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Erie PA News and Events for Saturday December 10, 2005

The City of Erie budget talks continue to headline the area news. The budget is still millions from being balanced. Instead of looking for cuts, the majority of council (Jim Thompson, Jim Casey, Ian Murray, Joseph Sinnott) seem to have taken the cowards way out and are calling for a property tax increase to make up the difference. Pat Cappabianca, Rubye Jenkins-Husband and Jessica Horan-Kunco seem opposed to a tax increase, at least without looking for more cuts. Horan-Kunco seemed a bit perplexed and frustrated that the old politicians (Thompson, Casey, Murray, Sinnott) will not even look at some departments for cuts. to his extreme credit, outgoing Mayor Rick Filippi has said he will veto any resolution calling for a property tax increase. Jim Thompson threw a hissy fit when he heard that. Take a Midol Jim. Council did take some action yesterday, actually contributing to the deficit by restoring positions that were to be cut and giving out pay raises.That was just nuts. What they need to do is start with the Police and Fire, then make cuts everywhere else. There are tons of paper pushers and managers we just don’t need or can afford. Look up the budget for any random city about the same size as Erie and you’ll see our budget is higher and we have more employees than most. And most city in the country already has their budget for next year in place but out city council likes to procrastinate (to put off doing something, especially out of habitual carelessness or laziness).

Pennsylvania State Police Troop E, based in Erie County, welcomes six new members that graduated with the 119th cadet class which were trained at the State Police Academy in Hershey. The new Troopers are: Matthew B Bly of Karns City, Rico V Coletta of Edinboro, Gary M Garman of Butler, Jason A Lester of Franklin, Richard P Podbielski of Erie and Matthew P Sabo of McKean.

Koehler Energy, Inc received a $364,500 PIDA loan to acquire and renovate an existing 17,000 square foot facility on Manchester Road in Fairview Township. The company, a packager and distributor of firewood, will transfer its operations to this site. This project will retain three jobs and bring 22 new jobs to Erie.

The EPA announced a federal-state-local agreement to fund and carry out a $50 million cleanup of contaminated sediment from the Ashtabula River in Ohio. Ashtabula is about 40 miles West of Erie. This cleanup project, under the Great Lakes Legacy Act of 2002, is the largest to date in terms of scope and cost and Ohio’s first. The Legacy Act is a special initiative to clean up 31 pollution hot spots on the US side of the Great Lakes.

Beauty and the Beast will be performed at the Erie Playhouse December tonight and Sunday and December 14-18, 2005. For more info or tickets call the box office at 454-2852.

Penn State Behrend will again host the perfect antidote to treacely, tinkling holiday hot air: Christmas carols performed with the collective power of over 100 student, amateur, and professional tuba and euphonium players. It’s called TubaChristmas, and it will be held at 1:30 pm today, Saturday, Dec 10, in the McGarvey Commons of the Reed Student Union Building. Even better, it is free and open to the public.

The Westminster Figure Skating Club of Erie would like to invite you to spend an afternoon with their skaters as they celebrate the Holiday season Sunday, December 11th from 4-6 PM at the Mercyhurst College Ice Center. Sit back and enjoy performances by their skating teams, the Elite Edges, Westminsterettes, and Ice Crystals, and solo performances by our Senior through Pre-Preliminary Freestyle skaters. Refreshments and fresh bake goods will be available. All skaters are welcome to skate with Santa after the show. Please bring your own skates. No rentals will be available. Proceeds from the show benefit the Erie City Mission. A free will donation will be accepted at the door.

Take a break while you’re shopping. The Gem City Jazz Ensemble will provide musical entertainment at the Millcreek Mall’s Center Stage on Sunday, December 11th from 5 pm to 6:30 pm. The 20-member Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Tim McKinney, will feature jazz favorites as well as Christmas songs with a jazz twist. The performance is free and open to the public.

Recycled Percussion is returning to the Allegheny College campus on December 13 at 7:30 pm to premier their brand-new show and film their international music video and DVD titled “Recycled Percussion: Live at Allegheny.”

The USA Today/NWCA/InterMat’s 19th-ranked Edinboro Fighting Scots Wresting team defeated Buffalo 20-13. True Freshman Gregor Gillespie (149 pounds) is now 20-0. He hasn’t had a loss since his Sophomore year in High School. He has got to be close to winning 100 in a row.

The Division II 15th-ranked Gannon University wrestling team scored a big upset win, 19-18 over Mercyhurst in the inaugural “War at the Shore” held at the Erie Civic Center Friday night. The Golden Knights and Lakers each won five matches in the dual, but Gannon earned extra points with a win by fall and a major decision to grab the close victory.

Mercyhurst forward Ben Cottreau tipped in a puck 39 seconds into overtime to give the Lakers (10-6-0, 9-2-0) a 5-4 overtime win over Canisius Friday night at the Mercyhurst Ice Center. Canisius and Mercyhurst close the home-and-home series with a game Saturday night at the Buffalo State Sports Arena. Faceoff is set for 7 pm.

The Erie Otters face the Oshawa Generals in a 7:30 pm start at the Tullio Arena. The game can also be seen on the Image Sports Network (Adelphia Channel 12 in Erie County and Time Warner Channel 20 in the City of Erie). Saturday’s game between the Otters and Generals will provide an opportunity for four players to play against their former team. Erie’s Bret Nasby, who scored his first goal as a member of the Otters Wednesday against the Attack, and Adam Berti, who is scheduled to return from injury to play in the game, will face their former mates while Brett MacLean and Eric Regan make their first appearance at the Tullio Arena as members of the Generals. All four players were involved in a trade last week.

Posted by Dennis at December 10, 2005 7:06 AM

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Posted by: Matt at December 10, 2005 7:39 PM

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