Category: default || By jt3y

The war in Iraq continues to hit home:

An Elizabeth Forward School Board member will spend the next year in Iraq.

Retired Air Force Capt. Richard Saccone has accepted an assignment as an intelligence support consultant.

"I feel this is something I have to do," Saccone said. "I'm sitting on years of valuable experience that might allow me to contribute to the success of the mission in Iraq." (Joanna Blair, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)

Saccone, who holds a doctorate in international affairs from Pitt, is on the faculty at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, where he teaches business law and foreign affairs, according to Blair.

The EF school board has granted Saccone a leave of absence while he's in Iraq; residents interested in filling his seat on a temporary basis should apply to the district's business manager no later than Dec. 20.

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Sutersville Borough residents claim crime is on the rise; the state police say report it, don't just gripe about it:

State police Capt. Harvey Cole Jr. told Sutersville residents Tuesday that if they have a good reason to contact the Greensburg barracks, do so. ...

"If you're not calling us, we can't put it into our system. Therefore, I'm not seeing the crime (numbers) rising," said Cole, commander of Troop A, based in Greensburg.

Cole attended a town hall meeting held last night prior to the Sutersville council meeting. About 20 people joined council at the session.

The town hall session was organized, in part, because of residents' claims about escalating crime and the sometimes slow response time of troopers. The community employs a part-time officer. (Bob Stiles, Tribune-Review)

A quick check with MapQuest indicates that it's a 42-minute drive from the Greensburg state police barracks to Sutersville. That seems to be about right to me, but if you were in trouble and needed a police officer, it would probably seem more like 42 hours.

I'm not sure why the troopers are coming from Troop A in Greensburg instead of Troop B in Belle Vernon (which is about 17 minutes away), but I'm sure some bright feller up at state police headquarters has a good reason. Belle Vernon is a much smaller barracks than Greensburg; maybe it's stretched thin as it is.

Nevertheless, the old adage says that you "get what you pay for." Perhaps the good burghers of Sutersville need to be paying for more than a part-time officer, even if they have to share the cost with another municipality. Elizabeth Township --- just across the Sutersville Bridge --- or Forward Township would seem to be likely partners.

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When you think of "authentic Mexican food," I'll admit that the soft ice-cream stand in New Eagle doesn't spring to mind, but maybe it should:

If you drive by the Twist ice cream parlor in New Eagle between 2 and 3 in the morning and see smoke coming from the building, it's probably not on fire. More likely, it's Arturo Vizzuett cooking batches of his tasty salsas.

Born and raised in Mexico City, Vizzuett, 42, learned the basics of Mexican cuisine as a boy by shopping each day for ingredients that went into his family's main meal and by watching his grandmother and mother prepare salsas and other Mexican foods using centuries-old recipes. (Dave Zuchowski, Post-Gazette)

Vizzuett moved to the Mon Valley after meeting his future wife in what Zuchowski describes as "the popular resort town of Cancun on the Caribbean." The future Mrs. Vizzuett was from Monongahela, which is another popular resort town. Or at least the fireworks at the Aquatorium are awfully nice in the summertime.

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Speaking of Mon City, eighth-graders at nearby Carroll Middle School are working on a documentary about the region with computer teacher Jeff Bonifate:

"Our working title is 'Our Valley,' but it's still up in the air," Bonifate said. "I have a feeling as we go along, something will pop up and we will come up with a different title."

Bonifate said the documentary will center on historical aspects of communities that comprise the district, including Donora, Monongahela, Carroll Township, Victory Hill and New Eagle. (Jeff Oliver, Monessen Valley Independent)

The Mid-Mon Valley's rich sports history is an obvious topic, according to Oliver, but local history will also be covered, including the steel industry and the Donora smog of 1948. To help, email Bonifate or call 724-258-8454.