TS_CNG/SUBURBAN/PAGES [S01] | 01/16/19
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Abington The
JANUARY 17, 2019
InSIDE
Crafting and chatting at the Abington Community Library See page 10.
Suburban T H E VO I C E O F T H E A B I N G T O N S
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CREATIVE FOR A CAUSE
ELIZABETH BAUMEISTER Suburban Subplots
The ice thickens
JaSOn Farmer / StaFF PhOtOgraPher
From left, Katie Seechock, Tyler Petty, Julia Braatz and Nicola Veniamin.
AH art students participate in Pink Game T-shirt contest By Clayton ovER StaFF Writer
S. ABINGTON TWP. — Art students at Abington Heights High School recently had the opportunity to flex their creative muscles for a cause. Seven students in Abigail Fenton’s Art II classes designed T-shirt logos for a contest. The winning design will be printed on shirts to be sold as a fundraiser for the 11th annual Pink Game, a girls basketball game that benefits the Foundation for Cancer Care in Scranton. It marked the first time art students took part in a contest to design the logo for the shirt, Fenton said. “It was a nice way to get the kids involved with a good cause, a local charity and to give back to the community,” Fenton said. Sophomore Katie Seechock won the contest. Her design features a pink ribbon, the names of the teams involved, the name and date of the game and the phrase, “Two teams, one cause.” For Katie, the game and logo have personal significance. Her grandmother survived breast cancer, Katie said. She is also on the basketball team and will
take part in the game. “It’s important to incorporate the ribbon because it’s the sign for breast cancer and I wanted to focus on the pink part of it,” she said of her winning submission. Most of the designs, like Katie’s, were hand drawn with markers. Another student used colored pencils. Junior Nicola Veniamin used a computer to create a design of a player going for a rebound. “I thought it would be easier to get the simple kind of design I was going for,” Veniamin said of using the digital approach. She added that she would like to pursue art as a career as an animator. All proceeds raised from this year’s Pink Game T-shirt, as well as from the other fundraisers taking place leading up to and during this year’s Pink Game will stay local and benefit the Foundation for Cancer Care directly. Last year, the Pink Game raised a record-breaking amount of more than $35,000 for the foundation. The Foundation for Cancer Care provides free mammograms and breast cancer care to women without
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SUBmitteD PhOtO
Abington Heights sophomore Katie Seechock crafted the winning design to go on fundraiser T-shirts for the 11th Annual Pink Game. health insurance or with prohibitive insurance deductibles, along with nutritional services, financial support, psychological counseling and hope to women with breast cancer. Contact the writer: cover@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5363; @ClaytonOver on twitter
the 11th annual Pink game thursday, Jan. 24, Junior varsity game starts at 5:30 p.m., followed by a presentation and pre-game activities at 7 p.m. Varsity game begins at 7:15 p.m. abington heights vs. north Pocono abington heights high School, 222 noble road, South abington twp. Both teams will be wearing pink uniforms. Spectators are encouraged to sport pink attire too. Survivors are encouraged to attend and will be recognized there that night.
Want a shirt? Shirts are light gray and long sleeved. they cost $20 and can be purchased ahead of the game by contacting Jennifer Seechock at 570-430-0373 or jenniferseechock@ hotmail.com; amy Scoblick at 570-499-2837 or davidscoblick@yahoo.com; or margo Opsasnick at 570-947-3541 or mopsasnick@deltamedix. com.
lInDa SCott | in the aBingtOnS
Solving world problems NEWTON TWP. — Abington Heights graduate Jason Bamford, Class of 2013, returned to his middle school to introduce a group of 42 gifted/ enrichment students in grades 5-8 to the “Essence of Entrepreneurship” program. The Delaware resident graduated from the University of Delaware in 2017 with a degree in biomedical engineering. At Abington Heights, he played basketball and was on the robotics team. “When I was at the University of Delaware, I used creative thinking and the mental framework,” said Bamford. “I then put the idea into action. I started the GeoSwap app in 2015 to help
you find out what is going on in the area. Brands have a digital presence at events. People have the ads on their phones who attend real time, so that is cost effective of getting sponsorships.” GeoSwap helps clients categorize their customers by the events they attend and get to them directly on their smartphones. With the app, it’s easy to build campaigns around what excites customers, according to geoswap.com. The app was licensed to Delaware’s Tourism Office and State Parks. Bamford and his coworkers Keith Doggett and Jordan Gonzalez now focus on a new form of digital marketing serving ads at events.
I fell in love in February, 1998. I was 9 years old. I couldn’t take my eyes off the television. The object of my attention? The Olympic Games in Japan. My love? Figure skating. Mesmerized by the graceful beauty of the figure skaters, I imagined I was one of them, gliding across the ice, spinning, leaping into the air and executing perfect landings. I liked watching all the Olympic events, but to 9-year-old me, there was nothing more breathtaking than figure skating. It was like ballet, but better. And it was what I wanted to do when I grew up. I never got to take lessons, and this childhood dream soon died off (as most do). But I never completely lost interest in the sport. I still love to watch figure skating. And in my early teenage years, I saved my allowance to purchase a pair of skates. I still have those skates. I’m not a fan of cold weather; winter is my least favorite season. But one good thing does come from bitter cold spells like the one that arrived this past weekend: ice. About once a year I dig those skates out of my closet and bring them to one of the local parks that permit ice skating. On the ice, I do my best not to fall or knock anyone else over. Like many other area residents, I’ve been anxiously following Hillside Park’s Facebook page all winter, tracking the ice updates (and “lack of ice updates”) and waiting for an announcement of safe conditions for skating. According to the page’s updates posted by Ken Lee, a measurement of four inches of ice is required to accommodate groups of people on the lake. “This coming winter we are planning to put a significant effort into maintaining a skateable ice surface on the Hillside Park lake,” reads a post signed by Lee on Dec. 11. “With this in mind we are in the process of obtaining a good snowblower for clearing the ice as well as a good sized water pump for resurfacing. Please see Ice, Page 6
What’s inside Calendar ........................ 2 Contest .......................... 3 Suburban Family ............. 3 Obituaries ....................... 4 Sports ............................ 5 Suburban Life ................. 7 emma BLaCk / StaFF PhOtOgraPher
Jason Bamford uses his mom, Stacey, who is a guidance counselor at Abington Heights Middle School, to demonstrate an activity the kids will complete. “This activity brings real life application to their areas of interest,” said Lisa Bath, gifted support teacher in the
Abington Heights School District. “They may be interested in technology, engineering or current media practices.
“I love the fact that Jason walked the same halls and had the same goals.” Please see Problems, Page 6
Just For Fun .................... 8 Classifieds ..................... 9
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