KEYSTONE CLIPS Street maps are updated

New, updated Shenango Valley area street maps are now available at the Shenango Valley Chamber of Commerce office at 41 Chestnut St. in Sharon. The maps can be purchased from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday or from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Fridays. The price is $2 for chamber members and $3 for nonmembers.
Flag Day
Mayor David O. Ryan is continuing the annual Flag Day Ceremony on the front steps of the Sharon municipal building. The public is invited to the event, which will begin at 11:30 a.m. June 14. A light lunch and dessert will be provided in the city building lobby following the ceremony. Ryan asks that people planning to attend call his office so that sufficient food can be prepared.
Holiday parade already
It may only be May, but the Hermitage Holiday Light Parade committee is already drafting plans for the annual Nov. 20 event to kick off the holiday season. The committee is looking for sponsors to help support the award program, which includes monetary prizes for nonprofit organizations competing in the float division and plaques for business participants. There are three levels of giving. A gift of $500 or more rates as a Gold Sponsor. A gift between $100 and $499 is a Silver Sponsor and a gift of $25 to $99 is a Bronze Sponsor. Checks should be made payable to the Hermitage Business Association--Holiday Parade Account and sent to: Hermitage Holiday Parade Committee, 800 N. Hermitage Road, Hermitage, Pa., 16148.
Medical supplies sent
International Association of Firefighters, Local 1, sent six stocked medical bags for use by the soldiers of the First Battalion, 107th Field Artillery, while it is deployed in Iraq. The unit, based in New Castle with sister units throughout the area, was sent to Iraq in a military police role and wasn't authorized to take assigned medical equipment. The firefighters union also gave $855 to the unit's Family Support Group. Fire union officials said five of the bags are going to certified Army medics. One of the bags is going to a soldier who is not one of the medics, but is a civilian emergency medical technician and the chaplain's aide.
XCONTRIBUTORS: Harold Gwin, Vindicator Sharon Bureau; Laure Cioffi, New Castle Bureau