Blue Valley Times

02/17/2021

Bangor Educational Foundation Donates Resources to Support Online Learning

By Deanna Ruzanski / Executive Director
The Bangor Area School District Educational Foundation Inc.
BANGOR - 2020 was undoubtedly a year of change for most everyone – especially educators. Traditional in-person classroom instruction was challenged by the need for social distancing. Terms like “virtual,” “online,” “hybrid” and “distance learning” became common ways to describe education for most of 2020 and continued into 2021. Programs such as in-person speakers and demonstrations like the kind The Bangor Area School District Educational Foundation was used to funding were being rescheduled and then cancelled indefinitely.
In looking for a meaningful way to support the teachers and students during these unprecedented times, Marc Blau, former educator and Bangor Area School District Educational Foundation and Teacher Grant committee member surveyed a sampling of teachers to understand how The Foundation could help. He received a response indicating that resources may help, specifically books such as The Distance Learning Playbook, Grades K-12: Teaching for Engagement and Impact in Any Setting and DON’T Ditch That Tech: Differentiated Instruction in a Digital World both full of practical strategies to help the virtual home instructors and the HS hybrid teachers.
With the approval of The Bangor Area School District School Board, The Foundation purchased 30 books in total - 3 of each book for the libraries of all 5 schools.
According to online resources, “The Distance Learning Playbook is the essential hands-on guide to preparing and delivering distance learning experiences that are truly effective and impactful” while Don’t Ditch That Tech, provides practical ideas to help find the sweet spot where classroom devices meet students’ needs and is said to be a teacher-tailored guide that includes tips on how to handle cart/lab scenarios, develop attention-grabbing strategies, and build metacognitive practices.
Upon communicating with each high school principal regarding the distribution of both resources, Dr. Sherry Holub, Middle School Principal thanked The Foundation and teacher grant committee and indicated that she was familiar with both books that DON’T Ditch That Tech: Differentiated Instruction in a Digital World would become a school-wide study next year.
The Bangor Area School District Educational Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organization that operates independently from the district and school board. Founded in the Spring of 1997, The Foundation’s mission is to support learning for the children and adults of the Bangor Area School District by funding activities and culturally enriching programs, community events, student scholarships, teacher grant projects and academic awards. The Foundation oversees the financial aspect of various scholarships that are presented to district students each year. The Foundation is also responsible for funding various enrichment experiences such as Cyndi the SynDaver, an outreach program presented in conjunction with the Da Vinci Science Center as well as teacher grant programs, all of which are made available through donor contributions and fundraising efforts of The Bangor Area School District Educational Foundation, Inc. Should you be interested in learning more, sponsoring a scholarship or making a general donation, please visit our website at basdef.org or contact Executive Director Deanna Ruzanski at [email protected]

02/17/2021

Lehigh Valley Business Owner Will Be Astronaut in SpaceX Mission

By Colin McEvoy
LEHIGH VALLEY - Jared Isaacman already had a pretty impressive list of accomplishments to his name.

The Palmer Township native started the company Shift4 Payments in his parents bedroom at age 16. He became a self-made billionaire. He’s an accomplished jet pilot who holds several records and has flown in more than 100 air shows. What could be next?

How about going into space?

Isaacman, 37, has been chosen to be commander of the four-man crew in Inspiration4, the world’s first all-civilian, all-commercial astronaut mission to space. The expedition by Elon Musk’s SpaceX is expected to launch as early as the fourth quarter of this year.

“Inspiration4 is the realization of a lifelong dream and a step towards a future in which anyone can venture out and explore the stars,” Isaacman said. “I appreciate the tremendous responsibility that comes with commanding this mission and I want to use this historic moment to inspire humanity while helping to tackle childhood cancer here on Earth.”

The announcement was made on Feb. 1 from SpaceX’s headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif. Isaacman will undergo commercial astronaut training from SpaceX, and the mision will eventually launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The multi-day mission will see Isaacman and his crew orbit Earth every 90 minutes on a customized flight path, all while being carefully monitored at every step by SpaceX mission control, according to the organization.

“Today’s announcement is the first step of a very exciting journey,” Isaacman said on Feb. 1. “In the lead-up to launch, we’ll share new ways to support and follow our mission preparation and execution with a focus on inspiring and helping others.”

Shift4 Payments is an industry-leading payments processing firm to process hotel and restaurant payments. Headquartered in Allentown, the company employs 1,500 people, hundreds of whom are located here in the Lehigh Valley.

The company’s services go beyond payments to include a wide range of commerce-enabling services, powering more than 350 software providers in numerous industries, including hospitality, retail, eCommerce, lodging, gaming, and more.

Shift4 has more than 7,000 sales partners, according to the company, and securely processed more than $200 billion in payments volume for over 200,000 businesses in 2019.

In addition to his business ventures, Isaacman is rated to fly commercial and military aircraft, has flown more than 100 air shows with the Black Diamond Jet Team, and has participated in two Speed-Around-The-World flights in 2008 and 2009 that raised money for the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

He also previously on a mountain climbing expedition in Australia, and co-founded Draken International, the world’s largest private air force, which trains pilots of the U.S. Armed Forces.

A long-time space enthusiast and a visible member of the close-knit aviation community, Isaacman had long been in touch with the SpaceX team and had previously expressed his interest in serving as a pilot if the opportunity arose. He also personally donated $100 million to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the charity being supported by Inspiration4.

“In fulfilling a personal and lifelong dream, I recognize the tremendous responsibility that comes with commanding this mission,” Isaacman said. “While a historic journey awaits us in space, I hope this mission reinforces how far inspiration can take us and the extraordinary achievements it leads to here on Earth.”

02/17/2021

Photo left to right G. Karelas, G. Vlahakis, N. Martino, A. Carrillo, S. Wandalowski and L. McClure.

Donation of a wall monument to the VA Office by the Post 611 American Legion

By Becky Bartlett
EASTON - Lamont McClure, Director of Human Services Susan Wandalowski and Director of Veteran Affairs Alex Carrillo, accepted the donation of a wall monument recognizing those who served in the global war on terrorism from Post 611 American Legion and the Pennsylvania Chapter of the State Guard Association of the United States on February 16th in the Rotunda at the Government Center in Easton, PA. Post 611 American Legion made the donation in appreciation for the many years of service from the Northampton County Veterans Affairs Office in helping veterans and providing veteran services and support. Commander George Karelas and Manager George Vlahakis from American Legion Post 611 and Staff Sergeant Nick Martino from the Pennsylvania State Guard presented the wall monument at the ceremony. It is constructed of metal with a silhouette of a soldier between the outlines of Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan and framed in wood. The monument will hang in the Veteran Affairs Office at the Department of Human Services building. “We are pleased and honored to accept this donation from Post 611 American Legion and the Pennsylvania Chapter of the State Guard Association of the United States,” says Lamont McClure. “This week, the nation celebrates the National Salute to Veteran Patients, reminding us all to honor the brave men and women who have sacrificed to protect the freedoms we all enjoy.”

02/16/2021

Go to bluevalleytimes.com to read all the content in this weeks issue

02/16/2021

Obituary Carmen J. Mariano July 16, 1948 - February 10, 2021
Carmen’s partner Sharon and his family request donations in Carmen’s memory can be made to: Friends of Minsi Lake in Bangor, PA, P.O. Box 261, Bath, PA 18014 or at http://ncjcs.org/foml/ or to Paul’s House for homeless Veterans at https://valorclinic.org/.

02/16/2021

Bangor Seniors that were honored before the game L-R Gabriel Zieba, Caleb Ramthun, CJ Miles, Jace Eldridge

Bangor Boys Basketball Sr. Night

By Michael Ortoski
BANGOR - Last week the Bangor Boys Basketball team honored their four seniors before their game with North Western Lehigh. Unfortunately this year because of COVID - 19 no spectators or families were aloud to attend.
Bangor did televise the event along with the game on utube for free.
Seniore were: Gabriel Zieba, Caleb Ramthun, CJ Miles, Jace Eldridge.
Miles, the son of Courtney Miles and Kim Majors. Honors include 1 Colonial League Championship named to all-league & all-area Teams, 3 year varsity starter and 3 time captian. He plans to attend a 4 year university.
Zieba, son of Inna and Marek Zieba. Honors include 1 Colonial League Championship, 3 year varsity starter, 2 time team captian. He plans to attend a 4 year university and study sports medicine.
Eldridge, son of Cheryl and Drew Pusinelli. Honors include 1 Colonial League Championship runner up team. Also was on the track team.
Ramthun, son of Dennis and Barbra. honors include 1 Colonial League Championship runner up team, plans on attending technical school.

02/16/2021

Donors Enable Allentown Rescue Mission to Purchase Life-Saving Monitor

By Stefanie Appel
ALLENTOWN, PA - The Allentown Rescue Mission would like to thank its donors for remaining faithful throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. It used a portion of the donations to purchase a blood pressure kiosk to help monitor the health of its clients. During the pandemic, the Allentown Rescue Mission has seen more men with significant medical issues.
Some of the men have been previously diagnosed, while others are in need of diagnosis. This prompted the Allentown Rescue Mission to more closely monitor the men’s health. After testing the men on the new machine, the blood pressure results were eye-opening. Eighty-seven percent of the men living at the shelter recorded elevated blood pressure.
“Studies show that heart disease is the third leading cause of death among people experiencing homelessness, and hypertension is more prevalent in those experiencing homelessness compared to those with stable housing”, stated Suzanne Cressman, Director of the DeSales Free Medical Clinic. With these results, the Allentown Rescue Mission took a hard look at the food it was serving to its clients. Going forward, it will focus on preparing the food donations as part of a heart-healthy, low-sodium diet and asks donors to include low-sodium foods in their offerings. Additionally, the Allentown Rescue Mission will monitor the men’s blood pressure more frequently with the new machine.
The time given to the Allentown Rescue Mission employees to assess the medical needs of the shelter men has proven to be a silver lining in the pandemic lockdown. The men will receive even better care as a result of the lockdown and the generosity of Allentown Rescue Mission supporters.

02/16/2021

02/16/2021

02/16/2021

02/16/2021

Voters to Consider Emergency Declarations Question on the Primary Ballot

By Rep. Joe Emrick
NAZARETH - Pennsylvanians will soon have a say in the duration of disaster emergencies declared by the governor under legislation approved in the House last week.
Senate Bill 2, the companion legislation to House Bill 55, proposes to amend the state Constitution by limiting emergency declarations by a governor to a maximum of 21 days. To extend a declaration beyond that time, the Legislature would need to grant approval, which ensures the voices of our citizens – through their elected lawmakers – are fully represented.
The action by the General Assembly comes at a time when the state is under two long-term disaster emergency declarations: one regarding the opioid crisis, which has been in place for more than three years, and the other regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been going on for nearly 11 months.
Executive powers to declare emergencies should not be used to circumvent the state Constitution, checks and balances, the separation of powers or, most importantly, the will of the people for extended periods of time.
The measure also proposes additional constitutional amendments:
• Prohibiting the denial or abridgement of equality of rights on the basis of race and ethnicity by adding it to the Declaration of Rights section of the Pennsylvania Constitution.
• Clarifying that a resolution terminating or extending a disaster emergency declaration need not be presented to the governor for signature.
With final approval by the House and Senate in the second consecutive legislative session, these constitutional amendment proposals will go before the voters in a referendum on the May 18 primary election ballot. Voters not affiliated with a political party will be eligible to vote on the referendum questions at the primary election as well.

02/16/2021

02/16/2021

Streamwatchers Needed In Brodhead
Watershed

By BWA
STROUDSBURG - Would you like to be a Streamwatcher? Brodhead Watershed Association will soon welcome new “water warriors” into its popular Streamwatch program.
A Streamwatch volunteer training session for Brodhead watershed residents will be held via Zoom at 10 a.m. Saturday, March 27, 2021. Individualized on-stream training will be provided by experienced volunteers following the virtual training.
For 30 years, BWA Streamwatch volunteers have been checking local streams on a monthly basis. Now, with more than 70 volunteers in seven sub-watershed regions of the Brodhead watershed, new volunteers are always welcome to join the efforts to ensure clean streams. This program is also a good refresher course for veteran Streamwatchers.
“Streamwatch volunteers are our eyes and ears in the watershed,” said BWA Executive Director Kelly Gallo. “The data they collect and the time they spend in and around the streams in our community is an invaluable resource to BWA, our watershed, and our community. These community scientists are trained to test chemical parameters and to use their data to provide observations of stream health.”
Not sure where you live in the Brodhead watershed? Find out using the tool at brodheadwatershed.org/explore-your-watershed/.
To register, contact the BWA office at 570-839-1120, email [email protected] or see the event page at brodheadwatershed.org/events/streamwatch-training-2-2-2/. Registrants will receive the Zoom information to join the March 27 webinar. Please register by March 25.
For mre about the Streamwatch program, see brodheadwatershed.org/stream-watch/.

02/16/2021

02/16/2021

Drug & Alcohol Division Launches New Programs

By Becky Bartlett
EASTON - Lamont McClure and the Drug and Alcohol Division recently announced two grant-funded programs to assist Northampton County residents struggling with substance abuse.
The Housing Emergency Response to Opioids or HERO program, is designed for individuals addicted to opioids who are homeless or facing eviction. People can be referred to the program through transitional housing sites, recovery court, one of the County’s five Recovery Centers or can call 610-829-HELP (4357). Rent and assistance with utility payments can be covered for up to six months. This program will end in September.
The Police Assisting in Recovery or PAIR, allows case managers to work with people referred by police officers. Police will give out cards with instructions on how to seek help to people who appear to be struggling with addiction or drive them to one of the County’s Recovery centers. They will also work with community agencies. This program is designed for interactions where police officers encounter someone who needs help. It cannot be used for incidents which involve criminal activity. At least eight police departments are participating in the program.
The $452,027 HERO and $242,612 PAIR grants are funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP).

County of Northampton Recovery Centers

· A Clean Slate at 100 S. 1st Street, Bangor, PA 18013 (610-452-9348)
https://cleanslatebangor.com

· Change on Main at 1830 Main Street Northampton, PA 18067 (484-353-6617)
https://change-on-main.org

· Hope Center at 429 E. Broad Street, Bethlehem, PA 18015 (484-788-3665)
treatmenttrends.org/index.php/programs/hope-center

· Oasis at 3410 Bath Pike, Bethlehem, PA 18017 (484-747-6825) www.oasisbethlehem.org

· Palmer Recovery Center at 2906 William Penn Highway, Easton, PA 18045 (610-438-0853)
PalmerRecoveryCenter.org