Archive - News Article
March 20th, 2011
BIG RUN â The Big Run Citizen of the Year Award is much like the Man and Woman of the year in Punxsy â a closely guarded secret â but every once in a while the word gets out ahead of time.
That was the case this year when the Peepers Banquet committee honored Big Run's oldest citizen, Velma Schierer Bowser, at the grand old age of 93.
Bowser said she found out she was going to win because she received a card in the mail congratulating her before the banquet was scheduled to take place.
Bowser said she was shocked when she read it.
(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.)
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Local Intelligence
(February 12, 1896)
SUED FOR ASSAULT
A School Teacher Tried for
 Punishing a Girl
March 18th
BROOKVILLE â Two former Jefferson County Commissioners will remain on the spring primary ballot, despite problems with some of the signatures on their petitions, as well as the circulators of their petitions filed to run for the commission.Â
Two county residents â Alan E. Groves, of Falls Creek, and David C. Hoffman, of Brookville â requested that Judge John Foradora strike the names of Ira Sunderland, of Punxsutawney, and David W. Black, of Brookville, from the ballot for the May 17 primary election.
March 17th
BIG RUN â On the luckiest day in March, the spring peepers have spoken â er, peeped.
John London, the official Frog Man, or âPeeper Watcherâ of Big Run, reported that while walking through the Big Run swamp, he heard the frogs peep around 5:47 p.m. Thursday â St. Patrickâs Day â thus heralding the arrival of spring, according to the legend.
Last week, London said he hoped the tiny peepers would peep before the annual Peepers Banquet, which is scheduled for Sunday at the War Memorial â and Thursday, he got his wish.
PUNXSUTAWNEY â Monday, Punxsutawney Borough Council approved the purchase of a new fire engine for the Elk Run Fire Company.
Elk Run Chief Bryan Smith said the bids were opened last Friday, with Ferrara Fire Apparatus Inc., based in Holden, La., as the low bidder at $372,509.
The truck will be constructed in Louisiana and contain a six-person cab, a 1,000-gallon water tank, a 30-gallon compressed air foam system (CAFS) tank, and a 1,500-gallon per minute Darly pump.
March 16th
BROOKVILLE â An Emporium man facing charges for the double murder of a Snyder Township couple last year wants a new judge for his trial, because the presiding judge resides in the same area.
Monday, Steven Patrick Rebert filed a petition in the Court of Common Pleas to have Judge John H. Foradora, who resides in Brockway, removed from the case, according to the Jeffersonian Democrat.
BROOKVILLE â Brookville Borough Council Tuesday discussed the grim results of the 2010 U.S. Census, which could end up costing the borough significant money over the next 10 years.
The official borough population is now 3,924, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The state Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) grants Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds directly to boroughs with a population of 4,000 or more.
In 2000, Brookville had an official population of 4,182, which secured CDBG funds totalling more than $90,000 annually over the past decade.
MARION CENTER â Thistle & Pine Celtic & Country Collectibles celebrates all things Celtic, but come St. Patrick's Day, the focus is on the Irish. And that draws people to the store from far and wide, according to owner Teresa Perry.
"Once people know we're here, they come down and maybe embrace their heritage," she said about the five-year-old store located along Route 119, about a mile south of the Home Made Restaurant.
Perry said her family is of Scottish-Welsh descent, traced to the 1600s, and her father played the bagpipes, "so I had the whole influence growing up."
