Cheers & Jeers
Courtesy of Dr. Michelle Steimer
Courtesy of Dr. Michelle Steimer
Nate Steimer sits among stuffed animals donated as part of Operation Teddy Friend.
Karen Mansfield/For the 缅北禁地
Tony Todaro, front, carries a box of electronics, as Tylor Nolte prepares to carry a television and other devices into the facility during a recent bimonthly electronics recycling collection at the JVS Environmental collection site in Ellsworth.
Cheers: State Rep. Jason Ortitay is to be commended for his tenacity in his efforts to get a bill creating a statewide online course catalog for high school students over the finish line. Ortitay, a graduate of Avella High School, recalled taking a course by watching tapes on a VCR, and told the Observer-Reporter an online course catalog would expand learning opportunities for all students in Pennsylvania, particularly those in smaller districts with limited resources. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an issue of equity across the state,鈥� Ortitay said. The measure was approved by the state House and has moved to the Senate for consideration.
Cheers: Students at Central Greene High School must be exceptionally proud of the greenhouse they created to sell flowers, greenery and garden plants to the public. Members of the FFA program (formerly known as Future Farmers of America) were forced to delay the opening of the refurbished greenhouse in 2020, when like so many things, the pandemic forced them to scuttle their plans. They persevered, continuing to raise funds to support the project, and on Earth Day, April 22, students hosted a grand opening to show off their work and offer plants for sale. Programs like this one are important to our schools, offering not only educational opportunities, but imparting practical life-long skills that could potentially turn into a career. Supporting them by purchasing spring and summer plants and flowers helps to keep initiatives like this alive. To see when the greenhouse is open, check out Waynesburg FFA鈥檚 Facebook page.
Cheers: Laurel Highlands鈥� Hunter Kooser, Sterlene Scott and Mia Pierce, and Albert Gallatin鈥檚 Bruno Fabrycki won MVP honors last Saturday at the annual FCCA Track & Field Championships. Cheers also to Brownsville鈥檚 Jolena Quarzo for breaking her sister Gionna鈥檚 meet record in the 3,200. All seven of Fayette County鈥檚 schools, plus Belle Vernon, won at least one medal.
Cheers: JVS Environmental in neighboring Washington County is helping people properly dispose of electronics by offering bimonthly collections on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month. It鈥檚 illegal in Pennsylvania to throw electronics out with standard household garbage 鈥� computers, cellphones, and other devices contain toxic chemicals such as mercury, lead, and cadmium that harm the environment 鈥� and the Ellsworth e-cycling site offers an opportunity for people to safely rid their homes of the unwanted goods. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 great to take something that would be thrown away and to use it for something else, to give it another life. It matters that we鈥檙e wasting less stuff,鈥� said Vince Gusbar, owner of JVS Environmental.