Pancake and Sausage Breakfast

St. Rita's will be holding an all-you-can-eat buckeye-pancake and sausage breakfast on Valentine's Day--Feb. 14--from 7 a.m. until noon. Cost for adults is $5.50, children 12 and under get in for $2.

Who to call in an animal-related emergency

If you follow just about any animal shelter on Facebook, you've probably seen more than one post that says, "We are not animal control!" Shelters take animals in--they don't, and likely can't, go out and pick up animals found wandering. So who do you call? Well, the Westmoreland and Fayette County Animal Response Team (CART) has made a handy chart breaking down who handles what, helping you determine who to contact in any situation from wounded wild animals to incidents of animal abuse.

Save it to your phone, print it out and stick it on your fridge, whatever. Actual contact information should be forthcoming--the organizations are still working on putting together a comprehensive list.

Music from Fayettenam: The Abilene Band

Looking for something to do this weekend? The head to RBG Uniontown tomorrow night, inside the Park Inn, to see The Abilene Band starting at 9 p.m. The band plays country rock and top-40 hits. No cover charge.

Methadone-clinic director and doctor indicted

In what I can only assume is the continued fallout from raids in the fall, a methadone-clinic director and doctor have been indicted on drug charges.

The two people arrested were Dominic Dileo and Rosalind Sugarmann. Dileo has been charged with 19 counts of illegally distributing Suboxone, as well as illegally distributing Xanax. Sugarmann's charges are similar, totaling 93 counts between the two of them.

Dileo's had legal troubles in the past--in 1996, he was sentenced to ten years in prison for writing unlawful prescriptions and has also been convicted of mail fraud. His medical license was suspended, then reinstated in 2005.

The clinic has been operating under a provisional license since a raid in October, but it is not named in the indictment.

Winter storm closings

Everybody make it through the storm? Dig out okay?

If you dug out intending to, like, actually leave your house, you probably shouldn't--for one, PennDOT's gonna need some time, but plenty of local events and such have been canceled.

For you Catholic churchgoers, the diocese has relaxed mass attendance for the weekend. If you're able to attend mass, go for it, but please don't risk getting out there--it's fine if you can't make it. Churches are expected to still hold mass as scheduled, but parishioners are encouraged to check first to be sure.

All county transportation has been canceled for today, Jan. 23.

Other cancelations for today are as follows:

• Uniontown Hospital Outpatient Diagnostic Center
• Abundant Life Church of Uniontown canceled their meatloaf dinner
• UMWA Local #1248 canceled their meeting
• Grace Baptist Church of Grindstone canceled Saturday Bible Study and Sunday Services 
• The Uniontown YMCA will be closed Saturday, will reopen Sunday
• The dance at the Amvets Post #103 in Hopwood is canceled 
• Greene Valley Presbyterian Church of Carmichaels canceled all services Sunday
• South Union Township Youth Indoor Soccer Games are canceled
• The S.A.T. site for Uniontown Area School District scheduled for Saturday will be held February 20

Connellsville mayor Greg Lincoln is asking any Connellsville residents having difficulty shoveling out to let him know and he'll get volunteers to help.

Remember, the state remains in a state of emergency, with similar declarations in Perryopolis, Masontown, and Fairchance.

While we're all snowed in, anyone have some cool pictures of the snow they'd like to share?

46 charged in connection with drug ring

We all know Fayette County has a drug problem, and we saw things culminate this summer when a string of businesses were raided in a relatively short time span. In what I can only assume is a related event, 19 people were arrested with drug ties yesterday, leading to a total of 46 people charged in the county over a span of about two years.

Federal investigators said they sized more than $1 million in cash, guns, homes, cars and drugs in connection with the biggest drug trafficking ring in Fayette County’s history.

For a full list of those charged, see WPXI. All were involved in heroin and cocaine trafficking.

I don't know that this will solve the county's drug problem--in fact, I think we need to work on helping addicts get help rather than making arrests and calling it a day--but it's sure to have an impact.

Geibel Student qualifies for Olympic swimming trials, named CoGo’s High School Sports Unsung Hero

Geibel senior Emily Zimcosky has qualified for a spot in the 2016 Olympic swimming trials this summer, which is obviously pretty awesome. But she's also been named CoGo’s High School Sports Unsung Hero for the month of January.

The High School Sports Unsung Hero Award, presented by CoGo's, recognizes local high school student-athletes who have dedicated themselves to sports and academics, but traditionally have not received the deserved attention.

Good luck, Emily!

The Nam on Facebook: Uniontown Robberies

I haven't been able to find any news articles or anything on this so far, but I think it's important information to share--various Uniontown-area Facebook users have been mentioning robberies and attempted break-ins lately. The Herald-Standard has mentioned a few business-related robberies, but it's unclear if they're related to the ones Facebook users are sharing.

The specific areas mentioned were Craig Meadows and Craig St., multiple incidents, with stories ranging from people breaking into cars to walking into people's houses.

Stay safe, guys. Make sure you're locking everything, and if you see something, say something. If you have any information on any robberies in the area, let the police know.

Blast from the Past: Brownsville and the Mon

I know I've been posting a lot about the historical society, but they seriously have lots of good stuff! Facebook users, I highly recommend their page for regular glimpses at what the county used to look like.

I like this one a lot because I recently just so happened to be driving along the Mon in Brownsville. But here's what it looked like in yesteryear.

Help the Fayette County Historical Society

Over the summer, the county's historical society featured an exhibit on furniture made in the county, including furniture made here between 1760 and 1820. A DVD was made of a simulated tour of the exhibit, narrated by a professor from Cal U. The historical society is offering them for sale as a fundraiser for $18 each. All proceeds support the historical society.

Of course, I'm sure the historical society would also welcome any donations, DVD purchase or no.

Connellsville Canteen to honor anniversary of 1936 Olympics

Did you know Connellsville spawned an Olympic gold medalist?

Connellsville native Johnny Woodruff won a gold medal in the 1936 Olympics in the 800-meter race using a pretty brilliant tactic--when he was boxed in by other runners, he stopped in his tracks, moved to the third lane, then passed everyone to win the race in 1:52.9.

The Connellsville Canteen will be featuring an exhibit on Woodruff and the 1936 Olympics to honor the 80th anniversary of the event. The exhibit will open on May 1 and will run through the rest of the year. It will include rare photos of Woodruff and other winners, as well as one of the first original torches used in the torch relay from Olympia, Greece, to Berlin, Germany. A model of the Hindenburg will also be included to illustrate its role in the Olympics.

Do you know these gentlemen?

The Fayette County Historical Society usually posts some pretty neat old photos to their Facebook, but sometimes, they feature people no one actually knows. But maybe you can help.

The only information anyone has on this photo is that it was taken in Fairchance. Anyone have any idea who these guys are?

Help Connellsville Area Community Ministries reach their fundraising goal

Was your New Year's resolution to be more charitable? Maybe to help the community more? Or maybe you just want to pitch in for a good cause regardless.

 Connellsville Area Community Ministries is aiming to raise $100,000, and as of a few days ago, they'd managed $72,000. They're getting close! Click here to find out how to donate, and remember, any little bit helps--even if it's just a couple bucks. You can also visit the Bob Evans in New Stanton all day on Monday, Jan. 25 with a CACM flyer to have 15% of your bill sent to the non-profit. You can print the flyer or visit CACM to pick one up in person.

The ministry serves the Connellsville community by helping people in need with food, clothing, medical equipment, emergency housing, minor housing repairs, mentoring, and utilities.

Music from Fayettenam: Nevada Color

So there I was a couple weeks ago, enjoying the opening bands Punchline's record-release show when I heard a name that sounded familiar. Not wanting to be Facebook creeping in the middle of a band's show while I was right in the front row, no less--and with a low battery and probably low on data for the month--I saved my creeping for later, when I confirmed what I suspected. The name I heard was familiar indeed, as the dude, Max Kovalchuk, had gone to Geibel and graduated with my brother. Who I of course immediately texted, and I was kind of bummed that he hadn't been able to go to the show with me because of his weekend drill with the Army.

It may have been a local show, but it was still pretty cool to see a Geibel grad up there onstage rocking out one of the two opening acts for a band I've been a fan of for 10+ years.

The band is Nevada Color, and I quite like them. Unfortunately, the venue's sound quality seemed to be lacking--this was the second time I've been there in a few months, and both times, I had a hard time hearing and understand the singers all night long--which made it difficult to adequately listen to and form an opinion on a new, unfamiliar band. It's one thing when you know all the songs, it's another when you get cheated out of discovering a great new band because you can't hear them well.

Fortunately, they're on Spotify, and I highly recommend giving them a listen--especially those of you who are also into alternative rock. I'm having a hard time drawing decent comparisons, but it's an upbeat rock sound in line with bands like The Strokes, Phoenix, or Vampire Weekend. They were a perfect opener for Punchline, actually. So far, my personal favorite is "Buzz Aldrin."

Their next local show is in Pittsburgh Jan. 16. They'll be in the lineup for the city's Strip District Music Festival, which will be featuring a ton of other local bands, too, all playing in--duh--the Strip. I'm hoping to make it.

#NevadaColor #livemusic #concert #FrontRow #ThrilledTour

A photo posted by Janelle (@littlejanelle) on Dec 19, 2015 at 7:47pm PST

Ring Found

The Uniontown police have advised via a Facebook post that a ring was found in the parking lot of a local restaurant. If you think the ring is yours, you're asked to call Uniontown police to claim it, but you will need to describe the ring and identify the restaurant where it was lost/found.

Lady Luck

Somehow, within the last couple of years, my family started the tradition of brunch and gambling on New Year's Day. So I started 2016 with my very first trip to Lady Luck at Nemacolin--after a very brief and very cold visit to Ohiopyle, of course. And if you're up for putting up with the cold and don't like crowds, it's the perfect time to go!

To be honest, way back when Lady Luck first opened and I heard about their policy of paying to get in, I was put off. If you want to play for the day, you get a 24-hour pass that costs $10, but you're reimbursed via a gift card good anywhere at Nemacolin. You can also put it towards food if you eat at the restaurant at the back of the casino. If you want a year's membership, you can pay $40, which is admittedly a better deal if you live nearby and plan to go a lot. For me, since I live an hour away now, it wasn't worth it.

We started the trip with brunch, which was served buffet-style. I'm told this is different than the restaurant's usual setup. The food was decent but not impressive, although I was a fan of the massive omelette I got from the omelette station, as well as their dessert cakes. I regret not snatching a piece of strawberry cake while there was still some left, and it was replaced with some sort of bacon-topped cake.

Now, part of the reason we went to Lady Luck rather than our usual Meadows in Washington or Rivers in Pittsburgh is that most of my family tends to do better at Lady Luck, but yesterday, most of us did terrible and lost, with the exception of my brother's fiancee. It's hard to gauge from one visit, especially since I've visited most other area casinos multiple times, but this was one of the worst trips to a casino I've ever had in terms of money and winnings/losses.

Which brings me to the fact that all in all, compared to other casinos in the area, I found Lady Luck to be disappointing.

The quality and variety of food at other casinos is better. Other casinos are also bigger, though I admittedly don't care about how big a casino is. The catch is, though, that Lady Luck also doesn't have as much a variety of games, especially some of the ones I've come to love at Rivers and the Meadows. at Lady Luck, there were only a handful of slot machines I had fun playing--the rest were really generic and kind of boring, honestly, while at Rivers and the Meadows, I make my rounds between games like Jurassic Park or Alice in Wonderland or The Wizard of Oz of this one I like with goldfish or The Princess Bride or Titanic. Lady Luck had only two of those, and they had a much smaller number of them. And I lost.

My verdict? If you want to have a more fun overall experience and better food, go elsewhere. I've heard people tend to do better at Lady Luck, if you're more concerned with your chances of winning--although that wasn't my experience. But the thing is, if I'm gonna lose money, I'd at least like to have some fun doing it, and the chances for that were pretty limited at Lady Luck.