Laurels and barbs
Laurel: Celeste Mizla, a Richland High School student, has been named Cambria County's Outstanding Young Woman, and Chloe Weaver, a student at Rockwood Area High School, has been named Somerset County's Outstanding Young Woman. The Cambria-Somerset Outstanding Young Woman Scholarship Program, featuring 14 Cambria County finalists and 13 Somerset County finalists, was held at Somerset Area High School in Somerset. The winners from each county received a $7,000 scholarship. Kristina Marinkovich, chairwoman of the program, said, "To hear the girls speak and feel their presence really gave you a sense of hope for the future."
Laurel: The Cambria County Transit Authority has approved nearly $200,000 in upgrades to its headquarters in Johnstown's Woodvale section. The upgrades include replacing an old, above-ground vehicle lift that was brought over from the CamTran Ebensburg facility 10 years ago – as well as updates to parts of the building's second floor, CamTran Executive Director Rose Lucey-Noll said. "When we built the (facility), there was a lot of old furniture that was never replaced," she said.
Barb: Upgrades to the North Fork Dam have come up against another delay in Harrisburg. After waiting for five years for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to approve engineering plans submitted in 2018, approval came last year for the Greater Johnstown Water Authority to move forward. When the GJWA was ready to submit an application for a low-interest loan for $21 million this month, the DEP slipped in another permit requirement that necessitates that the GJWA hold off on its construction loan application until February, GJWA officials said. "It's more of the same that we've been dealing with for years now," GJWA General Manager Michael Kerr said. "We were ready to go. This is what we've been dealing with the whole time."
Laurel: The Cambria County Regional Firefighters Association has received $153,000 in state funding to make upgrades to its training academy near Patton. Jim McCann, the association's training coordinator, said getting the funding "is a win-win for not only the association, but for all the member departments," which consists of fire departments from seven counties. State Sen. Wayne Langerholc Jr., R-Richland Township, and state Rep. Dallas Kephart, R-Clearfield, helped acquire the funding through Pennsylvania's Local Shares Account.
Laurel: The Central Cambria girls cross country team captured its seventh consecutive District 6 Class 2A championship, while Juniata edged the Red Devil boys by one point to halt their decade-long title run. The Red Devils girls scored 23 points, placing six runners in the top 10. The title marks the Central Cambria girls' 19th district championship in 20 years. Central Cambria coach Randy Wilson noted that his program has won 22 district crowns in his 25 years of coaching. "It's a great group," Wilson said. "We have five seniors who have been with me for all these years. They're a tight-knit group who do a lot of things outside cross country together. They handled the pressure of being expected to win."
Laurel: Throughout October, the atrium at Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center was decked out with creatively decorated bras that carried important messages about breast cancer awareness. Winners were announced Thursday for the inaugural "BRA"Vo for the Cure art exhibition. The com- munity winner, chosen by voters, was "Support the Girls" by Donna Rito in honor of Mary Lou B. "Score Big ... Get Your Mammogram" by Conemaugh Nason Pharmacy received Best in Show from a panel of judges, and "Be Brave" by Lori Cornetti in memory of Patty Toth was named first runner-up.
