Indiana Gazette from Indiana, Pennsylvania • 4

4 Saturday, January 20, 2007 REGION The Indiana Gazette OBITUARIES LATE DEATH DAYHOFF, Wayne Lee, 49, Indiana, Robinson-Lytle (724) 349- 9700 Betty Messner Betty Jane Messner, 82, of Indiana, died Friday, Jan. 19, 2007, at Indiana Regional Medical Center where she was a patient. She was born Nov. 9, 1924, in Wheeling, W.Va., the daughter of Melvin B. and Mary Herndon Brigge.

Mrs. Messner was an Indiana resident since 1968. She attended the Cleveland Institute of Art and was a member of the Indiana Art Association. She was employed as an artist for Direct Mailing Agency. She is survived by two daughters, Sheryl Ptak and husband Kim, Fountain Hills, Robin Spicher and husband David, Grand Haven, a brother, William H.

Brigge and wife Katherine, Suffolk, three grandchildren: Bradley J. Spicher, Jessica Spicher and Samantha Shulman, and numerous nieces and nephews. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband Robert. Funeral arrangements willl be private and are being handled by the John A. Lefdahl Funeral Home in Indiana.

www.johnalefdahl.com Alma Stipcak Alma Virginia (Stiffey) Stipcak, 79, of Black Lick, passed away Thursday, Jan. 18, 2007, at Scenery Hill Manor in Indiana. She was born Sept. 1, 1927, in Fairfield Township, Westmoreland County, the daughter of Wesley and Lena Muir Stiffey. Mrs.

Stipcak lived most of her life in the Black Lick area. She was a 1947 Bolivar High School graduate and worked as a seamstress for Fours Company, Blairsville and Campus Sportswear in Indiana. She is survived by a son, David Stipcak and wife Bonnie, Blairsville; a daughter, Linda Mitchell and husband Don, Sally Lou (Hill) Zias, 71, of Blairsville, formerly of Tearing Run, died Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2007, at Latrobe Hospital. Born May 11, 1935, in Latrobe, she was the daughter of Joseph Albert and Romaine (White) Hill.

She was a member of SS. Peter and Paul Orthodox Church, Homer City. She is survived by her husband, Harry Zias; a son, The Rev. Father Jeff L. Zias and wife Natalie, of St.

Clair; the following grandchildren: Gabriella, Jonah, Natasha and Ileana; a son, Gregory S. Zias and wife Audrey, of Blairsville; two grandchildren, Sydney and Jakub; and two nieces, Stacy (Scribe) Fess, of Blairsville, and Tiffany Scribe, of Florida. She was preceded in death by four brothers, Charles Hill, Black Lick; five grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren and six siblings. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Joseph M. Stipcak on Jan.

25, 2005, and nine siblings. Friends will be received from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday at the Shoemaker Funeral Home in Blairsville where a funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday with the Rev. Fred Craig officiating.

Interment be in Blairsville Cemetery. To view the online obituary, sign the guest registry or send condolences, please visit www. George Hill, Donald Hill and Kenneth Hill; five sisters, Ruth Friedline, Sarah Hill, Lydia Giacobbi, Helen Hill and Betty Gardner; and a daughter, Donna Scribe. She was the last of her immediate family. Friends will be received from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m.

Sunday at the C. Frederick Bowser Funeral Home, Homer City, where a funeral service will be held at 8 p.m. Sunday. A panachida will be offered at 9:30 a.m. Monday at the funeral home followed by a divine liturgy at 10 a.m.

at SS. Peter and Paul Orthodox Church, Homer City, with the Rev. Father Matthew W. Conjelko as celebrant. Interment will be in St.

Bernard Cemetery. TOMORROW'S FUNERAL Sally Zias STIPCAK, Alma Virginia (Stiffey), 2 p.m., Shoemaker Funeral Home, Blairsville Mamas and Papas singer dead at 66 MISSISSAUGA, Ont. (AP) Denny Doherty, one-quarter of the 1960s folk-rock group the Mamas and the Papas, known for their soaring harmony on hits like "California and "Monday, Monday," died Friday at 66. His sister Frances Arnold said the singer-songwriter died at his home in Mississauga, a city just west of Toronto, after a short illness. He had suffered kidney problems following surgery last month and had been put on dialysis, Arnold said.

The group burst on the national scene in 1966 with the top 10 smash "California Dreamin'." The Mamas and the Papas broke new ground by having women and men in one group at a time when most singing groups were unisex. John Phillips, the group's chief songwriter; his wife, Michelle; and another female vocalist, Cass Elliot, teamed with Doherty. "Monday, Monday" hit No. 1 on the charts and won the band a Grammy for best contemporary group performance. Among the group's other songs were "I Saw Her Again Last Night," "Go Where You Wanna Go," "Dancing Bear," and versions of "I Call Your Name" and "Dedicated to the One I Love." "What made the group special was their haunting and sumptuous harmony singing," according to "The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock Roll." "Everybody used to think that John Phillips, who wrote the songs, was also the main voice of the group, but it wasn't it was the angelic voice of Denny Doherty," said Larry Leblanc, Canadian editor of Billboard Magazine.

"He was often overlooked but it was really his voice that carried the In 1998, the Mamas and the Papas were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The group's catchy sound was a blend of '60s upbeat pop and the THOSE OLD PHOTOS A Submitted photo THIS PHOTO of the 1942 Indiana High School wrestling team was submitted to the Gazette by Earl Lieb, of Penn Run. Pictured, front row, from left, are Howard Peterson, Robert Starry, Don Kelly, George Crumrine, Charles White and (first name omitted) Sprankle. Second row, from left: Morris Mistretta, George Borland, James St. Clair, Frank Kerr, Wilbur Allison and Harold Buggey; Back row, from left: coach William Wilt, Wilmer Wood, Dale Stadtmiller, Bill McGinnis, (not identified), Charles Opalenick and Ray Buggey.

Oldest woman dead at 115 in Montreal MONTREAL (AP) Julie Winnefred Bertrand, the world's oldest woman at 115, died in her sleep in a Montreal nursing home, according to Canadian media reports Friday. Bertrand, born Sept. 16, 1891, in the Quebec town of Coaticook, passed away in her sleep early Thursday at the nursing home where she has lived for the last 35 years, her nephew told The Gazette in Montreal. "She just stopped breathing," said Andre Bertrand, 73. "That's a nice way to go." Bertrand became the world's oldest woman last month, after the death of Elizabeth Bolden, a Tennessee woman born on Aug.

15, 1890, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. The designation made her an instant celebrity. Bertrand's niece, Elaine Sauciere, said the fame her aunt acquired late in life was really quite "unbelievable." "This little woman sold clothes at a department store in Coaticook," said Sauciere, 70. A British film crew had just requested an interview with Bertrand for a documentary on people who live long lives. The work also features Emiliano Mercado del Toro of Puerto Rico, the world's oldest person, who was 26 days older than Bertrand.

MARC-YVES Press EMMA FAUST TILLMAN, 114, is now the world's oldest woman after Julie Winnifred Bertrand died early Thursday. and did so to dozens of journalists, filmmakers and medical researchers intent on discovering her secret to long life. "She was tough, feisty and self-sufficient," Bertrand said. The eldest of six children, Bertrand never married. She had her suitors, Sauciere said, adding it was difficult to say how close she may have been to Louis St.

Laurent, a Andre Bertrand said his aunt young lawyer who went on to never had a problem saying no become prime minister. BRIEFS From Gazette wire services Swiss steak For further information, contact the guidance office at (724) dinner Sunday 397-5551, ext. 1138. BLAIRSVILLE The Blairsville Volunteer Fire ComAFSCME local pany dinner will from host noon a Swiss to 3 steak p.m. to select delegates Sunday in Marian Hall of SS.

Local 763 of the American Simon and Jude Church, 155 N. Federation of State, County Brady St. and Municipal Employees at The dinner is sponsored by Indiana University of Pennsylthe church to benefit the fund vania will meet at 7 p.m. Monfor the new rescue-pumper day in the Conemaugh Room truck. of the Hadley Union Building The menu includes Swiss on the IUP campus.

steak, mashed potatoes with The election of delegates for gravy, green beans, salad, District Council 83 will take bread, beverage and dessert. place at this meeting. Admission is $8 for adults, $4 for children ages children 6 to 12 and Senior free for 5 and driving younger. classes set Seniors for Safe Driving is sponsoring highway safety edFinancial aid workshop set people ucation 55 programs or older to in assist beage MARION CENTER The coming safer drivers and lowMarion Center Guidance De- ering their automobile insurpartment will host a financial ance premiums. aid workshop from 1 to 2:45 The seven-hour classes will p.m.

Monday in the high be divided into two equalschool auditorium. length sessions. Classes will be All parents, students and the held at St. Andrew's Village, general public are invited to at- 1155 Indian Springs Road, Intend. diana, at the following times: Aileen Bowman, assistant di- 19 a.m.

to 12:30 p.m. Feb. 15 rector of Financial Aid at Indi- and 16. ana University of Pennsylvania, a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Mar. 15 will speak on the financial ap- and 16. plication process and eligibility Tuition is $16. For more inrequirements. The free appli- formation or to register, call cation for student aid, grants, (800) 559-4880 or register onloans and scholarships will be line at www.seniorsforsafe discussed.

driving.com. Brown: Politics hurt Katrina response By NAHAL TOOSI Associated Press Writer NEW YORK Political storm clouds gathered again over the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina as former Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Michael Brown said party politics influenced decisions on whether to take federal control of Louisiana and other areas affected by the hurricane. Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco said the partisanship Brown described was "disgusting," while a White House spokeswoman said Brown was making "false statements." Brown told a group of graduate students Friday that some in the White House had suggested the federal government should take charge in Louisiana because Blanco was a Democrat, while leaving Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, a Republican, in control in his state.

Brown, speaking at the Metropolitan College of New York, said he had recommended to President Bush that all 90,000 square miles along the Gulf Coast affected by the devastating hurricane be federalized a term Brown explained as placing the federal government in charge of all agencies responding to the disaster. "Unbeknownst to me, certain people in the White House were thinking, 'We had to federalize Louisiana because she's a white, female Democratic governor, and we have a chance to rub her nose in he said, without naming names. "We can't do it to Haley (Barbour) because Haley's a white male Republican governor. And we can't do a thing to him. So we're just gonna federalize Brown, 52, declined to say who in the White House had argued for federalizing the response only in Louisiana.

He said that he'd later learned of the machinations through Blanco's office and from federal officials. Blanco reacted sharply to Brown's remarks. "This is exactly what we were living but could not bring ourselves to believe. Karl Rove was playing politics while our people were dying," Blanco said through a spokeswoman, referring to Bush's top political strategist. "The federal effort was delayed, and now the public knows why.

It's disgusting." Eryn Witcher, a White House spokeswoman, denied Brown's claims. "It is unfortunate that Mike Brown is still hurling false statements about the events surrounding Hurricane Katrina," she said. "The only consideration made by the administration at the time of this tragedy and since are those in the best interests of the citizens of the Gulf region." Calls made late Friday seeking comment from the federal Department of Homeland Security were not immediately returned. A spokesman for Barbour, Pete Smith, had no immediate comment. The question of federal control became a source of contention after Katrina.

Bush asked to put military relief efforts in Louisiana under federal oversight, but Louisiana officials rejected that idea, keeping state control over National Guard troops. They worked together with federal forces. DENNY DOHERTY rock hall of famer folk music that had surged in popularity early in the decade. The song "Creeque Alley" told the story of their formation amid the musical ferment of the folk scene; among the other stars-tobe mentioned in its lyrics were members of the Lovin' Spoonful and the Byrds. Folk superstars Peter, Paul and Mary paid their own tribute to the Mamas and the Papas with their humorous 1967 hit "I Dig Rock and Roll Music." But the group's heyday was brief and it disbanded in 1968 following John and Michelle Phillips' divorce.

The members re-formed in 1971 for the album "People Like Us," but all hope for a reunion ended in 1974 when the 32-year-old Elliot suffered: a fatal heart attack in London. Phillips briefly re-formed the group in 1982 with Doherty, Phillips' actress daughter, Mackenzie, and Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane. The foursome toured playing oldies and new Phillips originals. In 2003, Doherty was co-author and performer in an off-Broadway show called "Dream a Little Dream: The Mamas and the Papas Musical." POLICE LOG INDIANA Alcohol arrests Indiana Borough police found Ross Tamburro, of Monroeville, intoxicated at 3:17 a.m. today and arrested him following a pursuit on foot in the 1000 block of Philadelphia Street.

Tamburro, 18, was cited for public drunkenness and underage drinking and was temporarily detained at the Indiana County Jail, police reported. 000 Borough police reported Brian Johnston, of Pittsburgh, refused officers' repeated orders to leave the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity house, 1156 School after officers broke up a fight and a large party there at 1:16 a.m. today. Officers arrested Johnston, 21, and cited him for public drunkenness and disorderly conduct. Johnston was temporarily held at the county jail.

000 Craig Sebek, of Greensburg, refused to leave the Coney Island tavern area at 11:33 p.m. Friday after tavern workers refused to admit him, Indiana Borough police reported. Officers cited Sebek, 23, for public drunkenness. WHITE TOWNSHIP Vandalism Someone cut a padlock from a metal gate between 8 a.m. Monday and 8 a.m.

Wednesday at the Career Link building along Indian Springs Road, state police reported. What do you think? SEND YOUR LETTER TO THE EDITOR TO THE INDIANA GAZETTE, P.O. BOX 10, INDIANA, PA 15701.