Blossburg: News: News and Views

News and Views

5/14/08

Blossburg News & Views
By Cheryl Whitney Boinske

Throughout the month of May, the Muscular Dystrophy Association will highlight the 17th annual national ALS Awareness Month. ALS is a deadly disease that attacks the nerve cells that control voluntary muscles, causing progressive weakness and eventually paralysis. Often striking healthy adults in the prime of life, ALS affects more than 30,000 American adults, with 5,000 new cases diagnosed each year. Survival is typically three to five years after diagnosis. As a 10 year ALS suurvivor this effort to spread awareness of this disease is near to my heart. Please visit http://www.als-mda.org to learn more or donate.

On Wednesday May 14th at 6:30 pm in the Blossburg Library Community Room the Tioga County Parent Advocates in conjunction with the PEAL Center will be showing, “How Difficult Can This Be? The F.A.T. City Workshop.” This unique program allows viewers to experience the same frustration, anxiety and tension that children with learning disabilities face in their daily lives. Discussion will follow. This program is appropriate for parents, teacher, or anyone who works with children. For more information please visit tiogacountyparentadvocates@yahoogroups.com

If you have anything you wish to give away, or you need something, you can place an ad on the Wellsboro Freecycle web site. It covers residents within close driving distance of Wellsboro.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WellsboroPAFreecycle/

Grab your swim fins; the pool is opening! The Blossburg Borough Pool will be open from Memorial Day thru August. Tickets are $95.00 for a family pass before the pool opens; $120.00 after. Single passes are $50.00 before opening; $60.00 after. Tickets can be purchased at the Borough building or from Pete Hall at the school.

Schools and Offices will be closed on Monday, May 26th in observance of Memorial Day.

North Penn High School is proud to announce that we have recently opened eSchoolbooks to parents. For those who may not know, eSchoolbooks is a web based grading and attendance program that teachers have been using since the change of semester in January. Parents and guardians should enjoy the ability to view their student’s grades and attendance whenever they choose. Parents may also sign up for e-mail alerts that will notify them when a grade is entered below the standard that they choose for their student. It also simplifies the ability to contact a teacher via e-mail if you have a question. Recently, parents of 7th and 8th grade students were invited to the computer lab for an informal training by teachers and guidance staff. We are currently scheduling trainings for the remainder of parents. Many parents were pleased by the information that is now available to them anytime they choose. If you could not attend any of the scheduled trainings please contact the guidance office to pick up your username and password, and the parent training booklet. It is easy to use, and the information available to you is extremely valuable.

On November 25th 2007, The Diocese of Scranton closed three of the churches formerly associated with the Blossburg Area Catholic Community. These churches were St. Andrew’s (1841), St Joseph’s (1890), and St Stanislaus (1899). The fourth church, St. Mary Our Lady of Czestochowa (1874) was suppressed as a Polish Ethnic Parish and has become the territorial church for Catholics living in the greater Blossburg Area (Arnot, Covington, Liberty, and Morris Run). The new parish formed on that day is Saint John Neumann. "The new parish is located at 138 St. Mary's Street, Blossburg (formerly St. Mary's Parish). The Parish Office has been consolidated and is now located at 38 Central Avenue, Wellsboro. St. John Neumann's Parish also maintains St. Andrew's and St. Mary's Cemeteries in Blossburg and St. Joseph's Cemetery in Morris Run. Mass is celebrated on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. and on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Please consult the weekly bulletin for the Daily Mass schedule and Holy Day of Obligation Mass times. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is celebrated from 3:45 – 4:15 p.m. every Saturday. Bingo is held every Monday in St. John Neumann's Parish Hall (138 St. Mary's Street, Blossburg) at 6:30 p.m."

The community garden will be leasing 4' x 4' plots for $10.00 and a few 4' x 8' plots for $20.00 per growing season. This is a good way to get your hands dirty and get some great tasting fresh food for your dinner. Experienced growers will be able to assist you if you have never gardened before. Come join the fun!

Now that it is spring and everyone is thinking about planting...plant some pumpkins for a pumpkin growing contest! VIBE is encouraging everyone to grow a pumpkin to be weighed in at the Fall Festival.

The Blossburg Memorial Library will sponsor Longaberger Basket Bingo on May 17th. Stop into the library within the next few weeks and look at the baskets to be given away. You can obtain more information at http://www.blossburgmemoriallibrary.com

The Blossburg Farmers Market will be held again this year in the Riverside Plaza. Anyone wanting to sell produce, plants, crafts and edible items please contact Tonya McNamara at 638-3112 or mcnamara@epix.net

The Blossburg Coal Festival Committee has decided to sponsor the fall festival event in October of 2008, a specific date yet to be determined. Blossburg VIBE is planning on having a booth, or sponsoring an activity at that festival.

REMINDERS:

A food pantry is held the third Monday each month from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at First United Methodist Church of Blossburg. For more information, contact Betty Johnson at (570) 638-2805.

T.O.P.S. (Take off Pounds Sensibly) meets every Monday at the First United Methodist Church of Blossburg. Weigh-in is at 5 p.m.

Blossburg BINGO! Every Monday bingo is held at St. Mary's Hall, 6:30 p.m.

Loretta Frost-Steffen; a Creative Memories Consultant holds scrapbooking classes every Tuesday night from 6pm to 10 pm. Call for more information: 570-404-4336

If you or your organizations have any birthdays, anniversaries, congratulations, sympathies, events, information or any questions for Blossburg News & Views, please contact Cheryl Whitney Boinske, (570) 638-3107 or news@blossburg.org.