SUNBURY - Participants, including two elementary school students, in a video project promoting the accomplishments of inventor Thomas Edison in Northumberland County were commended at Tuesday's county commissioners' meeting.
Commissioner Chairman Frank Sawicki said the county received a $10,000 grant from the state Department of Community and Economic Development to promote Edison's accomplishments.
He said a DVD was produced by local video production company Patterson-Brandt Inc. Alexa Spaventa, a fifth-grade student at St. Joseph School in Danville, and Noah Shipman, a sixth-grade student at Oaklyn Elementary School near Sunbury, conducted interviews with Cindy Inkrote, director of Northumberland County Historical Society in Sunbury; Magisterial District Judge Hugh Jones of Mount Carmel, who also is a local historian; local historian Garth Hall of Shamokin, and Randi Buehner, former owner of the Hotel Edison in Sunbury, for the video.
Also assisting with the project were Jo Ann Long, a retired school teacher from Beck Elementary School in Shikellamy School District; Susan Foresman, director of education at Shikellamy School District, and Kathy Jeremiah, grants manager for Northumberland County Planning Department.
Sawicki said DVDs about Edison's life will be distributed to all county school districts for use as an educational tool.
Hall, who noted Edison was featured in the "Achievers" booklet produced by The News-Item, said it was a privilege working with the young students to promote Edison's accomplishments in the county.
Jones, author of "Edison's Experiment in Northumberland County," said Edison, who is best known for inventing the light bulb, made several valuable contributions to Sunbury, Mount Carmel and Shamokin during his stay in the coal region.