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CAR. TR. MKTG MAIL US POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 244 BRADFORD, PA
MAY 4-10, 2018
VOLUME 3 ISSUE 18
Your Hometown Newspaper
The official newspaper of the Town of Concord and the Village of Springville, serving Springville, the surrounding communities and Springville-Griffith Institute Central Schools
We We should rejoice that there was more than a handful of people at the public hearing for the proposed budget and P-TECH vote at the Tuesday SGI School Board meeting. Too often at public hearings, no members of the community attend yet social media is full of complaints or questions. Superintendent Kim Moritz has always been open to questions and even offered to make herself more available if a group of community members gather to discuss the budget or P-TECH project. A thumbs up to transparency. It’s always great to feature accomplishments from community members, so we were glad this week to speak with Ed Abdo, owner of Northeast Cycle Service at the corner of Routes 39 and 240, who wrote “Jammin’ Jimmy Weinert — Living My Dream” that is available through Amazon and at his business. A complete story on the book is on page 3. It was a joy recently to have a phone conversation with Ben McDonald, one of the founding members of Sidewalk Prophets. The band will be coming to the SGI High School on May 12 and tickets continue to sell fast. McDonald was a great person to interview and the band is well known with many contemporary Christian music fans. It’s a great thing for Springville to be able to get the band to visit our area. Have good news to share? Email us at info@ springvilletimes.com or stop by our office at 65 E. Main St. in Springville.
UPCOMING EVENTS May 5 Art Crawl
Kids Can Make a Difference ... see page 2
Mother’s Day is May 13 Art, Music, Kids Activities May 5
Check out our Gift Guide on page 12.
BY ALICIA DZIAK It’s time once again for an evening of art, music and fun for all ages at the Springville Center for the Arts’ Art Crawl, when Main St. turns into a haven of creativity on Saturday, May 5 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Stop into many businesses and check out work by local artists, listen to musicians performing in the street, and be sure to bring the kids ‘cause there’s lots of fun on tap for them as well! Art crawlers are asked to begin at the tent at the corner of Main and Mechanic Streets and pick up a map of the participating locations. From there, visitors can stroll at their own pace. Among the new Art Crawl events, the Springville PTA will host a raffle
of artwork made by SGI students. The idea came from PTA president Melissa Frank. “I’ve been pretty passionate during my presidency to not have to do any more generic catalog sales to fund-raise for the PTA,” she explained. “I wanted to involve the community more and try to keep things more local. Thankfully, we’ve been pretty successful going this route. The idea started last year and we were hoping to bring it together for the 2017 SES Open House but we ran out of time. Then the thought occurred to me that we should reach out to SCA and see if we could incorporate it into the Art Crawl because it made sense to put the kids art on display to the public and what a perfect occasion! It See Art Crawl page 9
School Board Talks Upcoming Budget and P-TECH Vote
(From left) Middle school teachers Emily Mahoney and Kimberly Ploetz listen to remarks from superintendent Kimberly Moritz on behalf of middle school principal Shanda DuClon before both teachers were granted tenure. Photo by Rich Place.
BY RICH PLACE Appreciation of the district’s transportation staff and the tenure of two middle school teachers highlighted the Tuesday meeting of
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See SGI Board page 8
The Mystery of JP Myers BY JOLENE HAWKINS
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May 19 Pageant of the Bands
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May 12 Craft Beer & Wine Festival
the SGI School Board of Education. Recognition of the employees following a 50-minute public hearing on the May 15 school budget vote, which also includes a proposition on the much discussed P-TECH program.
Math teacher Kimberly Ploetz and AIS reading teacher Emily Mahoney were both granted tenure by the district and congratulated by members of the school board and administration. Although middle school principal Shanda DuClon was unable to be in attendance at the board meeting, superintendent Kimberly Moritz read a statement from DuClon recommending tenure for both teachers. “Kim (Ploetz) is always willing to go the extra mile for our students,” Moritz said, reading from DuClon’s comments, later adding, “she brings the concepts of math to life for our students.” DuClon also complimented work Mahoney recently performed as the site coordinator during the ELA state assessment during the first-time that computer-based testing was used. The district’s transportation staff was commended for its service and a brief intermission for attendees to enjoy cake was taken by the board. “You guys have a really important role in this district,” said school board president Allison Duwe. “You’re the first person kids see when they start their school day and you’re the last person they see at the end of the day.” The recognitions came following the district’s scheduled public hearing on the proposed 2018-19 school budget. Much of the hearing was reserved for discussion on the third proposition on the upcoming ballots: the P-TECH capital project.
Looking back into our archives, I found a mystery that even to this day is not solved. Where is JP Myers? Get on your thinking caps as you read this story and see if you can solve the mystery. In 1843, John Pecks Myers was born. When he was 18, he enlisted in the 104th Regiment NY State Volunteers. He was engaged in nearly all the battles of the Army of the Potomac, until Antietam, where he was wounded by a musket ball, shattering the bone near the ankle. He was in the hospital for five months, and offered a discharge, but refused it, going back to his unit. He continued his place in his unit and during the battle of Gettysburg, he was captured and taken to Andersonville Prison. While in prison, he wrote a journal so that we are able to see daily life while he was a prisoner. He talked of the shelters and lack of them, the men who came in and left, and those who died while there. He was a prisoner for 22 months and when he was to be released, he and others were marched off to Vicksburg, where they then would get passage on boat for the rest of the journey home. They were scheduled to board the Sultana, but another boat came and they were placed on it. The next day when the Sultana had a load of prisoners on it, taking that group home, it exploded, and 1,400 out of 2,200 on board were killed. How sad this was for the prisoners of war, who had been imprisoned for 12 to 22 months to end up being killed on the last leg
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PAGES 4-5 Sports schedule Athlete of the Week Baseball, softball, track
See A Look Back page 10
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