Archive - Jul 2011 - News Article
July 29th
The First Lutheran Church at 215 Cook Ave. received a strong turnout for this year's vacation bible school.
For the second year in a row, the Bethlehem Lutheran Church teamed up with the First Lutheran Church at 331 South St. to put on a rock n' roll themed religious experience for the children designed by Christian musical group The Go Fish Guys.
ST. MARYS â A new baler is at the top of Elk County Recycling Coordinator Bekki Titchner's wish list for the Community Recycling Center, located in the Stackpole Complex in St. Marys. Titchner recently submitted an application to the Stackpole Hall Foundation requesting a grant to help cover the cost of the new equipment.
July 28th
*This article is a special internet edition*
Ken VanGiesen would be proud of his Kane community for the patriotism shown Thursday during his funeral procession from Kane Area High School to his final resting place at the Gibbs Hill Cemetery near Ludlow.
Along the entire route, children and adults waved American flags and held signs to salute their hero, who was killed earlier this month while serving in Afghanistan with the Pennsylvania Army National Guard.
*This article is part of a special online edition*
KANE â Itâs been a painful and agonizing 10-period for the families of Staff Sgt. Kenneth VanGiesen and Erin Sirianni of Kane.
The Pennsylvania Army National Guard has provided âcasualty officersâ to serve both the family of the soldier killed in Afghanistan July 18 and the family of his longtime girlfriend. VanGiesen, who is being laid to rest today at the Gibbs Hill Cemetery near Ludlow, lived together with Sirianni in their own house in Mill Creek Township near Erie.
ST. MARYS â The West Creek Wetland Learning Center located along West Creek Road in St. Marys has undergone major improvements to its landscape making for a more enjoyable educational experience.
"We have been spending a lot of time out there this past month," said watershed specialist Kim Bonfardine.
The Elk County Conservation District is hard at work getting the Learning Center ready for its grand opening on Sept. 28.
Pennsylvania Secretary of Transportation Barry J. Schoch made a conference call Wednesday morning to board members at the North Central Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission [NCPRPDC] to discuss possibilities handed down from the governor's funding advisory commission.
The funding advisory commission was reportedly formed to study various transportation issues plaguing the state, including new ways to fund the many transportation needs of the commonwealth.
July 27th
The Ridgway Area School District held a special meeting Tuesday afternoon to appoint Dr. Michael O'Brien as the new superintendent.
Dr. Tom Butler attended his last RASD school board meeting to congratulate and welcome Dr. O'Brien to his new role with the school district.
"It's been a joy, this is a great school district and I know Dr. O'Brien and his wife will be welcomed to the community," Butler said. "You will have a great time."
The board voted unanimously in favor of appointing O'Brien as superintendent effective Aug. 9, 2011 and ending Aug. 8, 2014 at a salary of $115,000.
JOHNSONBURG â Area spectators will have the opportunity to witness performances by eight open class drum corps at Blast in the Burg II, taking place Thursday, Aug. 4 beginning at 6 p.m. at Memorial Field in Johnsonburg.
*This is part of a special online edition*
KANE â Ken VanGiesen is home again.
The body of the 30-year-old soldier killed in Afghanistan last week arrived in Kane shortly after 11 a.m. Tuesday following an emotional procession from the Bradford Airport in Lafayette Township.
An estimated 85 patriotic motorcycle riders accompanied the cortege, which included two military vans for the soldier's family and a hearse that carried the body to the Ronald McDonald II Funeral Home along South Fraley Street.
July 25th
The Ridgway Area School District and the Elk County Commissioners are breathing a second sigh of relief after an appeal from school board member William Seely was denied by the Court of Common Pleas of the 59th District, Elk County Branch, on Monday, July 18.
Seely had initially filed a lawsuit that was dismissed alleging that the occupational and per capita tax collected were unconstitutional.
The lawsuit was filed in the beginning of 2010 shortly after Seely became a member of the school board.
