The jury selection continues in the Michael Joyce trial. Judge Maurice Cohill reversed his decision allowing lawyers to question potential jurors in his chambers after a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review attorney objected, saying the selection should be public. Joyce is accused of filing fraudulent insurance claims and receiving settlements totaling $440,000.
A preliminary hearing was held yesterday for 17-year-old Clifton Barney, charged in the murder of DaQuan Crosby. During the hearing, it was said that Crosby was shot by two different bullets from two different guns. No word on who fired the second gun. Barney will be held over for trial.
We’ve previously reported that local farmers are growing a new and interesting crop of camelina which can be crushed and refined to produce biofuel. The processing plant is located in Union City, Pa., and will be operational at the end of October, with the capability of crushing up to 30 tons of the camelina plant in eight hours. The crush plant (that’s just fun to say) features two machines dating back to the World War II era but have recently been refurbished.
Edinboro has accepted a $1.75 million state grant to allow the expansion of Cooper Hall to begin. The $24 million project will expand and renovate the building, adding an additional 120,000 square foot of space. The project will formally begin in December of 2009 and the building should be fully available for use by January 2012.
Mercer County has reported an increase in tourism over the previous months. The uptick is most likely associated with the Grove City Outlets located in Mercer County, especially with Christmas two months away.
GE Transportation is teaming up with Bharat Heavy Electricals to try to win an order to supply Indian Railways with 1,000 locomotives. GE, Bharat and Indian Railways would form a joint venture to supply the locomotives. GE is on the shortlist with Electro-Motive Diesel. If GE wins the deal, it won’t have much impact, if any, on our region. The joint venture would build a factory in Marora, Bihar, which is here. The contract stipulates the winning company has to hold a 51% share in the venture. It’d sure be nice to have those locomotives built here in Erie.
Better Baked Foods in North East is laying off 65 workers in Erie, North East and Westfield, NY.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wetlands Reserve Program in partnership with private land owners have enrolled more than 2 million acres of wetlands across the country for conservation purposes. The USDA made the announcement at the farm of Charles and Patricia McCain in Albion, Pa. The McCains enrolled 342 acres, or slightly more than half their farm, into the program. Pennsylvania landowners have enrolled 2,194 acres in the program since it was first introduced in 1996. The enrollment options for landowners are permanent easements, 30-year easements, and restoration cost-share agreements.
In case you missed it, there was a comment in yesterday’s post from a person (we assume is a teacher in the City of Erie) regarding the school districts new software system. There is some confusion as to when parents will have access to online grades. cm writes:
Infinite Campus is still only available to staff, as the district trains us on how to use it and works out any potential issues, before it will be available for parents. I’m not sure the parental access is in the plan for this school year, as many teachers (at least, those of us not at the secondary level) are not yet using the gradebook component. We were shown how to use it for attendance but haven’t all been told that we are to use it for recording grades. In my building we can’t even get any further information about whether we’re supposed to be using it this quarter or not.
The Erie SeaWolves have announced their annual holiday card design contest for students throughout Northwestern Pennsylvania. The winning artwork from the contest will be featured on thousands of official Erie SeaWolves holiday greeting cards! All elementary and middle school students in Northwest, PA are eligible to participate in the contest. The artist chosen as the grand-prize winner will receive a pizza party for their class with SeaWolves mascot “C. Wolf.” Artwork must be submitted to the SeaWolves by Tuesday, November 18, 2008. Submissions must include the student’s name, contact information, school, grade and teacher’s name. An entry form is available here.
Senator Arlen Specter will be holding an open house meeting at the Blasco Library at 3:15 p.m. The Senator will address the audience briefly and devote the remainder of the hour to responding to residents’ questions and concerns. At 9 a.m. this morning, the senator will be speaking in Warren, Pa.
MTR Gaming Group announced that it will issue its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2008. At 10:00 a.m. Friday, October 31, 2008 management will conduct a conference call focusing on the financial results and recent corporate developments. You may call into the conference by dialing (706) 679-0882 or listen via webcast.
Sports
The Erie Otters will hold a second annual Breast Cancer Awareness Night this Saturday at 7 p.m. when the Otters play the Kitchener Rangers at the Tullio Arena. As part of the evening the Otters will be wearing special Breast Cancer Awareness jerseys that can be purchased for $225 with each game worn jersey to be presented to the buyer immediately following the game during an on-ice ceremony. Proceed for the sale will benefit the John Kanzius Cancer Research Foundation. To order please contact the Otters Office at (814) 455-7779.
The Mercyhurst men’s soccer team is ranked No. 23 in the latest NSCAA/adidas national poll. The Lakers are also rated No. 2 in the Atlantic Region according to the first regional poll released by the NCAA Division II Men’s Soccer Committee.
The Penn State Behrend men’s golf team placed two golfers on the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate All-Conference team. Junior Joe Nelson (Warren/Warren) was named to the first team. Nelson who was the top medalist at the AMCC Championships led the blue and white to a second place finish. This is the second time that Nelson has received All-Conference honors. He was a second team selection a year ago. Joining Nelson on the All-Conference team wasfreshman Kevin Koerbel (Gibsonia/Deer Lakes).
The Allegheny College men’s and women’s cross country teams are ranked in the top 10 of the latest United States Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association Mideast region poll.
Cathedral Prep has won the state golf championship, beating Peters Township.
Events
The McDowell Center for Performing Arts will present Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic musical The King and I in the newly renovated Little Theatre (3320 Caughey Road) on November 6-7-8, 2008 @ 7:30 PM and November 9, 2008 @ 2:00 PM. Featuring such songs as “Hello Young Lovers”, “I Whistle A Happy Tune”, “Getting To Know You”, “Shall We Dance”, “I Have Dreamed”, and so on. The King and I is a lasting legacy from the Golden Age of Broadway and one of the most beautiful shows ever written. The King and I is directed by Michael Malthaner, choreographed by Jean Malthaner, with vocal direction by Leslie Weber, technical direction by Jason Loesch, and set design by Dave Kisner. The show stars Abby Franc as Anna and Brett Wittmershaus as the King, with Megan Ott (Tuptim), Tim Barthelmes (Lun Tha), and Kristie Bauman (Lady Thiang).
Antaeus Dance, a professional modern dance company based in Cleveland, returns to Allegheny College for its eighth season to present a concert on Saturday, Oct. 25 at 8 p.m. in the Montgomery Performance Space. The company is directed by Allegheny alumna Joan Meggitt.
Reserved seat tickets for The King and I are only $5.00 and are on sale now. Call 836-6925 for ticket information.
View this past Sunday’s comprehensive events list to see a list of events for the week and months ahead. If you would like your event posted here, please contact us via our online form. Tomorrow we will publish a new list of events for the week and months ahead.
