Dispute snags Sinking Spring demolition progress

by Steve Reinbrecht

A dispute between a Sinking Spring property owner and the borough is holding up demolition that will clear the way to improve traffic flow through a major intersection.

Crews have knocked down the old borough hall and Lesher’s Servicenter to make room to straighten the intersection of Columbia, Cacoosing and Penn avenues.

The borough needs to demolish one more building -- a house it owns at 3920 Penn Ave.

The problem is that the adjoining house at 3922 Penn Ave. is more complicatedly connected to the target building than was expected. The house at 3920 was built first. When 3922 was built, the builder did not make a proper support wall, but notched 3920’s existing wall to hold up 3922, according to Borough Manager Mike Hart.

“It was not normal construction,” Hart said. Now 3920 can't be removed without threatening 3922's stability.

Scott A. and Vanessa Dreibelbis bought 3922 for $89,900 in July 2010, according to Berks County records. No one was home there Wednesday morning, and the Dreibelbises could not be reached.

The borough has offered to build a new, proper wall for the Dreibelbises, but they have declined, Hart said, instead asking the borough to buy the house.

The borough won’t buy 3922 because it’s not needed for the work and the borough can’t afford it, he said.

Demolition at the intersection started in September. The work is part of an ambitious plan to build a new road between Route 724 and Columbia Avenue, and build homes, offices, shops and restaurants.

Burglar steals safe, cognac from South Heidelberg house

by Steve Reinbrecht

Someone stole a safe and liquor from a house in South Heidelberg on Dec. 26, but the burglary does not seem related to other recent daytime break-ins in Southwestern Berks this month.

The burglar took the safe, which contained gift cards, and the bottle of cognac about 12:30 p.m. that Monday from the house in the 500 block of Hill Road.

The door might have been unlocked, Police Chief Barry Whitmoyer said. The theft is probably not connected to the four other day-time burglaries reported in Southwestern Berks in December, he said.

Four homes burglarized in Southwestern Berks

by Steve Reinbrecht

Four day-time home burglaries have been reported in Southwestern Berks so far in December.

In the latest intrusion, someone broke into a house in the 200 block of Huntzinger Road in South Heidelberg on Friday, Dec. 16.

A resident discovered the crime upon returning about 2 p.m. The only thing noticed missing was an inexpensive watch, Police Chief Barry Whitmoyer said.

The other three burglaries were reported in Wernersville. No one was immediately available at the Western Berks Police station to give details.

On Dec., 1, a residential burglary was reported in the first block of Heidelberg Drive about 3:50 p.m.

The second was reported about 8:35 a.m. Dec. 6 at a residence in the 400 block of West Penn Avenue.

The third was reported 3:15 p.m. Dec. 15, in the first block of West Penn Avenue.

Argall wants to change law to help Sinking Spring defend against PPL power line

by Steve Reinbrecht

State Sen. David Argall is trying to drum up lawmaking support for two bills that would help Sinking Spring block a 69,000-volt power line from brutally disrupting its renaissance plans.

He posted a Senate “cosponsorship memo” Oct. 4 to solicit support for the two proposals.

Argall expects they will be adopted in time to help the borough, said Jon Hopcraft, Argall’s legislative aide.

“There’s been a ton of investment by the state, the county, the borough,” he said last week. “We don’t want to see it squandered away on account of a transmission line.”

The “proposed transmission line … has outraged the local community as well as hampered major economic development efforts,” Argall wrote in the memo. “My goal is to provide a balanced approach to the needs of the utility while taking into account the wants and needs of the municipality and its residents.”

Argall’s bills would make two changes to Title 66 (Public Utilities). One would add a section requiring that the municipalities approve the plans.

“No transmission line for electricity may be constructed within a municipality unless the governing body of the municipality approves construction of the transmission line according to the criteria established by the municipality.”

The second change would require that the Public Utility Commission conduct public hearing of a proposed transmission line. PPL held a public meeting in Wyomissing on Sept. 22 about its plans for Sinking Spring. Some who attended complained about how it was managed.

“The commission shall conduct a public hearing in the municipality in which a transmission line for electricity is proposed. The public hearing shall provide an opportunity for public comment on the proposal,” the bill says.

Wilson School District will help students deal with stress

by Steve Reinbrecht

Wilson School District plans to start a program to help students – from kindergarten through 12th grade – manage stress.

Teachers, administrators, guidance counselors and other school staff have increasing concerns about the problem, and that prompted the plan for a program. The idea didn’t come from parents, Superintendent Curt Baker said.

After a board meeting Monday, Baker declined to give specific examples of how stress is causing problems, though he did say some students have been acting out in unhealthy ways.

In general, stressed-out teens might suffer declining grades, crying jags, fighting, suicide attempts, or drug use, and Wilson has seen all of those manifestations, Baker said.

Students are more stressed about the future than their parents were at the same age. 

Fear of the future, wondering whether they will do as well as their parents, worrying they won’t be able to get into college or reach their life’s goals – all are stressors for this generation, Baker said.

Poverty increases stress, and Baker noted that one in four students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches.

One outcome might be implementing student outreach that goes beyond traditional efforts. Baker said the schools already have great resources, such as a student assistance program (SAP) and excellent counselors.

A study by New York University showed that teenagers “experience high levels of chronic stress, to the extent it impedes their abilities to succeed academically, compromises their mental health functioning, and fosters risk behavior.”

“Over time, selective high schools have oriented themselves to address a context of increasingly competitive college admissions.

“School work, college applications, extracurricular activities, and parental expectations all contribute to teenagers’ stress.

“Youth, schools, and experts identified substance use as a common strategy for coping with stress.”

Wilson educators plan to look at six factors:

• Expectations of students and parents
• Grading, GPAs and grade competition
• Low student resilience
• Poverty and economic situations
• Substance abuse
• Under-involvement and disengagement 

Baker expects to begin by having experts speak to groups by the end of January.

Sinking Spring revitalization committee: This is going to work

by Steve Reinbrecht

The world needs to know that Sinking Spring is serious about its ambitious redevelopment plan, in the works since 2009, borough officials said Thursday.

Getting that message out – that the $80 million project will succeed and improve traffic, grow the town’s tax base and make life better for all Berks Countians – will help the project get over current hurdles, they said.

At their monthly meeting in Borough Hall on Thursday, members of the BOSS 2020 revitalization committee voted to send a report to Borough Council about the project’s goals and accomplishments.

The project has obvious momentum. It has attracted hundreds of thousands of dollars in county and state funds. The first phase resulted in the Spring Market Center on the site of the former Boscov’s store. In the next phase, crews demolished half a dozen buildings on Penn Avenue this fall to make room to straighten the intersection where Cacoosing and Columbia avenues meet Penn Avenue.

Another sign of the project’s traction is that PennDOT has asked consulting engineer Bob Ludgate Sr. to file intersection plans so the state can include them in its ongoing $13.6 million project to resurface Route 422 from Route 724 in Sinking Spring to Wernersville.

But there are obstacles to BOSS 2020.

For one thing, some council members are questioning the cost of the borough’s participation. The borough plans to raise taxes next year.

Spring Township cancels plans to move 2 libraries

by Steve Reinbrecht

Spring Township has cancelled plans to move its two library branches to a single building on Penn Avenue.

 The township had planned to share the building at 3000 Penn Ave. with the Yocum Institute for Arts Education, a Wyomissing arts and performance center.

The institute has dropped its plans to buy the building.

The township had planned to open a 10,000-square-foot library in the giant building

The plan fell through in the final stages, after township supervisors decided not to contribute more funding to the project, township manager Jay Vaughn said Thursday afternoon.

The township’s two branches – the Spring Township library, in Spring Ridge near Isaac’s restaurant, and the West Lawn/Wyomissing Hills branch – can expect the status quo for the foreseeable future, Vaughn said.

In September, John Nelka, director of the Sinking Spring Library, about a mile away, had concerns about the plan.

“I think it’s unfortunate they’re putting it so close,” Nelka said then. He declined to comment Thursday.

The township plans to sell the building.

In August, the Berks County Redevelopment Authority voted to help the Yocum Institute borrow $3.4 million for the move. That deal is off, authority executive director Kenneth Pick said Thursday.

Domestic assaults among worst violence in Southwestern Berks in November

by Steve Reinbrecht

At least three men were charged with assaulting women in November in Southwestern Berks.

In one case, a man terrorized his girlfriend in a bedroom for hours, at one point choking her unconscious, South Heidelberg police said.

In that case, on Nov. 1, William M. Brown, of 132 Walters Ave., just south of Wernersville, was charged with aggravated assault and related offenses. He posted $25,000 bail.

And a young woman robbed a bank with a gun in Lower Heidelberg, probably the same woman who robbed a Spring Township bank three days earlier.

Those were among the worst crimes reported in Wernersville, Lower Heidelberg, South Heidelberg and Sinking Spring last month. In general, the 20,000 residents or so in the area lived in relative peace and safety, measured by police reports and 9-1-1 calls. All together, police reported 38 crimes in the four municipalities in November, up from the 35 reported in October.

As usual, domestic violence prompted many 9-1-1 calls and criminal charges. I gleaned these details from court records at District Judge Ann Young's office and the state website.

In the second domestic-violence report, a Sinking Spring police officer wrote that he could hear the sounds of a man and woman fighting, and a woman yell, “Get off me!” as he approached a house at 318 Windmill St. after midnight on Nov. 4 in response to a 9-1-1 call.

The public deserves to know why Mark Short slaughtered his family

by Steve Reinbrecht

I asked Berks County detectives for a copy of the suicide note Mark Short wrote after he shot his family to death in Sinking Spring on Aug. 6.

Top: Mark Jason Short Sr.; Megan L. Short;
Lianna G. Short, 8; Willow R. Short, 2; Mark J. Short, 5.

That might sound ghoulish. But I had hoped it would shed some light on the thinking of the ultimate domestic abuser.

The county denied my request, I appealed, and the state denied my appeal.

Here is my reasoning:

The issue is whether the public’s right to know more about this incident outweighs the privacy of Mark Short’s survivors.

The public has a strong interest in knowing the content of the note. It would shine light on the twisted thinking behind actions that grievously wounded the community.

Short was a murderer who gave up expectations of privacy when he planned and carried out the massacre of his family. He harmed the community grievously, and community members deserve to know the cause of their pain and grief.

• He forced first-responders and other public servants to immerse themselves in a crime scene of unimaginable atrocity.
• Wilson School District provided counseling for residents. One of the victims would be in third grade in the Green Valley Elementary School.
• Local religious leaders cited the incident in their sermons.
• Media around the world covered the tragedy.

Releasing the suicide note would give insight into the horrors of domestic violence, a problem that is both pervasive and neglected. If children are murdered, it’s probably by a parent, as in this case.

Now is the time to comment on your local taxes

by Steve Reinbrecht

Municipal officials in Southwestern Berks have started the process of calculating how much to charge you for their services.

And they want you to come to the meetings to examine the budgets and comment on tax plans for Lower Heidelberg, South Heidelberg, Sinking Spring and Wernersville.

“This is your money, to be blunt,” said Lower Heidelberg secretary Theresa Connors. 

“Taxpayers should have an interest and should have a say.”

Sinking Spring plans to adopt its final budget tonight, Thursday, Dec. 1. It calls for a tax increase of 0.68 mill, to a total of 8 mills. That would add $136 a year to a property assessed at $200,000.

South Heidelberg supervisors have proposed increasing property taxes by 0.75 mill, which would add $150 a year for a house assessed at $200,000.

Supervisors plan to vote on the proposed budget and tax increase Dec. 8. South Heidelberg has 21.5 employees.

The township increased its contribution to the Wernersville Library from $14,542 to $18,178, or $2.50 a year for each resident.

South Heidelberg’s 2017 preliminary budget calls for total expenditures that are about $44,000 higher than those in the 2016 budget’s, a rise of less than 2 percent.

On the other hand, with the proposed tax increase, budgeted revenues would rise almost $415,000, or 13 percent over revenues budgeted in 2016.

South Heidelberg would have a fund balance of almost $1.4 million, up 30 percent over the fund balance in the 2016 budget.

Kudos to South Heidelberg for posting its complete preliminary budget on the township’s website.

Lower Heidelberg’s preliminary budget, adopted Nov. 21, calls for no tax increase. The township didn’t raise taxes in 2016 or 2015, and actually lowered them in 2014.

Lower Heidelberg supervisors plan to vote on the proposed budget Dec. 19.

The township also increased its contribution to the Wernersville Library, from $6,891 to $16,539, or $3 a head.

Under the proposed 2017 budget, township employees would start contributing to health-insurance costs. Lower Heidelberg employs 16 full-time workers and 2 part-time workers.

The preliminary budget calls for expenditures of about $3.11 million, up $110,000 from the 2016 budget.

The budget’s expenditures are balanced to the dollar. The township has a reserve fund outside the budget of about $1 million.

Wernersville plans to adopt a preliminary budget at a public meeting Dec. 7.

Police service generally takes up the biggest part of municipal budgets. Local municipalities also maintain roadways, provide zoning and planning oversight, and contribute to fire departments and ambulance companies.

Three assaults investigated in Southwestern Berks in October

by Steve Reinbrecht

The worst crimes reported in Southwestern Berks County in October were three assaults in Sinking Spring.

In one case, on Oct. 20, borough police reported a domestic assault about 7 p.m. in the 600 block of Vester Place.

When they arrived, Sinking Spring police had to wrestle a 7-month-old baby from a man who was holding her when they tried to arrest him, according to court documents.

According to the complaint, in District Judge Ann Young’s office:

The father, 25, was sitting outside their apartment holding the infant and crying when police responded.

The man told police that the couple had started fighting when he took car keys to prevent the mother, 28, from taking a car. The mother tackled, punched and bit the father while he was holding the baby, who at one point hit her head on a wall.

The father got irate when police told him that the child needed to go to a hospital to be examined. Police insisted he release the baby because he was under arrest, but he held her tighter.

One officer put the father in a choke hold, and he released the baby before passing out for a several seconds.

Police charged him with resisting arrest, and the mother with assault. Those charges were dismissed after they pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct.

The baby was kept overnight at a hospital.

The same day, an assault was reported about 8:40 a.m. at a house in the 200 block of Elwyn Avenue. Police Chief Lee Schweyer said it is under investigation.

The third assault was reported Oct. 29 in the 700 block of Ruth Street. Several people fought outside that Saturday night, but no charges were filed.

See the August 2016 crime report for Southwestern Berks.

See the September 2016 crime report for Southwestern Berks.

All together, police reported 35 crimes in Wernersville, Lower Heidelberg, South Heidelberg and Sinking Spring in October, up from the 32 reported in September.

I found another database to plumb for local-crime information – Berks County’s “time response log.”