Berks County is BUNCO for Bicycles!

What is BUNCO?
Bunco is a silly, mindless dice game played with wild abandon. It is a social event. It's a party. It's a blast! Bunco is a game of dice, played in rounds. Players take turns rolling the dice and trying to accumulate as many points as possible to win each round. The game is played at tables of four, in teams of twelve. Similar to the game Yatzee – players roll for 1’s, 2’s, and so on – trying to get a BUNCO! by rolling all of the same number during the round.At the end of the round players change seats and switch partners so you never play with the same partner twice in a row. At the end of the night wins/losses and Buncos are tallied and PRIZES ARE AWARDED! We will have snacks and drinks. We'll support live-saving causes that will make big changes to our local communities.

Thursday, July 30th

The Barn at Flying Hills

5:30 -- Refreshments

Guest Speaker Kimberly Murphy

BUNCO! Game and Prizes!

Pictured: Mike Myers, Owner of SPOKES Bike Shop and Dean Smith of PowerBar -- Two members of the Berks County Community who give their time, talent, and financial support to help us make Berks County safer, healthier, stronger, and more livable.

Winners 09

In May 2009, WalkBikeBerks promoted Bike Month with a list of events and activities meant to encourage more people to consider biking for transportation, fitness, and fun! If you weren't able to join us in May, don't fret. It's never too late to join us for a bike ride or walk in Berks County. Visit our online calendar to learn more about what we're doing now to stay active, promote bicycling and walking, and make our communities safer, stronger, healthier - more livable.

Above you see two of the winners of our Bike to Work Commuter Challenge. We gathered at Spokes Bike Shop on July 3 at 6:00p.m. to present the winners with their prizes! The winner for the Spokes Team jersey was not able to be present but we will be mailing him his brand new Spokes Bike Jersey that dons the WalkBikeBerks Logo.

Scott won a gift certificate for $200 off any merchandise at the shop.

Dean took home a certificate valued at $50 off any merchandise at Spokes.

Please note that Mike Myers has indicated the Spokes team jerseys (which have WalkBikeBerks logo on the front and the back) are normally $60 but any WalkBikeBerks member will receive a 20% discount! If you would like to become a member please see the donation information to the right of this entry.

Winners 09, originally uploaded by walkbikeberks.

WalkBikeBerks thanks Spokes Bike Shop for the generous support of Bike Month and their contributions to the winners of the Bike to Work Challenge! Special Thanks to Jeremy Slonaker for his efforts in planning and promoting Bike Month.

Tulpehocken Township woman dies of injuries in crash that killed two others

Tulpehocken Township woman dies of injuries in crash that killed two others

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Route 222 reopened following crash near Berkleigh Country Club

Route 222 reopened following crash near Berkleigh Country Club

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ACTION ALERT -- Call Your Senator

Federal Safe Routes to School Reauthorization

Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA), Richard Burr (R-NC), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Susan Collins (R-ME) have joined together to introduce the Safe Routes to School Program Reauthorization Act (S. 1156). This is an exciting and important step forward as these five diverse Senators have agreed to champion the federal Safe Routes to School program. To get more Senators to step up as leaders on Safe Routes to School, we need your help.

Your Senators need to hear from you about the importance of growing and strengthening the Safe Routes to School program in the next transportation bill. The Safe Routes to School program encourages students to walk to school by building sidewalks, making crossings safer and providing outstanding safety education and encouragement with fun activities like Walking Wednesdays.

Please take just five minutes to contact your two Senators to ask them to show their support for the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program by co-sponsoring the legislation. To do so, click here.

Six Berks County school districts hold line on taxes

Six Berks County school districts hold line on taxes

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I applaud every school who is working hard to reduce or eliminate property tax increases. I also applaud those doing all that they can to keep increases low.

Keep in mind that despite phone calls, personal approaches, and letters to Exeter Township School District in 2007 and 2008, the school board failed to apply for a Safe Routes to School Grant for up to $1 Million Dollars to create better, safer walking infrastructure in our community -- grant money that would have kept our local costs lower in building a new LEED school.

In addition, they failed to apply for a 2008 PANA SRTS Academy mini grant that could have built capacity or education and outreach.

Please encourage every school district in our county to take advantage of the funding that is available to them -- Call, write, and attend your school board meetings to tell them about PANA's Safe Routes to School Mini Grant Program opening this fall -- 2009.

Fiscal responsibility includes working hard to find the resources to continue to provide excellence to our children despite economic hardships.

Residential Environments and Physical Activity

WHO/Europe - Housing and health - Residential environments and physical activity

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Residential environments and physical activity

The impact on physical activity and obesity
In the physical activity and public health research arena, the interest in the immediate housing and residential neighbourhood environment (e.g. crime rates, road safety, street connectivity, footpaths and cycle ways, design and maintenance of neighbourhood, visibility of stairs, central shopping facilities, availability of physical recreation facilities) is relatively new. However, evidence shows that residents living in high-walkability neighbourhoods are more likely to engage in regular moderate physical activity than residents located in a low-walkability neighbourhood. Moreover, studies underline that an unsafe and unpleasant residential area may deter people from walking around their local neighbourhood and engaging in leisure-time exercise. For this reason physical activity, and per consequence, obesity prevalence rates at the population level may not improve until neighbourhoods are made more walkable and usable for leisure-time physical activities.

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