Archive - News Article
February 14th, 2011
With a new governor comes a new state budget and new concerns over funding for school districts across the Commonwealth. It has been reported that Governor Tom Corbett plans to cut $1 billion in state money for public schools for the 2011-12 budget.
St. Marys Area School District Superintendent Ann Kearney said she is anticipating deep cuts in education with the new state budget, and adding to that concern is uncertainty over the availability of federal program monies.
At a recent school board workshop, Kearney presented information on SMASD's anticipated revenues for the 2011-12 budget.
When it was his turn to address the attendees at the St. Marys Servicemen's Detail's annual banquet on Saturday Evening, Sergeant in Charge Tom Price began by announcing that he was about to do something that he had wanted to do for a long time, honor World War II Purple Heart veterans.
"These people are like ghosts in the wind. You don't know who they are. They might be your neighbor. They might be your friend down the street. The only time you read about them is when they die and they have an obituary in the paper," Price said.
February 13th
As the guest speaker at this year's St. Marys Servicemen's Detail banquet, retired Brig. General Murray Neeper began by remarking that, as a community member, he greatly appreciates the services provided by the St. Marys Servicemen's Detail, as well as the other veterans' organizations throughout St. Marys and Elk County.
The Saturday closest to Valentine's Day has had a special meaning for the residents of Pinecrest for the past several years, as it has been the day when Confirmation students from St. Marys Area High School and Elk County Catholic High School have held their annual Valentine's Day Ball at the facility.
This year's event was held Saturday afternoon from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. and was attended by over 60 residents of the facility. Around 40 Confirmation students from both high schools assisted with the event.
Members of the St. Marys Servicemen's Detail held their annual banquet on Saturday evening at the Bavarian Hills Restaurant, with Detail President Joe Rigard acting as master of ceremonies for the event.
Rigard explained that the Detail was first organized in 1952 and noted that two charter members were in attendance at this year's banquet, Paul Jesberger and Herb Straub.
February 11th
The Johnsonburg Community Center (JCC) will play host to the fifth annual Bean Bake, scheduled for Thursday from 4 to 6 p.m.
The all-you-can-eat buffet dinner consists of homemade baked beans, a choice of two potato salads - hot German and cold potato salad - applesauce, bread-and-butter pickles, cornbread and molasses spice cake with cream. Coffee, tea, milk, lemonade and ice water will also be served.
Organizers Christine Bressler, JCC recreational director, and Stephanie Distler, owner of Flemish House Art Gallery and studio, located inside the JCC, teamed up in sponsoring the event.
Elk watchers in the Benezette area are likely to be familiar with a large bull with a yellow radio telemetry collar bearing the number 36 that was a common sight around the community.
The elk, which was estimated to be about 18 years old by Doty McDowell, Pennsylvania Game Commission Wildlife Conservation Officer for the Northcentral Region, had to be put down in January after breaking his leg on an icy roadway.
McDowell explained that a husband and wife had found the elk lying on a forested road to the north of Benezette and it appeared he was unable to get up.
Since early January, a number of tribute sites have sprung up on the internet to commemorate the life of Fred, one of Benezette's most well-known inhabitants; however, it is interesting to note that Fred was not a person, but an elk.
Marci Geise, founder of the "Fred Jr. #36 ~ A Lasting Tribute" page on Facebook, explained that she created the page the day after she learned of Fred's passing.
February 10th
By
Victoria Stanish, editor
A St. Marys woman was indicted this week by a federal grand jury in Erie in Erie on charges of mail fraud and tax evasion, according to an announcement made Wednesday by the U.S. Attorney's western Pa. district office.
As briefly reported in the Thursday, Feb. 10 edition of The Daily Press, Sandra Ann Prechtel, 49, of 531 Washington St., St. Marys, was charged with three felony counts of tax evasion and six felony counts of mail fraud and for the alleged embezzlement of almost $1 million from her employer, Abbott Furnace Co., between 2002 and 2007.
Among the topics discussed at the St. Marys Area School District Board of School Directors workshop on Thursday evening were an update on the various construction projects within the district and the playing of the national anthem at select sporting events.
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