ErieBlogs.com: Erie PA News and Events for Saturday September 2, 2006

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Erie PA News and Events for Saturday September 2, 2006

Posted by Dennis on September 2, 2006

The Community Blood Bank of NW PA is open Saturday 9-12:30. Please help alleviate the current crisis of the blood supply. A New York State Police Officer that was flown to Erie for treatment after being shot in the Bucky Phillips case has used a TREMENDOUS amount of blood. The trooper needed over 40 units of blood and still needed 2 more surgeries. All donors are strongly encouraged to donate at the Erie Community Blood Bank, 2646 Peach Street. Photo ID required.

The Hazleton Area School Board voted to sever all ties with Municipal Revenue Services fo Erie and Chuck Herron after board member received copies of an Erie newspaper article. The article pointed out that Herron was fined $8,000 by the State Ethics Commission for improperly using the city’s earned income tax records. Herron stole those record from the city when he was fired as Erie Finance Director. He used the records to help set up Municipal Revenue Services, his tax collection consulting business. Hazleton was going to have Municipal Revenue Services help sell delinquent taxes and help collect delinquent taxes. In something that is typical of the near insanity of Erie politics and the Good Old Boys network, the City of Erie is considering hiring Municipal Revenue Services to handle its delinquent taxes.

A jury in Crawford County declared Allegheny College, a college counselor and a psychiatrist were not liable for the 2002 suicide of Charles Mahoney who was allowed to stay in class for years while he battled depression. The parents said the school should have contacted his family and put him on a mandatory leave of absence. If they would have done that it would have violated privacy laws. And if they would have removed him from the school, it would have discriminated against a disabled person. A no win situation. Mahoney committed suicide in his fraternity house in 2002 after 2 1/2 years at the school. Mahoney had been hospitalized once and was under the care of doctors.

Pittsburgh City Council President Luke Ravenstahl was sworn in as the new mayor of Pittsburgh after the death of Mayor Bob O’Connor. Ravenstahl attended Mercyhurst College for one year before transferring.

The deadline to register for an Erie Art Museum fall classes is fast approaching. Tuesday, September 5 is the last day to sign up for the new session that begins Monday, September 11. The Museum is offering a wide array of adult and children’s classes in painting, photography, clay and more. Youth classes include Kids and Clay; Pottery for Young People; Fabric, Wood, Yarn, Paint and More; Drawing Basics for Young People; Printmaking for Kids; and Without Boundaries. Adult classes include Weaving Basics, Bellydancing, Oriental Painting, New Approaches to Life Drawing, Freeing the Natural Body, Beginning American Sign Language, Jewelry Making, Watercolor Landscape Class, Advanced Digital Photography, Still Life Painting Class, Pottery Classes, The Surface of Clay and Independent Study - Advanced Ceramics. Space is limited, so register today. Costs vary by class and payment is due in full at the time of registration. A discount is available for Erie Art Museum members. Teachers can earn Act 48 credits for each hour of class attended. For more information on these classes or to download an online registration form, visit ErieArtMuseum.org. A registration form and information on Act 48 credits can also be obtained by calling the Erie Art Museum at (814) 459-5477.

Brent Clevlen and Danilo Sanchez combined to drive in seven runs as the Erie SeaWolves beat Akron 10-4. Clevlen will rejoin the Detroit Tigers on Sunday. SeaWolves outfielder Nook Logan, designated for assignment on Tuesday, was traded to Washington for a player to be named later or cash. The SeaWolves take on the Akron Aeros today at 7:05 pm. There will be fireworks after the game.

High School football scores:
Erie Cathedral Prep 33 Pittsburgh Perry 0
Erie Strong Vincent 68 Oil City 0
McDowell 51 Erie East 0
North East 43 Iroquois 6
General McLane 49 Warren 14
Harbor Creek 14 Meadville 7
Lakeview 28 Union City 0
Greenville 14 Girard 10
Northwestern 32 Fort LeBoeuf 13
Corry 7 Titusville 6
Seneca 24 Youngsville 6

The area college football teams open their season torday. Gannon University has a home game at 1 pm against Hillsdale. Mercyhurst opens the 2006 season at Tullio Field with a 1:30 pm kickoff against Northwood University. Allegheny opens their season on the road with a game at Westminster at 1:30 pm. Edinboro travels to West Chester for a 1 pm game.

The 10th annual Erie German Heritage Festival is being held today and Sunday from 11-8 daily at St Nick’s Grove, 5131 Old French Road (Route 97).

The Erie County Fair is taking place through September 2 at the fairgrounds in Wattsburg, PA. Here is the schedule of events.

Family First Sports Park is hosting the Challenge Cup soccer tournament this weekend. The National Premier High School Challenge Cup will feature some of the top high school boys and girls teams in the nation. Every hotel room within 50 miles of Erie is booked that weekend.

The Presque Isle Cycling Club Ride for the Refuge Bike Tour will be held on September 4 at 7:30 am at Shades Beach in Haborcreek. Bike tour with various ride lengths - 25km, 50 km, 100km, and 50 miles. Water stops and a picnic following the tours. All rides start and finish at Shade’s Beach, 7000 E Lake Rd at Barlett Rd. Donation of $20 ($25 day of event) for age 16 and older, $10 ($12 day of event) for under 16 with parent. Click here for a registration form. For more info call Erie United Methodist Alliance at 456-8073.

The Northwest PA Commission will be holding a seminar on RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) on September 13 at the Warren Holiday Inn. Cost is $35 and the deadline to register is Sept 6. For many businesses, RFID will soon be mandatory. Click here for brochure/registration form.

Kayak enthusiasts will have the chance to participate in an eco-paddling experience, unlike any other. The three-day, three-night expedition will explore the many natural resources and recreational opportunities exclusive to Erie PA and the surrounding area. Registration to participate is required. Lake Erie-Allegheny Earth Force is sponsoring this event called the Lake Erie Sojourn which will be held September 7-10.

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.

The Erie Irish Festival will be held September 15-17 at Rainbow Gardens on the grounds of Waldameer Park. Adult daily admission $2; all weekend only $3. Children under 16 admitted free.

The Scions Of Britain Car Club (the SOB’s) will hold their 14th annual ‘All British Car Gathering’ meet at the Gazebo Park in Waterford, Pa, about 12 miles South of Erie, on September 17 from noon to 4 pm The event is informal - no vendors, no judging, no fee - drive it, drag it, or just talk about it kind of event. There are usually about 75-80 cars and a few motorcycles, and they usually have door prizes for everyone. For more info, please contact Tom Lee at (814) 725-5992 or rthomaslee@aol.com .

The 2006 Great Lakes Film Festival will be held at the Roadhouse Theatre For Contemporary Art, 145 West 11th St in Erie PA September 20-24.

The Northwest PA Entrepreneur Club (E-Club) will be holding a Networking Event on September 20 at 6 pm in the Oil City library. It’s open to entrepreneurs at all stages of a business’s life who want to benefit from networking and education. Featured Speakers will be Mike Snyder, Attorney and Mike Klapec, Small Business Owner. RSVP by September 13 by calling Ethel Rodebaugh at 814-677-4800 x113.

The 25th Annual Wine Country Harvest Festival takes place in North East, Pa September 22-24, 2006. The festival features two venues, Gibson Park in downtown North East and Gravel Pit Park just 1.5 miles west of downtown. You’ll enjoy wine by the glass, tour buses to the five local wineries, Arts and Crafts, Main Stage Entertainment, a Children’s Area, Cruise in on Sunday, Bike Wine Country Tours, wine and food seminars and a champagne breakfast.