Teacher’s Karaoke turned into a bit of a Susan Boyle moment when Becky Alderfer took the mic Tuesday at Souderton High School in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
“I think it surprised them that the lunch lady started singing,” Alderfer said, admitting she really enjoyed the element of surprise.
The 52-year-old Harleysville, Pennsylvania, woman’s unexpected performance came during a student-hosted event where teachers sing to help raise money for the United Nations Club.
But it wasn’t her idea.
“I know what a wonderful voice she has,” said boss Pam Forster. “So my staff was like, ‘Well, let’s see if we can get her up there.'”
When Alderfer hit — and held — that first big note in Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, she transformed the teen chatter of a school cafeteria into screams, hoots and “who knew?!” applause.
“The lunch ladies were excited and I dedicated the song to them,” Alderfer said. “I thought it [the song] had a nice message and I felt like I knew it well enough that I could get through it.”
Alderfer’s talent isn’t really hidden; it’s just not the type of conversation kids typically get into with the lunch ladies. For more than 30 years though, she’s served as music director at her father’s church, Family Worship Center in Lansdale, Montgomery County. And if you flip through a few yearbooks from the early 80s, you’ll see she sang in the choir and school productions at Souderton High.
Even with all that experience, she wasn’t exactly fearless.
“I can count on my hand how many times I’ve done karaoke. It’s a little nerve-racking. It works if you can find a song you’re really familiar with; otherwise it might be a disaster for anyone!”
A 12-year-old New Jersey girl says she is free of cancer a year after she met Pope Francis at the Vatican.
Grace West was diagnosed with stage four neuroblastoma when she was 10 years old. After eight chemotherapy sessions, surgery, radiation treatments and immunotherapy West no longer has cancer.
"It was a moment of victory, and I beat it. I beat it. It's gone," she said.
West found out she was cancer-free on Dec. 11, which was about a year after she met Pope Francis in Italy. The seventh-grader says that after seeing the pope she knew she would be alright.
West's mom, 45-year-old Sharon West, says her daughter never lost her spirit or her faith during the two long years she had to undergo treatment.
Despite months of hospital visits, Grace West didn't show signs of improvement much of this year. But on Dec. 11, her mother received a call from the hospital while she was in a 7-Eleven parking lot.
The news was two years in the making.
"I think it's a miracle that involved so many people," said Sharon West.
Grace West, whose hair is beginning to grow back, said that the pope's blessing and the support of her friends and family helped her defeat the deadly disease.
"You have no choice but to be strong," she said. "You can choose to be happy and positive."
Some 700 people are diagnosed with neuroblastoma each year in the U.S. The cancer affects a body's nerve cells.
Police have released surveillance video showing a suspect wanted in connection with the thefts of several dozen industrial propane tanks from two locations in Northeast Philadelphia.
The theft of the tanks, which happened last week, sparked a counter-terrorism probe.
Police said 43 tanks were stolen overnight Wednesday into Thursday of last week from Praxair at 2300 Church Street in Frankford and James Morrissey Inc. at 4720 Pennypack Street in the Holmesburg section of the city, sources said.
The surveillance video of the theft shows a man loading tanks of various sizes into a dark-colored minivan.
Twenty-four of the tanks are said to be the size and style used to fuel forklifts, sources said. Also taken were nine tanks that hold 100 pounds of fuel, four 50-pound tanks, four 33-pound tanks and two two-pound tanks, according to law-enforcement sources.
Investigators sent out a bulletin to authorities across Northeast Philadelphia earlier this week asking them to be on the lookout for the van and thief.
Tipsters should contact the police tip line at 215-686-8477 or text a tip to PPDTIP (773847).
A man died after he was shot while sitting in a car late Wednesday night on a block in Philadelphia's East Mount Airy neighborhood.
Police were called to Vernon Road near Boyer Street shortly after 11 p.m. There, they found a 37-year-old man in a Pontiac Grand Prix, suffering from a gunshot wound to his torso, Chief Inspector Scott Small said.
Small said it appeared the victim had been sitting in the car when he was shot and managed to drive about a half-block from the scene of the shooting.
The victim was rushed to Albert Einstein Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 11:25 p.m.
Police said they have no suspects or motive in the deadly shooting that marred the normally peaceful neighborhood. They said the victim, whose name has not been released, is from Philadelphia but is not from the neighborhood where he was shot.
An investigation into the shooting continued on Thursday.
Firefighters battled a blaze at Center City Philadelphia's Parkway Central Library early Thursday morning.
Officials said firefighters were called to the library, on Vine Street near 19th, about 4 a.m., for a trash fire in the basement. They were able to quickly douse the flames.
The fire did not cause any injuries or major damage, fire officials said.
