I recently met a group of Reading High School students who are members of a youth mentoring program. One of the students told me that her family did not have enough money to put food on the table. Her mother had to seek help from her children. The student told me she felt humiliated.
With the country bordering on another recession and unemployment hovering around 9 percent, many households in Berks County do not have enough income to meet basic needs. The Pennsylvania Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program will help struggling families, including thousands of low-income seniors, stay warm this winter.
Candice Mayton knows what she wants her south Reading neighborhood to look like.
She has a clear vision in her head: A florist down the street. Restaurants with sidewalk tables. People walking up and down the street, popping in and out of businesses. But when the South Fifth Street resident steps out of her front door, that’s not what she sees.
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An additional 285 acres of Berks County farmland will be preserved through the purchase of conservation easements. The Pennsylvania Agricultural Land Preservation Board approved the easements, valued at $681,127, on Thursday, Oct. 13.
Democrats in the state Senate, including Sen. Judy Schwank, during a Harrisburg press conference Monday introduced a $1 billion job-creation plan they say will create 80,000 new jobs and encourage private investment in the economy.
HARRISBURG, Pa. -Freshly back for the fall, Pennsylvania Senate Democrats announced Monday a plan they believe will create 80,000 new jobs in the Commonwealth.
Harrisburg News personalities, government officials and youth dairy exhibitors joined forces in heated competition to make the coolest milkshakes on Tuesday, Sept. 20, at the 2011 All-American Dairy Show in Harrisburg.
All-American Milkshake Madness participants (l-r) Elizabeth Weber, Caitlin Pool, Matt Barcaro, Sen. Judy Schwank, Tom Russell, Cassie Musser, Sen. Elder Vogel, Jr., Valerie Pritchett, Lane Kummer, Agriculture Secretary George Greig, Jesse Kline, Cody Stephenson and Rep. Stephen Bloom.
The All-American Milkshake Madness contest is a new addition to the show, pitting four teams in a competition to create the best milkshake, evaluated on taste, creativity and presentation by a panel of judges.
Each team had 15 minutes to create a milkshake, a name for it and a team name. The energetic, festive and hectic atmosphere was punctuated by shouts of encouragement, the flutter of camera shutters and the smell of decadent dessert fixings.
Team Yeah Baby, We Got Milk was first to finish, with their All-American milkshake. Agriculture Secretary George Greig joined WHTM-ABC27 anchor Valerie Pritchett and Butler County youth exhibitor Lane Kummer in creating a chocolate-based milkshake using peanut butter, pretzels, chocolate chips, chocolate fudge and low-fat milk.
Low-fat milk ensures that our milkshakes arent just tasty, but healthy, too, quipped Jean Kummer, contest coordinator and emcee.
I cant wait, said Senator Kim Ward, one of the contest judges. The entries look like theyll taste great!
Senator Judy Schwank, of the 11th Senatorial District, joined Matt Barcaro, WGAL -TV News 8 reporter and Caitlin Pool, a Berks County youth exhibitor, in a tropically themed Strawberry Margarita Milkshake, which featured French vanilla ice cream, crushed strawberries and crushed pretzels to add salt, served in a margarita glass.
The Senators, a team comprised of Senator Elder Vogel, Jr. of the 47th Senatorial District, WHP- CBS 21 meteorologist Tom Russell and Lawrence County youth exhibitor Cassie Musser, created the Classic Western PA Milkshake. Vanilla based with a generous helping of pretzels and butterscotch, the teams twist involved a generous helping of chocolate syrup in the bottom of the milkshake.
All-American exhibitor Caitlin Pool, Sen. Judy Schwank and WGAL-TV News 8 reporter Matt Barcaro pose with their “Strawberry Margarita Milkshake” Tuesday during the All-American Milkshake Madness at the 2011 All-American Dairy Show in Harrisburg
The final entry was a nod to the Guernsey breed by the Golden Guernseys, consisting of Representative Stephen Bloom of the 199th Legislative District, Pennsylvania Alternate Dairy Princesses Jesse Kline and Elizabeth Weber and Butler County youth exhibitor Cody Stephenson.
The Golden Guernseys described their product as capturing the essence of Golden Guernsey milk, through creating a rich, French vanilla base using tans and browns, with nuts, chocolate chips and chocolate sauce. The product was aptly named the Guernsey Special.
During evaluation by judges Ward, Centerplate Concessions Chef Kasey Kirk, Franklin County dairy producer and All-American Dairy Show exhibitor Claire Burdette and Pennsylvania Dairy Princess Marissa Weidensaul, team members lobbied the judges on behalf of their creations.
After lengthy deliberation, judges settled on the following awards:
The ice cream was donated by PA Preferred member, Way-Har Farms of Berks County, and the winning team members received PA Preferred prize packs.
The 48th All-American Dairy Show, the worlds largest dairy show, runs Sept. 17-22 at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center in Harrisburg. This years show features 23 shows in six days, the nations only all-dairy antiques show, more than 2,400 animals and 935 exhibitors from 24 states and Canada. For more information, visit www.allamerican.state.pa.us or call 717-787-2905.
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State Sen. Judy Schwank, D-11th Dist., said when terrorist attacked the United States 10 years ago, they did so believing they could shake the country’s patriotism and destroy its liberty.
But, Schwank added, those conducting the attacks were mistaken, because Americans joined together in solidarity during one of the worst times in the country’s history.
“Ten years ago, enemies of our country thought that they could destroy our freedom, that they could destroy liberty, and the American way of life,” said state Sen. Judy Schwank (D-Berks County). “How wrong they were.”
Judy Schwank, D-Berks County, is questioning whether this level of increase is really necessary. There might be more sympathy for the company if it hadn’t raised its rates roughly every two years since the mid-1990s. The company, which services more …
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BERN TWP., Pa. — Six months into the job, PA Senator Judy Schwank, D, Berks County, held a summit of sorts Wednesday. Her goal was to help local municipalities navigate a slimmer state budget.
State money for community and economic development and transportation projects is going to be tight, so municipalities that want funding need to work with their state officials to get it.
Pennsylvania could get the funding it needs to get out of maintenance mode and start new transportation projects, a state panel said in a report released Monday.
The key to becoming a good leader is trying as many activities as you can, state Sen. Judy Schwank told children who’d come to Muhlenberg High School to improve their tennis skills.s
READING –– Testifying today at a Public Utility Commission public input hearing, state Senator Judy Schwank (D-Berks) expressed her concerns over the Pennsylvania American Water Company rate increase request.
(Harrisburg) — The state Senate has observed a moment of silence today in honor of a Berks County sheriff’s deputy killed in the line of duty last night. Deputy Kyle Pagerly was trying to serve warrant when he was fatally shot pursuing the suspect who was armed with an assault rifle. Democratic Senator Judy Schwank of Berks County remembers Pagerly as an Army veteran who also served the community as a firefighter and K-9 officer trainer. “A wonderful young man. This is a significant loss to us in Berks County and to the people of Pennsylvania, as well,” she says.
HARRISBURG –– State Senator Judy Schwank (D-Berks) said she voted against the 2011-2012 state budget passed Tuesday by the Senate because of its failure to support vital programs for education, job growth and the environment.
State Sen. Judy Schwank, a Democrat who represents part of Berks County, said she voted against the 2011-2012 state budget, which the Senate passed Tuesday, June 28, because it fails to support vital programs for education, job growth and the environment.
“We could have done better with this budget to build for the future and to offer hope to our citizens, and especially to our youth, that a better day will come,” Schwank said. “We left that part of the job, the real purpose of a budget, undone.”
State Sen. Judy Schwank voted against the 2011-12 state budget approved Tuesday by the Senate, saying the spending plan lacks support for vital education, job growth and environmental programs.
Reading, Berks County – It was an emotional day in Berks County Wednesday as family and friends paid their final respects to a sheriff’s deputy who died in the line of duty.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) – A Pennsylvania senator has introduced legislation that would allow voters to obtain an absentee ballot without justification.
State Sen. Judy Schwank threaded a thin steel cable through the cylinder housing of a .38-caliber revolver, snapped one end of the cable into a gunlock and removed the key.
“It’s as simple as that,” said Michael J. Gombar, chief of the Berks County detectives.
Kathy Y. Monroe, executive director of the Berks County Office of Aging, challenged about 270 people at the agency’s annual meeting Thursday to stay informed and advocate for seniors’ benefits and rights.
The students in Shannon Helzer’s classes at Daniel Boone Area High School are not studying political science, but they provided some lessons last week for Pennsylvania government leaders.