St. Ferdinand Parish Annual Family Festival

(via email)

Come to the grand St. Ferdinand Parish Annual Family Festival and gigantic White Elephant Sale @ St. Ferdinand Church, 2535 Rochester Road, Cranberry Township, PA 16066.

When: August 7-8-9
Time: Friday 6-11 PM; Saturday 5-11 PM; Sunday 3-10 PM.

Come share in the fun.
* Take chances on numerous raffles and games
* Play at Kiddieland or ride a train
* Play poker or bingo
* Shop at the gigantic White Elephant Tent
* And more!

Concession foods sold all during the festival.
* Buffet dinners served daily
* Friday 4-8 PM - Italian Buffet
* Saturday 4-8 PM - Chicken BBQ
* Sunday 1-8 PM - Turkey or Ham Dinner.

For more information see www.stferd.org or call the rectory during regular business hours at 724-776-2888.

A fly-over

As noted in this news item from the Cranberry Township website, a new water mixing unit will be lifted into place by a Sikorsky S-58 helicopter. Also known as the Sikorsky H-34 Choctaw, the helicopter was originally designed more than fifty years ago by Sikorsky for the US Navy for anti-submarine warfare. The aircraft was used by the Coast Guard and the Marines during Vietnam.

Executive Helicopter and Pittsburgh Air Crane Service has some great photos on their website of the aircraft in use. If you find yourself in the area at noon this Saturday and have an interest in this sort of thing, it may be worth checking out.

At noon this Saturday, October 4, a Sikorsky S-58 helicopter from Pittsburgh Air Crane Service will lift a new fresh water mixing unit from the base to the top of Cranberry’s West Water storage tower. The mixing system includes two pieces, each about 10 foot long, with the largest piece weighing in at about 700 lbs.

For safety sake, the Air Crane Service does not want spectators around the tank, but you can watch the operation from outside the immediate area. The lift is expected to take less than 30 minutes. The helicopter will not land in the area of the tank nor will it ever fly lower than 100 feet.

The Adams pole dancing incident

It's all over the national news now, but it's worth mentioning. Here's the details from this article, as well as the video that's currently front page news on CNN.

A woman has sued a town that refused to allow her to open a dance studio that featured pole-dancing exercise classes on the grounds it was a sexually oriented business.

Adams Township officials violated Stephanie Babines' right to free expression by denying her an occupancy permit, the American Civil Liberties Union claims in a federal lawsuit filed Thursday in Pittsburgh.

Although Babines' classes include pole-dancing, power lap dance, strip tease and "SeXXXercise," they are all taught and performed fully clothed, the lawsuit states. Men can't take the classes, and no spectators are allowed.

"This is not a strip joint or gentleman's club," Babines said in a statement.

Read more here on the studio's official website.

Cranberry dog park ready to open

The long-awaited Cranberry dog park is set to open this week. Here are some details from the Post-Gazette from yesterday:

The grand opening of the Rotary Dog Park, just off Route 19 on a 4-acre site adjacent to the township's Community Park, is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The dog park will be double gated so dogs can't get out when another enters. It will contain one area for small dogs and two areas for larger dogs to romp and play unleashed. The two larger areas will be used on a rotation to give grass time to grow and recover from use.

A new 60-space parking lot was built so dog owners won't have to take their pets through Community Park.

[Park organizer Liz] Wiegand said there has been talk of building an obstacle course in the park for puppies and the volunteer group hopes to hold several fund raisers each year to help pay for upkeep.

The group's first big event planned after the grand opening will happen in October, Ms. Wiegand said.

Doggie-Palooza will be a chance for vendors of dog products to show off their wares while dog owners can gather at the park to enjoy a day of socializing and fun, Ms. Wiegand said.

Now that the park is built, it's up to the community to take care of it, she said.

While there will be receptacles for dog waste, the park will not be monitored and visitors will be expected to clean up after their own pets.

St. Ferdinand Family Festival

I received a reminder about St. Ferdinand's 2008 Family Festival this weekend. Take the family for the White Elephant Sale, raffles, food, Bingo, games, train and Kiddieland.

2008 St. Ferdinand Family Festival
Friday, August 8, 6:00 - 11:00 pm
Saturday, August 9, 5:00 -11:00 pm
Sunday, August 10, 3:00 - 10:00 pm

Dinners
Friday 4:30 - 8:00 pm - Italian Buffet
Saturday 4:00 - 8:00 pm - Chicken BBQ
Sunday 1:00 - 8:00 pm - Turkey or Ham dinner

Volunteer information can be found here.

New dog park in Cranberry

Thanks to a volunteer effort, the first dog-friendly Cranberry Park should be opened this summer near Cranberry Community Park along Rt 19. From the Post-Gazette:

Volunteers have been working for months to raise money for the project, raffling gift baskets, selling tree ornaments, hosting an auction and asking for donations. The costs of the fence, gravel for a short road to the park and a 60-car parking lot is estimated at $75,000, Cranberry Manager Jerry Andree said enough money has been raised.

The township donated three acres for the dog park and is donating the installation of the road and parking lot. Construction of the gravel road to the park is expected to begin in the spring, he said.

The dog park will be rimmed by a fence with two sets of double gates. A half-acre will be designated for small dogs, and 1.5 acres will be for large dogs.

The three acres the township is donating are part of 28 acres it bought in 2006 as an extension of the adjacent municipal park.