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Erie PA News and Events for Wednesday January 24, 2007

A reader sent me details about the GAF Materials Corporation severance package to the Erie based employees. They were offered 3 weeks severance, and if you stay until the end you receive an additional $500. If you’ve been there 20 years or more you receive 4 weeks severance. If your anniversary of working with the company falls at any point past the closing, you are not entitled to any of your paid vacation time for this year. Their current contract states that if you do not use your vacation time, you are paid the amount of time that went unused. The union walked out of the talks, basically taking it as a slap in the face. And this is all conditional to maintaining 90 percent production at the company, which they haven’t been at 90 percent since July.

Blair Corporation, (AMEX: BL), a national catalog and multi-channel direct marketer of women’s and men’s apparel and home products, announced today that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement by which Appleseed’s Topco, a portfolio company of Golden Gate Capital, will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Blair Corporation common stock in an all cash transaction of $42.50 per share. The total transaction value is approximately $173.6 million. Following the close of the transaction, Blair will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Appleseed’s, one of the largest direct marketers of women’s apparel in the country.

The Erie Airport Authority signed a deal with The Certo Group and L A Foods to take over the restaurant at Erie International Airport. The deal calls for the Certo Group to pay $12,000 a year or 3 percent of gross receipts, whichever is more, plus utilities. Greg’s Place paid the $12,000 a year but no utilities.

Only two quarters into its 2007 fiscal year, eDynaQuote, the Erie-based provider of internet-based competitive bidding services and consulting, has nearly doubled sales revenues and new client commitments over the entire previous four quarters. Revenues and new client commitments for the quarter ending December 31, 2006 were triple those of the comparable quarter in 2005. The growth is attributed to expansion of sales and marketing, and is expected to continue into 2007. eDynaQuote was created by the Center for eBusiness and Advanced Information Technology (eBizITPA), a Pennsylvania resource initiative begun in 2002. Recently eDynaQuote was spun off into a free-standing, self-supporting entity and is currently being offered for acquisition. Interested parties should contact Prima Problem Solving Inc. (pmiller@ppspi.com).

Railpower Technologies (TSX: P) announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell, on a bought deal basis, 25,000,000 units (the “Units”) at a price of C$1.00 per Unit to a syndicate of underwriters led by Canaccord Adams and Sprott Securities Inc, and including National Bank Financial Inc, Paradigm Capital Inc, and Pacific International Securities Inc (collectively, the “Underwriters”), for gross proceeds to the Company of C$25 million. Each Unit will consist of one common share and one-half of one common share purchase warrant. Each whole warrant will be exercisable at a price of C$1.25 for a period of three years from the closing date. Railpower is headquartered in Montreal with its US office in Erie, Pennsylvania.

On this date in 2003, the new Department of Homeland Security officially opened as its head, Tom Ridge of Erie, was sworn in.

Horror and Science Fiction gamers and developers have something to howl about now that the Eerie Horror Film Festival has added a video game competition to their annual search for dark themed films and screenplays from around the world. Established in order to encourage the development and growth of horror, science fiction and mystery themes within the gaming industry, the Eerie Horror Film Festival is proud to be one of the first of its kind to offer such an opportunity to video game designers, developers and conceptual artists. Amateurs and pros alike can enter the competition though some categories, like “Game Concept,” “Character Development” and “Environment Design” require no knowledge of game development what so ever. Realizing the immense talent, hard work and ingenuity that go into creating a video game, the Eerie Horror Film Festival made sure that everyone involved in each step of the development process was recognized within their competition. Original scripts, artwork, drawings, descriptions of characters, as well as fully functional games, will be accepted into the competition this season. Awards will be offered to the winners in several categories and will be judged on originality, concept, detail and entertainment value. The competition is open to an international audience with a special discount for students ages 10 - 17. Deadline for the Video Game Competition is September 1, 2007. The fourth Annual Eerie Horror Film Festival takes place at the Erie Playhouse in Erie, Pennsylvania, October 10 - 14, 2007, and offers five days of independent films, special celebrity guests and thousands of attendees.

Imagine: touring the picturesque Mercyhurst College campus, eating pizza and pop at the Laker Inn, and shooting hoops with the men’s and women’s basketball teams - if that isn’t the field trip of dreams. It all happens Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, Jan 23-25, when more than 450 elementary and middle-school students from the Erie School District arrive on the Mercyhurst campus, an experience offered through the district’s CHAMPS program. CHAMPS - Creating Healthy Active Members Planning to Succeed - provides after-school activities to students, including academic enhancement, personal development, prevention of high-risk behaviors, and fun-filled activities. Students from Diehl, Emerson-Gridley, Harding, Irving, McKinley, Pfeiffer-Burleigh, Wilson and Wayne schools will arrive on campus in groups of 75 twice on each of the three days; the sessions being 11 am to 1:30 pm and 1:30 to 4:30 pm. They will begin their journey at the Mary D’Angelo Performing Arts Center, from there branching out to tour the campus with a Mercyhurst Ambassador, visit the Laker Inn for pizza, cookies and pop, learn about Mercyhurst academics while making bookmarks with Mercyhurst volunteers in the student government chambers, and finish off their visit playing ball with members of the college’s men’s and women’s basketball teams. In addition to college athletes and Ambassadors, other participants include the admissions staff and students from the college’s service learning center. Coordinating the effort on behalf of the Erie School District is CHAMPS coordinator Lorri Bland, a Mercyhurst graduate.

University of Pittsburgh head football coach Dave Wannstedt spent the day in Erie yesterday. He even took in the boys basketball double header at the Hammermill Center.

The Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League are set to begin a three-game home stand tonight at the Tullio Arena as they play host to the Guelph Storm. All fans attending the game will receive a free Otters Team Poster Calendar. Friday the Otters take on the Brampton Battalion with a select number of fans in attendance receiving a free gift courtesy of TGI Fridays. Saturday it’s Career Concepts Night as the Otters face Kitchener Rangers featuring a special appearance by SpongeBob SquarePants presented by Time Warner. All three games begin at 7:30 pm. Tickets for the games are on sale now at all Erie-area TicketMaster locations as well as the Civic Center Box Office.

Curtis Granderson, the Erie SeaWolves Centerfielder and 2004 Eastern League MVP Canididate will be in Erie today, Wednesday, January 24 at the annual Erie SeaWolves Hot Stove Banquet. The event begins at 6 pm with a cocktail hour. Individual tickets are on sale now for $35 Fans can also purchase a table of eight for $240 ($5 discount per ticket). The event will be hosted by Jim LeCorchick and will feature many special guest speakers including Detroit Tigers Director of Player Development Glenn Ezell, Mandalay Sports Entertainment VP of Development Rich Neumann and 2007 SeaWolves Pitching Coach A J Sager. For more information or to purchase tickets for the event, contact the SeaWolves at (814) 456-1300.

Identity theft can wreak havoc on otherwise perfect credit ratings and wipe out bank accounts. And it’s a crime that’s growing by the minute. Learn more about this alarming crime as Stephen Szwejbka, director of the criminal justice program at Mercyhurst North East, presents “Information on and Prevention of Identity Theft,” on Wednesday, Jan 24, at 7:30 pm in Miller Hall, Room 116, on the MNE campus. The presentation is free and open to the public.

The Cleveland Indians have announced the line up for this year’s Winter Caravan that will be visiting Erie on Thursday, Jan 25. The event will be held at the Dr Gertrude A Barber National Institute, 136 East Avenue. A ball park dinner will be served in the gym starting at 5 pm, with the program beginning at 6:30. Players scheduled for the Caravan include star first baseman Ryan Garko, left fielder Jason Michaels, and second baseman Josh Barfield. Hitting Coach Derek Shelton is also on the roster, along with team announcer Matt Underwood. The players and coach will present a brief program and answer questions from the audience, and will sign autographs for youngsters in attendance. A charity auction will be held featuring team memorabilia and apparel and prime game ticket packages. All proceeds from the auction and the event will benefit services to children and adults at the Barber National Institute. Dinner includes hot dogs, chips and beverages. Tickets are just $7, and are available in advance at the Barber National Institute and Hector’s Restaurant. For more information, please call 453-7661.

The Sacred Heart WinterTime Ball featuring music by the Dave Stevens Big Band will be held at the East Erie Turners on January 27, 2007. This semi-formal evening will include appetizers, a silent auction, cash prizes and ballroom dancing. You can purchase your tickets online or by calling Sacred Heart School at 814-459-7247.Tickets are $25 per person. 7pm until midnight.

The Highmark Quad Games Ski Race will be held Sunday January 28 at 1 pm.

Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, will host only the third performance of “Inspired by America,” a groundbreaking program that fuses live music performed by Cypress String Quartet with an original film based on Jacob Needleman’s best-selling book The American Soul. Directed by Emmy and Peabody winner Michael Schwarz, the film uses American art, landscapes, news footage, readings, and other images and sounds to reflect the diversity of the American story. The event, part of Music at Night: The Logan Series, will be held at 7 pm on Thursday, February 1, in the Reed Union Building’s McGarvey Commons. Tickets are required. Music at Night tickets can be purchased at the door on February 1, or in advance at the Reed Union Building main desk or online. Ticket prices are $10 for adults, $8.50 for adults over 60, $5 for Penn State Behrend students, and $4 for children under the age of 16.

The 9th Annual MECA United Cerebral Palsy Barstool Open is set to take place on Saturday, February 24, 2007. Last years event had 1200 participants and raised $30000. Yes, 1200 people out drinking in downtown Erie on a cold February afternoon. Teams of 4 will compete in golf at 9 bars in downtown Erie PA. The putting exhibition contest takes place on holes with wacky designs. This year there are 14 bars participating. Click here for a registration form. Mail the registration form and enclose your check for $100, $25 per person, made payable to: MECA United Cerebral Palsy, 3745 West 12th St, Erie, PA 16505.

On Feb 25, the Brewerie at Union Station in Erie hosts the Erie Illusion women’s football team Beer Fest.

The 25th annual Erie Sport and Travel Expo will be held at Family First Sports Park in Erie, Pa March 2-4. The show features fishing and hunting lodges, guides, outfitters, fishing charters and sporting goods vendors and boat and recreational vehicle dealers. General Admission $6 with children under 10 free.

Dennis Weed

Posted by Dennis at January 24, 2007 7:20 AM

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Posted by: Ron at January 24, 2007 8:34 AM

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