Bucks Tech team places 7th at state auto repair

By Diane Davies-Dixon

Car doors opened, hoods were popped and safety glasses were in place.

On Thursday, for the second consecutive year, two-student teams from 10 technical high schools across Pennsylvania vied for the bragging rights of being the best car mechanics at their level.

The event, at the Automotive Training Center in Warminster, was to decide the winner of the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills Pennsylvania state title and a chance to represent Pennsylvania in the national finals in Dearborn, Mich.

Brian Siegman, 18, of Bristol Township and Rob Bruce, 18, of Falls represented Bucks County Technical High School in Bristol Township. They were the school's top two auto mechanics in their class, and both teamed up recently in the Greater Philadelphia Automotive Competition in Philadelphia, where they placed third and earned scholarships.

“I am going to do the best I can,” Siegman said before the competition began.

Brian Siegman of Bristol Township and Rob Bruce of Falls
Bill Fraser/Staff Photographer

People are keeping their cars longer, so it’s important to know how to fix them, said AAA Mid-Atlantic spokeswoman Jenny Robinson. “In the real world you have to diagnose the problem and fix it,” she said.

The race against the clock began at 9:45 a.m. and ended at 11:15 a.m. sharp. Each of 10 identical Ford vehicles had been intentionally bugged with 10 identical malfunctions.

Only the judges knew exactly what the malfunctions were and how to fix them. Making the repairs flawlessly was the key to producing "the perfect car." Even the slightest oversight by any of the teams, such as a loose taillight clip, was cause for a 1-point demerit. Each team also had to make the repairs within the time allowed.

To read more go to: http://www.phillyburbs.com/my_town/bensalem/bucks-tech-team-places-th-at-state-auto-repair-championship/article_2c52e144-faa1-5d87-86ce-98c482403cb8.html 

High schoolers take anti-smoking campaign to Elementary school

By Diane Davies-Dixon


For their second year, the Kick Butts Generation went out to spread the message “Chews not to smoke” at Cornwells Elementary School in Bensalem.

The slogan is meant to encourage kids to chew a piece of candy instead of picking up a cigarette, according to group leader Caren Schapiro.

To promote that thought, candy was being chewed everywhere at the school on Thursday as Kick Butts Generation students from Bensalem High School visited fifth- and sixth-grade students.

Schapiro, a chemistry teacher at the high school, said the program is designed “to get to the kids before they start smoking.”




Diane Davies-Dixon/Photo
Frank Tepper, 19, a recent Bensalem High School graduate, dressed up in bloody scrubs as Dr. Frank.

 She teaches high school students about the effects smoking has on the human body. Those involved in the KBG group stay after school to learn about smoking and create programs for elementary and middle school students during KBG visits.

Various stations are set up in each school with age-appropriate games and lessons on the hazards of smoking cigarettes, said Schapiro.

One such video game demonstrates how smoking over time changes a smoker’s facial appearance. “I think it looks funny,” said Olivia Baranosky, 11, of Bensalem. “It looks like a zombie with gray skin and it’s gooey.”

To read more go to: http://www.phillyburbs.com/my_town/bensalem/high-schoolers-take-anti-smoking-campaign-to-bensalem-elementary-school/article_4c7c30d3-7e34-5a75-a39c-cfa766006afa.html

Earthship for Earth Day

By Diane Davies-Dixon

On the eve of Earth Day, the Silver Lake Nature Center in Bristol Township is only a few months away from completing its “Earthship” project begun last summer.

The “fully sustainable, carbon-zero building” constructed of tires and other recycled materials, surrounded by a blanket of earth to control its climate, will become the center’s new Watershed Education Building.

Lorraine Skala, the nature center’s education director and assistant naturalist, traveled to New Mexico to visit “Earthship Biotecture” architect Michael Reynolds to learn how to build one at Silver Lake.

Diane Davies-Dixon/Photo
Silver Lake Nature Center's Earthship

With new-found knowledge and the dedication of her husband and many volunteers, plans for the only public Earthship on the East Coast took shape last summer.

“Everyone has latched on to the project,” which is being paid for by a $25,000 grant from Pennsylvania Department of community and Economic Development, said Skala. “It has a life of its own. It’s been an amazing project.”

Tire City donated the majority of the tires that were later filled with earth and stacked to create the walls of the building. Eventually the tires will be covered with plaster. Some facets will be left open to show visitors how the Earthship was constructed.

Earthships are approved by FEMA for hurricane and earthquake zones, according to Skala. She noted that even though the building in Silver Lake park is incomplete, the walls still withstood Hurricane Sandy.

“They are rubber and designed to move with the earth. They will not crack and crumble,” said Skala.

The term Earthship refers to a “ship that can sail on the earth of tomorrow and accommodate the changes coming with the weather,” according to Skala.

Built as a classroom, the Silver Lake facility will contain a 224-square-foot greenhouse fronting the structure. Most of the rough U-shaped building is covered by a grass berm.



Diane Davies-Dixon/Photo
Silver Lake Nature Center's Earthship

 The thick walls made of earth and tires is designed to trap heat, a kind of “thermal mass.” It takes a year to heat up, according to the designers. What that does is store heat. When the temp drops in the room the heat will come in from the wall. When the room gets warms up, the heat will travel back into the wall to creating cooler temperatures in the classroom.

“It’s an amazing system,” said Skala. “I never felt a draft or chill or anything when I stayed in one.”

A slanted metal roof will be used to shelter the Earthship and will funnel rainwater into a cistern, according to Skala.

Bucks County Technical High School students have been involved with the building’s plumbing. More volunteers are needed including block layers, carpenters and plasterers. The nature center will supply materials.

“Living close to your resources here, you are responsible for your water and your air. The plants will clean your air and you will have really high quality air in this class,“ said Skala.

To read more go to: http://www.phillyburbs.com/my_town/bensalem/an-earthship-for-earth-day-taking-shape-at-silver-lake/article_04447ce9-ab52-5750-aaa7-771b2b6a2714.html

Challenge day changes students' lives

By Diane Davies-Dixon correspondent

Students, some with tear-stained cheeks, wrapped arms around each other, relieved to realize they are not alone in the world.

The emotions came as Bucks County Technical High School held its third annual Challenge Day on Friday in the gymnasium of the school in Bristol Township.

Challenge Day is an organization that helps people connect with each other through programs in their schools and communities.

The event lasts about six hours, roughly the entire school day. The day provides teens and adults with ways to break down their walls and leaves those attending inspired to live in a new environment of acceptance, love and respect, according to the organization’s website.

Dr. Leon Poeske, administrative director of Bucks County Technical High School, said teachers recommend the students for Challenge Day.

“The students work towards learning about each other,” said Poeske. “They talk about abuse, alcohol and family.”

Counselors are present during the day for student support as well.

The day is highly interactive as leaders help students and teachers explore the different ways they separate from others.

to read more go to 

A close shave for a good cause

By Diane Davies-Dixon Correspondent

They shaved it all off.

The St. Baldrick’s Day event held by Salon Metro at 425 Alden Ave. in Morrisville was a huge success on Sunday.

A DJ set up under a tent in the parking lot, and food and beverages donated from neighboring businesses set up on tables along the sidewalk all helped ease the nerves of those waiting to shave it all off for the children’s sake. There were also gift baskets and 50/50 chances to be won.

St. Baldrick’s volunteers have funded more in childhood research grants than any organization with the exception of the U.S. Government, according to the website www.stbaldricks.org.

So far this year the organization has raised $20,027,717, according to the website.

Salon Metro set a goal to raise $1,000 and with the support of the community exceeded that goal by a $1,000, making the grand total a whopping $2,000 to go to St. Baldrick’s for Childhood cancer research and awareness.

About 11 people had their heads shaved.

According to the website 175,000 children are diagnosed with cancer each year and childhood cancers are unique and require unique treatments and research.

Each of the stylists at Salon Metro have children and feel the cause is near and dear to them, according to hairstylist Melanie Patton, of Levittown.

It is the first year the salon participated in the St. Baldrick’s Day event.

People signed up online to make a donation and have their head shaved. Once the goal is met they have their heads shaved in solidarity, according to Patton.

Hairstylist Regina Pirolli has a friend whose daughter is in remission from cancer.

Kaylee Digiannantonio, 5, of Philadelphia, was diagnosed with sarcoma in her liver one year ago.

According to her mom Jeanine, this type of cancer was not treatable at one time but with the help of donations for research it now is.

Kaylee has been in remission since September and thinks everyone is crazy for shaving their hair.

“Don’t they know how long it takes to grow back?” she asked her mom.

To read more go to 

http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/courier_times_news/a-close-shave-for-a-good-cause/article_48fcfb0a-a2ab-556d-9863-6d39a9bb4ee0.html#user-comment-area