What Was Making Herald Headlines in 2022?

JULY

The Altoona-Blair County Airport announced that a new carrier would begin servicing the airport. Airport Manager Tracy Plessinger said that Contour Airlines of Smyrna, Tenn., would take over passenger service from Boutique Air. Boutique had been the airport's carrier since January of 2021.

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Martinsburg Borough Council revised its nuisance ordinance to deal with residents who delay cutting grass or weeds. Police Chief Kerry Hoover said the problem was that residents would receive a warning, mow their grass in the seven-day grace period, then wait until they receive another warning to mow again.

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The Martinsburg Volunteer Fire Co. announced that its annual Ox Roast at Morrisons Cove Memorial Park proved to be very successful. The offering was sold out on Friday with 950 pounds of meat cooked. On Saturday, an additional 150 pounds of meat had to be purchased and everything sold out again. A total of 5,000 sandwiches were sold.

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The Cherry Street Park in Roaring Spring was victimized by ongoing acts of vandalism and Borough Manager Lisa Peel asked for help to put an end to it. Peel said the park had been vandalized numerous times since the beginning of summer.

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The 40th annual Ag Parade was held as part of the Cove Carnival at Morrisons Cove Memorial Park. The dates of the community celebration were moved, but organizers reported strong attendance and few problems. The parade and carnival are traditionally held on the week of July 4, but because of a conflict in scheduling with Bartlebaugh Amusements, who provide the rides, the park elected to hold the festivities the following week. Park Executive Director Chuck Gojmerac said that the carnival is a big money-raising event for the park, which is important because the park doesn't receive government funding.

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In Williamsburg, a crowd gathered for the first Fourth Fest put on by Lower Trail Creamery, Biddle's Brewing and Belly Busters Food Truck. The whole day was packed with events celebrating our community and highlighting local businesses.

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Ava Kozminski, daughter of Stephanie and Tom Kozminski, at just 8 years old was able to raise $230 at her local lemonade stand. Instead of keeping the money for herself, Kozminski graciously donated the money to the Martinsburg Community Library.

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The Southern Cove Power Reunion announced that the Antique Construction Equipment and Truck Show was held on June 18 and was to date the best-attended show the club has had. The tractor pull had 194 hook ups.

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A section of East Main Street in Roaring Spring located in front of the former Appvion paper mill was closed to vehicle traffic as workers replaced water and sewer lines. Crews from Excavating Associates of Hyndman, Pa, began work on July 19 on the $330,000 project.

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Thomas H. Strum D.D.S., 87, of Roaring Spring, passed away Sunday morning, July 17, 2022, at the Presbyterian Village at Hollidaysburg. In 1963, Tom opened his dental practice in Roaring Spring, where he continued to take care of his patients until his retirement in 2017.

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The Northern Bedford FBLA performed very well at the 2022 National Leadership Conference held in Chicago. Six members and their advisor traveled to Chicago to compete in events. NBC had two national placewinners. The American Enterprise Project (AEP) team, consisting of Jacob Sensenig, Alexandrea Griffith, and Matthew Hall, placed fourth. The Introduction to Business Presentation (IBP) team, consisting of team members Avery Aungst, Aleah Loose, and Jaylyn Resh (all freshmen), were national champions, topping over 100 teams from across the country in the finals.

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Dalton Metzger and Jerry Brumbaugh finished at 9th place at the Major League Fishing High School Nationals. The competition, which started on June 22, lasted three days, and portions were televised. Brumbaugh and Metzger finished 9th out of 236 boats that competed at Pickwick Lake in Alabama.

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Deerin Davis, an employee at McDonald's of Roaring Spring, recently received a $2,500 McDonald's Scholarship Award. A Penn State Altoona student majoring in accounting, Davis was selected for the scholarship based on her academic success, community involvement and job performance. Davis joined the McDonald's restaurant team in 2020.

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Boy Scouts of America Troop 358 from Martinsburg attended summer camp from July 10 to 15 at Seven Mountains Scout Camp in Spring Mills, Pennsylvania. Each scout completed his own schedule of merit badges from selections such as wilderness survival, first aid, swimming, and shotgun shooting.

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Jennifer Frederick was hired as the new secondary principal for the Williamsburg Community School District, replacing Michael Jones following his resignation. Frederick has a history in Williamsburg, as she was previously one of the kindergarten teachers in the district. The kindergartners that were part of her class will be her new seventh and eighth graders at the high school.

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A steady rain fell for most of the day on Sunday, July 31, but Ethan Potter of Claysburg wasn't worried that the event he had organized would be washed out. Potter, 19, had lined up a stable of speakers including local legislators and clergy for a pro-life rally outside the Blair County Courthouse. About 250 people showed up for the rally.

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Martinsburg got a surprise visit from a U.S. Senate candidate when Dr. Mehmet Oz stopped by the Martinsburg Fire Hall and the Morrisons Cove Dairy Show on Thursday, Aug. 4. Accompanied by Rep. John Joyce (R-PA, 13th District), Oz toured the fire hall and got a quick course in what it takes to keep a volunteer fire company running from Fire Chief Randy Acker.

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Karen Ann Greenwood, 65, of Martinsburg, went home to be with her Lord unexpectedly Friday evening, July 29, 2022, at her residence. She was employed as the business and tax coordinator for the Spring Cove School District, and during her 41 years of service, Karen worked in various other clerical positions for the district.

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Pastor Alan Brumbaugh held his first official church service as the new pastor of both the Williamsburg and Fairview Church of the Brethren on the yard beside the Fairview Church. Both churches welcomed Brumbaugh and his wife, Sally, to the family.

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AUGUST

The U.S. Department of Transportation approved the Altoona-Blair County Airport's entry into the Alternate Essential Air Service program, meaning daily passenger flights to Philadelphia through Contour Airlines could begin.

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Northern Bedford County High school's auditorium had a complete renovation during the summer. The renovations started with the maintenance and custodial staff painting the stage black. Pittsburgh Stage came in to redo the rigging, curtains and lighting. The seats in the auditorium were removed, and the concrete was sanded and sealed. The ceiling was painted dark gray and new carpeting was put in. The house lights were updated to include colors. The sound system was completely upgraded. The last step of the renovations will be to install new seats.

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The 71th Annual Morrisons Cove Dairy Show ran Aug. 1, through Aug. 5, at the Morrisons Cove Memorial Park. Rexlea Joel Emblem, a junior 3-year-old Jersey owned and shown by Bo Pheasant of Williamsburg, was named senior supreme champion. The junior supreme champion was C-Cove Doe Luvbug, a Holstein fall calf owned and showed by Beth Clark of New Paris.

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The Blair/Bedford 4-H/FFA Junior Dairy Show hit the stage at the Morrisons Cove Dairy Show Aug. 1 and 2 at Morrisons Cove Memorial Park. Sniders Rebel Adelee, a 4-year-old Guernsey owned and showed by Bella Gable of New Enterprise, took home the senior supreme champion honor. Aaron Gable was the breeder. Sniders Challenge Rebel is the sire. The senior reserve supreme champion went to Rexlea Joel Emblem, a junior 3-year-old Jersey owned and showed by Bo Pheasant of Williamsburg. Rexlea Jerseys, Inc. were the breeders, and Guimo Joel - ET was the sire.

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Hues of ivory, Claysburg blue, lavender and pink donned the yards of the Claysburg Park for the annual Little Miss Claysburg pageant – one of the highlights of the Claysburg Community Days. Following ceremonies, Trinity Grayce Weyandt, daughter of Mindy Weyandt and Garrett Weyandt, came out the new Little Miss Claysburg.

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Central Dragon Nick Baum placed first in the Central Counties Junior Championship at Park Hills Golf Club, shooting a 75 on Aug. 1. Dragon teammate Griffin Snowberger placed third with a 79. On Aug. 3, 2022, the Iron Masters Ridge Runner tournament took place at Iron Masters Country Club. Snowberger took home his personal best round shooting a 69 to win it, while Baum shot a 72, taking second place.

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The Martinsburg library summer reading program, "Oceans of Possibilities," ended on Aug. 12, with the annual ice cream and awards celebration. A total of 36 children in preschool through eighth grade completed the program, reading for a total of 39,299 minutes. All participants were awarded pencils, book markers, stickers, ocean-themed trinkets, McDonald's coupons, and Martinsburg Pizza wooden dollars.

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Cove-area fire companies brought home top prizes from the Central District Volunteer Firemen's Association's annual convention in Nanty Glo. Fire companies from 23 member counties and 2,000 firefighters gathered for the three-day event. Friendship Volunteer Fire Co. took top honors in fire prevention for its efforts to teach fire prevention throughout the Roaring Spring community. Friendship Asst. Chief James Musselman said winning the award was special and paid tribute to the late Jeff Lafferty, who was instrumental in the fire company's efforts in fire prevention and safety programs.

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The third annual Party at the Park took place Saturday, Aug. 20 in Morrisons Cove Memorial Park. The event was put together by the local group Cove Cause for Cancer.

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The Claysburg-Kimmel School Board awarded a $1.18 million contract to Leonard S. Fiore of Altoona for the renovation of its athletic complex.

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On Aug. 18, The Father Thomas E. Heyden Assembly #2529 of the 4th Degree Knights of Columbus presented a check for $500 to Trooper Michael Whelan of the Arthur L. Hershey Bedford Barracks of the Pennsylvania State Police.

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Charlotte Simpson of Alexandria was crowned the new 2022-23 Williamsburg Farm Show Queen following festivities held Sunday afternoon on the Farm Show Grounds. Simpson was selected as the new Farm Show Queen with Lillian Anderson as First Runner Up and Lacey Lynn as the Second Runner Up.

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The Herald published its annual Fall Sports Schedule in the Aug. 25 edition. As always, the special section focused on the athletic teams from the Cove's four school districts, offering photos of the young athletes and previews of the upcoming fall sports season.

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SEPTEMBER

Conemaugh Nason Medical Center announced it will no longer offer scheduled obstetrics deliveries effective Oct. 9.

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Hollidaysburg's Little League team became the first team from Blair County to ever play in the Little League World Series. They won the Pennsylvania state championship and the Mid-Atlantic Region title to move on to Williamsport. They were eliminated after an 8-4 loss to Texas.

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The estate of Blair County Prison guard Rhonda Russell, who was killed in the line of duty, filed a wrongful death suit against the county and several other entities connected to her shooting at the Central Court building in Altoona.

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The Central Dragons Football team fell to the Richland Rams for the Dragon's first regular season loss in two years.

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The Martinsburg Library started a games group, meeting on Tuesday of each month at 2 p.m. On the second Tuesday of each month the library hosts a Pinochle group.

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Maureen Hamor, a long-time Freedom Township Supervisor, resigned her position because she was moving from the area. Nathan Caldwell replaced her on the board.

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The Cove Community Chorus began rehearsing again after two and a half years. The group did not perform during the COVID-19 pandemic, but was planning to present a new show near Thanksgiving.

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A large crowd gathered at the Morrisons Cove Memorial Park for an outdoor worship session on Sept. 11. During the Martinsburg Community Worship Service local church leaders spoke to the crowd and sang hymns.

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The Hollidaysburg American Legion Ambulance Service was offering training to upgrade the level of pre-hospital service that emergency medical technicians can provide. Six members of the service were training to become Advanced Emergency Medical Technicians, allowing the company to provide a higher level of care to the region.

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Wayne Baker of Williamsburg was arrested on multiple theft charges over several counties. Police said they had evidence that Baker allegedly took property, including large equipment, from businesses in Blair County, Bedford and Cambria counties.

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Schools were still facing a shortage of bus drivers. Maxwell Transportation reported it had 10 drivers for 14 routes in the Spring Cove School District.

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The Pennsylvania Game Commission voted to purchase a tract of land from Roaring Spring Borough on Plum Creek Mountain. Roaring Spring Borough Council closed access to the land last year citing insurance liability concerns, and many residents voiced their displeasure with the decision. The tract would now become state game lands, with access allowed according to Game Commission policy.

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The Northern Bedford Panthers Football team had its best start since 2017 with a 5-0 record.

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The Dragons Pride Foundation donated $500 to the two public libraries in the Spring Cove School District, Martinsburg and Roaring Spring.

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The Hollidaysburg School District board discussed the need for a gender identification policy after concerns about teachers and students discussing identity and preferred pronouns within the district were raised. The board did not reach a decision on the policy.

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OCTOBER

The 25th Annual Public Benefit Auction and Bake Sale raised over $160,000 for the Clinic for Special Children and the Central Pa Clinic.

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The Williamsburg Volunteer Fire Company received a grain bin safety grant to purchase equipment and training needed to perform rescues in farm storage bins.

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A Claysburg Bridge was named in honor of Bryan "Chipper" Chamberlain, a PennDOT worker who died in a work zone accident.

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Hollidaysburg Ambulance, known as HALAS, expanded its services to include non-emergency transports.

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The Spring Cove School District received a $25,000 donation from the Dragon Pride Foundation earmarked for production of a school musical during the school year. Rachel Wagner was appointed as musical director.

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Martinsburg dedicated a memorial at the borough building to the late W. Gene Henry, in honor of his work to improve the Martinsburg area. Henry donated the land where the memorial is located.

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Rental car service was available again at the airport through Avis/Budget franchise. The service was open to both passengers and the general public.

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The Spring Cove School District named Dr. Norman Hatten as interim middle school principal. Dr. Amy Miller was appointed to the position, but had not been released from her duties at Chestnut Ridge School District.

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A fire destroyed two barns on the Dwayne Keithly farm near Williamsburg. Fire companies from Blair and Huntingdon counties responded to the blaze. They were able to save the main barn structure.

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PennCrest Bank opened a branch in Williamsburg in the former MidPenn Bank building. PennCrest offered full time banking services instead of the Wednesday only hours offered by MidPenn.

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Retired State Police Major Christopher Storm was sworn in as the Chief of Police in Hollidaysburg. Hollidaysburg was without a police chief for almost a year.

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NOVEMBER

The remains of U.S. Army Cpl. David N. Defibaugh were returned to his family and laid to rest at Rose Hill Cemetery in Altoona. Defibaugh, a native of Duncansville, went missing in action on July 20, 1950, in South Korea at the age of 22.

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Three trailers and two scrapped vehicles were destroyed in an early morning fire at Clark's Auto Salvage in Freedom Township. Additional crews were called in to assist when the fire spread to a hill near the junkyard, sparking a brush fire.

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The undefeated Central High School Lady Dragons soccer team advanced to the first round of District 6AA playoffs. They defeated the Cambria Heights Lady Highlanders to advance to the semi-finals.

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Dr. Barry England, a veterinarian from Williamsburg, received the Agricultural Excellence Award at the 2022 Blair County Farm-City dinner. England is an owner of Penn-England farms and is widely known for his bovine embryo transfer and breeding programs.

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Penn State University landscape architecture students presented preliminary ideas for community improvements to residents of Williamsburg at a meeting at the Williamsburg Public Library.

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The Scarlet Dragons football team defeated the Penn Cambria Panthers to win the District 6AAA title, for the third time in a row. Player Jeff Hoenstine broke the state record for career touchdown passes thrown during the game. The team moves on to interdistrict play.

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Board President James Butler resigned from the Spring Cove School District Board of Directors, saying he felt it was the right time to leave and focus on other things. The position would be advertised with a new director taking a seat on the board at the December meeting.

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Local Republicans Sen. Judy Ward and Rep Jim Gregory retained their seats in the general election, while Mastriano and Oz lost their bids statewide to their Democratic challengers for governor and senator.

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Ella Garner, a senior at Central High School, signed with Lenoir-Rhyne University to continue her soccer career at the university.She was senior captain of the 2022 Lady Dragons, and was named to the All State Team for high school soccer.

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Lance Morris accepted an offer to become officer in charge of the North Woodbury Township Police Department. He was working for the Roaring Spring Police Department at the time of his appointment.

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The Hollidaysburg Area School district continued to discuss gender identity at its November board meeting after a controversial book was brought to class by a teacher.

DECEMBER

An open furnace door led to a house fire along Nicodemus Street in Martinsburg. The unlatched door allowed extensive heat through the register and the heat ignited papers near the register. There were no injuries, but the home suffered smoke and fire damage.

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A Claysburg woman was facing charges of cruelty to animals after police said four horses in her care suffered neglect. Kathy P. Weyant faced felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals and torture, along with various misdemeanor and summary charges.

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Blair County adopted a new jury system in which prospective jurors will be asked to complete the questionnaire online. Those who do not have access to the internet can call the jury coordinator to request a paper questionnaire.

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Samantha Snowberger was appointed to fill the vacancy on the Spring Cove School Board that occurred when board President James Butler resigned in November. Brian Gahagan was elected board president.

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Fire destroyed a home in East Freedom on Dec. 2. The home was a total loss, and the family lost many of their possessions. The fire appeared to be accidental.

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The Central High School Dragons football team lost to Belle Vernon High School in the PIAA Class 3A semifinal game. Central finished the season 12-3 and were named the District 6 Class 3A champions.

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Blair County's seven police departments were looking for a new company to keep police records after the current records management company announced it would cease to update and support the system. The departments were looking for something that could be used by all departments to facilitate records sharing.

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Duncansville native Aaron Kovach was part of the first class to be inducted into the Mount Aloysius College Athletic Hall of Fame. The four year baseball player had a .401 career batting average and 218 hits, and was named the Male Athlete of the Year during his senior year at the college.

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Williamsburg borough resident John Dixon attended the Williamsburg Borough Council meeting to tell the council that he would not allow the rental inspector onto his property again after a bad experience. When threatened with the loss of his certification to rent, Dixon laid the blame for the eviction on the tenants on the council's decision.

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The Fort Bedford Honor Guard traveled to Arlington National Cemetery to lay wreaths at the grave sites of fallen service members as part of "Wreath Day." The group travels there every year to decorate the graves and looks forward to going next year.

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Members of Central High School's 2022 AAA State Championship baseball team received their championship rings during the Central vs. Bishop Carroll game.

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The Gingerbread House on West Third street won the Light Fight Christmas decorating contest in Williamsburg. Twenty-three houses entered the competition and over 500 votes were cast to find the winner.

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Ted Hyle announced he was stepping down as Chief of the Williamsburg Volunteer Department after 16 years of service as chief.. Hyle was planning to continue to remain with the fire department, but felt it was time for a "younger perspective and new ideas." Travis Prough would be taking over as chief in 2023.

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The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources was planning to host nearly 60 "First Day Hikes" at the start of the new year in its state parks and forest districts. Locally, hikes were being held locally in Blue Knob and Canoe Creek State Parks.

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The Leonard R. Burket Estate farm in Huston Township was named as one of thirty farms in Pennsylvania that was protected from development in 2022. Thirty farms were protected state wide.

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