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Erie PA News and Events for Tuesday February 14, 2006

On Friday the Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority said things are smelling like roses and on Monday Wall Street said the smell is in fact manure. Fitch Ratings affirmed the ‘BB+’ rating on approximately $5.0 million Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority revenue bonds.Their Rating Outlook is Negative. BB+ is only one step above junk bond status.The port finished fiscal year 2005 with a $573,000 operating loss which was comparable to the prior year. Port operations have run a combined $2.2 million operating deficit since fiscal year 1999 as operating expense growth from new projects has eclipsed revenue growth. The largest of these projects was the Erie Intermodal Center, a 33,500 square foot facility which centralizes the city of Erie’s various transportation modes. Port management had expected that the center’s rental income would cover operating expenses, but the center itself has run a combined $370,000 operating deficit in its first three years of operations.

An Edinboro student has been hospitalized with bacterial meningitis. Meningitis is an infection of the fluid of a person’s spinal cord and the fluid that surrounds the brain. Antibiotics can prevent bacterial meningitis from spreading and infecting other people. High fever, headache, and stiff neck are common symptoms of meningitis. Symptoms can develop over several hours, or they may take 1 to 2 days.

David Dows announced he will run against incumbent Matthew Good for the 3rd District seat to the Pennsylvania House of Represenatives. Good voted for the pay raise. Dows was fired from the Erie County Office of Children and Youth and received a 6 figure settlement not to file a law suit the county over his firing. Today is the first day to circulate nomination petitions for the May 16 primary election.

The other day I talked about high paying jobs in Erie. A friend, who is a recruiter for a national employment company, said she is looking to fill a Medical Sales job in Erie PA. The person would make about $120,000 a year. A minimum of 3 years sales experience is needed. If you know of a superstar salesperson, let me know. presqueisle [at] gmail.com

Gannon University is hosting a Computer Programming Contest for high school students. The contest is designed to allow students to showcase their talents for writing in Visual BASIC, PASCAL, C++ and JAVA, although entries can be written in any programming language so long as it is executable on a PC. Students are asked to use their basic information to create a code and edit and compile it using one of the above programs. Registration is open and students can submit entries as a group or individually. Judging will conclude March 14, with the winners to be announced at Gannon University’s annual spring Open House to be held on Sunday, April 23. Prizes include a first place of $300, second place of $150, and third place of $100. Contest entries will be accepted until March 1.

Traffic accidents are the number one killer of teens. They account for more teen deaths than alcohol, drugs and suicide combined. Erie Insurance agents are getting involved in their local communities and Lookin’ Out for teen drivers. Nearly 32 independent agents across Erie Insurance Group’s coverage territory are helping to make a difference with the Lookin’ Out safe teen driving program. The ERIE provides participating schools with a grant to help spread the word about safe teen driving.

Erie PA native Matthew Madurski has been named editor of the St Marys Daily Press.

Nine Mercyhurst College seniors in Cathlyn Hahn’s art therapy seminar class are taking their paints, brushes and collective talent to Early Connections, 704 State St., where they are transforming three walls of a playroom into a mural depicting a scene from the children’s book, The Rainbow Zebra. In addition to planning and painting the mural, the group also will throw a party at the center to dedicate their work on Monday, Feb 20, at 11 am. Early Connections is an organization devoted to childcare needs and provides early childhood education. You can find more info about Early Connections on their website. Oops, no you can’t.

Comedian Daniel Tosh will perform tonight at 7:30 pm in room 104 of the Gannon University Zurn Science Center, 143 West Seventh Street. The event is free and open to the public.

Presque Isle State Park has a guided snowshoe hike on Wednesday February 15 from 6-8 pm IF there is snow. Meet at Presque Isle Lighthouse parking lot for the Winter Night Life Hike. Snowshoes are available free of charge to those who make reservations and register. There’s no registration required for those who bring their own equipment. For information, call 814-833-7424 or 814-833-0351.

The musical Grand Hotel is being performed at the Erie Playhouse Feb 15-19. For tickets and info call (814) 454-2852.

The Gannon University Erie Chamber Orchestra “Guess the Composer Concert” will feature the orchestra ensemble as soloist. The performance is free and open to the public and will be held Friday, February 17 at 7:30 pm in Gannon’s Mary, Seat of Wisdom Chapel, 512 Peach Street. The concert is free and open to the public.

The Gannon University Schuster Theatre will host performances of “Cats” Friday-Sunday, Feb 17-19. Thursday-Saturday performances will begin at 8 pm, Sunday performances at 3 pm. Tickets are $5 for reserved seating. The Feb 19 performance will be the Alex Clemente Theatre Fundraising Event, tickets for this show only are $15. Proceeds will benefit the Alex Clemente Fund for Performing and Related Arts. Schuster Theatre is located at 620 Sassafras Street in Erie PA. For more information, contact the box office at 814-871-7494, or call 814-871-5467.

When you mix a great cause with drinking and golf, you come up with the MECA United Cerebral Palsy Barstool Open. It’s time for the 8th Annual Barstool Open. This year’s event is set to take place on Saturday, February 18, 2006. Download your 2006 Barstool Open Registration Form today. If you haven’t heard about the event before, here is a quick run down. Teams of 4 people walk bar to bar, playing a miniature golf hole at each bar. The bars get pretty creative on the designs.
The registration fee is $25 per person, $100 per team. You must bring a putter and a couple of golf balls. Almost 1,000 people participated in last years event making the Erie event the largest in the country.

The Highmark Quad Games Cross County Ski and Snowshoe Race is now scheduled for Sunday Feb 19 at 1 pm at Peek’n Peak. The event was originally scheduled for Jan 8, then pushed back to Jan 15, then Jan 22, then Jan 29, and then Feb 5.

The Erie Engineering Societies Council (EESC) will sponsor its 42st annual Engineering Exposition, Expo Erie 2006, Feb 21-23 at the Erie Civic Center Tullio Arena on French Street between 8th and 9th Streets. This year’s show hours are Tuesday, 3 to 8 pm; Wednesday, 11 am to 8 pm and Thursday, 11 am to 4 pm. Admission is free. You do not to need to register in advance to attend.

The Atlanta Falcons announced today that Joe Lombardi has been named the team’s new defensive assistant. He replaces Dennis Allen, who was
hired as the defensive line coach for the New Orleans Saints earlier
this month. Lombardi joins the Falcons from Mercyhurst (Erie, PA) College, where he served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach since 2002. He also served as a recruiting coordinator for the college.

Former Allegheny College coach Blair Hrovat has been named offensive coordinator at Indiana State. Hrovat resigned at Allegheny after four seasons in 2002 after admitting he lied on his resume, saying he graduated from Edinboro when in fact he did not.

Quinnipiac University freshman point guard Erin Kerner (Erie Mercyhurst Prep) was named the Choice Hotels Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week, the conference announced Monday. The honor was the third consecutive for Kerner and the fourth on the season. Kerner averaged 22.3 points, 3.7 steals, 2.7 assists, 2.3 rebounds, and 0.7 blocks per game while shooting 51.2 percent from the floor, 55.6 percent from three-point land and 81.3 percent from the charity stripe in the Bobcats’ 2-1 week. She also had a 1.0 assist-to-turnover ratio while playing a team-high 33.3 minutes per game.

Posted by Dennis at February 14, 2006 6:58 AM

Comments

Posted by: Ron at February 14, 2006 8:04 AM

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Posted by: Matt at February 14, 2006 5:05 PM