Blessing in disguise

By Diane Davies-Dixon Correspondent 

Posted on August 20, 2012

• 
  by Carl LaVO

The doors closed and she was out of a job, worried about how she was going to make ends meet. But soon she discovered the closure was a blessing in disguise.

Two years ago, the paper company that Judi Jamieson-Rader worked for closed. Suddenly, turning her hobby into a business was a “do it or die” situation, as she put it. In short order, she plunged full speed ahead, turning her artistic talent into a new full-time job.

Along the way, her Middletown home became her new place of employment as the owner of a glassware business.

Today, Jamieson-Rader markets her hand-painted goblets and stemware from her website,Judipaintedit.com. Enamel paints are used in the floral designs, followed by a clear coat for durability. The glasses are then baked to make all products safe for dishwashers.

Looking into a Judipaintedit wine goblet is like gazing into a real flower. The intricate details in each painting bring the glass to life. The crafted glasses are made for all occasions.

Also, everything Jamieson-Rader uses — paints, glasses and scalloped tags — are made in the U.S., she noted.

“It gives me personal satisfaction to contribute something to our economy regardless of how small it may be,” she said.

For more go to: http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/courier_times_news/blessing-in-disguise/article_37783318-e989-5ff7-9e22-adc4366ccb91.html

Llama love at first sight

By Diane Davies-Dixon Correspondent | 0 comments

Posted on August 14, 2012

• 
  by Carl LaVO

It was love at first sight when Rehanna Stepnoski came face to face with a llama on a trip to visit her uncle’s quarter horse farm.

The 18-year-old from Buckingham set out to own one. Borrowing a small horse trailer from another member of the Bucks County 4-H Club, she and her mother trekked to a llama farm in Gap, Pa. “We spent Mother’s Day picking out an alpaca,” she explained with a giggle.

Today, as president of the 4-H’s leadership-oriented Teen Council, she is the proud owner of two lamas, Dolly and Coco.

Rehanna will be busy showing off alpacas that can open gates and walk over see-saws at the Middletown Grange Fair in Wrightstown this week.

Like Rehanna, Elizabeth Wiltshire, 17, of Doylestown has been an active member of 4-H and divides her time between several clubs. She is vice president of Teen Council and a member of the Swine, Paw Prints, Little Rascals and Fuzzy Critters clubs.

The kids are taught in Paw Prints how to groom and control their dogs while working them in training circles. At the Grange Fair on Sunday, Elizabeth will be demonstrating her skills with her dog, Abby, a 6-month-old collie mix.

This year marks the 100th Anniversary of 4-H in Bucks.

“4-H is the largest and oldest youth organization in Bucks County,” said Nancy Stephenson, 4-H educator in the Doylestown office. ”There are over 8,000 youth in the organization. It is bigger than the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts.”

For more go to: http://www.phillyburbs.com/my_town/falls/llama-love-at-first-sight/article_16258494-d74e-57a8-94c5-4eeb973421a4.html

Quilts to inspire wonder

By Diane Davies-Dixon Correspondent | 0 comments

Posted on August 12, 2012

• 
  by Carl LaVO

Ellen Lucas’ mother-in-law gave her more than 50 hankies that belonged to her grandmother who died last year.

She knew in that moment she wanted to make a Hankie Quilt to honor her. Each square of the quilt is made up of the hankies, and Lucas even incorporated some of her grandmother’s crochet work into the quilt.

Dozens of quilts made with love and dedication by Bensalem’s Quilting Academy have found a place at the Bucks County Visitor Center on Street Road in Bensalem.

The colorful, handmade works of art hang from the 25-foot ceiling rafters of the center for the Eighth Annual Bucks County Quilt Show presented by the academy club.

No two quilts are alike.

Each academy member works on independent projects, according to Linda Dougherty, director of operations at the visitors center and a member of the academy with two quilts in the show.

“Some of the work is done by hand and some of the work was done with sewing machines,” said Dougherty. “Quilting means joining three layers together.”

Quilts are crafted by Bucks residents who belong to the Quilting Academy, at 3671 Hulmeville Road in Bensalem.

For more go to: http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/courier_times_news/quilts-to-inspire-wonder/article_2dbd2232-3266-51f3-a081-8230bf2254a4.html

Protesting through music and lyrics

Posted: Sunday, July 8, 2012 5:00 am | Updated: 7:46 am, Sun Jul 8, 2012.

By Diane Davies-Dixon Correspondent | 0 comments

Protesters pitched tents and camped out at Snipes Farm on Friday in Falls as part of this week’s 99 Mile March between Philadelphia and New York City.

The march, which began at the Liberty Bell and will end in Liberty Square at the National Gathering of the Occupy Movement on Wednesday, has drawn between 70 and 100 participants from around the country.

Many were scattered on towels and blankets at Snipes, trying to stay cool by refilling water bottles from the faucets at the camp site where some have been since Thursday.

The group, calling itself Occupy Guitarmy, traveled from Center City to Falls strumming guitars and singing protest songs along the way.

“The theme of this march is that they have money for war but not for school music programs,” said Tony Bates, one of the organizers. “Learning music expands spatial intelligence.”

The Guitarmy takes pop songs and protest songs and reworks them to fit the issues of the Occupy movement during the marches.

“Music moves you and pulls you into change,” said Mary Spokane, 65, of Olympia, Wash. “Without music, people like John Lennon, we would not have had a revolution. It was the music that made me join this group.”

For more go to:http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/courier_times_news/protesting-through-music-and-lyrics/article_516b6b91-6103-554d-83d5-c747f04f2f41.html

Puerto Rico comes to Bristol

By Diane Davies-Dixon Correspondent | 2 comments

With a smile from ear to ear, Kayla Ruiz bowed down to the drummer and began to lead the dance as the sound of drums and maracas filled the air.

The Puerto Rican Cultural Association of Bucks County put on the 41st Annual Puerto Rican Day Festival at Lions Park in Bristol on Sunday.

Kayla, 12, of Bristol, looks forward to the Puerto Rican Day Festival all year, said her mom, Lucy Mercado. The festival blends America and Puerto Rico and helps her daughter understand her culture.

“She is always curious,” said Mercado.

She looks forward to bringing Kayla to the festival to learn about her Puerto Rican heritage. Mercado and Kayla’s father were born in Puerto Rico but Kayla was born in America and they don’t always have time to explain the culture to her.

Dressed in a blue and white Puerto Rican cultural dress with a red flower in her hair, all borrowed from The Puerto Rican Cultural Association of Bucks County, Kayla participated in the Rhythm and Movement Workshop where she learned how to lead the drums in a dance.

First the dancer salutes the drummer with a bow and nod of the head. The drummer watches the dancer, beating the drums to her body movements until the dancer bows down again signaling she is done.

To read more go to: http://www.phillyburbs.com/my_town/bristol/puerto-rico-comes-to-bristol/article_e46536bd-7a82-5f7c-81f7-3ae931723818.html

Poor Clares of Langhorne

By Diane Davies-Dixon Correspondent | 1 comment

Sister Jean, 57, of Maine, used to work for a newspaper. She also went to college and earned a degree in accounting. That was before she felt a religious calling that brought her to Middletown's Monastery of St. Clare which sits secluded behind St. Mary Medical Center.

“Through my journey in life I felt the pull of faith and wanted to commit myself more to prayer and to administer to the poor,” she said.

She describes her calling as a kind of mystery. "It is peace, joy and rightness," she explained.

The order of Poor Clares was founded on Palm Sunday 800 years ago in Assisi, Italy. Since then, it has established monasteries throughout the world. There are about 50 in the U.S. representing different branches of the order, all devoted to a simple life.

“Simple and pure like Christ and Mary did; totally dependent on the Father,” said Sister Jean.

She is one of 11 nuns who live in the monastery.

The journey to becoming a Poor Clare can take between six to nine years, she said.

to read more go to:http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/courier_times_news/poor-clares-of-langhorne/article_2f488052-1a7c-553e-9bd6-ab6507d18b27.html

Possible ties to underground railroad

By Diane Davies-Dixon Correspondent | 4 comments

While digging up dirt to repair a leak in the root cellar just outside the Goodnoe Farmhouse estate in Newtown Township, a mystery was uncovered.

The cellar’s roof wasn’t made of modest materials normally used for such underground cooling rooms. Instead, a type of shale more often seen on church tops covered the cooling room.

Why? That’s the mystery.

The president of the Doylestown-based Heritage Conservancy wonders if the root cellar was a hiding place for fugitive slaves escaping the South in the 19th century.

“There are no recordings of structures that could have been used as Underground Railroads since it was an illegal activity,” said the conservancy’s Jeff Marshall, “but any underground structure could have been used to sneak people out.”

The Underground Railroad wasn’t a rail system but a network of people who believed slavery should have been abolished. Abolitionists offered their homes as a safe hideout or provided runaway slaves with a ride to the next stop on the freedom trail. Many Quakers and Presbyterians in Bucks County were active in the network, according to historians. An estimated 100,000 fugitive slaves escaped to the North between 1810 and 1850 via the Underground Railroad, they said.

To read more go to: http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/courier_times_news/was-unique-root-cellar-a-stop-on-underground-railroad/article_bd4f3a98-6ce0-577b-9f02-6e97d65937c1.html

Middletown has first their first July 4 parade

Diane Davies-Dixon Correspondent | 0 comments

Residents of Middletown have waited a long time for a parade in town. Some have waited a whole lifetime.

And this year they got it.

This year they didn't have to pack up the family and travel to give their children the experience of watching a parade.

"I am so glad the parade is local and I can walk to it and see neighbors," said Jamie Neiman, 38, of Middletown.

"The Fourth of July makes everyone proud of their country," she said.

For the 38 years she lived in Middletown there was never a parade. She had to go to other townships if she wanted to see one.

Middletown celebrated America's birthday with a July 4 parade Wednesday. There was an abundance of support and respect from the community proving that people have not forgotten the reason for the celebration.

Residents lined the streets dressed in red, white and blue. They came out to celebrate the country’s freedom. Families scattered about in chairs and on blankets with flags in hand displaying pride in the country and delight for a parade in town.

"It is about time we have a parade," said Jay Domback, of Middletown.

His thoughts were echoed by other residents of the town.

to read more go to: http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/courier_times_news/middletown-has-its-first-july-fourth-parade/article_e4acfc36-8858-59bd-9c22-5cd0eb9b3a0b.html

Mosquitoes are bugging us early this year

By Diane Davies-Dixon Correspondent | 2 comments

The mosquitoes are here, and have been for awhile.

It was the mild winter and wet spring that caused the biting bugs to appear earlier than normal this year. And with the buggers, comes the West Nile virus.

The first mosquito tested positive for the virus in Bucks County on June 14, in Bristol Township.

Last year, the first mosquito in the county tested positive on June 28, according to Amanda Witman of the Department of Environmental Protection.

She said the virus typically emerges in mid-June but across the state this year it showed up earlier.

The first mosquito in Pennsylvania to test positive for the virus was on May 3.

A higher number of mosquitoes are around in general, not just infected ones this year, according to DEP.

A total of 158 mosquitoes were trapped and tested for West Nile virus in the county so far this year, according to the agency’s website. Four mosquitoes in two different species — culex pipens and culex restuans — tested positive.

Three of the insects with positive results were found in Bristol Township. The other one came from Haycock, according to the Pennsylvania West Nile Virus Control Program.

In 2011, 486 mosquitoes were tested and 37 were positive for the virus in the county. One human case was reported in Bucks County last year, but none so far this year, according to the program.

to read more go to: http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/courier_times_news/mosquitoes-are-bugging-us-early-this-year/article_88ad90ee-7081-5feb-9057-3b16531a6790.html

Racers make their marks

By Diane Davies-Dixon Correspondent | 0 comments

Miranda Murphy didn’t get to see her finished soap box car until the night before Saturday’s big race.

While she worked on the vehicle with her mother for eight months, the finishing touches were a surprise.

Miranda, 17, was thrilled with the results, a pink fairy tale on wheels.

Miranda was among 31 participants in the 56th Annual Bucks County Soap Box Derby on Woodbourne Road in Levittown on Saturday.

The sun shone down on the racers as they made their way down the hill to the finish line in cars so narrow, they resembled kayaks on wheels.

The racers, boys and girls aged 7 to 17, competed in three divisions — stock, super stock and masters — based on experience, age and height.

The winner of each division now heads to the 75th Annual World Race in Akron, Ohio, on July 21. The first-place finishers also won gold wheels and gold helmets, according to Suzanne Murphy, Miranda’s mom.

Saturday’s race was Miranda’s last, because she’s aging out. While sad she won’t be competing again, she was especially happy to go out in such a stylish set of wheels.

to read more go to: http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/courier_times_news/racers-made-their-marks/article_a373dc74-b8d2-52a0-b07b-234bffdab5ee.html

Animals taking cover from the heat

Diane Davies-Dixon Correspondent | 0 comments

All was quiet on the grounds of Pennsbury Manor in Falls during Wednesday's scorching heat.

Even a groundhog was spotted running for cover back into his hole beneath a tree, where it was no doubt cooler than the mid-90s above ground.

The first day of very hot summer weather hit Bucks County and surrounding areas Wednesday and will linger until early Friday morning, according to the American Red Cross.

The agency urges people to take precautions during this time.

Pennsbury Manor does that. When temperatures exceed 85 degrees, tour guides don't have to suit up in the Colonial attire they normally wear, according to Doug Miller, historic site administrator. Volunteers usually don outfits imitating the dress of Quakers from the 17th century. The clothing covers almost the entire body, including the head, at the recreated home of William Penn on 43 acres along the Delaware River.

Even the animals that are a big part of the landscape there found cover in the shady spots on the grounds and in the barns Wednesday, said Miller.

Sheep were hanging out in the barn with fans blowing and plenty of water. Romeo, a 27-year-old horse, found escape from the heat inside a stall. Bill and Red, the oxen brothers, were across the field relaxing in the shade.

to read more go to: http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/courier_times_news/animals-even-taking-shelter-from-the-heat/article_fdb05ed6-8b68-55d8-98cb-3e9dbf97fa3b.html

Summer makes a grand entrance

Diane Davies-Dixon Correspondent | 0 comments

Remember longing for summer weather? Well, it's here.

The season, which officially begins Wednesday, is making a grand entrance, bringing scorching temperatures and high humidity.

An excessive heat warning will be in effect from 1 p.m. Wednesday to 6 a.m. Friday, according to the National Weather Service in Mount Holly, N.J.

Temperatures will be in the mid-90s Wednesday but will feel more like 100 to 105 degrees with the increased humidity, said Accuweather meteorologist Carl Erickson in State College.

On Thursday, a high temperature of 100 degrees is forecast, but expect it to feel more like 110 degrees, Erickson said.

Average temperatures are usually in the mid-80s when summer rolls in, he added.

As the mercury rises, so will the number of people flocking to places throughout Lower Bucks looking for relief.

Neighborhood pools and senior centers are expecting a wave of folks escaping the heat.

to read more go to : http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/courier_times_news/summer-makes-a-grand-entrance/article_b62882a4-ae49-56ca-bf05-bebd8d1172ff.html

CSL grads told: 'You earned it'

By Diane Davies-Dixon Correspondent | 0 comments

Perseverance backed by faith got them there.

The Center for Student Learning Charter School’s Class of 2012 collected the diplomas they worked so hard for with proud smiles Thursday night during the ceremony held at Pennsbury High School East.

Family and friends gathered in the auditorium for the school’s 10th commencement.

Tom Reiley, executive director, advised the crowd “Hoot and holler your loudest. You earned it,” as he addressed the class.

“Twenty-two of you overcame every obstacle inside of you,” he said. “We knew you had it in you and you found it.”

He proudly spoke to the graduating class, reminding them to keep striving to improve themselves and reminding them “When setbacks occur you can overcome them.”

Heather Humienny, president of the board of trustees, described the achievement of the students as a journey of patience, understanding and perseverance.

Her advice to the class is “Maintain purpose in spite of difficulty.”

All words backing the philosophy of positive education.

To read more go to: http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/csl-grads-told-you-earned-it/article_4bdf6d7c-054a-59a5-ad48-f986168e424f.html?mode=story