The Titusville Herald from Titusville, Pennsylvania • Page 1

See Page 16 HIRALDi Sam Gordon, Venango County correspondent TOusfotlle Birthplace of the ot! Industry www.titusvilteherald.com Drain Veil TITUSVILLE, PA Established June 14,1865, First Daily Newspaper in the Pennsylvania Oil Region. 50 CENTS Tuesday October 30, 2007 WEATHER MORNING, NOON ANIGHT For complete weather forecast, see Page 2 In the news Correspondent News of Pleasantville Page 3 Immunity Blackwater bodyguards were granted immunity in Baghdad shootings Page 13 Deaths Kathryn Hopwood, 74, Titusville Joseph Obrok, 90, Julius Russell, 88, Cambridge Springs For details, see Page 2 Stocks Market watch October 29, 2007 Dow Jones Industrials 13,870.26 Nasdaq composite Standard Poor's 500 2,817.44 1,540.98 Russell 2000 fO.33 821.72 NYSE diary Advanced; 1,891 Declined; 1,347 Unchanged: 117 Volume: 1,222,387,540 Nasdaq diary Advanced: 1,298 Declined: 1,237 Unchanged: 93 Volume: 2,032,387,063 SOURCE: SunQand AP Lottery Pennsylvania Lottery Daily Number 6-1-6 (M) 5-9-8 (N) Big 4 g.9-2-1 (M) 2-9-3-7 (N) CashS Mix Match 5.13-849.7 Treasure Hunt Index Classifieds 14 Comics 10 Community 5 3 Financial 6 Help 7 Legal ads 14 MinLPage 11 Nation, 13 Opinion 4 Sports. 8 Vital Statistics 2 Thank you, veterans Fifth-graders spend time with veterans at appreciation luncheon Herald photos by Kristie Bowles William Mcluer, a U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War, reads a card given to him by Eric Brun which thanked him, and all veterans, for keeping the citizens of the country safe. By Stella Ruggiero Hydetown Elementary School fifth- graders spent Monday afternoon entertaining and visiting area veterans as a part of the Veterans Appreciation Luncheon at Titusville's VFW Post 5958.

Afthftugk is the fifth year the appreciation lunch for veterans, this was the first time elementary students participated. Approximately 90 veterans attended the event from the Pennsylvania Soldiers and Sailors Home and Veterans Affairs, both of Erie, and assisted living centers in Titusville. Present were men and women who served in World War, II, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, Iraq and Afghanistan. Each veteran was presented with a certificate of appreciation on behalf of the VFW. For the last few weeks, the fifth- grade classes of Richard Orner and Beth Butryn have been rehearsing songs and making cards for the veterans with the help of music teacher Vicky May and Principal Terry Funk.

During the program, the children performed patriotic tunes, including "The Star-Spangled Banner" and "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again." The children also recognized veterans of the Army, Air Force, Marines and Navy with a few lines from each branch's official song. Weldon Nelson, a World War II veteran who just celebrated his 91st birthday on Friday, said the certificates and cards were pleasant surprises, Nelson, who lives at Southwoods Assisted Living Community, served with the Air Force stateside. Before presenting their handmade cards to the veterans, a few of the children read their messages aloud. Roy Wright, 11, wrote his message as a prayer. "God, thank you for being with these men and helping them live Homer Howe, who served in the U.

S. Navy during World War II, reads a certificate of appreciation presented to him by the Bruce Shorts Post VFW during the luncheon. through the war and come home safe. And don't forget the ones who didn't." Wright said he wants to join the military after graduating from high school. He said he was inspired to write his message as a prayer because he helps out with Free Methodist Church in Centerville.

Several students had relatives present, such as Nicole Henderson, whose grandfather, Ray Henderson, is a resident at Golden Livingcenter of Titusville. Butryn said the VFW puts on several programs a year for the elementary students and the kids were eager to do something for the veterans. She said she told the students to "speak from the heart" in their messages to the veterans. Walter Ulmer, 61, who served in Vietnam from 1966 to 1967, said he enjoyed the time to socialize. "It's good to see other veterans who had the same experiences." Ulmer, who lives in Erie, was a gunner with the Army in the MeKong Delta the Saigon area.

Pizza for the event was donated by Little Caesars and beverages were donated by McDonald's. Council hears Public Works budget requests By Stella Ruggiero The Public Works director presented his department's budget request for the upcoming fiscal year during Monday evening's Titusville City Council budget session. Included in this year's request are funds for the purchase of several new major pieces of machinery including a backhoe for the water department. The capital fund request for the Public Works Department was $142,250, said Randy Nebel, department director. The fund request for the water department was $107,000, with $37,000 earmarked for a capital reserve fund, For the sewer department, the capital fund request was $67,750, with $25,000 for the reserve fund.

"Throughout the budget there are a number of items that can be eliminated depending on overall budget decisions." As an example, Nebel requested $70,000 for a new backhoe, which would be financed using a five-year loan, for the water department. If this request was cut from the budget, about has been factored into the request for maintenance of the current backhoe, which was purchased in 1990. "It's going to take some work to bring it back up to operating condition." "If you decide to fulfill the backhoe request, we could virtually eliminate the line item for backhoe maintenance." Nebel said a portion of the maintenance request would still be needed to make repairs to the old machinery until the new one arrived. The department has two backhoes one for the water department and one for general use, which is still in good condition, he said. Public Works has also projected the department will need $12,000 for repairing the city's street sweeper, which has functioned at about half capacity since about 2005, Nebel said.

Nebel also proposed the idea of contracting out street sweeping. He projected that contracting Reitz Contracting Service Incorporated, from just outside of Clarion, for 26 weeks for the job would cost between $43,000 and $50,000. Currently, the city's sweeper, which is 13 years old, runs downtown Monday through Friday, RCS Incorporated would use two sweepers once a week. City Manager Mary Ann Nau said that See COUNCIL, Page 2 Genesis Family Center kicks off fight against drugs The Genesis Family Center in partnership with the Crawford Heritage Foundation utilized this year's Red Ribbon Week to kick off the Genesis Fight Against Drugs Campaign by sponsoring a pumpkin carving workshop this past Saturday. More than 50 children and 24 adults attended the free event.

Gifts and prizes, with a drug-free theme, were provided for everyone who attended. "I realized what an asset these types of community functions serve in making the anti-drug message more meaningful," Mark Conrad, Genesis Board of Directors president and chairman, explained about the event. "I am very proud of this Red Ribbon week activity," Conrad continued, "I believe if more time were spent in family-oriented projects the danger of drug use would be in a steady decline. Thus, Saturday's special event is a great start in curbing drug use among our youth. I believe the distribution of anti-drug items to the participants will at the very least be the start of a good message that needs emphasized on a continued basis." "Red Ribbon Week is the oldest and leading drug prevention campaign in the country," stated Gary Warner, executive director and CEO of the Genesis Project Inc.

"We are very fortune to be able to team with the Crawford Heritage Foundation to make this event possible. Moreover, Genesis will continue to team with community partners in taking a stand for the hopes and dreams of our children through a commitment to drug prevention and education and a personal commitment to live drug free lives with the ultimate goal being the creation of drug free Titusville." Rid Ribbon Week generally takes place the last full week in October, with the weekends before and following the last full week included as appropriate celebration dates. This year Red Ribbon Week was celebrated Oct. 2.0-28. i Warner, 3, and her mother, Theresa Warner participated in tne Genesis Fight Against Prugs Campaign's pumpkin carving workshiop on Saturday.

Over 50 children and 34 adults attended the event.