Slick roads and dropping temps made for some tricky driving yesterday. We hope you got where you were going safely.

If you’re sitting on some KB Toys gift stores, we’d recommend you use them today if you can. The company has announced plans to liquidate and close all its stores, including the Millcreek Mall location.

JET TV is reporting that there will be nearly 70 workers laid off at PHB in Fairview. If you work there and know more, fill out a comment or complete our contact form. You can be anonymous if you like.

If you tuned into WJET yesterday at noon hoping to catch the nationally syndicated Rush Limbaugh show, you = stunned. Connoisseur Media has replaced the long running popular program with The Dennis Miller Show. Miller is also a conservative, but we bet a lot of people aren’t happy with the decision. According to Joel @ The Press and Tower, officials at the station said the Limbaugh show was too expensive and rather then lay off more employees, they switched to a cheaper show.

The Friends of the Library have put their money where their books are and have donated $50,000 towards the new library branch in Fairview. The funds will be matched by the Blasco Endowment. Nicely done.

In the final day of deer hunting at Presque Isle yesterday, the final score was Deer 1 Hunters 0. No deer were harvested by 1:30 p.m., which was the end of the planned hunt.

Some genius ran into Hector’s Restaurant around noon yesterday, grabbed two photos from the wall and ran out. Luckily, a smart thinking patron caught the license plate number of the brainiac and the photos were recovered. No charges will be filed. The restaurant closes today for good.

The 205 businesses on the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue’s tax delinquent list owe the state nearly $6.5 million, acting Revenue Secretary Stephen H. Stetler said today. In Erie County, Klimek Molding Corporation in Girard owed $6,065.65, Erie Mill and Press Company owes $10,289.29 and Water Rite of Erie owes $48,785.80.

Mercyhurst’s Green Team and Campus Ministry are partnering to stage an Energy Fast on Tuesday and Wednesday, Dec. 16-17, encouraging the whole college community to use creative means to cut back on their energy consumption.

This week, several members of Meadville City Council, Mayor Richard Friedberg, zoning officer Gary Johnson, Vernon Township manager Dave Stone and Allegheny College President James Mullen Jr. met with Amara Geffen, art professor and director of Allegheny’s Center for Economic and Environmental Development (CEED), and 14 students from Geffen’s freshman seminar on climate change, “Art & Activism: Triggers for Sustainability.”

Sports

First period power-play goals by Justin DiBenedetto and Matt Martin was all the Sarnia Sting would need as they shaded the Erie Otters 2-1 in an Ontario Hockey League game played tonight at the Sarnia Sports and Entertainment Centre. Shawn Szydlowski netted the lone Otters goal.

Sarnia improved to 14-14-2-2 with the win while the Otters dropped to 14-15-2-0.

The Mercyhurst men’s basketball team stormed out to a 45-30 halftime lead on their way to a 76-59 victory over visiting Ohio Valley Friday in the Mercyhurst Holiday Classic. Nnamdi Nnadili led all scorers with a season-high 24 points, followed by Brian McTear, who recorded 19 points.

Sunday’s football on TV:
Buffalo at NY Jets @ 1 p.m. on WSEE
Washington at Cincinatti @ 1 p.m. on FOX 66
Pittsburgh @ Baltimore at 4:15 p.m. on WSEE

Senior Ashley Jones (Erie, PA/Fairview) has been named to the 2008 NSCAA/adidas NCAA Division II All-Atlantic Region Team. The defender recently became Edinboro’s first four-time first team All-PSAC West selection. She earned first team All-Region honors a year ago and was a second team choice as a sophomore. As a freshman she was also named the PSAC West Rookie of the Year.

Brooke and Freeland have a great recap and a couple of great photos from Thursday’s BayHawks opener. The hawks are back in action at home tonight.

Events

This morning there will be a picnic breakfast at the Experience Childrens Museum. From 9-11, kids can talk to Santa, do some arts and crafts and generally be kids. Kids can also hit up Pfeiffer-Burleigh school for a Santa’s Workshop. Santa will also be making an appearance at this event. It’s not even Christmas yet, but I’d bet he’s pretty exhausted at this point.

Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, will hold its fall 2008 commencement ceremony on Friday, December 19, in the college’s Junker Center. The ceremony begins at 6:00 p.m. and will confer eight associate, 162 bachelor’s and 20 graduate degrees. Summer graduates participating in the ceremony have received an additional five associate degrees, 46 bachelor’s degrees, and 23 graduate degrees.

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.