On This Week's Edition of The Spark Weekly:

Sydney Roach of WPSU in State College, will discuss her story on legislation approved by the PA Senate, providing funding to create “safe exchange zones” for child custody exchanges and online marketplace sales. These zones will have video surveillance and be near a law enforcement office or in a public area. and Stephanie Sigafoos of LeighHighValleyNews.com will speak about one of her stories about a gas explosion.

Also, on the program.

Andrew Dalton is the Executive Director of the Adams County Historical Society and Beyond the Battle Museum. As a Gettysburg native, Dalton has always been drawn to history.

“We have a lot of people who are connected to Gettysburg through family history, whether their ancestors lived here or there are millions of Americans undoubtedly, who had an ancestor that fought at the Battle of Gettysburg. And so, connecting those people to Gettysburg is something that I really enjoy because, you know, I found my own connection early on.”

Andrew’s passion for history began as he grew up at what was once the Gettysburg Country Club. With a curious spirit, he soon learned about the story of what happened on that property before, during, and after the Battle of Gettysburg.

On This Week's Edition of The Spark Weekly:
Sydney Roach of WPSU in State College, will discuss her story on legislation approved by the PA Senate, providing funding to create “safe exchange zones” for child custody exchanges and online marketplace sales. These zones will have video surveillance and be near a law enforcement office or in a public area. and Stephanie Sigafoos of LeighHighValleyNews.com will speak about one of her stories about a gas explosion.
Also, on the program.
<a href="https://www.achs-pa.org/staff-board-of-trustees/andrew-i-dalton/">Andrew Dalton</a> is the Executive Director of the Adams County Historical Society and <a href="https://www.achs-pa.org/visit/">Beyond the Battle Museum</a>. As a Gettysburg native, Dalton has always been drawn to history.
“We have a lot of people who are connected to Gettysburg through family history, whether their ancestors lived here or there are millions of Americans undoubtedly, who had an ancestor that fought at the Battle of Gettysburg. And so, connecting those people to Gettysburg is something that I really enjoy because, you know, I found my own connection early on.”
Andrew’s passion for history began as he grew up at what was once the Gettysburg Country Club. With a curious spirit, he soon learned about the story of what happened on that property before, during, and after the Battle of Gettysburg.

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 10/20/2024: Journalist Roundtable and Beyond The Battle Museum.

Jack Crowley, President of the Water Street Rescue Mission in Lancaster. Just a few weeks ago, Crowley marked World Homeless Day by spending 24 hours outside on a bench in support of those who are currently unhoused.

“The idea is not to imitate or pretend that we're experiencing what our friends who are unhoused actually are going through, “said Crowley.

The demonstration created an opportunity for different organizations to come together and brainstorm how they could better serve the homeless population. Crowley livestreamed his entire experience.

“We had conversations the whole 24 hours. I got like a four-hour window in the middle of the night where it was quiet. I didn't really sleep because it was cold out and I was on an uncomfortable bench. But we had tons of conversations with leaders from across the community, “said Crowley.

Crowley gained some new perspective when he camped out all night. He says the experience was way more than just sleeping in the cold. During his demonstration, a former visitor at the mission visited him. Through conversation, Crowley learned a new meaning to empathy.

“One of the guests who visited me on the bench is a gentleman named David who is homeless. He's staying with us right now at Water Street. And he's doing well. But he actually went through a cycle where he had been with us for three months and then he left and he was back on the street. And one of the things he combated, we were joking about my experience. So is this the morning after I'd been on the bench for 18 hours and I was sore, and I was tired, and he was he was teasing me about that. And I said, David, I know this doesn't compare to what you experienced during those two months. And he's like, Yeah, you're right. And he said, the biggest thing for him was that within 24 hours of leaving Water Street and being back on the street, sleeping on the sidewalks, he said, I knew that I was either invisible or inhuman to every person I encountered that people didn't even want to see me talk about walking down the sidewalk and people not like. Kind of ignoring him, not moving out of his way, even though he had a whole bunch of stuff he was carrying, just kind of pretending he wasn't even there. And then others who looked at him but looked at him with disgust and looked at him with condescension. And he's like, within 24 hours of leaving Water Street, I knew I was either invisible or inhuman. And the only thing that kind of carried him through those two months was he knew that he could come back to Water Street and that people would love him and that he had a church that he went to every Sunday, “said Crowley.

Jack Crowley, President of the <a href="https://wsm.org/">Water Street Rescue Mission</a> in Lancaster. Just a few weeks ago, Crowley marked World Homeless Day by spending 24 hours outside on a bench in support of those who are currently unhoused.
<blockquote>
“The idea is not to imitate or pretend that we're experiencing what our friends who are unhoused actually are going through, “said Crowley.
</blockquote>
The demonstration created an opportunity for different organizations to come together and brainstorm how they could better serve the homeless population. Crowley livestreamed his entire experience.
“We had conversations the whole 24 hours. I got like a four-hour window in the middle of the night where it was quiet. I didn't really sleep because it was cold out and I was on an uncomfortable bench. But we had tons of conversations with leaders from across the community, “said Crowley.
Crowley gained some new perspective when he camped out all night. He says the experience was way more than just sleeping in the cold. During his demonstration, a former visitor at the mission visited him. Through conversation, Crowley learned a new meaning to empathy.
“One of the guests who visited me on the bench is a gentleman named David who is homeless. He's staying with us right now at Water Street. And he's doing well. But he actually went through a cycle where he had been with us for three months and then he left and he was back on the street. And one of the things he combated, we were joking about my experience. So is this the morning after I'd been on the bench for 18 hours and I was sore, and I was tired, and he was he was teasing me about that. And I said, David, I know this doesn't compare to what you experienced during those two months. And he's like, Yeah, you're right. And he said, the biggest thing for him was that within 24 hours of leaving Water Street and being back on the street, sleeping on the sidewalks, he said, I knew that I was either invisible or inhuman to every person I encountered that people didn't even want to see me talk about walking down the sidewalk and people not like. Kind of ignoring him, not moving out of his way, even though he had a whole bunch of stuff he was carrying, just kind of pretending he wasn't even there. And then others who looked at him but looked at him with disgust and looked at him with condescension. And he's like, within 24 hours of leaving Water Street, I knew I was either invisible or inhuman. And the only thing that kind of carried him through those two months was he knew that he could come back to Water Street and that people would love him and that he had a church that he went to every Sunday, “said Crowley.

Lancaster community leader spends 24 hours on a bench to raise awareness for homelessness

Shippensburg University has just finished it’s 12th growing season at the Campus Farm. Dr. Sean Cornell has been a faculty advisor since tit’s inception.

“it's been a really exciting opportunity for the university with a student led project, the students from biology and geography and Earth Science, as well as social work departments. We all kind of got together and developed the campus farm concept actually in response to both the students’ interests, but also the needs in our community. At that time, you know, the Shippensburg Produce and Outreach Organization had posted a sign indicating they wanted individuals to grow a role for SPO so that you would have this excess harvest that could go to community members, “said Cornell.

Seember Agbajir is a student at Shippensburg University and says being involved in the farm was a great experience for her.

“That was my first time ever being on the farm, so it was actually a great experience for me. Prior to that time, I had to get close to Dr. Ross, so I felt like it would be a good thing to maybe dive deeper into it. And then I was like, okay, let me work on the farm. And then, yeah, I started walking on the farm with him and it was a very beautiful experience because that was my first time ever getting my hands dirty, “said Agbajir.

CLICK HERE to learn more about the campus farm.

Shippensburg University has just finished it’s 12th growing season at the Campus Farm. Dr. Sean Cornell has been a faculty advisor since tit’s inception.
“it's been a really exciting opportunity for the university with a student led project, the students from biology and geography and Earth Science, as well as social work departments. We all kind of got together and developed the campus farm concept actually in response to both the students’ interests, but also the needs in our community. At that time, you know, the Shippensburg Produce and Outreach Organization had posted a sign indicating they wanted individuals to grow a role for SPO so that you would have this excess harvest that could go to community members, “said Cornell.
Seember Agbajir is a student at Shippensburg University and says being involved in the farm was a great experience for her.
“That was my first time ever being on the farm, so it was actually a great experience for me. Prior to that time, I had to get close to Dr. Ross, so I felt like it would be a good thing to maybe dive deeper into it. And then I was like, okay, let me work on the farm. And then, yeah, I started walking on the farm with him and it was a very beautiful experience because that was my first time ever getting my hands dirty, “said Agbajir.
<a href="https://www.ship.edu/about/sustainability/campus_farm/">CLICK HERE</a> to learn more about the campus farm.

All about Shippensburg University Campus Farm and produce outreach program

Voting registration in Pennsylvania ended on October 21 and mail and absentee ballots are due by November 5. WITF Democracy Reporter Jordan Wilkie voted absentee and recorded himself voting.

“I took the sort of unusual step of voting by mail in person. So I went to my elections, my county elections office, and I requested my mail in ballot. They approved the request. They handed me the ballot. I filled it out. I put it in the secret envelope. I put it in the return envelope. But instead of putting it in the mail back to them, I just turned around and went to the office window and said, well, here you go. They recorded accepting it. And, you know, not a lot of people know that this is part of the process in Pennsylvania.

Jordan documented his experience because it’s a method that many Pennsylvania voters are not experienced with yet.

“Well, when people vote, they get in a habit of voting a certain way. People who vote in person on Election Day tend to vote in person. Election Day, you know, for years and years and years, people who vote by mail decide that that's the best practice for them. And so I just thought it was an interesting way to show, you know, there's a different method that most people aren't familiar with.”

Voting registration in Pennsylvania ended on October 21 and mail and absentee ballots are due by November 5. <a href="https://www.witf.org/author/jwilkie/">WITF Democracy Reporter Jordan Wilkie</a> voted absentee and recorded himself voting.
“I took the sort of unusual step of voting by mail in person. So I went to my elections, my county elections office, and I requested my mail in ballot. They approved the request. They handed me the ballot. I filled it out. I put it in the secret envelope. I put it in the return envelope. But instead of putting it in the mail back to them, I just turned around and went to the office window and said, well, here you go. They recorded accepting it. And, you know, not a lot of people know that this is part of the process in Pennsylvania.
Jordan documented his experience because it’s a method that many Pennsylvania voters are not experienced with yet.
“Well, when people vote, they get in a habit of voting a certain way. People who vote in person on Election Day tend to vote in person. Election Day, you know, for years and years and years, people who vote by mail decide that that's the best practice for them. And so I just thought it was an interesting way to show, you know, there's a different method that most people aren't familiar with.”

The Spark Weekly 10/20/2024: Journalist Roundtable and Beyond The Battle Museum.

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