APRIL 13, 2021 BLUE VALLEY TIME PAGE 5

Blue Valley TimesSERVING THE SLATE BELT, LOWER POCONOS AND NORTHERN N.J.

DAILY ONLINE AT FACEBOOK.COM/BLUEVALLEYTIMES/

Visit us at www.bluevalleytimes.com

‘What’s So Cool About Manufacturing?’ Contest Returning to Lehigh ValleyBy Colin McEvoy

Students from the Wilson Area Intermediate School being honored at the Lehigh Valley regional 2020 What’s So Cool About Manufacturing? student contest in February 2020. (courtesy photo)

The annual “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing?” student video contest will be returning to the Lehigh Valley for an eighth consecutive year.

Developed by Manufacturers Resource Center, the program is a video-based educational tool that seeks to increase awareness of career paths and technology in manufacturing, and dispel any false perceptions younger generations may have about manufacturing jobs.

This year’s awards program will be taped in advance and aired on WFMZ on April 26. Student videos will be available to view from April 7 to April 9 on the program’s website, WhatsSoCool.org, and public voting for winners will take place there.

The contest challenges student teams from Lehigh Valley-area middle schools to shoot, edit, and promote short videos that document their experiences with a local manufacturer. The videos will compete regionally for awards in seven different categories.

“The level of support and participation we are seeing, from manufacturers, from our sponsors and from area schools, signifies this program is really heightening community awareness about manufacturing career opportunities,” said MRC President & CEO Rich Hobbs.

“The fact that our program can have this level of impact, not just in the Lehigh Valley, but every-where it is being utilized, is a net positive for the future needs of manufacturing in Pennsylvania,” Hobbs said.

The Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC) is once again one of the spon-sors of the What’s So Cool About Manufacturing? contest this year.

Participating manufacturers this year include B. Braun Medical Inc., Bosch Rexroth Corporation, C. F. Martin & Co., JULABO USA, Just Born Quality Confections, Lutron Electronics Co., Mack Trucks, Nestlé Waters North America, Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc., Sharp Packaging Solutions, and more.

Twenty schools in Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties will participate in this year’s con-test. The Lehigh Valley contest format, originally created in the Lehigh Valley in 2013, has grown in popularity and has been adopted by groups in 14 other states.

Hobbs described What’s So Cool About Manufacturing? as a career awareness program that at its core is “peer marketing,” with kids advocating manufacturing to other kids through their videos.

The contest is showcased on the program’s website and shared nationally through the Manufac-turing Institute and the Manufacturing Extension Partnership platforms. The What’s So Cool video library serves as a digital resource showcasing more than 500 Pennsylvania manufacturers.

Dedicated sponsorship by community partners like LVEDC has helped the program continue during the pandemic, Hobbs said. With the impacts of a pandemic affecting many educational pro-graming, WSCM has adapted the program to meet the needs of students, teachers, manufacturers, and school districts.

Additional information can be found on the What’s So Cool About Manufacturing? Facebook page at facebook.com/wscmlv and Twitter account at @wscmlv.

Original funding for “What’s So Cool About Manufacturing?” was furnished by a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development in 2013.

Students from the Wilson Area Intermediate School being honored at the Lehigh Valley regional 2020 What’s So Cool About Manufacturing? student contest in February 2020. (courtesy photo)

WWW.GINDERGREENHOUSE.COM LIKE US ON FACEBOOK

558 Lake Minsi Drive Bangor, PA 18013

610-588-0222

Check Out Our Facebook Page & Website For Specials

EARLY SPRING HOURSTHURSDAY & FRIDAY 10-5SATURDAY 9-5 SUNDAY 9-1CLOSED: MON-TUES-WED

Great Spring ColorFlowers & Veggies

Hanging Baskets - PerennialsWave Petunias - Onions

Strawberries - Asparagus RootsTake & Bake Frozen Pies!

Local Honey & Jams

PAGE 6 BLUE VALLEY TIMES APRIL 13, 2021

Ken Field

Owner of Slate Belt Energy

Services

Ken Field is the owner of Slate Belt Energy and Field’s Service, Inc. As a

certified energy rater and contractor, he is qualified to assess every aspect of

energy usage and prescribe solutions to save energy. He can be reached at

610-759-6306 or email Ken@FieldsService.com

Exclusively in the Blue Valley Times

Peek A BooA contractor friend recently sent me some photos of a bathroom remodel

he did. There were photos from start to finish and the finished bathroom was beautiful. He took something straight out of the 70s and brought everything up to date. I’m sure the homeowners were thrilled to have such a quality

upgrade done. However in a couple of the photos the

subfloor was removed and I could see a horribly gross crawl space underneath.

There was trash visible that was not from the bath remodel and a dehumidi-fier was also visible in one photo. Crawl

spaces under homes are relatively common in our area and horrible ones

are all too common. How could you ever remove the humidity from a crawl space with a dirt floor? You can’t, but

you can add $30 to your electric bill ev-ery month by trying. You can also bring some really funky smells into the house by leaving the damp soil exposed in the

crawl space. You might never expect that they come from there but the whole house acts like a chimney because of its construction. Good air leaves at the top and bad air enters at the bottom. All day every day. Encapsulating the crawl space does not fall above a bathroom

remodel on any homeowners list of things to do but it needs to be on that list somewhere. Constant moisture will

eventually destroy the wood exposed to it and that repair is extremely expen-

sive. Encapsulation is the term used for

isolating the crawl space from the earth and bringing it into the same envelope as the house. It completely eliminates

all problems associated with crawl spaces and reduces energy bills usually by a large percentage. Ventilation used

to be the norm for crawl spaces and it is now known that it is a bad idea. It causes many more problems than it could possibly solve. Adding a liner to the floor and walls and eliminating any vents to the exterior. Will allow a dehumidifier to work as expected and

sump pits with pumps are available that don’t allow any moisture from the sump to enter the crawl space. Once that is completed, the space can be used for

storage and within a very short time the dampness in the wood will subside and

the odors will be gone forever.There are some very good materi-

als available for encapsulating crawl spaces. There are also some really bad ones. Any plastic sheeting less than 12 mils is unacceptable and any job that doesn’t have every seam and edge

taped is worthless. Do it right and you’ll only have to do it once.

For more info go to https: www.hornsoutdoor.com or call them for an appointment (610) 588-6614.

1169 Mount Bethel Highway Mount Bethel, PA 18343.

HORN’SHHHO SSOUTDOOR INC

Blue Valley TimesSERVING THE SLATE BELT, LOWER POCONOS AND NORTHERN N.J.

DAILY ONLINE AT FACEBOOK.COM/BLUEVALLEYTIMES/

Visit us at www.bluevalleytimes.com

2021 Grow NORCO Program Grants for Non-profitsBy Becky Bartlett

EASTON - Lamont McClure and the Department of Com-munity and Economic Development (DCED) have begun dis-persing the first round of 2021 Grow NORCO grants following County Council’s approval during their April 1st meeting.

The grants were recommended by a review committee com-prised of DCED staff will fund sixteen projects for a total of $183,713.00. The grants will be used for operations and capital improvements with a maximum award of $15,000. “The pan-demic has shown us the important role non-profit organizations play in both public health and economic development,” says Lamont McClure. “These grants will help support those mis-sions.” Grow NORCO grants are funded using Northampton County’s share of local table games revenue.

To be eligible a non-profit must be located in Northampton County, have under $3 million in gross receipts for calendar year 2019 and did not receive any prior CARES Act money from Northampton County for operating expenses.

Locally the Blue Valley Farm Show was awarded $15,000.00 for a Gas Boiler Replacement in their Slate Belt Senior Center .

Organization Project Grant Aspire to Autonomy Inc. Community Intervention Services –

salaries $ 6,300.00

Bethlehem Economic Development Corporation

Street Mural/PI: Internet Infrastructure Upgrades

$15,000.00

Bethlehem Emergency Sheltering, Inc.

2021 Emergency Shelter Operations- salary costs

$15,000.00

Blue Valley Farm Show Gas Boiler Replacement Slate Belt Senior Center

$15,000.00

Boys & Girls Club Easton Cleaning and Sanitizing Procedures – salaries and professional services

$15,000.00

Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor

National Canal Museum Operations – salaries

$15,000.00

Easton Area Community Center Technology Improvement Plan $ 4,206.00 Equi-Librium, Inc. Equine Assisted Services –

programming support $10,000.00

Families First, Inc. Family Center serving Pen Argyl SD – salaries

$10,000.00

Hispanic Center Lehigh Valley Community Empowerment Program – Social Services Coordinator Salary

$15,000.00

Jacobsburg Historical Society Early American Craft Center Upgrade Project

$ 7,454.00

Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks Free concerts for community members-performer payments

$15,000.00

Memorial Library of Nazareth & Vicinity

Environmental & Emergency Exit Remediation

$ 6,325.00

Moravian Historical Society Preservation of the Historic Whitefield House

$ 9,395.00

Nazareth Economic Development Commission

NEDC Salaries Plus $10,033.00

Northampton County Historical & Genealogical Society

1743 Bachmann Publick House Roof Replacement

$15,000.00

Total $183,713.00

###

Content SaleColumbia Self Storage will sell the contents of the occupant’s leased

space at public auction to satisfy the owner’s lien on StorageTreasures.com all personal property stored in this facility by: Unit #128, Garry

Frey, consisting of totes and misc. items. Items will be offered for sale by auction to the highest bidder for enforcement of storage liens.

Auction will be held at 9AM, Tuesday April 27, 2021

on StorageTreasures.com.

All auction sales are FINAL. Cash only and paid at Columbia Self Storage, 1059 Pennsylvania Ave., Pen Argyl, PA 18072. Columbia Self

Storage reserves the right to refuse any bid.

Parts Person andMechanic Needed

Full TimeExperience Required

Start Immediately

Apply by emailing your resume to info@hornsoutdoor.com orcompleting our online application at www.hornsoutdoor.com

Horn's Outdoor, Inc.1169 Mt Bethel HwyMt Bethel, PA 18343

610-588-6614Since 2012

Hours: Tuesday - Friday 9-5, Saturday 9-1