The Spark

Braver Angels is a citizens' organization uniting red and blue Americans in a working alliance to depolarize America. Dave Wagner, the Red PA State Coordinator, and Gabbi Timmin,  Director of Communications for the national organization joined The Spark to share more about the organization and their role. They also spoke about The American Hope Campaign.  The campaign is equipping Americans across the political spectrum to work together and demand the same of politicians from both parties.

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Our weekly journalist roundtable segment featured Carter Walker, Votebeat Pennsylvania Reporter, and Chad Lorenz, Votebeat Editor-in-Chief. Votebeat operates in five states, with reporters on the ground producing coverage of election administration.

Both joined The Spark to update us on their election coverage.

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The Duncannon Fire Company No. 1 has earned a $15,000 Safety First grant from Norfolk Southern. Byron Worner, Fire Chief of the Duncannon Fire Company, has been volunteering for over 40 years. The funds will be used to purchase new gear so the fire team will have essential protective gear needed when responding to emergencies.

Maintaining a volunteer fire company is not easy.

“The whole the whole thing, from bottom to top, from funding coming into your base. Your administrative staff here are all volunteers. The Duncannon Fire Company is 100% volunteer. So, everybody that does anything at the firehouse receives no compensation for their jobs. So we do everything that any organization or type of business does from providing the base, which is your administration, your secretary, your treasurer, your, you know, you’re and you have your work staff, which is your firefighters, and you have support staff also, which could be just, social members who just come around and do things outside of getting on the fire trucks and go on calls. And then you have your firefighters and then Your administrative staff. I said that with your, executive board, but then your, operations staff, which is your, line officers, your two lieutenants, captains, assistant chiefs, and the chief.”

The Safety First Grant program is designed to promote overall community safety across Norfolk Southern’s 22-state network. The Duncannon Fire Company is always looking to add volunteers to the program. Worner says being a volunteer has so many benefits.

"it's gratifying and you give back to your community every year. That thrown around a lot. But seriously, it is giving back to your community because you are doing a job that and not taking a salary. So every volunteer at Duncannon Fire Company is basically saving the municipalities. You know, probably 80 to $100,000 a year. So you add that up times, you know, 20 or so. You know the number, and it's saving people a ton of money. And once, once that goes by the wayside, the people are going to know what they're going to have an appreciation for what the volunteer firefighters provided them."

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This past June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a president is immune from criminal prosecution for official acts conducted while in office. Former President Donald Trump is facing several charges for his actions in connection to the January 6 attack at the capitol.

Emily Spottswood, Professor from Penn State Dickinson School of Law says the news came as a partial surprise.

“I wasn't shocked that the court recognized some degree of immunity. You know, there's a lot of parallels for that in other contexts, right? Like prosecutors can't be prosecuted if they even if they flagrantly and egregiously bring charges against a wrong person is absolute prosecutorial immunity. Judges can't be prosecuted for putting the wrong person in prison or even finding them guilty, and they get executed. Right. So, there's a variety of those sorts of immunities that are built into the structure of government. And so, saying some amount of presidential conduct might be similar. There are arguments back and forth. And I'm not a, you know, executive power scholar. So, I'm maybe not the most authoritative person on this subject, but I thought it wasn't incredibly unlikely that the court would say there was some kind of immunity. What was surprising to me was the scope of what they suggested. The extent to which, you know, the sort of this very broad sphere in which he couldn't be prosecuted, and the lack of any guidance given to lower courts about what among the acts in this indictment probably would fall outside of that. Probably would. So, they had a very broad notion of what is his office and what are his official acts. And without giving a lot of guidance that could help streamline things”.

With this ruling, Spottswood believes this will change how constitutional law is taught to law students moving forward.

“If you're teaching a constitutional law class, you know, a big part of those classes traditionally are these things about how the Constitution structures government, how these various checks and balances and how the separation of powers works on our system. And there's aspects of this decision that cut counter to, you know, previous decisions that definitely are evolving the law in new directions and others that might influence the future course of what powers Congress has to regulate the president. And you know, how the president and the executive branch conducts their work. You know, so I think it's not just as a narrow precedent about, specifically prosecuting presidents, which, you know, we can hope isn't something that will come up as often going forward. But this is also a decision about how the branches relate to each other. And I don't teach constitutional law, but I'm quite sure that my colleagues who do, will think this is an important case to discuss and teach in class.”

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12-year-old Lancaster resident Lucus Kreider is on a mission to better the community he lives in. Lucus along with his mother, Sophia Kreider, created Peace Kids to the Rescue Art Show and Silent Auction.

“So, at a young age, I was involved with people who are experiencing homelessness and people who are less fortunate than we are. So that just kind of inspired me, to try to do whatever I can to help people who are less fortunate than us. So, I was really into art at the time and made an art show, “said Lucus.

Sophia gathered all her resources and began trying to turn Lucus’ dream of helping others into a reality.

“As a mom, there's lots of fun little ideas that come up on a day-to-day basis. And you, you only have so much time and energy to do things. But I thought, you know what? Let's give this a go and see what happens. But I don't think Lucas, or I ever imagined that it would grow to the degree that it has. So, it's been it's been pure joy, “said Sophia.

2024 is the 6th Annual Peace Kids to the Rescue Art Show and Silent Auction. Children from ages 6-19 create art, and the pieces are auctioned off at the event.

“I think it just little by little, the community has come to know this event and has come to look forward to the event. And we're also trying to grow it by connecting with various nonprofits that, also want to collaborate in the sense that they want to bring children into the fold of the peace kids. So, this year we have, close to ten, perhaps children that are part of the mix for kids, organization, nonprofit. Who has donated art. And so that's also part of the wider view is how do we collaborate with other nonprofits that are out there in the world and really wanting to also empower children in various ways, “said Sophia.

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According to ABC 27 Meterologist Dan Tomaso, this weekend the weather should warm up and hopefully will lead to rain.

"So we went from having what you would term as a cold front come through on Saturday. I don't know if it necessarily got old per se. It got cooler, but that brought some clouds, a few showers. It was kind of well advertised that was coming on Saturday. You know, the forecast pattern lately has been pretty obvious to follow. And what I mean by that is there's not a whole lot going on. And these large areas of high pressure or areas of sinking air, as we say in meteorology so air can either rise or sink. It's kind of the fundamentals of meteorology. And when you get under one of these big areas of sinking air under high pressure, it can lead to very, very quiet stretches of weather, whether that's a week, ten days, possibly even longer. And other than that front that came through Saturday, it's been quiet for almost two weeks. And so we're under the influence of yet another area of high pressure. When we get some of this fresh air coming in initially from Canada, it's a little chilly. So we started this week, temperatures only in the 70s for highs, low temperatures, upper 30s and 40s. Now we're pushing into the mid 80s, even upper 80s potentially, but there's still not a lot of humidity. The air is very, very dry. Nighttime temperatures in the 50s, it's really, really comfortable air. And I must admit to, you know, we had some cooler nights, but compared to even how we started the month, this is warmer. But it's quiet at the same time. So, you know, sometimes we get these warm ups and it leads to rain. There's no rain and heat right now. Even leading through this upcoming weekend."

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Coming up on The Spark Weekly,

 We speak with UPMC Dietician Sarah Beaty about the pros and cons of using artificial sweeteners over natural sugars.

Also on the program: 

We also have a conversation with Tracie Potts and Dr. Teresa Smallwood about Unpacking the Vote, an event that allows the public to ask questions and speak with Election Experts about the upcoming election.

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Eisenhower Institute and WITF news will be hosting “Unpacking the Vote: A Public Q&A with Election Experts” Monday, September 16 at the Majestic Theater from 6- 7:30 p.m.

It’ll be an opportunity for voters to ask questions about how elections work and how they’re run.

Kira Hamman of the Urban Rural Action will be co-leading the political-violence-de-escalation workshop in partnership with the Eisenhower Institute at Gettysburg College. She started the College’s Democracy Week when she came to the college about three years ago.

“Democracy means everyone in this country has a voice. Democracy means we have a privilege and an obligation to participate in our community, and that can be in many different ways. We often think of that as voting, but civic participation can be going to meetings. It can be testifying at your county council. It can be, talking to school board members. It can be door knocking and talking with your neighbors and your friends about issues that you think are important. It can be getting involved with your, local organization and making a difference right where you live.”

Dr. Teresa Smallwood is a professor at the Lutheran Seminary in Gettysburg. She will be a co-leader at the Q&A as well. She says in the last two years, there’s been an uptick in the suppression of voting and people’s capacity to participate in democratic governance.

“Voting matters, the capacity to elect matter. And in this moment, because there has been such a the press backwards, we're very interested in teaching our people, training our folks, and really transforming, people who particularly will be handling these blocks of congregants, of folks who actually live everyday lack, who recognize the threat that exists to democracy. And if there are threat, then obviously there has to be some counter this way.”

CLICK HERE for more information about Unpacking the Vote:  A Public Q&A with Election Experts.

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The Spark host Asia Tabb spoke to Kele McComsey, Director of Mana Contemporary who spearheaded the book Project 270:  50 States, 70 Voices and 1 message along with artist Bob Fust, Machine Dazzle, and Hugo Crosthwaite on the importance of getting out to vote. The book included 70 artist to create posters to represent all 50 states to encourage ages 18-36 to vote.

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The Career Studies program at Penn State Harrisburg offers individuals with intellectual disabilities can earn a post-secondary education that leads to professional networks and careers.

The program was started in 2015 at the college as one of several programs that stated in the state, to provide a college experience and job preparation for individuals with intellectual disabilities.

“At Penn State Harrisburg, we have about 4500 students enrolled. So it's a nice natural proportion, of students, as the as more and more school districts are aware and refer students to us, and as more and more families are aware and contact students, to come into the program, we're able, I think, to provide them a really robust program that includes inclusion and involvement in activities on campus, career exploration and academic enrichment, “said Dr. Linda Rhen, Program Director of the Career Studies Program at Penn State Harrisburg.

The career studies program is a two-year, four- semesters program that includes academic and social enhancement, a chance to explore careers, and work experience.

“Of the growth that families see just with maturity. And, you know, some of our students get tired of hearing self-advocacy. You need to speak up for yourself. You have a voice. That's a huge part of our program. And you can make decisions for yourself. And our, our families share how awesome the program has been and just the experience. I mean, everybody, benefits from being part of a college community, and our students are getting that, that benefit as well, because they are clearly, included in part of the community, “said Sandy McBride, Program Coordinator of the Career Studies Program at Penn State Harrisburg.

The programs also include peer mentors providing students with support in their classes and on-campus activities.  The peer mentors are student workers at Penn State Harrisburg. According to Dr. Rhen, they found all students benefit from the peer mentor program.

“So, you know, it's like a win- win for everything. It's a win-win for the career studies program and the students getting support. And for the peer mentors, they're involved in something and learn about something that you know is totally new to them. And we've actually had some of the peer mentors go on to careers in human Services that they wouldn't have known about otherwise, “said Rhen.

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