Saturday, November 1, 2014

The Leightley Family Halloween Tradition

If you are in Austin, Pennsylvania tonight, a must-see is the Curt and Jennifer Family Holloween Tradition display on their front lawn on Turner Street.

Leightley Residence on Turner Street

Jen and Curt Leightley

Note the catchy phrases on the tombstones:


























This is a real must-see after dark with the lighting and special effects. Well worth the drive to Awesome Austin PA.

Thanks Jen and Curt for all the work you have done to make Halloween in Austin a very memorable occasion.

Tip-of-the-Cap to Mayor Setzer


Mayor Jimmy Setzer


Mayor Jimmy Setzer patrolled the streets in our Community  throughout the Halloween hours this evening ensuring the safety of all.

He does not get paid for this.

We owe Mayor Setzer a heartfelt Thank You!

Thursday, September 25, 2014

New Sign At St. Augustine Catholic Church

Photo credit: Colleen Duffee 
The beautiful new sign at the St. Augustine Catholic Church on Tunrer Street, Austin, Pennsylvania, was purchased by Stanley Swank in memory of his parents, Harold and Anna Swank.

Note that there are two sides to the sign which was created by Lubera Design.
















Thank you very much Stanley for this beautiful work of art.

Sunday, September 14, 2014

School Path Initiative Hall of Fame

The following individuals have donated money or performed volunteer work to have the School Path Lights repaired and/or the brush cleared. They are hereby Commended for their Civic-Minded Generosity.

(Note: Room has been made so that other names can be added when they make a donation to this worthy project, or, perform voluntary work without pay to enhance this project.
 You can send your donation to this ongoing project at the following address:  Bernard Fowler, C/O The School Path Initiative, P.O. Box 401, Austin, PA 16720

A

Don Ayers Jr.
Don Ayers Sr. 
Arcana Lodge F & A.M.
Austin Area School District Faculty & Staff.
Austin Boro News Blog
B

Paul Bennett 
 Barb & Herm Beyer
Bucky & Samantha Blanair
Bill Brewer
C
Matt Cook
Denny & Kim Cooney
Hilary Cooney
Ed Corey
D
John & Judy Dynda
Pete Dynda
E
Ronnie & Priscilla Ebbert

F
Shawn & Cindy Foringer
Bernie Fowler
Jeff & Crystal Fowler
Fred "Joe" Fowler
Mike & Angie Fowler
Amy Fox
Amanda Freer-Langfitt
G
Corey & Ronda Glover
Rich & Billysue Glover
Richard T. & Nancy Glover
Shaun & Amber Glover
Stewart & Tracie Gordnier



H
Chris Hewitt
Billie Hilfiger
Bob & Britta Hooftallen
Harry Hooftallen
Kristin Hynds

I

J
Mark & Kathy Jeffers
K
Brenda (Bush) Kline

L
Donald Lathrop
Curt & Jennifer Leightley
M
Kim McCloskey
Kayla & Shane McKeirnan
Bryan & Amanda Moate
Dot Moody
N
Northwest Savings Bank

O

Laura & Jon Ogden 
John & Denise Owens
P
Joe & Becky Pennypacker
Nila VanWhy Perez
Heather Freer Postlewait
Potter County Commissioners
Steve & Jane Purdy
Q

R
Amber Reddick
Glenn Rees
John "Huggy" Rotello
David Ruberto Sr.
S
Terry & Roxy Setzer
Blair & Brooke Shupe
Nate Siebert
Daleen Sinnamond
Steven Small
Renee Smoker
Angela & Oren Stuckey
T

U

V

Denise Valenti
Kelsey Valenti
Sue & Joe Valenti 
Fred VanWhy
Colt Vasko
Lee & Kim Vasko
W

Y
Andrea Yoder

Saturday, September 13, 2014

AASD Students Visit Local Museum

On Friday, August 12, 2014, the E.O.  Austin Home/Historical Society  had the honor of hosting Mrs. Michele Rodich, Art Teacher, and students from the Austin Area School District.

The students will be performing a Project Based Learning course of study this year.  They have been given a variety of projects to choose from and will be responsible for the whole process with guidance from teachers at the school district.

Director Ronnie Ebbert and Vice President Mike Fowler gave  Mrs. Rodich and the students a tour of the museum and answered a large number of questions the students had regarding the history of the dam, paper mill and community. Students also had time to view photographs of the community before and after the 1911 flood.

Pictured left to right are Laine Robinson, Kina Logue, Anderson Nicka, Hunter Stuckey, Jordan Kinney, Skybree Setzer, and Mrs. Michele Rodich








Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Austin Borough News - Setzer Appointed Mayor

Due to the passing of Philip VanWhy, the Austin Borough Council met Monday night and elected Jimmy Setzer as our new mayor.  This was a very difficult decision by all members of the council as we had two (2) exceptional candidates apply for the position.  Darwin Manning was the other candidate.  Both gentlemen are hard-working,community-minded individuals.  It is hoped that Darwin decides to run for Borough Council during the next election.

Jimmy Setzer

Darwin Manning

 Also noteworthy is that Councilwoman Victoria Setzer, sister-in-law to Jimmy, abstained from voting.  She is to be commended for making that decision.

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

AASD Students Visit Dam Ruins



Last week Tracie met with the Austin High School students at the park to discuss park projects.  The students will be working on murals, pictorial picnic tables and interpretive walking trails.   They will be participating in water and erosion control educational programs at the park sponsored by the Potter County Conservation District.  The park also plans to host an educational program on honey bees as well as the heritage  apple trees.

The education model being used is termed  Project Based Learning.  Basically, various teachers, such as history and art and English and science and physical education are all working together with students on real life projects. Students are required to come up with ideas, do the research, study needs and feasibility of the project and then proceed to make it happen.

In my humble opinion, this has to be one of the best student/teacher learning experiences in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, all taking place in the smallest public school in the state.