Festivities to launch Christmas season

Festivities to launchChristmas season
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Lawrence County's light up night is set for Nov. 18 downtown. Streets will close at 5 p.m. and there will be entertainment throughout the area. Mayor Wayne Alexander will light the Christmas tree at 6:45 p.m. and the parade will start at 7 p.m. from the Columbus Innerbelt. Fireworks will conclude the night at 8:45 p.m. New in 2004 will be North Pole Street on North Street. A visit from Santa Claus as well as a mailbox for Santa and other activities are planned. Santa will answer all letters submitted with a return address. There will also be supplies on hand for children to write letters. The New Castle Transit Authority will provide busing into downtown from Union Square Plaza, Lawrence Village Plaza, Jameson South parking lot and the Scottish Rite Cathedral parking lot on Park Avenue and Mercer Street.
United Way fund-raisers
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- United Way of Lawrence County is just over half of its yearly fund-raising goal. The campaign is working on raising $630,000 to help 19 nonprofit agencies in the area.
A report meeting last week revealed that $308,185, or 51.08 percent of the goal, had been pledged. Among those who pledged money were Liberty Mutual employees, who raised $63,000 through various fund-raisers, including a kiss-a-pig contest. Operating Engineers Local 66 donated $2,500, and employees from Penn Power and FirstEnergy Foundation donated $14,000. Other companies have ongoing campaigns.
Race relations
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- A town hall meeting on race relations, sponsored by the New Castle Branch of the NAACP and Slippery Rock University, is planned for 7 p.m. Nov. 22 in Ebenezer Church of God in Christ, 1119 S. Jefferson St. The public is invited to the session. Dr. Renay Seales, assistance vice president of human resources and diversity at SRU, and Sandra Stevenson, assistant director of diversity, will facilitate the discussion.
Board is dissolved
MERCER -- Mercer County commissioners have dissolved the Behavioral Health Commission Board of Incorporators, as recommended by auditors from the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare. Catherine Main, Mental Health/Mental Retardation administrator for the county, told commissioners that the auditors considered it a conflict that the commissioners are also the board of incorporators. If the board were not dissolved, or otherwise changed, the county could stand to lose a significant amount of state funds.
With the dissolution of the board, the only control commissioners retain over BHC is their contractual agreement allowing BHC to run the county's mental health and retardation programs.
Seeking Indian info
STRUTHERS -- On behalf of local archaeologists, the Struthers Historical Society is seeking diaries, histories, photos and maps regarding early American Indian habitants of the Mahoning and Shenango valleys. The researchers seek to document locations of Indian trails, artifacts, mounds and flint or chert quarries. All original materials will remain the property of the owners; only copies are requested. For more information, contact the Struthers Historical Society, 50 Terrace St., Struthers, Ohio 44471.