Archive - News Article
March 11th, 2011
PUNXSUTAWNEY â After learning about proposed budget cuts to school districts presented by Gov. Tom Corbett this week, Punxsutawney Area School District Superintendent Dr. Keith Wolfe said Friday that Gov. Tom Corbettâs proposed budget cuts to school districts may have placed all-day kindergarten in jeopardy.
Wolfe said he had just returned from a superintendentsâ meeting at Riverview Intermediate Unit (IU) No. 6 in Clarion, and the amount of concern was astronomical.
INDIANA â Students planning to attend Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) â or any other school within the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education â should prepare for their wallets to get a little lighter in light of cuts in Gov. Tom Corbettâs proposed budget.
In his budget issued Tuesday, Corbett proposed cutting $625 million in higher education costs. If the budget is approved, funding for state and state-related schools â including Penn State, Temple University and Lincoln University â would be slashed by 50 percent.
March 10th
PUNXSUTAWNEY â The guests at Mulberry Square may not be able to attend Mardi Gras in New Orleans, but they were able to attend their own special Mardi Gras parade through the halls of the resident home.
The Mardi Gras parade has been an annual specialty for the past five years, Activities Director Vickie Amundson said.
Over the past five years, this has become a growing project, as many of the floats have been created by the residents with the guidance of Sue Keane.
PUNXSUTAWNEY â The Route 119 Committee recently received an update on area highway construction projects from PennDOT District 10.
Timothy J. Jablunovsky, P.E., portfolio manager for PennDOT District 10, said with the arrival of spring, it will be time to complete some projects and begin others.
âą Elk Run Bridge, and the 310 Intersection â This project is actually three projects occurring at this location, Jablunovsky said.
The first is the sight distance improvement project that will remove a house at the corner of Route 310 and Route 119 in Elk Run.
March 9th
DUBOIS â Four students from Punxsutawney Area High School took first place in the 24th annual DuBois Area Senior Scholastic Challenge Wednesday night at PSU-DuBois' Hiller Auditorium, the first time that a Punxsy team has taken top honors in the event.
The team members â seniors Lucas Burke and Joe Long, junior Kendall Neal and freshman Kevin Hughes â garnered 135 total points in the final two rounds.
"Usually what happens is, whoever wins the first preliminary round takes first place," advisor Rose Graffius said. "That's not how it happened this year."
PUNXSUTAWNEY â Even before Gov. Tom Corrbett revealed his proposed $27.3 billion budget that threatens Penn Stateâs Cooperative Extension, four Jefferson County 4-H members traveled to the offices of local legislators to tell them how important the 4-H program is.
4-H members Shane Johns of the Fast Nâ Furious 4-H Club; Matt Snyder from the Fast Nâ Furious and Livestock Unlimited 4-H Clubs; Kristin Harriger from Livestock Unlimited; and Celeste Pearce from Fast Nâ Furious 4-H Club visited the local offices of state Reps. Sam Smith, Matt Gabler and Dave Reed.
BROOKVILLE â Tuesday, the Jefferson County Commissioners moved to submit an application for more than $1.5 million in federal funding.
The application was submitted to the U.S. Depart-ment of Commerce, and if received, the money would be used for site development at a proposed business park near the Jefferson County Fairgrounds.
Kristin Hullihen, of the Jefferson County Depart-ment of Devel-opment, said this is the second application submitted to the Depart-ment of Comm-erce. The first application was denied, but Hullihen said that is not uncommon.
March 8th
HARRISBURG â
House Speaker Sam Smith said Gov. Tom Corbettâs proposed $27.3 billion budget shows bigger cuts than perhaps expected in higher education, but Smith said he would like to see deeper digging into the budget for the Department of Welfare and abuses with the program.
PUNXSUTAWNEY â Five years after the idea was officially proposed, a pre-bid meeting was held Tuesday for the Area Transportation Authority (ATA) terminal along North Findley Street.
The project could begin within the next couple of months, depending on the bids and a second-floor tenant.
âPunxsutawney is a hub for us, but we think if we construct a terminal here, we will attract more passengers,â especially with the expansion of IUPâs Punxsy campus, said Gabriel J. Uljon, ATA director of facilities and stationary equipment.
PUNXSUTAWNEY â The Torrence Street sewer replacement project was 40 percent complete as of Tuesdayâs Public Works Committee meeting.
Committee Chairman Roger Steele said there are three phases of work that will take place on Torrence Street. The first phase is the sewer replacement project, which has nothing to do with the ATA Terminal building project.
The second phase, widening Torrence Street, is scheduled to begin April 1, Steele said, adding that the sewer replacement project will conclude Friday.
