Perryopolis news
and Nedra and Raul Lopez, 724-677-0660
Birthdays
Emily Mae Cottle turns 4 years old today. Her parents are Bill and Mary Conn Cottle. She has a brother, Brandon, two months old.
Other birthdays this week include: Lisa Hegyes, today; Rebecca Roebuck and Steve Burkholder, Monday; Laura Matway and Barry Graft, Wednesday; John Roebuck and Sue Fine, Thursday; Mary Ann Martinak, Kenny Ansell and Jerome Gearing, Friday.
Anniversary
Brandon and Julie Blair will celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary on Thursday.
Reminders
– Today – PAH Buckwheat Pancake and Sausage Breakfast at the Sons of Italy from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. $5 for adults, $3 for children 6 to 12 and children under 5 eat free.
– Today – St. Nick “Soup and Sandwich Luncheon” from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the church hall. Clam chowder, beef vegetable/dumpling, ham/barley soup; turkey, roast beef, ham and chicken salad, desserts and a beverage. Costs is $6 and proceeds benefit the church renovation fund.
– June 3 – Sons of Italy spaghetti dinner from noon to 4 p.m. Adults $6, children $3. Take-outs available, please bring own containers.
– Perryopolis will allow burning of yard debris every Saturday in May from dawn to 6 p.m. for spring clean up.
– The Frazier School District is exploring the idea of a pre-kindergarten program
beginning in the fall. Parents are invited to respond to a survey by visiting the Frazier School District Web site at www.frazierschooldistrict.org.
– St. Nicholas Church is selling tickets to win a hand-made quilt. Proceeds benefit the church renovation fund. Tickets are $1 each with two numbers to a ticket that play on the 7 p.m. Pa. lottery on June 20. See any church member for tickets.
– For information on Reiki, call Sue Daniels White Crane Tai Chi Chuan/Reiki at 724-736-4076. For information on a free session for energy balancing, call 724-326-4358.
– To reserve the Perry Township fire hall for weddings, etc., call Brain Nicholls at 724-323-5384.
– Perryopolis Moose, wing night Mondays, and members and guests bingo on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. Call 724-736-2940.
– Aug. 11, the Frazier Class of 1962 will hold its 45-year reunion at the Sons of Italy. Contact Paul Farrow for information at 724-677-2248.
– Perryopolis Travel Club is accepting new members. To join, or for information, call Ed Pauley at 724-326-4579.
– Frazier Class of 1965 will hold its 60th birthday party picnic at St. Nick’s pavilion on Sept. 9. Classmates who did not receive an invitation, may e-mail Jim Newmeyer at jtnewmeyer@yahoo.com or Ruthie Hawker Shields at ruthieshields@verzion.net
– Little Redstone Methodist Church will celebrate its 150th anniversary over the coming months. Special service and music will be held on Sept. 30. Contact Ruth Osborne at 724-736-0495 for information.
– Joe Beal, from state Rep. Deborah Kula’s office, will hold office hours every Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Perry Township garage in Star Junction. Office hours in the Jefferson Township Municipal Building are on the fourth Tuesday of every month from 1 to 3 p.m.
– Registration for the Learning Tree Preschool 2007-2008 school year. Call the Preschool at 724-736-4011 or Bonny Winder at 724-677-2312.
– Any area artist interested in painting a piece of furniture in a literary theme and donating it to the library to become part of the “Sitting Pretty” auction/fund-raiser should contact the library at 724-736-8480, Debi at 724-797-0255 or Norene at 724-736-2133.
– Free Tai Chi class will be held in the parking lot of the Perryopolis Methodist Church at 8:30 a.m. every Saturday this summer (weather permitting).
– To join the Heritage Society, call Ginny Wingrove at 724-736-2769 or Carol Coldren at 724-326-8610.
Library news
The Frazier Community Library will be closed Monday (Kennywood Day) and May 26 through 28 in honor of Memorial Day.
The Frazier Community Library Book Club will not meet in May. The following books will be discussed at the June 25 Book Club meeting at 7 p.m. with “Travels with Charley” by John Steinbeck and “The Ice Queen” by Alice Hoffman. New members are invited. To join, stop in or call the library at 724-736-8480.
First Christian Church
Marianne Cornetti, an internationally known opera singer who grew up in Saxonburg, will sing at the First Christian Church for the 10:30 a.m. service on May 27. Marianne has sung in most of the major opera houses around the world. Her appearance at the Christian Church is by virtue of her lifelong friendship with the Sager family of Perryopolis.
Blood drive
The Red Cross will hold a blood drive at the Perry Fire Hall on May 30 from noon to 6 p.m. Donors will receive a racing T-shirt and a chance to win tickets to the Daytona 500 in 2008.
Concert
The Dominion Trio of Salem, Va., will present a gospel music concert at the Star Junction Baptist Church at 7 p.m. on June 1. All are welcome to attend.
American Legion
A flag-burning ceremony will be held in Connellsville in early June. This event is designed to give torn and tattered flags a proper burial. If you have a worn out American flag that needs disposed of, call Norman Zimmerman, commander of the Perryopolis American Legion, at 724-736-2000.
Fairview Methodist
The Fairview Methodist Church on Laureldale Road in Grindstone will hold its annual Vacation Bible School from June 18-22 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. This year’s theme is Son Country Farm. Call Karen Langley at 724-677-4503 for registration forms or more information.
Memorial Day program
Perryopolis and Perry Township VFW Gold Star Post 7023 and American Legion Post 752 will conduct Memorial Day services at 10 a.m. on Monday, May 28, at Frazier High School auditorium, beginning with the national anthem by the Frazier High School/Middle School Band, directed by Rod Staggers.
Boy Scout Troop 625 and Scoutmaster John Snyder, Junior Troop 4078 and Leaders Dana Boyd and Lori Clem, and Cub Scout Pack 625 and Pack Leader Lisa Maurer will then recite the Pledge of Allegiance in unison with the audience. Following will be the invocation given by the Rev. William E. Lawson, pastor of Fort Burd Presbyterian Church, Brownsville.
Peter P. Pierotti, chairman of the Memorial Day program committee, will begin the program with brief remarks, and John Shortman, VFW Post 7023 commander, who will deliver the welcoming address.
Norman L. Zimmerman, commander of American Legion Post 752, will present Patriotic Buglers Awards to Sarah Cowen and Kristen Joseph.
Frederick Koller, quartermaster of VFW Post 7023, will present Patriotic Citizen Awards to: Chaise Bertocci, Caitlyn Brown, Jessica Butler, Alex Davies, Josh Gardner, Josh Guiser, Tyler Jordan, Trista Lowry, Jacob Lynch, Eli Morgan and Hunter Morris. They are volunteers who raise and lower the American flag at Frazier Middle, Perry Elementary and Central Elementary schools. Thanks go to teachers Donna Clark, Mary Kay Toth and Dan Kordich for their dedication.
Emily Sue Cowen, Frazier Middle School student and winner of the VFW Post Patriotic Pen contest “Citizenship in America,” will be presented her award, which is sponsored by the VFW and its ladies auxiliary.
Alice Glawinski is president of the ladies auxiliary.
Peter P. Pierotti will then introduce the post’s Voice of Democracy contest winner, Brittany M. Traynor, who will present her oration, “Freedom’s Challenge.”
The Frazier Band will then perform a medley of patriotic music.
Charles H. Prince, Somerset, will be the keynote speaker for the ceremony. Prince, a past state commander of the Pennsylvania Veterans of Foreign Wars, served in that capacity during 2003-2004. He is a veteran of both World War II and the Korean War. In WWII, he served with the U.S. Navy in the Pacific Theater on the USS Donaldson, USS Missouri, USS South Dakota and USS Quincy. For his service, he received numerous medals and decorations.
While he was on the USS Missouri, he was privileged to witness the signing of the peace treaty with Japan that ended World War II.
His brief service during the Korean War was with the U.S. Army. He is a life member of both, VFW Post 8826, Salisbury, and American Legion Post 181, Somerset. He is a past commander of both VFW Post 7250, Confluence, and American Legion Post 181. In addition, as district commander of Pennsylvania’s District 23 in 1996-1997, Prince achieved the status of All-American District Commander.
A native of Somerset County, Prince is retired from the Somerset County Assessment Office. He has been married to his wife, Jean, for 59 years. They have three children, nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Following the featured speaker, Tony Fao, co-chairman, will memorialize comrades who passed away in 2006 and 2007, reading their names and then pausing for a moment of silence in their honor.
The following veterans are to be honored: William D. Albaugh, Paul Backas, Richard C. Behana, Joseph Cernuska Jr., John Chiprich, Edward P. Filchock, John E. Gardner, George E. Hancharik Sr., Richard A. Kantorik, Edward Kotlar, Joseph D. Lasko Sr., Joseph R. Lipovsky, Jack F. Patterson, John Pilarcik, John D. Porter, Ralph E. Price, Joseph N. Rebottini, Robert T. Robinson Sr., Victor T. Seruga Sr., John Strickler, George Thompson, Ralph Tringes Jr., Henry Vestrate, Steve “Jack” Voytilla, Willard L. Wadsworth and Oliver B. West Sr.
Ross M. Ackinclose, lay minister, will give the Benediction, and the services will continue at the honor roll adjacent to the school.
Boy Scout Troop 625, under the direction of Scoutmaster John Snyder, will raise the American flag and then lower it to half-staff and place wreaths at the honor roll. The memorial and dedication prayer will be given by Mike Vindivich, lay speaker. The ceremonial firing squad, under the direction of Tony A. Fao Sr. and under the command of George Timko, will then fire the traditional salute for fallen comrades. Ending the tribute will be the playing of taps by Frazier Band buglers Kristen Joseph and Sarah Cowen.
Following the observance at the Perryopolis Honor Roll, the VFW Post 7023, American Legion Post 752, all veterans and the public have been asked to participate in Memorial Day services at the honor roll in Layton, where an invocation, Benediction and memorial and dedication prayer will be given.
Both programs are dedicated in honor of the veterans of Operation Iraq Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom. Freedom is not free.
Moose golf
Once again, the Guru is impressed by the acts and actions of the Moose group. He says he can tell that it was a long winter by the way the guys talk.
They either read a lot or went to some intellectual seminar (fat chance) by the philosophical words of wisdom they expound, i.e.: from the lips of Ted Lytle, comes the fervent prayer, “May the ball lie in green pastures and not in still waters.”
From Dale Black, “I don’t say my golf is bad, but if I grew tomatoes, they would come sliced.”
From John Lowther, “I’m hitting the woods just great, but having a terrible time getting out of them.”
And from the man who is the darling of the links, Bob Welling, “It’s not good sportsmanship to pick up lost golf balls while they are still rolling, and it’s dangerous, too.” As Terry Harkins said after listening to this drivel, “It’s going to be a long summer.”