Cheers & Jeers
Courtesy of California Area School District
Farm grant 1
Courtesy of California Area School District
California Area School District implemented a bee program with a Farm to School Grant from the state Department of Agriculture.
Maker space 1
Karen Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Tuesday for Washington City Mission’s new Scott and Diane Heeter Family Childcare Center, located at Sally’s Sanctuary, a new 50-bed shelter for homeless women that will open in October. Matt’s Maker Space provides a place for children to explore STEAM activities.
Budget
Courtesy of Pennsylvania Coalition to Advance Respect
The Pennsylvania Capitol building illuminated in teal for Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
Cheers & Jeers
Cheers: Kudos to Laurel Highlands senior Isabella Baker for breaking her personal record while finishing fourth in the Class 2A girls division of the 23rd Annual Red, White & Blue Classic on Saturday at White Oak Park, in McKeesport. Baker completed the 5K course in 19:33.7, which bested her time of 20:02.60 that she ran in the WPIAL championship meet last season at White Oak Park. Baker earned a victory in a Division I, Section 2, meet on Tuesday at Round Hill Park in Elizabeth. She completed the course in 20:56 against Elizabeth Forward, Thomas Jefferson and Ringgold.
Cheers: Thanks to some state dollars and a little ingenuity, students in several area school districts are getting some valuable hands-on learning. Fort Cherry, Washington and California school districts, along with California Academy of Learning, were among 45 schools across 26 counties to receive money from the 2024 round of funding from Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s Farm to School Grant Program. The intent of the program is to improve access to healthy foods while increasing agriculture education. The schools have launched a variety of programs, ranging from growing produce to cultivating a honeybee partnership. Washington School District used its $3,200 for the Prexie Farm Friends Project, which included a field trip to The Springhouse for first-graders, where students learned about farm work, animals, farming lifestyle and products. The project also includes purchasing local produce to serve in the cafeteria. “The children were just so excited to be on a farm and learn how things work, and it was exciting to see them in a different environment and learn about farms,” said Washington’s Kim Smith, supervisor of accounting and transportation, who helped secure the grant with cafeteria secretary Karen Tarentino.
Cheers: In advance of next month’s opening of Sally’s Sanctuary, the Washington City Mission’s shelter for homeless women, a ribbon-cutting event was held to dedicate the facility’s Scott and Diane Heeter Family Childcare Center. Located on the first floor of the $8.4 million Sally’s Sanctuary, the center will provide full-time child care to help mothers focus on seeking jobs, attending classes or counseling, recovery, or finding housing. The new child care center includes the Mary Johns Guthrie Infant and Toddler Room and a Matt’s Maker Space, a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) space that promotes hands-on learning. “We wanted to make sure we made a shelter space that was safe and bright and warm, and that it was flexible for all children, from newborns to children coming in after school,” Leah Dietrich, City Mission’s Director of Residential Programs, said at Wednesday’s ceremony. “In being able to create a space like this, we are tremendously blessed with the opportunity to invite children who may come from situations of abuse or sadness or homelessness to be able to come here and forget all of that, and to just create and to grow together.” Noelle Conover, co-founder of Matt’s Maker Space, who started the nonprofit after her son, Matt, died from non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 2002, has long supported the mission’s goals and was excited to open a space there. The opening of Matt’s Maker Space at the center, which was sponsored by EQT, marks its 58th location.
Jeers: As the budget impasse drags on, more and more state-funded programs are feeling the financial pinch, forcing some small nonprofits to lay off employees and reduce services. The budget was due June 30, but lawmakers remain deadlocked on funding transit and overall spending levels, and lack a consensus on new revenue sources, Spotlight PA reported earlier this week. Affected programs fall into two main categories: schools and other education initiatives, including libraries; and health and human services, encompassing everything from emergency medical services to substance use to foster care. According to the report, the state Department of Education did not release $1.4 billion in basic education funding to K-12 schools in July and August, along with $255 million in special education funding and around $99 million in “federal subgrant payments.” County child welfare programs missed $390 million in payments. “We urge you to contact your state representatives to let them know how important these programs are,” the Community Action Partnership of Cambria County posted on Facebook last month, announcing it would indefinitely halt rental and utility assistance programs and a day care. Lawmakers need to come together to resolve what is quickly becoming a crisis.