TheBurg • 31st March 2021

Special Time, Special Needs: COVID has impacted families with special needs children in unique ways

Schooling children adequately during COVID-19 has been an immense challenge, but especially for special needs children, their parents and educators. Six-year-old Jayla, with her pixie haircut and smart-looking eyeglasses, chewed on her sleeve as she watched her mom talk on Zoom. Her mother, Hampden Township resident Stephanie Lane, spoke about schooling Jayla during COVID-19.

theBurg • 29th March 2019

Teacher, Coach, Author: In retirement, Emery Cook finds another way to educate.

Growing up in Florida in the 1960s, Emery Cook had a tough childhood, marked by oppressive racism, poverty and bullying. That could have created a hardened, cynical adult. Instead, Cook chose another path. He made it his mission to educate and mentor countless students during his decades of teaching and coaching, particularly at Susquehanna Township High School. “My parents treated people the way they wanted to be treated and always instilled that in us,” he said. He received a basketball sc

theBurg • 31st January 2019

A Medal, A Mystery: A century-old keepsake finds its way back home.

Arlene Waters contemplated giving her father’s World War I medal to her children, but then she had a second thought. “What do boys do with medals that were their grandfather’s?” she asked herself, wondering what to do with it. Before she made a decision, she decided to find out about the medal, since she knew little about it. The medal referenced the Harrisburg Chamber of Commerce, so she picked up the phone and gave that organization a call. It also was a mystery to them. “We were questioni

theBurg • 31st July 2019

Technically Speaking: Vocational education makes students job-ready, often debt-free.

“The world needs people who can do things.” So said David Wright, principal of Dauphin County Technical School. Wright bristles when he hears people use the term, “Vo Tech,” which he believes implies that vocational school is for students who can’t cut it academically. “The old idea of Vo Tech is it’s a lesser institution,” he said. “We fight against that.”

theBurg • 31st August 2017

Unsafe at Home: Childhood stress can become a lifetime affliction.

My friend, Kelly, described her difficult childhood this way: “I didn’t live in the kid bubble. I understood the concept of need—that no matter what it was, I couldn’t have it.”

theBurg • 31st July 2017

Full STEAM Ahead: Getting creative at MakerShift

The event, called MakerShift, brought area businesses, individuals and schools together to show off their STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) creations and capabilities.

theBurg • 30th November 2017

Circular Motion: Settled in a new facility, the Circle School continues its educational mission.

Yellow buses line the cul–de-sac to usher students home after a long day of learning at the Circle School. Though the building resembles other public schools, the students at this private institution experience a very different kind of school day. They are engaged in “self-directed” learning, in charge of their own education. The school is also democratic, in that all students participate in its rules and how it operates. “It’s a scaled-down version of the real world,” said Jim Rietmulder, one

theBurg • 27th February 2015

This Very Old House: Central PA has its share of antebellum buildings. Owning one, however, can be more challenging than charming.

On a dead-end street, blossoming cherry trees flank a small stone cottage, evoking a scene straight from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” A brick path curves to the front door; a spring bubbles up and meanders down the bank beside the residence. Evan and Sommer Keller have lived in this 1790s home on Fetrow Lane in Fairview Township for 13 years. Known as the Fetrow Farm, it originally served as a distillery, later as an orphanage and as a summer home for a family from New Cumberland. When a

theBurg • 1st June 2015

Fresh Air Fun: Over the summer, local families will host New York kids-and all will benefit.

Families wait in the summer sun on the steamy macadam of the department store parking lot. Program veterans converse with first-timers, assuring them that they can expect a great week. Some carry banners and balloons, some just the countenance of anticipation. One of the lookouts yells, “There’s the bus!” Here come the kids. Last year, the Fresh Air Fund sent thousands of underprivileged children from New York’s five boroughs for a summer visit with families in 13 states on the East Coast, inc

theBurg • 1st June 2015

A Cemetery Swing: The region's historic graveyards offer a fascinating take on the past.

Search the web for things to do in Harrisburg and you will find the typical list of “Harrisburg-y” possibilities: tour the Capitol, visit the National Civil War Museum, ride the Pride. However, No. 24 on the list of 30 offers an unexpected option— visit Harrisburg Cemetery. Cemeteries meet the interests of a number of groups, especially history buffs. With a cemetery visit, you get the collective history of those buried there, the history of art used to commemorate their lives, and the history

theBurg • 30th June 2015

Coffee Country: He had poured thousands of cups. Then he decided to trace the origins of the coffee he served.

That morning cup of Joe, water poured through a filter over grounds or delicately French pressed. You add a bit of creamer and sprinkle in some sugar, or maybe you leave it black. After a slurpy, hot sip—ah—the day can start. But where does this delicious concoction come from, who grows it, and why should anyone care? In March, Chris Scott, general manager of Midtown Scholar Bookstore, took a journey to Honduras to find out. This trip was an unexpected one. He had planned to visit Sweden when

theBurg • 19th October 2016

Creative Thinking

Postindustrial cities like Detroit, Pittsburgh and Harrisburg have had an uphill economic climb since the glory days of cars, steel and railroad. But bringing industry and manufacturing jobs back into cities may not be the solution to grow urban areas and draw in the next generation of workers.

theBurg • 1st December 2014

Christmas Mourning

15th August 2016

A Student Story: Class of ’51 revisits William Penn HS, with memories, regrets.

Just across from the lush, green, life-filled Italian Lake is a contrasting site.