St. Elias Byzantine Catholic Church Octoberfest

Come out to the St. Elias Byzantine Catholic Church Octoberfest

Saturday October 16 4-9 pm and Sunday October 17 12-6 pm.

Great music, food, vendors, and more.

The church is located at 4200 Homestead-Duquesne Rd. in Munhall.

For more information:
http://steliasmunhallpa.weebly.com/oktoberfest.html

Support The Steel Valley Midget Football Association

Steel Valley Midget Football Association (SVMFA) is a Non-Profit, 501(c)(3) organization whose sole purpose is to provide an organized format where the youth of the Steel Valley community (comprised of Homestead, West Homestead, and Munhall) are introduced to football, cheerleading, and other related activities in an atmosphere that promotes sportsmanship and fair play with an emphasis on safety in all coaching techniques.

We are a family and community oriented organization that also promotes academic achievement among our participants.

We are currently an active member of the Keystone Bantam League (KBL) which is comprised of similar organizations in the Pittsburgh suburban area that include Gateway, Guyasuta, Franklin, Jeanette, Morningside, Penn Hills, Penn Trafford, Plum, and Woodland Hills.

Our program, in conjunction with that of the KBL, enables us to promote the safe instruction of football and cheer at all age levels up to middle school.

Steel Valley Midget Football Association is currently registered with the Liberty Mutual Responsible Sports program in an effort to receive one of many fall grants being decided this season.

WE NEED OUR COMMUNITY'S SUPPORT !!!

Please take the time to register & answer a few short questions. This registration will give our organization points towards winning the grant.

Thanks for your support !!! We can be found on The Responsible Sports site under Steel Valley Midget Football-Homestead.

http://www.responsiblesports.com/community_grants/default.aspx

Homestead VFD Spaghetti Dinner

Homestead Ladies Auxiliary will be having a Spaghetti Dinner on October 24, 2010 from 12 noon to 6:00pm at Homestead Fire Station, On E 9th Ave.

Bake Sale too.

Price $7.00 for Adults and $5.00 for Children under 5.

Come out and help support our Fire Company.

All Proceeds will go towards the Fire Company's uniforms.

For more information contact Trudy Rutkowski at 412-403-8577.

Cancer Caring Center 4K Walk

Come out to The Waterfront's Town Center area this Sunday, October 10, to participate in the annual Cancer Caring Center 4K walk with honorary chairs Yonka and Ryan Clark of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Center is very excited to announce the Walk at the Waterfront in Homestead!!

We welcome 94.5 3WS as our Media Sponsor. Yonka and Ryan Clark, #25 of the Pittsburgh Steelers will be serving as our Honorary Chairs.

There is such a thing as a free lunch -get sponsors or make a personal donation of at least $25 for lunch and a raffle ticket for a $50 gift certificate to Gordon’s Shoes (featuring New Balance Footwear).

Walkers will also receive a one-day only discount at many of the Waterfront shops.

Don’t forget...you have one month to collect donations for great prizes. Tell your family and friends that you walked for the Cancer Caring Center, collect your donations and send them in by November 10, 2010.

You can win Steelers merchandise and even lunch with Yonka and Ryan Clark. Click here to download a Walk brochure

Registration begins at 10:00am and the walk will start at 11:00am, we hope to see you here!

Bulgarian Macedonian National Educational & Cultural Center

RADical Days are Here!
October 9 & 10

The BMNECC is taking part in the Allegheny Regional Asset District's RADical Days by opening its doors for free tours of the Center from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm on October 9. Also, the Otets Paissii Ensemble will perform at the Senator John Heinz History Center at 1:00 pm on October 10. Learn more about other events taking place in Pittsburgh during RADical days.


Support the Center
on Oct 13
12:00 am to 11:59 pm

The Pittsburgh Foundation has set Wednesday, October 13, as the 2010 PittsburghGives Day of Giving. The Foundation has allocated $500,000 in matching dollars for non-profit organizations such as the BMNECC.This fund-matching program is a great opportunity for BMNECC supporters to possibly double their contributions to the Center. Click here for more info.

Soup Sega! in Full Swing
Saturdays, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm

Our Soup Sega! kitchen offers 14 varieties

Photo by Heather Mull

of all-natural homemade Bulgarian soups and other ethnic specialties. Starting October 16 our special is Tom Jieu Fak Ton (Khun Tom Squash Soup) - a zesty soup full of Thai flavors including basil, ginger, coconut milk, chile peppers and vegetables. Click on the links for info and to pre-order soup.
Online order form
About the program
Latest article: Soup Sega! chef in the news


Fall Concert - Nov 20
Carnegie Library of Homestead
Music Hall, 7:00 pm

The Bulgarian Performing Folk Ensemble Otets Paissii will stage its annual concert: the American premier of Calendar Customs Alive! Following the show, please join us at the Bulgarian Center at 9:00 pm for our monthly Vecherinka, featuring live music. Click here for ticket information and other details.

Historic Steel Valley Christmas Parade

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year, with the kids jingle-belling and everyone telling you be of good cheer, it’s the most wonderful time of the year.”

Who doesn’t agree with those lyrics? That is why planning is underway for the 2010 Historic Steel Valley Christmas Parade. The Parade will be held on Saturday, December 4th at 12:00 noon.

Participant lineup will be at 11:15 a.m. in West Homestead on Forest Avenue (West Homestead Police Station). The Parade will travel along 8th Avenue from West Homestead, through Homestead and end in Munhall. The Parade route is approximately one mile of level roadway.

Refreshments will be available after the Parade at Shop ‘n Save.
We would like to encourage your organization’s participation in this spectacular tradition. Your organization could create a float or march in the parade. Every group has something to offer and share. ‘Tis the season.

If you have any questions, you may contact Cindy Alexander at 412-461-1340 x 101. You may also contact us by e-mail at homesteadborough@comcast.net.

The Mayors of Homestead, Betty Esper, Munhall, Ray Bodnar and West Homestead, John Dindak thank you in advance for your support of the Historic Steel Valley Christmas Parade.

Welcome to the Steel Valley: AT&T Wireless & Visionworks

NOW OPEN:

Visionworks Waterfront Towne Center On Waterfront Drive, in front of Dick's Sporting Goods
240 E. Waterfront Drive Homestead, PA 15120
Phone: (412) 462-8198

AT&T Wireless
240 WATERFRONT DRIVE E (Old Pier 1 Store)
HOMESTEAD, PA 15120
Phone: (412) 461-0427
Hours: MON-SAT 10:00-9:00, SUN 12:00-6:00

Tri Boro Federal Credit Union

A Night at the Races

A Night at the Races

Benefiting the Little Sisters of the Poor of Pittsburgh and the construction of Mannion Court

Saturday, October 23rd, 2010 ~ 7:00PM

Come join us for a Night at the Races with friends of McGee at Westwood Golf Club in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, to benefit the construction of Mannion Court on the grounds of the Little Sisters of the Poor campus in Pittsburgh.

Tickets for the event, which includes admission, drinks and food, are $35. The format is as follows:

· 12 races with 10 horses each race.

· The first 10 races are $25 each horse; in the last two races, each horse is auctioned

There will also be a silent auction.

Westwood Golf Club is located at:
825 Commonwealth Ave
West Mifflin, PA 15122-1331
westwoodlinks.com
Directions: www.tinyurl.com/mcgeeraces

For more information, please call: (412) 921-2171 extension 26

Mon Valley School Craft Show

The Mon Valley School Craft Show is back by popular demand.

It will be held on Saturday, October 23, from 9:00 to 3:00 at Mon Valley School, 555 Lewis Run Road, Jefferson Hills, PA 15025.

The school is located right up from the Bowser Pontiac on Route 51 or off Rte 885 by CCAC South Campus.

The show will feature a variety of craft tables, a Chinese auction table, door prizes, food and refreshments for sale. A $2.00 admission fee entitles you to a free Chinese auction ticket.

Mon Valley School is one of the three special education centers of the Allegheny Intermediate Unit.

All proceeds will benefit student activities

The Avenues Autumn Down Street Block Party

Saturday, October 2 · 12:00pm - 10:00pm

East Eight Avenue @ Amity Street - East Eight Avenue and Amity Merchants District East Eighth Avenue, Homestead, PA

Food, Drink, Games, Sidewalk Craft Vendors, Children's Activities, Art, Music, and Fun for the Whole Family will be available on East Eight Avenue on October 2nd, 2010. Come to the Block Party to greet Capezzutti Puppets and other attractions.

In the evening, Lhagic and friends will perform at the Tin Front Cafe (216 East Eighth Ave) and at 7:30 pm Mike Stout will be having and new album release party at the former Moose Lodge building (112 East Eighth Ave) . Special Guest New Landers and proceeds to benefit Just Harvest.

The Residence at the Waterfront Apartments

Polka Mass

St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish

Polka Mass

Sunday October 17, 2010

10:30am Mass

After mass come down to the Parish Hall for a fun-filled day. The Karl Lukitsch Band will be playing and singing from 1:00pm to 4:00pm. Tickets are $20 or 2 for $30.00. Kids ages 5-12 are $5.00. All the food you can eat, pierogies, cabbage n noddles, pigs in a blanket, ham, plus more. Tickets available by calling 412-461-1054.

Craft Show/Food Festival

St. John’s Cathedral Center
215 Greentree Road
Munhall, PA


Over 35 crafters, ethnic foods, Chinese Auction, Steeler Basket Raffle, and more!!

Kennywood ready for annual scare fest

Kennywood's annual seasonal celebration, Phantom Fright Nights, is nearly upon us.

The Halloween-themed event that transforms the West Mifflin amusement park into a foggy scare zone on weekends through the end of October kicks off Friday night at 7.

Kennywood spokesman Jeff Filicko said the park has added plenty of new twists this year that are designed to "keep people on their toes."

With lots of unexpected bumps, bangs and terrifying visions springing up unexpectedly throughout the park, even veteran fans of the seasonal transformation should find things to make their hearts beat faster.

The changes begin as patrons enter the park through the Kennyville Cemetery; the midway hasn't moved but park goers' progress through it has been altered compared to previous years.

More than 100 tombstones, 300 monsters, skeletons and other scary types, and 3,000 cornstalks are being employed to make the journey through the park a frightening one. There's also 2,500 square feet of colored gel lighting, 10,479 colored light bulbs, 50 strobe lights and 50 fog machines in place to help create ambiance.

Filicko said employees, who began preparing for Fright Nights back in August, "really have the chance to let their creativity shine" in getting the park ready for the season.

Kennywood employee Dave Cherep, who serves on the Fright Nights planning committee, said the haunted house Mortem Manor (located in what is the Parkside Cafe in the regular season) gets regular updates.

This year, planners have added to the walk-through attraction a scary bathroom feature that should serve as a reminder why it is dangerous to fall asleep in the tub.

"Next year, maybe we'll re-do the kitchen or the kids' bedroom," added Cherep.

On Wednesday, Kennywood employees were busy throughout the park decorating its 10 scare zones and haunted houses.

Checking the jaw of a fake skeleton, Kennywood employee Quintin Barber said the mannequin looked perfectly dressed, as it was, in preacher's clothes.

"Now we just have to stand him up somehow," Barber said as he looked over a pile of wooden rods that he was planning to use to hold up the dummy.

Most of the props used in Fright Nights are stored in the former K-Mart building above the park in the off-season. Filicko said the two-week lead-up to the beginning of Fright Nights is when park employees "really push to get things done."

All of the effort plus 17 operating roller coasters and rides and sideshow entertainment by Eric Starkey at Kennyville Stage should make for a seamless entertainment experience when the event begins on Friday.

Phantom Fright Nights take place every Friday and Saturday night through Oct. 30 from 7 p.m. till 1 a.m., plus a bonus night on Oct. 10 from 7 till 11 p.m. Tickets are $25.99 at the gate or $22.99 at participating Giant Eagle supermarkets. Special RIP passes for ghost tours and roller coasters, including Sky Rocket, are available at an additional cost.

For more information, call 412-461-0500 or visit the website www.kennywood.com

By Eric Slagle, MCKEESPORT DAILY NEWS
Thursday, September 30, 2010

Batch's Performance Makes Homestead Proud

Homestead (KDKA) - After a solid performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday, Homestead residents are proud to say that Charlie Batch got his start in the area.

Batch, who had his first start in nearly three years against Tampa Bay and threw for three touchdowns, grew up in the Mon Valley.

His performance in Sunday's game was especially meaningful considering it was unsure whether he'd even be on the roster this year.

Raymond Saunders of Homestead said that he's always known Batch was able to play the game well.

"I mean, the boy has always been talented. You know, I watched him going to Steel Valley, he has always been talented. He got the line; he did what he needed to do. He got the job done," he said.

Batch has invested in an old warehouse in the Homestead area that he is hoping to convert into upper-grade apartments. There is also a playground in his name that fills with aspiring athletes every year.

"You're just so proud. It's like your favorite son makes good. I don't care what the good is, but here he makes good because this kid has worked so hard. He's been on the sidelines so long; they almost got rid of him. He's hometown, I mean, he's hometown pride," said Betty Esper, mayor of Homestead.

With only one more game until Ben Roethlisberger returns from suspension, other Steeler fans are questioning whether Batch's performance against Tampa Bay will really keep him on the roster.

"I think they'll keep him around for second, third string, one of them. But I mean, Roethlisberger is obviously going to start," said South Side resident Charles Campbell.

The Steelers take on the Baltimore Ravens at Heinz Field Sunday. Batch fans are hopeful that he'll get the chance to be the starting quarterback.

KDKA
Sep 27, 2010

Steelers great Butler has yet to enter Hall of Fame

With Pittsburgh Steelers defensive guru Dick LeBeau now enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Jack Butler's supporters are redoubling efforts to get the cornerback into Canton.

Long considered one of the National Football League's greatest defensive backs, Butler, 82, also helmed the groundbreaking BLESTO scouting service. But sportswriters and the Hall of Fame's Seniors Committee continue to punt his selection.

"When he was a player, Jack played for a very bad team. Had he played for the Lions or the Browns, he would've already been in the Hall of Fame, no questions asked," said Steelers vice president and minority owner Art Rooney Jr.

"We had all the greats from later teams get in, so people said there were too many Steelers. But this has penalized L.C. Greenwood, Andy Russell and Jack Butler. They should be in the Hall of Fame, too, but Jack was one of the greatest players to ever play the game and that means something special."

A native of Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood, Butler was raised in Whitehall. Attending seminary prep school in Canada, he never played high school football. When he gave up on becoming a priest, he made the roster at New York's St. Bonaventure University.

He joined the Steelers' camp as an undrafted free agent in 1951, a scrawny kid on the single wing. The last guy to make the team, Butler became an undersized third-string defensive end. Early in his rookie season, however, injuries in the secondary made him a cornerback.

"I'd never really played defensive back before," Butler said. "But I gave it my all."

At the end of a stellar season, franchise founder Art Rooney Sr. paid him a $500 bonus. For the following eight years, Butler starred for a team that produced only two winning campaigns. And he toiled offseasons as an electrician's handyman, a Vandergrift mill worker and a ranchhand on The Chief's horse farm.

"I sure didn't get rich playing football," Butler said.

For the past two years, Greensburg's Jeffrey W. Weber, an MSA Sports Network executive, has forwarded a breakdown of Butler's career statistics to Hall voters: 52 interceptions and 10 fumble recoveries. According to Weber's analysis, Butler did it by averaging a pick every eight passes attempted against him.

Butler's 827 return yards off interceptions tops all other Steelers, including Mel Blount and Rod Woodson. He's the only defensive back of the NFL's 1950s All-Decade Team not in Canton.

"Teams didn't throw as often back then, but when they did, they faced no tougher challenge than Jack Butler," Weber said. "He was a clean player. He hit hard, but he was fair. He was the best player on what charitably might be called a 'mediocre' team. Had he not been injured in 1959, he would've set records that would've taken years to break."

Butler's career stats mirror Detroit's Jack Christiansen, who was inducted into the Hall in 1970. Drafted a year after Christiansen retired, LeBeau in 1959 took up his mantle as a lockdown Lion. He's a fan of Butler, too.

"He's one of the best in the Steelers franchise, and you're talking about some pretty great players there," said LeBeau.

When he rolls up his trousers, Butler's knee looks like a drumstick twisted into a white knot, the aftermath of a 1959 injury that ended his career. The following season found him hobbling on crutches — hired by the Buffalo Bills as a coach, but unable to withstand the pain of working out with players.

Needing to support wife Bernadette and a Munhall family that grew to eight children, Butler scouted Steelers competitors. In 1963, he caught on at LESTO — short for the Lions, Eagles, Steelers Talent Organization — a pooled scouting service that rated pro prospects nationwide. It later became BLESTO when the Chicago Bears joined, then BLESTO-V with the Minnesota Vikings.

Today, it's just BLESTO, and it represents the Steelers, Bills, Miami Dolphins, Jacksonville Jaguars, Lions, Vikings and New York Giants. It competes with The National, serving 18 franchises, and all the teams that do their own scouting.

Butler ran BLESTO for 44 years, retiring in 2007. Art Rooney Jr., former Steelers coach Chuck Noll and Butler's BLESTO sculpted the dominant gridiron dynasty of the 1970s, and it became a breeding ground for top NFL scouts, many of whom later rose to become personnel directors, such as the Steelers' Kevin Colbert.

Butler already has shipped scouting appraisals of tens of thousands of college prospects to Canton. They're just waiting for the man who signed off on them, often using increasingly sophisticated stats, software programs, stopwatches and strength tests to rate potential. BLESTO and other services also founded the Indianapolis pre-draft combine that has become a collegiate rite of passage.

"We were looking at the archetypal player," Butler said. "If you were looking at the best possible combination of speed, power, intelligence and other qualities at each position, what would it all look like? So we set it up like that, ranking prospects from the 'ideal' to less impressive. We wanted teams to see what the standards should be for a player to be successful in the NFL.

"But we also knew that you can't always judge a book by the cover. Sometimes, we would find a player who didn't look on paper like he would be a great player, but there was just something about him that came out when he played in a game. Then I would simply say, 'This guy can play football.' "

In BLESTO's early years, scouts confronted an NFL desegregating in fits and starts. Butler refused to consider race in player evaluations. Instead, he divided the nation geographically and demanded scouts rate a prospect solely by ability.

"I only cared if they could play," said Butler. "The rest of the stuff wasn't important to me."

Including getting into Canton.

"I don't like to talk about myself like that," he said. "I don't care if I get in or not. I'm just glad that I contributed. I'm very proud of playing in the league and giving back afterward, but I don't dwell on the other stuff."

By Carl Prine, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, August 21, 2010

RCA forges bonds with Steel Valley chamber, UPMC

Regional Chamber Alliance has taken steps to solidify new ties with Steel Valley area businesses while forming a new bond with McKeesport's largest employer.

RCA's CEO Maury Burgwin announced Wednesday three members of the former Steel Valley Chamber of Commerce board of directors have joined the RCA board.

"It is beneficial for the members of the Steel Valley Chamber to be part of a larger organization that has more clout now in the business community, and in the political community," said Ray Schon, a Munhall State Farm insurance agent who had been treasurer of the Steel Valley board.

Schon was added to the RCA board Tuesday along with SV president John Karafa Jr. of George Irvin Green Funeral Home Inc. in Munhall and attorney Phil Scolieri, who has offices in Pittsburgh and the Waterfront.

"They're very enthusiastic and they really want to roll their sleeves up," Burgwin said.

Burgwin also announced a board seat is being filled by former state Sen. Sean Logan, D-Plum, now vice president for community relations at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

"I look forward to serving in a role that will help identify and leverage opportunities for UPMC McKeesport, in particular, to work together with other local businesses and organizations to benefit the people who live and work here," Logan said in a release issued by RCA.

UPMC McKeesport has some 1,000 employees. Its role recently was expanded by the Pittsburgh-based hospital network to include areas formerly covered by UPMC Braddock.

UPMC also agreed to be the first RCA member to purchase a "president's circle" sponsorship.

"Within our corporate sponsorships it is the highest level that we have," Burgwin said. "UPMC will take a prominent place on the webpage as one of our sponsors."

"The RCA is under new direction with Maury," Schon said. "There are plans to do a regular schedule of networking events, breakfast, lunch and dinner networking."

Schon volunteered to be part of a networking/programming committee, citing his past work with the Outback restaurant chain.

That in turn put him on chambers of commerce in St. Clairsville, Ohio; Charlotte, N.C.; Virginia Beach, Va.; and Parkersburg, W.Va.

"They are going to meet to roll out an events schedule for 2011," Schon said of RCA.

"We're really shooting for a full slate of events in January."

Burgwin said another new RCA committee will work on building membership in an organization that reached 350 members with the merger with Steel Valley.

"We are moving forward in exciting ways and we want to invite you to contribute to our renewed vitality," Burgwin said in an e-mail to members and potential members Wednesday.

Also serving on the RCA board are Scott Biddle of Northwest Savings Bank, who chairs RCA's executive committee; Prudential Realtor Lori Maffeo, who is the vice chair; and Mark Urbassik of KU Resources Inc. in Duquesne, who is committee secretary.

Also on the board are Linda Curinga of Penn State Greater Allegheny; Certified Public Accountant Edward C. Datemasch; Bobby Fiori of Apter Industries Inc.; Dorothy's Candies proprietor Marti Gastel; Robin Khorey of Global Tax Network of Pennsylvania; and Elizabeth Township business coach Donald Lodge.

Also on the board are White Oak kitchen and bath design studio owner Ronald Massung; South Hills attorney Howard Murphy; Joseph Segina of U.S. Steel's Mon Valley Works; Clairton auto body shop owner Kathy Tachoir; Hatti Topolnak of Bechtel Bettis Inc.; and Dolores Weinstein of H. Wayne Weinstein Inc. in McKeesport.

By Patrick Cloonan, MCKEESPORT DAILY NEWS
Thursday, September 23, 2010

The Avenues Autumn Down Street Block Party

Saturday October 2, 2010
12Noon to 10:00pm

East Eight Avenue @ Amity Street - East Eight Avenue and Amity Merchants DistrictEast Eighth Avenue Homestead, PA


Food, Drink, Games, Sidewalk Craft Vendors, Children's Activities, Art, Music, and Fun for the Whole Family will be available on East Eight Avenue on October 2nd, 2010. Come to the Block Party to greet Capezzutti Puppets and other attractions.

In the evening, Lhagic and friends will perform at the Tin Front Cafe (216 East Eighth Ave) and at 7:30 pm Mike Stout will be having and new album release party at the former Moose Lodge building (112 East Eighth Ave) . Special Guest New Landers and proceeds to benefit Just Harvest.

Carrie Furance Hard Hat Tours

September 18 at 8:30, 9:15, 10 & 10:45 AM

Take a tour of the Carrie Furnaces of U.S. Steel's Homestead Works and experience the scale and majesty of the Mon Valley's last standing blast furnace.

Walk into the Ore Yards where hundreds of tons of raw materials were off loaded from rail cars and barges to feed the blast furnaces that smelted iron 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Travel through the towering Hot Stoves, the "lungs of the blast furnace" that blew super-heated air into the furnaces to begin the smelting process.

Step into the Cast House, where men and molten metal met every time the furnace was tapped. See where the flow of molten iron would fill waiting Torpedo Cars for the iron's trip across the Rankin Hot Metal Bridge to the Homestead Works where the steel making process was completed.

When: August 28, September 18, and October 9, 2010 at 8:30am, 9:15am, 10:00am, and 10:45am

Reservations required. A limited number of tickets remain. Please call 412-464-4020 ext. 32 or email sdrane@riversofsteel.com for information.

Visionworks Opens Friday Oct 1 at The Waterfront

PITTSBURGH, Sept. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Visionworks, Western PA's fastest growing optical retailer, is expanding to provide high quality eye care services to even more local residents. The company will open new locations at Butler Crossing and the Waterfront in Homestead on Wednesday, September 29 and Friday, October 1, respectively.

One of the nation's leading providers of eye care services, Visionworks also has locations in Cranberry Commons Mall, The Mall at Robinson, South Hills Village, Monroeville Mall, South Hills Four Seasons and Ross Park Mall. Plans are also underway for additional Visionworks locations in Monaca's Township Marketplace and Trinity Point in Washington, PA.

"Since we opened Pittsburgh's first Visionworks location in February, folks around here have learned they can count on Visionworks for low-cost and high-quality frames, lenses, contact lenses and sunglasses – plus the leading technology in vision correction," said John DiIanni, Regional Vice President. "And because we have a state-of-the-art processing laboratory on site, we can provide one-hour service on most prescriptions."

The new Visionworks stores will feature:

• Exclusive brands developed to provide Visionworks customers with fashionable designer styling and impeccable quality at a fraction of the price
• Best-selling designer brand frames including Bebe, GUESS, Nine West, Gant, Liz Claiborne, Candies, Rampage, Armani Exchange and Michael Kors
• The region's largest selection of durable kids' frames and a huge selection of impact- and scratch-resistant lenses
• A broad range of contact lenses and related products from leading manufacturers
• Convenient hours with stores open seven days a week including evenings
• In-store licensed Doctors of Optometry (no appointment necessary) who provide comprehensive eye exams and contact lens evaluations and fittings
• Acceptance of most vision insurance plans
• A 30-day money back satisfaction guarantee

"At Visionworks, we're committed to providing the most complete assortment at the best value. That's why Visionworks is a perfect fit for value-seeking residents across western Pennsylvania," said John DiIanni, Regional Vice President. "We want patients to leave our stores feeling confident they got the correct frame and lenses, all at the right price."

Because of strong consumer affinity for Visionworks, the company plans to continue its expansion in the Keystone State. Additional locations are likely to be added in western and central PA in 2011. Those new locations mean new jobs for the community -- each location is expected to employ 12 – 14 local residents.

For more information about Visionworks, including new store locations, visit www.visionworkseyewear.com or become a fan on Facebook.

Visionworks is a subsidiary of Eye Care Centers of America, Inc., a leading provider of eye care services with more than 430 optical retails stores in 35 states. Eye Care Center of America, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of HVHC, Inc., a Highmark company.

For more information about Eye Care Centers of America visit www.ecca.com http://www.ecca.com.

SOURCE Visionworks

Best of the 'Burgh 2010 - Best Underground Art Space - Artspace 105

Best Underground Art Space: Shhh. Let me share a secret: Sometimes, the most engaging art galleries aren’t the ones with cheese plates and French wine. If you don’t want to be distracted by sterile hobnobbing and pretension, visit Artspace 105 in Homestead for exhibitions of photography, sculptures, woodworking and mixed media that brim with youthful energy and ethnically diverse subjects. 105 E. Eighth Ave., Homestead; 412-480-7246, www.steelvalleyarts.org

Best of the 'Burgh 2010: Food & Drink

Best Chocolate-Chip Cookie: Fans of the chocolate chip cookies from Nancy B’s Bakery in Homestead don’t say they’re the best in Pittsburgh. They say they’re the best in the world. Nancy B’s chocolate chip cookies are big, plump, moist marvels packed with gooey goodness and a flavor that begs the question, “What is the secret code of this cookie?” The bakery makes a full lineup of decadent cookies and other bakery faves, but the chocolate chip is the crown jewel. Call ahead to make sure they’re not sold out; the bakery’s open 9 a.m.-5 p.m, Mon.-Fri. 415 W. 7th Ave., West Homestead; 412/462-6222, www. nancybsbakery.com.

Noah’s Ark Named Best Funhouse/Walk-Through Attraction

ARLINGTON, Texas, Sept. 11, 2010 – The envelope, please … and the Golden Ticket Award goes to … In an awards’ show hosted this evening by Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Virginia, Amusement Today announced the winners of its prestigious 2010 Golden Ticket Awards, which are presented to the “Best of the Best” in the amusement industry.

Calculated from an international poll conducted by Amusement Today, the Golden Ticket Awards are the results of a detailed survey that is sent to a database of experienced and well-traveled amusement park fans around the world – in balanced geographical regions – asking them to rate the “bests” in 25 categories such as “amusement parks,” “roller coasters,” “shows,” “landscaping” and “water rides.” The 2010 winners are …

Best Amusement Park
Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio

Best Waterpark
Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resort, New Braunfels, Texas

Best Children’s Park
Idlewild and SoakZone, Ligonier, Pa.

Best Marine Life Park
SeaWorld Orlando, Orlando, Fla.

Best Seaside Park
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Santa Cruz, Calif.

Best Wooden Coaster
The Voyage at Holiday World, Santa Claus, Ind.

Best Steel Coaster
Millennium Force at Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio

Best Kids’ Area
Kings Island, Kings Mills, Ohio

Friendliest Staff
Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari, Santa Claus, Ind.

Cleanest Park
Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari, Santa Claus, Ind.

Best Halloween Event
Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando, Orlando, Fla..

Best Landscaping
Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Williamsburg, Va.

Best Christmas Event
Smoky Mountain Christmas at Dollywood,
Pigeon Forge, Tenn.

Best Food
Knoebels Amusement Resort, Elysburg, Pa.

Best Shows
Dollywood, Pigeon Forge, Tenn.

Best Outdoor Night Show Production
IllumiNations: Reflections of the Earth
at Walt Disney World’s Epcot Center, Orlando, Fla.

Best Water Ride
Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls
at Universal’s Islands of Adventure, Orlando, Fla.

Best Waterpark Ride
Wildebeest at Splashin’ Safari, Santa Claus, Ind.

Best Dark Ride
Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man
at Universal’s Islands of Adventure, Orlando, Fla.

Best Indoor Waterpark
Schlitterbahn Galveston Island, Galveston, Texas

Best Funhouse/Walk-Through Attraction
Noah’s Ark at Kennywood, West Mifflin, Pa.

Best Carousel
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Steel Valley chamber to merge with RCA

Steel Valley Chamber of Commerce is merging with Regional Chamber Alliance of Southwestern Pennsylvania.

McKeesport-based RCA and the Munhall-based chamber jointly announced Monday their respective boards approved the merger.

It expands RCA's influence into Munhall, Homestead, West Homestead and Whitaker, while boosting its ties in West Mifflin.

"It's a win-win for both organizations," Steel Valley chamber president John Karafa said.

Steel Valley's 100-plus members will be added to what will become a 350-member RCA. It bottomed out at 213 but now seeks to rise past its previous high of 450.

"We're very excited," Steel Valley chamber treasurer Ray Schon said. "It's an opportunity to network to a larger group."

It took effect immediately though Steel Valley's chamber will remain a separate entity until the end of the year.

"For all intents and purposes they become part of our organization today," RCA president and CEO Maury Burgwin said. "We are going to put some of their board members on our board."

Burgwin will be the speaker at Steel Valley's last meeting, Oct. 7 at 11:30 a.m. at Westwood Golf Club in West Mifflin.

Before that meeting, there could be even more news from RCA. Burgwin promised "another announcement in a week that is exciting," saying only that it would be "a further strengthening" of his organization.

As it happens, a merger first was discussed five years ago, when RCA still was known as Regional Business Alliance.

"This was a discussion that has been going on for some time before I came here," said Burgwin, who was named RCA's president and CEO in July.

RCA took on its present name in a July 2007 merger with McKeesport-based Mon-Yough Valley Chamber of Commerce, which in turn evolved out of chambers in the McKeesport and Turtle Creek areas. RCA also is an umbrella for Clairton, West Jefferson Hills and White Oak chambers.

"They first approached us in 2005, at which time we decided to stay our own individual chamber," Schon said.

Steel Valley, however, ran into a problem recently when its director Carolyn Whewell stepped down and Larry Rettger stepped in as interim director. It caused that chamber's board to reconsider ties with RCA.

"The Steel Valley Chamber has a rich tradition dating back over 40 years and we welcome them with open arms," Burgwin said.

The Steel Valley treasurer said his chamber's office along Main Street is not being staffed at this time.

"Throughout the last quarter of the year e-mails and phone lines are being forwarded to the RCA," Schon said.

RCA also is involved in a "community conversation" scheduled Thursday at 6 p.m. at McKees Cafe in the Palisades in McKeesport.

"I'm hoping we'll see a good attendance," Burgwin said.

The forum is part of the "Power of 32" regional visioning initiative aimed at drawing up a blueprint for the decades to come in 32 counties covering four states.

"It's just going to be a few facilitators," Burgwin said. "They'll go through a series of questions, like, 'What do you want your community to look like in 25 years?'"

The RCA CEO said a short film presentation will open the program, after which a discussion will be held that could take up to 21⁄2 hours.

By Patrick Cloonan, Daily News Staff Writer
Tuesday, September 14, 2010