Archive - Aug 2011
August 10th
PUNXSUTAWNEY â About 20 local residents heard about WPSU-TVâs proposed âOur Town: Punxsutawneyâ Wednesday evening in the Jackson Theater, with several story ideas suggested and cameras issued to those ready to start rolling.
âYou get to tell us what you want in the show,â said Jessica Peters, who, along with fellow WPSU-TV producer Whitney Chirdon, described the process of coming up with ideas and stories, filming scenes of those stories and talking about them before all the stories are edited and prepared for a revisited âOur Town: Punxsutawneyâ set to air in October.
PUNXSUTAWNEY â The tent is up, and the Elk Run Volunteer Fire Companyâs Trash & Treasure Sale is ready to get underway beginning from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. today through Sunday at 219 Elk Run Ave., next to the Elk Run Firehall in Punxsy.
Company member Patrick Meckley said the fire company has been accepting donations for the sale over the last several months, with the proceeds going toward the companyâs truck fund for a new engine.
PUNXSUTAWNEY â The Punxsutawney Area Community Center's fitness center was on the verge of closing three years ago before it underwent a serious renovation.
"Three years ago, the place was in horrible financial condition, and a new board took over," fitness center manager Leo Johnston said. "Since then, it's doing really well."
Johnston, who is on the community center's board of directors, runs the fitness center by making sure the center is staffed, replacing and maintaining equipment, doing improvements, keeping it clean and taking suggestions from the community.
Norma Jean (Crissman) Fetters, 82, Indiana, died Tuesday, July 19, 2011, at Scenery Hill Manor.
She was born April 6, 1929, in Detroit, Mich., a daughter of William McKinley and Sylvia Mae (Turney) Crissman.
She was married to John Philip Fetters, who preceded her in death in 1973.
Mrs. Fetters was a member of Zion Lutheran Church in Indiana. She was raised in Smicksburg and was a 1947 graduate of Punxsutawney High School.
Lelia May Shugars, 74, formerly of W. Liberty Street, Punxsutawney, died Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2011, at Mulberry Square Elder Care & Rehabilitation Center.
She was born March 31, 1933, in Pitcairn, Allegheny County, a daughter of the late Ross and Jane (Bevan) Fike.
Dec. 17, 1955, she married Howard T. Shugars, who preceded her in death March 13, 1989.
Mrs. Shugars was a member of the First Church of God.
She was employed at Rola-Jensen and was a manager of Bradford House at Grants.
Big Run man arrested for arson and related offenses. Follow The Spirit for all of the details.
August 9th
PUNXSUTAWNEY â The Hemlock View Golf Course held its annual Club Championships last weekend, crowning champions in three different divisions: Men's, women's and seniors'.
Forty-eight club members competed over the weekend despite the warm temperatures and incredibly high humidity.
In the men's division, there were four separate "flights." Which flight a competitor plays in is determined by that particular player's handicap.
All right, last week, I said that even though I should have been ready to talk football, I just wasn't up to it yet. Well, in the past week, things have changed.
Maybe it had something to do with the conclusion of the baseball and softball seasons, culminating with the Little League softball tournament last weekend and the Teener League states.
Or, maybe it had something to do with my beloved Pittsburgh Pirates plummeting from first to third in their division â now nine and 1/2-games behind the first-place Brewers.
Harry D. Sebring, 85, Knox Dale, died Monday, Aug. 8, 2011, at Presbyterian Hospital, Pittsburgh.
He was born Aug. 27, 1925, in Knox Township, a son of the late C. Earl Sebring and Venice (Shoffner) Sebring.
Sept. 17, 1946, he married Patty J. Dinger, who preceded him in death Sept. 3, 2010.
Mr. Sebring was a veteran of World War II, having served in the Pacific Theater with the U.S. Marine Corps.
He worked as a sawyer and carpenter and later retired from the Pennsylvania Fish & Game Commission.
BIG RUN â A fire at a vacant house at 201 Pennsylvania Ave. around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday has been ruled to be arson â again â by the Punxsutawney-based Pennsylvania State Police fire marshal.
And again, police have classified the fire as arson.
According to scanner reports, when Big Run Fire Chief Todd Peace arrived on-scene, there were no smoke or flames showing from the brick structure, but at least one fire was discovered inside the residence and quickly extinguished by Big Run, Sykesville and McCalmont Township firefighters.
