Home Care In Perkasie, PA

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A home improvement contractor is now permanently banned from working in Pennsylvania.

He has also been ordered to pay restitution to some of his customers. The court order comes after a years-long Troubleshooters investigation.

The Troubleshooters began investigating Ray Cedar seven years ago, and now a court has taken these extreme actions to protect future consumers.

"It's just unbelievable. I just can't believe he is driving around advertising and doing work for other people," said Dave Clark of Langhorne, Pennsylvania in August 2022.

Clark is talking about Cedar, who's operated under a lot of different business names and across state lines first in New Jersey and then in Pennsylvania.

SEE ALSO: Troubleshooters: Contractor continues to take jobs despite Pa. registration deactivation

"I just want no one else to have to go through this," said Lisa Triolo of Perkasie, Pennsylvania.

Customers accused him of doing shoddy work and failing to finish the job. After the Troubleshooters brought the complaints to the attention of the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office, it sued Cedar. The goal was to prevent him from ever operating as a contractor in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Now the court has issued a default judgment and final decree, taking permanent action against Cedar.

"He can't register as a contractor in the future. He can't perform home improvement work in the future," said Pa. Deputy Attorney General Sarah Frasch.

He is also ordered to pay nearly $85,000 in restitution to his customers and penalties.

We reached out to Cedar for a response to the court order. He told us, "no comment."

SEE ALSO: Troubleshooters: In-depth look at changes to Pennsylvania Contractor Registration database

Here's the takeaway for all consumers before you hire a home improvement contractor:

"We've not only trained the staff who handles our registrations, but all of our staff who handle any kind of customer inquiries," said Frasch.

The Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office took that important action as a result of a Troubleshooters investigation. Do make sure you call or email to get detailed information on a registered contractor. The AG's office is still working on updating its website so consumers can get that information on their own.

Call 1-888-520-6680 or email [email protected] to get details about home improvement contractors from the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office.

Contact the Action News Troubleshooters:

The women, members of Skydive Philadelphia, are taking consecutive skydives - 100 in one day - at the Pennridge Airport in Perkasie.

|Updated Tue, Jul 18, 2023 at 11:53 pm ET

PERKASIE, PA — Four skydiving women are taking to the sky today above Bucks County today in an attempt to break a Pennsylvania women’s skydiving record and raise money for charity.

The women, all from the Delaware Valley and members of Skydive Philadelphia, are taking consecutive skydives - 100 in one day - at the Pennridge Airport at 1300 School House Road. The community is invited to come out, enjoy some food and watch the record being broken.

Between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. on July 18, the women - Kelly Teel, Sheryl Benner, Jordan Lynch and Risa Alfieri - are taking 25 lower altitude jumps today during a series of “Hop and Pops” from about 3500 feet.

“You basically hop in and you pop out,” said Teel of Sellersville, noting that a typical dive for the women is from 10,000 and 12,000 feet. The “Hop and Pop” eliminates the free fall part of the dive giving the skydivers more time to break the record.

“It’s a lot to do in a day,” admits Benner, whose previous high was 14 skydives in a day.

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“It gets the adrenaline pumping,” adds Teel, whose previous high was eight jumps. “Before I was a mom I’d spend all day at the drop zone. I’d be jumping my heart out. So I would imagine that by the end of the day we’re going to be exhausted. But we’re going to have a great team behind us. We have people who will be packing our parachutes for us and our husbands will be there to support us. I’m ready for the challenge. And my kids are really excited as well.”

When Benner, of Quakertown, isn’t driving a tractor-trailer for UPS, she’s jumping out of airplanes. “It’s a hobby,” she said. “But I also do it competitively. Last year we won gold in advance with myself and my teammates. It’s a pretty awesome sport.”

Jordan has 470 skydives. On Jordan’s 3rd instructional skydive, she lost her shoe right out the door! Worried as to how she was going to land with only one shoe- she managed to make it! Jordan is an operating room nurse and enjoys longboarding, snowboarding , reading, and the movies in her downtime.

Sheryl has been skydiving for over 10 years and has over 3,800 skydives under her belt. Sheryl has competed in every USPA Nationals event since 2012. Sheryl is a UPS driver by night and skydiver by day. When she is not or working; Sheryl enjoys hiking, stargazing and anything in nature.

Risa has been skydiving for over 10 years and has over 1500 skydives. She was so afraid of planes as a child and teen that she made her family take a train to Florida for vacation. My, have things changed for Risa. Risa is a clinical psychologist and enjoys birding and snowboarding when she is not working or skydiving.

For Teel, aka Skykitten, jumping out of airplanes is all about fun. The mother of two who works full time as a social worker said the sport offers rest and relaxation from a hectic schedule. Kelly now has about 1,500 skydives.

Jordan, who works as a nurse in an operating room, has 470 skydives. On Jordan’s third instructional skydive, she lost her shoe right out the door. Worried as to how she was going to land with only one shoe, she managed to make it.

Risa has been skydiving for more than 10 years and has over 1500 skydives. She was so afraid of planes as a child and teen that she made her family take a train to Florida for vacation. My, have things changed for Risa, a clinical psychologist.

The women were motivated to action last year when a colleague from Skydive Philadelphia, Chris Howard, set the state record for the most consecutive jumps - 101 jumps. He raised money for Bucks4Kids which helps support foster children in the county.

“We took that idea and ran with it and wanted to do it again this year to benefit another charity,” said Teel.

The women chose Rest Connections as their charity. The Quakertown-based organization provides services to vulnerable and at-risk women, empowering them to achieve social and economic independence. Check them out at restconnection.org.

“We liked the connection of women setting the record and women empowering each other,” said Kelly. “We thought they would be a great organization to support.”

Donations can be made to the effort through its Venmo account and its GoFundMe page.

“Come out and cheer on the women while they set the record,” says a Facebook posting by Skydive Philadelphia. “Activities for the kids! There is limited seating so bring a blanket or chairs to stay and watch.”

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Hundreds turn out to object to school board's social studies curriculum improvement plan.

PERKASIE, PA — The Pennridge School Board this week voted 5 to 4 to approve a controversial social studies curriculum improvement plan for the district's elementary school that some say promotes an extremist right-wing view of history.

On Monday night, hundreds packed the auditorium of the Pennridge High School to urge the board to vote down the curriculum plan, which was developed with assistance from Vermillion Education and its CEO, Jordan Adams.

Adams has become a lightning rod in the district's curriculum debate because of his background as a graduate and former employee of Hillsdale College, a conservative, Christian school in Michigan that created the 1776 curriculum plan. The 1776 curriculum plan has been accused of "whitewashing" American history by liberals.

Adams has said Vermilion Education has no ties to Hillsdale College.

Prior to the vote, board members sparred over the curriculum plan with one member calling it "partisan and political" and another saying it will allow students to become "critical thinkers."

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"Typically our teachers and superintendent write the curriculum and bring it to us. Instead, this is curriculum written by an outsider with no experience in public education. On top of that our teachers and administrators are vehemently opposed to it," said board member Ronald Wurz. "The community is united against Vermillion and Mr. Adams on both sides of the aisle. We need to listen to our community.

"I hear over and over again how we want to remove bias from the curriculum. That is obviously a lie if we pass this tonight," said Wurz. "The Hillsdale College curriculum has not garnered any endorsements from any history, civics or educational professionals. It is important that we build our curriculum on a sound foundation rather than polarizing ideology ... Tonight we have an opportunity to change our school board to one that respects our community. Please do the right thing and vote no."

Board member Megan Banis-Clemens, who voted with the majority in favor of the curriculum change, said it was the administration who brought the request to update the social studies curriculum to the board two years ago. They were looking for a "consistent" curriculum across the district, she said. "We brought in Jordan Adams to help with that process," she said.

"There seems to be more comments about the person rather than the substance of the curriculum," she said during comments at the meeting. "Whether people like him or not, he is not the issue. The school code in Pennsylvania literally gives full authority to the school district on curriculum writing with the only requirement being that it covers the standards. He's qualified," she said. "And most of you who are complaining about his qualifications are saying the teachers should be writing the curriculum when the teachers don't have the qualifications that he has. He's also been director of curriculum elsewhere.

"A board member mentioned at the last meeting that we need to be teaching all perspectives and views. I disagree," she said. "We need to be teaching the facts and encouraging students to formulate their own views and think critically for themselves, not memorize a liberal or conservative perspective," she said. "We should be encouraging kids to dissect the information in all different ways and not memorize other people's takeaways."

Banis-Clemons said it's not "whitewashing American history" to have students draw conclusions on their own. "It's creating critical thinkers who will go on to solve the problems everyone else will miss," she said.

In a series of motions, the board approved a plan to incorporate the ninth grade curriculum into this upcoming school year and passed changes to the elementary curriculum, but postponed them until next year.

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Here in Pennsylvania, we are used to getting some snow. I’m not a fan of snow, at all, but as someone who has never lived down south, I suppose I’m used to it. Even though I’ll never liked the white stuff, I know a lot of people want a white Christmas. So, will Pennsylvania get a white Christmas? If you recall, last year, the Midwest and Northeast got snow around Christmas. It impacted my travel plans, and I ended up spending Christmas Eve alone watching cheesy Christmas movies. Don’t feel sorry for me, though, because I so enjoyed it and got to see family on Christmas Day.

Pennstakes.com has put out a study about the chance of getting a white Christmas in various areas around the U.S. As cited in a new survey from PennStakes.com, a whopping 59% of Americans are hoping for a white Christmas. As for methodology, according to the site, 3,000 Americans over 21 were polled between Oct. 31 and Nov. 3. They add, “Of those surveyed, 49% were male and 51% were female. The age breakdown of participants included in this survey was 20% in the range 21-34, 19% in the range 35-44, 19% in the range 44-54, 18% in the range 55-64, and 24% over 65+.”

So, will that dream be a reality? PennStakes.com looked at the years 1991 and 2020 and analyzed weather data from Climate.gov, showing how often each state has received at least 1 inch of snow on December 25, to find out the likelihood of a white Christmas. So, Pennsylvania get a white Christmas? According to their findings, 50% of people living in Pennsylvania want a white Christmas (not me). But, Pennsylvania only has a 34.1% chance of getting snow on Christmas. The state with the highest percentage of people who want to see a white Christmas is actually Kentucky at 77%. But, Kentucky only has a 6.6% chance of that being a reality. Sorry, Kentucky friends, but at least you have great bourbon.

Pennsylvania Has One of Most Iconic Christmas Trees in America

Anne Erickson's love for music drew her into radio. She started on the airwaves shortly after graduating from MSU. Anne has a passion for rock and metal, and she also fronts the band Upon Wings. Email Anne at [email protected], follow her on Instagram at @EricksonAnne and tweet at her @AnneErickson! Anne covers the Detroit, Philadelphia and Las Vegas markets and beyond.

Perkasie is known for its hometown charm, but did you know the borough has four different historic areas?

With a population of 9,129 people, Perkasie packs a lot of historic architecture and features into its 2.54 square miles. Many of its buildings were constructed between 1879 and 1971 as Perkasie expanded from 1,640 acres to more than 15,000 acres today. Here is a quick guide to those districts, including their most significant historic structures.

The privately owned camp meeting on Ninth Street is the only National Historic District in the borough. The land was used for Sunday School picnics and other events in the 1870s until the Perkasie Park Association bought the property in 1882.

Perkasie Park’s outdoor auditorium dates back to 1886 and it hosted everything from large camp meetings with thousands of people, to high school graduations and Memorial Day services. Today, it hosts religious services during the summer. Members of the association also own 60 Victorian cottages.

Perkasie Park hosts its annual Founders Day event each summer when the general public can tour the park’s grounds and go inside cottages.

In 2021, the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission (PHMC) said the original part of Perkasie and its neighboring sections were eligible to become a National Historic District. The district’s center, which has been called Olde Town in recent years, contained most of Perkasie during the 1880s and 1890s. The surrounding areas were added as the cigar and clothing industries became popular and Sell-Perk High School was built in the early 1930s.

This district has numerous buildings designed by architects Milton B. Bean and A. Oscar Martin.

Bean designed many classic brick Queen Anne homes that have “witches’ hat towers.” He also designed the beautiful Beidler mansion, now the home of several business, across from the Perkasie Fire Company. Martin worked in several styles and his buildings often have round windows, such as Perkasie’s first firehouse at Seventh and Arch streets.

Also of note is Perkasie’s collection of Victorian brick block houses built for local residents and factory workers. Many have facings of Rockhill granite. More than 85% of Perkasie Historic District buildings will be contributing properties to a National Historic District when Perkasie gets final approval of its application to the state in the near future.

In 2015, the PHMC determined that Lake Lenape Park also was eligible for the National Register of Historic Places because of “its association with the early 20th century movements to develop recreational and natural resources in Pennsylvania.” Perkasie and Sellersville own the 122-acre park, with Perkasie’s section on the park’s east side.

In the 1930s, local leaders joined with federal and county officials to buy the land to create a gift to “the children of the future.” The Works Progress Administration (or WPA) paid for the labor needed to refashion the Perkiomen Creek. The creek was dredged, and the fill used to build a man-made island with two Roebling suspension bridges.

Perkasie bought an additional 44 acres in the 1950s to host baseball fields, and the relocated South Perkasie Covered Bridge.

Today, Lenape Park hosts summer concerts and the popular Pennridge Community Day event each July, complete with fireworks, and it is heavily used as a recreational facility.

The PHMC also said in 2000 that parts of South Perkasie are eligible as a National Historic District. Route 152, or Walnut Street, dates back to the early 1800s when it was called the Philadelphia Road. By the 1840s, houses were built near the road, and the Bridgetown Hotel was added in the 1850s. (It is now the South Perkasie Hotel a.k.a. The Perk.) The Bridgetown-Perkasie Turnpike Company also owned Walnut Street for several decades.

Other historic buildings in South Perkasie include the Benfield Mill, St. Andrew’s UCC, the Third Ward School, and the former Royal Pants factory. Parts of the mill date back to the late 1820s, and St. Andrew’s is Perkasie’s oldest church. The schoolhouse, just up Main Street from The Perk, was designed by Oscar Martin. Royal Pants was Perkasie’s biggest employer and played a role in World War II as the Navy’s pants supplier. Today, the facility hosts Free Will Brewing and several other businesses.

Touring maps of the borough are available at the Perkasie Historical Society’s website at www.perkasiehistory.org.

Scott Bomboy is the chair of Perkasie Council’s Historical Committee, and he has written two books about Perkasie’s history.

“Heralding Our History” is a weekly feature. Each month, the Herald delves into the history of one of its towns.

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