ErieBlogs.com: Erie PA News and Events for Saturday May 19, 2007

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Erie PA News and Events for Saturday May 19, 2007

Posted by Dennis on May 19, 2007

The Snow and Ice Management Association is leaving Erie PA and relocating to Milwaukee. The group recently hired Martin Tirado as its new executive director and he didn’t want to move to Erie. The organization for the people who plow and salt America’s parking lots also publishes Snow Business magazine. All employees in Erie will lose their jobs. The association’s annual Snow and Ice Symposium, which attracts over 700 people each year, will also be moving to Milwaukee.

The Counting Crows, Live and Collective Soul will play a concert at Jerry Uht Park in Erie, PA on July 31 as part of “The Rock ‘n’ Roll Triple Play Ballpark Tour.” Tickets go on sale June 2 at 10 am. Tickets can be purchased at the SeaWolves box office at Jerry Uht Park and on SeaWolves.com. Children under 12 get in FREE with each paid adult ticket holder.

The Erie County Department of Health will no longer close the beaches of Presque Isle State Park when low levels of E. coli levels are found and will only issue swimming advisories. Last year they were closing the beaches when the E. coli levels were less than you would find in your average bath tub. Data for Erie County Beaches can be found here.

Clergy and lay delegates representing the 36 congregations in the Episcopal Diocese of Northwestern Pennsylvania will elect a successor to the Rt Rev Robert D. Rowley during a special convention today at the Cathedral of St Paul in Erie.

Gary S Knott, of the Pennsylvania State Police Troop E’s Patrol Unit, was named Trooper of the Year for the Erie unit. After the Ralph Bucky Phillips incident in which a New York state trooper was killed and two others wounded, Knott organized a benefit dinner and telethon that raised almost $29,000 for their families.

Clyde Davis, a columnist with the Clovis (NM) News Journal, recently visited Presque Isle State Park for the first time since he has a kid and wrote an article about it.

Pennsylvania Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen A McGinty announced that Jill Gaito has been appointed as the department’s deputy secretary for community revitalization and local government support. Gaito has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Gannon University in Erie and a a master’s degree in business administration from Robert Morris University.

Andrew Miller, just called up from Erie, pitched six shutout innings as the Detroit Tigers beat St Louis 14-4 before a sellout crowd of 40,816 at Comerica Park. He is scheduled to pitch again Thursday against the Los Angeles Angels. Manager Jim Leyland said he will return to Erie as soon as Jeremy Bonderman’s blister heals.

The Erie SeaWolves defeated the Akron Aeros, 7-1, in a Class AA Eastern League game Friday night in Erie

Today the Mercyhurst College men’s lacrosse team will be going against the NYIT for a chance to play in its first DII Championship game. The Lakers beat NYIT 12-9 just three weeks ago. Game time is 3 pm.

The 28th International Mercyhurst Prep Regatta will be held today at 9 am on Presque Isle Bay. This free, public event brings over 1,000 visitors to the area. Spectators may watch the race from the walkway near the parking areas on Presque Isle, mainly parking lots 1, 2 and 3.

Join hundreds of bicyclists on Saturday, May 19, 2007 at the Intermodal Transportation Center on the Bayfront Parkway to Bike 10, 30 or 50 miles around beautiful Presque Isle Bay and Lake Erie to raise funds for the non-profit youth environmental education organization Lake Erie-Allegheny Earth Force. Call for information (814) 835-8069 or email Annette Marshall, OSB.

The Great Lakes Independent Film Festival is sponsoring the camp classic “Reefer Madness” on Saturday May 19 at the Roadhouse Theatre. Showings at 8 pm and Midnight.

The 2007 Memorial Day Shootout will be held at the host venue of Family First Sports Park in Erie PA, May 26-28. Over 150 teams are expected. The Memorial Day Shootout is for premier soccer teams ages U9-U19 and is among the top college recruiting tournaments. The tournament will feature some of the best boys and girls soccer teams in the United States and Canada. This is a US CLUB Soccer event. USYSA teams are permitted to participate.

Lake Erie Speedway and the Erie Runners Club are teaming up to host the 6k Run and Walk and 1/2 Mile Youth Race on June 2, 2007 to benefit the St Martins Center. This highly charged event will begin with a 1/2 mile youth race, which will take place around the oval racetrack. Immediately after the youth race, the 6k race will begin at the entrance of Lake Erie Speedway on Delmas Drive. The first leg of the race will be run on a hard packed dirt road. Runners will then make a square loop around the Speedway property on paved roads making their way back onto the oval and ending at the track’s start/finish line. This event will mark the first time the Erie Runners Club comes to the speedway. While there, runners can visit exhibit booths from Saint Vincent Hospital, St Martin Center, Erie Federal Credit Union, Point Click Learn and more. Runners will also get to stay at Lake Erie Speedway that night, for a full night of NASCAR Whelen Championship Racing. Prices are $20 for the 6k run, $10 for the youth ½ mile run, and $10 for a non-race participant.

Penn State Behrend’s popular College for Kids returns this summer with over 150 weeklong classes to educate, entertain, and inspire young people ages 6 to 18. College for Kids courses begin June 11 and continue through August 10, with the exception of Fourth of July week. Classes are organized by age and held during morning or afternoon sessions, with before- and after-care available for an additional fee. Returning classes include past favorites in guitar, golf, knitting, word processing, PowerPoint, model rocketry, acting, sign language, and scrap booking instruction; World War II history, “Engineering MythBusters,” and “Dinosaur Discovery.” New courses this year: “Storm Chasing 101” taught by WJET-TV meteorologist Tom Atkins; two finance classes, “Kids and Money” for the younger student and “Show Me the Money” for teens; “Let’s Cheer,” “Conversational Spanish,” “Introduction to Chess,” “Star Wars and the Roman Empire,” “Crafts from the Beach,” “Space Camp: Return to the Moon,” and an investigation of the paranormal called “X-Files.” “We also have a very special opportunity this year for kids ages 12 to 18—a chance to paint a mural on the fountain in Perry Square under the direction of local artist AJ Noyes,” Mary Trott, College for Kids program coordinator, noted. “Because of the significance of this community service project, this will be one of the rare College for Kids classes that meets for a full day.” Perry Square fountain painting will take place the week of July 23. For artists not old enough to participate in the mural project or unable to commit to a full-day class, Noyes also will teach College for Kids courses in hand-sewing and beading, craft painting, nature drawing and painting, and portrait drawing. Costs vary by course but start at $70 per weeklong class. Before- or after-class supervision is available for an additional $10 per week. Schedule and registration information will be distributed through area schools and also is available by calling 814-898-6212 or clicking here. Mail and online registration will begin in early May. Participants are encouraged to register early for best class selection.

Dennis Weed