PSU Graduation in Glenside

Penn State Abington holds its graduation ceremony at the Keswick Theater.

  On Friday, Penn State Abington held a graduation ceremony for its summer and fall semester students at the Keswick Theater. Alumnus Andy Santacroce, Class of 1988, gave the commencement address. He is the associate director for Verizon Wireless and the owner of Intuitive Edge, Inc. President-Elect of the Penn State Abington Alumni Society William Walker, Class of 1992, welcomed the graduates to the club. And State Rep. Josh Shapiro recognized graduate Marisol Fuentes with a Pennsylvania Legislative Citation. The event was held in the theater because the Penn State Abington athletic building suffered damage during Hurricane Irene, according to Penn State Abington Director of Community Relations Chuck Marsh. 

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Sound the Horn for Old York Road Symphony

Janet Hamilton manages more than the French horn.

For almost 80 years, the Old York Road Symphony has been making rich classical orchestral music and pops concerts comfortably accessible in the northern suburbs. During the past 15 years, the success of this nonprofit has been due in large part to the skills of its personnel director, according to OYRS board member, First Violin and Concertmaster, Bill Philips.  Abington Patch introduces Janet Hamilton, French horn, and organizer of some 50 to 65 or so volunteers, whose dedicated weekly rehearsals produce four or five concerts per year — a dependable cultural asset to the community. Hamilton’s involvement with the Old York Road Symphony began intermittently when she was in high school and at Temple, when OYRS had an occasional need for an …

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Video: PSU Abington Attempts to Put the Brakes on TXTING

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Penn State Abington held its “PAWS the TEXTING’ forum Nov. 3 in an effort to discourage people from texting while driving. The event is on the heels of the Pennsylvania House and Senate both voting to ban reading, writing or sending texts while driving. The event’s keynote speaker was Jacy Good. In May 2008, Good and her parents  were returning from her graduation ceremony at Muhlenberg College. Her parents were killed in a car crash, which was caused by a driver using a hand-held phone; Jacy Good was left in a temporary coma and is partially paralyzed today. State Rep. Josh Shapiro was also on hand for the event and explained the legislation to the students.

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Career Blueprints

Working for Balance

How to ask for flextime.

As work continues to squeeze out more of our energy and time, we want flexibility. Young millennial workers expect it, and baby boomers are asking for part-time work hours as they transition into retirement. While not a miracle prescription, flextime offers some relief for those of us seriously suffering from the inability to manage time against work and family demands.  According to a recent study conducted by Society for Human Resource Management, 56 percent of companies now offer flextime options to their employees. While flextime is not viable in every work environment, a majority of employees will choose a flextime schedule when this option is offered by their employer. The beauty of flextime is that it can also benefit the employer. …

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Update 2: Tree Injures Four at PSU Abington

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A tree fell and injured four people at Penn State Abington at about 3:15 p.m. today, Penn State Abington spokeswoman Judy Reale said. The tree fell near a group of tables with umbrellas. Those tables are near the duck pond and the campus book store, and between the Woodland and Sutherland buildings. A PSU student said his friends heard the tree fall from a nearby building.  "My friends were sitting on the balcony and they heard the tree fall," student Donzel Taylor, of Philadelphia, said. "Two people were injured enough to go to the hospital; the tree busted up some other dude's nose. I think he went to the nurse."  The condition of the injured people is unknown. Crews, armed with chainsaws, started cleaning up the debris from the tree at …

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Get Out—What Are You Doing this Weekend, Abington?

There's dogs, fishing and butterflies in this week's installment.

Check out a cross-section of cool events for a hot weekend!  1. Blood Drive Where/When: Queen of Peace Church, 820 North Hills Ave., Glenside; June 3, 1 to 7 p.m. Why go: Thomas Fitzwater Elementary will sponsor a Red Cross Blood Drive. For an appointment, call Michele at 215-802-2221, or email signsmitty@yahoo.com. Pricing: Free   2. Fishing Derby Where/When: Alverthorpe Park, Forrest Avenue, Jenkintown; June 4, 8 a.m. Why go: Prizes will be awarded in three age categories at the derby, for boys and girls between the ages of 5 and 16. Pre-registration is required. Pricing: $1 Abington residents, $2 nonresidents   3. All-Breed Dog Show Where/When: Middletown Grange Fairgrounds, 576 Penns Park Road, Wrightstown; June 4, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. …

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Video: Highlights from PSU Abington Graduation with Professor Moylan Mills

Mills speaks with two recently-minted PSU grads.

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Get Out—What are You Doing this Weekend Abington?

Plants, art and hair ... in this week's installment.

Time to plan your activities for the coming week! Patch is here to help.   1. Meet the Artist Where/When: Congregation Beth Or, 239 E. Welsh Road, Maple Glen; May 13, 9:15 p.m. Why go: Beth Or’s Olitsky Gallery will host an opening reception with artist Barbara Rosenzweig, whose show, featuring more than 40 original paintings, will be on exhibit through June 8 in the gallery. Pricing: Free   2. Broad Street Rerun Where/When: Begins at Pavilion Shopping Center, 535 S. Broad St., Lansdale; May 14, 8:45 a.m. Why go: Inspired by young Alex Rowe, who suffers from severe von Willebrand disease, the Broad Street five-mile Rerun, one-mile family walk and half-mile Kids Run will raise funds to support the Delaware Valley Chapter of the National …

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MCCC Offers Classes on Cool ... Fusion and Bebop

The college invites the community to play.

Philadelphia-area musician and music educator Robin Haffley will conduct Montgomery County Community College’s inaugural summer jazz workshop Mondays and Wednesday evenings between May 18 and June 29 at the college's Central Campus in Blue Bell. Based on MCCC’s “MUS 160” course, which is offered in the fall and spring semesters, the workshop is open to all wind instrument players (including trumpet, sax, flute and trombone), guitar and bass players, keyboard players and drummers. Most participants will bring their own instruments (drum set and keyboard will be provided). Jazz experience is not necessary, but participants must be able to read music. Haffley said in an email interview that MUS 160 was designed and developed as a course that …

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Volunteers Help Bring $4.68 Million Back to Montco

VITA volunteers were honored for providing needy taxpayers with access to free tax help and filing.

There’s an extra $4,680,084 circulating around the Montgomery County economy. Did you get a piece of that? You did if you had your taxes prepared through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. That seven-digit figure is the total dollar amount of tax refunds the program brought to Montgomery County residents.   On April 26, community organizations and volunteers came together at the William Penn Inn in Ambler to celebrate their part in VITA. For the past 10 years, community organizations throughout the county have come together each tax season to form the Montgomery County Tax Coalition (MCTC). MCTC enables the VITA program to help residents making less than $49,000 file their taxes for free with the help of trained volunteers…

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