TyronePA.com

The 24th Annual Lezzer Lumber Football Classic sponsored by the Central Pennsylvania Football Coaches Association
will be held on Friday, June 20, 2008. The game will be played at the Clearfield High School Bison Sports Complex at 7 p.m.
The Game Sponsor is once again Lezzer Lumber Building Supplies, along with co-sponsors Centre Daily Times and  J J Powell, Inc / Snappys.
The Classic will feature 87 players from nine counties and 29 high schools, highlighting the player and coach talent from the Central Region.
The Central Pennsylvania Football Coaches Association will again award  $5,000 in scholarship (10 – $500.00 scholarships – which will bring the CPFCA’s total scholarship monies over the years to $88,000  in 24 years.
The North Head Coach for the 2008 Classic will be Jeff Vroman from Philipsburg-Osceola, and the South Head Coach will be J Gawen Stoker from Indian Valley. The Game Director is Jack Bailey.
The North     will practice at Philipsburg-Osceola High School, while the South will hold their pratice sessions at Tyrone High School.
LOcal players who were selected to play in the Lezer Lumber Classic inckude Josh Bradley, Johnny Franco, Brandon Gehret and Shayne Tate from Tyrone and Bruno DeGol, Brandon Hunphreys, Anthony Jenkins, Justin Miller and Alan Wertz from Bellwood-Antis.
Individuals to be Honored at Halftime weill be North Coach of the Year  -  Jeff Vroman, Philipsburg-Osceola; South Coach of the Year  -  J Gawen Stoker, Indian Valley; plus 1998 Player Profile North  -  Larry Johnson, State College/Penn State/NFL; 1998 Player Profile South  -  Josh Geis, Altoona/Edinboro/US Army Ranger; 2008 South CPFCA Hall of Fame – Jeff Lingenfelter, Claysburg-Kimmel; and 2008 South CPFCA Hall of Fame – Rick Hatch, Tyrone/Bishop Guilfoyle
Game Program Highlights will include pictures /captions of three former Classic and Big 33 players currently in the NFL:
1998        Larry Johnson, State College /Penn State /Kansas City Chiefs
2000        Jon Condo, Philipsburg-Osceola /Maryland/Oakland Raiders
2001        Robbie Gould, Central Mountain /Penn State /Chicago Bears
Tickets available – Pre sale Tickets available at $5.00 per ticket from Head Coaches of any of the member schools, Lezzer Lumber stores located in Curwensville and State College, and Jim’s Sports Center in Clearfield. Tickets for adults and students  will be $6.00 at the gate.

What a great season for Blair United. The U-10 Co-ed team has won 5 of their 6 games this spring. 19-0 against Bedford 2, 6-4 over Bedford 1, 6-0 over Huntingdon, 4-1 over West Branch and 17-1 over Bellefonte. Their only loss was a 4-2 decision to Mo Valley.
Coach Mike D’Angelo is so proud of how far these kids have come in the past season. “Their dedication to this team was the key to their success,” said D’Angelo.
Blair United is hard at work with sometimes two practices a week plus the occasional scrimmage with local teams. They have only one more game this season and hope to pull out a win against Hollidaysburg this Sunday.
Blair United also had the addition of a U-8 Friendly Travel team. They were originally brought together with the indoor season at the Summit and decided to continue playing this spring to better their skills. They won all but one game and have hopes to play some more throughout the summer.
Blair United Soccer Club would like to take the opportunity to thank all the sponsors who made this season possible. PC Works Plus, Creative Style & Tanning Salon, Paint Rite, DelGrosso’s, Rossi’s Corner Store, Computer Pro’s Plus, Photos By Design, Yellow Roadway, Michaels Photo and Center Region Stone Supply. Also to Northern Blair Recreation Center for the use of their fields for practices and home games for the U-8 team.
Special Thanks to the coaches (Mike D’Angelo, Travis Broadbent and Peter Baran), parents and kids. Congratulations on a great season.

Blair United U-8 Travel
Front row (left to right): Jenna Bartlett, Ethan Vipond, Quinn Johnson, Cate Baran, Riley D’Angelo and Brynn Swogger. Back row: Alainna Nevling, Adalee Broadbent, Bryce Bauer and Carter Johnson. Not pictured are: Zach Patterson, Brandon Loose and Lauren Taylor. (Daily Herald/Courtesy Photo)

Lady Eagle freshman pitcher Ariane Miller

Despite playing in a very difficult league from which the last three district champions and the defending PIAA state champ resides, the Tyrone Lady Eagle softball team was able to put up some good numbers in 2008. Short on victories, but never on enthusiasm and hard work and dedication, the 2008 edition of the Lady Eagles, coached by Lois Loncher, played through possibly the toughest schedule Tyrone has ever played and was forced to do it with just five girls returning, who had any experience at all.
Seniors Lindsay Christine, Brook Garbinski and Amber Miller, junior Teanna Kobuck, and sophomore Paris Harden returned, but all their teammates had to learn on the run in sink or swim mode against competition out for blood, that gave no quarter and took no prisoners.
Gone from last-year’s squad were five starters in Kimberly Cherry, Kasie Glashauser, Ashley Pennabaker, Shannon Shultz, and Megan Turiano, who were responsible for much of the offense as well as defense on the diamond as well.
“We had to replace a lot of lost talent,” explained coach Loncher. “This year’s seniors, Lindsay Christine, Kayla DeSoto, Brooke Garbinsky and Amber Miller, took the younger girls under their wings.
Predictably, the Lady Eagles struggled, especially early, but played well according to coach Loncher late in the season.
“We had seven girls learning new positions, and six who had never played varsity before,” acknowledged Loncher. “We struggled defensively and at the plate during the year. We did finish with two good outings against Central Mountain and Bellefonte.”
Catcher Lindsay Christine led the Lady Eagles with a .348 (15/43) batting average, 15 hits and six RBI. Center fielder Teanna Kobuck, who leads a nucleus that will be back for the 2009 season, batted .307 (12/39) and had a dozen base hits.
Senior Kayla DeSoto displayed the best eye, leading the team with seven walks, while Kobuck had the fewest strikeouts at the plate with seven. Kobuck and Brooke Garbinsky each collected five walks. Christine was the second-hardest to strike out, fanning 10 times. Lady Eagle leadoff hitter Amber Miller had eight hits
For the Lady Eagles, who finished 0-17, freshman Ariane Miller struck out 61 while walking 95. Miller took a while getting acclimated on the mound, in a league full of dominating upperclassmen pitchers, but Loncher noted that Miller’s strikeout-to-walk ratio improved dramatically over the final six games of the schedule. Miller will have a full year of experience in 2009. In high school fast pitch softball, a dominating pitcher is more valuable than a gallon of gas.
Tyrone played their best softball of the season against Backyard Rival Bellwood-Antis. In one offensive battle and one defensive struggle, the Lady Eagles played B-A tough before falling 15-13 and 5-3 in what was probably the highlights of their campaign.
“We had very little depth and with only three girls on the varsity from the junior/sophomore classes, the new girls were thrown, ready or not into the fire,” concluded Loncher.
The Tyrone girls were held to three hits or less eight times, but still had several highlights. Lindsay Christine closed out her high school career with the only two hits against Bellefonte. Right fielder Amanda Detwiler broke up a no-hit attempt against Central Mountain with a base hit. Ariane (Annie) Miller singled against All-World Philipsburg-Osceola pitcher Brittany Murphy to ruin a potential no-hit performance. Freshman left fielder Kassie Gardner’s triple was the only base hit in a game against Central. In the first Bellwood-Antis contest, in extra innings, Christine had four hits and four RBI, Paris Harden had a pair of base hits and three RBI, and Amber Miller and Teanna Kobuck each added three singles.

Recently, members of the Kiwanis Club of Tyrone presented local resident Bob Maser with a plaque of recognition. Kiwanis members recognized Maser for his continuing efforts as an outstanding citizen to the Tyrone community and for his work with area youth. From left: Kiwanis member, Rev. Norman Huff; Bob Maser; Kiwanis President, Fred Miller and Arlene Maser. (Courtesy photo)

The Blair County Department of Solid Waste and Recycling reminds residents of the availability of drop-off recycling centers in the area, and how to properly prepare items for recycling.
The Department provides two drop-off recycling sites locally. One is located in front of Magisterial District Judge Fred Miller’s office, Old Route 220, at the south end of Tyrone. Another is located at the Snyder Township Municipal Building.
Both recycling centers accept four different commodities for recycling, in separate bins, each labeled for the appropriate item to be deposited: corrugated cardboard; newspaper and phone books; metal cans – aluminum, steel and BI-metal; No. one and two plastic bottles and jugs.
Tisha McCaulley, Code Enforcement Officer for the department, urges residents to observe signage at the depots, as the sites are intended for drop-off of only the posted recyclable commodities.
“We ask residents to help us keep the depots clean,” said McCaulley, adding that, “littering and illegal dumping are not only unsightly, but also illegal.” McCaulley noted that, “No other items are to be left at the centers and nothing is to be left outside the bins.”
McCaulley urges residents who observe misuse of the centers to call the county’s toll-free illegal dumping and littering hotline at 1-888-XLITTER. Information such as license plate number, date and time of the incident, description of the perpetrator and the nature of misuse should be reported. McCaulley added that, “All that we want to achieve is appropriate use, but we will prosecute if necessary.”
As interest in recycling continues to grow, the department plans to expand the Tyrone drop-off, to provide more capacity.
Terry Stacey, Department Director, notes that the bins are intended for residential use only. “Commercial entities should be making arrangements for recycling at their places of business, through their hauler or other service provider,” said Stacey. “Likewise, Tyrone Borough residents should be recycling three of these four commodities at curbside, through the Borough’s contracted hauler.”
Tyrone Borough residents don’t have the opportunity to recycle corrugated cardboard at curbside, so the drop-off centers offer that option.
The department empties the recycling depot bins twice each week and takes the commodities to a local processor where they are further sorted and shipped to mills that will make new products.
“Whether at curbside or at the drop-off centers, Blair County residents really are interested in recycling,” added McCaulley, “and its positive benefits.” Recycling saves energy and natural resources, including water and raw materials. “People want to be a part of the ‘green’ effort, and proper recycling is an easy way to do it.”
Corrugated cardboard should be broken down and flattened before being placed in the drop-off container, to conserve space. Cardboard, as well as newspapers and phone books, should be kept dry. Metal cans, plastic bottles and jugs should be rinsed out; lids or caps should be removed, but labels may remain.
For additional information, call the Blair County Department of Solid Waste and Recycling at 949-2566 or 696-4620, or visit blaircounty.org on the Internet.