12.6.12 Yellow Jacket

Happy holidays!

51 W. College St. Waynesburg, PA 15370

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Vol. 90 No. 11

Canstruction creation

Federal Pell Grants have some revisions after re-election

By Abby Pittinaro Staff Writer Since President Barack Obama has been re-elected into office, the consensus might be that not much will change in the financial aid and student loan area, but this is not the case.

While the changes may be small, the effects have the potential to be tremendous.

Subsidized loans and Federal Pell Grants will have some revisions for the 2013-2014 academic year.

According to the Federal Student Aid website, “Once you have received a Pell Grant for 12 semesters, or the equivalent, you are no longer eligible for Pell Grants.”

Now, it is more diffiSee CHANGES on A2

Waynesburg alumnus selected as high school ‘Teacher of the Year’

Photos by Angela Wadding

(Above) Jim DePriest, Information Technology events coordinator, donate’s change to “WU Frosty” located inside of First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Greene County with the hopes that the Waynesburg-themed canstruction would win the People’s Choice Award.

(Right) Andrew Heisey, assistant professor of art, constructed Frosty with more than 1,000 cans. He used more than 3,000 cans when building the Waynesburg W. (Below) In Direct Results, a canstruction of a train was built.

There were canstruction pieces in 14 locations on High Street.

WAYNESBURG – Ryan Devlin, a 2007 Waynesburg University secondary English education alumnus and teacher in the Brockway Area School District, was named Pennsylvania’s 2013 Teacher of the Year today at the Keystone Awards of Excellence banquet in Hershey.

“On behalf of Governor Tom Corbett and the citizens of Pennsylvania, I congratulate Ryan for achieving this welldeserved, prestigious award,” Secretary of Education Ron Tomalis said in announcing the award.

“As a dedicated profes-

For more, see B1

sional, Ryan’s commitment to both the teaching profession and his students demonstrates that Pennsylvania is home to quality individuals who are in the classroom educating our children.”

Devlin, currently in his fifth year at Brockway Area High School, teaches eleventh grade British literature, eighth grade computer science and two senior-high electives: creative writing and digital media.

He also serves as chairman of the high school’s See ALUMNUS on A2

Students warned about theft on campus as finals week approaches

By Aaron Anderson Staff Writer With the semester’s end around the corner and the holiday season on the horizon, this is the time of year when crime rates, mainly theft, skyrocket on college campuses around America, according to Waynesburg University’s Department of Public Safety.

According to collegestudentsafety.com, 80 percent of all crimes reported at colleges and universities are those that involve theft of personal property.

Textbooks are a big target of theft due to the convenience of selling them

at the end of the semester, said Mike Humiston, director of public safety.

“People report missing books and find out they have been turned in at the book store,” said Humiston. “It’s close to Christmas and people need money.”

According to Follett Higher Education Group, which is an affiliate of Waynesburg University’s campus bookstore, roughly 208,000 textbooks were stolen on college campuses last year.

“There’s no way of telling what student has bought which textbook,” said Greg Karafa store manager of Waynesburg’s

“People report missing books and find out they have been turned in at the book store. It’s close to Christmas as people need money.”

Mike Humiston Director of Public Safety

campus bookstore. “The best thing a student can do if a book goes missing is let us know so we can look out for it.”

Due to the difficulty of tracking textbooks from the bookstore, however, preventing theft is very hard during the buy-back season, said Karafa. The protecting of textbooks

from theft needs to be the responsibility of the students.

The crime can be avoided if proper precautions are taken, Humiston said. Theft is mainly a “crime of opportunity,” so the key for students is to take away that opportunity by doing simple things, like closing their

campus, people in the surrounding areas of campus are also a concern. As always, it is important to be aware of what is around, said Humiston.

If students feel that there is an area that needs attention, it is important that they tell campus security.

The Department of Public Safety relies on the feedback of students, said Humiston.

Anyone who witnesses issues that require the attention of campus security or victims of theft on campus can reach the Public Safety office 24 hours a day (724) 8523303.

SPORTS

REGION

ARTS & LIFE

Fall All-PAC teams announced. Nine Jacket athletes awarded first-team.

See Page C4

The Kent Tree Farm is getting ready for its fifth annual Christmas Tree sale. The event will run Dec. 8 and 9 and will offer wagon rides, vendors and more along with the trees.

See Page B1

The fall semester Student Art Exhibition opened to the public Monday.

INSIDE Copyright © 2012 by Waynesburg University

doors when they leave their rooms or locking up possessions, said Humiston.

Another precaution that can be taken is to “buddy study,” said Humiston. It is also common for things to go missing when they are left unattended in a public place, such as the library.

“Having a person to watch over your stuff will prevent things from getting taken, if you have to get up and go somewhere,” said Humiston.

Students are not the only ones to be worried about when preparing against theft. Due to Waynesburg being an open

Campus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .A1-A4 Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .B1, B4 Editorial/Op-Ed . . . . . . . . . . . . .B2, B3

Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .C1-C4 Arts & Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .D1-D2 Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . . .D3-D4

See Page D1

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Thursday, December 6, 2012

Campus

Fewer participants Last fall chapel service commissions trips allow Science Day to be ‘more intimate’

By Lucas Diethorn News Editor

By Tori Kramer Staff Writer This year, Waynesburg University will be hosting 25 high school students for its annual Science Day – a significant drop from the 86 students that participated last year, a school official.

“Our numbers are down because a lot of schools that have traditionally attended have taken other field trips lately,” said Evonne Baldauff, chair of the Department of Chemistry and Forensic Science.

While lower numbers may seem negative, Baldauff believes that it is a blessing in disguise.

“The fewer numbers will allow the staff to make the event more intimate,” said Baldauff.

Baldauff also noted that fewer attendees would allow the staff to tailor activities more to the specific needs of the few high school students at the event.

The purpose of Science Day is “to help high school students become better acquainted with studying science at the college level,” said Renee McElligott, Senior Associate Director of Admissions.

This event is open to any local high school students, as well as any university applicants, McElligott said.

Science Day is coorganized by the Office of Admissions and the American Chemical Society.

Faculty members and student organizations run all activities for the day.

This year’s event will be held today, and will begin with a selection of workshops in the vari-

Changes made Continued from Page A1 cult to qualify for a Pell Grant.

A student has to go through a difficult process to be awarded the grant.

“The scheduled award is partially determined by using your Expected Family Contribution that is calculated from the information you and your family provided when you filed your Free Application for Federal Student Aid,” according to the Federal Student Loans website.

Matthew Stokan, director of financial aid, knows how important Pell Grants are to award students.

“The neediest of needy students become eligible because their parents got laid off,” Stokan said.

“Now the Pell Grant made it even harder to qualify because of the

ety of different science fields that Waynesburg University has to offer.

Students are given the opportunity to question current students in their field of interest.

“We broke these sessions down so that the visiting students could talk with [Waynesburg University] students in the majors that they are most interested in pursuing,” said Baldauff.

Science Day will close with a tour of the marine biology lab and presentations.

“Special presentations in chemistry, biology and forensic science will occur in addition to the tour of the marine biology lab,” said McElligott.

The goal of the Science Day is “to show high school students that the sciences are an extremely worthwhile field of study to pursue in college,” said Baldauff.

The event will hopefully persuade prospective students that Waynesburg University is the place to study, Baldauff said.

“We have a lot of good science at Waynesburg,” said Baldauff.

“People may not think of us as a particularly strong science school, and we want to change that perception.”

The event’s coordinators want visiting students to walk away with the understanding of how a career in science could benefit them, and how studying at Waynesburg could help them earn a degree, said Baldauff.

“Overall we hope to encourage as many students as we can to consider science as a very viable career path,” said Baldauff.

EFC qualifications.”

Along with changes to Federal Pell Grants, subsidized loans changed the six-month grace period rules.

“Direct Subsidized Loans are not eligible for an interest subsidy during the six-month grace period,” according to the Federal Student Aid website.

Also, according to the FSA, graduate and professional students no longer qualify for subsidized loans.

However, Obama has taken action keep Federal Pell Grants and subsidized loans costs and rates as low as possible.

“Obama took a direct loan from the Department of Treasury to maintain the Pell Grant,” said Stokan. “He also tries to maintain subsidized loans and their interest rates.”

For the 2013-2014 school year, there is still a potential for change in regards to the Federal Pell Grants and subsidized loans.

Students and faculty filled the pews in Roberts’ Chapel Tuesday for the final Chapel service of the semester.

The theme – The Lord Speaks: We Listen, was based off of John 1:4-5.

After a call-to-worship, the congregation sang hymn 337. A prayer given

by University Chaplain Tom Ribar and the Lord’s Prayer followed.

The Old Testament Lesson was Genesis 18:115.

The Lamplighter Concert Choir next performed “Ministry of Music O Magnum Mysterium.”

Melanie Catana directed the Choir.

Proceedings then moved to the Morning

Prayer and the New Testament lesson, Luke 1:3945.

“From Laughter to Conviction” was the title of the message, presented

by Ribar.

Ribar opened by talking about pregnant women in the biblical story, and related the tale to the Duchess of England, Kate, getting pregnant.

“I think about the privilege of carrying in ones’ womb body and life,” Ribar said.

“This might be one of the most incredible privileges that mankind has, to carry life.”

Ribar said that this time of year is not just about Jesus’ birth, but also about Him coming again.

“At almost every pivotal moment [in the Bible], there is a story of

birth,” Ribar said.

Ribar talked about Abraham and Sarah from the Old Testament, having a child as the Lord promised, Even though she was much too old to have a child. He asked the congregation, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”

Ribar then discussed Mary and Joseph having a child and the presence of the Lord yet again “through his son.”

He went on to say that when Mary found out she would have a child before wedlock; she went to her friend Elizabeth for help.

“The spirit comes upon Elizabeth and she cries out,” said Ribar.

“She realizes she is in the presence of the Lord.”

Elizabeth responded to the power to forgive and

to save.

Ribar challenged the congregations with the question, “Will you allow yourself, this season, the space to be overcome by the presence of the Almighty?”

Chaplain Ribar ended his message with a unison prayer with the congregation.

Ribar said “We need to be in awe in the presence of our Lord, that is what Christmas is about.”

Commissioning those students that are working with the Greene County Immersion, the Mustard Seed trip to Jamaica and all sorts of non-profit organizations over Christmas break ended the session. Ribar offered a prayer for the congregation and ended with the benediction.

Students prepare for finals week, break

By Rob Longo Editorial Assistant As the last few weeks of the semester wind down, students try to find their own way of dealing with the stress that final exams and projects bring.

Students can be found around campus studying in their dorm rooms and cramming information in the library up until

Alumnus awarded Continued from Page A1 English department.

Learn more about education at Waynesburg University “The current and recently retired faculty members at Waynesburg University are very proud of Ryan’s accomplishments,” said Debra Clarke, assistant professor of education and chair of the Education Department at Waynesburg University.

“The mission of the Education Department is to prepare teachers who embrace learning and dedicate themselves to service and leadership in the profession. Ryan exemplifies the fulfillment of our mission.”

Devlin’s teaching methods include extensive use of technology in the classroom, for which he received the Keystone Technology Integrator Award in 2009. He facilitates technology workshops for student teachers at regional universities, teaches summer courses at Riverview Intermediate Unit #6 that highlight the newest digital resources available on the Internet and works one-on-one with colleagues at Brockway Area High School with technology.

Devlin received his bachelor’s degree in secondary English education from Waynesburg Uni-

the final second. While other do not stress at all.

“My plan for finals week is to just study and try not to worry too much,” said junior premed major Sam Sprowls.

“Last year, I think I worried about it too much and it stressed me out more than I should have.”

Many other students, however, are taking a different approach.

“I’m going to study as hard as I possibly can,” said sophomore nursing major Jeramy Colbert. “I have a lot more information to study this year, so I’m going to study a lot more than I did for previous finals.”

To help students ease their mind during finals week, Waynesburg will be sponsoring study breaks on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday of

next week. Students will be provided with their choice of snacks on Sunday evening; including nachos, hot pretzels and cookies.

On Monday, the university will hold its annual President’s Breakfast, which includes a variety of breakfast foods. The final study break on Tuesday will have a sun-

versity, where he became familiar with technology in the classroom and gained hands-on experience with modern instructional technology.

Devlin also holds a master’s degree in educational leadership.

In 2007 and 2008, Devlin was featured on WJAC-TV’s “Success by Six” news segment for coordinating projects within the Brockway Area School District that involved members of the community. In 2008, he was named Sunny 106.5’s “Teacher of the Year.”

An active member in his local community, Devlin is a mentor with the Big Brothers, Big Sisters program, teaches vacation Bible school and is involved in several after-school programs and activities.

“Ryan is to be applauded for his strategies that engage students in the learning process by encouraging creativity, critical thinking and collaboration,” Tomalis

said.

“I am confident that Ryan’s students, past and present, are being provided with the skills and knowledge that will ensure their future success.”

Pennsylvania's

Teacher of the Year program is co-sponsored by the Pennsylvania Department of Education and the Pennsylvania Chapter of the National State Teacher of the Year, which was founded in 1995.

See STUDENTS on A4

Thursday, December 6, 2012

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Campus STUDENT HEALTH SERVICES

Kefferstan hopeful Bad habits should be avoided during finals for expansion of programs, university

By Brandon Rainelli Staff Writer

Finals are rapidly approaching, and Jen Shiring is worried about how students prepare for these .

Shiring, nurse director of Student Health Services, has three main concerns about the way students study: medical pills, irregular sleep patterns and the excess intake of caffeine.

“I once heard of a student who was taking Kava Kava pills to help relax,” said Shiring.

“The student took so much that she began to feel discomfort. They went to the nurse and eventually to the hospital and had to undergo a liver transplant.”

According to bodybuilding.com, Kava Kava has the ability to produce a calming effect and treat a number of conditions.

It can be purchased in tablet form, tincture,

soft-gel, liquid, capsule or its traditional powdered form.

“Of course, this is worst case scenario,” said Shiring.

“But any type of pill consumption can affect the body. Students need to be careful to what they are putting into their bodies.”

Irregular sleeping patterns also concern Shiring.

“Staying up late and cramming for that test is something students do a lot,” said Shiring.

“But what benefit does it serve? If a student doesn’t get enough sleep, what mental state will they truly be in? What have they really gained?

Would they have been better off just going to bed and waking up a little earlier?”

According to Webmd.com, a lack of sleep can make a person more prone to accidents, lose the ability to retain information and can

make a person forgetful.

“Students also abuse caffeine during the times of finals,” Shiring said.

Caffeine is a naturally occurring substance found in some medications and products containing cocoa or chocolate.

Caffeine is used to counteract tiredness, promote ones mood, provide energy and enhance athletic performance.

Caffeine is the most widely consumed mind altering substance in the world.

Caffeine also contains negative side effects such as fatigue, irritability, lack of concentration, anxiety, flu-like symptoms and also heart palpitations.

“To help them stay awake, students chug energy drinks,” said Shiring.

“Energy drinks have negative effects on the body if people consume them too freely. Students don’t think about the

future, they are just concerned with now, now, now.”

Andrew Zahn, a junior math computer science major, dreads the time of finals.

“Finals are a stressful time,” said Zahn.

“It’s like the final stretch to Mordor in the ‘Lord of the Rings.’ It is where you forget everything that you thought you once knew.”

Zahn tries to avoid cramming so that he does not overwhelm himself during the week, and suggests that other students do the same.

Shiring agrees with Zahn and suggests that students have regular sleep patterns, eat healthy food such as fruit for natural energy and to try not to stress to combat finals week.

Also Shiring encourages students to attend the study breaks provided by the school.

Shiring also suggests that students go to Student Health Services in the Wiley armory that is located across from the gym and the First National Bank of America if they are feeling uncomfortable. However in extreme cases, students should immediately go to the hospital she said.

1-&"4& 3&$:$-& 5)*4 /&841"1&3

By Abby Pittinaro

Also, Kefferstan has been focusing on the general education curThe first semester for riculum.

The board now meets Dr. Robert Kefferstan, monthly to interim dean of discuss the undergraduate curriculum studies, has and concenbeen full of new trate on procedures.

Waynesburg Kefferstan University’s has enjoyed the mission opportunity to while lookmeet and work ing at other with faculty Kefferstan schools’ curand staff whom riculum, too. he never did Recently, the board before.

The fall semester was added two students.

“It’s nice to get a stuabout getting into the swing of things such a dent perspective on meetings and commit- courses,” Kefferstan said.

Expanding the intertees Kefferstan said. national studies program Recently Kefferstan has been collaborative- is something Kefferstan ly working on a few is looking forward to new projects for the working on as well.

“We want to find difcampus.

Academic Affairs is ferent options for the partnering up with the programs on campus,” Admissions Office and said Kefferstan.

Kefferstan also wants Student Services to find ways to change Fall Pre- to see the program view and visitation become more of “an exchange” so foreign studays.

“We are ramping [fall dents can study at Waypreview and visitation nesburg.

Krissie Trabert, sophoday] up,” said Kefferstan.

“We want to attract the more nursing major, best kind of students and thinks the changes to the keep them at Waynes- program will be beneficial. burg.”

“Expanding is the best Unfortunately, none of the changes can be option for Waynesburg University to better the revealed yet.

“I can’t share them program,” Trabert said.

Trabert feels she is yet, they are not definite,” Said Kefferstan. unable to study abroad “But I can say it’s been due to her major.

“Being a nursing fun to work with everymajor, I want to study one.”

The changes imple- abroad because it will mented will be seen give me more experience soon according to Keffer- in the field,” said Trabert. stan.

Staff Writer

Graduate student answers calling with Salvation Army

By Michelle Dunseath Staff Writer Captain Michael Jung rings a bell while standing next to a small red bucket, waiting in the cold climate as people walk in and out of local stores. He is collecting donations for the annual Red Kettle Drive for the Salvation Army.

Jung participates in various activities through the Salvation Army, such as the Kettle Drive during the fall and winter

months. When he is not as busy in the summer, he focuses on academics.

“Michael Jung is one of the students that attend the Graduate and Professional Studies program here at Southpointe,” said Janice Crile, director of accelerated programs in business. “He began his studies last summer and continues to receive his Master of Business Administration.”

Being affiliated with See CALLING on A4

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Thursday, December 6, 2012

Campus

Scholastic Book Fair held to encourage children to read

By Brittany Semco Staff Writer The Department of Education held its annual Scholastic Book Fair this past week starting Monday morning and ending Friday afternoon.

Although the book fair has previously been held in the spring semester, Dr. Francis Boyd, associate professor of education, decided to host the fair for this fall semester instead.

“It was my thought that the book fair would do much better in the fall semester because the students would be able to purchase the books as Christmas gifts,” said Boyd.

Since the book fair helps to support the Department of Education’s reading clinic for children in the community, Boyd hoped it would prove a useful source of funds.

“We have received lots of support from the faculty; however, the students are not responding as much as we had hoped,” said Boyd.

In fact, the book fair

Photo by Amanda Bell

Frank Pazzynski, associate professor of education, scans the selection of children’s books at the Scholastic Book Fair. The book fair is open to students and the community until Friday afternoon. was almost discontinued several years ago.

It was then that Boyd took on the responsibility of running the fair and decided to host another one last spring.

Boyd and Chair of the Department of Education, Debra Clarke, will meet soon to discuss this most

recent fair and to decide the next steps for either continuing or discontinuing it.

Boyd is not sure how many times per year the fair should be held for fear of students losing interest.

The previous semester’s book fair was a great success and many books

were collected for the department’s reading clinic library.

“I hope it continues because it’s a really important aspect since it entices the kids to read outside of the school classroom,” Middle Level Education Major Natalie Naser said.

Some students, like Naser, have shown support by taking part in raising Scholastic Dollars for the reading clinic.

Scholastic Dollars are credits that go toward purchasing books for the reading clinic that are a result of purchases at the Scholastic Book Fair.

“Last year the Bonner Scholars were gracious enough to raise money and shop at the book fair,” said Boyd. “They gathered many books and helped greatly to fill up our library supply here for the clinic.”

Boyd hopes to continue the fair because of the support and supplies it brings for the reading clinic.

“Although it was unfortunate that this year’s Scholastic Book Fair was not as much a success as it has previously been, I’m happy as long as the kids are reading,” Boyd said.

The reading clinic will be running again in the spring starting Jan. 28 and will run Monday through Wednesday at approximately 4:15p.m.

“The reading clinic allows our junior education majors to work as tutors and gain real world experience,” Boyd said.

Everyone taking part in the reading clinic is looking forward to using all of the new books the Scholastic Book Fair has brought to the library.

Professor selected to attend historic conference EcoStewards plan

By Zack Rogers Staff Writer Waynesburg University Assistant Professor of Nursing, Melany Chrash was one of 60 faculty members selected nationwide to attend a historic conference.

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing in San Antonio, Texas sponsored this program.

The Waynesburg University Department of Nursing partnered with the American Nurses Association, American Association of Colleges of Nursing and the White House in the Joining Forces Program.

This program demonstrates Waynesburg University’s commitment to

Calling answered Continued from Page A3 the Christian faith has helped Jung find his calling in life through Waynesburg’s Southpointe as well as the Salvation Army.

“When I was 13 years old, my father brought my family to a church service at the Salvation Army,” Jung said. “When I was 16, I had a calling in my life to become a Salvation

Students prepare Continued from Page A2 dae bar available to students. All study breaks will be held in the Benedum Dining Hall

educating baccalaureate nurses regarding the specialized needs of our military veterans.

There were only three faculty members in attendance from the state of Pennsylvania, but all four corners of the United States were represented said Chrash.

“The application process was a lengthy, competitive process requiring goals and objectives of the faculty member as well as the entire Department of Nursing,” said Chrash.

“As a participant in this program I became certified as an ELNEC [End of Life Nursing Education Course] for Veterans trainer.”

In the United States, 54,000 American Veter-

ans, mostly from WWII and Korea, die each month. Most of these veterans do not die in Veteran Affairs institutions, but in their own community hospitals or hospice programs.

“As nurses we need to be aware and knowledge of what these experiences are, how they affect the veteran and how we as nurses can then best assist them and their families in their care,” Chrash said.

The veterans that graduating Waynesburg University students will be encountering with end of life concerns will be the Vietnam Era Veterans.

“This Veterans group has very unique needs because unlike their predecessors who rescued the world from evil, they were

often times viewed as the perpetrators of evil acts,” said Chrash.

She stressed how different service was when these veterans served in the military.

“Many of these men and women have never had their service careers positively acknowledged nor have they dealt with their post-traumatic stress.,” she said.

“Their combat experiences were very different; the lines between enemy and civilians were blurred. There was no ‘front lines’ on which to fight. This era of Veterans had no ‘safe areas’ in which to regroup and organize. They suffered psychological trauma that is very different from previous war experiences.”

Army officer.”

Other roles that Jung serves as officer include administration, social service director, fundraiser and program director.

One main role he has this year is organizing the Red Kettle Drive for Greene County.

The Red Kettle Drive is sponsored by the Salvation Army every year before the Christmas holiday, ending Dec. 24. In order to obtain funds, volunteers stand outside of businesses to collect monetary donations from customers.

As a Corps Officer, Jung’s main objectives are to coordinate the Kettle Drive and find bell ringers.

This year is his 11th year as a coordinator.

The proceeds gathered by the volunteers are used for the various programs that the Salvation Army offers.

“Without donations, it would be very difficult to provide emergency financial assistance, a food pantry and clothing assistance throughout each year,” said Jung. “We also offer, to children in our

community, homework assistance, martial arts, music lessons, scouting programs and Christian education using the funds.”

To complete his calling, Jung became an ordained minister in 2002 through the Salvation Army.

“In the Salvation Army, we operate like an army, therefore we have ranks based on the number of years of service,” Jung said. “I hold the rank of Captain, meaning I have served more than five years.”

and will begin at 9:30 p.m.

Elsewhere during this time, students try to cope with finals week in unique ways. Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada is creating a ‘Puppy Room.’ The goal of the Puppy Room is to help students handle

with the stress of finals week. According to the university, petting and playing with pets can help reduce stress.

Here at Waynesburg, however, students are on their own with finding furry friends to play with.

“I don’t think I’ll do

too bad,” said Sprowls.

“I have four finals so my workload isn’t too much.”

Colbert had similar thoughts.

“I’ll do pretty decent I’d say,” Colbert said. “I have six finals to worry about, but I think I will do okay.”

for next semester

By Greg Maxwell Staff Writer The EcoStewards have been hard at work this semester, and this has been shown through the opinion work they have done at events around Waynesburg’s campus as well as Waynesburg’s community.

These events include Enviroween, Campus Clean-Up and Operation Christmas Child.

Enviroween took place on Oct. 29 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Stover Campus Center and the EcoStewards were pleased with the result.

“Enviroween seemed to go really well,” said Co-President of the EcoStewards Kelsey Geehring.

“We did a zombie/ composting theme where students stopped by our table in Stover and could learn a little bit about composting, get a cup of dirt and hot chocolate.”

Campus Clean-Up was a success from people other than the EcoStewards themselves.

“We had several nonEcoStewards members help out this year,” said Geehring.

“I believe we ended up with two bags of recycling and three bags of garbage.”

This event also gives the EcoStewards a great image in the eyes of the campus administration, as the EcoStewards constitution states, “This organization will recognize and address environmental issues around the Waynesburg campus.”

Campus Clean-Up addressed trash issues campus-wide, and Waynesburg University is now five bags of trash cleaner.

Campus Clean-Up was held on Nov. 3 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. all over campus.

The EcoStewards were also involved in Operation Christmas Child, which turned out to be a huge success.

“We had a club personal best this year by filling 30 boxes,” said Geehring.

These events wrap up the semester for the EcoStewards.

Next semester, the club will partake in Environmental Week, which is always the biggest event of the year for them.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Kent Tree Farm gearing up for Christmas tree sale

By Kyle Edwards Senior Editor The Kent Tree Farm outside of Waynesburg is getting ready once again to host its annual Christmas tree sale.

Located 9.5 miles south of Waynesburg on Route 218, the Kent Tree Farm is owned and operated by the Marisa family of Waynesburg.

The farm will hold its annual “Old-fashioned Christmas Tree Sale” on

Saturday, Dec. 8 and Sunday, Dec. 9 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days.

The sale began in 2008, when the Marisa family purchased the property – which contained thousands of planted fir trees – that abutted their existing property.

“When our family purchased the farm, we thought it might be fun to promote it a little bit,” said Autumn Marisa Lexer, who considers the farm a “hid-

den gem in the county.”

“There were already people who came to the farm to find their tree each year, but we wanted everyone to know about it. We thought that people might enjoy an old-fashioned Christmas tree sale. Once we started advertising, people starting coming in from far and wide to pick out a tree – they make it a day long trip for their family.”

This is the fifth year that the sale has run

and, according to Lexer, it has become something of a tradition.

“People come in and pick out their tree and we cut it down, wrap it and load it up for them.

It has sort of evolved into an event of sorts,” Lexer said.

“We have food and craft vendors, wagon rides – it’s not the kind of thing that you just come out and pick out a tree and go home and set it up. It’s the kind of thing that you come out

and want to stay for a few hours; maybe climb the hill, walk around to see what there is to see and browse what the vendors have to offer.”

Lexer said that, although the actual sale will be held the weekend of Dec. 8 and 9, the tree farm is open yearround, and customers can visit at any time to pick out a tree.

“We have pre-cut trees ready for purchase See TREE on B4

Empty Chair service Ho-ho-holiday spirit and cheer celebrates lost loved ones this season

By Katherine Mansfield Editorial Assistant For those who have lost a loved one, the joyful holiday season is oftentimes shrouded in a sadness that will never fade.

But that sense of loss is transformed into a celebration of holidays spent in a loved one’s company at the Victim/Witness Assistance Program’s annual Empty Chair at Christmas service.

The Empty Chair ‘Empty Chair at service began seven Christmas’ service years ago, when members of the Victim/WitWhen: ness Assistance ProDec. 10 at 7 p.m. gram agreed that the holidays are less cheerWhere: ful when a loved one’s Greene County laughter no longer fills Community Church the air and decided to 653 E. High Street host a special church service in honor of those who once occupied now-empty chairs.

“We had started a very small support group for homicide survivors,” recalled Cherie Rumskey, a victim’s advocate for the Greene County district attorney’s office. “One of our members who had lost a son in a DUI crash mentioned how during the holidays, it’s not that you miss them more, [but the pain] is a little more upfront. [She said], ‘Let’s do something for everybody; that way we can all have this service for the person we’re missing.’”

And so the group organized what would go down in Greene County history as the first annual Empty Chair at Christmas service, where attendees celebrated the memory of loved ones.

Waynesburg resident Diane Williams, whose son succumbed to melanoma in 2004, was at that first service, and has attended every Empty Chair service since. She looks forward to the service and the fellowship that follows each December.

“I feel like I’ve been with my son,” Williams said, “like I’ve taken the time to be with him.

It’s so busy during the holiday that you don’t

Photo by Katherine Mansfield

In the top photo, Jefferson Morgan High School’s marching band performs. To the right, Nathaniel Harris, 2, watches with the parade with his mother Kylie. At left, members of the 140th Pa. Volunteers reenacting group acted as color guard for the parade.

Below, a group of dancers performs for the crowds that lined the streets to view the parade.

See PROGRAM on B4

Local businesses construct canned-good sculptures

By Angela Wadding Senior Editor This weekend, those in attendance at the first ever CANstruction event on High St. were treated to the sights of snow-less snowmen and trains made of cans.

The event, hosted by the Waynesburg Holiday Open House in conjunction with CANstruction Inc., challenged local businesses to build winterthemed statues out of canned food cans.

At the end of the event, all canned goods

were donated to the Corner Cupboard Food Bank.

Several businesses either hosted a design or built a CANstruction. First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Greene County hosted the “WU Frosty,” which was

designed by Andrew Heisey, assistant Professor of Art at Waynesburg University. Over 2,000 cans of green beans and pumpkin were used for the back wall, which featured the Waynesburg “W,” and over 1,000 cans of mixed vegetables and

potatoes were used for the Frosty.

“It’s a fun way to celebrate Christmas, it’s a fun way to create sculpture and art in town and it’s a great way to raise food for the Food Bank,” said Heisey, whose sculpture won an honorable mention

in the competition.

Kimber Blair, junior public relations and interactive design major, had a large part in making this event happen.

The idea first came up during a design club See BUSINESSES on B4

YELLOW JACKET

Page B2

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Editorial

Spend time wisely Work hard and find your life’s purpose Cherish time spent with loved ones over break As the semester winds down and students begin having dreams of being home for the holidays dancing in their heads, make sure we remember the true meaning of the season.

We know it’s cliché, but we really mean it here as The Yellow Jacket staff. Take time out of your winter break and reflect on what is important. Spend some time with friends and family. Make the most of the short time you have with them, especially if you don’t see them very often. Additionally, many students are spending part of their holiday breaks traveling around the country – and even the world, helping the less fortunate. These students are taking precious time away from their friends and family in order to make the world a better place.

It doesn’t matter if you spend $1,000 or just $10 on gifts for loved ones. As the old adage says, it’s the thought that counts. At the same time, don’t be disappointed if you didn’t receive everything you had on your Christmas wish list. Be thankful for what you have; don’t resent what you don’t have. Who knows, maybe you could even take the money that you would spend on a gift for yourself and donate it to someone else who needs it more than you do. Like they say, it’s better to give than receive.

In closing, have a wonderful and safe break. May your time with your family and close friends be filled with joy, but still remember the main reason why we have this time off. And no, it’s not because PennDot doesn’t salt the roads in the winter. However, at the rate of these unseasonal temperatures, the only salt that will be used this Christmas is the one on the dinner table.

Survive finals Practice safe study tips to survive finals week As the last days of classes are closing down upon Waynesburg University, students are becoming more and more anxious to pack up their belongings and go home. However, students have to prepare for the most crucial week of the semester before finally being able to take the glorious ride back to their own beds. That week is known as finals week; it’s that dreaded week where the library is packed with students that used to have no idea what a library was.

It’s the week where the mentally weak break down and the mentally strong hide under a rock and study.

But that’s the problem. The thought is that you need to study every minute of every day in order to succeed during finals week. Actually, that is the worst idea anyone could have while preparing for a test. According to an article by Elizabeth Scott via About.com, students should not pull all-nighters or focus on just their studies.

“If you’re the type of person who is already pretty conscientious, and the idea of doing poorly on the test is starting to cause significant test anxiety, it may be time to shift your focus,” said Scott.

The best way to shift your focus is to get some sleep during the week and the days leading up to it.

An article on ThePenn.org said that there are a few ways to keep your sleep pattern regular so you can perform to the best of your abilities. Students should go to bed early, without even trying to open that book while in bed and limit the number of naps they take. Three simple, easy steps. Follow those and your chances of surviving finals week have become stronger. So keep calm and sleep on.

Four years ago, I had no idea what I was going to do with the rest of my life. Other than a few electives that involved art or music I despised school.

I never thought that after graduating high school I would be able to sit through another day of class unless I was doing something I truly loved. The problem was that I hadn’t yet figured out my real passion.

Despite my apathy, I applied to one university toward the end of my senior year. Soon I received my financial aid reward letter in the mail

ALEX HINTON Columnist

and learned that I had to come up with $9,000 within the next few months. Needless to say, I quickly gave up on that idea.

I ended up applying to another university, based on a rash decision, just mere weeks before the start of the school year. I was put on the wait list, and I made call after call every day to ask, “Am I accepted

Spread cheer this holiday season Christmas cookies piled high on a plate and a “Thank you, Santa” note tucked lovingly underneath a glass brimming with milk.

A restless sleep.

Dashing downstairs to delight in the sight of stockings overflowing with trinkets and pretty packages underneath the Christmas tree.

yet?”

Eventually, I was. I was going to a school that I could actually afford, and although I hadn’t chosen a major, I thought I was on my way to discovering my life’s path.

Well, things don’t always go as planned.

My life turned into a giant train wreck.

I dropped out after the first week of the second semester.

The same day, I enrolled at my local community college (thankfully I was accepted even though the semester had already

KATHERINE MANSFIELD Columnist

Singing Christmas carols under my breath as I unwrap gifts.

This is the Christmas of my childhood.

The holiday season was always a whirlwind of excitement.

Christmas meant sneaking spoonfuls of cookie dough as my mother baked Christmas cookies. It meant picking out, decorating and caring for a live Christmas tree.

Christmas was sitting on Santa’s lap and posing for Christmas card portraits, and eating

begun) to take some classes while I lived at home and figured out my next plan.

Then, in August 2010, I ended up at Waynesburg University. When people ask me why I chose Waynesburg, I really don’t have an answer. It was an arbitrary decision, but I know it was the right one.

When I first got here, it took some time for me to adapt, but soon I found my home in the Department of Communication. I started writSee WORK on B3

from fancy dishes at my grandparents’ house.

In many ways, Christmas remains unchanged; for me, it is still the most magical time of year. I admit to sneaking spoonfuls of cookie dough when my mamma isn’t looking, and I am known to belt “Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas” when it comes on the radio. I still look forward to watching “Frosty the Snowman,” “How The Grinch Stole Christmas” and “Rudolph” on TV, and I will never be too old for a restless Christmas Eve sleep or a risingbefore-the-sun Christmas morning.

See SPREAD on B3

Making an unforgettable Thanksgiving Thanksgiving day in Guatemala was a miracle.

For the Guatemalans, it wasn’t Thanksgiving; that’s an American holiday.

Thanksgiving in Guatemala was Maribel’s 12th birthday.

And Maribel’s birthday wasn’t that big of a deal.

At the Centro Nutritional y Hogar de Ninos in Patzún, they don’t have the funding to celebrate birthdays.

The nuns who run the center don’t have the

SARAH BELL Columnist

money to provide more than 40 children with the gifts, cake and parties that we Americans have become so accustomed to on our birthdays.

But the children don’t expect a celebration.

They understand that, like every other day, there are chores that need to be done on their

birthdays, and the younger kids at the center need someone to look out for them – a role that the older kids fall into effortlessly.

The people at the center acted like the 18 college students, myself included, and our two trip leaders were the selfless ones for going on this trip.

We weren’t.

During our stay, the nuns and the children treated us with more kindness than I have ever experienced on Thanksgiving.

They were thankful for us.

Because they knew we were missing one of our country’s biggest holidays, they tried to make us feel right at home.

They cut letters out of colorful construction paper that ended up spelling out “Happy Thanks Giving Day!” on the wall in the kitchen.

Yes, “thanks” and “giving” were separate words.

See GRATITUDE on B3

YELLOW JACKET

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Page B3

Op-Ed

Work for your goals Continued from B2

Questions on cellphones, privacy The Petraeus affair has helped Americans understand the sweeping power federal authorities have to snoop around in email.

Another way Americans may unknowingly expose their personal affairs to lawenforcement eyes is through their cellphones.

In 2011, cellphone providers reported handing 1.3 million requests from law enforcement for data about customers, according to the New York Times.

You might think that police would need a warrant to get at those records.

Not so, at least as far as the U.S. Constitution is concerned.

Federal courts have

yet to stop warrantless cellphone record searches, though cases are pending.

The government says you have no expectation of privacy for cellphone calling records, since you've already "shared" them with a third party, the cellphone company.

Now, the good news: It's likely harder for state and local police in this region to do that kind of warrantless fishing.

David Rudovsky, a senior fellow at Penn Law School who specializes in privacy issues, says "so far the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has provided some greater measure of protection for privacy" in this area.

However, Pennsyl-

vania courts have ruled that if someone else is paying for your cellphone, you have no control over who looks at your calling records, so police are free to make use of them.

The New Jersey Supreme Court is considering a case where police obtained records of a cellphone's physical location without a warrant.

ACLU of New Jersey attorney Alexander Shalom is optimistic about a favorable ruling.

"Encouraging precedents are there," he says of the pending case, State v. Earls.

"New Jersey, for the better part of three decades, has recognized that the state constitution provides

more protection, especially in the area of search and seizure, than does the U.S. Constitution."

Rudovsky notes that Pennsylvania courts have not yet ruled on police use of cellphone location tracking records without a warrant. But, he says, courts are not the only way to protect the right to privacy.

"Regardless of what courts rule," Rudovsky says, "something legislatures have to be thinking about is whether they can pass statutes that give better protection."

Hear, hear to that. ___

This editorial originally appeared in the Philadelphia Enquirer.

This Week in History

By Lucas Diethorn News Editor

Dec. 7, 1855 On this day in history, Jonathan P. Weethee was elected an honorary member to the Waynesburg College Philo Society.

Weethee was a key coordinator in the cooperation between male and female societies such as the Emma Willard Society.

Dec. 3, 1869 Rev. Alfred Bashear Miller appealed to the CP Synod of Pennsylvania for funds to Way-

Gratitude is genuine gift Continued from B2 The editor in me didn’t even cringe.

I loved it.

They prepared a lunch of pork chops, mashed potatoes and vegetables: they were trying to imitate our Thanksgiving meal.

They went above and beyond to make us feel special.

To make the day overthe-top, the children and the nuns personally presented us with a strawberry cake.

The nuns, who have given up their lives to care for these children, but don’t have enough time or money to make ends meet, purchased us

nesburg College. He explained that “colleges are essentially religious institutions, founded by Christian enterprise, sustained and endowed by Christian liberality, conducted by Christian men and women.”

Dec. 8, 1922 Professor Henry Dudley Patton was buried in the Greene County Cemetery 11 years after being named a Waynesburg College professor. Friends of Waynesburg College revered him and said he was always willing to sacrifice time, money and energy for his Alma Mater.

a cake.

The children, who do not even get to have cake on their birthdays, served us cake.

Heidi Szuminsky, one of our trip leaders (and the director of Donor and Alumni Relations), was crying.

She has been to Guatemala nine times, yet she still cried – and that’s when I realized that what was happening was really special.

It’s something so simple in America. We expect cake here.

There, a strawberry cake was a genuine gift of gratitude.

They were selfless.

As a group, we decided that we needed to sneak Maribel into the kitchen and give her a piece of the cake that they bought us.

She walked into the

Dec. 2-8, 1967 Waynesburg High School was visited by burglars. The theieves failed at an attempt to get into the large walk-in safe at the high school but were unable to open the door or get in through the walls.

They did not succeed in stealing anything, and there was no vandalism, but several windows and inside doors were broken to get into locked classrooms and offices.

Information courtesy of “The Waynesburg College Story” and Observer-reporter.com.

room and our group began belting out our very American version of “Feliz Cumpleaños,” or “Happy Birthday.”

Maribel buried her face into the person closest to her.

She was in shock and, because she was one of the shyer children at the center, she didn’t know how to react, except for to hide.

Even after we finished singing to her, she kept her arms wrapped around one of the students who served on the trip.

After a while, she slowly released her grip.

When she turned around, and one of the students asked her if she wanted cake, she just nodded slowly.

She sat down and savored every bite.

I have been around a lot of kids in my life, but I have never seen someone so genuinely appreciative for one piece of cake.

Ever.

Later on, Maribel sat in the grass outside of the center.

I handed her one of the really cheap bracelets that I bought while I was in Guatemala.

“Feliz Cumpleaños,” I said.

She smiled and told me that her birthday was fantastic – in Spanish, of course; I’m not even going to try a direct quote here.

And sure, we made one little girl’s 12th birthday great when we served in Guatemala.

But they made 20 Americans’ Thanksgiving Day unforgettable.

ing for the Yellow Jacket to fulfill practicum hours for a course during my first semester. The next semester, I became a hired staff member, and I stuck with it ever since.

Working for the Yellow Jacket is sort of a love/hate relationship for staff members.

Sometimes we forget our assignments. Sometimes we have to take on several extra assignments. Sometimes we’re tired, hungry, stressed and completely overwhelmed after late nights in the office.

But it’s during these times that we all bond.

We have our weekly Sheetz or McDonald’s runs, music jam sessions, friendly advice and random dance breakouts. There’s our infamous wall of shame and, most importantly, a big, mismatched and fun group of friends.

Since my first semester at Waynesburg, I’ve also worked in Miller Hall’s Information Cen-

Spread cheer Continued from B2 As I’ve grown, though, Christmas has taken on new meaning. I’ve come to realize that the Christmas season is about more than mailing Christmas lists to the North Pole and unwrapping presents.

Christmas, I’ve learned, is the season for giving. I firmly believe that people should show compassion for others year round, but I also believe that the Spirit of Christmas should encourage all to help those less fortunate during the holiday season.

The Corner Cupboard Food Bank is in short supply and this year, many local families who rely on the food bank for a filling, traditional Christmas dinner find themselves praying that they’re fortunate enough to receive anything.

Delivering one or two or three or four canned goods to the Corner Cupboard is an affordable and painless act of holiday goodwill. The food bank accepts monetary donations as well, and donating a five-spot to the charity is an easy way to spread holiday cheer.

Volunteering time,

ter. I have met some of the greatest people through this work-study position and am truly blessed.

I have a countdown to get out of here, yes. I truly can’t wait to graduate. I’ve developed a severe case of senioritis and have accepted this semester as the hardest of my college career.

However, I’m thankful for the wonderful people I’ve met, the amount of hands-on work experience I’ve gotten and the lessons I’ve learned during my time at Waynesburg.

Next week at this time, I’ll finally be a college graduate. This is the last column I’ll ever write for the Yellow Jacket.

So, naturally, I have to leave my fellow students with some advice: realize your potential and take advantage of the wonderful opportunities this school is giving you.

Use this time to find your passion, and run with it. Work hard, accept challenges and don’t forget to have fun in the process.

Goodbye, Waynesburg. It’s been a pleasure.

too, is consistent with the season’s message of giving that warms your soul at the same time that it helps those in need. The Waynesburg University Center for Service Leadership has a Salvation Army chapter that provides for Greene County’s needy. Ringing the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle at a grocery store in your hometown is a rewarding experience – I’ve been a Red Kettle ringer, and, though my fingers were freezing and my toes went numb, the two hours spent collecting donations for the needy locally and nationwide are among two of the happiest hours of my holiday life.

This Christmas, I’ll indulge in cookies, and I’ll watch Christmas movies on ABC Family, and yes, I’ll eagerly await Christmas-present-opening time. But this year, Christmas isn’t so much about receiving as it is about giving.

Before I head home for break to enjoy family time, I’m donating canned goods to the Corner Cupboard Food Bank. And I’ll sing Christmas carols just a little more loudly and smile just a little more broadly all season long, because spreading holiday cheer is the most wonderful part of the holiday season.

YELLOW JACKET

Page B4

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Region

West Virginia man killed in Interstate 79 crash in Franklin Township

By Kyle Edwards Senior Editor A West Virginia man was killed Monday evening in a fatal onevehicle crash on Inter-

Netbook stolen State police said that at 3:15 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 27, two white females in their earlyto-mid twenties entered the CVS Pharmacy Store in Waynesburg, removed a Crystal View XT Netbook from its packaging and walked out of the store without paying. Police said the computer is valued at $99.99.

Burglary reported Sometime between 5 p.m. Nov. 25 and 2 a.m.

Nov. 26, someone broke

Tree farm prepares Continued from B1 and they can also come in and look for a tree that they would like to cut down,” she said.

“We also offer trees for anyone who’s interested in landscaping and stuff like that – it’s really a year-round business.”

This year’s sale will be a bit different from last year’s, Lexer said.

While last year’s event was sponsored – meaning all of the trees were free – this year, the patrons will be purchasing the trees themselves, with ten percent of the total sales going to the Social Service League in Waynesburg.

“That’s something we’ve done from the very beginning,” Lexer said.

“My mom has been a member, in the past, of the League, and growing up we would always help a family or families in the area who might not be able to provide for their children. So that was something that was important to us – we always donate a portion of our sales to the Social Service League.”

This year, trees less than six feet tall will cost $25 and any trees

state 79 in Franklin Township.

State police said Daniel A. Deleon, 22, of Morgantown was traveling erratically southbound around 8 p.m. at a

high rate of speed when his 1999 Isuzu Rodeo traveled into the grass median near mile marker 16 and began rolling over.

The vehicle rolled

back onto Interstate 79 and the operator was ejected from the vehicle and landed on the concrete berm, police said.

Deleon was flown to Ruby Memorial Hospi-

tal in Morgantown for treatment of injuries and was later pronounced dead.

Police said Deleon was not wearing his seatbelt and later tested

positive for opiates.

Police were assisted at the scene by Southwest EMS, Franklin Township Volunteer Fire Department and Stat Medevac.

into the Hedge Rd. residence of Chester Calvin Crouser in Jefferson and stole a Blackhawk 357 revolver and a DVD player, state police said.

cigarette and then punched him in the nose, police said. Colina was arraigned by District Justice Lee Watson, received a $2,500 bond at 10 percent, which she could not post and was taken to Greene County jail, police said.

actor then used the credit card at an ATM machine in side Puffy’s Bar in Clarksville and withdrew $395 from Baker’s bank account, police said.

man Hwy. Pena attempted to make a left turn into Wayne Lumber, and as the vehicle crossed into the opposing lane of traffic, was struck by Fink’s vehicle, police said.

Pena, Fink and Fink’s passenger, Theresa C. Matscherz, 76, of Prosperity, were transported

by Southwest EMS to Southwest Regional Medical Center with minor injuries, police said. Waynesburg Volunteer Fire Dept. assisted at the scene.

Burglary reported At 10 p.m. Nov. 30, state police responded to a report of a suspicious person looking through some abandoned sheds located on Garrards Fort Rd. owned by Alpha Natural Resources in Whiteley Twp, state police said. James Leon Roach, 47, of Waynesburg was found hiding inside one of the sheds, was arrested for burglary and criminal trespass and was placed in Greene County jail on $50,000 bond, police said.

Assault reported State police said that at 4:30 p.m. Nov. 29, Jennifer Lynn Colina, 24, of Sycamore was arrested for assault on her husband, Jason Leslie Hennen, also of Sycamore. A dispute between the couple turned physical when Colina burnt her husband’s face with a lit

more than six feet tall will cost $40.

Lexer said that if anyone would like to purchase a dug tree – a tree that can be replanted – those trees will cost $50, plus a $10 digging fee.

“Last year, through the generosity of the patrons during the sale, we were able to raise a few thousand dollars for the League,” Lexer said.

“This year, the money we donate to the League will come from the portion of our total sales, the portion that each vendor will donate of their total sales and also from any open donations the patrons are willing to make.”

Lexer said that she hopes, as always, to see a lot of people in attendance at the sale.

“We like to do something nice to give back to the community – it’s very important to us,” she said.

“As people continue to come back, year after year, we’re starting to recognize some familiar faces. We just hope to have a lot of people come out and enjoy the event and pick out a nice tree for their family this Christmas season.”

For more information about the fifth-annual “Old-fashioned Christmas Tree Sale,” call the Kent Tree Farm at 724984-3010.

Theft reported Sometime between Nov. 21 and Nov. 26, someone stole a credit card from the A St. residence of Shelley Renee Baker in Morgan Twp., state police said. The

Program offers solace Continued from B1 have time to really sit down and feel that you’re really with them. It just makes your heart less heavy.”

The Empty Chair service provides solace for those in attendance and offers the grieving an opportunity to both quietly cherish memories during the service and openly share those memories at a coffeeand-cookies social immediately following.

“The reading of the names [is the most special part of Empty Chair]. The people who attend the service get to hear their loved one’s name spoken,” said Rumskey. “A lot of times, when you lose someone, people around you may feel like you don’t want to talk about it. That’s actually not the case. I

Businesses ‘can’struct Continued from B1 meeting run by Blair.

“We were talking about how people were building pieces of art with cardboard boxes in Pittsburgh to raise awareness for the homeless in the area,” said Zachary Rogers,

Crash reported State police said that at 12:01 p.m. Dec. 1, that a vehicle driven by Caire A. Pena, 43, of Waynesburg was struck by another vehicle driven by Kassandra L. Fink,23, of Greenesburg while the two were traveling in opposite directions on Roy Fur-

“When they call the name of the person that has left us, it’s almost like they’re honoring them, and then you light candles - it’s really emotional for me.”

Diane Williams

Waynesburg Resident

think hearing their loved one’s name makes them feel good: this was a person who lived and meant something to me.”

Williams agrees that the candle lighting is one of the most touching parts of the service.

“When they call the name of the person that has left us, it’s almost like they’re honoring them, and then you light candles – it’s really emotional for me,” Williams said.

After a brief church service – the actual service doesn’t last more than an hour – attendees are welcome to gather for coffee, cookies and fellowship.

“People talk about

their loved ones. If you stand back and watch, you see people smiling and laughing. They all kind of share stories, join in that fellowship of talking to other people who are feeling the same way…it’s neat to watch,” said Rumskey.

Each year, Sandy Seybold handcrafts Christmas tree ornaments for Empty Chair attendees and the Waynesburg University Lamplighters, along with other locals, provide musical entertainment during the service.

“Carson Fox, [a Waynesburg student] usually plays the organ – oh, he is just a wonderful organist,” said Williams. “The Lamplighters are

senior interactive design major. “We figured we could do something similar and do it around the holidays.”

Blair says they wanted to do some creative problem solving and CANstruction was something that was very doable.

“It’s something that we could use our design skills and creativity in to help people or to solve a problem,” she

said.

After a lot of work and a failed community impact grant, Blair sought help from Kyle Kooyers, Greene County Outreach VISTA for the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. Kooyers was able to contact Consol Energy, who donated $15,000 to the Corner Cupboard Food Bank.

“I was just really excited when he said it

incredible. I just cry because the songs are so beautiful. It really adds a special touch.”

The most special part of the night, though, is simply the gathering of friends and strangers who share grief and happiness by lighting candles and remembering those for whom the candles are lit.

“It truly is about coming to light a candle; missing that person, honoring them and then afterwards just getting to talk about them,” said Rumskey.

Williams feels the same way about the Empty Chair service.

“I hope that other people really take advantage of it,” she said. “It’s a time they can sit and reflect. It’s a special time for the heart.”

This year’s Empty Chair at Christmas service will be held at 7 p.m. Dec. 10 in the Greene Community Church. All are welcome to attend.

was happening,” said Blair. “[Kooyers] worked his tail off all the month of November, because we literally only had the month of November to pull this together and he did. It’s crazy - it came together really well.”

Cans were purchased at Giant Eagle and artists were given form that was very specific to the kind of can they wanted, the weight and the color.

“There’s definitely talk about doing it next year. We’ll have a better idea of what we’re doing and we’ll have a longer time to plan,” said Blair. “I expect next years to be phenomenally better than this year.”

Jackets return to the track Read more on C3

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Grading Wrestlers face tough competition All-Sports playing Trophy Jacket Despite ranked squads, Standings Football Jackets take 7th Released

By Carson Fox

Kyle Oland Sports Editor

After winning the ECAC South West Bowl two weeks ago, the football team concluded its best season in head coach Rick Shepas’ tenure.

Finishing 10-1, the Jackets tied with Washington & Jefferson for the Presidents’ Athletic Conference title, just barely missing a spot in the NCAA Division III Playoffs.

Since the season is over, I thought I would give my grades for each position from this season.

Quarterbacks Senior Tyler Fatigante began the year as the starting quarterback, but after a shoulder injury hampered his throwing ability, sophomore Carter Hill became the starter in week six.

On the year, Fatigante threw for 442 yards and six touchdowns, while rushing for 291 yards and four scores.

During his time as the starter, the dual-threat quarterback threw six interceptions and at times struggled with his accuracy; however, Fatigante was one of the best running quarterbacks in the PAC. After being inserted as the starter, Hill threw for 1,075 yards, completing 59 percent of his passes for 10 touchdowns.

Despite his youth, the sophomore showed poise and brought the Jackets back from deficits on numerous occasions.

Grade: B

Staff Writer

By Michael Rittelmann After being two weeks removed from the mat, the Waynesburg University wrestling team finished in seventh place out of 62 teams at the Ohio Northern Invitational in Ada, Ohio.

In a field full of respected Division III, Division II and NAIA programs, the Yellow Jackets finished with 87.5 points, just seven points behind 13thranked Ohio Northern, which finished fifth.

Presidents’ Athletic Conference rival Thiel

Staff Writer

PAC matchups under the guidance of Christner, the squad played impressive basketball against one of the league’s top teams.

Waynesburg eliminated an 11-point deficit to lead 25-24 at halftime and exchanged leads with the Saints for the first twothirds of the second half.

A late timeout called

by Thomas More head coach Jeff Rogers shifted the momentum in favor of the visitors, though, and a 16-2 run in the final six minutes of play allowed the Saints to remain unbeaten for another day. “[Christner] is going to build a great basketball program here,” said Rogers, the fourth-year head coach of the Saints.

“This is the best Waynesburg team that I’ve seen in the time that I’ve been at Thomas More, and they’re going to continue to get better and better.”

Neither team was able to generate much offense in the early portion of the

The Presidents’ Athletic Conference has been a highly competitive conference for many years.

Every year the PAC has awarded the All-Sports Trophy to the top men’s and women’s sports programs in the conference.

The criteria for the award focuses on overall team performance and relies on a point system.

Winning the conference championship yields ten points, a second place finish is awarded nine points and a last place finish is awarded one point.

“We can break it down with a point total,” said Kevin Fenstermacher, cocommissioner and Head of Communications for the PAC. “It varies a little bit because we have sports that not all schools participate in, like wrestling,” Fenstermacher said.

According to the PAC’s website, the award is based on a point total generated from the fall, winter and spring men’s and women’s sports teams.

After all seasons have been completed and the points totaled, the winner is announced.

After the 2012 fall sports season, Grove City and Washington & Jefferson tied for first in the men’s division with 20.5 points. Grove City is also in the lead for women’s sports with 32 points.

Waynesburg Sports Information Director Robert Fox has a good understanding of what the All-Sports Trophy means to schools.

“I think schools in the conference have a sport that they are especially dominant in and [are] not well balanced across the board,” Fox said.

See HALFTIME on C3

See PAC on C3

Photo by Dawn Yates

Junior Luke Lohr (black) tries to control his opponent during an early season match.

Lohr placed fourth at 149 pounds over the weekend at the Ohio Northern Invite. placed 16th with 32.5 team points.

Olivet College won the Invitational, defeating second place Camp-

bellsville University by an impressive 12.5 points.

The weeklong Thanksgiving break did not affect the Yellow Jackets’ per-

formance on Saturday. “[I] thought that part was really good,” said head coach Ron Headlee. “[The See WU on C4

SAINTS - 54, YELLOW JACKETS - 42

After halftime lead, men falter

By Nick Farrell Assistant Sports Editor

When the undefeated Thomas More Saints came to town on Saturday for a Presidents’ Athletic Conference game, Waynesburg had its first chance of the season to win a conference basketball game at home.

Third-year head coach Mark Christner has never won a PAC contest inside the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse. In fact, the Yellow Jacket men have not won a conference basketball game at home since Jan. 13, 2010 when they defeated Saint Vincent, 58-56.

The Jackets nearly seized the opportunity to upset the visitors from Kentucky, but the Saints overpowered the young hosts late in the game and won 54-42.

“We knew we had a good plan, we knew our guys were going to be able Running backs to execute that and so I Undoubtedly, Jacket felt good; they were backs were the strength of focused and I thought this year’s squad.

Led by a one-two punch of junior Bertrand Ngampa and senior Dominic Moore, stopping the Yellow Jackets’ rushing attack was nearly impossible for opposing defenses.

Ngampa, a first-team All-PAC honoree, has By Lucas Diethorn flashed potential since his News Editor freshman season, but couldn’t put together a The Waynesburg complete season. This sea- University women’s son he did, rushing for 979 basketball team battled yards and seven scores. right with the six-time All season, Ngampa defending Presidents’ gave opposing defenses Athletic Conference fits, as tackling the elusive champion Thomas and powerful back was More Saints for 40 mineasier said than done. utes Saturday afterThe other half of the noon at the Rudy duo, Moore, added 748 Marisa Fieldhouse. yards on the ground and Unfortunately for eight touchdowns. the Yellow Jackets, the The senior utilized his Saints out-performed their opponents at the

Photo by Jordan Mitrik

Sophomore guard Kenny Klase goes up for a layup during Saturday’s home loss to Thomas More. they handled [the Saints] well,” said Christner.

Though the Jackets remain winless in home

(13) SAINTS - 77, YELLOW JACKETS - 68

Women unable to upset ranked Thomas More

See FOOTBALL on C4

Photo by Jordan Mitrik

Jessi Drayer looks to drive against the Saints Saturday. free throw line, converting 26 attempts at the charity stripe and

limiting Waynesburg’s offense to 30 percent shooting from the field

en route to a 77-68 victory.

Things went about as well as Waynesburg could have hoped, jumping out to a 9-0 run over the first 3:30 of the game. Senior guard Brittany Spencer scored seven of the first nine points for Waynesburg.

“Knowing that the Saints are number one in our league, we knew we had to build up a lead early on,” said Lauren Blair, who led

Waynesburg in scoring Saturday. “That’s one thing [head] coach Sam Jones stressed, to go out and build up an early lead.”

Thomas More didn’t panic, slowly chipping away at the Jackets lead and finally tying the contest at 11-11 after back-to-back 3pointers. From there, Waynesburg and Thomas More exchanged baskets over the next few minutes, See WOMEN on C3

YELLOW JACKET

Page C2

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Sports

Top moments from 2012 football season Nick Farrell Assistant Sports Editor

The Yellow Jackets appeared very beatable at times during the 2012 football season, playing in a total of six games decided by seven points or fewer.

In 2011, the Jackets would have lost every single one of those games.

In 2012, they found ways to persevere.

This season, Waynesburg composed one of the most successful records in the history of the 117-year old football program. For just the second time ever, the Yellow Jackets completed a ten win season.

This exceptional season was filled with heroic performances from key starters and and unexpected stars.

A few plays stand out as the most memorable of the season. Let’s rewind and relive the biggest plays from Waynesburg’s championship season.

Honorable Mentions: •Alex Henry’s game winning field goal vs.

Bethany, Oct. 13.

•Marvin Sampson stops Michael Trentalange from scoring in ECAC Bowl, Nov. 17.

•Halfback pass from Dominic Moore to Adam Moses vs. Grove City, Oct. 6.

No. 5: Bernie Thompson’s Game Winning Catch vs.

Thiel, Sept. 29 After a huge home win against Thomas More, Waynesburg was tested by a tough Thiel squad on the road.

Trailing by five midway through the fourth quarter, the Yellow Jack-

Photos by Mike Kabay and Megan Peebles

Top: Willie Leavell celebrates his punt block.

Top right: Bernie Thompson halls in the game winning touchdown against Thiel.

Right: Christian Jackson evades tacklers on his way to a 69-yard touchdown. ets moved the football under the direction of substitute quarterback Carter Hill.

On the sixth play of the drive, Hill connected with Bernie Thompson who acrobatically snagged the ball in bounds for the score. The defense held Thiel scoreless for the remainder of the game, and Thompson’s great grab served as Waynesburg’s winning points in its narrowest Presidents’ Athletic Conference win of the season.

No. 4: Strip-sack seals the deal vs. CMU, Nov. 17 Waynesburg’s underclassmen wanted to send the 17 seniors on the team’s roster off with a win in the ECAC South West Bowl.

One of those seniors made sure that happened on his final series on the turf at Wiley Stadium.

After tallying a sack on third down, Matt Krause

was again in the Tartan backfield on CMU’s final offensive play. After Brandon Fedorka hit Rob Kalkstein and knocked the ball loose, Krause pounced on the bouncing football.

With just over a minute remaining, the Jacket offense subsequently ended the game in victory formation.

No. 3: Christian Jackson’s 69-yard score vs.

Westminster, Oct. 27 Christian Jackson put on a receiving clinic in one of his final games at John F. Wiley Stadium.

After catching a deep touchdown pass from Carter Hill near the end of the first quarter, Jackson turned on the burners for a second quarter score that spanned 69 yards.

Jackson received a screen pass from Hill at Waynesburg’s own 24, evaded a few defenders near the sideline, and then cut the ball back to the middle of the field.

A few Westminster defenders were waiting for Jackson near the right hash, but the elusive senior hurdled a defender just beyond midfield, immediately broke another tackle and then sprinted to the end zone.

Jackson and the Jackets stayed hot after that touchdown, scoring 35 unanswered points in the first half.

No. 2: Bertrand Ngampa’s 74-yard dash vs. CMU, Nov. 17 After a holding penalty on first down brought up a 1st-and-20 from Waynesburg’s own 26, head coach Rick Shepas called for a similar screen pass that led to Jackson’s long touchdown.

This time, it was Bertrand Ngampa who received the toss and, like Jackson, ran all the way to the end zone.

This play was better

than Jackson’s similar score for a couple of reasons. For one, Ngampa’s score came in a closely contested battle, whereas Jackson’s came in the midst of Waynesburg’s 4216 rout of Westminster.

Ngampa’s run also spanned more yards than Jackson’s.

Yes, the official ruling on Ngampa’s score was that it was a 74-yard run, but the junior tailback looked like he was running a marathon. Ngampa literally ran from the left sideline all the way to the right one, evading five potential tacklers in the process.

When he reached the 20-yard line, he wisely hesitated and waited for a few blockers. He then used his agility to sneak into the end zone.

No. 1: Willie Leavell’s Blocked Punt vs. Thomas More, Sept. 22

In a statement game against a nationally ranked team, the Yellow Jackets trailed by three points late in the fourth quarter. They had dug themselves into a hole, turning the ball over on special teams twice during the second half.

Midway through the final quarter, one player on Waynesburg’s punt return unit wiped away the pain of Waynesburg’s poor special teams performance. His heroics gave the Jackets momentum not just against Thomas More, but also in every other conference game that followed.

After the Waynesburg defense forced a fourth down at the Saints’ 30yard line, Thomas More brought on the punt team.

Sophomore Willie Leavell, who missed his entire freshman season, bursted right through the left side of the Saints’ protection and had an open path to punter Mitch McDowell.

Then came the fireworks: Leavell blocked the punt so cleanly that the ball left McDowell’s foot and immediately slammed into Leavell’s chest.

Without breaking stride, Leavell possessed the ball and ran straight for the end zone.

During this entire sequence, Leavell was never touched. After the extra point, the Yellow Jackets led 14-10 with 6:44 remaining.

Neither team would score again. The Jackets had upset the Saints for the second consecutive season.

If you still haven’t seen this play, go to waynesburgsports.com and view it on the homepage. You’ll probably want to watch it twice, because you won’t believe your eyes.

YELLOW JACKET

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Page C3

Sports

Athletes of the Week

Track opens the season at WVU

Third place finish and stat-filled week launch duo to awards

By Rob Longo Editorial Assistant

Lombardo

Spencer

Senior guard Brittany Spencer caught fire on the basketball court this week, averaging 18 points per game during a 1-1 week for the Yellow Jackets.

Spencer contributed a season-high 26 points against Bethany in the first game of Presidents’ Athletic Conference play. She recorded her second double-double of the season in that game with 11 rebounds.

This marks the first award for Spencer this season.

Junior Sam Lombardo earned his second PAC Wrestler of the Week laurels of the season after his standout performance at the Ohio Northern Invitational Lombardo advanced to the semifinal round in the 157-pound weight class thanks to a pin in 1:42 and back-to-back decisions.

After losing to the top seed, Lombardo would eventually win the third-place bout with a 6-4 decision.

Continued from C1 before Jacket guard Hayden Giuliani connected on a 3-point jump shot to push the Jackets’ lead to 19-15 with 10:45 remaining in the first half.

After a scoreless stretch of three minutes, Thomas More went on a quick 6-0 run to take its first lead of the contest at 21-19 with 6:31 left in the first half.

The lead was shortlived, as Jacket freshman Heather Davis connected on a 3-pointer off an assist from sophomore Rebecca Kerr to make it 22-21 Waynesburg.

Unfortunately, that one-point edge was the Jackets’ last lead of the contest, as the Saints used a 8-0 run to push

Jason Falvo

Head men’s and women’s track coach

with a leap of 9.88 meters.

“I thought we did decent as a whole,” Anderson said. “A lot of people got personal bests.

We went in with no expectations, and overall I think we did well.”

Even though the meet was deemed a success, Anderson has some aspects of her jumping she would like to work on.

“I still need some work on my form,” said Anderson. “I also need to work on my mental blocks.”

Anderson is recovering from a hamstring injury suffered last season.

“Based off of this meet, I think it’s going to be a good season,” Anderson said.

Because this was the first meet of the season, this was the first taste of action for the newest members of the track

teams. One of those members is freshman Ellis Barker.

“The meet was a stepping stone to what we want to accomplish [this season],” said Barker. I need to work on my starts and getting out of the blocks quicker, but I think everything else is okay.”

Barker also said that he needs to prepare better mentally.

“Collegiate track is on a whole different level from high school,” Barker said. “This meet was a huge learning experience for me. The nerves got to me a little bit but I’ll be good for the next meet.”

The men’s and women’s track and field teams will travel back to Morgantown on Jan. 19 to compete in another indoor meet.

Waynesburg scored 8.5 points for football, four points for men’s soccer and five points for men’s cross country.

Women’s volleyball scored two points, women’s soccer scored seven points, eight points went to women’s cross country and 6.5 points were awarded to women’s tennis.

The women tied for fifth place with 23.5 and the men (17.5) set in fourth place after the conclusion of the fall season.

game until the Saints caught fire from beyond the arc. Ross Renken, Cameron Clemons and Eliot Pipes each sunk 3pointers during an 11-2 run that helped the visitors jump out to a 14-4 lead with 12:29 to play in the first half.

Clemons led the scoring charge for Thomas More with 12 points.

Midway through the first half, the Saints built up their biggest lead of the period thanks to a couple of buckets from junior D’Carlo Hayes.

After Hayes nailed a 3pointer to make it 19-8,

the Yellow Jackets began a 17-5 run to end the lowscoring half. Waynesburg held Thomas More without a basket for the final 4:41 and gained a slight, 25-24 advantage at halftime.

“We were defending how we want [to],” said Christner. “We needed to settle down offensively, get to the board, make some shots, and we were able to do that late in the first half and [take the lead] at halftime.”

During the final 4:41 second of the opening half, the Saints went 0-for5 from the field and committed four turnovers. “[Christner] had a really good game plan that forced us to shoot some shots that we usually are not comfortable with

shooting,” said Rogers.

“We had to stop settling for 3-point shots.”

The beginning of the second half was sloppy, as the two sides combined for 10 turnovers in the first 10 minutes.

The Yellow Jackets trailed 30-27 with 16:05 to play when Ellis was subbed back into the game.

The sophomore made an immediate impact, scoring a layup on a fast break to cut the deficit to one and then a 3-pointer following a turnover to give Waynesburg the lead, 32-30.

Ellis ended the game with nine points and a game-high five steals for the Yellow Jackets.

“He’s been great,” said Christner. “He gives us

tremendous energy off the bench. Defensively, he’s a tough Ohio farm kid, so he’s not going to back down from anybody.”

Waynesburg would briefly pull ahead with 8:01 and then again with 5:52 remaining, but after a timeout, the Saints scored 11 straight points to lead 49-40, holding on to the lead until the final buzzer.

“You’ve heard coaches say that there aren’t any moral victories, and there really aren’t,” said Christner. “Our job is to play our very best all the time, and that’s the only thing I challenged them to do today. We got too hurried offensively, tied with five minutes to go, but we’ll learn from it and continue to press on and get better.”

their lead to 29-23 late in the period.

Thomas More’s offense kept coming and built up a ninepoint advantage with 1:31 left in the first half. At that point, Blair connected on a three pointer and a layup in the span of less than a minute to cut the Saints’ lead to four. The visitors added a pair of free throws to make it 37-31 at halftime.

More foul trouble for Waynesburg helped the Saints push their lead back to nine with a layup with 16 minutes left to play.

“We fouled a lot and it was really hard to overcome,” said Blair.

“We’d score then send them to the foul line; it was hard to keep scoring [and cut the deficit] because we couldn’t get stops.”

The Jackets held Thomas More without

a field goal for nearly six minutes, but only got as close as four points away from tying the game.

The Saints ended the cold spell with a 3pointer of their own at the 11:45 mark to push the lead to 50-43.

Waynesburg finally made a run of its own and got to within three points at 52-49.

The run was aided by two Hasek free throws, as well as two free throws from junior Emily Miller and a jumper by senior Jessi Drayer.

Thomas More again had an answer, however. This time, an 8-1 run pushed the lead back to double digits, 60-50. From that point on, the Saints kept the Jackets at bay, as the closest Waynesburg could get to tying the contest was six points.

Even in the losing effort, the Jackets

received contributions from multiple players.

Blair led Waynesburg with 11 points off the bench, while Spencer and Giuliani each tallied 10. Senior forward Paige Pearce pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.

“Basketball is a team game: you can’t win having one star,” said Blair.

Neither team held a significant advantage at the free throw line percentage-wise, but Thomas More had far more attempts.

Waynesburg converted on 58.6 percent of its attempts (17-29), while Thomas More made 61.9 percent of its attempts (26-42).

Waynesburg will try to bounce back when the Jackets return to action on Dec. 8 on the road against PAC opponent Geneva.

Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.

Continued from C1

Women defeated

performed better than I had anticipated. As a whole, we performed very, very well.”

Cobb took care of business on the track as well, managing to place fourth overall in the 200-meter with a time of 24.08 seconds. Fellow teammate Zakk DeCarlo, a freshman, took third place in the competition, edging out Cobb with a time of 23.96 seconds.

As far as the women’s team goes, senior Rhea Huwe broke a school record in 60-meter dash with a time of 8.15 seconds, good enough for third place. Huwe also competed in the 200meter and posted a time of 28.44 seconds, earning sixth place in the event.

In field events, sophomore Breanna Anderson had a team-best long jump of 4.75 meters, which earned fifth place. Anderson also competed in the triple jump, placing fourth

PAC Cup standings From the standpoint of an athletic department, winning the award is an advantage.

“It’s certainly a positive for any school that wins it,” Waynesburg Athletic Director Larry Marshall said.

According to the conference’s website, which has been keeping statistics on the award since 2002, Washington & Jefferson and Westminster both have won the award eight out of the past 10 years.

Both records are a significant accomplishment and reflect how dominant the two schools have been in a variety of sports over the past decade.

“I think a program can use it as a measuring stick to judge progress,” Fox said.

Added Fenstermacher: “It just gives the schools something to hold up to and be proud of, one more aspect to be proud of the effort and success.”

After the fall season

After being out of action for nearly six months, the men’s and women’s track and field teams returned to the track Saturday.

Members of both teams participated in the Mary Pushkin Track Classic indoors in Morgantown, W.Va. Even with a smaller team than usual, head coach Jason Falvo was excited with what he saw.

“I was very pleased with our efforts,” said Falvo. “We performed better than I had anticipated.

As a whole, we performed very, very well.”

With the extended seasons of both cross country teams and the football team, many athletes are still in recovery and did not participate in the meet.

Members of both teams had outstanding performances.

Senior David Cobb won the long jump, and in the process broke the school record with a jump that measured 6.49 meters.

“I was very please with our efforts. We

Halftime lead fades Continued from C1

YELLOW JACKET

Page C4

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Sports

FALL ALL-PAC AWARD WINNERS

First-team •Three-year starter •Led team with 10.5 sacks.

•Also a member of the Yellow Jacket wrestling team

•Preseason All-American •Led Jackets with 69 tackles and two interceptions •Season cut short due to injury

•Anchored line that helped lead offense to PAC best 201.9 rushing yards a game.

•First time honored as AllPAC

Adam Moses Senior, Tight End

•Four-year starter •Second on team with 56 tackles. 4.5 sacks and 6.5 tackles for a loss •Will play in Aztec Bowl

•Preseason All-American •Led team with six touchdown receptions and 38 catches •Three-time All-PAC winner

Megan Fortna Senior, Cross Country

Zack Rogers Senior, Punter

Bertrand Ngampa Junior, Running Back •Led Jackets with 978 rushing yards, which was second best in PAC •Found the end zone eight times this season

•Conference’s best punter •Landed 18 punts inside the 20-yard line •Season long punt of 57 yards

Second-team

•Finished fourth at PAC championships •Placed fourth at Bethany Inivite •Placed 13th out of 394 runners at Gettysburg Invite

Honorable mention Men’s Soccer

•Taylor Bombalski, So., Defense •Susie Godwin, Jr., MF

•Second in the country averaging 30.65 yards on kick returns •Led conference in punt returns, averaging 8.9 yards a return

Matt Krause Senior, Defensive Line

Rob Kingerski Junior, Offensive Line

Women’s Soccer

Christian Jackson Senior, Returner

Bryan Gary Junior, Safety

Brandon Fedorka Junior, Defensive Line

•Cody Lemke, So., Forward

Women’s Cross Country •Megan Ferrick, Fr. •Joy Talbot, So.

Football

Continued from C1 powerful frame to grind out tough yards between the tackles.

Grade: A

Receivers Senior All-American Adam Moses led the unit with 38 receptions and six scores. Moses was most effective in the red zone and had a handful of circus catches.

Fellow senior Christian Jackson gave opposing teams trouble with his speed, but the talented receiver was underutilized at times.

Sophomores Andrew English and Bernie Thompson chipped in with 14 receptions apiece, but for the most part neither made a huge impact in the passing game.

As a whole, the group lacked a big target on the outside that could threaten a defense. At times, this group failed to make a big enough impact, forcing the Jackets to rely heavily on their rushing attack to gain yards and score points.

Grade: B

Offensive line After losing three starters after the 2011 season, Waynesburg revamped its line and didn’t miss a beat.

Freshman Nik Sappie started all season at right tackle and performed admirably in his rookie season.

The rest of the line, made up of juniors Mack Pulkowski and Rob Kingerski and seniors Conor Brinkhoff and Julian Pintola paved the way for the Jackets’ vaunted rushing attack, which averaged 201.9 yards a game.

The group’s pass blocking was just as good, allowing only seven sacks in 248 pass plays.

Grade: A

Defensive line For much of the last decade, the strength of defensive coordinator Scott Venick’s defense has been the defensive line – this season it was again.

Led by a pair of firstteam All-PAC honorees in junior Brandon Fedorka and senior Matt Krause, the defensive line helped hold opposing offenses to just 112.3 rushing yards per game.

In his final season at Waynesburg, Krause produced his best statistics, placing second on the team in total tackles (56) along with adding 6.5 tackles for a loss and 4.5 sacks.

Fedorka, one of the best pass rushers in the PAC, led the defense with 10.5 sacks while forcing two fumbles.

Junior Mike Rittelmann played well against the run, helping to keep running backs from reaching the edge. Sophomores Josh Tolliver (four sacks) and J.T. Thompson (25 tackles) played well in reserve roles.

Grade: A

Linebackers

•Brandon Daughtry, So., Goalkeeper

Football

•Conor Brinkhoff, Sr., Offensive Line •Jordan Helmick, Sr., Linebacker •Alex Henry, Jr., Kicker

Football grades are in

Men’s Soccer

The backers were instrumental in holding opposing teams to 18.1 points per game.

In just his second season, sophomore John Sikora was a force in stopping the run game.

Junior Ronnie Skinner led the linebackers with 53 total tackles while also breaking up five passes.

Senior Jordan Helmick added 48 tackles and 4.5 tackles for a loss.

While this group was strong against the run, it struggled at times in pass coverage, allowing quarterbacks to find receivers open across the middle of the field.

Grade: B

Defensive backs After graduating two starters and losing much of its depth from a season ago, there were questions heading into this year for this group.

For the most part, the secondary played well, except for shoddy performances against Bethany and Geneva.

Leading the way in the secondary was hard-hitting safety and three-time All-PAC honoree Bryan Gary.

Before tearing his ACL against Geneva in week 8, Gary was having himself another fantastic season and was inconsideration for All-America status.

Despite playing only seven full game, Gary still led the team with 69 tackles, two interceptions and 10 passes defended.

Junior Logan McAnany was a sure tackler at the other safety. In his first full season as a starter, the

•Christian Jackson, Sr., Wide Receiver •Logan McAnany, Jr., Safety •Dominic Moore, Sr., Runningback

junior racked up 51 tackles.

At cornerback, senior LaVance Turnage Jr. and junior Marvin Sampson gave up very few deep balls, but at times were suspect to double moves.

This grade could be higher, but as a whole, the unit did not create enough turnovers.

Grade: B

Special teams This season, Shepas made it a point to focus on the kicking game.

After inconsistent kicking for the past couple of seasons, junior Alex Henry stepped in, converting on all of his PAT’s, while nailing three field goals.

Senior Zack Rogers became the best punter in the PAC, landing 18 of his 51 punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.

Both the kick and punt coverage was solid for the most part, but the Jackets did allow two kick return touchdowns; however, neither affected the game’s outcome.

In the return game, Jackson established himself as one of the nation’s best. The senior averaged nearly nine yards per punt return and 30.7 yards a kick return. He also returned a punt for a touchdown against W&J. In addition, the biggest play of the year came from this unit when sophomore Willie Leavell blocked a punt against Thomas More and returned it 30-yards for the game-wining touchdown.

Grade: A

•John Sikora, So., Linebacker •Ronnie Skinner, Jr., Linebacker •LaVance Turnage Jr., Sr., Cornerback

WU faces tough foes Continued from C1 team] beat a lot of guys in the third period, which was good.”

Headlee is still challenging his team to beat opponents that he knows they should beat and he says that a tough schedule so far has helped him judge where his wrestlers can develop further.

One of the wrestlers who excelled at the invitational was junior Sam Lombardo.

Lombardo earned a team-best third place finish while recording two pins in the 157-pound classification. The junior said that his mindset did not change when he squared off with top-seeded Conor Young of Campbellsville, an NAIA school.

“I just try to approach every match the same,” said Lombardo. “You got to go out there and wrestle your match and try to get yourself in the finals.”

Because of his strong showing, Lombardo was honored as the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Wrestler of the Week for the second time this winter.

While he appreciates the award, he continues to focus on his main goals of achieving All-America status and reaching the national tournament.

“He had a great tournament,” said Headlee. “He was right there in every match and he had competed after a loss. That’s the mindset we want to see.”

Cody Catalina finished in sixth place at 184 pounds after falling to West Liberty’s Derrick Williams, whom he has some history with.

After beating Williams as a sophomore, Catalina lost to him last year, but has a chance for retribution come Friday when the Jackets host West Liberty.

At 133 pounds, senior Alex Crown recorded two pins in a fourth place finish. One of those pins came against PAC foe Nick Sutton of Thiel.

149-pounder Luke Lohr placed fourth in his classification. His biggest victory came against 10thranked Andrew Johnson of Heidelberg.

Another fourth place finish went to junior Anthony Bonaventura, who defeated d3wrestle.com top-10 contender Josh Crawford of Olivet 3-2 at 174 pounds.

Junior Cameron Fine came in sixth in the same weight class with two pins on the day.

The Jackets take on Division II opponent West Liberty Friday at the Rudy Marisa Fieldhouse with start time scheduled for 7 p.m.

After finishing in third place at the Ohio Northern Invitational, the Hilltoppers pose another tough test for the Yellow Jackets.

“We know it’s going to be tough,” said Headlee.

“We believe all our guys are going to battle, but we’re going to have to win those one or two point matches and get them down.”

Thursday, December 6, 2012

‘Pure creation’

Music program hosts free concert; gives tubas chance to shine

Student art featured in free exhibit

By Nick Farrell Assistant Sports Editor

By Alex Hinton Assignments and Op/Ed Editor Students’ best artwork is now on display in the Benedum Fine Arts Gallery. The Fall Semester Student Art Exhibition has been on display since Nov. 26 and will continue through this Friday, Dec. 7. Admission is free, and the exhibition is open to the public. Gallery hours are from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

The Student Art Exhibition showcases student work produced in art courses throughout this semester. Pieces created by all majors are a part of the show.

The exhibit brings to light a variety of mediums including stoneware clay, acrylic, lino print, pencil, metal, India ink, pastel and more. Waynesburg University art faculty members have chosen the pieces to display in the exhibit.

Laura Shawver, sophomore art major and psychology minor has two pieces in the art exhibition including a colorful portrait on black paper titled "Portrait" and a drawing of a morning glory flower titled "Morning Glory."

“The portrait was done of a model in class, and I wanted to express the color of her clothes and personality,” Shawver said.

A flower in her home garden was the inspiration for her other work. “The morning glory was done at my home in my garden when I saw a morning glory lit up by the morning sunshine,” Shawver said. “I really liked the way the sun came

The holiday season is fast approaching, and only finals week separates Waynesburg students from Christmas break.

For some students, it may be hard to get into the holiday spirit while enduring the stress of finals.

The Music Program at Waynesburg University has a solution for this issue: TubaChristmas, a free concert that shares Christmas carols with the audience through the use of the largest brass wind instrument.

“You get to hear tubas

Photo by Allyson Wernert

Emily Dubberke admires the artwork on display at the Student Art Exhibition. The gallery opened last week and will continue through this Friday. through the petals.”

Shawver created these drawings for an advanced drawing class, which is taught by David Lesako.

“I love the class. It is the highlight in my day because I love to draw and create.”

Shawver used pastel chalk to create the colorful portrait and graphite pencil with white conte' crayon to create the morning glory, she said.

“I enjoy the fact of pure creation, of capturing a moment in time and of expressing what I see and feel on paper.”

Hannah Dunbar, junior art major and communication minor, also has two of her best works on display in the exhibition,

including a figure drawing of Jenna Schmiedel and a print of a koi fish.

“For the print, I wanted to try to do something with the texture of the water,” Dunbar said.

“Because the prints can only have two values, shading becomes difficult, so I wanted to find another way to make it interesting.”

Dunbar created these pieces in her advanced drawing and printmaking classes, both taught by Lesako.

“I really love the advanced drawing class. I feel that my skills have really improved and I look forward to going to that class every day,” Dunbar said. “I really like the fact

that we have had the opportunity to use live models. The models, Denise and Jenna, have become like part of our class. My only complaint about the class is that I wish it was longer; sometimes you can become so focused on what you're doing that you lose track of the time.”

Dunbar enjoys the one of a kind works that the students have created.

“I love seeing the different and unique styles that everyone has. Even when drawing the same figure, no two pieces will look exactly the same,” she said. “I really enjoy that through art you can see how everyone a different take on the same thing.”

play Christmas carols,” said Jim DePriest, the main coordinator of TubaChristmas at Waynesburg. “Tubas never get to play the melody, but here we get to shine.”

Waynesburg music students and faculty and guests from the community will make up his years TubaChristmas ensemble.

Like DePriest, who will play in his 18th TubaChristmas, some musicians have made playing in this concert holiday tradition because it is such a unique experience for tuba players.

“It is always a joy to See TUBA on D2

Alumni reunite at Dave and Busters, share unique stories

By Molly Winters Staff Writer As the end of the semester approaches, many Waynesburg students are preparing for college graduation.

Although the excitement of college is ending for some, it doesn’t mean that they can’t stay engaged in Waynesburg alumni events.

Rachel Saeler graduated from Waynesburg University in May 2012 and attended her first recent graduate event in November.

Recent alumni attended an event at Dave and Busters Arcade in Pitts-

burgh. Sixty-six people attended.

“You know how during college you just wish you could have all the fun of college and friends without all the homework, studying, and classes,” said Saeler.

“Well, after college attending alumni events is just like that.”

All of the events help offer ways for alumni to stay connected to Waynesburg, said alumni relations representative, Vikki Beppler.

Along with staying linked with Waynesburg University, recent graduSee ALUMNI on D2

WU’s Line returns, awards first annual Malenke Award

By Abigail Lutcher Staff Writer Students showcased their comic talents during the campus production of WU’s line on Nov. 28.

WU’s Line is similar to ABC’s successful reality game show “Who’s Line is it Anyway”, and is hosted by the Fine Arts Department. The department recruits a host and casts a group of students who will act out words or scenes that the host assigns them.

The event usually takes place three times throughout the semester; this semester, WU’s Line happened once due to an all-new cast that

needed to ready itself for anything the audience or the host threw at them.

The extra prep time also gave the cast a better chance to build a team and create the best show possible, said Director of the Theatre Program Edward Powers.

“Overall, the show went very well. We had approximately 150 in the audience,” said Powers. “The show didn’t seem to drag, and the audience was very responsive. There were a few ‘games’ that were not as good, but for the most part I was very pleased.”

Although Powers was very content with the

outcome of the event, he didn’t have much say in how things went.

Powers acted as an advisor for the event, overseeing the work of the two student directors, Tabitha Newman and Briana Hovak.

“I did a lot of research. I was a part of WU’s Line for the past two years, but this year was different. I reevaluated what we did in the past and looked for ways to make it better,” said Newman.

“I also did a lot of delegating. I’m graduating this semester, so I helped train the next director, and I split up the roles of director and technician/PR. We

worked on new ways to advertise by making a Facebook page and a Twitter account for WU’s Line.”

Newman said that there may have been some extra help and preparation beforehand.

Newman and Hovak gave the cast and other students the opportunity to practice improving.

“We started out the semester with a little ‘Improv 101’ course,” Hovak said. “There were about fifteen students other than myself, and we met twice a week to learn games and basic techniques. There was a lot of talent there to choose from, but we had to choose those that

showed the most immediate potential.”

This year the cast included host Kimberly Peters, and actors Dawson Laab, Adam Tapparo, SiReno Mattie, Emily-Ann Stephens and Michael Sickels.

The cast had to act out scenes and play games such as “Sit, Stand or Lean,” and “Out of the Hat,” where audience members got to submit topics or phrases that the actors had to act out.

Hovak said that, while the improv scenes and the games were fun to watch, it is the cast that makes WU’s Line a success. “Kim Peters, our host, was really

funny,” said Hovak.

“Adam Tapparo and Dawson Laabs work well as a team and they’re both funny guys separately, too.”

The event ended with the presentation of The Malenke Award to the cast member who was voted the funniest that night. This year, the first Malenke Award was given to freshman Dawson Laab.

“It feels awesome to be the first to receive the award this school year, on top of being a lowly freshman,” Laab said.

For updates on WU’s Line, follow the group on twitter @WUsLine and like its official Facebook page.

YELLOW JACKET

Page D2

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Arts & Life

Songwriter Jeff LeBlanc ‘wins over affection’ of students

By Olivia Latimer

He has had a few of his songs used in MTV shows such as Teen Mom and The Real World.

LeBlanc also has participated in multiple showcases where he was given the opportunities to play at many different colleges and other venues.

LeBlanc has toured with and opened for sev-

eral bands including the Goo Goo Dolls, Matt Nathanson, David Archuleta and Third Eye Blind.

LeBlanc will open for the band Lifehouse next week and is currently working on his third album which is tentatively set to be released next spring or early summer.

Tuba recital returns

thing different since it’s been a mild winter,” said DePriest.

In the case of inclement weather, the GPAC will once again host the concert. The date and time will not change.

TubaChristmas is not a tradition that originated in Waynesburg; rather, it is an event that takes place at venues around the world.

According to its website, the first TubaChristmas concert was held on Dec. 22, 1974 in New York City’s Rockefeller Plaza as a tribute to the late musician William J. Bell.

Since then, the tradition of TubaChristmas has expanded drastically.

Performances are now held in 48 states as well as Canada, Costa Rica and Switzerland.

DePriest noted that Waynesburg’s concert is much smaller than the ones he played in Nashville - he has played alongside as many as 200 other tuba players during a TubaChristmas concert – but he believes it becomes more popular each year.

DePriest mentioned that the majority of the ensemble is comprised of Waynesburg music students and nearly 20 adults, including faculty members and residents of Waynesburg, who played in last winter’s show.

“Every year that I’ve done TubaChristmas here at the university, the group has gotten bigger,” said Howarth.

He enjoys playing with the seasoned veterans at TubaChristmas.

In addition to this growing cast of players,

six students from Waynesburg Central High School are scheduled to play this year.

“It’s a lot of fun to meet members from the local community and elsewhere because they have great insight about the instrument,” said Howarth.

“I always find myself learning something new every time.”

“It’s always nice to attract local kids and bring them here to see the campus again,” said DePriest.

Both DePriest and Howarth hope that Waynesburg students will take advantage of this free concert as a study break before finals week begins.

“This year, I’m expecting a large group to play and a large audience to watch,” said Howarth.

events are a great way to stay connected to the university, said Howarth.

Howarth finds this opportunity to allow recent graduates to meet and get to know other people in their field that have graduated years before or years after them.

Beppler, who organized the Dave and Busters event said the Office of Institutional Advancement has received positive feedback from alumni who attended the event.

“Many of them

enjoyed the simple opportunity to have dinner and catch up with each other,” said Beppler.

The Dave and Busters event was the first event specifically geared toward recent grads.

“We have a lot planned for 2013 and beyond that is based off

of the positive feedback we’ve received from those in attendance at the Dave and Buster’s event,” said Beppler.

Waynesburg graduates who will be leaving in December can stay in touch with their alma mater through these various events.

Staff Writer On Tuesday, Dec. 4, the Student Activities board held another coffeehouse event for students.

The coffeehouse ran from at 8 - 9 p.m.

The event was held in the Beehive.

As usual, Waynesburg Press provided assorted refreshments free of charge including coffee, hot chocolate and cookies.

Free mugs were also given out to the first one hundred students. The featured artist of the night was singer/songwriter Jeff LeBlanc.

This was Jeff LeBlanc’s second time performing at Waynesburg. According to LeBlanc, it is a very nice place to play and he loves the town.

“A town with two McDonalds and a Sheetzbeautiful town,” said Leblanc. Throughout the night, LeBlanc conversed and interacted with the

Photo by Kelly Witas

Singer/songwriter Jeff LeBlanc returned to the university on Tuesday as a part of the coffeehouse series. LeBlanc played a combination of originals and covers. audience, making his love for Sheets very apparent.

LeBlanc is originally from New York, and has been performing since he graduated college a few years ago.

Currently LeBlanc has two albums out and one in the works. All of LeBlanc’s music is available on iTunes.

‘Raw and real’: New talk show to discuss Christian life

By Chelsea Dicks Editorial Assistant “The Journey; A Different Way of Life,” which is scheduled to air next semester, is the brainchild of junior electronic media major Brooke Larson. “[“The Journey”] is a Christian talk show,” said Larson.

“It is centered on how we, as Christians, live differently in this world while walking in our everyday life.”

“The Journey” will have the same vibe as shows such as “The View,” but with a more Christian-oriented focus.

The show will welcome a variety of guests, ranging from university students to professors.

The panel will discuss current issues within Christian life such as: healthy living, implementing your faith in the field, Godly relationships, the power of prayer, worry and anxiety, faith and belief, forgiveness, fear, sin and temptation, desire and passions of the heart, the future and more.

Students can expect some hard and popular questions to be discussed on “The Journey.”

“It is going to be raw, and real and hard stuff,” said Larson.

Larson wants her guests to base everything they say on what the Bible tells them, and what they have learned from God throughout their lives.

Although Larson promises a hard-hitting show, the experience on “The Journey” should

be fun and full of laughs, she said.

As a Christian student within the Department of Communication at Waynesburg University, Larson feels that it her duty to use the tools given to her to have an effect on people’s lives.

“Last semester, God was really tugging at my heart to start something in the communication department that would show who He is and His love for His people,” said Larson.

“I know He is calling me to speak truth into people’s lives and challenge them to walk in their faith and live differently than the world as his followers.”

Larson’s dream is that the show will change people’s lives.

She wants “The Journey” to become a place of safety for students who are looking for answers and honest and open discussions about individual faith.

“My dream is that [“The Journey”] would show that we as people are not perfect and we mess up, but with Him we can overcome anything,” said Larson.

Larson is hoping to make her dream a reality.

She is looking for university students who have technological skills, are good with cameras, have directing skills or others who simply have an interest in co-hosting the talk show.

Anyone interested in becoming a part of “The Journey” is encouraged to contact Larson at lar4664@student.waynesburg.edu.

the crowd that led into a song that came from the experience.

Among all of this, he also demonstrated his ‘techno magic’ by showing the audience all of the fun tricks he is able to do with his song recorder.

Students were all too eager to listen to anything Jeff said.

“I really enjoyed his humor while he played with his recorder,” Said Kaitlyn Wood, a freshman Public Relations major.

LeBlanc really enjoyed the atmosphere of playing for a smaller audience after having experienced such large crowds.

“I still play a lot of small places. I feel like it brings me back to where I started, and really makes me work harder,” said LeBlanc.

“I love the atmosphere where many people are just hanging out or doing homework because then I get to try and win over their affection- it’s like a first date.”

After having so many performances in his career, Jeff finds it hard to pick one as his most memorable or favorite.

“Opening for people that I listen to and that other people listen to is always really cool,” said LeBlanc. “It’s another good experience, but I couldn’t name just one.”

During the event, LeBlanc played a total of ten different songs.

His set list was a combination of his own originals as well as a few covers.

In between songs, LeBlanc interacted with the audience. Students seemed to really enjoy and appreciate Jeff’s witty interaction and jokes just as much as his music.

“I found him attractive when he walked in the room, but ten times more attractive when he opened his mouth to sing,” said Madison Perretta, a freshman Criminal Justice major.

LeBlanc told a story to

Continued from D1 have the audience come and sing the carols [as we] play,” said Blair Howarth, who will play in his third TubaChristmas this Friday.

This will be the fifth year that Waynesburg University will host TubaChristmas, and DePriest wants this year’s rendition to work differently than the previous four.

To change things up, the concert will begin at 7 p.m. on Friday in Johnson Commons, the Goodwin Performing Arts Center has housed the previous four TubaChristmas concerts.

“We want to do some-

Alumni share stories Continued from D1 ates also have the opportunity to stay involved with their fellow graduates.

“I love seeing where life has taken everyone post-college,” said Saeler.

“Everyone has such unique and awesome stories.”

Current students at Waynesburg are currently creating their unique stories.

Blair Howarth, senior dual major in Secondary Social Studies Education and Political Science with a minor in Music, is doing just that.

Howarth is involved in the new organization the Future Alumni Society.

“I believe that it [FAS] can really evolve into something that can be very helpful to the students of this University,” said Howarth.

Attending alumni

YELLOW JACKET

Thursday, December 6 2012

Page D3

Arts & Life

The Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Across 1 Pennsylvania city of about 100,000 5 Fabled blue ox 9 Tribe also called the Wyandot 14 TV warrior princess 15 LAX postings 16 Prefix with meter 17 Señoritaʼs love 18 Modernists, for short 19 News anchor Connie 20 Motor Cityʼs state 22 Striped zoo creatures 23 Man, in Milan 24 Chili spice 26 Star footballer 28 Emergency levee component 32 Scottish hillside 33 To the point 35 Where Mandela was pres.

36 Tonsillitis-treating MD 37 Londonʼs province 39 Medit. land 40 “Cʼest la __” 41 iPod button 42 Down Under greeting 43 Insistent words of affirmation 45 Deal with a bare spot, perhaps 48 Selfless sort 50 French cathedral

city 51 Job listing of a sort 54 A cut above, with “to” 58 Two-time loser to Ike 59 Caesarʼs 107 60 K thru 12 61 Glowing signs 62 Letters on a phone button 63 Scads 64 With 66-Across, one of five found in this puzzle 65 Caesarʼs being 66 See 64-Across

Down 1 Midterm, e.g.

2 Do followers,

scalewise 3 Protects from disease 4 Batting helmet opening 5 Orono, Maine, is a suburb of it 6 Surveyor ʼs measure 7 Bucking horse 8 Start of summer?

9 Access illegally, as computer files 10 “__ me, you villain!”

11 Agree to another tour 12 Former Atlanta arena 13 Christmas quaffs 21 Holy terror 22 Gulf State resi-

dent 25 Loan shark 26 Immortal PGA nickname 27 Thick 29 Control freak in a white dress 30 Syrian leader 31 “CSI: NY” actor Sinise 32 Bunch of beauties

34 Andalusian article 37 Rose-colored glasses wearer 38 Wet behind the ears 42 “Who are you kidding?!”

44 Tropical lizard 46 Ewing Oil, e.g.

47 Notice 49 Sends regrets,

perhaps 51 Pealed 52 River of central Germany 53 Gin flavoring 55 Direction reversals, in slang 56 “Yeah, what the heck!”

57 Communion, for one 59 Miler Sebastian-

Last Issueʼs Answers:

Crossword by MCT Campus

YELLOW JACKET

Page D4

Thursday, December 6, 2012

The Back Page

on a A brief histor historyy of a holiday past-time

I

t was December 1882 and Edward Johnson, an inventor and vice president of the Edison Electric Company, was looking for a waay to spruce up his Christmas tree.

So he threaded custom-made red, white and blue lights onto a wire, adorned his tree with the decoration and displayed the light bulb-studded tree in his window.

Passerby gaawked at the twinkly lights. e tive Christmas tree.

The Detroit Post and Tribune ran a feature story about Johnson’s fes And soon, high society began trading in traditional Christmas candles for General Electric’s white Christmas tree lights.

C

hristmas tre symbol: t e lights became a he wealth s iest mem tatus society o b utfitted t trees in c heir Chr ers of olo istmas illuminat red light bulbs an ed storef d busine ron i of lights, dows wit sses and the g t win h str eneral pu decoratiio blic eyed ands ns with a th mixture Though C of envy a e h r i s t nd awe. mas spar natio i nwiide, kled in c i t i w t ie i a s s n ’ tu Cle l veland strung th ntil President Gro e v tree with ele i li White House Ch er ristmas ght bulbs Christma ctric in 1895 t s lights b hat ecame a traditiion natio recogniz i n a l holiday ed by the masses.

p in opped u for r c s l a t ht ren mand liday lig ost, and the de nies like o h r o f ments York P compa ower dvertise s like the New s encouraged y to l ne ompan s light C a d y m d magazi t a s i e r h any sol ic ver C p E f m o n o a s c d C i stran Amer ready electr nd The American Eve 03, and other a c i r t c l E le The in 19 Genera s light prices. ht sets g i l s a m a liday st aple ho ghts Christm re-wired Chri suit. t s a o t d d in y li tp the firs s soon followe ht has evolve te with holida in g e i a i l r ld compan the Christmas n homes deco ght sets are so rs, as li colo Today, early 80 millio Christm me in various hers n o N i l . l i n traditio imated 150 m tmas lights co d on again; ot mas st n is est ar. Chr k on and off a ls. Some Chri e and an y y r e a ev blin caro Americ d sizes; some ristmas . h C e t i n r s a shapes he beat of favo ristmas scene h t C o t d elove dance strate b u l l i s t h lig

A

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any families look forward to a drive through the neighborhood each December, when they admire their neighbors’ Christmas decorations.

For others, a trip to local Christmas light shows is a faavorite holiday tradition.

Pittsburgh’s annual Light Up Night, sponsored by Duquesne Light, is held in late November. Light Up Night goers spend the evening sipping coff ffeee and hot chocolate as they watch ice sculptors create masterpieces, enjoy live music performances, relax during sleigh rides and ice skate around the PPG Christmas tree, which is lit at 9 p.m.

Oglebay Park also off ffeers a light spectacle. Located 40 minutes south of Waynesburg, Oglebayy’’s Winter Festival of Lights displays y nearly 80 unique scenes—Charlie Brown kicking a football; an ice-skater pirouetting on a lake—that are admired from the warmth of one’s own car.

Christmas lights are a twinkly tradition that are displayed and admired in a variety of waays y by celebrators worldwide.

And we have Father Christmas Lights Edward Johnson to thank for those bright, holiday lights.

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