Ice Center of Erie

When the Igloo Ice Arena closed it left a big shortage of ice time in the Erie area. After a sale of the rink and remodeling it has reopened as Ice Center of Erie (ICE). ICE is located at 3515 McClelland Ave, Erie PA 16510.

Boart Longyear Limited (ASX: BLY) announced the appointment of David W Grzelak as a non-executive director of the company effective November 12, 2008. Grzelak currently serves as Chairman and CEO of Komatsu America and has done so since 1999. Komatsu is a leading global manufacturer and supplier of construction and mining equipment. Prior to joining Komatsu in 1991, Grzelak held a number of positions within GE Transportation Systems over a period of almost 20 years. In addition, Grzelak has served as a director of the Alamo Group (NYSE: ALG) since 2006 and is currently a member of the Audit, Compensation, and Nominating committees. A native of Erie, PA, Dave Grzelak earned an industrial engineering degree from Penn State University before joining GE Transportation Systems in 1971. He later earned an MBA from Gannon University while working his way up the GE ladder. His last GE assignment was as manager, off-highway vehicles, where one of his customers was Komatsu.

LECOM - The Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine and School of Pharmacy

Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine students and faculty, along with Millcreek Community Hospital residents and other regional participants, will display the results of myriad research endeavors today, Thursday, October 23, during the school's Research Day event. The event will include a morning poster presentation in the school's atrium, where onlookers can learn more about the results of the presenters' research endeavors. During the afternoon, presenters will deliver lectures about their research, and a panel of jurors will award prizes to the top researchers.

The Gem City Concert Band will present a fall concert Thursday, November 6, at the Blasco Library's H.O. Hirt Auditorium. The hour-and-half-long program will begin at 7:30 p.m. The concert is free and open to the public, although a free-will offering will be accepted to benefit Gem City Bands. The 50-member band, under the direction of Dr. Scott Tomlison and Assistant Director Brett Woomer, will perform such pieces as Gustav Holst's Second Suite in F for Military Band; Clifton Williams' Variation Overture; James Sweringen's Seagate Overture; several familiar marches and Clare Grundman's Fantasy on American Sailing Songs. The concert is part of the 08-09 Blasco Library Concert Series and is sponsored by the Erie County Public Library and the Friends of the Library. For more information, visit the Gem City Web site at www.gemcitybands.org or phone 899-8467.

The Erie SeaWolves annual holiday card design contest for students throughout Northwestern Pennsylvania is now accepting entries. The winning artwork from the contest will be featured on thousands of official Erie SeaWolves holiday greeting cards. All elementary and middle school students in Northwest, PA are eligible to participate in the contest. The artist chosen as the grand-prize winner will receive a pizza party for their class with SeaWolves mascot "C Wolf." Artwork must be submitted to the SeaWolves by Tuesday, November 18, 2008. Submissions must include the student's name, contact information, school, grade and teacher's name.
Submit artwork to: Erie SeaWolves, Attn: Holiday Cards, 110 East 10th Street, Erie, PA 16501. The winner will be notified by Friday, November 21, 2008.

The talented, multicultural Harlem Quartet will perform at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, next month as part of Music at Noon: The Logan Series.

Harlem Quartet’s FREE performance begins at noon on Wednesday, Nov. 5. It is open to the public and will be held in the McGarvey Commons of the Reed Union Building.

The Harlem Quartet features a changing line-up of African American and Latino string instrumentalists who also are First Place Laureates in the Sphinx Competition, an annual juried performance competition held in Detroit, Mich., to encourage, develop and recognize classical music talent in the black and Latino communities.

While in Erie, Harlem Quartet also will give two mini-concerts for students at Diehl Elementary, Penn State Behrend’s Adopt A School partner. While Diehl performances are required of each Logan ensemble, the Quartet is particularly comfortable playing to schoolchildren, says Gary Viebranz, Logan Series director. “Harlem Quartet’s passion and mission is to advance diversity in classical music,” he notes. “The Quartet prides itself on seeking out new, youthful audiences that will respond to a repertoire that highlights works by minority composers. The Quartet’s presentation is sensational, so I expect both the Diehl students and noontime audience to be captivated by these exciting performers.”

Performing in Erie will be violinists Ilmar Gavilan and Melissa White, violist Juan-Miguel Hernandez, and cellist Desmond Neysmith. In addition to their touring schedule, Harlem Quartet members serve as the principal faculty at the Sphinx Performance Academy at Walnut Hill School in Massachusetts, one of the premier independent arts preparatory schools in the world, and as visiting faculty at the Sphinx Preparatory Music Institute at Wayne State University in Detroit.

Music at Noon, an innovative program to introduce classical music in an informal atmosphere rather than an intimidating concert hall, was founded at Penn State Behrend in 1989 by Warren philanthropist and arts advocate Kay Logan. Its unique music outreach efforts were honored with an Adventurous Programming Award given by Chamber Music America and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. The series receives major support from the Kay Logan Trust and additional funding from the Penn State Behrend Student Activity Fee, Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts and the Erie Arts Endowment of the Arts Council of Erie.

Additional performers in the 2008-09 Logan Series will be Asteria on Thursday, Jan. 29, The Albers Trio on Tuesday, March 31, and Hot 8 Brass Band on Tuesday, April 14.

For more information about The Logan Series or The Harlem Quartet’s appearance, contact Viebranz at 814-898-6289.

Quartet New Generation

Quartet New Generation will perform a concert at 8 pm on Friday, October 24 at the Mercyhurst College Walker Recital Hall. The recorders played by the virtuoso musicians in Quartet New Generation come in all shapes and sizes, capable of sounds you may never have imagined this instrument could make. Up to six feet in length, these instruments neither look nor sound like the recorders you may remember from grade school. Tickets.

Erie County 2009 Budget Proposal

The Erie County 2009 Budget Proposal by County Executive Mark DiVecchio is now posted on the county web site.

Tap Into Erie

Tap Into Erie, a new initiative by the Erie Regional Chamber & Growth Partnership, is actively seeking new businesses to bring to Erie County by tapping into our richest resource. The initiative will promote Erie’s abundant freshwater supply and offer special incentives for businesses to expand to Erie County.

During the current economic crisis of rising oil prices, escalating energy costs and looming water shortages, companies across the United States are fervently searching for new areas to expand their operations. As a result, Erie is strategically positioning itself as a smart and secure environment for businesses to grow.

Prior to the inception of Tap Into Erie, the Erie Chamber conducted a study to evaluate the Region’s competitiveness. The study determined which industries are the most water intensive and would benefit from the Region’s value proposition. With an excess of 36 million gallons of water per day, a high wastewater capacity, low water cost and a turnkey land solution, the Erie region is strategically positioned to target businesses struggling with existing water supplies and costs.

Water is an important initial attraction factor, but additional site factors such as logistics and costs of labor, land/lease and utilities as well as project-specific incentives, are true differentiators. Tap Into Erie will market aggressively to site location consultants to sell Erie’s value proposition so they consider Erie in site recommendations.

According to the study, Erie’s success in attracting companies in water-intensive industries will depend on its ability to aggressively reach out to targeted companies and marshal political, regulatory and private sector shareholders to work together to meet specific companies’ requirements on a factor-by-factor, incentive-by-incentive level.

As fresh, abundant water becomes increasingly scarce throughout the United States, more industries are realizing the need to expand their operations near large bodies of freshwater. Industries such as steel mills, data centers and breweries are particularly in need of large amounts of fresh water and are major targets of this campaign.

Today, the big drivers for data center site selection are water, land and electricity. Data centers are a water intensive industry due to a shift in the market to servers that use water to cool fiber optic lines. This method is believed to offer energy savings of 20 to 40% over current practices. This technology was introduced in 1995 but was not readily adopted because of low energy prices. As energy prices continue to increase, water-cooling will begin to experience substantial growth.

To attract prospective new businesses to the area, Erie Water Works is offering a special incentive package to new investments in Erie County. Benefits include a five-year - 40% discount on all water expenses, as well as custom building for all lease purchase agreements.

According to Jake Rouch, vice president of economic development at the Erie Regional Chamber & Growth Partnership, “This is an outstanding opportunity for Erie to grow by attracting new employers to the region – employers that will complement our existing base and take advantage of our region’s assets.”

To kickoff the national Tap Into Erie initiative, Rouch will be in Atlanta on October 18-22 to speak with local business leaders and discuss how Erie has the resources they need for growth. For more information on this initiative visit www.tapintoerie.com.

Erie Weekend on PCN

PCN (Pennsylvania Cable Network) is a non-profit cable network, a Pennsylvania version of C-SPAN, covering PA House and Senate, PA History, business, books, sports, people, culture. PCN will feature Erie PA with special programming October 9-12. Shows include tours of the Museum of GE History, Presque Isle State Park, Flagship Niagara, Organ Supply Industries, Erie Maritime Museum and Presque Isle Wine Cellars. Other shows include a call in show with US Rep Phil English and liberal candidate Kathy Dahlkemper, a profile and interview of Mayor Joe Sinnott, a Journalists Roundtable with reporter of the Erie Times-News, and the Gateway vs Erie McDowell football game.

TREC or Treat 2008

TREC or Treat 2008 will be held 11 am to 4 pm on Saturday, October 25 at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center at Presque Isle in Erie, PA. It's all FREE, no registration, no fee. If you think Halloween is full of tricks and treats, just wait until you find out what nature can do. See creepy-crawlies up close. Join in a costume parade and contest at 2 pm. TREC through our treat stations to learn why those Halloween creatures aren't so scary after all. Join us for a FREE Halloween movie on the Big Green Screen sponsored by the National Grape Cooperative and Welch's. Spookley (rated G) will be shown at noon and The Last Mimzy (PG) will play at 3 pm.

Have you ever been to a party and, even though the host requested “no gifts”, you felt obligated to bring a “token” gift? Or, have you ever had a party and asked people not to bring gifts, yet receive the “token” gifts yourself? Why not end the “token” gift exchange by having a Celebration Donation party? At Celebration Donation, we offer groups of friends an invitation to giving. Celebration Donation, a web-based nonprofit, is a convenient and easy way to plan a party AND raise money for charity. Look for them in December.

12th Annual Trail of Treats

The 12 Annual Trail of Treats will be held Wednesday, October 22 and Thursday, October 23 from 5 pm to 8:30 pm at the Millcreek Mall. Cost is $2 for advance tickets and $3 at the door. Tickets are available at the Millcreek Mall, the Erie Achievement Center and the Sarah Reed Children's Center.

The 2008 Pennsylvania Emergency Responders Conference will be held October 4-5 at the Erie Bayfront Convention Center.

The Howl-O-Ween Dog Costume Party and Contest will be held Wednesday, October 29 at 7 pm at Horstman and Son's Dog Park, located at 3803 West 26th Street in Erie, PA (corner of 26th and Powell Avenue). Admission is FREE. Registration fee is $2 per dog. Registration starts at 6:15 pm. All proceeds benefit Therapy Dogs United.

The March of Dimes 5th Annual Rubber Duck Regatta will be held at Splash Lagoon Indoor Water Park and Resort in Erie at 7 pm on Thursday, October 16. Floater ducks (different from the souvenir ducks) will be numbered to correspond with the raffle ticket numbers and released down the Big Kahuna at 7 pm. The first ducks to cross the finish line indicate the winners of the raffle. Several prize packages will be awarded. The grand prize this year is a two-person hot tub donated by Presque Isle Hot Tubs. The ticket sales benefit the March of Dimes, the leading nonprofit for pregnancy and baby health. Each raffle ticket is sold for a $5 donation, and purchasers get to take home a souvenir Super Duck. Tickets are on sale now at participating locations including The Breakfast Place, Curves, Erie Book Store, Erie Eye Clinic, Erie Federal Credit Union, E-Z Clean, Gerlach's Floral, Gohr's Printing, Hair Expressions, Kuhn's Picture and Gift Shop, Lorie's Wildridge Restaurant, Mike N' Dangelo's, Panache, Pinecrest Family Practice, Pulako's Locations, Rosebud Floral Shop, Sloppy Duck Saloon, Syd's Place, Two Friends Italian Market, Victorian Princess Office, March of Dimes Office, or by calling the March of Dimes office at (814) 833-4941. For more information, please contact Jessica Olmstead-Armant.