Octorara MAY 27, 2026
SERVING OUR COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
REACHING MORE THAN 3,720 HOMES
VOL XXXVI • NO 13
Prepares Two Octorara Teams Compete WFCS for Expansion, at State STEM Competition Sets Chicken Barbecue
BY LOGAN MOYER
T
Sprpriing EVENT CALENDAR townlively.com/ events
will host a “ Veterans Rock” record show and meet and greet at Post 4480, 406 W. 4th Ave., Parkesburg. An admission price will be charged; all veterans get in for free. All proceeds will go toward the post, benefiting veterans and their families. “Record shows do really well as far as drawing people, so I thought if I do a meet and greet and combine it with a record show, we could easily Michael Kelly Smith, co-founder and lead get (300) to 400 people there,” guitarist for the late ’80s to early ’90s
West Fallowfield Christian School (WFCS) is amidst a “Growing Together Capital Campaign” that is aimed at raising money for a renovation and expansion project at the school. Located at 795 Fallowfield Road in Atglen, adjacent to Octorara Area School District’s primary campus, renovations are already underway. The school projects that a total of $850,000 is needed for the project; $500,000 has been raised to date. Originally a two-room schoolhouse, WFCS has greatly expanded over the past eight decades. The school originally served grades one through eight, now serves preschool through 11th grade, and plans to offer a full high school with the completion of the expansion project, which is hoped to be completed by the start of the upcoming school year. “Our student body has steadily increased,” said WFCS principal Heather Furlong. “We saw a little pause with COVID ... five years ago we had 110 students. Now, we’re over 180.” The renovations will take place on the second floor of the school’s additional building, which was constructed in 2006. The new project will include five new classrooms, a facilitator planning space, testing rooms and a mezzanine that is intended to serve as an event and collaboration learning space. Completed items on the new project include the installation of a staircase, electric work and some plumbing. Steel framing is also in place, outlining the future classrooms.
See Benefit pg 2 veterans’ benefit at the Parkesburg VFW.
See Expansion pg 4
Eli King (left), Nathan Campos (center) and Seamus Ralston earned an honorable mention as part of team E-Bricks.
Team Citrax, including (from left) Ryan Mitman, Gavin Bowen, Merritt Zavacki and Haydin Yoon, also competed at the state event after winning the regional event.
See STEM pg 3
OCC
Rock Star to Host Veterans’ Benefit BY LOGAN MOYER
Michael Kelly Smith, the co-founder and lead guitarist of glam metal band Britny Fox, could not bear to hear of financial difficulties at Parkesburg VFW Post 4480. Having family members in Post 4480, Kelly Smith (Schermick) learned that the post is struggling to make ends meet. So, he came up with a solution. On Saturday, May 30, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Kelly Smith
glam metal band Britny Fox, will host a
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townlively.com
SERVING THE
JUNE 11, 2025
LOCAL COMMU
NITIES SINCE
VOL XXXIII
1954
• NO 19
ment Golf Tourna t To Suppor ject Pro Animal House
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BY FRANCINE
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BY FRANCINE
MCC
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In your mailbox & online
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ONLINE
BY LOGAN MOYER
wo teams composed of Octorara Area School District (OASD) students recently competed at the state STEM Design Challenge in Harrisburg. One team, comprising Octorara Intermediate School students Nathan Campos, Eli King and Seamus Ralston, used the idea of turning electronic pollution into sustainable “bricks” made from discarded phones, laptops and other electronics. “E-waste is really terrible for the environment,” said Nathan, a member of team E-Bricks. “(E-Waste) never decays. (Our solution) is better for the environment.” The two Octorara teams qualified for the state competition, held on May 8 at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex, by winning a regional competition hosted by the Chester County Intermediate Unit in March. Working in teams of three to four, the students were presented with the prompt to build a sustainable production machine in accordance with the United Nations’ regulations. More specifically, the students had to design a section of a factory that uses sustainable practices and then showcase how their functioning machine works, highlighting how it supports environmentally responsible production. Students began preparing for this task in January, spending 30 to 45 minutes of class time on the project per day.
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