"Lest We Forget - The Black Holocaust"

The LaMott Community Center,

LaMott Library

and Friends of LaMott

present

'Lest We Forget - The Black Holocaust'

A Private Collection of Slavery Artifacts

and Jim Crow Memorabilia

from the

National Underground Railroad Family Reunion Festival.

at the

LaMott Community Center

7420 Sycamore Ave.

LaMott, PA 19027

On Saturday, February 6, 2010

From 3 - 5 pm

Cost is free

For more information please call

The LaMott Community Center at:

(215) 635 - 3255

The Cheltenham Unemployed Meetup Group!

Here is an interesting group that I have found online! It is called the Cheltenham Unemployed Meetup Group.

While it is supposed to be a group to help the unemployed find work, I have found that there are a few members on there that are using the group for their own purposes. However I don't think that this should spoil the main reasoning behind this group which is to help people find work - preferably in the Cheltenham and / or Philadelphia area.

Even though I work from home, I found this to be a very intriguing group and from time to time I do hear of job openings so this would be a great place to post such information.

If you would like to join this group you have to register to be a member but there is no charge to become a member. Here is a link to this group:

The Cheltenham Unemployed Meetup Group!

The Cheltenham Bus Is In Trouble!

Just in case you haven't heard, our beloved Cheltenham Bus is in danger of being cancelled!

On Wednesday, December 16, 2009 the board of commissioners had a public hearing that was listed on the Cheltenham calendar. The next day a notice was printed stating it was the decision of the board to not continue the Cheltenham Transit Bus. As an alternative the board has recommended that residents and seniors - especially seniors - take either Septa or another form of transportation called TransNet.

When it was learned of the board's decision to cut the Cheltenham Transit bus residents of the area started a petition to get the signatures of both the residents of Cheltenham and LaMott, Lynnewood Gardens and stores and businesses that are along the route that the Cheltenham bus travels including the Shoprite of Cheltenham, the Cedarbrook and Cheltenham Malls and the area apartment complexes.

So far over 100 signatures have been gotten!

It is planned to present this petition to the board during a meeting that is scheduled for January 6, 2010. The petition was going to be presented to the commissioner board yesterday but for some reason none of the commissioners were present that day!

In a related piece of news it was found out that the contract for the Abington transit service would be renewed!

This news about the Cheltenham Bus service is still relatively new and all the details aren't known yet but what IS known is that the more people that show support for the Cheltenham Bus the better the chance that the residents will be able to continue to have it!

To show your support for the Cheltenham Bus service please call the Township Building at:

215-887-1000

I will post more news about this as I get it.

On Wednesday, January 6, 2010 a public meeting will be held at Curtis Hall 1250 W. church Road 215-887-1000 215-887-1561 is the Fax number If you are not able to attend the meeting then we ask that you please show your support by sending a fax explaining your support of keeping the Cheltenham Township Bus running. You can also show your support by contacting the commissioners for the area and telling them of your support for the Cheltenham Transit Bus. Board Of Commissioners Michael J. Swavola - Ward 5 1115 Coventry Avenue Cheltenham, PA 19012 email: mswavola@cheltenham-township.org Charles D. McKeown, Sr. - Ward 7 424 Township Line Road Cheltenham, PA 19012 email: cmckeown@cheltenham-township.org Harvey Portner - Ward 3 Melrose Court Apartments 1308 Willow Ave Elkins Park, PA 19027 email: hportner@cheltenham-township.org Public Information Officer - Nancy Gibson 215-887-1000

Update!

January 8, 2010!

The results of the meeting above resulted in the fact that the Cheltenham Board of Commissioners have scheduled another meeting to discuss further the fate of the Cheltenham Transit Bus. The exact date and time of the meeting is not yet known.

Please continue to email, phone and fax your commissioners to let them know that you are in support of keeping the Cheltenham Transit Bus!

Update - February 11, 2010! A 3rd meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday, February 17th at 7:30 at Curtis Hall. It has come to my attention that at the 2nd meeting more residents showed up to protest the canceling of the Cheltenham Transit Bus. At the end of this meeting a vote / poll was taken from the commissioners and 3 out of 7 voted for bringing back the Cheltenham Bus. One of those commissioners that voted in favor of the Cheltenham Transit Bus was Harvey Portner. So yet another meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday, February 17, 2010 and the more residents and potential riders that show up - the better! We still face a very good chance of being able to save our beloved Cheltenham Transit Bus!

Update March 2010!

Although the details are a little sketchy to me, it seems that the commissioners' board has decided to give Transnet a try. It is supposed to be a trial period kind of thing and it will start in April 2010.

However this solution requires that residents call and make a reservation first. And this is one of many negatives about this chosen decision.

It is very unfortunate that the public hearings for the Cheltenham Township bus were held during the evening at a location - to my knowledge - that is not accessible by public transportation. Another fact is that the seniors who have taken the Cheltenham bus had no way to get to these meetings because they do not have cars and some of the meetings were held during the coldest days of the winter here in Philadelphiawith some snow involved. It is very ironic that the very bus that could have taken the seniors to the public hearings was the very same bus that was cancelled by the commissioners.

However please do not consider this issue a closed one! I strongly urge all the residents of LaMott and Cheltenham to keep this issue opened! Just because the commissioner's board has made this trial period decision it doesn't mean that the issue is over. I encourage everyone to call their ward commissioners, send them a fax, send them an email, write them a letter stating your support of the Cheltenham Transit Bus.

We can still get our beloved Cheltenham Transit Bus BACK!



April 2010! - Unfortunately these new transit rules do not include the residents Cheltenham that are under the age of 55/65 who are not disabled!

Like I have said before We can still get our beloved Cheltenham Transit Bus BACK!

A Message From The Cheltenham Library System

It costs money to run free public libraries.


While we are busier than ever in this economic downturn, our state funding would be cut under both Governor Rendell's proposed budget and Senate Bill (SB) 850 proposed by the Senate Republicans. SB 850 would result in a 50% cut in state aid to public libraries and would eliminate programs such as the POWER Library. Its adoption would mean a loss of almost $200,000 for CTLS and severe cuts in programs that are provided by our library partners at the county and state levels. Cuts in state funding would also result in the loss of millions of dollars in federal library grants. There is a domino effect when budgets get cut.


We are a safety net for people who have lost their jobs and for families who are struggling to make ends meet. The bad news for Cheltenham Township residents is that cuts in funding translate to cuts in services.


Some rollbacks in services that we pass on will not be of our own making but will be a result of cuts to District Center and State library budgets. For example, delivery services that provide easy access to over 2 million items in library collections to all Montgomery County residents, are funded through our District Center in Norristown. The Philadelphia Inquirer, Tumblebooks, Reference USA, Learning Express and downloadable audiobooks are online resources that are provided at the county level.


The public library is a truly democratic institution. There is no fee to walk through the door or visit us online. Information and entertainment are readily available regardless of one's economic status.


If you believe libraries are more important than ever, we need your help. Please contact elected officials and request level funding for public libraries.


More information is available from the Pennsylvania Library Association. A comparison of the budget proposals is also available on their website along with an explanation of the issues. It is so important that people who use and love libraries speak up!

Thank you.


Link to Budget Comparisons:
Link to Budget Comparison .pdf file

* Please be advised that this is a link to a .pdf file.

---

Link to find your Legislator:
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/session.cfm

Link to Pennsylvania Library Association: http://www.palibraries.org

The Cheltenham Township Library System's Facebook Page

Halloween Party!

There is going to be a Halloween Party on Saturday, October 31st (which just happens to be Halloween Day!) at the LaMott Community Center located on Willow and Sycamore Aves. The party will begin at 6pm and end at 8pm.



For more information about this event you can contact the community center by calling (215) 635-3255.



The LaMott Community Center is located at Willow and Sycamore Avenues in LaMott, PA 19027.

The Cheltenham Crafting Club!

I didn't find out until just now but did you know that there is a Cheltenham Crafting Club? Here is more information about it:

Calling all crafty people. If you crochet, knit, or do other crafts, stop by the East Cheltenham Library on June 10th for the first meeting of the Cheltenham Crafting Club. Basic crochet lessons and some supplies will be provided. Meeting starts at 3:30. To register, stop by the library or call 215-379-2077

Since the date for the first meeting has already passed, I'm sure that they would welcome new members who can do crafts such as the ones mentioned above. So if you're interested, be sure to give them a call for more information.



I got this information from the website of Cheltenham Township Library system. They have a Facebook site that you can get to by clicking here.

If you decide to join then you will see the latest events and happenings that will be going on in our area.

A Rash Of Burglaries Has Hit This Area

It seems that there have been a number of burglaries here in our local area! You can read one person's personal account of an attempted burglary that took place in their own home by clicking here.

You can also read the latest news story about this by clicking here.

Cheltenham, Pa. police are asking for help from the public as they try to solve a series of home burglaries -- five of them in a span of about eight hours over this past weekend.

Here is a recent video account of the story:



The police consider the thieves "well organized and they are looking for any information or tip that can help them catch the thieves.

LaMott Civic Association Meeting

The LaMott Civic Association

will be holding a meeting

on

Thursday, September 24, 2009

at

7:30pm

at

The LaMott Community Center

Important message from Montgomery County Public Safety

This is a test of Cheltenham Township's Montco Ready alerting system. Please encourage your friends and neighbors to sign up today. Happy Holiday

Sent to Cheltenham Township (e-mail accounts, pagers, Cell phones) through Montgomery County ReadyNotifyPA
... powered by RSAN dba Cooper Notification.

Tell a friend/co-worker about ReadyNotifyPA! Forward this message to them and have them register for this free service at https://montco.alertpa.org/register.php

Forwarded from another Cheltenham neighbor
Jim Butt

The 15th Annual LaMott Fair!

The 15Th Annual LaMott Fair

will be held on

Saturday, September 19, 2009

from Noon to 6pm

at

The LaMott Community Center

Sycamore & Willow Avenues

LaMott, PA 19027

with

Great Food

Fantastic Music

Library Book Sale

and

Childrens' Games!

Neighbors, Families and Friends Are Invited!

The LaMott Library Will Be Closed This Labor Day Weekend

Thought that I would just give you a friendly reminder that our LaMott library will be closed this Labor Day weekend. It will be open tomorrow - Friday - but it won't be open on Saturday.

If you have one of the community calendars then you will see this noted for the Labor Day weekend. (And since I'm blogging about this I should also mention that since it will be a holiday weekend - including Monday - that the trash pickups will be a day later.)

If you don't have one of the community calendars for our area you should be able to pick one up at the community center. They are free and they list all the events and happenings in the LaMott / Cheltenham area.

If you think that everyone would already know that our library would be closed this holiday weekend then you would be wrong! I, myself remember going to the library on one beautiful Saturday afternoon to return some library books and found out that the library was closed for the weekend. And as I walked down the steps to start walking back home, up came a van with 2 women who were also returning some library books and they didn't know that the library was closed either.

I guess that's just a sign of how much we love our local library - we always think that it will be open - LOL!

But the staff that works there deserve to have some time off to enjoy the holiday weekend because they do work hard and I think they love the library about just as much as we the residents do!

I Found A Mailbox (sort of) Close By!

Well I miss the mailbox that was at the corner of Willow Ave. and Cedar Lane. That was one of my "exercise" routes - to help me feel better by taking a walk and calling it one of my exercise routines.

However I found another mailbox that is relatively close and it is at the corner of 19th and Cheltenham Ave. right outside the Dollar Store that is on the corner.

While the mailbox that used to be at Cedar Lane was more closer to me, at least the one at 19th and Cheltenham is within walking distance for me (and it can still be considered a good exercise walk!)

I have also noticed that there are a couple of mailboxes in the Lynnewood Gardens complex for those that live in that area.

So at least not ALL of the mailboxes in our area are gone - thank goodness!

Event - Saying Goodbye To The Glenside Elementary School!

You are invited to say Goodbye to Glenside on Tuesday, June 23rd in Glenside Elementary's lobby.

6:00 pm to all staff - present and past
6:30 pm to all students, families and community -
present and past.

Share memories, see old friends and walk through the school one last time. Refreshments will be served. Keepsakes will be available.

Glenside will be torn down and replaced by a new building. It’s our last chance to see the place where memories were made.

Mrs.Cindy Goldberg is pulling this event together to give the staff, community and all associated with Glenside a chance to remember our building and the good times we have all had there.

Please come if you can and spread the word to all in our community. Please try to get the word out to all alumni - young and old, former staff, neighbors, etc.

Event! - Arts In The Park"

The 14th Annual Arts in the Park! This fundraising event is being held for the "Friends of High School Park" on Sunday June 7, at 10am! at High School Park

I Found Out What Happened To The Mailboxes!

Imagine my surprise when I found out that the mailbox at Willow and Sycamore was gone! Not only that but it seems that the mailbox at the corner of 19th and Cheltenham is gone too as well as the one above the LaMott Firehouse #1 on Penrose Avanue! So what's up with that!


I have since come to find out that the post has gotten rid of these mailboxes because it seems that these mailboxes were not being used enough.

So now what are our options supposed to be? Well I was told that you could leave your mail at your home's mailbox so that the mailperson can pick it up when they deliver your mail, you can go online and request a pickup (I asked them if you could call the post office by phone and request a pickup but I was told that you would have to do it online so that it could be in the computer records) or you could mail your mail at the post office itself.

This whole thing seems quite ludicrous to me! Why would they get rid of the mailboxes?

And its not just happening here in our own little area! I have come to find out that the post office is getting rid of many, many mailboxes all over the United States! Now I can understand some of the reasons cited such as people putting other objects in the mailboxes and the "waste" of manpower going to mailboxes that only have a few (if any) pieces of mail. I can understand that kind of reasoning but I do not agree with it.

I am a big fan of computers myself but I don't think that the increased use of emailing and paying bills online is going to determine that there is no need for the actual mailboxes. I still mail things by hand and quite frankly I kind of enjoyed the walk to the mailbox!

Just in case you are curious there are some people who have fought for their mailboxes and managed to have them put back. You can read an article about it by clicking here.

Want to see what others' opinions are about this issue? Just click here.

Oh, and for the record I don't agree with this decision at all!

Cheltenham Township Police Alert!

It seems that there has been a rash of burglaries from automobiles in our local area. The Cheltenham Township police have issued an online flyer that talks about this more!

Actually the thefts are happening in and around this area as well.

It seems that cars parked at the Melrose Train station are being targeted and the police are advising people to take out or either hide all valuables located within one's car. The bulletin also offers some helpful tips to help you to not become a victim of one of these kinds of thefts.

Cheltenham Township Police Flyer - Theft Alert!

Trying To File My Local Taxes Online?

I thought I could save the cost of a stamp by filing my local tax return online but it doesn't seem to be as easy as they say it is!

First of all since I'm self-employed I have to fill out a different set of tax forms which makes it even more difficult.

I went to the company's on-line site that handles the local income tax for our area and found out a few interesting things! First of all if you are sending in a payment it of course has to be via a credit card and there is a FEE for that. Here is an excerpt:

"For credit card payments there is a 3% processing fee charged by Official Payments Corporation for each transaction. There is a minimum fee of $1.00.

Ok, that's one reason I'm not liking right there!

Since I didn't owe anything for my final return (because I paid it quarterly) I thought that I could save some time and money by filing my taxes online but it looks as though I won't be able to do it. The forms do some automatic calculations for you and some of the blocks are shaded in and those are the boxes that are for the calculations. The clear boxes are for you to enter in your numbers and some of those I couldn't even fill out!

So it looks as though I will be filing the local income tax the regular way - by snail mail - which may not be a bad thing after all! I wonder if you have to pay the fee when you pay quarterly?...............................

Why Is Tyler Leaving!

I just saw on our local news tonight that Temple University was showing off their new Tyler Arts Center that is to be located in the city of Philadelphia.

If you are a resident here in LaMott / Cheltenham, then you may know that there is already a Tyler School of Art right here in Cheltenham and it is a part of Temple University. But apparently Temple wanted their students to attend their classes at the heart of their main campus which is in Philadelphia.

For a time there were some protests from both the students and their parents because both of them liked the atmosphere of the area here as opposed to being in the city. Personally, after a while and after I got used to it, I didn't mind the students so much either.

There have been so many rumors going back and forth about the Tyler campus here and what was going to become of it.

Now that I have seen the news story on TV about Temple finally finishing their new Tyler School of Art in the city I can't help but wonder what is going to happen to the buildings and the dorms that are here now?

Area Ordinance - Fencing In Your Property!

I didn't know it until recently that our local area has an ordinance about the type of fencing that one can put around one's home. Apparently the fence has to be see-through - at least partially - meaning that while some aspects of the fence have to be see-through, it doesn't have to be that way on all four (or two) sides. I'm guessing that this is because of the fact that the police in the area would like to be able to see what is going on in the neighborhood and they will have a better view of things going on in the area if their views are not obstructed.


In a way this makes sense to me because I have heard stories from neighbors in the area about attempted thefts in and around their properties, so I can see why this area would this kind of ordinance.

What happens if you don't follow this ordinance and you build a solid fence or fencing around your property? You could get fined and have to pay a fee!

Citizen's Police Academy Class Event Planned

Friends,

I was passed this message from John Slavin of the Cheltenham Township Police Department. I thought some might be interested. Take it away, John!

...

I am planning another Citizen's Police Academy Class in March and I am looking for a group of 10-15 residents who would be interested in learning about the Cheltenham Police Department and some of our special units. This is a FREE program. The program is held at the Cheltenham Police Administration Building.

This is a great opportunity to get a first-hand look at the Police Department policies, procedures, training and equipment during the two-hour evening classes. Coordinated by the Community Policing Unit, the academy offers instruction from more than a dozen Officers in topics like crime scene investigation, car stops, narcotics investigations, K-9 unit, ethics, SWAT, and more. Our local District Justices will provide instruction in both criminal law and civil law procedures, and will explain their role in the Criminal Justice System.

This is both a fun and informative program. Please pass this on to your neighbors.

2009 Township County, Sewer & Refuse Bill in mail this month

This information comes straight from the LaMott, PA Group at Yahoo.com.

If you haven't received this bill yet you should wait until at least the end of the month before you call the township to request a copy.

Do we like the same books?

Just a friendly reminder that I invited you to Shelfari. Come see the books I love and see if we have any in common. Then pick my next book so I can keep on reading.

Join me on Shelfari!

http://www.shelfari.com/

Rose

Shelfari is a free site that lets you share book ratings and reviews with friends and meet people who have similar tastes in books. It also lets you build an online bookshelf, join book clubs, and get good book recommendations from friends.

You have received this email because Rose (Roseb44170@aol.com) directly invited you to join his or her community on Shelfari.

It is against Shelfari's policies to invite people who you don't know directly. Follow this link to prevent future invitations to this address. If you believe you do not know this person, you may view his or her Shelfari page or report him or her in our feedback section.

Amazon.com, 701 Fifth Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104

Do we like the same books?

I just joined Shelfari to connect with other book lovers. Come see the books I love and see if we have any in common. Then pick my next book so I can keep on reading.

Join me on Shelfari!

http://www.shelfari.com/

Rose

Shelfari is a free site that lets you share book ratings and reviews with friends and meet people who have similar tastes in books. It also lets you build an online bookshelf, join book clubs, and get good book recommendations from friends.

You have received this email because Rose (Roseb44170@aol.com) directly invited you to join his or her community on Shelfari.

It is against Shelfari's policies to invite people who you don't know directly. Follow this link to prevent future invitations to this address. If you believe you do not know this person, you may view his or her Shelfari page or report him or her in our feedback section.

Amazon.com, 701 Fifth Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104

The LaMott Directory!

As I posted about this before in my blog, I'm currently moving my LaMott-related pages to another webhost. My most current transfer is:

The LaMott Directory

This is a listing of the businesses, organizations and other entities that are in the Cheltenham / LaMott area.

If you would like to add your listing you can find out more about how to do that by visiting the link above.

Just Because I Haven't Posted In A While Doesn't Mean That There Isn't A Lot Going On In LaMott......

The weather is definitely COLD outside and we're just melting from some of the thick ice that has stayed on the ground! For the last 2 days we have had temperatures in the 50's - which is kind of hard to believe in itself!

When the weather is colder, the activities outside are much less but we residents are still getting along - though we may walk a little faster in order to get home and out of the cold.

I have been getting some comments and emails about the community meeting(s) that was held at the LaMott Community Center dealing with the LaMott Civic Association. I was at the very first meeting and have the literature that was provided at the meeting and I intend on posting some of it here.

I have also had to deal with moving my website from AOL to another hosting site and it will take a little time to transfer the information to the new hosting site. But believe me I still have my original page information that includes information about LaMott and Cheltenham including events both past and present and other area-related information as well. Once everything is transferred I will be providing links to them from here.

Changes In The Cheltenham Bus Schedule? - Let's Put The Rumors To Rest!

The Cheltenham Bus schedule has changed in only one way!

The last scheduled run that ran one-way has been discontinued as of January 2009. Everything else about the schedule remains the same!

I had been hearing rumors about the schedule being changed but I have talked to the township and found out that the ONLY thing that has changed was that last scheduled run (around 4-5pm) has been discontinued.

So for those of you that ride the Cheltenham Bus (and for those of you who are hopefully considering taking it), there are still the 3 remaining scheduled round trip runs on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Cold Winds Blowing!

Cold winds are definitely blowing today!

I don't know about you but what comes with living in an older house is that the more windy it gets the more drafty the inside of one's house gets! - especially when that house is around 100 years old - LOL!

A lot of the homes in this area are older homes and that is part of the charm!

We're right in the midst of winter and the wind that is blowing now is surely blowing cold!

Another Resident Comments!

Hey, I live in LaMott too. Are you aware of LaMott Town Center proposal?
I hear taxes are going up again for the next year. And economic development around and possibly in the LaMott residential area itself is in the works.
I am all for making the area more beautiful but more retail stores and/ or apartment buildings are a NO for me. I think they have their eyes on John Russell Park.

The above is a comment that was left on my blog. I felt that it was important to include it as a blog entry because there are so many things going on in this area and a lot of residents aren't aware of it!

I realize that its very hard to keep abreast of things in one's own local area - especially when you are out working every day!

There are so many rumors (and unfortunately some of them are true!) going on that it's important to be able to know which news is rumors and which ones are facts!

If you have a concern, want to voice your opinion or just want to know more about what's going on in this area then please be sure to continue to visit (and comment) on this blog. I'm still working on a way to provide links and other related information about this area and what is (and is not) going on in this area!

Event! - Used Electronics Drive!

Event: Used Electronics Drive - Ethical Recycling

("If you saw the 60 Minutes report 4 weeks ago, you better read this")


What: Fundraiser


Host: Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania


Start Time: Saturday, December 6 at 11:00am


End Time: Saturday, December 6 at 2:00pm


Where: Cedarbrook Middle School

To see more details and RSVP, just click here

LaMott In The Fall

Here is a picture that I took with my camera phone while walking to a local store!

It is during the fall season, probably just before Thanksgiving.

It is around the 1800 block of Willow Avenue!

Event! - High School And Ogontz Parks

Review the new Ecological Restoration Master Plan for High School & Ogontz Parks Wednesday, December 3, 2008, 7:00- 8:30pm Curtis Hall, Church Road & Greenwood Avenue, Wyncote, PA Please attend this important public meeting. Learn about native plant restoration plans, park signage, landscaping & other improvements. Offer your feedback. We've been working diligently to prepare a 10 year plan to continue restoring our beloved park. Your participation in this meeting would greatly add to our enthusiasm and confidence going forward. Please come out and show your support. Refreshments will be served. The first 25 people will receive a gift from the Friends of High School Park. For more information please call FHSP 215-782-8082 or email info@fhsp.org

Election Day In LaMott!

Yes the big day had arrived and it was time to cast my vote! And YES I did cast my vote today!

Because of where I live, my voting place was the LaMott Community Center!



It was an interesting (and very busy) day all day long!

I started the day quite early and started listening to the local community radio station, WURD, just to hear what was going on!

First of all it seems that the polling places had long lines even before they opened! But I figured since LaMott was such a small area that the same thing wouldn't apply! Boy was I wrong! I heard stories from those who were at the community center that there was a long line even before the voting was supposed to start!

I didn't arrive until the afternoon around 1pm because I heard that the late morning and early afternoon was the best time to avoid waiting in long lines! So by the time that I got there there was no waiting. I walked in, cast my vote and was finished!

But I decided to stay a little while. Did you know that LaMott has a constable? I was talking to him for quite a while!

A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. Constable - Historically, a constable could also be someone in charge of the defence of a castle. Even today, there is a Constable of the Tower of London. source Wikipedia

During the course of the early afternoon there were a trickle of people coming to vote! A lot of them were voting for the first time and there were volunteers there waiting and ready to help them!

What was also nice was the fact that the community center is just that - a place where the community gathers! People spent some time (after they voted) chatting with the other residents - including me!

We all were having a great time and even the weather didn't darken our moods!

I decided to leave a few hours later before it got too crowded! But it was a very pleasant day indeed!

LaMott Radio - Decision

Live365 which is where the LaMott Radio station was housed has raised their monthly fee so I'm still deciding whether
or not to continue to have the radio station. Having it and managing it are still a lot of fun and I may decide to continue with it

I have decided that I am going to resume the LaMott Radio

Definitely One Of The Sure Fire Sounds Of Autumn!

You can tell its definitely autumn when you hear that Temple University school bus driving by!

Actually I kind of like it!

But there is a rumor going around that this will be the last year that the students will be using The Tyler School of Art

which is something that I DON'T like!



Goodness knows what is going to happen to the building and what it will be used for!

Feeling The Need To Fish!

In the past I have made a post about a fishing derby that is held every June in this area for the kids!

This got me to thinking about how much I missed fishing myself! So I did a little calling around and found out that as long as I have been living in the area there is a lot about it that I don't know!

The annual Fishing Derby is held at the Tookany Creek Park but what I didn't know is that one could fish there other times as well! - DUH!

Now I'm going to have to find out more about that! I'll let you know what I have found out!

The Community Garden(s) - Part 2

Since we are technically still in the middle of summer, here's another picture that I took of the community garden.

Technically-speaking the land actually belongs to Temple University (at least I think it does) and for as long as I have been living up here (about 25 years) the community garden has always been there!

The people that have gardens there are mostly residents of the community and since Temple has campuses in Philadelphia, I think some of the students use the gardens as well! Everyone I have met there has been very nice and I really think that they are a great bunch of people. My guide to the gardens used to be a man named Brooks Cropper who has since passed away.

The community garden is really a something to see as everyone is growing all different types of vegetables. I guess the most prominent of the vegetables are the tomatoe plants that most of the gardeners seem to be growing. I say this because for the most part tomatoe plants should be staked and it's interesting to see the different ways (and different materials ) that the gardeners use to stake the tomatoes.

Now I have been hearing all sorts of different stories about whether or not Temple will be moving their art students back into the city of Philadelphia, about how the students dcn't like that and about how their parents don't like that either! I have heard stories about how Temple is going to sell off the property(s)...etc....et al! The latest story I have been told is that the year 2008 - 2009 will be the last semester for the art students here at the Tyler School of Art. After that the students will have to go to the campus located in Philadelphia.

I really don't know how all of this is going to affect the community garden so I guess that we should just really enjoy the pleasure of having it now.

Earned Income Tax Reminder!

Just received a notification from The LaMott Group on Yahoo reminding me that the quarterly earned
income tax is due on July 31st! (I mailed mine in last week!)

Just in case you didn't know it is a quarterly tax that is due every 4 months and it is a tax levied on one's earned income.

When you submit your quarterly tax you have to pay a 1% tax on the money you have earned for the past three months! If it is already taken out of your paycheck then you should be fine - BUT it is best to call the township to make sure!

Property Taxes - Boy Are They High!

I saw a property tax bill for a property in Philadelphia and I can't believe the HUGE difference between the dollar amount of property taxes in Philadelphia as opposed to the dollar amount of property taxes in Cheltenham!

If my math is correct then Cheltenham's property taxes are TEN TIMES the amount of property taxes in Philadelphia!

Of course this doesn't take in account for the differences between the two properties being taxed. But I still don't see why the property tax should be so huge in Cheltenham township!

Actually residents of Cheltenham pay 2 taxes. I guess one could "officially be called the property tax and I believe that that one is the one that has the things like the sewer and other property-related things that go towards the property tax bill that the residents get.

The other is the school tax bill which is sometimes twice the amount of the property tax!

I do know that there is an organization that opposes such a high school tax and when I find out more about them I will post about them here.

What happens if you don't pay your property tax(es)? You lose your property!

Even Philadelphia has a more lenient stand towards this than Cheltenham Township does!

I'm sad to say that I know of neighbors who have lost their property just for this reason! And it is a very sad thing to report about - especially for the residents that have been living here for a very long time - only to lose their homes because of the high property taxes here!

Philadelphia, PA: (Mar-13-08) A class action lawsuit was brought against the law firm of Portnoff Law Associates, by a group of Pennsylvania real property owners, alleging that they received delinquent tax communications from the law firm and were charged unauthorized fees, interest, penalties or attorney fees. Court records show that the case went to trial for ten days in September, 2007 and was handled before the Honorable Mark I. Bernstein.

I Just Renewed My Library Books Online!

With things going on I haven't been able to get to our local LaMott library. Actually I found out that its been some years since I have been there! But you have to face the fact that when things are going on in your life you can only do what you can do! Besides this gave me the most pleasant experience of re-visiting our local community library!

Of course our library is located inside the community center.

The LaMott Library

7420 Sycamore Ave.

La Mott, PA 19027

(215) 635-4419

Hours of Operation

Monday, Wednesday: 3-8:30pm

Tuesday: 2-6pm

Thursday: 10am-6pm

Friday: 3-6pm

Saturday: 12-4pm

I have to admit that even though the LaMott library is smaller than the other libraries I would never go anywhere else unless I really HAD to! The library is packed and filled to the brims with books, tapes, newspapers and other kinds of publications! I just LOVE it there!

There are also computers that the residents can use during the library hours. You must sign in before you can use the computers but even that you can do via the computer!

On my last visit there I checked out some books and I didn't realize that the due date was coming so soon! They sent me an email to remind me that the due date was coming up and in the email it mentioned that I could renew my books online so I decided to try it out! It was quite fun and quite convenient to be able to renew my library books from home which at the time just happened to be on a Sunday (when the library is closed) and a very hot Sunday at that!

If you have not been to our local library then you do not know what you are missing!

The LaMott Free Library Website

LaMott Firehouse #1 - The Sound Of Their Siren?

Someone new to this area who is was a new resident once remarked to me that they really didn't like the sounds of the sirens from the LaMott firehouse #1. I explained to them that the reason why the sirens sounded was to notify those firefighters (who are volunteers by the way) who were not yet already at the firehouse.

There have been many times when I have heard the sirens and then maybe a minute or 2 later I would hear the cars (of the firefighters - I assume) who were driving to the firehouse.

When I first moved up here the sirens bothered me too. I also believe that there was a time when the sirens would sound at noon everyday but I'm pretty sure that they don't do that anymore.

since then I have come not to mind the sirens because I know that the firehouse is sounding them for a very specific reason.

photo courtesy of
Historic Lamott, Pa.com

The Temple University School Bus?

Now don't get me wrong but I kind of like hearing and seeing the Temple University bus that passes through our area. But it makes me kind of curious as to why I can hearing it going past at almost 1 o'clock in the morning? I mean are there students that actually travel during that time of night? Is it part of the bus's reqular schedule?

Strange!

Telephone Service Not Working Since Tuesday!

Just in case you're wondering about this and decided to look online for more information our telephone service was out since Tuesday (2 days ago). As of arond 6:45 pm today it is back on - at least I have telephone service now.

This started Tuesday afternoon although I can't be sure of exactly when but I do know that I tried to get online about 8pm Tuesday night and couldn't do it. Later I came to find out from Verizon that there was a problem with one of the telephone cables.

Now I don't know if its a case of EVERYBODY's telephone service being off but I do know that my next door neighbor's telephone service was affected too. Plus he joked about the fact that he was using all of his cellphone minutes to find out what was going on.

From what I have been able to find out there was a telephone / network cable that required some work but according to a represenative from Verizon, she said that "they" (whoever "they" are?) don't tell them specifically what the proble is they just tell them that there is a problem.

So I get a call from Verizon saying that it may be until 9pm FRIDAY that the telephone service will be restored and the next thing I know - another half hour later the phone rings!

So if my telephone service is restored hopefully that means that the rest of the area that was affected has also had their phone service restored.

Taxes, Taxes And MORE Taxes!

Well I finally finished my 3 tax returns that are due by April 15th! All three of my the tax returns are in the mail! Just in case you want to know what the "3" are? Here they are!

• Federal Income Tax
  
• State Income Tax
  
• Local Earned Income Tax

Now after being happy about finally completing and mailing in all of my income tax forms, I find that I am now angry because now I have another tax form that I have to fill out, INCLUDE A CHECK WITH A TAX PAYMENT! and mail it in because it is due by April 30th!

This additional tax is courtesy of our own little local Cheltenham area! It is called the "Earned Income Tax" and it has to be paid quarterly! I guess that I should be happy that it does have to be paid quarterly because I don't think that I would be able to pay it in a lump sum at the end of the year!

If your employer already takes out this tax then you shouldn't have anything to worry about. I believe that you still have to fill out the quarterly form though every 4 months! One of the things that makes me angry about this local tax (besides the fact that it is a tax that we have to pay and the form and payment have to be sent in on a quarterly basis) is that even if you make under $3,000 - which makes you exempt - you still have to submit your total income quarterly along with the tax payment itself and if you fall under the $3,000 income exemption then YOU have to wait for them to send YOU back YOUR money!

And don't even THINK about trying to get "by" them. If you don't pay the quarterly tax then you are assessed a fee every month that you are late with your tax payment.

Like I said I still have to fill this out and send it in by the 30th. I see where they mail you the forms and even provide you with stickers with their address on it so that you can put it on the envelope - the problem is they don't provide you with an envelope!

Basically I'm just ranting because I really REALLY hate doing this!

About the only way (I think) that I could solve this little thing that bothers me is to not have an income!

Our Local Post Office

Here is another picture of our local post office that I took with my cameraphone. Depending upon where you are located this post office is located at the top of a hill which makes it quite an effort to get there if you are going by foot! (And I have had the pleasure of doing that too!) However it is a good walk if you are into the "exercise" thing! If I were driving I might feel a little bit different about it.

Everytime I go there it seems to be quite busy! Lots of cars in the parking lot and there is always somebody who is parked right at the front because - I figure - that they don't expect to be there that long.

But all in all the post office is quite good with lots of postal supplies on hand and the people that work there are very helpful.

About the only complaint that I have heard about the post office is that there are times when the line is long and there is only one or two postal clerks - but I have found that to be true of almost any post office that I have been to - except for the one in Center City.

So plan to make good use of our local post office 'cause that's where our tax dollars are!

More And More People Are Asking Me About The Cheltenham Bus!

The last time it happened was when I saw one of my more newer neighbors at the Shoprite at the Cheltenham Mall. That particular day I was waiting for the Cheltenham bus to take me home from the supermarket but I saw my neighbor instead and they graciously offered to take me home. On the way home I told them about the local Cheltenham bus that goes all around the Cheltenham Area. It even has a stop at the local train station (the one in Glenside I think) and it has a stop at the Rowland Community Center.

I was telling my new neighbors about the Cheltenham bus and they seemed very interested in becoming riders. Since one of them is aged 55 or older they can ride the Cheltenham bus for FREE! So since they didn't know the scheduled times of the bus I volunteered to bring them a copy of the bus schedule. That also reminded me that I promised another neighbor that I would bring them a copy of our local bus schedule. The second neighbor I promised the bus schedule to has lived in this area for a very long time but didn't quite know the scheduled times of the Cheltenham bus routes.

Well that's 2 new recruits / riders for our local Cheltenham bus! The more people that ride our local bus the more it will likely stay for the area. There was a time when our local Cheltenham bus ran 5 days a week but due to the area's "budget" cuts we were at a risk of losing it altogether! But the township came up with the idea of splitting the routes with Abington so now our Cheltenham Bus rides 3 times a week now instead of 5!

I am very glad that we are able to have this local bus for our area and I know that a lot of the older residents appreciate it too!

LaMott Podcast

I should also mention that I'm working on a podcast for LaMott. You can listen to what I have on it now by going to the LaMott Page.

So far the podcast has some public service announcements on it - one which I produced myself is for our local Firehouse #1.

I'm working on including music in the podcast but the music that is chosen has to be of a specific type because of copyright issues.

I will post more about the podcast as I add more content to it.

We Had A Little Power Outage Today!

Last night I noticed that the lights upstairs were "flickering" but I really didn't do anything about it. I figured that it was just because it was so windy that something was messing with the electricity and I went to bed a little earlier than usual Then something woke me up at around 4am early this morning. The first thing that I noticed was that my little table clock wasn't lit up so I didn't know what time it was - so I checked my cellphone (that's how I knew what time it was).

Well it seems we had a power outage in the area. I call it a "little" power outage because I found out that not all of the electricity was out in the house. Some lights worked and some didn't. It seems we had a "partial" outage.

I don't know if anyone else was aware of it since it was so early in the morning. And then as a day went on it started to rain - a little heavy at one time. Around 6:30am I heard the PECO truck outside. It went away and then it came back.

Some time later the power was restored and I came to find out later that several other people had reported the outage as well. But I'm assuming that they reported it much later than 4am - because I wondered who would be up at that time since it was early on a Saturday morning.

Did you notice it or were you not affected by it?

Fishing In The Area?

I really do miss fishing! I haven't done it in quite a few years! The last time I went fishing was I would say about maybe 10 years ago when my mother and I went to the Schuylkill River to do some fishing.


Cheltenham has an annual fishing derby for the kids but so far I can't find anything about fishing for the adults. The picture that you see to the left was taken from another site that also talked about the fishing derby for the kids.

As it stands right now I'm just going to have to find out if I can find out more information about fishing in the area for adults. It's something that I really want to get back into.

Just In Case You Didn't Know There's Another Convenient Business In Our Area

Since we are right in the midst of tax season I thought that it would be a good idea to let you know that there is a copying and printing store located on the corner right near 17th and Cheltenham - right on the Philadelphia side.

They do copying and printing, business cards plus a whole lot more!

I have been in there quite a few times and the people that work there are very nice and friendly!






The Printing Word

1726 Cheltenham Ave

Phila., PA 19027
(their card says 19126 which was our old zip code)

(215) 224-4550

Wind Advisory For The Philadelphia Area!

So that means that the wind advisory is in effect for us too since we are so close to Philadelphia.

The wind advisory stays in effect today from 10am to 10pm and I noticed that the wind didn't really start kicking up until earlier in the afternoon.

I don't know about the others that live in this area but I can definitely feel the wind coming through the windows. I know that a lot of the houses in this area are older houses - more than one hundred years old!

I hear the trees brushing up against the house, I hear my windchimes out back and I will occassionally hear something rolling down the street.

Hold on to your hats - because we have a few more hours to go before the wind advisory is lifted.

Here are some links to our current weather conditions:

Wind Advisory

Weather - Philadelphia

In the meantime I'm inside drinking a nice hot cup of tea!

It's Still Winter!

The weather is oh-so-cold, the wind is blowing and yesterday we had a lot of heavy rain! But perhaps this picture will remind us of what we have to look forward to as far as warmer weather is concerned.

This is the area just past the LaMott Community Center. I took it some time ago and it was probably during one of my excursions to the LaMott library. The community center kind of takes up a whole block - sort of. In LaMott, Cheltenham its located on Willow Avenue, but also on Sycamore and I guess you could say that the back of it is on Graham Lane. I believe Graham Lane stretches from the LaMott Firehouse #1 all the way down to Sycamore and this picture was taken near Sycamore and Graham Lane - which is probably about 3 or 4 blocks long. All the houses on Graham Lane don't look like these houses. The houses in this picture are located on only one side of the street. As you go further down Graham Lane there are houses on both sides of the street.

But it does look quite peaceful doesn't it?

Sister City?

I do know that our Cheltenham has a "sister" city called Cheltenham which is located in Gloucestershire, UK.

I don't know too much about that area but was watching a program on BBC and just wondered if their area and our area had any similarities.

I do know that our township has a "twinning" committee that has to do with bringing our two townships together.

Here are a couple of pictures that I got off of the internet





Cheltenham, UK does have some very gorgeous areas. Some of the areas do kind of look like here in that we do have houses that are made out of those big stone pieces that look like some of the homes and buildings in the UK. It does seem that our houses are more packed together than they are in the UK but I'm sure I just need to find some more pictures of that area.

I did find out that their Cheltenham has a bed and breakfast! That would kind of be a neat idea for our own little Cheltenham area.

Hopefully This Will Provide Some Inspiration During The Next Few Cold Months Ahead!

Gorgeous Cherry Blossom Tree - isn't it?

I took this picture some time ago - probably during one of my walks to the store.

It is a very gorgeous cherry blossom tree and I kinda don't remember when I actually took this picture but it could have been during the early or late spring.

Hopefully seeing this picture will help us get through the cold winter months that we have ahead! For instance last night was the coldest night of the season and now later on during the early part of next week - Monday - we may hit 60 degrees in January!

But for right now it's cold out there!

Christmas Decorations?

I have to admit that I am just as guilty for not having any Christmas decorations showing outside my house but I wonder why not as many people have decorated their houses for the holidays. Something as simple as a simple wreath hanging in the window is better than nothing.

But like I said above I'm just as guilty for not having any Christmas decorations on the windows or doors. It's just that my mind has been on other things and before I knew it - it was the holidays! This is something I vow to remedy during the next Christmas season even if its just a simple wreath that I hang on the window!

I'm sure that time got the best of a lot of people when it came time to decorate their homes for the holiday season and there were some people that did decorate their houses. But it was like maybe 3 or 4 houses in a block that decorated and the rest were dark. I remember there was this certain house on the 1800 block of Cheltenham Avenue that had a big inflatable Santa right in front of their house - as a matter of fact the man was putting it up while I was walking to the store and we had a chance to chat. I didn't see the big Santa this year.

So next season I vow to have some type of Christmas decoration for the windows even if its just a wreath!

Seeing holiday decorations puts people in a Christmas mood - including the people that do the decorating.

Shopping Within Walking Distance

There is a RiteAid that is within walking distance of where I live. It's not a short walk but it is a good walk. And it's a good walk for exercise as well. As I have blogged about before, I have a chance to see a lot of people walking around the neighborhood and a lot of them tell me that they walk for exercise. (I even know of one neighbor that keeps her car parked and walks to do her shopping and errands.)

Of course you can't get everything at the Rite-Aid but they will do in a pinch! They do sell eggs and milk and bread. If you get their circular in the mail then you can find out about what things they have on sale. A few days after Christmas they had a lot of 50% off sale products in the store and by the time I got there they had sold out of a lot of the things that they had on sale.

You can also refill your prescriptions by email.

Here is the basic information about the Rite Aid in our area:

Rite Aid
1401 W. Cheltenham Ave.
Melrose Park, PA 19027
(215) 782-8950

Customer Service is

1-800-RITEAID

Trash Day?

As I was going to the store earlier today I noticed that a lot of people had put their trash out for trash collection. Normally our trash collection day is on a Tuesday but because of the Veteran Day holiday, the trash will be collected a day later.

Now the only reason why I know this is because our community sends its residents a yearly calendar that notes important dates on it. That is how I knew that the trash wouldn't be collected today. I was talking to a neighbor who was talking about the leaf collections that the township makes and I noticed that he had put his trash out today as well. He told me that even thogh he gets the community calendar in the mail (like the rest of us residents do) he said that he never pays attention to it.

So basically I guess that I am just saying that you really should pay attention to the community literature that you get in the mail because it has a lot of good and important information on it.

Did You Qualify For Your Free Thanksgiving Turkey Yet?

The Shoprite at the Cheltenham Mall has a promotional Thansgiving promotion where if you spend $300 or more then you can get a free turkey by Thanksgiving. Of course they have been having this promotion for many years now and now that time of the year has rolled around again.

People tell me and I have to agree with them wholeheartedly that its not too difficult to spend over $300 at the Shoprite if you have about a month and a half to do it. Many people (myself included) have gone shopping at the Shoprite to buy something and end up buying more than originally planned! The store always has a sale going on and sometimes there will be a sale (or sales) on an item that hasn't been advertised in their circular which is delivered to the immediate area. I get a circular every week since I am located near it and live in the near area. So I know that means that the residents in LaMott and Cheltenham get the circular in the mail and I'm sure that there are immediate areas like Wyncote, Mt Airy and maybe even northeast Philadelphia that get the Shoprite circular as well.

I know that the other area supermarkets have similar promotions. I'm sure that both Acme and Pathmark have their own Thanksgiving turkey promotions as well but since I mostly do my grocery shopping at the Shoprite, I'm mostly acquainted with their turkey promotion.

I do know that Shoprite is going to be busy for the next few weeks - those days leading up to Thanksgiving when everybody will be shopping for Thanksgiving. So the sooner you qualify and get your turkey the sooner you'll avoid the Shoprite "rush"!

November 13, 2007 - got my "free" turkey today!

It's kind of interesting because someone mentioned to me that the earlier you get your turkey you stand a better chance at having a better selection to choose from and this was certainly true when I picked my turkey today. There were a lot of turkeys in supply at the Shoprite this particular day and it will be interesting to see how it goes as the days go by leading up to Thanksgiving.

*By the way Shoprite will be open on Thanksgiving Day in case you have to do some last miniute shopping

Election Day In LaMott!

Here's a picture of the LaMott community center on Election Day! The LaMott community center is where my polling place is.

As you can see there are quite a few banners that were posted outside!

As the years go by, election days in the community are becoming more important than ever!

"Help Wanted"

I just noticed that there was a "Help Wanted" sign outside a hair salon on the block of 18th and Cheltenham. I think the name of the place is "Photo Finish" - which I thought at first was some kind of photography place but they do hair.

I don't think that the place has been there long and I have noticed it from time to time. So if you live in the area you might want to check it out. It's also located right near the bus stop for the routes "C" and "22" bus that run along Cheltenham Avenue.

I don't know how long the sign has been there but if it sounds like a job that might interest you then you should go and see if they are still hiring.

Leaf Collection Begins For Our Area!

I should also mention about the area's collecting of the leaves. LaMott/Cheltenham has 4 scheduled pickups for leaf collection. Two of the pickups are for loose leaves and the other 2 are for bagged leaves.

The first leaf collection for the area is scheduled for Friday, October 26, 2007.

Leaves can be raked to the curb as early as one week before the scheduled pickup.

* - By the way they were right on schedule which was kind of disappointing because I was hoping to rake some more leaves to the curb. I was hoping that because of the rain that they wouldn't be picking up the leaves.......so now the next schedulted loose-leaf pickup for our area is November 30th

We Have Lost Our Beloved Mailman!

Because of problems with an injury we lost our beloved mailman Jim!

He sent me a letter explaining it all and I subsequently found out that he sent a letter to everybody in the area! (I still have the letter and will post more about it when I have the letter in front of me)

I know that I will miss him and I'm sure that a lot of the other residents will miss him too. But the fact of the matter is that being a mailman is a very physical job and as much as we hate not to have him anymore we don't want his injury to get worse.

I have met our new mailman and have had a chance to talk to him - I have to get his name! - and he seems very, very nice.

Our Little Local Library - The LaMott Library

I got the cutest little email from someone that works at our local library - The LaMott Library. He expressed his thanks for me putting the library hours on my LaMott Page.

Actually its called The LaMott Free Library

also included is The LaMott Community Center (in the same building)

7420 Sycamore Avenue
LaMott, PA 19027
215-635-4419

lamott@mclinc.org

Our library may not be the biggest but it is definitely the most friendly!

The Quarterly EIT Statements Are Due By The End Of This Month!

Earned Income Tax!

I have really come to hate filling this out!

Just in case you don't know residents are required to fill out and file quarterly Earned Income Tax statements. The Earned Income Tax is a 1 percent tax on earned income that has to be paid quarterly. If you make under $3,000 a year then you don't have to pay the tax but you do still have to fill out the form - even if you have no earned income for the past quarter. You have to fill out the form and note the reason why you don't have any earned income - to make a long story short you have to fill this out regardless of whether you have any earned income that has to be taxed.

The next quarterly statement is due by October 31st, 2007 and it is for income made between July 1st and September 30th of 2007. And just like the federal tax you have the yearly form which is due by April 15th of next year.

Now we already have 2 other taxes that have to be paid by homeowners in the area. One is the property tax and the other is the school tax. And this earned income tax would be the third tax payment that has to be made / filled out.

I still hate it!