ErieBlogs.com: Erie PA News and Events for Tuesday August 15, 2006

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Erie PA News and Events for Tuesday August 15, 2006

Posted by Dennis on August 15, 2006

The official site for Celebrate Erie 2006 is www.CelebrateErie2006.com. Jon Whaley, the top assistant to Mayor Joe Sinnott, asked for links to point to that URL. The site is owned by the City of Erie. The web design firm that owns CelebrateErie.com has recently updated that site to include info on this years event, but they’re doing it on their own. CelebrateErie 2006 starts with Taste of Erie this Thursday night.

Railpower Technologies (TSX: P) reported its financial results for the three and six-month periods ended June 30, 2006. For the second quarter of 2006, revenue decreased to $2.7 million from $4.0 million for the three months ended June 30, 2005. The Company’s decreased revenue in the second quarter is a result of lower locomotive deliveries in the period compared to delivery of five locomotives in the second quarter a year ago. Net loss for the second quarter of 2006 was $15.3 million or ($0.28) per share. The Company currently has firm orders for 152 locomotives compared to an order book of 79 at end of second quarter of 2005. Railpower is headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. Its US office is located in Erie, Pennsylvania. To my knowlege there has never been an effort by local economic development officials to locate their manufacturing base in Erie.

Scientists have discovered possible bird flu in wild swans on the shore of Lake Erie in Michigan. This H5N1 virus strain is likely benign. Initial genetic testing ruled out the deadly Asian strain. Dr Walter Cottrell, Pennsylvania Game Commission wildlife veterinarian, said there will be testing of hunter-killed waterfowl on Lake Erie in November and December for the avian influenza (AI). Cottrell also noted that all AI viruses are killed by heat, so the use of a meat thermometer is recommended to ensure the internal temperature of the meat being cooked reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit.

Eriez Magnetics introduced its first magnet designed exclusively for the plastics industry, the new Super Strength Rare Earth Permanent Sight Glass Magnet. This powerful magnet removes tramp metal contamination from plastic resin and pellets as it passes through a site glass loader on its way to a molding machine. These advanced magnets feature continuously welded construction, and four sizes are available to fit most site glass loaders. Eriez is headquartered in Erie PA and manufactures and markets products through nine international facilities located on five
continents.

Gianni Hayes is an author of 14 novels, biographies, pictorial histories and general nonfiction as well as more than 100 shorts and articles for publications such as Parade, Woman’s Day, Redbook, US and People. She writes under several pen names including Nan Hayes. She is the founder of Writers Bloc Inc. Hayes recently started a company called American Drug Testing Consultants which does testing for drugs and alcohol. Hayes has a bachelor’s degree in biology/chemistry from Gannon University in Erie, master’s in bioresearch and chemistry from Duquesne, and a PhD in English from Maryland.

Mercyhurst College alumna Diane Wawrejko, dance and humanities faculty at Columbia College, Chicago, Ill., has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant to lecture at the National Academy of Theatre and Film Arts in Sofia, Bulgaria.

The Erie SeaWolves return home on with a buck night game tonight at 7:05 pm.

The Erie to Iowa football connection will continue. Erie Cathedral Prep senior Abe Satterfield verbally committed to the Hawkeyes on Monday. Satterfield is primarily a WR with the Ramblers but is a cornerback prospect for Iowa. Bob Sanders and Ed Hinkel both went from Cathedral Prep to Iowa and Jovon Johnson, an Erie Mercyhurst Prep grad, also starred at Iowa.

The Dave Stevens Big Band is this weeks performer on August 15 at 8 Great Tuedays. Eight Great Tuesdays is the free concert series at the Pepsi Amphitheater in Liberty Park.

Family First Sports Park is hosting the 2006 Hoops Classic 3-on-3 Streetball Tournament on Saturday August 18.

Celebrate Erie takes place Aug 18-20 in downtown Erie. The Clarks, Seven Mary Three, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Povertyneck Hillbillies and the Beach Boys are a few of the musical acts. This event was formerly called ‘We Love Erie Days.’ It’s been 5 years since the name change.

The 4th Annual Erie SeaWolves Family Fun Run/Walk for Epilepsy will be held Saturday morning August 19. Proceeds of the event will benefit the Epilepsy Foundation Western/Central Pennsylvania.

The 2006 Hamot 10k Mayor’s Cup and 5K Walk/Run takes place on Sunday August 20.

The 10th annual Erie German Heritage Festival will be held September 2-3, 2006 from 11-8 daily at St Nick’s Grove, 5131 Old French Road (Route 97).

Erie’s last blast of summer, the second annual Erie Heritage Festival, featuring a special Erie Philharmonic Pops concert on the Bay, will be held on Saturday, September 9, at Liberty Park’s Pepsi Amphitheater.

Former Mecyhurst College basketball great Brent Swain is organizing a Mercyhurst Laker Alumni Basketball Game which is scheduled for September 9 at 7 pm in the Mercyhurst Athletics Center (MAC)..

Barbara Hurd will open the 2006 Creative Writer’s Speaker Series at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, with a reading on Thursday, Sept 14. Hurd’s reading will begin at 6 pm in the worship space of the Smith Chapel. A reception for her at 4:30 pm in the chapel living room will precede her appearance; both are free and open to the public. Hurd is the author of two literary nonfiction books, Stirring the Mud: On Swamps, Bogs, and Human Imagination, which was named a Los Angeles Times Best Book of 2001, and Entering the Stone: On Caves and Feeling Through the Dark, and a book of poetry, Objects in This Mirror.