TyronePA.com

Hosts of the annual library concert This year, there’s three local corporations that will be tri-hosting the annual library concert fund raising event. This year’s tri-hosts are Albemarle Corp., Gardners Candies and M&T Bank. From left: Albemarle Human Resources Manager Tom Getz, Concert Chairman Chuck Banas and Gardners President Sam Phillips. Missing from the photo is Fran Brunhuber of M&T Bank. Tickets for this year’s concert go on sale today. (The Daily Herald/Christina Pryor)

Officials of the Tyrone-Snyder Township Public Library have announced the tri-hosts for the seventh annual library fund raising concert event.
“Last year, we had co-hosts for the event,” said concert chairman, Chuck Banas. “We had American Eagle Paper Company and Healthy Alternatives step up and be the first corporate co-hosts for this event.”
This year, there will be three local corporations that will be tri-hosting the annual library concert fund raising event. This year’s tri-hosts are Albemarle Corp., Gardners Candies and M&T Bank.
“On behalf of the board of directors of the Tyrone-Snyder Township Public Library I wish to thank Albemarle, Gardners Candies and M&T Bank for coming out this year as our tri-hosts for our annual event. Their support will go a long way in making this year’s event a big success,” stated Banas.
“I think it’s a terrific function and a great way to help the library,” said Gardners Candies President, Sam Phillips. “The Gardners employees look forward to the event every year.”
Albemarle Human Resources Manager Tom Getz added, “Albemarle always try to support the community in as many ways as we can and that includes supporting the library.”
Branch Manager of M&T Bank Fran Brunhuber added that M&T is happy to have been able to support the library and will continue to do so on an ongoing basis.
This year’s concert, “A Salute to the Legends,” will be held on Saturday evening, April 19 at the Tyrone Area High School Auditorium. The doors will open promptly at 6:30 p.m. and the show will begin at 7 p.m. sharp.
Tickets for this year’s concert will go on sale today, Saturday, February 23 at the following ticket locations in Tyrone: Bressler’s Food Mart & Sports, Kopp Drug and the Tyrone-Snyder Township Public Library in downtown Tyrone.
The tickets may also be ordered by telephone by calling a special ticket order number at 682-1017 during regular library hours. If you call for tickets after hours, simply leave your name and telephone number and the reason you called. Your call will be returned during the next business day, and your ticket orders will be taken.
“This past week we have begun taking the orders from our corporate sponsors who buy ads for our program as well as the blocks of tickets. This year our support is running very high. We are also getting calls from people who are not willing to wait to secure their concert tickets. Our suggestion is get your tickets as early as possible in order to be located in the front half of the auditorium,” Banas added.
All of the funds raised for the concert are used to offset the payment of the mortgage on the new library. To date, these concerts have raised over $53,000 while moving towards a goal of $100,000.
Next week, The Daily Herald will have additional information regarding this year’s big community event.

The students of Tyrone Area High School are busy preparing for their upcoming musical production, “West Side Story”, which is scheduled for April 25-26 beginning at 7:30 p.m. both evenings in the high school auditorium. Last week, students met with choreographer Tara Penick to learn dance sequences for the musical. “West Side Story” is a musical written by Arthur Laurents (book), Leonard Bernstein (music) and Stephen Sondheim (lyrics). The story is based loosely on Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”. Set on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, the musical explores the rivalry between two teenage gangs of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. The young protagonist, Tony, who belongs to the white gang, falls in love with Maria, the sister of the leader of the rival Puerto Rican gang. Bernstein’s score for the musical includes: “Something’s Coming”, “Maria”, “America,” “Somewhere,” “Tonight”, “Jet Song”, “I Feel Pretty”, “One Hand, One Heart” and “Cool”. More information about the musical will appear in future editions of The Daily Herald. (The Daily Herald/Christina Pryor)

A spaghetti dinner will be held Sunday, March 9 from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Joshua House to benefit the production of “West Side Story”.
Students from the Tyrone Choral Department will be showcasing their individual vocal talent on stage, including songs from the April 25-26 TAHS production of “West Side Story”.
The dinner includes salad, roll, dessert and a drink.
For tickets, call Linda at 931-4352 or Kelly at 684-2806 or 684-3225 (The Beauty Salon).

Final registration for Tyrone Youth Baseball Association will be held Tuesday, February 26 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Epworth Manor.
The sign-ups are for major, minor and tee ball baseball leagues.
Any boy or girl born between May 1, 1995 and April 30, 2003 is eligible to play.
To register, an original copy of the child’s birth certificate is required.
Anyone who did not turn in last year’s uniform should bring it to registration.
Anyone with questions can contact Peggy Snyder, Player Agent, at 684-9604 or Jerry Shetler, President, at 684-2567.

Can’t catch me While a Bald Eagle Area defender futilely tries to stop Johnny Franco, during the 2006 Tyrone/BEA game, the Eagle tailback swivels away for a long gain. (The Daily Herald/Mary Michaels)

Here’s an amazing fact about Tyrone senior Johnny Franco: in 26 starts over three seasons, the 5-foot-11 running back-defensive back scored at least one touchdown in 23 of them. And in those 23 games, the Golden Eagles were 22-1.
Sound like the kind of player you’d want to get the ball to?
Numbers like those are hard to deny, so even after Franco missed almost all of his senior season with a broken left fibula suffered in the preseason, there were still offers on the table from a handful of eastern colleges.
The one that Franco opted on was the one Division I program that stuck with him throughout the emotional roller coaster ride that was his senior season. Franco signed a National Letter of Intent two weeks ago, accepting a full football scholarship to play for Army as a member of the United States Military Academy at West Point.
“It wasn’t a tough decision,” said Franco, who plans to enter the Academy as a pre-med major. “They were the only Division I school to offer me a full scholarship after my injury. When they stuck with me, I knew they were the best choice. They offer the best academics mixed with football.”
Academics were a high priority not only for Johnny, but for his parents – Sue and John.
“He loves the football and we love the academics,” said John Franco, the 15-year Tyrone coach who in three decades of coaching has become quite familiar with the recruiting process. “One of his goals was to try to win a Division I scholarship. He had such a good sophomore and junior season that he was really in the driver’s seat. With his injury, a lot of the schools pulled back, but the one that didn’t was Army.”
Coach Franco said Army first noticed his son after his junior season when he attended the Butler-Metro combine near Pittsburgh, and soon after, the Francos sent the Academy Johnny’s highlight tape.
It didn’t take long for Army to decide it liked what it saw.
“They came to us and said we’d like to offer,” coach Franco said. “They had already done the background checks and academic checks and they said they had a football spot open for him.”
Even with that offer on the table, and with other schools saying a comeback attempt during his senior season could be a mistake, Johnny battled back to start two playoff games after twice attempting returns during the regular season.
“There were some people at the college level who suggested that he shouldn’t try to come back,” coach Franco said. “They thought the potential of further injury would only hurt his chances of playing in college, but he wanted to come back to help the team win. His main focus was to help the team.”
That’s not too surprising considering the path the younger Franco’s career had taken since junior high. In ninth grade, he was a thousand-yard rusher for Bishop Guilfoyle’s undefeated junior high team, but before his sophomore season his family made the decision to move to Tyrone. Until then, they had lived in Altoona, with coach Franco commuting to Tyrone for practice after teaching Drivers Education at Altoona High.
Before the move, there were rumors coach Franco might leave Tyrone to take over at Bishop Guilfoyle, where longtime coach Tom Irwin had just retired.
“It was tough because I was leaving friends behind, but I already had friends who played for Tyrone,” said Johnny. “I always knew I wanted to play for my dad, wherever it was, and I’m glad it was at Tyrone.”
Johnny’s impact on the gridiron was felt immediately. As a sophomore on a senior-dominated team in 2005, Franco rushed for over 400 yards and scored 12 touchdowns as the Golden Eagles opened the season 10-0 before being upset in the District 6-AA semifinals by Bishop McCort. He also had five takeaways and seven tackles for loss.
At the start of his junior season, teammate Tyler Gillmen went down early with a case of mononucleosis, putting the burden of the offense squarely on Franco’s shoulders. In response, he rushed for 410 yards and scored seven touchdowns over the first three games of the season.
He finished the season with the fifth-best single-season rushing performance in Tyrone history, racking up 1,651 yards on 223 carries to go along with 27 touchdowns. He also had five takeaways, including three interceptions.
Despite the gaudy offensive numbers he produced as a junior, Army recruited Franco as a defensive back, where he most likely will be groomed as a safety.
“It will be hard to give up offense,” said Johnny. “Offense gets all the glory and the front page headlines, and the defense does all the dirty work. I’ll always have a place in my heart for offense, but I love defense and hitting.”
Franco also loves the idea of playing in a game labeled by many college football pundits as the best rivalry in college football – the annual Army-Navy game.
“I watch the game every year,” he said. “And I normally root for Army. Any time you get a chance to play in a game of that caliber, it’s an unbelievable feeling. Hopefully I’ll be able to make an impact in it someday.”