MontNews.com

Ottsville, PA — PetZoo! is subtitled “A Jam at the Grove”. It is two days of fun, music, light shows and camping that is being held at the Tower Farm in Ottsville, Pennsylvania.

Featured bands include: The Heavy Pets, Splintered Sunlight, Downtown Harvest, Long Miles, Steal The Breeze, Wineskin, Mad-Sweet Pangs, Caleb Stine, Veinmelter and Pluckin’ Grassholes.

September 25th and 26th; for tickets and directions visit www.petzoofestival.com

Rescue Me – Yorkie Rescue announces “Small Dog Expo”, the pet event of the year for all small dogs. Saturday, October 24, 2009 at the York Expo Center in York, PA from 10am until 4pm. Barko-bingo, costume contest, tiny tail races, rescue parade, huge raffle, adoptable dog showcase and lots of exciting vendors. Also, there will be a low cost vaccination/microchip clinic for cats and dogs of all sizes.

All proceeds to benefit Yorkie Rescue!! For additional information visit www.yorkierescueme.com.

Ambler, Pennsylvania — Ambler will hold its annual Oktoberfest on Saturday, October 3rd. Butler Pike will be closed to traffic and opened to pedestrians from 11:00am until 6:00pm.

Free admission for plenty of family fun. Enjoy food, exhibits and activities. Visit the EAC and the Green Committee for information on protecting the environment.

When former English Royal Navy search and rescue diver Tom Henderson noted that immediately after most natural disasters little is done to provide proper shelter to the victims, he vowed to do something about it. Thus, the birth of ShelterBox.

In 1999, Henderson set out researching survival equipment that could be readily transported and utilized, finding sources of the equipment, and twisting arms to get his project off the ground. His persistence paid off in April 2000 when the Rotary Club of Helston-Lizard in Cornwall, England took on the task of providing the 110 pound, 50 gallon plastic containers to disaster victims as a millennium project.

The first 143 boxes were sent to earthquake victims in the state of Gujarat, India in January 2001. Each ShelterBox contains a large tent, sleeping bags, and necessary tools and equipment to allow up to ten people to survive after natural disasters or war.

Little did Tom Henderson or the Cornwall Rotarians realize that they had started what was to become one of the largest Rotary projects in the world with affiliates in eight countries. Since 2001, ShelterBoxes have been sent to more than fifty countries in response to over eighty different disasters, providing aid to over 800,000 people.

As part of a tour to tell the ShelterBox story and raise funds to help cover the ever-increasing demand for disaster response, Henderson will welcome visitors at The HUB at The Cira Centre at 30th Street Station on Thursday, September 17 from 6PM -8PM. Refreshments will be served. ShelterBox contents, pitched tent and all, will be on display. While admission is free, donations of $10 or more to ShelterBox will be welcomed.

Bill Decker, President and COO of The HUB, a Philadelphia Rotarian and a ShelterBox response team member, is hosting the event.

Montgomery County, PA — Ozone is one of the most hazardous air pollutants. Ozone occurs in the Earth’s stratosphere and troposphere. There are two different ozone problems:
1. Stratospheric ozone depletion
2. Tropospheric ozone creation

There is growing evidence that tropospheric ozone is causing damage and death to both plants and animals. For instance, trees throughout the northeast are experiencing defoliation.

A recent study suggests that some efforts to reduce air pollution may actually be making the situation worse. For more information see:
Foliage Spoilage and the Trees’ Canopy Collapse
Gasoline Plus Ethanol Equals Bad Ozone

Volunteers will be tying teal ribbons around old oak trees this month in an effort to put a face on the fight against ovarian cancer. September is National Ovarian Cancer Awareness month, and teal is the color that represents ovarian cancer. In order to make the public more aware of this disease and its silent symptoms, Gail MacNeil of Chatham Township, NJ created the campaign entitled Turn The Towns Teal ” which consists of volunteers throughout New Jersey, and other states, tying teal ribbons around trees and handing out literature detailing the SILENT symptoms of ovarian cancer. In Central New Jersey and Lower Bucks, The Teal Tea Foundation with its home base in Lawrenceville, NJ, is partnering with Turn The Towns Teal ” and the Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation to request that local towns go teal. Turn The Towns Teal ” is being supported by Morrisville, PA in Lower Bucks County, and Bordentown, Hamilton, Fieldsboro, Lawrenceville, Plainsboro, Trenton, and West Windsor in Central New Jersey. Mayor John Bencivengo, of Hamilton, and Mayor Doug Palmer, of Trenton, are both members of the Teal Tea Foundation’s Advisory Board as is Nancy Sherlock, President of the Morrisville Borough Council. It is expected that 170 towns, most of them in New Jersey, will be participating in September’s “Turn The Towns Teal ” campaign.

Local Chairperson Shari Widmayer, an ovarian cancer survivor, says that turning the towns teal is an excellent way to raise awareness of ovarian cancer. Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer deaths among American women, it is often referred to as a silent killer because the symptoms are vague and are very often misdiagnosed. More than 15,000 women in the United States died from ovarian cancer in 2008, and more than 21,000 women nationwide are diagnosed each year. Early detection enhances survival rates. Women often think that a pap smear detects ovarian cancer, it does not.” There is NO early detection test for ovarian cancer which is why knowing the symptoms is critical.

The Teal Tea Foundation will also hold awareness days at local businesses to give away awareness magnets and materials and will have members available to speak with women about ovarian cancer. Unlike breast cancer, the symptoms of ovarian cancer are so indistinct that many women are not diagnosed until the disease has progressed to an advanced stage. Awareness of the symptoms and of their own personal health will help women distinguish between a possible flu and something more serious.

The Teal Tea Foundation also plans to participate in Hamiltons annual September fest to share key information and resources. The Teal Tea Foundation is supported by Educational Testing Service, Princeton, NJ the employer for many Foundation volunteers. Other Foundation members are employed by multiple local businesses including, International SOS in Bensalem, PA; Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in Princeton, NJ; and Keller Williams Realtors in Princeton, NJ.

In 2009, the Foundation donated $8,000 to the Cancer Institute of NJ for ovarian cancer research. It has donated over $30,000 to the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition for awareness campaigns.

More information about the Teal Tea Foundation and links to ovarian cancer can be found at www.tealtea.com . To volunteer or to participate in future Turn The Towns Teal ” events please email the Foundation at turnthetownsteal@comcast.net.

All contributions are deductible within the limits prescribed by law.

The Teal Tea Foundation is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation.

Montgomery County Commissioners Urge All Residents to Prepare Themselves for an Emergency

NORRISTOWN — On the heels of dramatic flooding and with preparations for H1N1 flu gearing up, the Montgomery County Commissioners are urging all residents to use September as National Preparedness Month to get themselves and their families ready in the event of an emergency.

There are a few simple steps everyone can take to be prepared in case of emergency.

Be Informed

One way to be informed is to sign up for ReadyNotifyPA, a community alert system that sends information to your e-mail, PDA or mobile device. Subscribe now at www.ReadyNotifyPA.org.

It’s also important to learn more about the potential emergencies that could happen where you live and the appropriate way to respond to them. One way to do that is to learn about the emergency plans that have been established in your area by your local municipality. Knowing what to do during an emergency is an important part of being prepared and may make all the difference.

Get a Kit

All families should be prepared to survive in their home without outside assistance for at lease three days if an emergency occurs. The following list is a starting point and can be modified for a given family or individual’s unique needs.

• Water –one gallon of water per day per person, for three days, for drinking and sanitation
• Food – at least three days of non-perishable foods
• Radio – a battery-powered or hand crank radio and extra batteries for both
• Flashlight and extra batteries
• First aid kit
• Manual can opener for food
• Local maps in case known routes are inaccessible
• A list of your family’s medications and doses
• Infant formula and diapers
• Pet food and extra water for your pet
• Important family documents such as insurance policies, in waterproof, portable container
• Change of clothing
• Household chlorine bleach and medicine dropper for water purification (do not use scented, color-safe or bleaches with added cleaners) Use 16 drops per gallon
• Books, games, activities for the family

Make a Plan

Make sure you have a family emergency plan. Your family may not be together when disaster strikes, so it is important to plan in advance: how you will contact one another; how you will get back together; and what you will do in different situations?

Go to: http://www.readymontco.montcopa.org for help preparing a plan, a kit and getting the information you will need.

Go to: http://www.health.montcopa.org for information specific to influenza, either H1N1 or seasonal flue.