Jason Dudjak will be returning to family in Erie on Wednesday after a 15 month tour of duty in Iraq. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review has a good story about him being reunited with his college class ring. He lost his clas ring from Virginia Military Institute that his father had given him. Shortly after that he sold his Ford Mustang. The woman who then owned the Mustang had a pet ferret. The ferret found the ring in the trunk. She threw the ring in a desk drawer. Years later she pawned the ring. In Pennsylvania, the police check on all pawned items. An oficer thought it was unusual that a ring fron 1968 would be pawned by a young woman. His social security number was engraved inside and they traced a phone number back to Erie. Air Force LTC Dudjak has been serving as the Air Force’s director of public works in the Bagdad Green Zone.

I had someone ask about wineries in the area. Mazza Vineyard, Penn Shore Vineyard, Heritage Wine Cellars and Presque Isle Wine Cellars are the wineries in Erie County around North East, PA.

Christopher Dock Mennonite High School blanked Erie Villa Maria 9-0 in the state Class A baseball championship game. District 10 champion Villa Maria, the first team from Erie ever to advance to the state championship game in baseball, finished the season with an 18-9 record.

Harrisburg beat the Erie SeaWolves 6-2. The two teams play again today in Erie at 1:05 pm.

The he Canton Legends edged the Erie Freeze 54-45 in a first-round AIFL playoff game.

Fans crowded the stands at Lake Erie Speedway for the tracks second week of racing for the 2006 season. Warm weather and clear skies brought a record breaking 10,872 race fans to fill the speedway surpassing the previous record of 9,300 people. Fans lined the entire speedway to watch all seven divisions of racing plus on track autograph session and the second annual Child Advocacy “Drive Away Child Abuse” Race. Racing continues at Lake Erie Speedway on Friday, June 23rd with NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series racing featuring Plyler Overhead Door Late Model twin 30 lap features, Dodge Trucks, Advance Auto Parts Super Stocks, Bandoleros and Krazy Kompacts.

The Girl Scouts of Penn Lakes first-ever GirlsWalk! walk-a-thon will be held today at Presque Isle State Park Beach 1 at 9 am.

The Thurston Classic Hot Air Balloon Show wraps up at Robertson Field on the campus of Allegheny College.

“Fiddler on the Roof” will be performed at the Erie Playhouse today, and June 22-25. For tickets and info call (814) 454-2852.

The International Institute of Erie celebrates World Refugee Day on Tuesday June 20. Come to the festivites at Perry Square on Tuesday from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm. Many cultures will be featured in entertainment and exhibits, former refugees participate at various levels and public education is provided concerning worldwide refugee circumstances.

Join Szymanski Consulting (SCI) for a dynamic event featuring the Microsoft Across America Mobile Event Experience. The Mobile Event Experience technology bus provides business leaders and professionals the opportunity to learn more about essential technologies that help small and medium-sized businesses operate more efficiently and successfully. The technology bus will be located at the Inter-Modal Center on June 21st, 2006 from 2-4 pm. This state-of-the-art bus is loaded with technologies from Microsoft, Cisco, HP, and Intel. It has been transformed into a hands-on interactive environment complete with: Workstations, Tablet PC, Software, Server Solutions such as Virtual Server and Small Business Server. Szymanski Consulting, Inc., a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, is proud to be presenting this Microsoft Across America event in partnership with the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership and the Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority. While enjoying fun, food and networking with area business professionals, you will have the opportunity to win an Xbox, receive discounts on Microsoft software, talk with Microsoft experts, and attend brief overview presentations on Small Business Server, Virtual Server and SharePoint.

The Sprint Presque Isle State Park Sunset Concert Series takes place Wednesdays from June 21-July 26 from 6:30 pm to sunset. Admission is free. These six entertaining nights of a variety of music, concessions, and kid’s activities will be fun for the whole family. Kid’s activities will be held during the first hour for children ages 6 – 12 and will be guided by a Presque Isle State Park Naturalist. Bring your family down for six fabulous summer nights and enjoy great music along with breathtaking sunsets at Beach 1. The Sam Hyman Band opens the free concert series June 21.

Dr Roger Knacke, director of the School of Science and professor of physics and astronomy at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, will host a Summer Night in Astronomy event on Thursday, June 22. Knacke will speak on “Jupiter, The Giant Planet” beginning at 8:30 pm in 101 Behrend Science Building. Weather permitting, astronomical viewing from the college’s Mehalso Observatory will follow from 9:30 until 11 pm. Summer Night in Astronomy is free and open to the public, and is intended for a non-technical audience age 6 and up. For information, call the School of Science at 814-898-6105.

The 2006 Erie Summer Festival of the Arts takes place June 22-25 at Liberty Park. This year’s fesl features demonstrating artists, crafters, a song contest, award winning children’s area, ethnic foods, student video and digital media competition, juried panorama art show, computer intruction programs for children and adults as well as strolling musicians.

During the 1920s and early 1930s, commercial fishermen along the Lake Erie shore unloaded thousands of pounds of a cargo they called “midnight herring.” These “herring” weren’t pickled, but the people who bought the precious cargo surely were. “Midnight herring” was alcohol smuggled across the lake from Canada during Prohibition. This colorful era is recalled at the Erie County History Center with an exhibit called Midnight Herring, a cooperative venture between the History Center and the Port Dover Harbour Museum. It opens June 23. Through photographs, objects and memorabilia, the exhibit brings the colorful characters of the era – the Semple family, the Sisters of St. Benedict and Westfield Jimmy – to life. The exhibit opens in conjunction with the publication of Dr David Frew’s newest book about the cross-lake traffic in contraband, also titled “Midnight Herring” (the cover of which was designed by Eric Armbruster of Bensur Creative).

Performing in Erie on June 25th, 2006, Tanglefoot, Lake Erie’s most exciting maritime musical group, will perform In conjunction with the Midnight Herring exhibit opening and book release, Tanglefoot returns to Erie after ten-year absence to celebrate the Erie County History Center annual History Makers event. Tickets for the concert are $15. Call (814) 454-1813.

GalapaZOOza is an inaugural adult-only fundraiser taking place at the Erie Zoo on June 24th from 7-11 pm. Tickets to GalapaZOOza are $75 each and must be purchased before June 16. The event includes drinks, appetizers, silent auctions, live entertainment and special animal presentations. All proceeds from the event benefit the Erie Zoo’s nearly 500 animals and 700 species of plants. Bensur Creative Marketing Group went “wild” over this event working closely with Ainslie Ulmer, Erie Zoo Community Relations Assistant, to market GalapaZOOza.

The Peek n’ Peak Classic takes place June 26 – July 2. The Golf Channel will provide live coverage of the Nationwide Tour event.

Here’s the line up for the 8 Great Tuesdays free concerts at the Liberty Park Pepsi Ampitheater. All concerts begin at 6:30 pm and end around 9 pm. July 11 – The Gem City All Stars, July 18 – Jakes Blues and Blue Fire, July 25 – The Yardbirds, August 1 – Key West Express, August 8 – Jefferson Starship/Jefferson Airplane “Galactic Reunion Tour 2006″, August 15 – Dave Stevens Big Band, August 22 – The Fabulous Gunslingers, August 29 – Rick Derringer.
Eight Great Tuesdays is the free concert series produced by the Erie – Western PA Port Authority.