TS_CNG/SUBURBAN/PAGES [S01] | 05/01/19
10:23 | BAUMEISTER
Abington The
INSIDE
MAY 2, 2019
Scenes from the Abington Heights Civic League’s wine festival
SuburbaN T H E VO I C E O F T H E A B I N G T O N S
See page 7.
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BUILDING FROM THE BONES
ELIZABETH BAUMEISTER Suburban Subplots
A day to pray
Jake Danna StevenS / StaFF PhotoGraPher
The NeighborWorks property at 316 Summit Ave.
Clarks Summit house gets some TLC from NeighborWorks By Clayton ovER StaFF Writer
CLARKS SUMMIT — The handrail leading up the staircase to the second floor and a cabinet in the basement are all that remain of the old interior of 316 Summit Ave. The house recently went on the market after undergoing a complete interior and exterior renovation, the latest home overhauled through the NeighborWorks Northeastern Pennsylvania Property Acquisition and Redevelopment program and the first in the Abingtons, NeighborWorks Chief Business Officer Jen Dougherty said. Although the home now boasts a modern layout, siding, appliances and more, NeighborWorks staff found it in severe disrepair, but structurally sound, when they acquired it more than a year ago, Dougherty said. “The bones of the house were really, really good,” Dougherty said. “It just needed some love.” Wells Fargo bank donated the
home to NeighborWorks through a program offered to nonprofits for community and urban stabilization projects. NeighborWorks Property Acquisition and Redevelopment program is designed to take vacant, blighted properties in neighborhoods and renovate them to impact surrounding property values positively while providing an opportunity for prospective homeowners in the area to buy a house, she said. It also provides a bonus to municipalities and school districts because it puts properties back on the tax rolls. NeighborWorks acquired the home in December 2017 and work on the property took about 10 months, wrapping up in March, Dougherty said. They partnered with Blakelybased NJB Construction Inc. to perform the renovations. The project proved to be part classroom; carpentry and electrical students from Johnson College assisted with the work, Dougherty said. Crews also cleared the backyard, which was
Jake Danna StevenS / StaFF PhotoGraPher
Jennifer Dougherty, project manager, gives a tour of the new floor design in a NeighborWorks property at 316 Summit Ave. in Clarks Summit on Wednesday, April 24. overgrown, Dougherty said. This will be the sixth house in Lackawanna County renovated through the program, Dougherty said. Others have been restored and sold in Jermyn and Scranton, among other municipalities. All
proceeds from the sales are used to fund programs offered through the nonprofit, including the Aging in Place program, which provides free home repairs to elderly people and Please see House, Page 5
JUlIE JEFFERy ManWaRREn | SUBUrBan LiFe
A passion for theater
South Abington Township native Patti Purcell was named “lead actress in a drama” by the Northeastern Pennsylvania Theatrical Alliance (NEPTA) on April 6. The NEPTA Awards honor excellence in community theater. Purcell won the award for her role as Vivian Bearing, Ph.D. in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play, “Wit,” written by Margaret Edson. The production was put on by the Scranton theater group Actors Circle in July and directed by Casey Thomas. Purcell, an Abington Heights graduate, trained in New York City. She later lived near Philadelphia before moving back to the Scranton area and working with Actors Circle. She has been involved in theater for almost 40 years. In her role as Vivian Bearing, Purcell portrayed a cancer patient who receives a diagnosis of stage 4 ovarian cancer. Bearing is the play’s narrator and protagonist. A professor of English who specializes in the poetry of John Donne, Bearing has pursued knowledge and her career above everything
else. She is stoic and strong, but through her journey with cancer, she realizes the importance of connection with people as she comes to terms with her life and death. Some thought the role of Bearing must have been relatable for Purcell since she, like the character she portrayed, experienced cancer. But Purcell shared that the role was challenging and stretched her as an actor. The play included a 90-minute section of monologue, and had scholarly language in the script that Purcell worked tirelessly to get right. The role also portrayed the emotional journey Bearing took. Purcell shared that Bearing faced things head on. She had moments of humor and sarcasm, but raw scenes too. “There were moments when there was nobody around, when she didn’t have to play it strong,” Purcell said. “There were moments of vulnerability, of insecurity. I could relate on those levels. I was acting, but there were moments on stage where I could certainly relate. The role itself was a
challenge for me. But it was one I took. I said ‘I need to do this’. It was a needy, raw, memorable and moving role.” “It brought the audience to tears,” Purcell shared. “I think some may have been apprehensive to see it because of the subject matter – cancer. You don’t know what cancer is like unless you’ve come through it. It’s really very hard to tell people about it. It’s still the ‘C’ word. People don’t even like to talk about it.” Purcell was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013. “I was doing the play ‘Dracula,’” Purcell remembered. “I had surgery on Jan 2, 2014. Our show opened at the end of January. I had my chemo treatment on a Wednesday and the show opened on Thursday. ... Even as I was going through my treatment, I still performed. It was like my therapy. When I was on stage, I’d forget about any pain or heartache.” Five years after her surgery and treatment, Purcell is doing fine, but her experience has had Please see Passion, Page 5
The prayer started off normal enough, like that of any child saying grace before a meal. “Dear Jesus, thank you for the food,” began my 4-yearold godson, Colton, his head bowed, eyes closed and hands folded. I was at his family’s house in upstate New York, and we were about to feast on pizza and wings. I expected the prayer to end there, with a simple “amen,” but what Colton said next had me struggling not to laugh out loud. “I pray for Mommy to get twins – a girl, or a boy, or both,” he said. He prayed with such innocence and sincerity, that it would’ve been sinful to laugh. Still, a soft chuckle escaped my lungs before I could suppress it. Colton’s an only child. You may have guessed. I love listening to children pray. They do it with faith that puts most adults to shame. Some people might say kids have no filter, but I prefer to see it as them surrendering everything – no matter how big or small – to God. Whether praying for their preschool teacher’s neighbor’s cousin’s dog’s toenail (Sunday school teachers know what I’m talking about), or petitioning for a baby brother or sister (or both), children hold nothing back. We could all learn from them. Today, Thursday, May 2, is the National Day of Prayer (NDP), an observance established by Congress and signed into law by President Harry Truman in 1952. Held annually on the first Thursday of May, the National Day of Prayer invites “people of all faiths to pray for the nation,” with a mission to “mobilize unified public prayer for America,” according to nationaldayofprayer.org, the website of a privately funded NDP task force. The organization’s theme for this year’s observance is “Love One Another,” based on the words of Jesus in John 13:34: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” (Copied from the English Standard Version.) People are gathering on this day all over America to spread this love and pray for their country and small communities. In Lackawanna County, believers will take part in an event Please see Pray, Page 5
What’s inside Calendar ........................ 2 Court notes .................... 2 Contest .......................... 3 Green Scene ................... 3 Schools .......................... 4 Libraries ................... 6, 10 Just For Fun .................... 8 SUBmitteD Photo
South Abington Township native Patti Purcell won the NEPTA award for best lead actress in a drama for her role as Vivian Bearing in Actors Circle production of ‘Wit.’
Sports ............................ 9
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