Archive - Aug 2011
Gerald Gilbert Waite, 67, Punxsutawney, formerly of Frenchville, died Sunday, Aug. 28, 2011.
He was born July 20, 1944, in Madera, a son of the late Orrie and Ethel Mae (Wilks) Waite.
July 25, 1964, he married the former Darlene Kay Randolph, who survives.
Mr. Waite was a member of the Church of the Nazarene in Punxsutawney.
He worked as a plumber and maintenance man for the West Branch School District and Allied Mechanical in State College.
Sarah Straitiff, 86, Brookville, formerly of Coolspring, died Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2011, at Jefferson Manor, Brookville.
She was born July 6, 1925, in Johnsonburg, a daughter of the late George and Anna M. (Updyke) Geer.
She was married to Leonard E. Straitiff, who preceded her in death Feb. 13, 2003.
Mrs. Straitiff was employed as an assembly worker at Sylvania in Brookville, and she also worked for the Brookville Glove Company.
She was a member of the Brookville Senior Citizens and the Coolspring United Methodist Church, where she had previously served as church treasurer.
LOUISVILLE â Punxsutawney Area High School graduate Devin Mesoraco received the call every Little League baseball player dreams of Wednesday afternoon: Heâs been called up to the Major Leagues.
According to family sources, Mesoraco was in Louisville preparing for the Cincinnati Redsâ AAA-affiliate Batsâ game Wednesday when he received news that he wouldnât be playing Wednesday night, and heâd be officially called up for Cincinnatiâs 12:30 p.m. contest against the Philadelphia Phillies today in Cincinnati.
PUNXSUTAWNEY â If you think that the last year went by quickly, ask Punxsutawney Area School District Superintendent Dr. Keith Wolfe: He says his first year as chief administrator of a large rural school district flew right by him.
Wolfe said his first year was smooth, and it helped that the district was left in good financial shape by his predecessor, Dr. J. Thomas Frantz, who retired at the end of 2009-10 school year.
âThis was my first year as a superintendent, but quite honestly, it was one of the best years that Iâve had as an administrator,â Wolfe said.
YOUNG TOWNSHIP â Todayâs the day you can see what type of improvements Young Township made to Cunningham Road this summer, as the road has reopened to traffic.
Young Township Supervisor Andrew R. Meterko said the road was completely relocated, thanks to Robert and Barb Hanley, who approved a right-of-way with the township which allowed it to be moved from its former location.
Meterko said the road construction project eliminated two 90-degree turns that were part of the old dirt road, with much of the work performed by township workers and several contractors.
CINCINNATI â According members of his family, Devin Mesoraco has been called up by the Cincinnati Reds after spending this season with the AAA-affiliate Louisville Bats.
The Bats are scheduled to play this evening, but according to his dad, Doug, Devin will not play.
Mesoraco is scheduled to appear at the Reds' game against the Phillies at 12:35 p.m. Thursday.
Check back here for more information, or see tomorrow's Spirit.
August 30th
PUNXSUTAWNEY â The Brockway Bears scored three second half touchdowns after trailing at halftime to spoil the A. J. Parise Youth Football Junior Chucks' home opener and win, 24-16, Saturday evening in Punxsutawney.
"We played well enough to win this one," Punxsy head coach Brian Ishman said. "We gave up too many big plays, and we couldn't overcome them."
Brockway found the end zone first in the contest when it received the opening kickoff and put together an 11-play, 62-yard scoring drive, capped off when Anthony Glasl connected with Jonathan Wood for a 34-yard touchdown pass.
ST. MARYS â St. Marys' girls' tennis team defeated Punxsy, 7-2, in Tuesday's match in St. Marys, one that Punxsy head coach Rose Graffius said was closer than the score indicated.
Punxsy earned wins in two of the nine matches, No. 1 singles and No. 4 doubles.
In the No. 1 singles, Punxsy's Anna Monyak defeated Mary Rosman 6-4, 6-2.
"Anna did a very good job placing the ball in No. 1 singles," Graffius said of her player's performance.
Monday morning, I awoke shivering and cocooned inside three blankets on my bed, which usually happens only as fall approaches, and fall means one thing: Football season has arrived.
In fact, Monday's cocoon incident was just a reminder for me after I spent the majority of my day Saturday at one football field or another.
The first game was an afternoon one featuring my cousin's home team, the Reynoldsville Falcons, and in the evening, I was on the sidelines taking pictures at the Junior and Senior games for the A.J. Parise Youth Football teams in Punxsutawney.
PUNXSUTAWNEY â The sun was shining, and most of the students were smiling for the first day of classes in the Punxsutawney Area School District Tuesday.
Superintendent Dr. Keith Wolfe said as far as the bus routes were concerned, there werenât any problems at any of the levels.
Wolfe said he visited three elementary schools, the middle school and the high school for the first student day and found teachers and students alike happy to be back to work, and students happy to be back with their friends.
 cutout.jpg "Devin Mesoraco")
