CMYK WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25, 2012
THE ABINGTON JOURNAL♦CLARKS SUMMIT, PA
Scout earns Eagle
BY JOAN MEAD-MATSUI Abington Journal Correspondent
Christine Tsaklas, shown center, is flanked by Abington Community Garden Co-Chairs, Donna Zagrapan, left, a Master Gardener; and Carolyn Crowley, Abington Area Joint Recreation Board Treasurer
Resident receives Order of Rose Award At its annual opening planning session, the Abington Community Garden Co-Chairs awarded fourth year garden member Christine Tsaklas of South Abington Township the Order of the Rose for the best garden of the 2011 season. The annual award is given to the member with the best garden based on a point based matrix awarded by the Order of the Rose Committee throughout the growing season. Tsaklas said she always wanted a vegetable garden but didn’t know how to go about starting
Nicholas Theodore Stamboolian was awarded the rank of Eagle.
Sunday, May 6, is the date for the annual Rotary Club of the Abingtons Pasta Dinner from 12:30 - 5 p.m. at the Abington Heights High School in Clarks Summit. In addition to award -winning meatballs, Chef Schiavone and son will make their homemade special recipe sauce. Salad, dessert and beverages will round out this meal. Dinners will be served by Rotarians and Abington area youngsters. Take outs will be available. The price is $8 for adults and $4 for children under 12. Proceeds will benefit youth programs in the Abingtons, as well as Abington Little League and the Children’s Advocacy Center. Tickets are available from any Abington Rotarian or by calling 570947-2705.
One child at a time Children’s Advocacy Center Moonlight Walk/Run raises awareness of child abuse
Nicholas Theodore Stamboolian, son of Frank and Linda Stamboolian, North Abington Township, was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout on October 19, 2011. He is a member of Troop 160, Clarks Summit. Gary Katz serves as Scoutmaster. Stamboolian has been a member of Troop 160 since 2000 as a Tiger Cub, Cub Scout and Boy Scout. His rank advancement will be celebrated at an Eagle Court of Honor on June 10. Stamboolian is a senior honor roll student at Abington Heights High School and has been an active member of Clarks Summit United Methodist Church (UMC), participating in the Methodist Youth Fellowship and the Appalachian Service Project. Stamboolian chose to paint four Sunday school rooms at Clarks Summit UMC as his Eagle Scout service project in order to give back to the church where his troop meets. He will attend Temple University, majoring in Business.
Rotary Pasta Dinner May 6
WWW.THEABINGTONJOURNAL.COM PAGE 3A
one. When the Abington Area Joint Recreation Board started the community garden in 2009, she jumped at the chance knowing that she would have ample guidancefrom the master gardeners. In her 20 foot by 20 foot plot at the community garden, Tsaklas grew potatoes, onions, horseradish, squash, tomatoes, oregano, lettuce, beets, beans and broccoli. After attributing some of her success to the quality of soil she has in her plot, she joked about not ever giving it up, ‘It should go in my will.’ The garden is located
off Winola Road on property managed by the Abington Area Joint Recreation Board. The volunteer organizers arrange for compost and soil amendments, wate, and a seven foot high fence to protect plants from critters. Master Gardeners are on hand to answer questions and offer advice. There are some plots still available for the 2012 season. Visit www.abingtonparks.com for more information and to download an application. Applications are also available at the Abington Community Library.
Serving up MIRACLES
The State Street Grill will host a celebrity bartending night to raise money for the Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) April 30 from 5:30 8:30 p.m. The event will feature local celebrity bartenders, who will serve drinks and collect tips for Children’s Miracle Network at Geisinger. Children’s Miracle Network is a national nonprofit organization which raises funds for pediatrics throughout the Geisinger Health System. Donations are used to fund services and equipment at Geisinger facilities, as well as educational programs, specialty camps and community
outreach programs. Celebrity bartenders for the night include: Dr. Paul Tomcykoski, Pediatrician; Dr. Linda Thomas Family Practice; Chris Doherty, Mayor of Scranton; Dr. Jim McKenna Family Practice, Pediatrician; Janice Divers, Nursing Director NICU Geisinger Wyoming Valley; Dr. Sam Morkous, Pediatric Neurologist Geisinger; Brian Thompson, DJ Light 105 The
River; and Vince Bucciarelli. Dave Kuharchik and Monica Madeja of WBRE will also be in attendance helping with raffles. Shown at left is Alicia, of Taylor, who was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. Doctors found a large tumor closing her airway and putting pressure on her heart. She overcame several rounds of chemotherapy and radiation, surgery and the inability to eat or breathe on her own. Donations to the Children’s Miracle Network help purchase equipment for the Janet Weis Children’s Hospital Oncology department and fund Camp Dost, for pediatric cancer patients like Alicia.
Kristen Cashuric Fetcho had a mentor years ago when she was a Child Protective Servicesinvestigator at Children and Youth Services. She explained, “As far as my work now, I had a mentor years ago when I first started and one of my questions to her was ‘How could you do this and not burn out?’ She said, her strength and energy toward it (her job) comes from the fact that if she’s there or not, it (child abuse) is going to happen and she is glad she is doing her part to help. I look at my job that way also. If I can do something and do it well, and make a difference, I’m going to do that.” In 16 years, Fetcho has interviewed as many as 4,000 children including seven years at Lackawanna County Children and Youth Services as a Child Protective Services Intake caseworker, and nine as an interviewer at the Children’s Advocacy Center/NEPA . As the Children’s Advocacy Center began to grow, she was asked to join as an interviewer, where she works primarily with sexual and physical abuse cases of children, and sometimes medical neglect. In its 14th year, the Center, located at 1710 Mulberry Street, Scranton, is a private, nonprofit organization that provides crisis intervention services to children who have experienced sexual and physical abuse and neglect throughout eight counties in Northeastern Pennsylvania, and coordinates a multidisciplinary team response to child abuse. Fetcho is part of the team involved in organizing the Center’s largest annual fundraiser, “Moonlight 5k & 10K Walk/Run & Children’s Fun Run,” to be held April 29 at Nay Aug Park, Scranton. As many as 80 volunteers give their time at the event. She said, “The Moonlight Walk/Run is one of our biggest fundraisers of the year. It is a wonderful event that manages to pull many of our local communities together in support of our ongoing war against child abuse. This run is so dear to all of our hearts because of the great response it receives. It brings the issue of child abuse to the forefront of people’s mind to help them understand what an epidemic
ABINGTON JOURNAL/JOAN MEAD-MATSUI
Clockwise, from left, are: Sandra Federo, Mary Ann LaPorta, Cindy Pintha, Julie Rudolf, Alexandra Sharpe and Kristen Fetcho.
it is. ” According to Mary Ann LaPorta, Center Director, “Our philosophy here is that until we can teach or impress upon individual adults the importance of their advocacy, we don’t want the money until it’s understood. What we’re looking for is almost a spiritual and philosophical support and then an advocacy and activism. So, it’s advocacy to action. ” She added, “Preparation and responses to the Moonlight Walk/Run are percolating beyond imagination. What we have is a wonderful committee structure and very dedicated volunteers. That’s what makes it happen…The camaraderie and the community spirit, the family interaction, the educational nature of the walk/run with multiple educational tables from collaborating agencies and fun things. It’s a very child -centered festivity…” Geisinger-Community Medical Center presents The Family Festival, which will feature children’s activities and prizes, educational tables, a DJ, themed basket raffles, food and beverage stands, Pennsylvania Masonic Child Identification Program, and Inflatable Hoops and Homerun Derby. It will begin at 3 p.m., with the walk at 5:30 p.m. and run at 6 p.m. Eli Pascal, Center development coordinator said, “In part, having a walk in the evening sets it apart from other walks that take place. I would imagine some of the folks who were organizing it originally, had the idea that from darkness can come good things, so the imagery of nighttime with the concept of healing, growth and moving forward out of difficult situations. .” To register online , visit active.com or neparunner.org. Or, for more information, call 969.7313.
Lifelong gardener to share hints, experiences BY JOAN MEAD-MATSUI Abington Journal Correspondent
Big family; big gardens. Paul Epsom of Greystone Gardens used those words to describe his childhood as it relates to gardening. His story is that of a boy born in London, England in1956, who discovered his love for gardening at age 4 or 5, and whose mother was a great influence. One of his first experiences in gardening was looking under rocks
ABINGTON JOURNAL/ JOAN MEAD-MATSUI
Paul Epsom’s presentation, “How I’m Creating My “E” Garden,” April 28, will be held from 9 - 9:45 a.m.
in a rock garden. He said, “The wood lice would fascinate me.” Epsom brought his passion for horticulture to the United States more than 20 years ago, and he plans to share his more than 50 years of gardening experience as Keynote Speaker at the upcoming “Spring into Gardening,” workshop hosted by Luzerne County Master Gardeners, organized by Penn State Co-operative Extension, an educational network providing the university’s resources and expertise to people in 67 Pennsylvania counties. Epsom’s presentation, “How I’m Creating My “E” Garden,” April 28, will be held from 9 a.m. - 9:45 a.m., and is part of a home gardener’s educational event. His talk will be “an inspirational talk to get people excited,” said Epsom. He promises those who attend the workshop, “Lots of photographs, lots of tips, and lots of ideas. “It’s amusing and informative and if you don’t like to hear me talking, there are a bunch of great pictures to look at…” “It allows me to talk about my gar-
dening pursuits and techniques and what I aim for now. The important thing about the experienced gardener, compared to a novice gardener, is the fact that you understand plants and how they work, not just in a pot, but over10 or15 years.” He added, “Gardening takes years, sometimes a lifetime to grow trees and the environment. Patience is very important.” A stroll through Greystone Gardens, Clarks Summit, will reveal plants in their “naturalistic” setting. The size of the plant, its habits, both good and bad, and the location of the plant in the garden are decisions that are easier to make as one becomes more experienced, according to Epsom. “There is a lot of information and the more experienced you get, the easier it is to make those decisions. It’s always good to get advice. You can watch something on TV and it may just be a load of nonsense. No one can really tell unless you have the necessary experience,” said Epsom, who maintains a successful garden is one that is “Effort-
less, Environmental, Enabled, Edible and Extraordinary.” And the experience he is referring to comes from doing, and not from reading or looking, but by seeing plants over the course of a season and over the maturity of the plant’s life span. Among the tips Epsom will offer are creating low maintenance gardens, how to design beds with weeding and mulching in mind and how to make a garden much easier to look after. Epsom has been featured on WNEP-16 The News Station’s “Home and Backyard,” with more than 500 episodes to his credit, and is also gardening correspondent for “The Victory Garden,” a PBS production, which is nationally broadcast in 50 states. In 2003, 2004, and 2005, he won Garden Globe awards from the Garden Writer’s Association for work of an outstanding quality, and in 2006, he won the Gold Award for “Best Talent on Air.” Educated at Warwick University and London University, he holds an honors degree in Psychology and post gradu-
Paul Epsom, left, in a ’pram’ with brother Henry in a wheelbarrow. Epsom, of Greystone Gardens, describes his childhood as that of a boy born in London, England in 1956, who discovered his love for gardening at age 4 or 5. ate studies in education. He also holds the Royal Horticultural Society’s Level 2 Certificate of Horticulture and RHS level 3 Advanced Certificate. To learn more about Epsom and Greystone Gardens, visit greystoneg.com. While registration is closed for Spring into Gardening April 28, for more information regarding other upcoming workshops, call 570.825.1701 or visit extension.psu.edu/events.