Bucks County News in Brief

Delegates to discuss

peace-building efforts

Three local clergy members who traveled to the Middle East in March as part of a 20-member "Compassionate Listening Delegation" discussed their trip Tuesday at Nassau Presbyterian Church in Princeton.

Featured speakers were Rabbi Sandy Roth of Kehilat Hanahar in New Hope; the Rev. Alfred Krass of the Interfaith Gathering of Bucks County; and Imam Abdul-Malik Ali of Masjid-ut-Taqwa in Trenton.

The event was sponsored by the Coalition for Peace Action in Princeton. Delegation members discussed their experiences and are using what they learned on their trip as part of their peace-building efforts.

Krass will be part of a similar event at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday at the Perkasie Mennonite Church. He will be joined by other members of the delegation who will discuss their experiences.

Participants will include Naeem Sultan, of Masjid Muhammad in Philadelphia; Joan Broadfield, of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting; and Jerry Schenkman, a Newtown Township supervisor.

The event is free. The church is at 320 Chestnut St. For more information, call 215-547-2656 or e-mail cfpabuxmont@verizon.net.

Weekend celebration

for synagogue expansion

Congregation Beth El in Yardley will host a "Weekend of Celebration, Prayer and Community" from Friday through next Sunday as part of the dedication of the synagogue's new building expansion.

The more than $2 million expansion includes a new sanctuary, social hall, kitchen, reception area and gift shop.

The weekend will begin with special services at 7:30 p.m. Friday and 9:30 a.m. Saturday. During the Saturday service, the synagogue's Torahs will be marched from the old sanctuary into the new building in a ceremonial procession.

A celebration luncheon will follow. Luncheon tickets cost $25.

The dedication ceremony will be at 10 a.m. Sunday. Guest speakers will include Rabbi Neil Gillman, professor of Jewish philosophy at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York.

An open house and tour will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. A gala dinner at 6:30 p.m. will honor synagogue members Rose and Michael Koretsky, major benefactors of the expansion. Tickets are $180.

The synagogue is at 375 Stony Hill Rd. For tickets and more details, call 215-493-1707.

Organization promotes

garden development

Bucks Beautiful, a county garden beautification organization, has awarded grants to 22 organizations to encourage the development of community gardens.

Grant awards totaled $12,000. Individual awards were up to $2,000.

Award recipients were Ascension Lutheran Church, Newtown; Bristol Township Senior Center; Children's Cultural Center, Doylestown; Churchville Nature Center; Countryside Gardeners, Newtown; Four Lanes End Garden Club, Langhorne; Friends of the Levittown Library; Heritage Conservancy, Doylestown; Hidden Oaks Garden Project, Lower Makefield; Historic Carversville Society; Holy Trinity Church, Morrisville; Langhorne Borough Recreation Board; Langhorne United Methodist Church; McClesfield Park, Morrisville; Plumsteadville 4-H Garden Club; Point Pleasant Baptist Church; Special Equestrians, Warrington; Warminster Township Free Library; Southampton Free Library; St. John Bosco Church and School, Warminster; St. Joseph/St. Robert School, Warrington; and Washington Crossing Gateway Park.

For more about Bucks Beautiful, visit www.bucksbeautiful.com.

New officers for

Lenape Valley Foundation

The board of directors of Lenape Valley Foundation has elected new officers for 2008.

The Doylestown-based organization provides mental-health, mental-retardation, and early-intervention treatment and services to more than 9,000 county residents. The foundation is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

The 2008 board: Heather Cevasco, of Doylestown, president; Fred Gudknecht, of Richboro, vice president; Helene Cevasco Mathern, of Doylestown, secretary, and Mario Lionetti, of Newtown, treasurer.

The foundation is at 500 N. West St. To learn more, call 215-345-5300.

Students sought for

leadership program

The Lower Bucks Chamber of Commerce is seeking high school students to participate in the organization's annual Youth Leadership Program, scheduled for June 24 and 25.

The program aims to help students develop personal and professional life skills, leadership and team-building skills, and community connections. Students will visit local businesses and meet business leaders and government officials.

For more information and an application, call 215-943-7400 or visit www.lbccc.org (click on Events/Programs). The chamber is at 409 Hood Blvd., Fairless Hills.

Nursing scholarships given

to four Bucks pupils

Four Bucks County high school students have won $1,000 scholarships to pursue nursing education. The scholarships are sponsored by the Certified School Nurse Association of Bucks County.

The winners are Rebecca Loux, of Central Bucks High School West; Kaitlin Moyer and Shana Pepkowski, both of Quakertown Community High School; and Courtney Pepe, of Bucks County Technical High School.

The students received their awards May 6 at the nursing organization's annual Spring Dinner and Business Meeting in Warminster.

Friendship, understanding

fostered in Pennridge

Pennridge High School in East Rockhill hosted the 13th annual Eastern Pennsylvania High School Friendship Ball on May 10 in the school's gymnasium.

The event was hosted by the Pennridge High School chapter of Best Buddies International and attendees included buddies from the eastern Pennsylvania region. Best Buddies pairs special-needs students with mainstream students to foster friendship and understanding.

About 600 students from the region attended the ball, which had a theme of "New York, New York." The school was transformed into a Bucks County version of the Big Apple, complete with a "Tavern on the Green" restaurant, a dance club, and a red carpet with TV cameras.

For more about the Best Buddies program, call 215-569-0069 or visit www.bestbuddiespennsylvania.org.

Classes honor veteran

of "Buffalo Soldiers"

The fifth- and sixth-grade classes at the Samuel K. Faust Elementary School in Bensalem honored a former member of the "Buffalo Soldiers" on Wednesday at a special hero breakfast.

The students paid tribute to retired First Sgt. Harry D. Palmer, 97, a Trevose resident and a veteran of the U.S. 10th Cavalry Regiment, a unit of African American soldiers formed in 1866 at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. They were among the first black professional soldiers during peacetime.

The military outfit was named the "Buffalo Soldiers" by Native American tribes in recognition of the outfit's fierce fighting in battle. Palmer spent 22 years in the military, and then worked as a prison guard and Liquor Control Board officer.

Levittown girl chosen

to trumpet flag football

Amanda Kane, of Levittown, is one of 10 girls in the nation selected to be a part of the Girls NFL Flag Football Scholastic Leadership Program.

The goal of the program is to help high schools throughout the nation introduce the girls' sport to their districts. As part of the program, Kane, 15, a flag football player, will serve as an advocate for the sport at Harry S. Truman High School, where she is a freshman.

In flag football, players wear flags attached to a belt. Instead of tackling, the pulling of the tag by an opposing player stops the play, said Samantha Rapoport, director of the Girls NFL Flag Football Scholastic Leadership Program, which is sponsored by the NFL.

"We are seeking equality [in the schools]," Rapoport said. "If you guys can play [football], so can we."

For more about flag football, visit www.nflyouthfootball.com.

Improvement money

for Doylestown Airport

Doylestown Airport will receive $480,000 in federal, state and local funding to make improvements.

The grants are part of a funding package that will distribute $10.7 million in federal and state grants to 15 airports in the state. Doylestown Airport, on Easton Road, will receive $456,000 in federal funds, $12,000 in state funds, and $12,000 in local funds.

The Bucks County Airport Authority helped provide the local funds. The grants will be used to purchase and clear land around Runway 5.

College students work

to help animal population

Students from Delaware Valley College in Doylestown traveled last month to Ivydale, W. Va., to work with the dog warden and animal-rescue advocates on the stray and un-neutered animal population in the community.

Students helped dog owners transport their pets to facilities where the dogs could be spayed and neutered. The students cared for the dogs after the procedure, transported them back to their owners, and also donated supplies and helped renovate an animal shelter.

The service project was part of Animal Lifeline, a Doylestown organization that supports animal rescues, shelters, and municipalities that advocate for homeless animals.

Students travel along the East Coast every six weeks to participate in community-service projects involving spay-and-neuter programs for dogs and cats.

To learn more about Animal Lifeline, visit www.animallifelineonline.org.

Two high schools claim

seat-belt safety honors

Archbishop Wood Catholic High School in Warminster and Harry S. Truman High School in Bristol Township won the 2008 Seatbelt Challenge sponsored by TMA Bucks (Transportation Management Association) and Bucks County Highway Safety.

Wood had the highest overall seat-belt use among its students, and Truman had the highest percentage increase between last year's and this year's student-usage survey.

Both schools received $500, which will be used for safety-related endeavors. Other schools participating in the challenge were Central Bucks High School West and Neshaminy High School.

Professor to read

his poetry excerpts

Allen Hoey, a professor at Bucks County Community College, will read excerpts from his new book of poetry, Country Music, at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Newtown Library Co. in Newtown Borough.

The event is free. Wine and cheese will be served. The library is at 114 E. Centre Ave. For more information, call 215-968-7659 or e-mail librarian@newtownlibrary.com.

- Kristin E. Holmes