Asia Tabb speaks with Reid Frazier and Rachel McDevitt for our Journalist Roundtable.

Also, on the program, Asia speaks with Brandon Buterbaugh Director of Bands at Hershey High School and Eric Farkas, Band Director at Cumberland Valley High School about all things marching band!

Asia Tabb speaks with Reid Frazier and Rachel McDevitt for our Journalist Roundtable.
Also, on the program, Asia speaks with Brandon Buterbaugh Director of Bands at Hershey High School and Eric Farkas, Band Director at Cumberland Valley High School about all things marching band!

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from WITF, hosts Scott LaMar and Aniya Faulcon start the conversations about what’s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at https://witf.org/programs/the-spark.

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from <a href="https://www.witf.org">WITF</a>, hosts Scott LaMar and Aniya Faulcon start the conversations about what’s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at <a href="https://witf.org/programs/the-spark">https://witf.org/programs/the-spark</a>.

The Spark

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from WITF, hosts Scott LaMar and Aniya Faulcon start the conversations about what’s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at <a href="https://witf.org/programs/the-spark">https://witf.org/programs/the-spark</a>.

The Spark Weekly 09.29.2024: Journalist Roundtable with Reid Frazier and Rachel McDevitt; The Ins and Outs of Marching Band

Paulus Farm Market was established in 1991 in Central PA by Jim Paulus. What started out as a small business selling potatoes out of a garage, produce at the town’s square farmers market, is now approximately 1,000 acres located on South York Street in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.

Amy Paulus, Co-owner of the Paulus Farm Market, shares what most visitors look forward to in the autumn season.

“So, we have what we call our fall fun. And the fall fun is open seven days a week. We have a u-pick pumpkin patch. We have hayrides on the weekends. We have two big tents that are filled with loose corn. Think of sandbox corn. We have haystacks where kids can climb. We have a wooden tractor. We have a great big old combine place that it used to be my husband's first coal mine. It was his first combine. And now we've created a place that out of that we have all sorts of friendly farm animals so people can come out and learn about them and pet them and feed them a little mini corn maze. All kinds of fun stuff for the fall.”

Paulus Farm Market has also become a sought-out place for Agritourism.

“We offer field trips to local schools almost every day. We have every weekday. We have at least one group coming out to learn about where foods come from. We really focus on foods coming from farms. We have, for instance, we have a pizza garden growing, so even a frozen pizza. Even the youngest child can think about the ingredients that go into a pizza. And where do those ingredients come from? Well, cheese would start out in a store. Maybe that's a lot of times the answer. But also, it would start out originally from the cow that milk comes from. The cow comes from an animal, and that animal is living on a farm. So, we do things like that. Excuse me. We offer birthday parties. We offer all types of agritourism events where people can come out and see those gardens, see what we do. We're always there. So, we're like, very accessible. But yeah, we the field trips, that's probably the biggest educational aspect of our farm.”

Agritourism benefits surrounding communities by drawing tourist to rural areas, stimulating local economies, and fostering a greater appreciation for agricultural practices and local food systems. Amy has a background in education, which she says goes hand in hand with the agritourism business at the farm market.

 “So farming is it's you have to you have to be able to improvise. You have to be able to be diverse. You can't just go out there and plant the corn and the potatoes, which is what my husband loves to do, but to diversify and really bring in all sorts of people, and especially young kids and young families, you have to have other things for them to do. And so, when we opened this agritourism part, it was at a time when the market was still doing well, still bring it, still bringing people in. But we knew that it was hard to compete with grocery stores, hard to compete with the great big box stores. And we didn't want to do that. We wanted to remain a small part of the community but have a big impact. So we have seen the business grow by 100% with having agritourism. It just brings in a larger group of people really, really just helps people to understand that, it's not just this. These eggs are not just appearing in my grocery store. This hand is not just appearing in my grocery store. All of these things are connected back to farms. So, I feel very proud that we have helped to create that type of an informative destination for people and a fun destination for people.”

<a href="https://paulusfarmmarket.com/About">Paulus Farm Market</a> was established in 1991 in Central PA by Jim Paulus. What started out as a small business selling potatoes out of a garage, produce at the town’s square farmers market, is now approximately 1,000 acres located on South York Street in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.
Amy Paulus, Co-owner of the Paulus Farm Market, shares what most visitors look forward to in the autumn season.
“So, we have what we call our fall fun. And the fall fun is open seven days a week. We have a u-pick pumpkin patch. We have hayrides on the weekends. We have two big tents that are filled with loose corn. Think of sandbox corn. We have haystacks where kids can climb. We have a wooden tractor. We have a great big old combine place that it used to be my husband's first coal mine. It was his first combine. And now we've created a place that out of that we have all sorts of friendly farm animals so people can come out and learn about them and pet them and feed them a little mini corn maze. All kinds of fun stuff for the fall.”
Paulus Farm Market has also become a sought-out place for Agritourism.
 “We offer field trips to local schools almost every day. We have every weekday. We have at least one group coming out to learn about where foods come from. We really focus on foods coming from farms. We have, for instance, we have a pizza garden growing, so even a frozen pizza. Even the youngest child can think about the ingredients that go into a pizza. And where do those ingredients come from? Well, cheese would start out in a store. Maybe that's a lot of times the answer. But also, it would start out originally from the cow that milk comes from. The cow comes from an animal, and that animal is living on a farm. So, we do things like that. Excuse me. We offer birthday parties. We offer all types of agritourism events where people can come out and see those gardens, see what we do. We're always there. So, we're like, very accessible. But yeah, we the field trips, that's probably the biggest educational aspect of our farm.”
Agritourism benefits surrounding communities by drawing tourist to rural areas, stimulating local economies, and fostering a greater appreciation for agricultural practices and local food systems. Amy has a background in education, which she says goes hand in hand with the agritourism business at the farm market.
 “So farming is it's you have to you have to be able to improvise. You have to be able to be diverse. You can't just go out there and plant the corn and the potatoes, which is what my husband loves to do, but to diversify and really bring in all sorts of people, and especially young kids and young families, you have to have other things for them to do. And so, when we opened this agritourism part, it was at a time when the market was still doing well, still bring it, still bringing people in. But we knew that it was hard to compete with grocery stores, hard to compete with the great big box stores. And we didn't want to do that. We wanted to remain a small part of the community but have a big impact. So we have seen the business grow by 100% with having agritourism. It just brings in a larger group of people really, really just helps people to understand that, it's not just this. These eggs are not just appearing in my grocery store. This hand is not just appearing in my grocery store. All of these things are connected back to farms. So, I feel very proud that we have helped to create that type of an informative destination for people and a fun destination for people.”

Paulus Farm Market offers agritourism for visitors

A new social media trend has been circulating showing children as young as ten years old using antiaging and skincare products. Dr. Kate Berry, Dermatologist at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center says it’s concerning.

“I think it's a big issue. These social media trends really can create a lot of problems as children are buying these products that are really appropriate for adult skin and not children's skin and can create both short term and long-term issues. There's a lot of key differences between children's skin and adult skin, which is not always well advertised on these social media platforms. A lot of people are receiving information without really going into the effects or the science behind skin care. So, they're not really understanding what they're putting on their skin, “said Dr. Berry.

According to Dr. Berry, this trend may not be life threatening, but it could be counterproductive in the long run.

“Their skin is, as I said, different. They don't need to address concerns like decreased collagen. Their skins are already continuing to increase the collagen content. That's not going to max out until they're in their mid-20s or mid-30s. So, anything that's going to increase their collagen is redundant. So, if that product then causes irritation, that's really all they're getting from it. They're not getting any of the benefit that an adult would get. So, I think that's the biggest issue is that people are using products or kids are using products that really have no possible benefit for them and really just harm, “said Dr. Berry.

Lex Remillard, Licensed Clinical Social Worker for Altior Healthcare says this trend is more than skin deep.

“If I'm if a child is comparing their insides to someone else's idealized outsides, it's going to create a huge problem because we're not dealing with reality. At all, “said Remillard.

The social media #Sephorakids and Get ready with me trends is linked to social media influencers with online popularity. According to Remillard, it’s important to explain to kids, the trends are made from a sales standpoint from the beauty industry.

“it's interesting because a lot of the kids that are watching the videos, they don't understand commerce. They don't understand like how. The system works. And, I mean, the key and I would say this about any mental health topic is talk to your child. Just talk to your child and you have to sit down, “said Remillard.

However, Dr. Berry stresses the importance of visiting a dermatologist before trying those products seen online.

“So, dermatologists have a lot of training in about being able to evaluate your skin, see what it needs, and then address those needs. So, children, for example, have a much faster cell turnover rate than adults. So, their skin in general is naturally going to be more soft, smooth and radiant. And that cell turnover slows down as we age. So, gives us things like dullness and not even texture. And so, for them, as we get older, these brightening products can be really helpful because it's going to increase that cell renewal rate. But are unnecessary for children. So being able to assess where somebody's skin is and see any issues there and then be able to recommend appropriate products, “said Dr. Berry.

A new social media trend has been circulating showing children as young as ten years old using antiaging and skincare products. <a href="https://www.pennstatehealth.org/doctors/katherine-berry-md">Dr. Kate Berry</a>, Dermatologist at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center says it’s concerning.
“I think it's a big issue. These social media trends really can create a lot of problems as children are buying these products that are really appropriate for adult skin and not children's skin and can create both short term and long-term issues. There's a lot of key differences between children's skin and adult skin, which is not always well advertised on these social media platforms. A lot of people are receiving information without really going into the effects or the science behind skin care. So, they're not really understanding what they're putting on their skin, “said Dr. Berry.
According to Dr. Berry, this trend may not be life threatening, but it could be counterproductive in the long run.
“Their skin is, as I said, different. They don't need to address concerns like decreased collagen. Their skins are already continuing to increase the collagen content. That's not going to max out until they're in their mid-20s or mid-30s. So, anything that's going to increase their collagen is redundant. So, if that product then causes irritation, that's really all they're getting from it. They're not getting any of the benefit that an adult would get. So, I think that's the biggest issue is that people are using products or kids are using products that really have no possible benefit for them and really just harm, “said Dr. Berry.
Lex Remillard, Licensed Clinical Social Worker for <a href="https://www.altiorhealthcare.com/">Altior Healthcare</a> says this trend is more than skin deep.
“If I'm if a child is comparing their insides to someone else's idealized outsides, it's going to create a huge problem because we're not dealing with reality. At all, “said Remillard.
The social media #Sephorakids and Get ready with me trends is linked to social media influencers with online popularity. According to Remillard, it’s important to explain to kids, the trends are made from a sales standpoint from the beauty industry.
“it's interesting because a lot of the kids that are watching the videos, they don't understand commerce. They don't understand like how. The system works. And, I mean, the key and I would say this about any mental health topic is talk to your child. Just talk to your child and you have to sit down, “said Remillard.
However, Dr. Berry stresses the importance of visiting a dermatologist before trying those products seen online.
“So, dermatologists have a lot of training in about being able to evaluate your skin, see what it needs, and then address those needs. So, children, for example, have a much faster cell turnover rate than adults. So, their skin in general is naturally going to be more soft, smooth and radiant. And that cell turnover slows down as we age. So, gives us things like dullness and not even texture. And so, for them, as we get older, these brightening products can be really helpful because it's going to increase that cell renewal rate. But are unnecessary for children. So being able to assess where somebody's skin is and see any issues there and then be able to recommend appropriate products, “said Dr. Berry.

Anti-aging products social media trend impacting young girls

The Valley Jazz Orchestra just released a new album “Vicious Fishes” for the first time in over 50 years. Co-directors of the album Dr. Jeffrey Lovell and Dr. Justin Morell. Their paths first crossed at the University of Oregon where they both earned their doctorate degrees.

They’re now professors at Lebanon Valley College. Students in the “Big Band” was also apart of the project. For senior Aaron Ruddrow says working with Dr. Lovell and Dr. Morell was an enjoyable experience.

“I've had the opportunity, and I'm blessed to have had the opportunity to record a few things of mine, but also a couple of other people's projects in the past. And but nothing quite this scale. And it was really. Yeah, enjoyable experience, especially to be able to collaborate directly with Dr. Morale, being the composer, to kind of just talk to him and be like, okay, what sound do you want from me? Like, what do you want specifically from me as the drummer? And to get like, what are you looking for? And it was kind of it was a neat experience to be able to, to collaborate in that way, just to produce exactly what we were all envisioning for this project, “said Ruddrow.

The last Vally Jazz Orchestra last album was released in the 1970’s, nearly 60 years ago. According to Dr. Lovell, the band was run by a fraternity in the 70’s. He says it was monumental to accomplish the new album. Dr. Morell says he’s proud of his students.

“We knew that this was a group of students and musicians that should be, you know, captured on recording so that it could be remembered and listened to. But we also we did it with an awareness of a tradition and a history of jazz at this college that, you know, like Jeff was saying, I mean, it goes back, you know, well into the 70s and has been, you know, certainly at many times it's been a hub of jazz and jazz education in this region of a quality that is that's very rare. So, we wanted to make sure that if we were going to do a recording project that it at least, you know, could. Could be, you know, in that lineage and stand up to, you know, the tradition that's been around here for all that time. And I'll tell you also, this is I you know, if we have any control over this is not going to be the last such project that we do. Because, you know, Jeff, he doesn't talk about it that much, but he's an incredible jazz composer, not to mention pianist and just overall musician. And so, my goal is to, you know, get him to do a project of all of his music because the band should be playing that, “said Morell.

The album also features grammy aware winning artists.

 “We've got two Grammy Award winning trumpeters that have agreed to record a couple of solos on the album. The two that we're kind of excited about. We're also guest artists for our concerts the last two years. John Diverse, who is the director of the jazz program at Frost School in Miami for our School of Music and a close friend of Justin's. And also a mutual friend of ours, Josh Deutsch, who's a New York based trumpet player, musician, fantastic musician who came to played with the band and with the faculty last spring. He recorded a couple of tracks solos on a couple of tracks for the album. And then Tom Stroman, our own legend in the music department, recorded a solo on one of the tracks. So, we are we wanted to kind of make a big splash and a big deal about this. It it's we see it as also an opportunity for recruitment. To get the word out about the program, having some tangible artifact of what our students have accomplished and what can be accomplished moving forward, “said Lovell.

The Valley Jazz Orchestra just released a new album “Vicious Fishes” for the first time in over 50 years. Co-directors of the album Dr. Jeffrey Lovell and Dr. Justin Morell. Their paths first crossed at the University of Oregon where they both earned their doctorate degrees.
They’re now professors at Lebanon Valley College. Students in the “Big Band” was also apart of the project. For senior Aaron Ruddrow says working with Dr. Lovell and Dr. Morell was an enjoyable experience.
“I've had the opportunity, and I'm blessed to have had the opportunity to record a few things of mine, but also a couple of other people's projects in the past. And but nothing quite this scale. And it was really. Yeah, enjoyable experience, especially to be able to collaborate directly with Dr. Morale, being the composer, to kind of just talk to him and be like, okay, what sound do you want from me? Like, what do you want specifically from me as the drummer? And to get like, what are you looking for? And it was kind of it was a neat experience to be able to, to collaborate in that way, just to produce exactly what we were all envisioning for this project, “said Ruddrow.
The last Vally Jazz Orchestra last album was released in the 1970’s, nearly 60 years ago. According to Dr. Lovell, the band was run by a fraternity in the 70’s. He says it was monumental to accomplish the new album. Dr. Morell says he’s proud of his students.
“We knew that this was a group of students and musicians that should be, you know, captured on recording so that it could be remembered and listened to. But we also we did it with an awareness of a tradition and a history of jazz at this college that, you know, like Jeff was saying, I mean, it goes back, you know, well into the 70s and has been, you know, certainly at many times it's been a hub of jazz and jazz education in this region of a quality that is that's very rare. So, we wanted to make sure that if we were going to do a recording project that it at least, you know, could. Could be, you know, in that lineage and stand up to, you know, the tradition that's been around here for all that time. And I'll tell you also, this is I you know, if we have any control over this is not going to be the last such project that we do. Because, you know, Jeff, he doesn't talk about it that much, but he's an incredible jazz composer, not to mention pianist and just overall musician. And so, my goal is to, you know, get him to do a project of all of his music because the band should be playing that, “said Morell.
The album also features grammy aware winning artists.
 “We've got two Grammy Award winning trumpeters that have agreed to record a couple of solos on the album. The two that we're kind of excited about. We're also guest artists for our concerts the last two years. John Diverse, who is the director of the jazz program at Frost School in Miami for our School of Music and a close friend of Justin's. And also a mutual friend of ours, Josh Deutsch, who's a New York based trumpet player, musician, fantastic musician who came to played with the band and with the faculty last spring. He recorded a couple of tracks solos on a couple of tracks for the album. And then Tom Stroman, our own legend in the music department, recorded a solo on one of the tracks. So, we are we wanted to kind of make a big splash and a big deal about this. It it's we see it as also an opportunity for recruitment. To get the word out about the program, having some tangible artifact of what our students have accomplished and what can be accomplished moving forward, “said Lovell.

The Spark Weekly 09.29.2024: Journalist Roundtable with Reid Frazier and Rachel McDevitt; The Ins and Outs of Marching Band

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