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People in Your Neighborhood: Shawn Ebert

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<p>FORTY FORT &#8212; As the guest of honor made his way to the borough&#8217;s annual Santa in the Park event Sunday, Mayor Andy Tuzinski admitted it was a &#8220;kind of bittersweet&#8221; day.</p><p>&#8220;We lost a very big supporter of Forty Fort &#8212; Betty Mascelli, a long-time councilwoman for whom this park is named,&#8221; Tuzinski said. &#8220;Her viewing is actually today across the street at the funeral home.</p><p>&#8220;We lost Betty, but she is shining down on us. She loved Forty Fort and loved the park, and she was always supportive of the events here.&#8221;</p><p>Mascelli died Wednesday at the age of 89. She served for 25 years on the Forty Fort Borough Council. She was a former President of the Forty Fort Fireman&#8217;s Auxiliary and was also a member of the VFW Post 8595 Auxiliary and Forty Fort Baseball for Boys.</p><p>Even as the day was bittersweet for Tuzinski, dozens of families were amazed by Santa&#8217;s ride down the Wyoming Avenue atop a Forty Fort Fire Department ladder truck on his way to greet the children at the park.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s another nice day in Forty Fort,&#8221; Tuzinski said. &#8220;We have a nice turnout here.&#8221;</p><p>Children were able to sit on Santa&#8217;s lap, drink and eat free hot cocoa and holiday treats, and play in the freshly fallen snow from Saturday&#8217;s winter storm.</p><p>A Christmas tree was also lit in memory of Camryn Shultz, a 1-year-old who was killed by her father in a murder-suicide in October 2013. The tree was available for the children at the event to decorate.</p><p>Evan Harchar, 8, of Forty Fort, was one of the many children lined up to see Santa Claus.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m excited to see Santa,&#8221; Harchar said. &#8220;I like playing in the snow,&#8221; he added.</p><p>He asked for miniature basketballs for Christmas.</p><p>Families for Forty Fort Park, a community-run initiative dedicated to making the best use of the Betty Mascelli Park, hosted the fifth annual event.</p><p>&#8220;This event would not be possible without the dedicated volunteers of Families for Forty Fort Park,&#8221; Tuzinski said. &#8220;I am very grateful to them for all that they do. They are the first to be here and the last to leave, and their contributions cannot be overstated,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Lori Girvan, secretary of Families for Forty Fort Park, helped organize the event.</p><p>&#8220;We do various events in the park throughout the year. It starts in the spring with our Easter egg hunt. We do movies in the park over the summer. We did a dance party which worked out very well. In the past, we&#8217;ve done a camp-out, and we also do Halloween and Christmas festivities,&#8221; Girvan said.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s good to get people out and be active &#8230; to meet their neighbors and have a good time.&#8221;</p><p>Forty Fort Park will be hosting Hanukkah in the Park at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">A child sits on Santa&#8217;s lap Sunday in Forty Fort. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/web1_Image-2.jpeg</photo0><caption0>A child sits on Santa&#8217;s lap Sunday in Forty Fort. </caption0><photoCredit0>Katherine Pugh | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/web1_Image-1.jpeg">
<div class="neCaption">Children pose with Santa and one of his elves at a Santa in the Park event Sunday in Forty Fort. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/web1_Image-1.jpeg</photo1><caption1>Children pose with Santa and one of his elves at a Santa in the Park event Sunday in Forty Fort. </caption1><photoCredit1>Katherine Pugh | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/web1_Image.jpeg">
<div class="neCaption">Santa Claus arrives at the Santa in the Park event in Forty Fort on Sunday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/web1_Image.jpeg</photo2><caption2>Santa Claus arrives at the Santa in the Park event in Forty Fort on Sunday. </caption2><photoCredit2>Katherine Pugh | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Katherine Pugh</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p>INSIDE</p><p>Betty Mascelli remembered, Page 3A.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach the Times Leader newsroom at 570-829-7242 or on Twitter @TLnews.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Former Forty Fort Councilwoman Betty Mascelli remembered at Santa event