Welcome to 2009. Here’s some Auld Lyng Syne if you didn’t get enough of it last night.

We’re sleeping in this morning before making our pork and sauerkraut so we’ll keep this quick.

The man found dead behind Sam’s Club died of natural causes.

The GetGo at 26th and Peninsula Drive is now closed. Yes, it was a little tough to get into, but the station was only 3 years old. Giant Eagle says it wasn’t part of its real estate strategy and that it was close to its Yorktown GetGo location. No jobs will be lost – employees will be offered to go to other GetGo and Giant Eagle locations.

An article in the Cleveland Plain-Dealer asks whatever happened to the anonymous donor who gave $100 million to the Erie Community Foundation. You can read it here.

The Veteran’s Hospital has been awarded a $4.7 million construction project to improve services, parking and more. Work will start this month and should be completed by 2010.

Sports

Brandon Biggers scored twice and added an assist to lead the Erie Otters to a 4-2 win over the Niagara IceDogs in an Ontario Hockey League game played tonight at the Gatorade Garden City Complex. Justin Hodgman added a goal and assist for the Otters, who won for the fourth straight time to improve to 18-17-2-0 on the season. Ryan O’Reilly rounded out the Otters scoring. Chris DeSousa and Andrew Agozzino replied for the IceDogs, who dropped their seventh straight to sink to 12-18-4-4 on the season.

The Erie Bayhawks fell to the Dakota Wizards 113-89.

Edinboro women’s basketball coach Stan Swank likely didn’t feel like popping champagne corks on New Year’s Eve after the Fighting Scots dropped an 81-76 decision at Wayne State(MI) earlier Wednesday evening. With the loss Edinboro fell to 5-4 and has been unable to win back-to-back games since the first two games of the season.

The Gannon men’s basketball team, ranked No. 4 in the latest National Basketball Coaches Association (NABC)/Division II Top 25, continues a nine-game homestand Saturday, January 3 against Kuztown at the Hammermill Center. Game time is scheduled for 3 p.m. Both teams are undefeated and were picked to win their respective divisions in the PSAC.

Events

Gannon University’s Schuster Gallery will host the exhibit “The Art and the Artist,” through January 16, 2009. The exhibit will feature the work of Vitus J. Kaiser who is a longtime art teacher in the Erie School District. A reception open to the public will be held from 3 – 6 p.m. on the opening day. The exhibit will be at the Schuster Gallery located in the Nash Library. For more information call (814) 871-5467.

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.