Archive - 2012 - News Article
March 6th
PUNXSUTAWNEY â The Punxsutawney Area Community Center informed Punxsutawney Borough Council at Tuesdayâs Public Safety committee meeting that it intends to apply for a $150,000 grant to upgrade the electric at the facility.
Mick Mumau, of the Community Center, said he wanted to inform council that it will apply for a DCNR grant and needs the borough as a sponsor.
Mumau said the centerâs board has the funding match for the grant, which is due April 4.
March 5th
PUNXSUTAWNEY â So, how do you like the price of gas in the Punxsutawney area so far?
Once again, there is a 10-cent difference in the price of gas sold in Brookville versus Punxsutawney.
Several people who were filling up at Punxsy area gas stations/fast-food stores such as Sheetz, Uni-Mart, Kwik-Fill and Saterleeâs Sunoco continue to wonder why the gas is always 10 cents cheaper in DuBois and Brookville than in Punxsy.
March 4th
ALTOONA â Over the past weekend, Punxsy's wrestling team traveled to Altoona for the Class AAA Northwest Regional Tournament, with a record number of 10 Chucks advancing to the tournament.
One Punxsy grappler â sophomore Joel Bowers â earned a berth to the PIAA Class AAA State Championships next weekend in Hershey.
Bowers earned victories over McDowell's Coleman Cousins (2-1 decision) and St. Marys' Evan Smith (10-2 decision), avenging a loss to Smith in the D-IX tournament last weekend.
A Texas man escaped serious injury when he rolled his vehicle over around 12:15 a.m. Saturday morning in Cloe, Bell Township. According to police, a 2006 Lexus driven by Clarence J. Craft, Texas, was traveling south on Route 36 when he lost control and rolled his vehicle over, shearing off a utility pole at the same time. Police were assisted at the scene by Jefferson County EMS, Punxsutawney Fire Department, Rebuck's South Side Service and Penelec.
(The Spirit is pleased to share with our readers vignettes of life in the 19th century as originally reported in past issues of the newspapers. These reproduced stories include their original headlines and spelling.)
Local Intelligence
(April 29, 1896)
A BLIND MAN SUICIDES
J. B. McCullough, of Beechwoods,
Hangs Himself
The body of James B. McCullough, of Beechwoods, was found suspended from a tree near Coal Glen, on Saturday morning last by A. H. Smith, of the latter place.
March 2nd
PUNXSUTAWNEY â Ursula Albino and her husband, Joe, have enjoyed the last 20 years of their retirement, but in that time, they have also found ways to give back to others.
Most recently, in 2010, they signed up to volunteer for the American Cancer Society's (ACS) Road to Recovery program, which pairs community volunteers with cancer patients to provide rides to and from cancer treatments.
But in the last two years, the Albinos have remained the only volunteers covering Jefferson County, so they are seeking some extra hands.
BELL TOWNSHIP â Punxsutawney Area School District elementary schools celebrated "Read Across America Dayâ and Dr. Seuss' birthday at the same time.
The National Education Association's âRead Across Americaâ is an annual reading motivation and awareness program that calls for every child in every community to celebrate reading and the birthday of beloved children's author Dr. Seuss March 2.
âAnything that promotes reading is a wonderful thing," said Sherri Spicher, first-grade teacher at Bell Township Elementary School.
March 1st
PUNXSUTAWNEY â Thursday, Punxsutawney Area School District Superintendent Dr. Keith Wolfe issued the following statement:
âOn the morning of March 1, 2012, the administrators at Punxsutawney Area High School received information regarding a bomb threat that was posted on a social media Web site. While initial evidence indicated that this threat was a âcopycatâ situation stemming from the recent Ohio school shooting and a similar bomb/gun threat incident at Jeff Tech this week, every threat is addressed as credible and investigated fully.
PUNXSUTAWNEY â Punxsy Philâs prediction this year was right, as usual, except he should have made one small edit and removed the âmoreâ from his âsix more weeks of winterâ prediction, since last week was one of the first weeks to feel like ârealâ winter.
Rumblings about global warming aside, this winter has been very unusual, and though the average citizen has enjoyed it, the average business has not.
PUNXSUTAWNEY â AmeriCorps helps students in the Punxsutawney Area School District to get in touch with the rest of the world by writing letters to soldiers of the 4th Platoon stationed in Kuwait.
Wednesday, AmeriCorps member Tony Ross spoke to Punxsutawney Area School Board members about his latest project.
Ross said he obtained the names of individual members of the 4th Platoon, and students were given the opportunity to write an individual letter to a soldier serving in Kuwait.
