Berks-Mont News

Boyertown Area Senior High students participated in the Boyertown Halloween Parade both as entrants and behind the scenes. https://www.pottsmerc.com//boyertown-students-boyertown-h/

Spectators once again lined the streets of Boyertown for the return of the Boyertown Halloween Parade after COVID-19 restrictions canceled last year's parade. The Boyertown Halloween Parade Association's 68th Annual Boyertown Halloween Parade featured everything from spooky to fun, including marching bands and twirlers spinning batons on fire. https://www.pottsmerc.com///24/boyertown-halloween-parade/

Boyertown Halloween parade

Tips are sought in the defacing of the "No Place for Hate" mural in Boyertown. https://www.pottsmerc.com///tips-mural-defacing-boyertown/

A Kenhorst man, 71, died after a hay bale rolled onto him while he was operating a tractor in an Amity Township field, officials said Friday. https://www.readingeagle.com//berks-man-dies-hay-bale-tra/

The Kutztown Folk Festival, held virtually in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID restrictions, hosted a series of in-person fall events to celebrate the return of the festival for next summer. The week of events concluded with Square Dancing on Main and Fall Day Fest, both held in the 200 block of Main Street. https://www.readingeagle.com//fall-day-fest-return-kutzto/

Ryan and Amy Parsons in Exeter Township realized St. Nick was in need of some elves to help with the mountains of letters he receives from kids across the world this time of year, so they put up a mailbox for letters to Santa at their home. https://www.berksmontnews.com//article_6c99e94f-62a8-5474-

Volunteers and community donations have helped Preston's Pantry meet an increased need for food amid the pandemic. This year, due to the COVID-19 virus, we are experiencing an increase in need. We have seen a 512% increase in pantry pick-up alone, said Olivia Merry, Food Pantry Coordinator, Boyertown Area Multi-Service Inc. This need has greatly affected our families, therefore increasing the need this holiday season. We are very fortunate that our community has been so giving to make sure that no family goes without food, which includes a Thanksgiving meal. https://www.berksmontnews.com//article_c0d70742-3b28-11eb-

Berks-Mont Newspapers wants to know what your holiday fun looks like for 2020. How are your holiday traditions different this year? Send us your holiday fun photos (must be full size jpg files) to editor Lisa Mitchell at [email protected] and see your photo in print! Please include full names and town.

Exeter Township's annual Santa Tour is underway. The tour started Monday and will continue each evening through Thursday. https://www.berksmontnews.com//article_6f5e6935-042a-5ace-

The Great Pumpkin Hunt at the Swamp brought 118 people out to Longswamp Community Park for fall fun on Oct. 10. We hold this event every year to celebrate fall and get our community together, said Leann Sacks of the Longswamp Parks and Recreation. We met the safely guidelines by taking everyone's temperature and registered them when they entered and advised them to social distance at this outdoor event. Having this was important because most of the majority of events were canceled this year for children and their families. The committee felt we could do this a safe way. Everyone seemed to have a great time! https://www.berksmontnews.com//article_f84b8294-1a4d-11eb-

Nine people were displaced by a two-alarm fire Thursday, Oct. 29, that gutted a two-story home in Exeter Township, fire officials said. The blaze was discovered in the kitchen of 34 Limekiln Road, between Friedensburg Road and Old State Road in the Five Points area, about 10:30 a.m. by one of the residents, said Sgt. David Bentz, a township policeman who also serves as assistant township fire marshal. The five adults and four children who reside in the home got out safely bef...ore fire crews arrived, Bentz said. https://www.berksmontnews.com//article_9b6d0230-1ae0-11eb- See more

Are you doing something different this year to celebrate Halloween? Are you Trick-or-Treating? Share photos of your Halloween fun with Berks-Mont Newspapers! Send full size photos and comments (including names and hometown) to Lisa Mitchell at lmitchell@berksmontnews.

A less than 1-mile stretch of Route 422 in Exeter Township had the highest number of vehicle crashes in 2019 in Berks County, according to PennDOT. This is not a contest we want to win, said Sgt. David M. Bentz of the Exeter Township Traffic Safety Unit. Also coordinator for the North Regional DUI Enforcement program, he has a message for motorists: Slow down. The second highest number of crashes occurred on a roundabout at Routes 222 and 662 in Richmond Township and an int...erchange at the Spring Ridge Drive intersection in Spring Township. https://www.berksmontnews.com//article_331ac77a-510b-50f1- See more

With a corn maze as a backdrop, Berks County law enforcement officers warned motorists Friday not to drive drunk or impaired on Halloween, noting that it is one of the most deadly nights on the highways. DUI remains a problem in 2020, Sgt. David M. Bentz, Berks County coordinator for the North Central Regional DUI Enforcement program, said during a press conference at Wilcox Farms on South Reading Avenue in Douglass Township We continue to make DUI arrests, and law enfor...cement is going to target these drivers in the next two weeks to get them off the roads to make the roads safer for our motoring public. https://www.berksmontnews.com//article_8f6914aa-16dc-53bd- See more

A Reading man was injured when his concrete mixer crashed in Richmond Township early Friday afternoon, Oct. 23. Benjamin Georgi, 37, of Reading suffered minor head and leg injuries and was transported to Reading Hospital, according to Fleetwood Borough Police, who cover Richmond Township. https://www.berksmontnews.com//article_fd01381c-1636-11eb-

2020 American Honey Princess Sydnie Paulsrud recently visited Berks County as part of her four-day visit to Pennsylvania to reach a variety of audiences to educate them on honey, honey bees and beekeepers. I love to share my love for the honey bees with people and watch how excited they become after a presentation, when they learn how honey bees amplify agriculture through pollination, said Paulsrud, 20, from Chippewa Falls, Wis., who previously studied childcare services in college and works for DHL-Fleet Farm Distribution Center. I also love meeting new beekeepers around different regions of the United States. https://www.berksmontnews.com//article_89d7b96c-14cc-11eb-

Steve Moyer Subaru livestreamed an event to Facebook from its Leesport dealership Tuesday to raise awareness about adoption at and donations for the Animal Rescue League of Berks County in Cumru Township. https://www.berksmontnews.com//article_97e967a8-c72f-5a0a-

A pickup truck operated by a young driver on a learner’s permit slammed into the front of a glass art studio and gallery in Boyertown after he mistakenly pressed the gas pedal instead of the brake while making a turn Sunday, police said. No one was injured in the accident shortly after 1:30 p.m. at Taylor Backes, 150 S. Washington St. https://www.berksmontnews.com//article_cbb08d89-f810-5c02-

Community Health & Dental Care (CHDC) celebrated the opening of its fourth health center location at 1315 Route 100 North in Barto on Sept. 26. Despite the rain, CEO Bridgette McGivern along with Board President Barbara Robinson jointly cut the red ribbon to signify the official opening. https://www.berksmontnews.com//article_488b7e5e-0f21-11eb-

A second positive COVID-19 test in a staff member at Daniel Boone Middle School has led to the closure of the building until Tuesday, district officials said Wednesday.

Studio B Fine Art Gallery in Boyertown hosts a virtual opening Oct. 22 of the fine art exhibit Still Roaring 2020 that celebrates women in the arts and 100 years of the women’s right to vote. We welcome you to pour some hooch, put on your flapper dress or pinstripes, and join our Speakeasy opening on Facebook LIVE, said Susan Biebuyck, Studio B’s gallery director in the event release. The exhibit Still Roaring 2020 will showcase fine art in all media from local women ar...tists who embody the spirit of feminism found in the Flappers of 1920. https://www.berksmontnews.com//article_c33b888a-0998-11eb- See more

Historically, Pickfest has been a multi-day, multi-venue event bringing thousands of visitors to Boyertown’s downtown and local agricultural areas to enjoy food, drink, live musical entertainment, and family-friendly activities. "Each year it has continued to grow to be bigger and better. This year, however, due to COVID limitations, the event is shifting its gears into an online live streaming model in order to raise additional funds to make 2021 (Pickfest’s 15-year anniversary) an even more spectacular event," the Pickfest event organizers announced in a release. https://www.berksmontnews.com//article_919805c4-01cd-11eb-