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Erie PA News and Events for Thursday April 13, 2006

A bomb threat cleared out the Erie County Courthouse for 2 hours yesterday morning. A search turned up nothing.

Greater Erie Youth Symphony Orchestra Music Director Eduardo Espinel is amoung four finalists to become conductor and music director of the Amarillo TX Symphony. Espinel will conduct the Oct. 27-28 concerts. Born in Venezuela, Espinel studied trumpet and conducting at Brevard College, Baylor University, and Yale University. He has appeared as a guest conductor with the Canton Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony, and other orchestras and has been active as a guest choral director and trumpeter. Espinel has received numerous awards such as the 2004 Robert J Harth Conductor Prize from the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen.

Congrats go out to Erie Blogger Eden. Toasted Cheese is again one of Writer’s Digest’s 101 Best Sites For Writers. This is the second year in a row and third time overall.

The lingering blood shortage that has affected the Erie region on and off since February is threatening to get worse for the Holiday weekend. The blood bank is struggling with a moderate shortage of all blood types, but a serious shortage of type O Negative. O Negative is the “Universal Donor” anyone of any blood type can receive O Negative so it is often the first blood given after an accident. All donors are strongly encouraged to donate at the Community Blood Bank, 2646 Peach Street, Erie, PA. The Erie Community Blood Bank is open from 9-6 Monday through Friday and until 7:30 pm Tuesday night and Saturday 9-12:30. Photo ID required.

Allegheny and Eastern Railroad of Punxsutawney will receive a $1.6 million state grant to rehabilitate a track along the mainline from Erie to St Mary’s. The improvements will support the safe movement of an additional rail cars of petroleum coke from United Refining in Warren. Six jobs are expected to be created and 90 jobs will be maintained.

The Erie Freeze fired head coach Jerry Crafts yesterday. Apparently Crafts wasn’t keeping up with the off field duties such as appearances and promotional activities. Half the job is getting fans in the stands. Assistant coach Dave Arnold will be taking over as head coach of the Freeze. Arnold is an assistant football coach at Gannon University. He has an extensive playing background with stops in both the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). Arnold began his professional career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who selected him in the fifth round of the 1989 draft. After two seasons with the Steelers, Arnold played for the Houston Oilers in 1990 and 1991. Arnold moved to the CFL in 1992 and played three seasons (1992-94) for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, leading the team in sacks as an outside linebacker. He concluded his playing career in 1996 with a world championship while playing for the Scottish Claymores of the NFL Europe League.

The Erie SeaWolves first home game is today at 6:30 pm. SeaWolves coach Pete Incaviglia is among 46 nominees for the College Baseball Hall of Fame. The finalists will be announced April 26. Incaviglia still has the caree home run mark with 100 in only 3 seasons. In 1985 he hit 48 homers with 143 RBIs, 285 total bases and a 1.140 slugging percentage, all remain as single-season Division I records.

Preston Harris and Mark Demski of Erie Cathedral Prep signed letters of intent to play basketball for Gannon University. Harris verbally committed a year ago.

Chicago Steel forward Brandon Coccimiglio has committed to Mercyhurst College for the upcoming fall. The Burlington, Ontario, native posted 30 points on 14 goals in 56 games for the Steel this season.

David Contardi was named to the Penn Hills High School Sports Hall of Fame. He excelled in swimming and basketball and went on the play college basketball at Allegheny College in Meadville.

Scott Russell Sanders, winner of the Lannan Literary Award and the Great Lakes Book Award, will be the final speaker in the 2005-06 Creative Writer’s Speaker Series at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College. Sanders will speak at 6 pm today in the worship space of Smith Chapel. An author reception will precede the reading at 4:30 pm in the chapel’s upper-level lobby. Both are free and open to the public.

Spring Peepers are peeping and wood frogs are quacking - it’s time to figure out those frogs. Discover the fascinating world of these leaping amphibians and how to distinguish their songs. Participants can even take part is a citizen science project in frog call monitoring and learn how to become more involved at Presque Isle State Park this evening at 7 pm. No fee, no registration. Meet at the Stull Interpretive Center.

Trio Joubran, three brothers from Nazareth, will perform tonight at 7:30 pm at the Mercyhurst College Walker Recital Hall. To order tickets, call the box office at (814) 824-3000.

Need something to do on Good Friday? How ‘bout a Bad Friday? How ‘bout a Bad Ass Friday? That’s right. Go see Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs this weekend at the Roadhouse Theatre. Theater director Scott McClelland is giving the readers of Erie Blogs a special deal. Mention where you read this when you call for tickets and it’s $2 off for everyone in your group. Shows are Friday and Saturday at 8 pm April 14th and 15th. Call the Roadhouse Theatre Box Office at 456-5656 for reservations and information. Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs plays Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm thru May 6th.

The Erie Runners Club 5K Poker Run/Walk will be held April 15 at 9 am at Beach 1 at Presque Isle State Park.

The Annual Spring Egg-venture Egg Hunt at the Erie Zoo will be held Saturday, April 15th from 10 am until 2 pm. The event is open to children ages 11 and under and will be held on the Zoo grounds. Children will be grouped according to age to ensure that all children find one egg to redeem for a prize, courtesy of Burger King. Each child will also receive a sweet Easter treat from Erie’s own Romolo Chocolates. The Egg Hunt is included with regular Zoo admission - $6.50 for adults ages 12 and over, children ages 3-11 are $3, and kids ages 2 & under are free. The Hunt is free for Erie Zoo members.

If you’d like to join the Millcreek Kiwanis Club, here’s your chance. On Monday April 17, the Millcreek Kiwanis Club is opening its Membership Charter and is holding an evening meeting. The social begins at 5:30 pm and the meeting begins at 6:00 pm at the Blasco Library, the Admiral Room. Discover what fun it is to be a Kiwanian. Learn how they serve the Erie Community. Learn how you can become a member. Millcreek Kiwanis also meets each Wednesday morning at 7:30 am at the Avalon Hotel for a brief business meeting, informative local speaker and breakfast. Guests are always welcome.

The Alpha Sigma Tau sorority, Gamma Theta chapter will host the Fourth annual Mr and Ms Penn State Behrend Pageant on Wednesday, April 19, at 8 pm in McGarvey Commons at the Reed Student Union Building. The event is free and open to the public. Donations will be accepted in advance and at the door. Checks can be made payable to Alpha Sigma Tau, 5091 Station Rd, Erie, PA 16563.

The Allegheny College Playshop Theatre will present “Tartuffe” on April 20, 21, and 22 at 8 pm and April 23 at 2:30 pm in Arter Hall on the Allegheny College campus. Beginning at 2 pm and immediately preceding the performance on April 23 will be an event called the “Groovy 1960s Fashion Show,” featuring men’s and women’s fashions spanning that colorful decade.

Ludacris performs at the Erie Civic Center Tullio Arena on Apr 21. Tickets are still available.

Pat Monahan pays a visit to his hometown withTrain playing a concert at the Erie Civic Center Tullio Arena on April 22. Some tickets are still available.

A Muslim imam will deliver a guest lecture at Gannon University on Bosnian assimilation and immigration into the United States. The lecture, to be given by Senad Agic, imam of the Islamic Cultural Center of Greater Chicago in Northbrook, Ill., will be held at 7 pm Saturday, April 22, in room 101 of Gannon’s Zurn Science Center, 143 West Seventh St. The International Institute of Erie is supporting the event, which also will feature Bosnian music and folk dancing. Admission is $5 per person at the door. For more information on the event, call 814-871-7030 or 814-871-5654.

It’s time for bird lovers to pack their binoculars, note books and field guides, because the endangered piping plover and the brilliant scarlet tanager, as well as hundreds of other colorful migrating bird species, will be showing off their feathers at Presque Isle State Park in Erie, PA, during National Wildlife Week (Apr 22-30). Presque Isle State Park is one of the nation’s premier bird watching destinations. The 3,200 acre sandy peninsula arches into Lake Erie and features approximately 320 species of birds in six distinct ecological zones, each with a different plant and animal community.

The Erie office of Pennsylvania Career Link will hold a job and career fair, the 2006 Erie CareerFair on April 25, 2006 from 11 am to 4 pm at the Zem Zem Shrine Club, 2525 West 38th Street, Erie PA.

The Tony Award and Pulitzer prize winning Broadway musical ‘Rent’ plays the Warner Theatre in Erie on Apr 26. Some tickets are still available.

Critically acclaimed historian Thomas Fleming, author of a dozen books on the American Revolution and a distinguished historical novelist, will speak on “Washington’s Secret War” Wednesday, April 26, at 7 pm in Walker Recital Hall at Mercyhurst College. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Dashboard Confessional will play a concert at Gannon University on Thursday, April 27 at 8 pm at Gannon’s Hammermill Center, Peach Street and South Park Row. Tickets for the general public are priced at $15 and can be purchased at the front desk of Gannon’s Waldron Center, 124 West Seventh Street. The concert also will feature an opening act (to be determined). For more information, contact the university’s Activities Programming Board at 814-871-7766.

The Erie area March of Dimes WalkAmerica will take place at Presque Isle State Park of April 30. With Jenny very pregnant, Eden (Stephanie) is walking for her. Every year, half a million babies in the U.S. are born prematurely. Premature birth is the leading cause of newborn death and many life long disabilities. The funds we raise in WalkAmerica support research that saves babies’ lives. Our mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality. Click here to sponsor the Erie Bloggers team.

Posted by Dennis at April 13, 2006 6:57 AM

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Posted by: Eden at April 13, 2006 9:33 AM

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