Archive - Mar 2012 - News Article
March 23rd
From silver tap-dancing aliens to dancers perched atop a six-foot wall, such unique routines have consistently ranked among the judges' favorites during this year's competition season of the Dynamic Dance Competition Company, an 18-member troop from April School of Dance in St. Marys.
The group, overseen by artistic director Jennifer Blankenship of Kane, recently concluded their season, during which they brought home a myriad of top-place trophies.
March 22nd
Discrepancies with a recent audit of Jay Township accounts was brought to the attention of officials at Thursday's meeting of the board of supervisors. Supervisor Murray K. Lilley claimed that the township's general fund balance as shown on the 2011 audit exceeds the actual total held by the township as of the end of the fiscal year by roughly $105,000.
"It starts out showing that we had cash investments of $251,492 as of Dec. 31 [2011] when we only had $146,000," Lilley said.
The warm and sunny weather Thursday evening made for a perfect night to enjoy some time outside, which is exactly what many area youth did as they waited in line outside the Apollo Theatre hoping to score tickets to the midnight showing of "The Hunger Games."
"I've been seeing people arrive since around 3 p.m.," said theater owner Alyson Lynch. "They got out of school, got something to eat real fast, and then they came right back down here."
Tickets were scheduled to go on sale at 7:30 p.m., and by 7 p.m. a line of close to 100 people was along the sidewalk outside the building.
In an effort to make the Ridgway YMCA more available and feasible to the community, the YMCA will begin their capital campaign to raise $1.5 million to expand the aquatic and fitness center.
“The state is making it a requirement to have to meet ADA standards,” said Michelle Bogacki, a YMCA board member. “The pool itself is $800,000 so we decided to expand to whole wing because the YMCA is at full capacity now.”
The capital campaign will kick off in April to help raise funds to restore the pool and add on to the fitness wing.
The first year the Bavarian Fall Fest was held, attendance was good, not great. The second year, it poured down rain. Committee organizers are hoping the third year is the charm to make the festival a lasting event in St. Marys.
Fall Fest Committee member Paula Weyant said organizers wanted to develop the event to provide a fun experience for St. Marys residents, highlight the town's heritage and give vendors and participants an economic boost.
Area Confirmation students continued the tradition of holding their annual "Souper Bowl" collection again this year and were able to raise around $4,835 for the Christian Food Bank. A check in that amount was presented to Norma Hanes, Christian Food Bank vice president, during a practice session prior to the group's Confirmation, which occurred earlier this month.
In addition to expressing her appreciation to the students for their efforts, Hanes also encouraged them to refer those in need to the food bank.
Governor Tom Corbett's budget proposal for 2012-2013 has been perceived by many as a slight to education, with cuts directed at public schools, a number of postsecondary institutions relying on state funding for a portion or majority of their own budgets, and community colleges. While much of the public school budget is flat funded, meaning no increase or decrease from the previous year, it would appear that public schools will fare somewhat better than other sectors of academia.
March 21st
RIDGWAY - Kimberly Frey, director of Elk County's elections office, spoke Tuesday morning at an Elk County Board of Commissioners meeting to discuss the recent enactment of a Pennsylvania voter identification bill (H.B. 934, Act 18 of 2012).
RIDGWAY – Edward J. and Clythera S. Hornung presented a gift Tuesday morning to the Elk County Board of Commissioners: a custom-made logo made from wood.
"We noticed that pictures taken of Elk County Commissioners as part of their regular meetings showed a nondescript background with nothing to identify that they were from Elk County," the Hornungs said. "We see attractive backgrounds on television for similar photos for communities such as Altoona.
Tales of travel and adventure come to life as St. Marys Catholic Middle School students present "The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley Jr." tonight at 6:30 p.m. inside the Elk County Catholic High School auditorium.
The one-hour show is based on the children's book, which has become a pop culture phenomenon and follows the traveling adventures of 10-year-old Stanley Lambchop.
