

“I’m humbled that you’ve put me in a position of leadership,” said Nelson. “I look forward to a great year.”

“It’s not lost on me what you expect from me,” said Keith. “The role of board leadership is to try to clear obstacles to make clear and informed decisions, so I commit to you to try to do that.”

Keith additionally offered some advice to the new members, encouraging them to embrace their impact and trust their instincts.

“I thank you for everything you’re about to give to this community,” said Keith. “It’s a wonderful journey.”

The next Souderton school board meeting is on January 25 at 7 p.m. For more information, visit soudertonsd.org.

“It’s magic,” said Souderton Mayor Don Yocum.

Dozens of residents braved the rain to attend the borough’s annual tree lighting ceremony Friday evening, featuring a towering new artificial tree adorned with colorful tights and twinkling ornaments.

“This beautiful new tree is gonna last us for years,” said Jessica Cimini, Souderton Connects manager.

“The tree last year was literally from my backyard, so this is much better,” added Yocum.

Sponsored by Univest, the ceremony was held in the new Univest courtyard, the precise location of the inaugural Souderton tree lighting 100 years ago.

“This is really exciting,” said Univest CEO Jeff Schweitzer. “We started in Souderton 147 years ago, and we’re still proud to call Souderton our home. We’re excited to have purchased this tree and donated it to Souderton Connects so it can be enjoyed for many years and be a part of tradition to kick off the holiday festivities.”

As the tree lighting got underway, Santa and Mrs. Claus arrived on a firetruck to great fanfare, with children racing over to get a glimpse of the couple before lining up for pictures.

Rounding out the event was Christmas music, Christmas-flavored ice cream from Downtown Scoop and hot chocolate from Good Will Canteen.