Archive - News Article
January 7th, 2011
HARRISBURG — He may be leaving Harrisburg, but outgoing Gov. Ed Rendell said he won’t forget Punxsutawney.
“I’ll always have a sweet spot in my heart for (Punxsutawney) Phil,” he said during a conference call with Pennsylvania newspaper editors Friday. “Phil was in my first inaugural parade. It was freezing, 18 degrees, and Phil comes along, being driven in his warm traveling pen.”
DUBOIS — A former death row inmate living in a Brockway shelter has been arrested again, and Pennsylvania’s parole board says it is looking into alleged parole violations — again.
Ernie Simmons, 53, was convicted and sentenced to death for beating and choking 80-year-old Anna Knaze in her Johnstown home in 1992. The conviction was overturned after an appeals court determined prosecutors withheld evidence.
From the man who brought you “Square Root Day,” Ron Gordon is back to promote “Story Day,” and the story must begin, “Ones Upon a Day.”
Gordon, a teacher in the Sequoia-Union School District in Redwood City, Calif., first brought Square Root Day to the attention of Spirit readers and others around the country during Groundhog Day 2004 — 02.02.04, two is the square root of four.
The last Square Root Day was March 3, 2009 — 03.03.09, three is the square root of nine — and the next Square Root Day will be April 4, 2016 — 04.04.16, four is the square root of 16.
January 6th
BROOKVILLE — The Jefferson County Sheriff’s office recently concluded a busy year which saw the addition of TASERs to the weapons used by the deputies.
Sheriff Carl Gotwald Sr. said through grants, he was able to purchase TASERs for the deputies to have a more effective means of securing offenders by a less lethal option, “by helping to bring the deputies home safely to their families and friends and the offender into custody unharmed.”
TASERs for deputies have deterred hostility because offenders know the outcome.
Chamber board member Jodi Presloid (center, left) and Chamber Executive Director Marlene Lellock (center, right) held the red ribbon as Kevin Merrow, D.C, (center) owner of Merrow Chiropractic, made the cut Thursday. The community’s newest chiropractor conducted the ceremonial opening surrounded by his friends and family (from left): Charles H. Merrow, Pat Merrow, Tim Merrow, Lindsay Vite and Andrew Roberts. A 2009 graduate of New York Chiropractic College, Merrow, who was born and raised in Punxsutawney, said he always wanted to open a practice in the area.
January 5th
PUNXSUTAWNEY — The PAHS senior class recently chose six senior girls to represent the 2011 Winter Queen’s Court.
This year’s court includes Tawnee Bowers, Kayla Knox, Megan Muth, Hannah Neal, Sam Osikowicz and Taylor Powell.
The senior girl with the highest number of votes will reign as queen and the senior girl with the second highest number of votes will reign as princess.
The crowning will take place during halftime of Friday’s varsity basketball game against Brookville.
PUNXSUTAWNEY — Friday, less than a month shy of the 125th Groundhog Day, the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, in partnership with Punxsutawney Phil’s Official Souvenirs, will release the 2011 plush Phil.
This year, in celebration of the holiday’s quasquicentennial however, the plush Punxsutawney Phil is accompanied by someone new — someone less acclaimed, less acknowledged and perhaps, less appreciated: A plush Punx-sutawney Phyllis.
PUNXSUTAWNEY — No one would ever think that the PAHS Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) test would be the catalyst to reunite a long-lost possession with its owner, but that is exactly what happened in a serendipitous string of events in late December at PAHS.
Each year, PAHS administers the ASVAB test to students who plan to enlist in the military. A representative from ASVAB works in conjunction with junior guidance counselor, Jenny White, to administer the test on the designated date.
January 4th
HARRISBURG —
By a unanimous vote, state Rep. Sam Smith of Punxsutawney was elected speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, while state Sen. Joe Scarnati of Brockway was sworn in as President Pro Tempore of the Senate for a third time.
Tuesday was the opening ceremony of the 195th Legislative Session of the House, where 200 elected members took the oath of office. Â
PUNXSUTAWNEY — Despite the fact there has been little to no snowfall in Punxsutawney so far this winter, representatives of some of the downtown merchants spoke to the Punxsutawney Borough Council’s Public Safety Committee at Tuesday’s meeting regarding the possibility of snow removal.
Shirley Sharp and Joe Ferraro of PRIDE made good on a promise to bring a plan to council regarding the removal of snow from the parking meter zones in the borough.
