Erie Times-News

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

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SNOWBOUND

Historic storm drops 60 inches of snow on city, lakeshore communities. Erie County authorities were taking steps

on Tuesday to line up outside assistance to help lakeshore communities — including the City of Erie — dig out from a historic snowstorm that isn’t expected to let up until late Wednesday. • A storm that blew into northern Erie County on Christmas Eve had dumped 60 inches of snow by late Tuesday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service in Cleveland, slowing traffic on local interstates, plugging up residential streets and forcing numerous businesses to close, including the Millcreek Mall on what was expected to be a busy post-holiday shopping day.

24”

Total snowfall for Erie on Tuesday, as of 5:12 p.m., as measured at Erie International Airport.

34”

ABOVE: Kilian Hiner, 27, digs out his car on West Eighth Street in Erie on Tuesday after a record two-day snowfall. TOP: Fairview Township resident Natalie Latimer, 43, center, helps her niece Kristy Sheldon, 33, shovel her driveway on West Lake Road on Tuesday. [GREG WOHLFORD PHOTOS/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

By Tim Hahn tim.hahn@timesnews.com

T

he record-setting snow has made December 2017 the snowiest month in Erie, by more than 30 inches, on National Weather Service records dating back to the late 1800s. It pushed the seasonal snowfall, through Tuesday afternoon, to less than 4 inches from reaching Erie’s average snowfall total of 100.9 inches for a winter season.

Erie International Airport recorded 24 inches of snow on Tuesday as of 5:12 p.m., pushing Erie’s December

Volume 18 Number 86 © 2017, GateHouse Media Questions? Call 870-1600

snowfall total to 97 inches and the city’s seasonal snowfall total to 97.5 inches, according to NWS data.

Tuesday’s snow followed a Christmas Day in which 34 inches of snow fell on Erie — an all-time, single-day snowfall record in city history. The lake-effect snow storm began Sunday evening, when 2 inches of snow fell at the airport.

The snowfall total is expected to rise by the time a lake effect snow warning expires on Wednesday.

Forecasters at NWS Cleveland were calling for up See SNOW, A3

Obituaries ...............B4-5 Lotteries ................... C6 Comics .................. D4-5

Amount of snow that fell on Christmas, which is an all-time Erie snowfall record for one day. The previous record was 20 inches on Nov. 22, 1956.

A man clears snow near East Seventh and State streets Tuesday.

[GREG WOHLFORD/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

60”

Also inside

Total snowfall from Sunday night to Tuesday evening.

97”

Total snowfall for month of December for Erie (so far).

27.5”

December’s average snowfall total for Erie.

Puzzles ......................D3 Classified................E1-8 Employment ............... E2

Storm makes for ‘ridiculous’ number of snowblower sales in Erie, A3 Storm disrupts a day usually spent returning holiday gifts, A3 Hospitals weather first wave, prepare for what’s next, A4 As temps dip, shelters extend services for homeless, A4 Advice for how to limit risk of roof collapse, A6 Stuck in the snow? Here are 5 tips, B1

Wednesday’s closings Gannon University Recreation and Wellness Center Erie Federal Courthouse Erie County Assistance Office Young Environment Learning Center Playway Loving Childcare Center St. Mark Catholic Center Add yours to the list at Facebook.com/GoErie NUMBERS SOURCE: NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE

TODAY

TH U RS DAY

F RIDAY

Snow, 1-2” 14° / 10°

A.M. flurries 17° / 10°

A snow shower 22° / 13°

A2

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

THE LIST Cocktails and Clay: Friday, Dec. 29, 5:30-8:30 p.m.; Erie ClaySpace, third floor of PACA, 1505 State St.; introduction to throwing pottery on the wheel, creating two or three pieces of your own; bring snacks and drinks; pick up finished pieces approximately two weeks later. Cost: $45. Info: www. erieclayspace.eventbrite. com.

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Erie Times-News | GoErie.com

Find our complete, searchable calendar listing at GoErie.eviesays.com/events

BEST BET

Snowy owl search: Saturday, Dec. 30, 9-11:30 a.m.; meet in lobby of the Tom Ridge Environmental Center, 301 Peninsula Drive; Presque Isle Audubon Society will lead a hike across the peninsula in search of snowy owls.

Info: fieldtrips@presqueisleaudubon.org, www. presqueisleaudubon.org.

Stardust Starlight Dance: Saturday, Dec. 30; merengue lesson, 6:30 p.m., followed by general dance (swing, Latin and ballroom), 7-10 p.m.; St. John’s Lutheran Church, 2216 Peach St.; Stardust Dance Club-sponsored event. Cost: $12; $10 for members. Info: 833-8286.

Holiday movie on the Big Green Screen: Saturday, Dec. 30, 7 p.m. (doors open at 6:30 p.m.); Tom Ridge Environmental Center, 301 Peninsula Drive; see “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” (2016).

Cost: $5; tickets available at the Big Green Screen Theatre daily. Info: 838-4123, http:// biggreenscreen.com.

Noon Year’s Eve: Sunday, Dec. 31, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; Experience Children’s Museum, 420 French St.; party hats, entertainment and more activities; actual balloon drops and apple-juice toast at noon and 2 p.m. Cost: $9; $4 for members. Info: 453-3743, www.eriechildrensmuseum.org.

New Year’s Eve walk: Sunday, Dec. 31, 11

B O R N O N T H I S D AT E Karen Barber, Jane Bonanti, Jacob Lechtner, Frani Lechtner, Peg Carney, Terry Phillis, Jeffrey House, David Nordberg, Esther Bax, Marian Altman, Ernest Ware, Dr. David Dieteman, Donald Chandley, Susan Mancuso, Robin Baughman, Debra Bartone, Susan Fouch, Carol Wroczynski, Laura Sapsowictz, Karen Hall, Jeffery Mientkiewicz, Margaret Kelley, Perry Miller, George Weaver, Barbara Gene Smith, Dale McLaughlin, Bonnie Litz, James Caplan, Mark Gardner, Angela Malaspina, Edziu Nitkiewicz II, Mark Nitkiewicz, Carla Werling, Jordan Brown.

Happy birthday: Want to see your name listed here? Send an email to Pat Howard at pat. howard@timesnews.com.

CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS

Winter Wonderland Winter Wonderland runs Wednesday through Friday from 6 to 9 p.m. at Asbury Woods Nature Center, 4105 Asbury Road. The annual light-and-music holiday show in the Otto Behrend Celebration Garden includes stories, crafts, holiday model train display, live entertainment and more. Cost is $6, free for children 3 and younger. For information, go to www.asburywoods.org.

[JACK HANRAHAN/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

p.m.-midnight; meet at Stull Interpretive Center, Presque Isle State Park; take a guided 3-mile walk, with a midnight stop overlooking Presque Isle Bay; participants encouraged to bring noisemakers; no alcohol allowed in park.

Cost: Free, but registration required. Info: http://bit. ly/2iaHM1p.

First Day Moonlight Stroll: Monday, Jan. 1, 7-9 p.m.; Pymatuning State Park; meet at the Environmental Classroom at the Jamestown Marina for a 1.2-mile walk for all ages on the Classroom Trail; dress for the weather.

Cost: Free, but registration required. Info: 724-932-3142.

Winter Village at Chautauqua: Through Dec. 31; Fridays, 4-8 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; Bestor Plaza, Chautauqua Institution, off Route 394, Chautauqua, N.Y.; festive weekends at the Institution, including holiday light display, outdoor fire pits, horse-drawn wagon or sleigh rides and visits from Santa.

Cost: Free admission and parking. Info: www.chq.org/ winter.

NPAA holiday show: Through Jan. 15; Artlore Studio, 3406 West Lake Road; Northwest Pennsylvania Artists Association 2017 holiday art exhibit. Cost:

Free. Info: 520-8800.

‘For the Love of Ground and Water’: Through Jan. 20; Lake Shore Center for the Arts, First Presbyterian Church, 49 S. Portage St., Westfield, N.Y.; art show featuring Christine French, Karen Glosser and Mara Rubin. Info: 716-224-2135; www.lakeshorecenterforthearts.com.

‘Baby it’s Cold Outside’: Through Jan. 30; Main Street Art, 130 Main St. W., Girard, themed, juried art show; opening reception is Friday, Dec. 15, 6-8 p.m.

Info: 392-0284, http://bit. ly/2zw54Uc.

Actor John Amos is 78. ABC News correspondent Cokie Roberts is 74. Rock musician Mick Jones (Foreigner) is 73.

Singer Tracy Nelson is 73.

Actor Gerard Depardieu is 69.

Jazz singer-musician T.S. Monk is 68. Singer-songwriter Karla Bonoff is 66. Rock musician David Knopfler (Dire Straits) is 65. Actress Tovah Feldshuh is 64. Journalist-turned-politician Arthur Kent is 64. Actress Maryam D’Abo is 57. Country musician Jeff Bryant is 55.

Actor Ian Gomez is 53. Actress Theresa Randle is 53. Actress Eva LaRue is 51. Wrestler and actor Bill Goldberg is 51.

Actress Tracey Cherelle Jones is 48. Bluegrass singer-musician Darrin Vincent (Dailey & Vincent) is 48. Rock musician Guthrie Govan is 46.

GETTING IT RIGHT If you notice an error, please bring it to the attention of Pat Howard at 870-1721 or send e-mail to pat.howard@ timesnews.com

THE LOOK BACK Today’s highlight in history: On Dec. 27, 1927, the musical play “Show Boat,” with music

by Jerome Kern and libretto by Oscar Hammerstein II, opened at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York, beginning a run of 572 performances.

In 1947, the original version of the puppet character Howdy Doody made his TV debut on NBC’s “Puppet Playhouse.”

On this date: In 1831, naturalist Charles Darwin set out on a roundthe-world voyage aboard the HMS Beagle.

In 1970, the musical play “Hello, Dolly!” closed on Broadway after a run of 2,844 performances.

In 1892, the cornerstone was laid for the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York City.

In 1904, James Barrie’s play “Peter Pan: The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up” opened at the Duke of York’s Theater in London.

In 1932, New York City’s Radio City Music Hall first opened.

In 1945, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund were formally established.

Dec. 27, 1902: Fire destroyed one of the most noted buildings in the region — the old homestead owned by the family of Horace Greeley.

The building was just six miles north of Corry near the New York state line. Greeley was the founder and editor of the NewYork Tribune. He also briefly served as a congressman from New York. He lived on the property, which belonged to his family, briefly. He was hired by the Erie Gazette and remained there until around 1831 to support his father. The home was occupied at the time of its destruction by Burt Greeley, Horace Greeley’s nephew, and his family. All of the home’s contents were destroyed.

In 1968, Apollo 8 and its three astronauts made a safe, nighttime splashdown in the Pacific.

In 1985, Palestinian guerrillas opened fire inside the Rome and Vienna airports; 19 victims were killed, plus four attackers who were slain by police and security personnel. American naturalist Dian Fossey, 53, who had studied gorillas in the wild in Rwanda, was found hacked to death.

Compiled by Sarah Grabski

In 1995, Israeli jeeps sped out of the West Bank town of Ramallah, capping a seven-week pullout giving Yasser Arafat control over 90 percent of the West Bank’s one million Palestinian residents and one-third of its land.

See a larger version of this page and more pages from The Look Back feature on GoErie’s Pinterest page: pinterest.com/goerie

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Erie Times-News | GoErie.com |

Snowblower sales ‘ridiculous’ after storm

By Ed Palattella ed.palattella@timesnews.com

Ernie Lamb’s 10-yearold snowblower met its cold demise on Tuesday as it went upagainst one of the heaviest snowstormsinErie’shistory.

Lamb quickly bought another snow-clearing machine.

He stopped by Miller Brothers, at 2111 State St., not far from his house at West 30th and Peach streets, and left with a new, bright orange Ariens snowblower.

“It burned out in the middle of my driveway,” Lamb, 39, said of his previous snowblower. “Ten years old; it couldn’t take it anymore.”

Plenty of other residents of the Erie area joined Lamb in buying snowblowers on Tuesday.

“It is ridiculous,” Mark Miller, the owner of Miller Brothers, said of the flurry of business.

Miller Brothers opened at 7 a.m. Within two hours,

Miller said, the business had sold 10 snowblowers.

The store had sold 52 to 54 snowblowers at about 30 minutes before closing on Tuesday. It typically sells four or five on snowy days in Erie, Miller said. Tuesday was different from the start.

“As soon as we had the opening bell, we were off,” Miller said.

And the sales floor was not theonlyspothumminginthe store.

“Parts is slammed,” Miller said.

He said customers called about repairs to their snowblowers and traded stories about the difficulty of navigating through Erie’s snow-clogged streets. Plows were cleaning up after the more than 50 inches of snow that fell over the past two days and shattered the record for the local two-day snow total.

“The word I keep hearing is ‘epic’ — an ‘epic’ snowfall,” Miller said.

Snowblower sales were

brisk at other businesses throughout Erie. The Lowe’s on Peach Street in Summit Townshipsold21snowblowers by 10 a.m., a clerk said.

Gerlach’s power equipment, at 3457 W. 26th St., in Millcreek Township, sold as many as six snowblowers by 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, said Mike Hilbert, who works in sales and service.

He said customers were also coming in for repairs and to get replacement parts, including shear pins that can snap on snowblowers under pressure.

“It has been pretty much nonstop,” Hilbert said.

At Miller Brothers, Mark Miller had advice for those usingasnowblower,whether new or old. With such heavy snow, he said, users should first make a “half or threequarter swath” before putting the snowblower deck lower.

Healsorecommendedthat users keep the rpms high and operate the snowblower at a slow pace.

“Be patient with the machine,” he said.

Be safe as well. If a snowblower gets clogged, he said, turn it off and clear out the snow with a broomstick or the batons or shovels that come with some machines.

“Use something other than your hand,” Miller said.

Miller said he was glad for the business on Tuesday, and said his store is ready to keep up with the demand for snowblowers — a demand that he expects will wane a bit once the snow lets up.

“We have a nice stock,” Miller said. “Once we get through these first couple of days, we should be fine.”

Ernie Lamb got his new snowblower to get back to work on his driveway. As for his old machine: “It always did a good job for me,” he said.“Butitonlygoessofar.”

100.9”

Erie’s average winter snowfall total.

71.2”

Erie’s snowfall total for the 2015-16 winter season.

78.6”

Erie snowfall total for the 2016-17 winter season.

SOURCE: NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE

Online Extras • See photos from the record snowfall: GoErie.com/photos See videos from the Christmas snowstorm at GoErie.com/videos • Enter your ZIP code at GoErie.com/weather to get your hometown forecast Get severe weather text or email alerts from GoErie. com/alerts • Share your storm photos at bit.ly/erie-storm or by using #eriesnow or #eriechristmasstorm on Twitter or Instagram.

Aaron Wassell said Tuesday morning that officers have encountered a number of vehicles that were abandoned in the middle of city roadways after they got stuck in the high snow.

Thecityhad24plowtrucks out Tuesday morning and were starting to make some progress in getting roadways clear, said Chuck Zysk, the city’s assistant director of Public Works. There would be 25 pieces of equipment working through Tuesday night and into Wednesday, he said.

“We’re plowing some main streets still,” he said.

Millcreek Mall, Tinseltown, many stores close due to conditions

By Jim Martin jim.martin@timesnews.com

Tim Hahn can be reached at 870-1731 or by email. Follow him on Twitter at www. twitter.com/ETNhahn.

Jim Martin can be reached at 870-1668 or by email. Follow him on Twitter at www. twitter.com/ETNMartin.

With a big assist from a Mayer Brothers Construction backhoe loader, family members and neighbors help dig out a car belonging to Ashley Duran, 24, in doorway, back, on Cherry Street in Erie on Tuesday. Duran is due any day with her first child and was happy for the help. Also helping were Jerry Casey, 59, far left, and Duran’s mother, Trina Woods, 43. [GREG WOHLFORD/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Erie winters by the numbers

Storm slows retail to a crawl

“We have crews in the innercity areas, the odd-even areas. From there we’ll go into the residential areas.”

“I think our guys are doing a tremendous job. But we have work ahead of us,” Zysk added.

Many residents buried under back-breaking amounts of snow spent Tuesday clearing away what had fallen.

Miles Cross had equipped his Polaris 400 ATV with a plow to clear out the snow from driveways and walks inthe1600blockofChestnut Street. He had been outside for three hours around 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday and said he was far from done.

“It’s crazy,” said Lesley Calafato, who has lived in Erie for 44 years, as she walked along West 16th Street near Chestnut Street.

“It’s been a long time since we have had so much snow all at one time and so quickly.”

A man who identified himself only as Rick carried a shovel as he strolled down West 11th Street heading west from State Street Tuesday morning. He said he was trying to make a few dollars and to “keep my muscles going” by offering to shovel show to whoever needed his help.

“You know, I’m 63 years old, so I’ve got to keep busy,” Rick said.

He said he was also out Tuesday morning ministering to people.

“I’m a God-fearing man, that’s basically it,” he said.

“God is good. He gave us this snow. We always want a white Christmas. Well, we got one.”

Staff writers Ed Palattella and Matt Rink contributed to this story.

Ed Palattella can be reached at 870-1813 or by email. Follow him on Twitter at twitter. com/ETNpalattella.

From Page A1

the main routes clear and to open up secondary roads.

PennDOT placed restrictions on Interstate 86 and on Interstate 90 between the New York state line and Interstate 79 Tuesday, barring lightly-loaded or empty tractor-trailers, recreational vehicles and non-commercial vehicles towing trailers.

Speed limits were reduced to 45 mph on the interstates in the county.

PennDOT officials joined state and local police in urging residents to stay off the roadways if possible on Tuesday, to aid plow crews in clearing the snow.

Dahlkemper credited people for doing “the right thing” and staying home in keeping down the number of calls to the Erie County 911 center on Tuesday.

Erie and Millcreek Township both declared snow emergencies on Tuesday morning because of dangerous and unpassable roads.

Township officials warned motorists that those caught driving on township roads without snow tires or chains may be subject to fines, and that vehicles parked along streets would be towed without notice as on-street parking is prohibited during snow emergencies.

The City of Erie was prepared for an onslaught of snow that hit the city beginning Sunday night, but not the magnitude of snow “that we haven’t seen in many years in this town,” Mayor Joe Sinnott said Tuesday morning.

Sinnott said city plow crewswerefocusingMonday on the main routes of the city, to get those cleared before the plow drivers turned their attention to secondary roads. But the main runs “were filling up as fast as they could plow it, and they never got off the main runs until today,” he said.

Erie police Deputy Chief

A3

In what’s typically one of the busiest days of the year for retailers — a day for returning ugly sweaters, cashing in gift cards and buying what Santa didn’t bring — the Millcreek Mall was closed Tuesday as Erie dug out from one of the biggest snowstorms in its history.

The post-holiday tradition of catching a movie would also have to wait. Tinseltown was closed for the day.

The same went for local Starbucks locations.

How about sitting home and waiting for pizza delivery?

Options were limited.

While the Target store in Summit Township was open forbusinessTuesdaymorning, store director Jim Cosgrove said there were no long lines to return merchandise or shop for something new.

“It’s really slow,” he said.

Slow also described business late Tuesday morning at Splash Lagoon Indoor Water Park, where an employee estimated there might be 50 people using the limited areas of the water park that were open for business.

That’s perhaps 10 percent of thenormal number ofpatrons, she said.

It might have been just as well that the crowds were small.

“With the weather, a lot of our staff couldn’t make it in to work,” she said. “We don’t have the number of certified lifeguards to open all the attractions.”

While numerous banks, restaurants and retailers were closed in Erie on Tuesday, others forged ahead.

Chopstix Asian Restaurant on West Lake Road was open, but management was still waiting late Tuesday morning for someone to remove the record snowfall from the parking lot.

Tom Nowosielski, coowner of Kraus Department Store on Parade Street, said it never crossed his mind that he wouldn’t open the doors of the 131-year-old business Tuesday morning.

“We are hard core,” he said. “We have to come in and move snow anyhow. It wasn’t bad. We have trucks and Bobcats.”

On a frigid, windy day in Erie, Kraus Department Store wasn’t setting any sales records, but Nowosielski said he was doing a reasonable amount of weather-related business — salt, pieces and parts for snow blowers and plenty of snow shovels.

When it comes to bad weather, Nowosielski said he follows a simple rule of thumb for when to close the store: “Never.”

“We always come in,” he said.

A shutdown at the Millcreek Mall isn’t quite as unusual, but it remains a relatively rare event, said Joe Bell, a spokesman for the Youngstown-based Cafaro Co., which owns the mall.

Bell said it’s possible that the mall could remain closed for at least part of Wednesday.

“Early (Wednesday) morning we will reassess what the road and parking lot situation is and decide from there,” Bell said.

SNOW to 9 more inches on Tuesday night and 1 to 3 inches of snow on Wednesday.

It was the threat of more snow that led Erie County Executive Kathy Dahlkemper early Tuesday afternoon to sign a declaration of disaster emergency, which authorizes county officials to act on meeting the needs of a snow emergency and directs the county’s emergency management team to take steps to aid emergency response.

Dale Robinson, the county’semergency management coordinator, said Tuesday afternoon that the declaration will allow officials to bringinsomeNationalGuard resources, “really for precautionary measures for the additional amount of snow we think we’re going to get.”

“When you’re dealing with lake effect, it’s like a crap shoot,” Robinson said.

Robinson said officials planned to bring in some Humvee ambulances in case the additional snow makes it impossible for standard ambulances to reach areas of Erie, Millcreek or other parts of the region that have been hit hard by heavy snows.

Transportation will also be lined up to get employees to area hospitals, he said.

“We want to make sure we’re prepared,” Dahlkemper said.

Bands of lake effect snow that deposited 34 inches on Erie and surrounding areas on Christmas Day set up along the Lake Erie shoreline during the latest storm, missing higher terrain areas of Erie County south of the city that traditionally get more snow during these events, said Zach Sefcovic, a meteorologist with NWS Cleveland. It was the city, Millcreek Township and otherlakeshorecommunities that received “these astronomical snow totals over the last 48 hours,” Sefcovic said.

Additional bands of snow that were hitting parts of Ohio early Tuesday afternoon appeared to be setting up south of Erie and the areas with the most snowfall, Sefcovic said.

“Of course, with lake effect, they can wobble back and forth,” he said.

Robinson said Tuesday afternoon that the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation was bringing in extra resources to keep state routes plowed, while Erie and Millcreek Township had all of their available plow crews working to keep

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

A4

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

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Erie Times-News | GoErie.com

Erie’s snowy December

Dec. 7 ........................ 6.1 inches.

Dec. 8 ............................0.3 inch.

Dec. 10 ...................... 2.0 inches.

Dec. 11 ...................... 2.3 inches.

Dec. 12 ...................... 6.8 inches.

Dec. 13 ...................... 3.4 inches.

Dec. 14 ..........................0.5 inch.

Dec. 15 ...................... 7.2 inches.

Dec. 16 ...................... 6.0 inches.

Dec. 23 ...................... 2.4 inches.

Dec. 24 ...................... 2.0 inches.

Dec. 25 ....................... 34 inches.

Dec. 26 .................. 24 inches, as of 5:12 p.m. Tuesday.

Total ............. 97 inches (so far).

Top 10 snowiest Decembers in Erie history 2017.............. 97 inches (so far).

1989......................... 66.9 inches.

1985......................... 59.9 inches.

1963......................... 56.0 inches.

1944......................... 53.4 inches.

1977......................... 51.0 inches.

2000......................... 49.7 inches.

2008......................... 48.8 inches.

1958......................... 45.0 inches.

1983......................... 41.1 inches.

SOURCE: NATIONAL

A wrecker driver is stuck in the middle of Maple Street in Erie Tuesday. [GREG WOHLFORD/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Hospitals see only minor injuries so far

By Matthew Rink matthew.rink@timesnews.com

Area emergency rooms were spared by the historic Christmas Day storm that dropped 60 inches of snow on the area in two days.

Officials from Saint Vincent Hospital and UPMC Hamot said Tuesday afternoon that some patients with slip-and-fall injuries were treated, but they had not seen more severe weather related issues, like hypothermia from the cold or heart ailments from excessive snow shoveling.

“We’ve been operating as usual,” UPMC Hamot spokeswoman Karen Beardsley said.

She also noted that the storm hadn’t affect the surgery schedule. Elective surgeries will go forward as planned, she said.

Dr. Matthew McCarthy, D.O., program director for emergency medicine, said most patients in Saint Vincent’s emergency room suffered the everyday medical emergencies.

However, he said, they had seen some patients who suffered weatherrelated injuries.

“I have people in, even some employees, who have slipped and fell,” he said.

“Or, I had an ankle injury to a Good Samaritan who was trying to push somebody out and pulled his ligaments. All of these injuries from the cold, muscular, skeletal types of problems from slips and falls, we’ve had all of that.”

The hospitals are planning for potential disaster situations if even more snow falls. Erie County Executive Kathy Dahlkemper declared a state of emergency for the county, which allows it to receive resources from the Pennsylvania Nation Guard.

Dale Robinson, Erie County’s emergency management coordinator, said the county plans to ask for transportation resources, including Humvees to transport medical personnel if they are stranded and unable to get to work and

military ambulances to access snowed-in areas.

Beardsley said Hamot on Monday made overnight and food-service accommodations for its workers in case travel grew worse.

They were advised to stay over night and not drive home. Most of the hospital staff showed up for work Tuesday.

Getting to the hospital has been a challenge.

Late Tuesday afternoon, an ambulance bound for Saint Vincent was stuck in the snow at the intersection of West 38th and Peach streets for several minutes.

Don Erbin, communications director for Emergycare, said the ambulance service is using a plow truck to tow ambulances as needed and that tow companies have been “on standby.”

“It’s working, it’s just working slow,” he said.

“It’s a lot more slow going than normal.”

Erbin said the holiday has helped. Kids are on Christmas break and many people are home on vacation.

That’s reduced traffic and therefore accidents.

McCarthy said Erie residents should be reminded that even though they are used to severe winters, this storm “is unusual even for Erie.”

“It’s overwhelmed our plow systems,” he said.

“Those roads are not plowed. There are plenty of stuck cars. There’s no reason to even be traveling out to do anything. Number one, it’s dangerous to be driving in this weather, so don’t do that. Number two, remember that when it is cold outside like this it puts an extra strain on the heart and body. Anyone with a medical condition is really risking things if they think they can go out and shovel or snow blow or do anything because they think have to.”

Matthew Rink can be reached at 870-1884 or by email. Follow him on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/ETNrink.

Erie’s top 10 seasonal snowfall totals 2000-01 .........................................................................149.1 inches.

2008-09 .........................................................................145.8 inches.

2002-03 .........................................................................143.0 inches.

1977-78 .........................................................................142.8 inches.

2013-14 .........................................................................139.4 inches.

1993-94 .........................................................................131.3 inches.

1985-86 .........................................................................124.9 inches.

2004-05 .........................................................................122.6 inches.

1970-71 .........................................................................120.0 inches.

2007-08 .........................................................................118.7 inches.

SOURCE: NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE

WEATHER SERVICE

IN BRIEF

More snow predicted The National Weather Service is forecasting an additional 2 to 4 inches of lake-effect snow will fall across the Erie region Wednesday.

Bundle up if you go outside, as forecasters are calling for a high temperature of 14 degrees and daytime wind-chill temperatures that could dip to minus-5 degrees.

The low temperature Wednesday night could fall to 9 degrees, with a wind-chill temperature of minus-1, according to the weather service.

The Weather Channel features Erie National news outlets, like The Weather Channel, are featuring Erie and its historic and record-breaking snowfall.

The Weather Channel, weather.com, featured the headline on its homepage Wednesday, “What’s happening in PA is Absolutely Mind-Blowing,” referencing the 53 inches of snow that fell in the Erie region Monday through Tuesday.

The article included shared Facebook photos and Twitter posts from public users in the region and numbers reported by the National Weather Service.

Flights canceled at Erie airport A number of flights continue to be canceled at the Erie International Airport because of historic snowfall and winter weather conditions.

The latest: Delta Flight 4285, scheduled to depart for Detroit Wednesday morning at 6.

Tuesday afternoon and night cancellations: United Flight 3794, scheduled to arrive in Erie from Chicago O’Hare at 4:14 p.m.

United Flight 3799, scheduled to depart for Chicago O-Hare at 4:45 p.m.

Delta Flight 4287, scheduled to arrive in Erie from Detroit at 5:42 p.m. and then depart for Detroit again at 6:07 p.m.

American Flight 4850, scheduled to arrive in Erie from Philadelphia at 6:18 p.m. and then depart for Philadelphia again at 6:44 p.m.

Delta Flight 7410, scheduled to arrive from Detroit at 9:45 p.m.

Visit the Erie airport flight monitor at http:// www.alpinesystemsinc. com/remote/erie-split1515. html for real-time updates.

Erie residents on East 24th Street dig out Tuesday after a record two-day snowfall. [GREG WOHLFORD/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Shelters available to Erie’s homeless during winter storm

By Madeleine O’Neill madeleine.o’neill@ timesnews.com

As temperatures dropped and the snow rose in Erie, local homeless shelters offered a warm place to stay for those who needed it.

At the Old Orthodox Church of the Nativity, 247 E. Front St., a volunteer said the overflow shelter had no problem fitting everyone who came there during the historic Christmas Day storm.

“The only issue we had is we couldn’t get the volunteers down,” said Jayne Simon, who helps coordinate the shelter. Nearly 50 people stayed at the shelter overnight, which is typical oncoldernights,Simonsaid.

TheMentalHealthAssociation’s warming center, 1101 Peach St., opens when temperatures drop to 25 degrees or below or when sustained wind chills are 20 degrees or below. A representative of the MHA could not be reached Tuesday morning.

Simonsaidfewerhomeless people make the trek out to the overflow shelter when the MHA’s warming center is open downtown.

“People probably don’t wanttobravetheelements,” she said.

Theoverflowshelteropens to those in need at 7:30 p.m., althoughSimonsaidshemay let people in a little earlier Tuesday night. It closes at 7 a.m. The church is designated as the local overflow shelteruntilJan.2,according totheMentalHealthAssociation’s shelter schedule.

“The hardest thing was letting them go at 7 in the morning,” Simon said.

“It’s important they’re kept warm and safe through thenight,”shesaid.“Atleast they can get a good night’s sleep knowing that they’re safe indoors.”

The MHA warming center is open nights from 11 p.m. to 7:30 a.m., according to its website.

Duringtheday,thehomelesscanstayatothershelters, includingtheUpperRoom,in St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, 1024 Peach St. The UpperRoomisopenbetween 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., and when conditions meet the requirements for the MHA’s warming center to open, the Upper Room stays open between 5 p.m. and 11 p.m.

Sixty-one people stayed attheUpper Roomduringits evening hours on Monday, manager Ronnie Cooley said. That number was not unusual, Cooley said.

TheUpperRoomalsoprovides a breakfast between 7 and 8 a.m., he said.

The Erie City Mission hit about 89 percent of its capacity Monday night with 50 people, said Darrell Smith, director of operations. The city mission’s emergency shelter is located on East 11th Street between French and Holland streets.

“We were able to house anyonethatcametoourmission seeking shelter,” Smith said. Those staying at the shelter were also provided a meal.

TheCity Mission typically requires people to be in for thenightby8:30p.m.,Smith said,butiscurrentlyallowing entry to anyone who comes later.

“On a night like last night, you could come any time and get a bed,” Smith said.

“There were a couple of people that came late and were given a bed.”

TheCityMissionalsohasa roomavailableduringwinter months where people can stay during the day, Smith said.

Community Shelter Services, 655 W. 16th St., was at capacity before the storm and referred people to the overflow shelter, a representative said.

Madeleine O’Neill can be reached at 870-1728 or by email. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNoneill.

Erie Times-News | GoErie.com |

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

A5

NATION&WORLD DAT E L I N E S ELK GROVE VILLAGE, ILL.

NEW HARMONY, UTAH

The old-school arcade game of pinball is resurging in popularity. Interest has skyrocketed over the last decade or so, with the number of players and competitions growing worldwide, according to the International Flipper Pinball Association.

There were 500 players in 50 competitions worldwide in 2006, according to the IFPA. In 2017, there were nearly 4,500 competitions and more than 55,000 players.

“Pinball is not going away,” says pinball player Zach Sharpe, also the spokesman for the world’s leading pinball manufacturer Stern Pinball, Inc. in Elk Grove Village, a Chicago suburb. “It can’t be replicated and I think that’s why it never truly goes away.”

A sheriff’s deputy in southern Utah punched through a frozen pond on Christmas Day to pull out a drowning 8-year-old boy.

The boy was chasing his dog Monday evening when another child saw him fall through the ice on a pond in the town of New Harmony, north of St. George, according to Washington County sheriff’s Lt. David Crouse.

Sheriff’sSgt.AaronThompson broke a path through the ice until he was close enough to dive in and grab the boy about 25 feet from the shoreline, Crouse said.

The boy was airlifted to a hospital in St. George, and his condition has not been made public.

MOSCOW

Church stuns Waffle House workers with $3,500 tip

Tilt! Old-school pinball is no longer old-school

Woman blown off balcony in Russia in gale-force winds Russian media reports say that gale-force winds have blown a woman off her balcony on the Pacific island of Sakhalin.

The Interfax news agency reported Tuesday that the 65-year-old woman went out for a smoke on the balcony and was blown off, landing on a snowdrift below. An ambulancecouldn’treachthehouse so the woman had to be taken to a hospital in a construction truck. Local news website Uglegorskiye Novosti says she fell from the fourth floor, breakinganarmandthreeribs.

Sakhalin in Russia’s Far East has been hit with a series of snowstorms since Monday with wind gusts in the area of the woman’s fall reaching about 93 mph.

Utah deputy broke through frozen pond to pull out boy

CELINA, OHIO

Employees of a Waffle House restaurant have received a huge tip of over $3,500fromOhiochurchgoers whose pastor preached about generosity at Christmas.

The Dayton Daily News and WHIO-TV report five women working at the Wapakoneta restaurantwerestunnedwhen congregants from Grand Lake United Methodist Church in Celina delivered the cash after a Christmas Eve service. The workers were told they could split the money, amounting to over $700 apiece.

Church member Barb Vorhees says several dozen churchgoers drove to the restaurant, a popular Southern chain, and packed inside to see the surprise.

The Associated Press

Time to celebrate US industries can start counting their benefits from tax law

By Paul Wiseman The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Craft breweries are raising a glass to the Republicans’ new tax overhaul: It cuts the excise tax on beer. Retailers, long saddled with heavy tax bills, will get relief. So will some high-profile names in corporate finance, led

by Wells Fargo.

The tax measure that President Donald Trump signed into law Friday distributes benefits across a range of American industries, from construction to health care.

“As a general rule of thumb, everybody’s doing well under this bill,” Martin Sullivan, chief economist at Tax Analysts, says of U.S. companies. “When you give out a trillion in tax breaks, it’s hard to create a lot of losers.”

No wonder the stock market has been roaring in anticipation of fatter aftertax corporate profits. The new law slashes the corporate tax rate to 21 percent from 35 percent. It applies a low one-time tax to the profits that corporations have long kept overseas to avoid paying taxes under the current higher rate.

It also delivers a windfall to people who pay personal taxes on business earnings.

It lets companies immediately write off the full cost of new equipment. And it showers goodies on some individual industries, such as craft brewers, distilleries

This Dec. 11, 2013, file photo shows a beer at a microbrewery in Birmingham, Ala. Craft breweries are raising a glass to the Republicans’ new tax overhaul: It cuts the excise tax on beer.

[DAVE MARTIN/ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE]

and wineries.

The reasoning behind shrinking the tax burdens of corporations is to free up money for companies to invest in buildings, equipment and people and thereby juice the economy — and, in turn, benefit workers. Yet mainstream economists have expressed mainly doubts that workers will benefit much from corporations’ lower tax burdens.

In dollars, the biggest tax savings from 2018 through 2027 go to manufacturers: $261.5 billion, according to an analysis by the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Wharton Budget Model.

Next-most-fortunate are insurance and finance companies ($249.4 billion) and retailers ($171.4 billion).

Supporters of the Republican tax bill point out that America’s 35 percent corporate tax is one of the highest among advanced economies. But the tax code is so riddled with loopholes that few

corporations have actually paid that list price.

Without the new law, the effective tax rate across all industries would have been 21.2 percent next year. With it, the effective rate across industries drops all the way to 9.2 percent in 2018, according to the Penn Wharton Model.

Not all industries have gained equally from loopholes. Retailers, for example, would have paid a 27.5 percent rate in 2018; under the new law, they’ll pay just 15.6 percent.

“The tax bill is a big shot in the arm for retailers, who have traditionally paid taxes at nearly the full amount,” says Matthew Shay, CEO of the National Retail Federation.

Shay says he thinks the bill will help retailers accelerate investment in e-commerce and mobile technology. He also predicts that the bill will induce foreign-owned retailers to shift investment dollars into the United States.

A6

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

|

Erie Times-News | GoErie.com

YOU, INC. M A R K E T WAT C H Dow Nasdaq S&P Russell NYSE

24,746.21 6,936.25 2,680.50 1,544.23 12,808.89

▼ 7.85 ▼ 23.71 ▼ 2.84 ▲ 1.30 ▲ 11.45

COMMODITIES REVIEW Gold 1,284.10 Silver 16.520 Platinum 923.50 Copper 3.2560 Oil 59.97

▲ 8.70 ▲ .163 ▲ 0.50 ▲ .0415 ▲ 1.50

AROUND THE WAT E R C O O L E R

Airlines restrict bags with built-in batteries More airlines have announced restrictions on luggage with builtin batteries because of a potential fire hazard they may create in the cargo area of a plane.

Two of the world’s largest airlines— American and Delta, both of which serve Erie International Airport — announced this month that bags with built-in batteries that cannot be removed will not be allowed as checked luggage starting Jan. 15. Since then, United, Southwest, Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines have announced similar restrictions. The actions were taken because of worry that lithium batteries can ignite fires in the cargo hold of a plane.

The Federal Aviation Administration has imposed restrictions on spare lithium batteries carried in the cargo area but has left it up to airlines to impose restrictions on larger batteries inside of electronic equipment, such as smart bags.

Smart bags have become increasingly popular with tech-loving travelers because the bags come with built-in devices that can weigh a bag, track its location using GPS and lock it remotely using a smartphone app.

Tax code changes will affect your paycheck The tax reform bill approved by Congress will affect your paycheck next year, but at this point, nobody knows when — or by how much.

Employers and payroll administrators are waiting for guidance from the Internal Revenue Service and hoping the rollout won’t be a protracted accounting nightmare. The IRS has offered little in the way of a timetable.

LocalStocks NAME AFLAC AT&T Inc Allstate AlpGDDiv AlpGPPrp AmExp Amerigas AquaAm BP PLC BkofAm BkNYMel Barnes BestBuy Biolase BorgWarn BostBeer CNBFnPA CSX Carlisle Carnival Citigroup CocaCola Comcast s ConocoPhil Corning DNP Selct DSW Inc DeanFoods DineEquity

DIV LAST 1.80f 87.64 2.00f 39.07 1.48 104.34 .78 10.84 .60 6.66 1.40 98.57 3.80 45.38 .82 38.80 2.38 41.69 .48 29.78 .96 53.81 .56 63.60 1.36 68.02 ... .43 .68f 51.49 ... 194.50 .66 26.11 .80 54.87 1.48f 113.29 1.80f 65.69 1.28 74.78 1.48 45.81 .63 40.82 1.06 56.23 .62 32.38 .78 10.72 .80 21.86 .36 11.68 3.88 50.83

YTD CHG%CHG +.43 +25.9 +.13 -8.1 +.23 +40.8 -.16 +23.6 ... +29.8 -.17 +33.1 +.17 -5.3 +.28 +29.2 +.40 +11.5 -.10 +34.8 -.19 +13.6 +.46 +34.1 +.91 +59.4 -.01 -69.3 -.22 +30.6 +3.20 +14.5 -.96 -2.4 -.13 +52.7 -.22 +2.7 -.66 +26.2 -.71 +25.8 +.22 +10.5 +.04 +18.2 +.73 +12.1 ... +33.4 +.04 +4.8 +.27 -3.5 -.23 -46.4 +.88 -34.0

Jim Martin Assignment editor 870-1668 jim.martin@timesnews.com

Staying safe in the snow deep, remove doormats, sleds, wires and anything else that might get caught in the snowblower.

Here are some tips for staying safe after our big storm

By Jim Martin jim.martin@timesnews.com

Safe driving

Record snowfall over the past few days underscores the need for safety. Here are some tips for protecting your property and yourself:

On a day like Tuesday, it's safer just to stay home if that's an option. If not, here's some safety advice from Erie-based Erie Insurance: • Keep your gas tank full and your cell phone charged.

• Use your headlights when your windshield wipers are running.

• Let someone know where you're going to be, your travel route and estimated time of arrival.

• Equip your car with a travel kit that includes: shovel, sand, tow chain, jumper cable, ice scraper, blankets, high-calorie food, warm clothes, compass and map, cell phone and charger.

Up on the roof Watching several feet of snow fall in a couple of days is bound to make you worry about the strength of your roof. There's no hard-andfast rule for knowing how much is too much, because it depends on the age, slope and construction of your roof.

But a good rule to follow, according to Travelers Insurance, is that if more than a foot of snow has accumulated, it's best to have it removed.

Here, from Travelers, are some tips for clearing snow from your roof: • If you venture out on the roof, be careful not to damage it.

• It may be possible to remove snow from the ground using a roof rake.

• If you hire a contractor to venture out on the roof, make sure they are qualified,

Loren Bennett, shown in this 2015 file photo, clears snow from the roof of an Albion home. If you can’t clear the snow off your roof from the ground, using a roof rake, most experts advise hiring a professional. [GREG WOHLFORD/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

insured and bonded.

Staying warm, staying safe Here are home-heating safety tips from National Fuel Gas Distribution Corp.: • Never use a gas oven or burners to heat your home.

• Natural gas furnaces have a vent pipe that sends exhaust through a chimney or pipe. Be careful that those vents are never blocked with snow or other debris. This can lead to carbon monoxide poisoning.

• Install at least one carbon monoxide detector in your home.

• Never run a gasoline engine or generator in an enclosed space.

• If you smell gas, leave quickly and contact National Fuel at 1-800-444-3130.

Snowblower safety • Never wear loose pants, jackets or other clothing that can get tangled in the machine, suggests Consumer Reports magazine.

• Before the snow gets too

Personal safety Finally, Erie Insurance suggests looking after yourself and your neighbors by taking frequent breaks when you're shoveling snow and by helping neighbors who might have special needs.

Jim Martin can be reached at 870-1668 or by email. Follow him on Twitter at www. twitter.com/ETNMartin.

TA K I N G S T O C K

Health insurers good for long-term growth most profitable and highestpriced health insurer of all of them. Because of Trump, my broker believes that health care stocks are in a decline and are not good investments. — TT, Durham, N.C. Dear TT: Following this guy's advice is about as dangerous as chasing chickens on a California freeway.

If Trump and company eliminate certain procedures, require higher copayments, etc., health insurers will see their profits rise, not decline.

Health care stocks, like defense stocks, if purchased long term, are among the most profitable investments one can make. Your broker's brain is rolling downhill.

Imagine, TT, if good health were to break out all over the nation. Imagine if humans magically developed an immunity to all diseases and every newborn came into the world as healthy as a horse — fit as a fiddle, strong as an ox. Think about it. Wouldn't that be wonderful? Wouldn't living in

Malcolm Berko Dear Mr. Berko: What do you think of the big health insurance companies, such as Aetna, Cigna, UnitedHealth Group and Anthem?

My stockbroker wants me to sell UnitedHealth Group short because he thinks President Donald Trump is going to cut medical costs by allowing insurance companies to reduce reimbursements to doctors and hospitals, stop covering procedures that can be proved medically not necessary (such as spinal fusions, knee replacements, coronary stents and gallbladder and prostate removals) and demand larger copayments for other procedures. My broker wants me to short UnitedHealth because it's the biggest,

Discover Disney DukeEngy EldorRsts EmersonEl ErieInd ExxonMbl FNBCp PA FedExCp Ferrellgs FiatChrys FifthThird FirstEngy FordM GenElec GenMotors Glatfelter GlaxoSKln Goldcrp g Goodyear HlthSouth HomeDp HuntBncsh IBM IntPap Kohls LamarAdv LincElec LockhdM Lowes Macys MarathnO MarathPt s

1.40 1.68f 3.56 ...

1.94f 3.36f 3.08 .48 2.00 .40 ... .64 1.44 .60a .48 1.52 .52 2.89e .24 .56 1.00 3.56 .44f 6.00 1.85 2.20 3.32 1.56f 8.00f 1.64 1.51 .20 1.60

77.26 +.13 +7.2 108.12 -.55 +3.7 83.60 -.57 +7.7 33.20 ... +95.9 69.53 -.13 +24.7 119.90 +.34 +7.4 83.98 +.01 -7.0 14.07 -.16 -12.2 249.64 -.38 +34.1 4.07 +.14 -39.9 18.50 +.06+102.9 30.68 -.16 +13.8 30.32 -.14 -2.1 12.60 +.02 +3.9 17.43 +.05 -44.8 41.80 -.22 +20.0 21.33 -.07 -10.7 35.37 +.24 -8.2 12.72 +.14 -6.5 32.60 -.25 +5.6 49.56 +.24 +20.2 190.36 +2.23 +42.0 14.63 -.15 +10.7 152.83 +.33 -7.9 57.49 -.49 +8.3 56.87 +3.21 +15.2 73.84 -.05 +9.8 91.45 +.91 +19.3 318.51 +.48 +27.4 91.89 +.70 +29.2 26.85 +1.18 -25.0 17.26 +.36 -.3 66.84 +.48 +32.8

MasterCrd McDnlds MercSys Microsoft MyersInd NatFuGas NewMedia NextEraEn NorflkSo NwstBcsh OwensIll PNC PPG s PPL Corp Penney PepsiCo Perrigo Pfizer ProctGam ProgsvCp Prudentl PSEG PulteGrp QstDiag RAIT Fin RangeRs RJamesFn RentACt RexAmRes Rexnord RiteAid SearsHldgs Sherwin

1.00f 4.04f ...

1.68 .54 1.66 1.48f 3.93 2.44 .64 ...

3.00 1.80f 1.58 ...

3.22 .64 1.28 2.76f .69e 3.00 1.72 .36 1.80 .20m .08 .88f .32 ... ... ... ...

3.40

the U.S. be hunky-dory?

Wouldn't everyone be happy? Wouldn't everybody be fruitful and multiply?

Well, not on your sweet bippy! The answer is "no," a thousand times "no!"

It would be catastrophic, calamitous and cataclysmic! Millions of Americans would be unemployed.

Hospitals would close their doors. Medical equipment companies, drug companies, rehab centers and pharmacies would all be out of business. Frankly, the shock would cause the American economy to crumble, the stock market to crash and trillions of dollars to be lost.

I think UnitedHealth Group (UNH-$222), headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota, is a supercalifragilistic longterm investment. I'd buy the stock faster than you could say "Indiana Jones!"

UNH sells health benefit plans and services for national employers, public-sector employers, midsize business

151.28 +.43 +46.5 SwstAirl .50f 65.98 +.01 +32.4 171.29 -.13 +40.7 StanBlkDk 2.52 167.81 +.35 +46.3 51.65 -.39 +70.9 StarGas .44 10.60 -.02 -1.5 85.40 -.11 +37.4 SunLfFn g 1.74 40.93 +.18 +6.6 19.50 +.10 +36.4 Target 2.48 65.82 +.43 -8.9 54.85 +.06 -3.2 3.32 118.26 -.38 +3.2 17.10 +.15 +6.9 UPS B -.3 154.00 -.54 +28.9 VerizonCm 2.36 53.22 +.03 .66 112.99 +.30 +44.8 144.60 +.08 +33.8 Visa s 2.04 99.16 +.95 +43.5 16.83 -.09 -6.7 WalMart 22.04 -.21 +26.6 WalgBoots 1.60 73.30 +.59 -11.4 144.90 -1.22 +23.9 WsteMInc 1.70 85.88 -.03 +21.1 116.28 +.09 +22.7 WtWatch ... 48.79 -1.73+326.1 30.76 -.37 -9.7 WeinRlt 1.54 32.67 +.42 -8.7 3.31 +.17 -60.2 WellsFargo 1.56f 61.13 -.42 +10.9 118.89 +.29 +13.6 87.93 +.92 +5.6 Wendys Co .28 16.51 +.07 +22.1 .56 99.19 -.35 +16.9 36.21 +.07 +11.5 WestPhrm 92.48 +.35 +10.0 YumBrnds 1.20 82.19 -.21 +29.8 56.22 +.13 +58.4 115.65 -.51 +11.1 LAST CHG 50.96 -.11 +16.1 59.97 +1.50 33.56 +.19 +82.6 Crude Oil (bbl) 2.04 +.07 99.27 +.03 +8.0 Heating Oil (gal) 2.64 -.03 .38 +.01 -88.6 Natural Gas (mm btu) 1284.10 +8.70 16.99 +.53 -50.6 Gold (oz) 16.52 +.16 89.91 -.73 +29.8 Silver (oz) 923.50 +.50 10.91 +.11 -2.3 Platinum (oz) 1.22 +.02 83.91 +.19 -15.0 Cattle (lb) 3.53 +.01 25.89 +.11 +32.2 Corn (bu) 452.00 +1.40 2.02 +.01 -75.5 Lumber (1,000 bd ft) 9.59 +.10 3.77 +.01 -59.4 Soybeans (bu) 411.39 -1.70 +53.1 (Change figures reflect current contract.)

Commodities

employers, small businesses and ordinary folks like us.

In 2008, UNH was trading at $20. Today UNH trades at $222, and some observers believe that UNH could trade at $300 by the summer of 2020. In 2008, UNH posted earnings of $2.95 a share, with revenues of $81 billion. By this year's end, UNH should report earnings of $9.90 a share, with revenues of $200.4 billion. And many believe that earnings in 2018 will come in at $11 a share, with revenues at $219 billion.

UNH, with nearly a billion shares outstanding, is an expialidocious choice for long-term appreciation. Meanwhile, Vanguard, BlackRock, T. Rowe Price, J.P. Morgan and State Street own nearly 250 million shares. Your broker needs serious counseling.

Please address your financial questions to Malcolm Berko, P.O. Box 8303, Largo, FL 33775, or email him at mjberko@yahoo.com.

BiggestFunds FUND

PCT RETURN NAV 1MO 1YR 5YR

American Funds AmrcnBalA m 27.13 +2.2 CptWldGrIncA m50.83+0.8 CptlIncBldrA m62.50 +1.1 FdmtlInvsA m 62.17 +2.7 GrfAmrcA m 49.55 +1.5 IncAmrcA m 23.28 +2.0 InvCAmrcA m 40.39 +3.5 NwPrspctvA m 42.99 -1.0 WAMtInvsA m 45.66 +4.1 Dodge & Cox Inc 13.73 0.0 IntlStk 46.07 +0.5 Stk 204.44 +5.5 DoubleLine TtlRetBdI 10.62 -0.4 Fidelity 500IdxIns 93.66 +3.2 500IndexPrm 93.66 +3.2 Contrafund 122.65 +0.5 ContrafundK 122.57 +0.5 Fidelity Select Transportation104.55 +9.5 Franklin Templeton IncA m 2.38 +1.7 Metropolitan West TtlRetBdI 10.63 -0.2 PIMCO IncInstl 12.38 -0.1 TtlRetIns 10.22 -0.4

+14.8 +24.0 +13.7 +21.9 +24.7 +12.6 +18.7 +27.9 +19.0

+11.1 +11.0 +7.7 +15.6 +16.2 +9.6 +15.1 +12.7 +14.9

+4.6 +3.1 +23.7 +8.5 +17.1 +16.5 +3.9

+2.9

+20.8 +20.7 +30.7 +30.8

+15.9 +15.9 +16.7 +16.8

+20.5 +20.2 +8.4

+6.7

+3.7

+2.5

+8.6 +5.3

+6.3 +2.1

T. Rowe Price BCGr 96.51 +0.3 GrStk 62.77 +0.1 Vanguard 500IdxAdmrl 247.38 +3.2 HCAdmrl 86.61 +1.5 InTrTEAdmrl 14.08 +0.1 InsIdxIns 244.01 +3.2 InsIdxInsPlus 244.03 +3.2 InsTtlSMIInPls 59.61 +3.0 MdCpIdxAdmrl191.86 +2.6 PrmCpAdmrl 134.20 +2.5 STInvmGrdAdmrl10.62 -0.2 SmCpIdxAdmrl 70.95 +2.2 TrgtRtr2025Inv 18.91 +1.2 TtBMIdxAdmrl 10.72 -0.2 TtBMIdxIns 10.72 -0.2 TtInBIdxAdmrl 21.70 0.0 TtInSIdxAdmrl 30.24 +0.5 TtInSIdxInsPlus120.94 +0.5 TtInSIdxInv 18.08 +0.4 TtlSMIdxAdmrl 66.87 +3.0 TtlSMIdxIns 66.88 +3.0 TtlSMIdxInv 66.85 +3.0 WlngtnAdmrl 72.47 +2.5 WlslyIncAdmrl 65.06 +1.2 WndsrIIAdmrl 67.24 +4.4 Waddell & Reed Adv HiIncY 6.68 +0.6

+35.1 +19.1 +32.3 +18.2 +20.8 +19.0 +4.5 +20.8 +20.8 +20.2 +18.2 +28.5 +2.2 +15.5 +15.6 +3.9 +3.9 +2.7 +27.3 +27.3 +27.2 +20.2 +20.2 +20.0 +14.1 +9.9 +15.8

+15.9 +17.7 +2.6 +15.9 +15.9 +15.8 +15.2 +19.7 +1.8 +14.8 +9.4 +2.0 +2.0 NA +7.1 +7.1 +7.0 +15.7 +15.7 +15.6 +10.9 +7.3 +13.5

+7.0

+5.8

Fund footnotes: m - Multiple fees are charged, usually a marketing fee and either a sales or redemption fee. x - fund paid a distribution during the week.

Source: Morningstar and the Associated Press.

Erie Times-News | GoErie.com |

CITY&REGION

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

B1

Doug Oathout Executive editor 870-1698 doug.oathout@timesnews.com

Wurst asks for resentencing Edinboro shooter files federal appeal

By Madeleine O’Neill madeleine.o’neill@timesnews.com

Andrew J. Wurst failed to convince an Erie County judge in 2016 that his sentence for the 1998 fatal shooting of a teacher should be shortened.

He has now taken his efforts to U.S. District Court in Erie, where he is making much the same argument he put forth in his unsuccessful appeal.

In a petition filed last week, Wurst again claimed that his sentence of 30 to 60 years in the death of science teacher John J. Gillette failed to take Wurst’s youth into

consideration. Wurst was 14 when he killed Gillette and wounded two students at a middle-school dance near Edinboro on April 24, 1998.

Wurst is asking to be resentenced like Pennsylvania’s “juvenile lifers,” whose mandatory sentences of life without parole for murders See WURST, B2

Shown here at right as a teenager, Andrew Wurst is led from his arraignment April 24, 1998, a day after he shot and killed teacher John Gillette during an eighth grade dance at Nick’s Place in Edinboro. Wurst filed a petition claiming his sentencing judge failed to consider his youth. [GREG WOHLFORD/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

GOOD MORNING

OUR VIEW | B6

STORM IMPACT The Christmas storm grounds and unites our community

Stuck in the snow?

Remember these 5 lessons

Lindsey Poisson

Pipefitter Aaron Dzeskewicz, at left, guides a lift around new boilers at the Erie Veterans Affairs Medical Center on Dec. 20. Dzeskewicz, 26, is a member of Pipefitters Local 449 and is working for Renick Brothers Mechanical Contractors of Slippery Rock. The new boilers are part of a $25 million investment in upgrades and new construction at the facility. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

Construction to modernize Erie Veterans Affairs hospital

By David Bruce

W E AT H E R | B 8

ENOUGH ALREADY When will the snowfall end?

Check the five-day forecast

O BIT UA R I ES | B 4 - 5

david.bruce@timesnews.com

Construction crews at the Erie Veterans Affairs Medical Center took a short Christmas break but work is continuing all over the hospital’s campus.

The hospital has been undergoing construction and renovation almost nonstop since 2010 as part of the federal government’s efforts to modernize its VA hospitals nationwide. Work is expected to continue through 2020, Erie VAMC Director John Gennaro said.

“Right now we are using a 1950s-style hospital with some renovations to deliver health care,” Gennaro said. “By 2020, this will be a 21st-century, state-of-the-art facility that is designed for the needs of our veterans.”

Much of the current construction work is part of a $25 million plan that focuses on the campus’ infrastructure. It includes building a $12 million boiler plant with an 11,383-squarefoot boiler house, three new fire-tube boilers, a new steam production

The new Community Living Center is a 22-bed, 24,000-squarefoot nursing home for veterans. It should be completed by the fall of 2018. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

system, and an energy-efficient design.

The building’s structure was recently completed and the boilers are scheduled to be working by April, said Rob Petrone, the hospital’s general engineer.

“These boilers were really needed.

They were last updated in 1980 and originally built in 1948,” Petrone said.

Construction also continues on a See HOSPITAL, B2

Chaffee lands new job with TREC

By Jim Martin Erie Times-News

Barbara Chaffee, who stepped down Oct. 31 as the CEO of the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership, did not sit on the sidelines for long.

Chaffee, 66, a former aide to Gov. Tom Ridge Ridge and then-President George W. Bush, has been named the CEO of the Tom Ridge Environmental Center Foundation.

Chaffee moves into her new position on Jan. 1, taking over for David Martin, who left to serve as executive director of the Nantucket Island Chamber of Commerce.

“Iamexcitedforthisnewopportunity to carry on the work of my predecessor David Martin,” Chaffee said in a statement. “I look forward to working with

MatGreeneandDCNR, the environmental nonprofits at TREC, Visit Erie and the park enhancementorganizations to enhance TREC and together strategically position TREC Chaffee to be recognized as a national center of excellence.”

Chaffee made clear at the time that herdeparturefrom thechamber should not be viewed as retirement.

“I have never had a problem working hard, working long hours,” she said during an October interview. “But my weeks average 60 to 65 hours. I will give my all, but I am also at a stage where I need a little quality of life and See CHAFFEE, B2

Online Extras See video of Erie Veterans Affairs Medical Center Director John Gennaro talking about the hospital’s renovations and additions: GoErie.com/ Videos.

Best, Paul L., 75 Church, Thomas E., 74 Cieslak, Dorothy H. Rukat, 91 Dance, Ernest Alvin “Pie” Jr., 87 Gates, Olevia, 87 Goodreau, Ann N., 70 Gruver, Wilson A. “Wags”, 78 Hammer, Barbara, 78 Heineman, Alan Kurt, 77 Helsel, Robert “Cos”, 74 Konieczny, Marilyn Przybyszewski, 77 Kolin, Edward James, 90 Krajnik, Ann M., 95 Liller, E. Marie Coalson, 87 Love, Patricia J. Filley, 58 Roberts, Joanne M., 81 Sanders, Margaret Dorothy Semenske, 88 Santiago, Gina Leo, 51 Shields, Marilyn Jean, 85 Stanley, Kelly S., 35 Young, Harold R., 85 Zilich, Wayne M., 59

W

e’re almost a week into winter and my car has already been stuck in the snow. Twice.

That’s two times more than in the last few years, when relatively mildweather winters came and went without much fuss.

There was that storm in 2015, when the city practically shut down because of all the snow. I, however, had an emergency dentist appointment that couldn’t wait, forcing me— aided by a few kind neighbors— to dig out my car and get it rolling through the huge drifts.

This year’s latest incident was late on Christmas, when I drove back into town after visiting family in Michigan to find a recordbreaking, 21-inch snowfall had blanketed the city. A layer of slippery white stuff covered the nearly deserted I-79 while the side streets were practically choked with unplowed snow.

But mine is the little Honda Civic that could, and it chugged right along while snow scraped against the undercarriage.

Unfortunately, a pile of unplowed snow was lying in wait at the entrance of my apartment building parking lot. My little car can See POISSON, B2

B2

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

|

Erie Times-News | GoErie.com

CITY&REGION TIMES OLD NEWSIES

How to help local families Today’s contributions: $355 Total contributions: $9,732.24 Times-News Needy Fund beginning balance: $9,377.24 In lieu of cards to family and friends with gratitude from Bruce and Beth Palmer: $50 In memory of Frank “Moe” Nowacinski, Dave Tuszyzski and Mike Murray from Paul Petroff EHS ‘67: $50 Merry Christmas from Dick and Phyllis Barczyk: $50 In memory of Philip

Construction continues on the Community Living Center at the Erie Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Boboshko from Judith and Victor Boboshko: $30 Happy holidays Dutch, Perky and Fuzzy from your babysitter Bunny: $10 In memory of our parents, Tony and Mary LaPaglia, from Karen LaPaglia and Gayla DeMarco: $100 In loving memory of our grandparents, Poppy and Grandma Petri and Grandma and Grandpa Mook, from Travis and Aaron Mook: $40 In memory of Alfred J Sokolowski from Jean: $25 Times-News Needy Fund Ending Balance: $9,732.24

[CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

HOSPITAL

LOCAL BRIEFS

From Page B1

Crash kills two in Warren County

POISSON From Page B1

power through quite a bit of accumulation, but taking on a snowbank is apparently the limit.

So there I was: so close, yet so stuck. And I had to learn a few things pretty quickly: 1. Don’t panic: When the wheels are spinning and a wall of snow is

WURST From Page B1

committed before they turned 18 were ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court five years ago.

“ThisCourtshouldhold that Mr. Wurst’s sentence is unconstitutionally disproportionate because the sentencing judge failed to consider his youth and associated characteristic in determining the proper sentence,”Wurstwrotein

CHAFFEE From Page B1

life balance.”

After nearly seven years in her previous job, Chaffee said it was time for a new challenge and opportunity.

John Leemhuis, chairman of the TREC Foundation board, said

The 11,383-square-foot boiler plant project should be completed in the summer of 2018. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

most of its work but must wait for the Pennsylvania DepartmentofTransportation to install the new traffic light and perform the necessary road work inthespringandsummer.

“We expect the traffic light will be installed and the driveway ready to use in the late fall,” Gennaro said. “It will improve the safety of people entering and exiting the facility.

Between 4:30 and 5 p.m., it’s almost impossible right now to leave here and turn left onto East 38th Street.”

Other projects include:

• Renovating part of the eighth floor to house an eight-bed residential treatment unit for veterans who are homeless and/or have substanceabuse issues. It is expected to be finished in the summer.

• Relocating a dental clinic from the second to the third floor. It is scheduled to be completed in the fall.

• Updating the hospital’s cafeteria that is set to be finished in the summer.

• Installing five new generators and a large

water-storage tank that will enable the hospital to supply its own power and water for up to 96 hours.

All five generators are scheduled to be installed within five years.

“It’s taken us 25 years, but our goal is to have the VA on par in every respect with private medicine,” Petrone said.

“This isn’t your grandfather’s VA anymore.”

David Bruce can be reached at 870-1736 or by email. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ETNbruce.

blocking your car door, it’s easy for your mind to start racing. What if I can’t get out? What if no one comes to help?

Who do I call? Take a minute and assess your situation and come up with a plan.

More often than not, you’ve totally got this.

2. Keep your cool: Swearing up a storm and kicking your car might help work out some understandable frustration and

even keep you warm, but it won’t free your car. Neither will flooring the gas pedal. In my situation, a gentle touch was best— just a little gas at the right rhythm made the car rock, using its own weight and momentum to get loose.

I’ve had a small snow shovel stowed away next to an emergency car kit in my car trunk,

the request, called a petition for habeas corpus.

But unlike the state’s juvenile lifers, Wurst did not receive a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole. Wurst will be eligible for parole on April 25, 2028, almost three months after his 44th birthday.

He pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and other charges in September 1999, avoiding the possibility of a first-degree murder conviction and a mandatory life sentence without

parole.

Wurst made a similar request that was denied in Erie County Court in the summer of 2016. Erie County Judge William R. Cunningham wrote that Wurst “is not entitled to relief under these (juvenile lifer) cases since he was not sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.”

Wurst wrote in the new federal filing that Judge Michael M. Palmisano, who sentenced Wurst, “allowed the crime to overpower

underChaffee’spredecessor the board began work on a comprehensive strategic plan.

“As we move forward we will look at a potential capitalcampaigntoensure thatTRECistheengaging, environmental education andresearchcenterforthe GreatLakesregionforgenerationstocome,”hesaid.

Beforejoiningthechamber,Chaffeeworkedinher family’s hotel business,

served as Pennsylvania’s state tourism director and deputy secretary of the Department of Community and Economic Development and worked in Washington, D.C. in the Office of Homeland Security.

3. Make sure you have the right tools: For years,

Jim Martin can be reached at 870-1668 or by email. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ETNMartin.

and it’s helped me out of some pretty deep piles of freshly-driven snow. But being the prepared sort, I also make sure to have a blanket, cell phone charger and extra pair of gloves handy in the winter time. All that planning paid off big time the other day.

4. Cat owners have the advantage: Thanks

to my feline friends, I usually have a bucket of Tidy Cats in the

all other mitigating evidence of youth.”

Cunningham ruled that Palmisano, now retired, took Wurst’s age and other factors into consideration in fashioning the sentence.

Now 33, Wurst is incarcerated at the State Correctional Institution at Forest, near Marienville. He is representing himself in the petition.

The Erie County District Attorney’s Office will have an opportunity to respond to Wurst’s request in federal court.

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22-room Community Living Center, a standalone nursing home located a few hundred yards west of the main hospital. Veterans who currently live on the hospital’s fourth and fifth floors will move into the new facility when it opens in November.

“These are veterans who are long-term care residents,” Gennaro said. “They might be in a wheelchair but are ambulatory. This way they aren’t living in a hospital, but in a more homelike environment.”

An additional 30 rooms, plus a physical therapy space and medicalexamarea,willbebuilt after the initial phase is completed. The second phase is scheduled to be finished in 2020.

Work has stopped for the winter on the hospital’s new main entrance/ exit on East 38th Street.

The Erie VA has finished

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WARREN

CORRY

The Pennsylvania State Police are investigating a one-vehicle crash that killed two people in Warren County early Sunday morning.

The crash happened sometime between midnight Saturday and 3 a.m.

Sunday on Economite Road in Limestone Township, near Tidioute, police reported late Monday night. Troopers determined that a vehicle was traveling east on Economite Road when it left the left side of the roadway, struck several fence posts and hit a tree, causing the vehicle to spin.

The driver of the vehicle, identified by police as 38-year-old Tidioute resident Clifford W. Johnson, and a passenger, identified as 39-year-old Titusville resident Larry V. Miller, were both pronounced dead at the scene, according to police.

A city man wrapped up Christmas in the Erie County Prison after police accused him of breaking into a neighbor’s apartment, throwing eggs and stealing electronics.

Charles R. Earls, 19, was in prison on $10,000 bond Tuesday after he was arraigned Monday night

by Greene Township District Judge Susan Strohmeyer on burglary, criminal trespass, theft and criminal mischief charges.

Corry police charge that Earls used a hammer to break into the Franklin Street apartment of a female neighbor shortly before 10 a.m. Monday.

Once inside the apartment, Earls broke items, threw eggs on the walls and stole $400 in assorted electronics, police reported Tuesday morning.Details on the apprehension of Earls were not available Tuesday.

trunk of my car, too, to help supply some much-needed traction in these slippery situations. However, the extra-light, freshscented kind of litter doesn’t seem to work as well as the heavier clay stuff.

5. Pay it forward: Eventually, I dug, rocked and spread enough kitty litter to free my own car without any help, but spotted another nearby

car in a snowbank. I grabbed my shovel and headed over to see what I could do.

After all, the only way we’re all going to get through this snowy Erie winter is if we all lend a helping hand.

Madeleine O’Neill can be reached at 870-1728 or by email. Follow her

on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNoneill.

Classifieds Here’s a sampling of new Classified ads STARTING TODAY

Man charged in Christmas burglary

Staff reports

Lindsey Poisson can be reached at 870-1871.

Send email to lindsey. poisson@timesnews. com. Follow her on Twitter at twitter. com/ETNPoisson.

TODAY NEW

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Erie Times-News | GoErie.com |

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

B3

LeBoeuf Township to vote on raising employee tax

By David Bruce david.bruce@timesnews.com

People who work in LeBoeuf Township could soon pay more for the privilege.

Township supervisors are set to vote Wednesday on raising the local

services tax from $10 a year to $52 a year. The increase would take effect Jan. 1.

“It’s been $10 a year for probably 20 years,” said Michael Whitman, one of the township supervisors. “Most other townships and cities have

already raised it.”

Edinboro raised the tax to $52 a year in 2005, followed by the city of Erie in 2007, Millcreek Township in 2009 and Summit Township in 2016.

Increasing the tax in LeBoeuf Township would

generate an additional $13,104, based on data supervisors received that shows 312 people work in the township. The money would go toward infrastructure improvements and public safety.

At least a portion of the funds would improve the

85-year-old woman dies in Millcreek house fire Staff report

An 85-year-old woman died Tuesday afternoon in a smoky house fire in Millcreek Township, Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook said.

The fire, in the 5900 block of Pilgrim Drive, was reported at 1:11 p.m., according to Erie County 911. The Kearsarge Fire Department and other

departments were sent to the scene.

Cook identified the victim as Jean Laughner, whomhesaidlivedbyherself at the residence.

Cook said the woman died as a result of the fire, but he said he is withholding releasing a cause of death until authorities complete their investigation. The woman was pronounced dead at the

scene at 3:45 p.m. by Deputy Coroner John Maloney.

Fire crews arrived to find heavy smoke throughout the splitlevelhouse,KearsargeFire Department Chief Matt Parker said.

Firefighters found the woman on the first floor, he said. Fire crews had thebulkofthefireknocked down within 10 minutes

and had the blaze under control in about 30 minutes, Parker said.

Parker said the cause of the fire is under investigation.

Authorities blocked off the area around the fire scene, which is off Young RoadbetweenPerryHighway and Cherry Street Extension. The last fire crews cleared the scene at 4:47 p.m.

Crime victims’ rights campaign faces backlash

By Sean Murphy The Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY — After his sister was slain and his mother ran into the accused killer, out on bail, in a grocery store a week later, California billionaire Henry Nicholas became a fierce advocate for the rights of crime victims.

He donated millions from his fortune as cofounder of tech giant Broadcom to create a socalled “crime victims’ bill of rights”— dubbed Marsy’s Law after his slain sister Marsalee — and add it to the state’s constitution in 2008.

Now Nicholas is taking his crusade nationwide, with teams of lobbyists, public relations firms and high-powered political strategists converging on other state capitols for a similar push. But while the idea of standing up for crime victims is an easy sell politically, complaints are mounting that the initiative is becoming a testament to the danger of unintended consequences.

Not just defense lawyers, but some local prosecutors, police and victims’ advocates are concerned that the law’s extensive victim-notification requirements could impose crippling costs and administrative burdens on smaller towns and counties with limited resources. Supporters maintain those complaints are exaggerated and that any increased workload is worth the benefit of helping crime victims.

Still, law enforcement and victims’ advocates in some places are calling for its defeat or reversal.

“Our local government does not have enough money to operate and protect victims adequately already. Now we have these unfunded mandates that are coming through Marsy’s Law to local governments without the resources to pay for them,” said Leo Gallagher, county attorney in Lewis and Clark County, Montana.

Montana passed the measure in 2016, but the state’s Supreme Court recently tossed it out citing flaws in how it was written. Marsy’s Law requires that crime victims be notified and heard in most criminal proceedings, receive protection and “full and timely” restitution and be allowed to confer with prosecutors.

It also expands victims’

Henry T. Nicholas III talks during the Nicholas Academic Center’s 2015 Graduation ceremony on May 30, 2015, at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, Calif. Nicholas III’s bill protecting the rights of crime victims has raised cost concerns for small towns with limited resources. [ERIC REED/AP IMAGES FOR NICHOLAS ACADEMIC CENTERS, FILE]

privacy rights and prohibits “unreasonable delay” of criminal cases.

The measure has been approved by voters in six states — California, Ohio, Illinois, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota — and efforts have been launched in at least nine more.

Skeptics are trying to push back.

“When we first heard about it, we thought it was a no-brainer,” said Darla Juma, who runs the victims’ witness assistance program in two counties in North Dakota, where the ballot measure passed last year.

“But there are counties that don’t have a victims’ advocate, and now they’re having to send notices, notify victims.

Who’s going to pay for that work?”

Some prosecutors complain that the requirements are especially impractical for white collar cases with large numbers of victims, such as securities frauds involving thousands of stockholders.

“You really would clog the system if you’re going to give thousands of people the right to be heard at every stage of a proceeding,” said Barry Pollack, former president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

Marty Lambert, the top prosecutor in Gallatin County, Montana, the state’s third-largest county with about 90,000 residents, said he would have to hire two additional staffers for all the hearing and offenderrelease notices. But law enforcement agencies in California, where the law has been in effect the longest, are finding a way to adjust, though not easily.

In that state, “I

wouldn’t call it a catastrophe,” said Robert Weisberg, co-director of the Criminal Justice Center at Stanford University. “I would call it a notable administrative burden.”

Supporters of Marsy’s Law say there simply isn’t any evidence of law enforcement being overwhelmed. Nicholas did not respond to an interview request.

In Oklahoma, where the proposal will appear on the state ballot in 2018, David Prater, the top prosecutor in Oklahoma’s largest county, said he’s keeping an open mind.

“Anything we can do to allow victims a greater voice in the system and to ensure that their rights are upheld, I think that is very important,” Prater said.

Even states that welcomed the law have been amazed by the promotional juggernaut behind it.

In South Dakota, which ranks 46th in population in the U.S., Nicholas spent more than $2 million on consultants, strategists and advertising for the campaign. The amendment was approved in 2016 with nearly 60 percent of the vote, but Republican Speaker of the House Mark Mickelson now says he intends to push for its repeal next year because of the costs.

Nicholas also spent about $2 million in neighboring North Dakota, or about $6 per voter.

In Oklahoma, the proposal sailed through the Legislature this year with the help of nine lobbyists and two public relations companies. Marsy’s Law pamphlets were circulated everywhere that crowds formed, even outside football games.

township’s 47 miles of dirt roads, Whitman said.

“The condition of those roads, especially in the spring, is pretty bad with all the potholes,” Whitman said. “They need gravel. This would help catch us up.”

The vote is scheduled

for 6 p.m. Wednesday at the township municipal building, 14270 Flatts Road.

David Bruce can be reached at 870-1736 or by email. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ETNbruce.

Erie teen charged as adult in robbery

By Tim Hahn tim.hahn@timesnews.com

Erie police have charged a teenager as an adult, and are looking for another teen, in a reported armed robbery on the city’s west side late Sunday night.

Samad Bailey, 17, was charged as an adult with robbery, theft, terroristic threats and other offenses in an incident that was reported in the 300 block of West 22nd Street on Sunday at about 10:45 p.m.

Police charge that Bailey and another person were involved in a robbery in which a male victim was robbed of several hundred dollars by suspects who pulled a knife on him and who punched the victim in the face.

The victim told police that he was at a location on the city’s west side and was asked by some other people to gamble.

The victim said he said no and left,

and was followed by two males who continued to ask him to gamble, according to investigators.

The victim said he began to run and was eventually caught in the 300 block of West 22nd Street, where the robbery occurred, police reported.

Bailey was taken into police custody on Sunday at about 11:20 p.m., according to police.

He was later arraigned by Erie 3rd Ward District Judge Tom Carney, who set bond at $100,000.

Another teenager suspected of participating in the robbery, whom police did not name Tuesday, faces criminal charges similar to the charges filed against Bailey, police reported.

The teen remained at large Tuesday.

Tim Hahn can be reached at 870-1731 or by email. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter. com/ETNhahn.

B4

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

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Erie Times-News | GoErie.com

NEWS&OBITUARIES

Some states struggle to make preschool available to everyone

By Sally Ho The Associated Press

SEATTLE — In perhaps an unexpected twist, historically conservative strongholds like Oklahoma and West Virginia are leading efforts to bring preschool to all.

“They have in common a low-wage workforce, relatively low education levels and the desire to change that,” said Steven Barnett of the National Institute for Early Education Research.

“Whatever they say, politicians in West Virginia know the future of their state is not coal miners.”

Other red states that have notable programs include Alabama and Georgia. But some liberal-leaning cities like Seattle and New York also are running public pre-K programs.

Advocates say more universal programs are needed to address what they call an alarming increase in child care costs. Studies have shown that children who attend a high-quality preschool are more adjusted for the rest of their academic lives and have better outcomes as adults, from higher incomes to healthier lifestyles.

Around the country, some budding programs

Daniel O’Donnell, left, looks on as William Hayden sends large blocks flying at the Creative Kids Learning Center, a school that focuses on pre-kindergarten for 4- and 5-year-olds, Feb. 12, 2016 in Seattle. [ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO]

say there are not enough seats to meet demand and not enough money to make it happen.

Programs in Seattle and New York enjoy overwhelming support locally, which in turn puts pressure on their state lawmakers to act as they face growing inequity in public education and research that touts the benefits of high-quality education in the critical early years.

“Clearly, a statewide program would be so much better, and it should be available to all 3- and 4-year-olds.

It’s the best investment we can make to right the wrongs of generations,” said Tim Burgess, a

retired Seattle mayor and city councilman credited with creating the Seattle Preschool Program.

It is now in its third year, serving 979 children with a sliding scale tuition model. About 80 percent of them go for free. Burgess is now pushing for a universal statewide offering in Washington, beyond its program for lowincome children.

Aanchal Mehrotra’s 4-year-old son is one of 300 kids now on the waiting list for the Seattle Preschool Program, but she says she doesn’t have much hope that he’ll get in. The Seattle preschool class would cost the family

just $365 a month.

She’s paying almost four times that much for a month at a private day care franchise.

“It’s so expensive and become so difficult to afford,” said Mehrotra, a research scientist.

“I’m just waiting for him to turn 5 so he can get into kindergarten.”

The universal preschool movement hit peak momentum under the Obama administration but has been virtually unaddressed

by President Donald Trump.

Instead, Trump’s daughter and adviser Ivanka Trump has dabbled with policies aimed at tackling child care costs.

Cities sue Defense Department over gun-check system failures

By Colleen Long The Associated Press

NEW YORK — Three large U.S. cities filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against the Department of Defense, arguing that many service members who are disqualified from gun ownership weren’t reported to the national background check system.

New York City, San Francisco and Philadelphia said in court papers that the military’s broken system for relaying such information helped spur the massacre of 26 people inside

a Texas church last month.

“This failure on behalf of the de Blasio Department of Defense has led to the loss of innocent lives by putting guns in the hands of criminals and those who wish to cause immeasurable harm,” New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement. “New York City is joining Philadelphia and San Francisco to stand up to the Department of Defense

and demand they comply with the law and repair their drastically flawed system.”

Local law enforcement officials rely on the FBI’s database to conduct background checks on gun permit applications and to monitor purchases. It must be up-to-date in order to prevent people from wrongly getting guns, the cities’ attorneys wrote.

The lawsuit filed in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, seeks an injunction and judicial oversight to ensure ongoing compliance

with the Defense Department’s obligation to submit records.

Military officials previously acknowledged problems with their reporting.

A Pentagon spokesman on Tuesday said he couldn’t comment specifically on the lawsuit.

“The department continues to work with the services as they review and refine their policies and procedures to ensure qualifying criminal history information is submitted to the FBI,” said Tom Crosson, a Pentagon spokesman.

Tourism in coal country: Digging into culture

By Julie Carr Smyth The Associated Press

PERRY COUNTY, Ohio — Two-thirds of Appalachia’s coal industry jobs have disappeared since the 1990s. Now the region is hoping tourism will help rebuild its economy by tapping into history and its natural beauty.

AShawnee,Ohio,event re-enacted a Prohibition rally outside the reallife former speakeasy.

In Corbin, Kentucky, they’re constructing an elk-viewing area on a former mountaintop mine. Virginia’s Crooked Road traces country music history. Ohio’s Winding Road takes visitors back to the birth of theU.S.labormovement.

“We’d like to promote Appalachia as an exotic, interesting place, not the Godforsaken place that we usually get in the nationalpress,”saidTodd

Christensen, executive director of the Southwest VirginiaCulturalHeritage Foundation.

Authentic stories For Ohio activist John Winnenberg, the rebirth goes deeper. As eastern Ohio has endured boom-and-bust cycles — of timber, coal, clay and, lately, oil-and-gas extraction — residents have internalized a sense of futility and abandonmentthat’shardtoshake, he says. That mentality could fade if locals succeed in building their own tourism-based economy. “We’ve been owned before,” said Winnenberg, director of The Winding Road initiative centered in historicShawnee.“Wedon’t want to be owned again.”

The promise of a new future for coal country is not new. Billions of dollars have been spent

closing, reclaiming, reforesting and redeveloping abandoned mine land since the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act passed 40 years ago. What’s fresh is the new energy among baby boomers and millennials alike, who seem to enjoy the Rust Belt chic of enjoying a drink or overnight stay in a place full of authentic stories built on sweat and strife.

In Nelsonville, Ohio, Sunday Creek Coal Co. was among dozens of companies that thrived in eastern Ohio during mining’s heyday, 1850 to 1940. Vestiges of that era — opera houses, speakeasies, union halls, railroad depots — are being preserved and promoted for tours, lodging and quirky events like the re-enactment of a Prohibition rally.

“It’s not creating tourism just for other people. We’re going for

ourselves as well,” said Winnenberg.

Ecotourism The Corbin, Kentucky-basedAppalachian Wildlife Foundation is developing an ecology education site on Kentucky’sfirstmountaintop removal coal mine.

“Capitalizing on the wildlife of the region for conservation, based on our work, turned into a tourist attraction,” said board chairman Frank Allen.

A wildlife center rich with elk, deer, bear and more than 260 species of birds will open in 2019 while mining operations continue nearby. An economic impact study predicts the 19-squaremile tract of former mine land will attract 638,000 annual visitors, generate $124 million in annual spending by its fifth year and create 2,300 jobs.

Ann Krajnik

Ann Krajnik, age 95, of Erie, passed away Sunday, December 24, 2017. She was born in Bitumen, Pa. on May 19, 1922, the daughter of the late Michael and Martha Krajnik. Ann was a member of St. Peter and Paul Byzantine Catholic Church.

She worked for Sylvania in Emporium and then in the billing department of General Telephone in Erie.

She retired after following 30 years of service.

Ann was gifted at embroidery work and crocheting, and enjoyed baking, cooking and reading.

Ann is survived by one sister, Helen Krajnik; one brother, John Krajnik, her nephews and niece, Michael Krajnik (Karen), Steve Krajnik, Laura Burick, James Krajnik and John Krajnik; great-nieces and nephews and great-great nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by four brothers, George, Nicholas, Andrew and Michael Krajnik; one sister, Mary Krajnik and one great-great niece, Amy Krajnik Mlakar.

Friends may call at the Dusckas Funeral Home, 2607 Buffalo Rd. on Wednesday from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. The Panichida Service will be held at 7:45 p.m.

On Thursday friends are invited to attend a Prayer Service at the funeral home at 9:15 a.m. with the Funeral Divine Liturgy to be held at 10 a.m. at St. Peter and Paul Byzantine Catholic Church. Interment will follow at Mary, Queen of Peace.

Sign the Guestbook at www.GoErie.com/obits.

E. Marie Coalson Liller

E. Marie Coalson Liller, 87, of Erie, passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on Friday December 22, 2017 at St. Vincent Health Center. She was born in Radford,, Va. on July 10, 1930 a daughter of the late Kenneth and Nina Radcliffe Coalson.

Marie worked at Firch’s Bakery for nine years and St. Vincent Health Center for 15 years before retiring in 1990. She was a member of the St. Joseph’s Resident Council and was an avid reader and movie collector. She enjoyed crafts and making wedding wishing wells.

In addition to her parents she was preceded in death by her husband of 42 years, Norbert C. Liller; one sister, Doreen Underwood; and one brother in law, Jim Curry.

Survivors include two daughters, Diane Macerata and her husband, Donald, of Erie and Donna Vroman of Michigan; one son, Bill “Bryon” Liller and his wife, Julie, of Erie; four grandchildren, Kari Liller, Sara and Daniel Macerata, and Jubille “J.B.” Liller; her sister-in-law, Mary Jane Curry of Erie; and many nieces and nephews.

Friends may call at the Russell C. Schmidt & Son Funeral Home Inc., 5000 Wattsburg Rd., on Wednesday from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. and are invited to services there on Thursday at 10:00 a.m. Burial will be private in Laurel Hill Cemetery.

Memorial contributions can be made to the ANNA Shelter, 1555 E. 10th St., Erie, 16511.

Please visit www.SchmidtFuneralHomeErie.com to sign the Book of Memories.

Sign the Guestbook at www.GoErie.com/obits.

Patricia J. Filley Love

Patricia J. Filley Love, 58, of Erie, passed away on Friday December 22, 2017 at West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh. She was born in Erie on May 18, 1959 a daughter of the late Ernest and Naomi Chase Filley.

Patricia graduated from Seneca High School and went on to attend Gannon University. She originally worked at GTE and went on to work as a realtor with Coldwell Banker.

She enjoyed crocheting and baking.

Survivors include one daughter, Jessie Love and her fiancé, Dustin Schreiber, of Pittsburgh; one sister, Sharon Niedzielski and her husband, David, of Erie; one brother, Ernie Filley of Erie; her granddog, J.J.; and several nieces and nephews.

Friends may call at the Russell C. Schmidt & Son Funeral Home Inc., 5000 Wattsburg Rd., on Thursday from 4:00 p.m until the time of the memorial service there at 6:00 p.m. Burial will be private and at the convenience of the family.

Memorial contributions can be made to the American Heart Association, 3025 French St., Erie, 16504.

Please visit www.SchmidtFuneralHomeErie.com to sign the Book of Memories.

Sign the Guestbook at www.GoErie.com/obits.

Olevia Gates

Olevia Gates, age 87 of Corry, Pa. passed away Tuesday, December 19, 2017 at Fairview Manor.

Due to the snow emergency, her funeral services have been rescheduled to Thursday, December 28, 2017 at 11:00 a.m. at the John J. Quinn Funeral Home, West 9th and Liberty St. Burial will be private.

Sign the Guestbook at www.GoErie.com/obits.

Marilyn Przybyszewski Konieczny

Marilyn Przybyszewski Konieczny, age 77, of Erie, passed away Sunday, December 24, 2017. Arrangements will be announced by the Dusckas-Martin Funeral Home and Crematory, Inc., 4216 Sterrettania Rd.

Kelly S. Stanley

Kelly S. Stanley, 36, of Erie, passed away on Monday, December 25, 2017. Arrangements by the John R. Orlando Funeral Home, Inc., 2122 Raspberry St., will be announced on Thursday.

Ann N. Goodreau

Ann N. Goodreau, age 70 of Platea, died Monday, December 25, 2017 at Millcreek Community Hospital in Erie, Pa. Arrangements are being handled by Jean Evans Thompson Funeral Home, East Springfield, Pa.

Marilyn Jean Shields

Marilyn Jean Shields, age 85, of Waterford, died Monday, December 25, 2017. Funeral arrangements will be announced by Van Matre Funeral Home in Waterford.

Erie Times-News | GoErie.com |

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

B5

OBITUARIES Gina Leo Santiago

Ernest Alvin “Pie” Dance Jr.

Ernest Alvin “Pie” Dance Jr., age 87 of Erie, passed away on Saturday, December 23, 2017 at his residence.

He was born in Erie on March 12, 1930, a son of the late Ernest “Buster” Sr. and Vera Collins Dance.

Raised by William and Besie Shirers Collins.

Ernest graduated from Weslyville High School and then went on to work at General Electric for 55 years until his retirement.

He was a working man who enjoyed working on cars. He loved his dogs, traveling the south and enjoyed watching football and baseball.

Followed in death by his wife, Masuko Martin “Pinky” Dance; four sisters, Virginia Marlene Dance, Ernestine Dance, Bertha Dance, and Le Vern Simmons; and a brother, Theodore Dance.

He is survived three sons, Brian Curry, Earnest Dance III, and Michael Dance; five daughters, Janet Merritt, Rosemary Dance, Tina Dance, Kimberly Dance (Doug), and Mary Jones; a brother, Gary Dance; three sisters, Beverly Dance, Rosemary Wheaton Dance (Chester), and Sandra Sharp; Eldest grandson Daryl Barnes, special granddaughter Jakeisha Williams, and special grandson Darvonne Barnes, and 18 grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, a special person in his life, Helen Awasum and many nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

Friends may call at the Burton Funeral Home and Crematory, Inc. 602 W. 10th Street on Thursday from 12:00 p.m. until the time of service at 2:00 p.m. Burial to follow in Lakeside Cemetery.

Send condolences at www.Burtonfuneralhome.com

Sign the Guestbook at www.GoErie.com/obits.

Margaret Dorothy Semenske Sanders

Margaret Dorothy Semenske Sanders, age 88 of Millcreek Twp., passed away at her home on Friday December 22, 2017. She was born on August 29, 1929 in St. Louis, Mo., a daughter of the late, Walter and Viola Wiley Semenske of Troy, Missouri.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her wonderful husband of 65 years, Eugene F. Sanders; brother, Gene Semenske; sister, Aileen Rutherford; grandson, Phillip Sanders and two great-grandchildren in infancy.

Margaret is survived by her four children, Don (Mary) Sanders of St. Louis, Mo., Patty (Greg) Maxwell of Syracuse, N.Y., Gloria (Jim) Mack of Millcreek Twp. and David Sanders of West Springfield; eight grandchildren, Jeffery Sanders, Tim Maxwell, Jenifer Alfieri, Danielle Mack, Jimmy Mack, Autumn Sanders, David Sanders and Brandon Tercho; nine great-grandchildren and one sister Jeanette Merry.

She was fortunate to be a stay at home mom. Margaret was a member of Asbury United Methodist Church in Millcreek Twp. In her younger years, she loved making ceramics and playing bingo. She loved casinos and would visit there regularly with her daughters and enjoyed fishing with her husband on Lake Erie.

Friends may call at the Dusckas-Martin Funeral Home & Crematory Inc. 4216 Sterrettania Rd., on Wednesday from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m., and are invited to a funeral service there on Thursday morning at 11:00 a.m. Interment will follow in Laurel Hill Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to Make a Wish Foundation, 1001 State St. #502, Erie, PA 16501.

Sign the Guestbook at www.GoErie.com/obits.

Paul L. Best

Paul L. Best, age 75, of North East, died on Friday December 22, 2017 at home. He was born on May 11, 1942 in Rimersburg, Pa. the son of the late Edward and Francis (Swartz) Best.

Paul was a veteran of the Vietnam War serving in the United States Army. He was formerly employed

by General Electric as a group leader for 36 1/2 years. Paul was a member of the GE Quarter Century Club, Brotherhood of St. Joseph, and the Wesleyville American Legion Post 0571.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by sisters, Clara Marie McQueeney and Linda Henry; brothers, James, Marlyn, Larry, Clyde, Lloyd, and Roland Best.

He is survived by his children, Tammie Messenger of West Springfield, Pa. and Erick Best of North East; sisters, Sylvia Blasdell (Jerry) of Md., Karen Gresh of Ripley, and Kathy Brockway (Tom) of Calif.; brothers, Wayne Best (Jane) of Knox, Pa., Robert Best (Linda) of Ripley, and Reginald Best (Amy) of Depew, N.Y.; grandchildren, Kevin, Joshua, Bendon, Cody, Shelbee, and Dustin; great-grandchildren, Skye, Lilly, Bastion, Vada, and Jazmine; also several, nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Friends may call at the William D. Elkin Funeral Home, 65 South Lake Street, North East on Wednesday 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 and are invited to attend a funeral service with Full Military Honors on Thursday at 11:00 am at the funeral home. Officiating the service is Rev. Kurt Best. Private interment at the convenience of the family.

Please send condolences to elkinfh.com.

Sign the Guestbook at www.GoErie.com/obits.

Wilson A. “Wags” Gruver

Wilson Anthony Gruver, 78 of McKean, died on Sunday, December 24, 2017 at Edinboro Manor. The Glunt Funeral Home and Crematory, Inc. is in charge of arrangements.

Dorothy H. Rukat Cieslak

Dorothy H. Rukat Cieslak, 91, passed away Sunday, December 24, 2017. Arrangements will be announced

by The Carl A. Slomski & Son Funeral Home Inc.

Gina Leo Santiago, 51, of Erie, passed away Friday, December 22, 2017, at her residence in Columbus, Ohio. She was born in Pittsburgh, Pa. on January 8th, 1966, a daughter of Sam Leo, Sr. and the late Jane DeLong Leo. Gina graduated from Mercyhurst Preparatory School and studied nursing. In her younger years she was a competitive roller skater and spent her days at the roller rink.

She was very involved in many activities within the community where she resided, including the Ohio War Ducks youth organization. Her grandchildren meant everything to her, and she devoted her time to them, as well as to taking care of her mother before her passing in 2014.

She loved traveling, and was a very devoted hockey mom! Gina had a very beautiful spirit and was loved by many.

In addition to her mother, Gina is preceded in death by her grandmother, Mary Leo, and her grandfather, Angelo Leo. She is survived by her children, Michael Santiago of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, David Santiago and his wife Kristen of Edinboro, and Brandi Santiago Hill and her husband Diallo of Columbus, Ohio; her father, Samuel Leo, Sr. of Erie; three grandchildren, Camden, Carson, and Diallo, Jr.; one brother, Samuel Leo, Jr. of Edinboro; two sisters, June Leo of Erie, and Jennifer Binney and her husband Douglas of Harborcreek; and a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives, friends and loved ones.

Friends may call at the Russell C. Schmidt & Son Funeral Home Inc., 5000 Wattsburg Rd., on Thursday from 11 a.m. until the time of service there at 1:00 p.m.

Burial will follow in Wintergreen Gorge Cemetery.

Memorial contributions can be made to The Ohio War Ducks, 7253 Winterbek Ave., New Albany, OH, 43054.

Please visit www.SchmidtFuneralHomeErie.com to sign the Book of Memories.

Sign the Guestbook at www.GoErie.com/obits.

Joanne M. Roberts

Joanne M. Roberts, age 81, of Girard, passed away Sunday, December 25, 2017 at St. Vincent Health Center. She was born in Dubois, Pa. on February 17, 1936, a daughter of the late Joseph Beck and Martha (Kriner) Beck.

She worked as a cook at the Green Shingle Restaurant for many years, and also enjoyed baking cookies, was a very talented artist and was known for her Victorian teddy bears.

In addition to her parents, Joanne was preceded in death by her husband, Alfred J. Roberts; a brother, Alvin L. Beck; and a sister Vivian Peterson.

She is survived by three daughters, Donna Marie Heitman and her husband Ernest of Girard, Sallie Jo Burch and her husband Andrew of Fairview, and Melissa Ann Dillon and her husband David of Perry, N.Y.; two sons, Brian J. Horn and his wife Wendy of Erie and James W. Horn and his companion, JoNella Moffett of Fairview; a sister, Hazel L. Fike; a brother Donald V. Beck, both of Pa.; two step-sons, Michael J. Roberts of Fla., and Timothy Roberts of Pa.; and a step-daughter, Kim Roberts, of Fla. She is further survived by numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.

Friends may call at the Burton’s Girard Funeral Home, 525 Main Street East on Thursday from 2-4 and 6 to 8 p.m. and are invited to a service there on Friday at 11 a.m. with Reverend Brock Beveridge officiating.

Burial will be in Lakeside Memorial Park Cemetery, Hamburg, N.Y. Send condolences at www.BurtonFuneralHome. com.

Sign the Guestbook at www.GoErie.com/obits.

Thomas E. Church

Thomas E. Church, 74, of Erie, passed away peacefully at his residence on Tuesday December 19, 2017 surrounded by his family. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio on April 15, 1943 a son of the late Harold and Jean Zimmerman Church.

Thomas served as a fire fight supervisor with the United States Air Force and worked at G.E. for 36 years before retiring in 2002.

He was a member of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church. He enjoyed Formula 1 racing, college football, and was a fan of Manchester United Football Club.

In addition to his parents he was preceded in death by his sister, Christina Church.

Survivors include his wife, Christine Chrzanowski Church; three daughters, Jennie Church Snyder and her husband, Benjamin, of Murphysboro, Ill., Dianne Church of Erie, and Katie Church Rivera and her husband, Joseph, of Erie; eight grandchildren, Greta, Everett, Lincoln, Keira, Joseph, Alexus, Aaliyah, and Adison; one brother, Howard Church and his husband, Steven Keiffer, of Harrisburg; and two nieces.

Friends are invited to a Funeral Mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church on Thursday at 10:00 a.m. Inurnment will be private in Mary Queen of Peace Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers memorial contributions can be made to Great Lakes Home Healthcare and Hospice, 1700 Peach St., Suite 244, Erie, 16501.

Funeral arrangements were made by the Russell C. Schmidt & Son Funeral Home Inc., 5000 Wattsburg Rd., Erie, 16504.

Please visit www.SchmidtFuneralHomeErie.com to sign the Book of Memories.

Edward James Kolin

Edward James Kolin, age 90, died December 23, 2017 at the Pennsylvania Soldiers and Sailors Home in Erie Pa., where he had been a resident for the past eight years. Edward was born on February 7, 1927 in Cambridge Springs, a son of the late George and Elizabeth Vranka Kolin, Sr. He married the late JoAnn Elaine Peiffer on October 16, 1954.

A lifelong resident of Cambridge Springs, he helped with the family farm while attending the Torry School and Cambridge Springs High School until graduating in 1945. Ed left in July 1945 for Sampson Naval Training Station to begin his service in the Navy. He proudly served during WWII and was honorably discharged. He returned home, continued to work on the family farm and began employment with the Erie Lackawanna Railroad until 1966. Ed then worked for Lord Corporation until his retirement in 1988.

Ed was a lifetime member and usher at Saint Anthony of Padua Catholic Church. He was also a member of the John Stanley MacDuff American Legion Post 381, Cambridge Springs.

Surviving are his three children: twins - Krista Carleton of Erie and Kurtiss Kolin and his wife, Patricia of Colorado Springs,Colorado, and Keith Kolin and his wife, Lori of Cambridge Springs; four grandchildren: Lindsay Hubler and her husband, Jason; Jessica Mc Cormick and her husband, Adam; Melissa Carlton and Matthew Kolin; seven great-grandchildren - Leah, Colin, Chloe, Braden, Julia, Carson and Tori. Edward is further survived by a brother Charles Kolin of Brookpark, Ohio, an honorary son, Gary Parkin and his wife, Susan of Cambridge Springs and several nieces, nephews and cousins.

Friends may call at Van Matre Funeral Home in Cambridge Springs on Thursday, December 28, 2017 from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8. Funeral services will be held at 7:00 p.m. officiated by Rev. Fr. David Poulson of St Anthony of Padua Catholic Church. Interment will be at Venango Cemetery.

Memorials may be made to the PA Soldiers and Sailors Home, 560 East 3rd St. Erie, PA 11616507.

To send condolences, please visit www.vanmatrefuneralhome.com.

Sign the Guestbook at www.GoErie.com/obits.

Robert “Cos” Helsel

Robert “Cos” Helsel, age 74 of Erie, died on Christmas Day, December 25, 2017 at St. Mary’s at Asbury Ridge. He was born in Erie on July 6, 1943, a son of the late Calvin Helsel and Dorothy “Dot” Miller Helsel.

Cos graduated from Technical Memorial High School in 1961.

He worked more than 30 years in the automotive industry, was the owner of a local “speed shop”, and retired 12 years ago.

Cos loved his six dogs and his pacu fish “Lil Cos”. He enjoyed wood working, and he was the “go to guy” for motors and race engines.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his brothers Max and George Helsel.

Survivors include his wife of 25 years Deborah “Deb” Helsel, a daughter Terri, (T.J.) Kremer of Lake City, a son Robert J. Helsel (Brenda) of Harborcreek, three grandchildren: Aaron, Logan and A’Leiah; a brother Jim Helsel (Judy) of Lake City, and a sister Carol (Dick) Bandley of Frewsburg, N.Y., a sister-inlaw Patti Helsel and a niece Kelly Helsel. Several nieces, nephews and many cousins also survive.

Friends may call at the Burton Funeral Home and Crematory, Inc., 602 West 10th Street on Thursday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Friday from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m., and are invited to the memorial service there on Saturday at 10 a.m.

Memorials may be made to the ANNA Shelter, 1555 East 10th Street, Erie PA 16511.

Send condolences to www.Burtonfuneralhome.com.

Sign the Guestbook at www.GoErie.com/obits.

Alan Kurt Heineman

Alan Kurt Heineman, 77 of Millcreek Twp., due to inclement weather in our region the Heineman family has chosen to change their services.

Friends may call at the Dusckas-Martin Funeral Home & Crematory Inc. 4216 Sterrettania Rd., Thursday December 28, 2017, from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. and are invited to a memorial service there on Friday morning at 11:00 a.m.

Sign the Guestbook at www.GoErie.com/obits.

Wayne M. Zilich

Wayne M. Zilich, age 59, of Erie, passed away Sunday, December 24, 2017 at UPMC Hamot. Arrangements will be announced by the Dusckas Funeral Home, Inc., 2607 Buffalo Rd.

Sign the Guestbook at www.GoErie.com/obits.

Harold R. Young

Harold R. Young, age 85, of Harborcreek, died on Monday, Dec. 25, 2017. Arrangements will be announced by the Dusckas-Taylor Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Inc., Harborcreek.

Barbara Hammer

Barbara Hammer, age 78, of North East died on Tuesday December 26, 2017. Funeral arrangements will be announced by the William D. Elkin Funeral Home, 65 S. Lake St., North East.

If you have a question regarding an obituary, please contact our obituary department at 814-870-1774 or obits@timesnews.com

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Wednesday, December 27, 2017

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Erie Times-News | GoErie.com

VIEWPOINT OUR VIEW

T H O U G H T F O R T O DAY “The Lord knows our thoughts, that they are but an empty breath.”

— Psalm 94:11

ANOTHER VIEW

Erie expertly navigates epic storm The issue: Christmas snow buries Erie Our view: Storm one for the ages

T

here are experiences that ground and unite a community.

One of the strongest ties that binds Erie is soft and white. The snow that pours in off Lake Erie can be fluffy or dense, heavy and wet or sandy and dry. But pour in it does, as cold air picks up the moisture off Lake Erie and deposits it by the feet across the landscape. The city routinely ranks among the snowiest in the nation.

Erieites know how dress for snow, dig out of it and drive in it. We know how to have fun in it. We sled and ski through it or strap on snow shoes and stomp across it. We’ll drill holes in the ice and sit on it to catch fish or zip into a jumpsuit and race across it on revving snowmobiles.

So while snow might be old hat in Erie, the Christmas storm just passed was anything but.

The National Weather Service in Cleveland reported that 34 inches fell on Monday, shattering Erie’s previous record for Christmas Day snowfall, 8.1 inches in 2002. Tuesday morning, it reported that 53.5 inches had fallen in two days, eclipsing a state record that had stood since 1958. And more was on its way.

Before Monday, the great Thanksgiving storm of 1956, when 24 inches of snow fell, figured as one of Erie’s greatest holiday weather stories. “EMERGENCY!!” blared the headline in The Erie Daily Times. 1956 is so over. Erie became star for a day Tuesday as the Weather Channel, CNN and other national press covered this recordbreaking storm with shivers of awe.

How did it happen? Meteorologists explained that the lake-effect snow bands that often lavish their attention on regions just to Erie’s south, instead chose Christmas Day to park over the city right at the lake’s edge.

Some Erieites were snowed in with family, others isolated from loved ones due to the whiteout conditions and rapidly piling drifts. The city’s network of homeless shelters guaranteed the most vulnerable were not forgotten.

Travel on side roads was all but impossible as crews struggled to keep clear the main roadways. By Tuesday morning, some drivers who dared try and breach the plowed-in city intersections beached their cars instead.

There were mercifully few other mishaps, as most sheltered in place.

There was no after Christmas shopping at the Millcreek Mall or holiday movies with the kids. Instead, shoppers flooded heavy equipment merchants, putting a run on snowblowers.

Miller Brothers sold 10 in two hours.

Time will tell what the rest of the winter holds. If this epic storm is any indication, Erie is up to the challenge.

H AV E YO U R S AY Letters should be no longer than 250 words.

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Pat Howard | Editor opinion/engagement 870-1721 | pat.howard@timesnews.com

Ken Nelson ......................President and Publisher Doug Oathout .............................. Executive Editor Pat Howard .......Editor/Opinion and Engagement Lisa Thompson ..............................Editorial Writer Matt Martin.............................Editor/Online News Jeff Kirik ............................................ Sports Editor

GUEST VIEWPOINT

Public service is humbling and inspiring

By David Brennan

This the second of a series of reflections by local public officials leaving office.

I

have always considered my service on Erie City Council as my civic duty, never a lifetime career path. Change will bring new experiences and knowledge to Council, creating new opportunities for growth and progress.

I am grateful for having the privilege of representing the citizens of Erie. Serving on Council has been humbling, inspiring, and nerve-racking, all at the same time. I made the decision to run for office, because I saw a need in city government for someone with my background. I truly felt that my experience could make a positive impact on our city.

My Council term will end in a few weeks and I am honored to be asked to share my personal experiences. My goal in writing this article was to take those experiences and offer some advice for our new Council Members, as well as those who may run for elected office in the future.

Learning experiences Elected officials make decisions that affect our citizen’s finances, health, education, race and cultural relations, human rights, and quality of life. To understand and make decisions on these issues, a certain amount of knowledge is needed. If possible, do whatever you can do to gain a working knowledge of local government.

Educate yourself, listen to your constituents, and communicate as much as possible.

Expectations from our city taxpayers are high and need to be taken very seriously.

Engage residents. Give them opportunities for their voices to be heard by letting them know you care, when public meetings are held, and how they can participate.

It is in our nature to avoid confrontation. I have learned that you will need to always be completely honest, frequently leave your comfort zone, and you will need to confront people. You will realize that no matter how hard you try, you will never please everyone.

When you have a proposal, do your research, educate others, and build your case. Be

Erie City Councilman David Brennan is shown in the Bagnoni Council Chambers at Erie City Hall on Dec. 8. Brennan, 51, is leaving office in January after filling a two-year term and being elected to a full four-year term. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

patient and aware of everything that stands in your way. Realize that others will have personal agendas and outside influences. Realize that people will want you to fail and will resist change.

Every decision you make has consequences and almost always a cost. Decisions should not be based on your personal preferences but instead based on what is best for the entire community.

Most of your work will go unnoticed or will be misinterpreted by the public and the media. You may not always agree with social media comments and articles written about you since facts and the truth may not come out as you see it. You will be blamed for everything that you are doing and not doing and for things that you cannot possibly change. Don’t fret, keep working, keep moving forward behind the scenes with the satisfaction of knowing that your hard work and passion will pay off, is helping our city, and is making a difference.

Lastly, when I was elected, I received some important advice; don’t just fill the seat.

In other words, do something: make some waves, question everything, and do what you can to make our city a better place to live!

Shortcomings and regrets I am in no way inferring that I have been without my shortcomings. I have had failures and regrets even while working diligently. One of my regrets was not starting the

recommended Erie Refocused neighborhood meetings. I have had countless communications trying to bring everyone together. Meetings have not moved forward since many in City Hall believe that these community discussions aren’t necessary. Fortunately, I have drafted a meeting format and approach which I have reviewed with Council and the Mayor-elect so that meetings could start in the New Year.

What’s next?

I will be dedicating more time to my family and focusing on my full-time job as the Director of the Erie Office for Bostwick Design Partnership, an architecture firm. I will also continue to serve on several committees and will work on initiatives that I have started while on Council.

In support of my vision for making Erie a better place to live, I am proud of every piece of legislation that I have proposed, every initiative, and every issue that I have championed while serving on Council; bayfront planning, urban design, zoning, historic preservation, neighborhood revitalization, park improvements, and urban agriculture to name a few. We need to continue to work on all of these issues in order to keep moving our city forward!

I want to thank the citizens of Erie who have supported me throughout my years of service. I am hoping that I have made a positive contribution to our city, that I have made good decisions, and that I have displayed a compassion for the well-being of our residents.

Erie Times-News | GoErie.com |

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

B7

ANOTHER VIEW GUEST VIEWPOINT

McBride Viaduct options were thoroughly studied and publicly debated

William G. Petit

A

t PennDOT, we work hard to be transparent with highway and bridge projects. We hold public meetings or plans displays as part of every bridge project and major highway project.

We talk with stakeholders, emergency service providers, elected officials, businesses, neighbors and interest groups.

The McBride Viaduct is one project where we redoubled those efforts toward transparency, and we are proud of our efforts to engage the public in this project.

PennDOT, the City of Erie, and consultants have worked for five years on public involvement and community outreach as part of a study that concluded the cityowned bridge in east Erie is no longer needed and should be demolished.

We all have an obligation to respect the facts that ultimately yield an outcome.

Outreach efforts included four public meetings from February 2012 through October 2017. About 20 people attended the public plans display held in October, including members of the public, local officials and members of Erie CPR Connect + Respect, which is the group seeking to preserve the viaduct.

We sought feedback at this session, but no new information was brought forward that would alter the outcome of the study.

A Citizens Advisory Committee discussed and analyzed the project alternatives in four additional meetings that were open to the public during 2012 and 2013.

Consultants published four editions of a project newsletter and established a project website at www. mcbrideviaduct.com.

Press releases were sent in advance of public meetings, and meeting announcements were sent by email to 176 public officials, public safety officials, Citizen Advisory Committee members, businesses, residents, community organizations, and educational institutions.

Flyers, printed in English and Spanish, were distributed to human service

centers in the project area, the public library, and the reception area of Erie City Hall. In addition, 400 flyers were provided for distribution to public housing residents.

A community outreach meeting was held in March 2013 specifically to engage residents near the viaduct.

Meeting announcements were sent to 800 residents of Erie Housing Authority properties. A meeting flyer and survey was sent to 400 additional residents in the area west of the viaduct, bounded by Ash Street and the viaduct, and from 18th to 22nd streets. Flyers were also posted at the John F. Kennedy Center and the E.F. Smith Quality of Life Learning Center.

Throughout this process, consultants and representatives of PennDOT and the City of Erie, met and talked with residents and business owners. We talked frequently to community organizations, including members of Erie CPR. The outcome of all the study and interaction was a finding— confirmed by city, state and federal transportation officials— that the adjacent Bayfront Connector, complete with a 10-footwide pedestrian walkway,

provides an acceptable sidewalk and barrier for safe pedestrian travel.

Pedestrian access and safety was one of the foremost concerns in the study.

Every alternative that was considered had a pedestrian and bicyclist component.

In short, the study showed there is no longer a purpose or need for the viaduct. We understand that there are people who want the viaduct to stay, but our responsibility is to determine if there is a purpose and need for the structure.

Without that need, we cannot allocate state or federal funds to the project.

Some are advocating that the viaduct be converted to a pedestrian-only bridge, and contend that we didn’t even consider that option.

In fact, we did consider that. But we know that even as a pedestrian bridge, the viaduct would still need extensive work and have to be able to support the weight of maintenance and construction vehicles.

The viaduct is in such a state of deterioration that improvements to the road surface simply would not be enough.

Any rehabilitation would have to address serious issues not only with the concrete deck, but also

the superstructure and substructure. Crumbling concrete on the piers, abutments and retaining walls would have to be repaired or replaced.

There is also a significant safety element to this project. Ownership of a bridge such as the viaduct comes with responsibilities and liability. It is a deteriorating and crumbling structure located over two sets of heavily-used railroad tracks, as well as over businesses operating on both sides of the viaduct.

We acknowledge the good intent of those who would like to preserve the viaduct, but we simply cannot justify spending public money on a deteriorating bridge that is no longer needed.

In short, we did not take the decision to demolish the bridge lightly or make it in haste. A great deal of study and public debate have gone into this project, and we believe the facts indicate that we are pursuing the correct option.

William G. Petit, P.E., is the District Executive of PennDOT Engineering District 1, which serves Crawford, Erie, Forest, Mercer, Venango and Warren Counties.

GUEST VIEWPOINT

McBride Viaduct offers chance to change Erie paradigm

Rev. Charles Mock

W

hat a wonderful sight!

I sat in the City Council Chamber and prayerfully watched a major conversation take place. Among others, at the table were the Erie City Council president and other members; Erie County Councilman Andre Horton, Mayor-elect Joe Schember, Pastor Dale Snyder of St. James A.M.E. Church, etc.

The discussion centered on the recent report classifying Erie as the number one worst city for Black Americans in the nation (24/7 WALL St. “The Worst Cities for Black Americans,” by Evan Comen and Michael Sauter, Nov. 3, 2017).

I, among others, took issue with some of the evidence that rendered such a judgment. However, even if our city is not number one, to be in the top 20 worst cities is a judgment that deserved dialogue. The table discussion that evening centered on what was needed to change such realities.

The discussion was rich with well-measured responses, diverse perspective, common agreement on several issues and positive ideas on the way forward.

I left that meeting feeling that those at the table had arrived a consensus that a paradigm shift was in order in city governance. I am excited about current opportunities to test the earnestness I heard around that table.

One such opportunity is the east side’s McBride Viaduct Bridge scheduled

Shown walking south on the McBride Viaduct on Oct. 27 are, from left: Markell Bailor, 11; Sadie Duck, 13; and Johnae Henderson, 12. The students were heading home after leaving school for the day at East Middle School. The preservation group Erie CPR Connect + Respect wants to save the east side bridge from demolition. The bridge was closed by the city of Erie in June 2010 because of structural concerns. Erie CPR wants to make the bridge into a pedestrian walkway or public park. [CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

to be torn down.

Once demolished, the folks making 200 daily trips over the Viaduct will be forced to use the dangerous intersection at East 12th Street and the Bayfront.

Should the Bridge be saved or torn down? That is the key question. Some believe that the question has been fully answered while others believe otherwise. Bridge Retainers, such as myself, Rev. Anthony Harris, the African American Concerned Clergy, the NAACP, County Councilman Andre Horton, Citizens United, etc., are calling for a welladvertised public hearing on this question.

In our current age of disinformation campaigns, fake news, rushed, unvetted news, etc., what is the truth? Some well-informed professional opinions and sound research suggest that the Viaduct Bridge should be saved.

Let the truth be known.

All citizens directly or indirectly impacted by the decision to demolish the bridge are asking is that truth be given a chance in the open air of public scrutiny. When someone like Charles Buki, principle consultant of Erie’s comprehensive plan, weighs in someone might want to listen. Buki advised Erie to start “engaging citizens” and work together.

Speaking on a history of sad neighborhood separations in Erie, Buki stated, “If there is a more squandered asset in America than the City of Erie’s shoreline, it is hard to imagine. For more than 100 years now, the community has acknowledged the need to integrate the city’s downtown and neighborhoods with the Bayfront — and much has been done in the past 50 years to realize that goal.

But those efforts have been inadequate and have,

in many ways, worsened the physical separation of the shoreline from the rest of the city.” (Erie Reader, “Grasping Erie’s Comprehensive Plan,” by Charles Buki, April 13, 2016).

According to the article, “Considering the City: The Buki Plan, the Viaduct and Erie CPR” (Oct. 28, 2016), Charles Buki has weighed on the side of building up the Viaduct Bridge. “We must leverage existing assets, stated Buki, including our built environment, beautiful Bayfront, and entrepreneurial tradition.”

Buki’s additional comments called for elevating (not demolishing) the needs of pedestrians.

His words echo the advice of many other experts who agree that connectivity and walkability are crucial to creating a thriving city.

Former Milwaukee Mayor John Norquist wrote in a 2015 edition of the

Erie Times-News urging retention of the Viaduct as a key walkway.

Last April, architect and urban planner Toni Griffin spoke in Erie about the need to work together to create a “just city” with amenities for everyone.

Famed city planner Jane Jacobs once commented, “Cities have the capability of providing something for everyone if they are created by everybody.”

Bridge retaining advocates argue against paying out-of-towners $2.3 million to demolish the bridge. It makes more sense to spend $3 million to re-skin the bridge and allow it to continue in its present use as a safe route to school, work, and play.

Fixing the bridge will create good temporary jobs, and an estimated 33 permanent private sector jobs.

This fix is in keeping with Charles Buki’s reflections on the heritage of Erie.

Bridge Retainers say children, teens, and adults — some pushing strollers — will make 200 trips over the Viaduct a day.

If the Viaduct is demolished, they will have to walk on a path along the Bayfront Highway as 22-ton semis and speeding traffic barrel by. They say retain the safer environment of the Viaduct.

Who’s right?

Bridge demolishers or Bridge Retainers.

A well-advertised, public conversation is needed where everyone who speaks is on legal record.

What better time than now to make a paradigm shift? Let the next report on Erie reveal Erie as the best place of equal opportunity for all people!

Give truth a chance to be heard!

The Rev. Charles Mock is pastor of Community Baptist Church in Erie.

B8

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

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Erie Times-News | GoErie.com

Weather YOUR

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

Very cold with snow at times, 1-2"

Morning flurries; cloudy, very cold

Cloudy and cold with a snow shower

Bitterly cold, lake-effect snow squalls

Lake-effect snow squalls; cloudy, frigid

14° 10°

5-day forecast sponsored by

Region Weather

TODAY

Cleveland 13/7

Meadville 12/7 Youngstown 14/4

Canton 15/4

Warren 13/2

New Castle 16/2 Pittsburgh 19/8

Indiana 17/5

Geneseo 16/3

Coudersport 13/0

State College 18/7

Altoona 19/8

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

Mostly cloudy and frigid today with snow showers, accumulating 1-2 inches. A couple of lingering snow showers tonight; up to 1 inch.

Altoona Beaver Falls Buffalo Cincinnati Cleveland Detroit DuBois Franklin Harrisburg

Yesterday Hi Lo W 24 15 pc 18 12 pc 14 8 pc 23 19 c 15 8 c 14 3 sn 15 6 pc 17 6 sf 31 19 pc

Today Hi Lo W 19 8 pc 17 4 pc 14 4 sf 19 7 pc 13 7 c 15 1 pc 13 4 pc 13 6 pc 27 12 pc

Jamestown Johnstown Meadville Philadelphia Pittsburgh State College Toronto Williamsport Wilkes-Barre

Yesterday Hi Lo W 13 8 sn 17 10 pc 13 8 sf 33 26 pc 19 14 c 21 12 pc 13 3 pc 26 17 pc 22 15 pc

Today Hi Lo W 10 2 sn 13 4 pc 12 7 sf 30 16 pc 19 8 pc 18 7 pc 9 -8 pc 24 10 pc 22 8 pc

Weather(W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice

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Students: Send your weather scenes on unfolded 81/2 -by11-inch white paper to Kid Weather Art, Erie Times-News, 205 W. 12th St., Erie, PA 16534.

Please include your name, school, teacher, grade and age.

National Cities

Statistics as of 5 p.m.

DuBois 13/4

Oil City 14/6

22° 13°

Almanac

Buffalo

Lake Erie Marine Forecast: Today, winds: WNW 14/4 at 8-16 knots, waves: 1-3 ft. Thursday, winds: ESE at 4-8 knots, waves: 0-1 ft.

Lake Erie Level As of 7 a.m. yesterday Normal pool 570.80 feet ERIE Tuesday's level 572.61 feet 14/10 Jamestown Water temperature: 36° 10/2

Corry 12/4

17° 10°

Tuesday's Temperatures

High 15° Low 12° Normal high 35° Normal low 24° Record high 63° in 2016 Record low -6° in 1983 Season heating degree days 1869 Normal heating degree days 1976

Tuesday's Precipitation Midnight to 5 p.m.

Month to date Year to date Normal year to date Snowfall as of 5 p.m.

Snowfall month to date Snowfall season to date

Sun & Moon

Sunrise Sunset Moonrise Moonset Full

Jan 1

Today 7:48 a.m.

4:56 p.m.

1:12 p.m.

1:11 a.m.

Last New

Jan 8

Shown are

-10s noon positions

Jan 16

0.88" 6.32" 52.29" 41.59" 24.0" 97.0" 97.5"

Tomorrow 7:48 a.m.

4:56 p.m.

1:45 p.m.

2:18 a.m.

First

Jan 24

18° 9°

Today Hi Lo W Albuquerque 59 31 s Anchorage 16 10 pc Atlanta 45 31 r Baltimore 31 12 sf Birmingham 42 30 c Boise 33 24 c Boston 22 5 s Charleston, SC 48 33 sh Charlotte 50 22 c Chicago 11 5 s 42 28 c Dallas Denver 50 26 s Des Moines 11 6 pc Honolulu 81 67 sh Houston 46 38 r Indianapolis 13 4 pc Las Vegas 65 43 s Little Rock 34 17 c Los Angeles 75 53 s Miami 84 70 pc Minneapolis 5 2 s New Orleans 50 42 r New York City 26 13 pc Omaha 11 4 pc Orlando 77 60 pc Phoenix 75 46 s St. Louis 20 10 pc San Diego 68 49 s San Francisco 57 45 s Seattle 41 38 r Washington, DC 34 18 sf

Tomorrow Hi Lo W 58 29 s 13 10 c 36 29 i 28 13 pc 47 30 c 36 32 c 14 4 s 42 32 r 35 20 c 17 11 sn 44 32 c 48 25 pc 20 6 sn 81 68 pc 50 39 c 23 12 c 67 44 s 38 22 c 79 55 s 82 68 s 13 -2 sn 50 42 r 23 13 s 22 8 c 73 58 pc 77 47 s 28 16 c 72 49 s 57 43 s 47 42 r 29 22 pc

16° 7°

World Cities Amsterdam Beijing Berlin Buenos Aires Cairo Hong Kong Jerusalem Johannesburg London Madrid Manila Mexico City Moscow Paris Rio de Janeiro Rome Sydney Tokyo

Today Hi Lo W 44 37 r 38 21 s 43 35 c 86 64 pc 70 56 pc 69 64 s 61 48 pc 78 58 pc 41 31 pc 51 41 pc 85 76 sh 72 42 pc 35 33 c 43 31 r 88 76 r 58 46 r 78 69 pc 48 36 s

Ski Resorts

Peek 'n Peak (NY) Holiday Valley (NY) Swain (NY) Alpine Valley (OH) Blue Knob (PA) Mount Pleasant (PA)

Tomorrow Hi Lo W 41 33 sh 43 22 s 40 33 pc 93 68 s 68 53 pc 70 63 pc 60 50 c 86 62 s 40 32 s 56 44 pc 85 75 t 69 43 pc 36 32 c 42 35 pc 85 75 r 52 36 sh 83 71 pc 48 38 s

Base

Ski

Trails

28-28 12-36 18-18 0-0 14-17 0-0

ns mgr mgr mgr mgr mgr

21 43 11 0 9 0

Inches Code Open

ns-new snow; pdr-powder; pp-packed powder; hp-hard pack; mgr-machine groomed; wetsn-wet snow; wpswet packed snow; lsgr-loose granular.

Source: OnTheSnow.com

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

of weather -0s systems and precipitation.

Temperature 0s bands are highs for the 10s day.

20s 30s 40s 50s 60s 70s 80s

Drawing by Ethan Markewicz, 5, St. Jude School kindergarten student

Sign up for severe weather alerts and a daily forecast text message at GoErie.com/alerts.

90s 100s 110s

Fronts Cold Warm Stationary T-storms Rain Showers Snow Flurries Ice

National Extremes (Yesterday for the 48 contiguous states) High 83° at Miami, FL Low -36° at Embarrass, MN

Erie Times-News | GoErie.com |

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

SPORTS

C1

Jeff Kirik Sports editor 870-1679 jeff.kirik@timesnews.com

Terry all about team In this Oct. 8 file photo, Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison walks the sidelines as his team plays against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Pittsburgh. [THE ASSOCIATED PRESS]

Harrison signs with Patriots One of the highlights of Damion Terry’s career was helping Michigan State to a 17-14 win over Ohio State on Nov. 21, 2015. [CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/MSU ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS]

Cathedral Prep grad’s MSU career has been anything but a disappointment

John Dudley

I

t would be easy to be bummed for Damion Terry, if it weren’t so pointless.

Terry, the former Cathedral Prep superstar who will finish his college career when No. 16 Michigan State meets No. 18 Washington State in Thursday’s Holiday Bowl in San Diego, isn’t nearly as apoplectic as some people think he should be over the fact that he never matched his high school success with the Spartans.

In fact, his unselfish, all-for-the-program perspective on the trajectory of his five years at MSU is made of stuff you’d like to bottle up and hand out— free of charge— to the me-first masses.

Terry hasrefused to sulk for the cameras, never threatened to transfer, even when you sometimes wondered if he should.

“I wouldn’t change anything,” Terry told the Lansing State Journal in a lengthy profile story in November. “I’m a Spartan for life.”

And while MSU didn’t respond to an interview request last week, it’s pretty clear where Terry stands.

You might think things could have, should have,

worked out differently for him after he arrived on campus as the No. 9 quarterback recruit in Terry the country according to Scout.com.

Heposted big numbers ina fall scrimmageyet was tagged for a redshirt season, a decision that opened the door for future NFL draft pickConnor Cook to lock down the job for the next three years.

But Terry is at peace.

He’s repeatedly made that clear, most recently in the November article, in which he reiteratedthat the injuries, the disappointments, none of them was enough to change his mind about football, or about Michigan State.

“I don’t think it’s in me to quit,” he told the State Journal.

Terry appeared to be a can’t-miss prospect, a surefire future Division I starter, coming out of Cathedral Prep. He capped his career with a state title and joined teammate Delton Williams in heading to East Lansing, Michigan, for the next bright-as-the-sun chapter in their football lives.

It didn’t happen.

And that’s OK. Despite watching Cook win a thick competition that first year, an outcome that helped shape his time at MSU, Terry has experiencedsome unforgettable moments on the field.

Holiday Bowl No. 16 Michigan State vs. No. 18 Washington State Thursday, 9 p.m. FS1 Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego

During his redshirt freshman camp, Terry went10-of-14 passing for 240 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 40 yards on 12 carries in the team’s second camp scrimmage, a performance that had some questioning coach Mark Dantonio’s decision to sit him that season.

In 2015, with Cook injured for a road showdown with No. 2 Ohio State, Terry and Tyler O’Connor split time at quarterback and led the Spartans to a 17-14 upset.

The stats weren’t impressive. The poise and the victory were.

MSU went on to win its second Big Ten title in three seasons.

Last fall, with MSU mired in the late stages of a 3-9 season, Terry earned a start against Penn State in Happy Valley, a trial run of sorts asDantonio and hisstaff looked to the future at the position.

Terryplayed well, completing 7-of-12 passes for 102 yards to stake Michigan State to a 6-3 lead before suffering a concussion on a second-quarter run.

The injury ended his season. Brian Lewerke won the job last summer.

See DUDLEY, C3

The Associated Press

FormerPittsburghSteelers star James Harrison has signed with the New England Patriots.

The Patriots announced the move Tuesday, three daysafterHarrison’sunceremonious departure from Pittsburgh.

The 39-year-old linebacker posted a photo of himself with 40-year-old quarterback Tom Brady in New England’s locker room on his Instagram account, writing that he finally has a teammate “that’s older than me!”

Harrison visited the Patriots after clearing waviers and becoming a free agent. To make room on their roster, the Patriots released linebacker Trevor Reilly.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

FOUR BOWL GAMES TODAY These bowl games will be televised today: 1:30 p.m. — Independence Bowl, Southern Miss. vs. Florida St., ESPN 5:15 — Pinstripe Bowl, Boston College vs. Iowa, ESPN 8:30 — Foster Farms Bowl, Arizona vs.

Purdue, WFXP 9 — Texas Bowl, Texas vs. Missouri, ESPN

Tomlin noncommittal about lineup for finale vs. Browns PITTSBURGH — Mike Tomlin isn’t sure how long of a break he wants to give his star players before the postseason begins.

The Pittsburgh Steelers coach is going to wait to decide how much Ben Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell and others play during Sunday’s regular-season finale against Cleveland.

The Steelers wrapped up theirthirdAFCNorthtitlein fouryearsearlierthismonth.

Ashotatthetopseedispossible, a scenario that relies almost exclusively on the New York Jets beating New England on the road, somethingtheJetshavedoneonly once in the past decade.

The Associated Press

Nets rally to beat BayHawks Staff report

BROOKLYN,N.Y.—Thomas Wimbush scored 27 pointsand added nine rebounds to help lead a strong finish Tuesday by the Long Island Nets, who rallied to beat the Erie BayHawks 96-90 in front of 2,062 fans at Nassau Coliseum.

The Nets (14-7) trailed by 11 after three quarters but outscored the BayHawks (7-13) 29-12overthefinal12minutes.

See ’HAWKS, C2

NBA G League Nets 96 BayHawks 90

Bills’ owner questions inconsistency in replay rulings The Associated Press

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Bills owner Terry Pegula questioned the lack of consistency in NFL replay rulings and said the issue needs to be addressed after Buffalo receiver Kelvin Benjamin’s touchdown was overruled in a loss to New England last weekend.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but we have to fix it,” Pegula said Tuesday, while appearing on Buffalo’s WGR-Radio. “I’m not saying this as the owner of the Bills.

I’m saying it as a football fan.

We can’t have stuff like this

happening in our league.”

One of Pegula’s biggest concerns is whether the league has taken its review process too far in overturning officials’ calls on the field.

“It just wasn’t consistent.

Replay was developed by this league to correct obvious mistakes,” Pegula said.

“If you’ve got to look at a play 30 times from five different angles and keep looking at it and looking at it and looking at it, you go with the call on the field. It’s what the league’s been doing ever since replay started.”

Pegula then specifically

Up next Buffalo at Miami Sunday, 4:25 p.m.

mentioned NFL officiating chief Al Riveron in being among the only people who might disagree with him.

“Obviously, they weren’t looking at the same television the rest of the country was looking at, were they?” he said.

“You know what, you can probably find somebody in this country who disagrees See BILLS, C2

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin was initially given a touchdown catch on this play in New England on Sunday, but that call was overruled after the play was reviewed. [ASSOCIATED PRESS]

C2

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

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Erie Times-News | GoErie.com

COLLEGE BOWL GAMES

Moss, Utah run past West Virginia finished the season with its third straight loss. The Mountaineers had only 153 total yards without junior quarterback Will Grier, who broke a finger Nov. 18, and 1,000-yard rusher Justin Crawford, a senior who bypassed the bowl game in advance of the NFL draft.

The Associated Press

DALLAS — Zach Moss ran for 150 yards with a career-long 58-yard run for a touchdown, Tyler Huntley scored twice on 2-yard keepers and Utah got its fifth consecutive bowl victory, a 30-14 win over West Virginia in the Heart of Dallas Bowl on Tuesday.

On a drizzly and chilly day in Cotton Bowl Stadium, the Utes (7-6) led for good after Moss took a third-and-1 handoff, quicklyburstintotheopen field and went all the way totheendzonetocaptheir opening drive.

Utah improved to 11-1 in bowl games under Kyle Whittingham, the former defensive coordinator whose debut as head coach was a Fiesta Bowl win at the end of the 2004 season. He co-coached that game with Urban Meyer, who had taken the Florida job three weeks earlier but returned to be part of

Jones leads Duke over Northern Illinois

Utah running back Zack Moss runs the ball against West Virginia during the first half of Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl at Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas on Tuesday.

[ASSOCIATED PRESS]

Utah’s postseason win over Pittsburgh after Whittingham had been

Eagles beat Raiders to clinch No. 1 seed The Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA — The road to the Super Bowl in the NFC goes through Philadelphia.

Jake Elliott kicked a 48-yard field goal with 22 seconds left, and the Eagles clinched the No. 1 seed for the NFC playoffs with a sloppy 19-10 victory over the Oakland Raiders on Monday night.

The Eagles (13-2) went to the Super Bowl and lost 24-21 to New England the last time they had home-field advantage following the 2004 season.

They’ll need the edge after a second straight

BILLS From Page C1

with that. And I know one guy would be Al Riveron sitting in New York City.”

The NFL declined to comment on what Pegula said.

Benjamin was initially ruled to have had both feet down in the end zone in catching a 4-yard pass that would have put Buffaloahead17-13inthefinal secondsofthefirsthalfofa 37-16 loss on Sunday.

The official’s call, however, was reversed upon a video review, with referee Craig Wrolstad explaining Benjamin did not have controloftheballwhenhis

’HAWKS From Page C1

Jeremy Evans posted his fifth straight double-double for the BayHawks with 22 points on 8-of-9 shooting and 15 rebounds, and Raphiael Putney added 21 points. But the BayHawks couldn't capitalize on a strong shooting night over the first two quarters.

The BayHawks led 59-41 after hitting 52 percent (24-of-46) of their shots from the floor in the first half.

They opened the

poor performance. The defense struggled in a 34-29 win at the Giants last week. The offense was awful against the Raiders.

“We played great team ball,” cornerback Patrick Robinson said. “The offense didn’t play as well as they have been, the defense had to step up.”

Ronald Darby intercepted Derek Carr’s pass and ran it back 52 yards with 54 seconds left, but was ruled down by contact at the spot of the pick. Nick Foles then completed four straight passes for 21 yards. After an incomplete pass, Elliott nailed his kick right down the middle. first foot hit the turf.

Former NFL officiating VP Mike Pereira criticized the league by saying the official’s call was incorrectly reversed by “someone in a suit in an office in New York.”

The Bills (8-7) are still in playoff contention, but needhelpfromotherteams to end a 17-year playoff drought in closing their season at Miami (6-9).

Pegula intends to take his concerns to the NFL, and says he’s not afraid of having what he termed an “unfriendly” conversation.

“Well, you know, if it’s unfriendly from the other side, I can dish back unfriendly, too, because it’s a little upsetting” he said. second quarter with a 12-0 run to take a 38-26 lead. Evans had five points during that stretch and Craig Sword had four.

But Long Island trimmed the deficit to 78-67 after three, then opened the fourth quarter with a 15-4 run, tying the game at 82 on Tahjere McCall's driving finger roll layup with 5:58 to play.

They took the lead for good on Jeremy Senglin's 3-pointer three minutes later.

The BayHawks host Fort Wayne on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Erie Insurance Arena.

promoted to head coach.

With the win, Whittingham tied Alabama’s Nick

Saban for most bowl wins by an active coach.

West Virginia (7-6)

DETROIT — Daniel Jones threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as Duke beat Northern Illinois 36-14 in the Quick Lane Bowl on Tuesday.

Jones finished with 338 yards of offense, while Shaun Wilson and Brittain Brown added touchdowns for Duke (7-6).Marcus Childers threw for 234 yards and a score for Northern Illinois (8-5).The Blue Devils took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, sandwiching rushing touchdowns around a

failed Northern Illinois fake punt on 4th-and-18 from their own 11.

The Huskies had two first downs and 46 yards in the quarter, but tied the game with two scores in the first 2:38 of the second. Duke, though, moved back into a 26-14 lead with two touchdowns before halftime.

Jones fumbled on the first possession of the second half, but Northern Illinois turned the ball back over after a failed fake field goal.

The takeaway Duke: Other than the start of the second quarter, where they lost defensive focus on backto-back possessions, the Blue Devils were in complete control.

Northern Illinois: The Huskies recovered from the disastrous firstquarter fake punt to get back into the game, but couldn’t stay with Duke on either side of the ball.

WEEK 17 NFL RANKINGS

Eagles, Pats lead the pack

By John Dudley john.dudley@timesnews.com

1. Philadelphia Eagles (Record: 13-2, Last week: 1): Two weeks ago the

Eagles defense was thoroughly unimpressive. On Monday the offense was.

But in both cases, they figured out how to post wins.

2. New England Patriots (12-3, 2): Another replay

review seemed to break the Patriots’ way in Sunday’s victory over the Bills, much to the Steelers’ dismay.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers (12-3, 3): The Steelers

continue to do a remarkable job of overcoming obstacles, the latest being Antonio Brown’s injury.

4. Carolina Panthers (11-4, 4): A wild-card spot

secured, the Panthers can still win the NFC South, and potentially secure a playoff bye, with a victory in Atlanta and a Saints loss.

5. Minnesota Vikings (12-3, 6): There is plenty

still at stake for the Vikings, who will try to clinch a first-round bye in Week 17.

6. Los Angeles Rams ( 1 1 - 4 , 7 ) : Unable to

improve on their No. 3 playoff seed, the Rams could be looking at resting some key starters this week against red-hot Jimmy Garoppolo and the 49ers.

7. New Orleans Saints

Philadelphia Eagles’ Nick Foles passes during the first half against the Oakland Raiders on Monday in Philadelphia. [ASSOCIATED PRESS] (11-4, 8): The Saints still

can win the NFC South, but they’re locked out of a first-round playoff bye no matter what happens this weekend.

8. Jacksonville Jaguars (10-5, 5): The Jags remain

in good shape as far as winning the AFC South title, but the meltdown against the 49ers raises some questions about their postseason staying power.

9. Seattle Seahawks (9-6, 14): Sunday’s win in

Dallas put the Seahawks in position to claim a playoff spot by beating the Cardinals this weekend along with a Falcons loss to the Panthers.

10. Kansas City Chiefs (9-6, 12): The Chiefs have

won the AFC West but can’t move up in the

playoff seeding.

11. Baltimore Ravens (9-6, 13).

12. Atlanta Falcons (9-6, 9).

13. Dallas Cowboys (8-7, 10).

14. Buffalo Bills (8-7, 11):

The Bills find themselves in a tough spot, needing to not only beat the Dolphins in Miami but get help on top of it to end their playoff drought.

15. Los Angeles Chargers (8-7, 17).

16. Tennessee Titans (8-7, 16).

17. Detroit Lions (8-7, 15).

18. Arizona Cardinals (7-8, 22).

19. Washington Redskins (7-8, 20).

20. Oakland Raiders (6-9, 18).

21. Green Bay Packers (7-8, 19).

22. Cincinnati Bengals (6-9, 25).

23. San Francisco 49ers (5-10, 26).

24. Miami Dolphins (6-9, 23).

25. Chicago Bears (5-10, 27).

26. Denver Broncos (5-10, 21).

27. New York Jets (5-10, 24).

28. Houston Texans (4-11, 28).

29. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-11, 29).

30. Indianapolis Colts (3-12, 30).

31. New York Giants (2-13, 31).

32. Cleveland Browns (0-15, 32): Unfortunately

for the Browns, the Steelers have something at stake when the teams meet on Sunday at Heinz Field.

OU’s rivalry with SEC continues

By Cliff Brunt The Associated Press

NORMAN, Okla. — Oklahoma has no plans to bow down to the mighty Southeastern Conference.

The SEC has run roughshod over most of college football for the pastdecade,butinrecent years, former Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops was vocal about his belief that theSoonersandtheBig12 wereelite,too.Hehadthe facts to back up his claim — under his leadership, Oklahoma beat Alabama

in the Sugar Bowl after the 2013 season, Tennessee during the 2014 and 2015 regular seasons and AuburnintheSugarBowl after the 2016 season.

As far back as 2013, Stoops called some of the stories about the SEC’s supremacy “propaganda.” The rivalry he stirred up continues with new coach Lincoln Riley andOklahoma’smatchup with Georgia in the Rose Bowl national semifinal on Jan. 1. Riley tried to temper things a bit when the pairings first came out.

“Georgia is a great team, regardless of what league they’re in,” he said.

“Kirby has obviously done a great job in just a short time,” Riley said.

Riley wasn’t as complimentary toward the SEC earlier in the season when he was defending the Big 12. After Oklahoma’s 62-52 win over Oklahoma State , he had heard enough from criticswhosaidtheBig12was watered down because of the lack of defense. He referenced Oklahoma’s 35-19 win over Auburn

intheSugarBowl,among other things, as evidence thattheBig 12canhold its own.

“Going back to the bowl games last year, there’s one conference that gave up under 20 points a game,” he said.

“That was the Big 12, where everybody’s playing out-of-conference teams. So everybody wants to talk about all that. We didn’t have any problem moving the ball against SEC defenses, one of the best ones in the country last year, in the bowl game.”

Erie Times-News | GoErie.com |

Golf delivered plenty of tales from the tour in 2017

By Doug Ferguson The Associated Press

Brooks Koepka is tweaking his schedule next year to play Pebble Beach, which only makes sense.

The U.S. Open champion has become an expert on beaches.

That conversation he shared with caddie Ricky Elliott on the 15th fairway of the final round at Erin Hills had nothing to do with club selection to a back pin. They take a fall vacationtothebeachesof Asia and were discussing where to go.

“We had talked about Vietnam,” Koepka said.

“Then he handed me the club and we hit it, and he says, ‘Good shot,’ and then we continued the conversation,” he said.

They ended going to Vietnam and Thailand’s Phi Phi Island, adding to a long list of beaches where he has run his toes through the sand, from Bali to Phuket, from BermudatotheBahamas.On the bucket list is Costa Rica.

What makes a good vacation spot?

“Clear water, a nice beach, not too many people, beautiful views,” Koepka said.

The next stop is Kapalua on Maui for the Sentry Tournament of Champions, the start of a new year. If next year is anything like this one, golf is sure to deliver up plenty of tales from the tourthatgobeyondgreen jackets and claret jugs.

••• PadraigHarringtonwas holdingcourtintheclubhouse at Riviera, talking about his ailing shoulder and options for surgery.

He stopped in the middle of a sentence, pointed to a reporter and then motioned to the wall.

There was a framed photograph of Katherine Hepburn, wearing a skirt past her knees and a smile that made her

Oklahoma-TCU headlines big week in Big 12 basketball

By Aaron Beard

Pat Perez, left, and Dustin Johnson of the U.S. walk near the 5th hole during the second practice day at the British Open Golf Championship at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England, on July 17. Perez had a fun conversation with Johnson late in the year about why Perez would not be invited to Tiger Woods’ holiday tournament. [AP PHOTO/PETER MORRISON, FILE]

one of Hollywood’s most revered stars.

“Thisisthedifference,” Harrington said. “He’s looked at that and said, ‘Lovely, isn’t she?’ And I’ve looked at that and said, ‘She can play golf.’”

The photo showed Hepburn with her wrists cocked as she began to rehearse the swing.

That’s what got Harrington’s attention.

“If you can waggle like that, you can play golf,” Harrington said.

“She’s able to hit the golf ball. That’s how you tell.

That’sold-school.That’s what Hogan used to do.”

Does every PGA Tour playerseethesamething?

Apparently not.

Sergio Garcia came through an hour later. He was asked to study the pictureandsharethefirst thing that came to mind.

“Her skirt is too long,” Garcia said with a smile.

••• An afternoon session on the range ended with fond memories for Mike Thomas, a club pro in Kentucky and the father of PGA champion Justin Thomas.

“Weusedtochipallthe timeforquarterswhenhe waslittle.Imadesomuch money,” Thomas said,

just loud enough for his son to hear.

About 25 yards away, golf balls were stacked in the shape of a pyramid.

Game on.

The stakes here higher than a quarter — $50 to whoever could hit the stack with a chip shot.

They each had five shots at it, and no one came particularly close until Mike Thomas decided to switch to a 5-iron. He bounced it right into the stack on his last shot.

Justin Thomas reached for his wallet as his father raised both arms in celebration.

“Act like you’ve been therebefore,Dad,”Justin said.

••• Pat Perez is known to call it as he sees it. Give him a radio show, and he’s even more blunt.

The topic was Tiger Woods.

Perez praised him endlessly for the way he moves the needle in golf, but then he assessed the current status of Woods, whose comeback lasted all of seven rounds before he withdrew in Dubai with back spasms.

“Heknowshecan’tbeat anybody,”Perezsaid,one of several comments that

went viral.

Perez said he explained the full context to Woods in a text message. He said he heard back from Woods, though it didn’t sound as though Woods was all that happy. Perez figured that out late in the year, when he was hoping for an invitation to Woods’ Hero World Challenge and heard nothing back.

He was on the range in Shanghai when the topic of the Bahamas tournament came up. Perez had just won in Malaysia to move to No. 18 in the world. Dustin Johnson, hitting balls next to him, wasn’t aware that the cutoff to qualify for the WorldChallengethrough the world ranking was a month earlier.

“You’llgetin,”Johnson said.

“No chance,” Perez replied.

Johnson insisted, and soPerezturnedandasked an observer, “How many players are listed in the world ranking?”

He was told about 1,900 players.

Perez turned back to Johnson and said, “There are 1,899 players who have a better chance of getting in than I do.”

By Tim Dahlberg The Associated Press

Green Bay Packers quarterback Bart Starr calls signals in bitter cold as he led the Packers to a win over the Dallas Cowboys in Green Bay, Wis., on Dec. 31, 1967. Fifty years later, players from the Packers and Cowboys still shiver from memories of the bitter cold of a game that would become known as the Ice Bowl. [AP PHOTO/FILE]

still trying to digest the merger with the AFL and turn the Super Bowl into a must-see game.

Things were not so cheerful the next morning,whenthewakeupcall at the Holiday Inn sent startled players to their windows to see what it was all about.

“Good morning,” the operator said. “It’s 7:30 a.m. and 17 below zero.”

••• How cold was the infamous Ice Bowl? The reading at game time was 15 below, with wind chill in today’s calculations at minus-48.

Itwassocoldthatwhen referee Norm Shachter blew the metal whistle to start play, it froze to lips.

Whenhetriedtopryitoff,

ittoreachunkofhislipoff with it.

“He bled most of the game,” Dallas Cowboys linebackerLeeRoyJordan said. “After that, the NFL wenttoplasticwhistlesso itwouldn’tfreezetolips.”

Lambeau Field had heatingcoils underneath, but they were no match for cold this extreme.

Compounding the mistake was putting a tarp over the field overnight, which kept moisture in that would later freeze when it was pulled off.

Every time Reeves shaves he sees the scar from a tooth that went throughhisupperlipwhen he slipped and fell on the frozen field, while Jordan still gets the shivers.

“For years, every time

I got in chilly weather I thought I was going to have a relapse,” Jordan said. “A lot of us had frostbite on our hands.

If we had checked back then, probably a lot of us hadfrostbiteonourlungs.

But back then we didn’t checkmuchofanything.”

••• If it was cold on the field, it seemed even colder in the stands.

There, people fiddled with their kerosene hand warmers, trying to keep them lit. Fans layered in clothingjammedtogether on aluminum benches, the condensation from their breaths forming an eeriecloudoffog overthe stands.

Patrick Webb, now executive director of the GreenBay/BrownCounty Professional Football Stadium District, was 16 and worked parking cars down the street from the stadium. He later joined his father in the top row of Section 130, where he had a view down the goal line in the final moments of the game.

“Mybiggestreactionto how cold it was is when Bart went over (for the go-ahead touchdown), I jumped up and down and didn’t feel anything from my knees down,” Webb said. “I really felt like I wasjumpingonmyknees at the time.”

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THIS WEEK

The Associated Press

Ice Bowl memories still chill 50 years on The penultimate day of 1967wasasbeautiful as it gets in Green Bay in late December. Chilly, yes, but the Dallas Cowboys enjoyed the sunshine as they practiced at Lambeau Field for their New Year’s Eve game against the Green Bay Packers.

“You could work up a sweat,” said Dan Reeves, then a running back for Dallas. “You just knew the next day was going to be a great day for football.”

It was sure looking that way for everyone who loved the NFL. Bart Starr was under center for the Packers, and the Cowboys countered with Don Meredith and Bob Hayes, the 1964 Olympic 100-metergoldmedalist.

The Cowboys and Packers were meeting for the second straight year for the NFL championship, with the winner going to Super Bowl No. 2 against the champions of the American Football League.

That night, opposing coaches Vince Lombardi and Tom Landry got together with NFL officials and other team members at the Oneida Country Club for a dinner. The mood was upbeat for a league

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

RALEIGH, N.C. — The Big 12 is poised for a big week as conferences dive deep into league play.

It has a national-best six teams in this week’s AP Top 25 along with two games featuring a pair of ranked teams, including No. 12 Oklahoma’s visit to 10th-ranked surprise TCU as the top game on the schedule in the week ahead.

“I think it’s two teams playing with a lot of confidence, and we’ve got to go in there and do what we do every day in practice,” Sooners coach Lon Kruger said after Friday’s win against Northwestern . “A lot of good teams in the Big 12 and we know how tough every night is going to be.”

No. 18 Baylor (10-2) visits No. 22 Texas Tech (11-1) on Friday to start the Big 12 doubleheader, then freshman star Trae Young leads Oklahoma (10-1) into Fort Worth to face TCU (12-0) [--] which owns the nation’s longest winning streak at 17 games dating to last year’s run to the NIT title.

The Horned Frogs have their highest ranking in program history under second-year coach Jamie Dixon. They had never been higher than 13th (February 1998) before climbing five slots in Monday’s new poll.

“It’s what it is — I don’t spend a lot of time on it,” Dixon said after Friday’s win against William & Mary . “I think we’re good. I know we can be better. ... But I think certainly we’ll have a big-time atmosphere and a big-time game come December 30th. That’s what we came here to do. So it’s upon us.”

Sun Devils’ test Third-ranked Arizona State (12-0) has spent the past month reaching milestones for matching the highest ranking in program history (last time in 1980-81) and posting the best start in program history.

Now comes a new test: a Saturday trip to face

DUDLEY From Page C1

Still, Terry never wavered, saying several times this season during interviews that he prepares each week to be the starter, knowing that role potentially is never more than one play away. He is respected enough within the program to serve on the team’s leadership council.

“I think how he’s handled adversity through his career is a testament to his character and who he is as a person,” MSU quarterbacks coach Brad Salem told the State Journal in November.

You know Terry will be ready to play, should Michigan State need him against Washington State on Thursday.

You also know he will be fine if he doesn’t.

a regrouped Arizona squad.

The 17th-ranked Wildcats (10-3) went from No. 2 nationally to unranked in a week after an 0-3 showing at the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas, but have since won seven straight games .

More ranked matchups There are two other matchups between ranked teams. No. 23 Seton Hall hosts No. 25 Creighton in the Big East on Thursday, while No. 4 Duke hosts No. 24 Florida State in the Atlantic Coast Conference on Saturday.

Villanova still on top The top four teams stayed unchanged in Monday’s poll , with Villanova checking in at No. 1 for the third straight week after receiving 43 of 65 first-place votes.

The Wildcats (12-0) open Big East play with two road games, first Wednesday at DePaul and then Saturday at Butler.

Status quo There were no new teams nor departures from this week’s poll, with eight teams staying in their same spot from last week.

Watch list Arkansas was the leading vote-getter not to make this week’s poll, though the Razorbacks will get a chance for a resume-helping win this week. The Razorbacks (9-2) first host Cal State-Bakersfield on Wednesday before hosting No. 19 Tennessee (9-2) on Saturday in their Southeastern Conference opener.

Clemson (11-1) hovers 30 points back of Arkansas and hosts North Carolina State on Saturday in the ACC. T w o o t h e r teams— Texas and Louisville — face ranked opponents Friday. The Longhorns (9-3) host No. 11 Kansas, while the Cardinals (10-2) visit No. 16 Kentucky.

“I think how he’s handled adversity through his career is a testament to his character and who he is as a person.”

Michigan State quarterbacks coach Brad Salem, on Cathedral Prep graduate Damion Terry, who now plays for Michigan State

He has let go of his NFL dreams, telling the State Journal, “I’ve hit my road. I see my light in the tunnel.”

He will leave MSU soon. On his resume, under the football accomplishments,it won’tread All-American or nominal starter.

But make no mistake: Between every line, it will say “winner.”

John Dudley can be reached at 870-1677 or john.dudley@ timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNdudley.

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SPORTS TICKER US jury acquits Peruvian defendant in FIFA case

IN BRIEF AUGUSTA, GEORGIA

Els invited to Augusta, but not to play Masters Ernie Els says he received an invitation to Augusta National for the first week in April. It just wasn’t an invitation to play in the Masters.

Els had to clarify a tweet from Sunday that said: “Thank you for a Great Xmas present! @ TheMasters Can’t wait!”

That led several media sites to post stories that Els, a four-time major champion, had received a special exemption into the Masters.

Instead, the 48-yearoldSouthAfricanreceived a letter welcoming him as an honorary invitee. His five-year exemption into the Masters from winning the 2012 British Open ended last year. Augusta National has a tradition of inviting past major champions as honorary guests for the week.

Els tweeted Monday: “Wanted to clarify my excitement getting an invite from @TheMasters. Work continues to qualify to compete!

CINCINNATI

Man who snagged Votto home run ball donates it A man who snagged a Joey Votto home run ball during a Cincinnati Reds game in August has fulfilled his promise to give it to the family of a 6-year-old boy who witnessed the big hit weeks before dying of cancer.

WXIX-TV reports that Trey Jones and his 3-year-old son, Keegan, handed over the ball to Wally Herbert last week so it could be added to a memorial wall for Herbert’s son, Walter.

Votto had high-fived Walter, who was known as “Superbubz,” and gave him the home run bat and a No. 19 Reds jersey during the Aug. 31 game.

Jones, of Anderson Township, says he’d wanted to give the ball to the Walter’s family since the game and realizes it means more to them than to him.

ENGLEWOOD, COLO.

Broncos declare Paxton Lynch the starter for finale The Denver Broncos will start Paxton Lynch in their season finale against the Kansas City Chiefs — providing he can play on his sprained left ankle that’s sidelined him for more than a month.

“He wasn’t quite ready last week. Hopefully, he’s ready to go this week,” coach Vance Joseph said Tuesday.

“That’s the plan to start Paxton this week.”

Joseph insisted the top priority for the Broncos (5-10) is to beat the Chiefs (9-6), who won the AFC West crown for the second straight season and could treat Sunday’s game in Denver like a playoff bye.

“Not saying if he’s playing we can’t win,” Joseph said. “He’s going to be our quarterback, so we expect to win.”

Joseph said it doesn’t matter if Lynch is facing backups, he still wants to get another look at the team’s 2016 first-round draft pick who has only started three NFL games.

The Associated Press

By Larry Neumeister The Associated Press

United States’ Katie Ledecky reacts after winning the gold medal in the women’s 1500-meter freestyle final during the swimming competitions of the World Aquatics Championships July 25 in Budapest, Hungary.

Ledecky was named The Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year on Tuesday. [ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTOS]

Ledecky swims to AP honors United States swimmer named AP’s Female Athlete of the Year

By Beth Harris The Associated Press

Katie Ledecky got her start in swimming because she just wanted to make friends.

Her brother was eager to join a team at a pool near their house and as a 6-year-old, she tagged along.

By summer’s end, the Ledecky siblings had made 100 friends ranging in age from 6 to 18. Some of them remain good friends with Katie, who went on to become the world’s best swimmer in the post-Michael Phelps era.

She earned five golds and a silver at this year’s world championships in Budapest, maintaining the upward trajecLedecky tory she first established as a surprise gold medalist at the 2012 London Olympics.

Her dominant performance in Hungary earned Ledecky Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year honors.

In balloting by U.S. editors and news directors announced Tuesday, Ledecky received 351 points, edging out Serena Williams with 343. Williams won the Australian Open for her Open era-record 23rd Grand Slam tennis title. Olympic track star Allyson Felix finished third in voting, with 248 points.

Last year, Ledecky was second to gymnast Simone Biles in the balloting.

The AP Male Athlete of the Year will be announced Wednesday.

Ledecky is the eighth female swimmer to win and the first since Amy Van Dyken in 1996.

Among the others is 1969 winner Debbie Meyer. At last year’s Rio de Janeiro Games, Ledecky equaled Meyer’s feat of sweeping the 200, 400 and 800 freestyles in a single Olympics.

“It’s a really great history of women swimmers and freestylers,” Ledecky said of the AP honor roll. “I really look up to a lot of those women.”

She is the first active college athlete to win since UConn basketball player Rebecca Lobo

United States’ Katie Ledecky competes in a women’s 800-meter freestyle heat during the swimming competitions of the World Aquatics Championships, July 28 in Budapest, Hungary.

in 1995.

Ledecky is a sophomore at Stanford, still debating whether to major in psychology or political science, and enjoying life in the dorms, where she lives with five other swimmers.

“Just being in the college environment has kind of added another layer of fun,” she said.

“Being with teammates and working toward NCAA championships and having that team goal, that’s another thing that is fun.”

Ledecky heads to Colorado Springs, Colorado, for high-altitude training with her Stanford team this week.

Her focus is on the collegiate season through the NCAAs in March.

In moving cross-country from her home in Bethesda, Maryland, to attend college in California, Ledecky left behind longtime coach Bruce Gemmell. But like some of those old summer league teammates, Ledecky has stayed in touch.

She trains with Gemmell when she returns to visit her family.

She was a star to them in 2012 but a little-known 15-year-old to the rest of the world when she won the 800-meter freestyle in American-record time in London.

In 2013, Ledecky won four golds at the worlds in Barcelona, setting a pair of world records. Two years later in Kazan, she swept every freestyle from 200 to 1,500 meters, setting two more world records. Another two world records fell last year in Rio. In her typically understated way, Ledecky said: “I really pride myself on the consistency I’ve had over the past

couple years. Just being able to compete at the international level and come away with some gold medals each year.”

Ledecky didn’t set any personal bests or world records in Budapest, something she’s done with such frequency that people expect to witness something spectacular anytime she dives in the pool.

Her loss in the 200 free in Hungary was considered an upset.

“If they’re disappointed with me not breaking a world record, it’s an honor because it’s representative of what I’ve done in the past and a benchmark for myself,” she said. “I don’t focus on what anyone thinks of my goals or wants to see me do.”

Not yet halfway toward the 2020 Tokyo Games, Ledecky already is thinking ahead.

Like Phelps, she never publicly reveals her target times or placements.

“I set big goals for myself and that’s always what has motivated me,” she said.

Despite living in a resultsfocused world, Ledecky enjoys the journey, something she learned between London and Rio. “Trying to find those little things to improve on and the process of getting better,” she said. “Doing everything in practice to set yourself up well each year.”

Her sunny smile and friendly demeanor belie the competitor who is always plotting ahead and moving forward ever faster.

“I know the four years goes by very quickly,” Ledecky said, “and I want to do everything I can to prepare.”

NEWYORK—Aformer South American soccer official was acquitted in the FIFA bribery scandal on Tuesday and walked out of the courtroom saying he’s finished with the world’s most popular sport.

The verdict clearing Manuel Burga, former president of Peru’s soccer federation, of a single racketeering conspiracy charge came days after prosecutors won guilty verdicts on multiple charges against two other former soccer officials.

“God bless America.

That’s all I can say,” the 60-year-old Burga said with eyes still wet from tears minutes after the verdict was delivered in Brooklyn federal court.

Burga was the first person to be acquitted among over 40 people and entities in the world ofglobalsoccerchargedin the U.S. with a scheme to extract hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks. Of those, 24 pleaded guilty.

The case against Burga was always thin. He faced a single count while two co-defendants — Juan Napout, of Paraguay, and Jose Maria Marin, of Brazil — were convicted of heftier charges Friday in a prosecution that exposed a culture of greed and corruption in soccer’s executive suites.

Burga called the result a miracle and noted he prayed the rosary twice daily before the acquittal.

Burga said he would go home to Peru and resume a career as a lawyer after 15 years as a soccer executive.

“My history in soccer is finished,” he said. “I’ll go back to the law.”

The judge had jailed Marin, 85, and Napout, 59, after their convictions Friday. The two also were acquitted on some lesser charges.

Burga’s attorney, Bruce Udolf, said he was sure Burga was innocent but believed he would be convicted Tuesday based on a question from jurors Friday.

“I figured I’d be looking at him a jail cell,” Udolf said. “I’m so happy. ... I want to go outside and do a couple of cartwheels.”

Marin, Burga and Napout had been arrested in 2015. Prosecutors accused them of agreeing to take millions of dollars in bribes from businessmen seeking to lock up lucrative media rights or to influence hosting rights for the World Cup and other major FIFAcontrolled tournaments.

World soccer’s governing body had said last week it would seek compensation and a share of the cash.

During the trial, Udolf insisted his client never took a bribe.

“I would submit to you that never has more been madeofless evidence,”he told jurors.

On Tuesday, Udolf credited Burga for insisting on a trial and saying he never agreed to anything.

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SCOREBOARD Westchester at Ft. Wayne, late Reno at Agua Caliente, late Rio Grande Valley at Santa Cruz, late

ON THE AIR (all times p.m. unless indicated)

TV

COLLEGE BASKETBALL 6:30 — Butler at Georgetown, FS1 7 — E. Michigan at Syracuse, ESPN2 7 — Florida Gulf Coast at Rhode Island, ESPNU 7:30 — Villanova at DePaul, CBSSN 8 — CS Bakersfield at Arkansas, SEC 8:30 — Xavier at Marquette, FS1 9 — UCF at SMU, ESPN2 9 — Chicago St. at Wisconsin, ESPNU 9:30 — Colorado St. at Boise St., CBSSN COLLEGE FOOTBALL 1:30 — Independence Bowl, Southern Miss. vs. Florida St., at Shreveport, La., ESPN 5:15 — Pinstripe Bowl, Boston College vs.

Iowa, at Bronx, N.Y., ESPN 8:30 — Foster Farms Bowl, Arizona vs.

Purdue, at Santa Clara, Calif., WFXP 9 — Texas Bowl, Texas vs. Missouri, at Houston, ESPN NBA 8 — Raptors at Thunder, NBA 10 — Cavaliers at Kings, FSO 10:30 — Jazz at Warriors, NBA NHL 7 — Blue Jackets at Penguins, AT&T SportsNet 8 — Capitals at Rangers, NBCSN SOCCER 2:45 — Premier League, Newcastle vs.

Manchester City, NBCSN

RADIO

NBA 9:30 — Cavaliers at Kings, WFUN-AM/970 NHL 6 — Blue Jackets at Penguins, WPSEAM/1450, FM 107.1

Wednesday’s games Raptors at Delaware, 7 p.m.

Memphis at Salt Lake City, 9 p.m.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL 2017-18 BOWL RESULTS/SCHEDULE (National TV in parentheses) Dec. 16 Celebration Bowl at Atlanta NC A&T 21, Grambling State 14 New Orleans Bowl Troy 50, North Texas 30 Cure Bowl at Orlando, Fla. Georgia State 27, Western Kentucky 17 Las Vegas Bowl Boise State 38, Oregon 28 New Mexico Bowl at Albuquerque Marshall 31, Colorado State 28 Camellia Bowl at Montgomery, Ala. Middle Tennessee 35, Arkansas State 30 Dec. 19 Boca Raton (Fla.) Bowl FAU 50, Akron 3 Dec. 20 Frisco (Texas) Bowl Louisiana Tech 51, SMU 10 Dec. 21 Gasparilla Bowl at St. Petersburg, Fla. Temple 28, Florida International 3 Dec. 22 Bahamas Bowl at Nassau Ohio 41, UAB 6 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl at Boise Wyoming 37, Cent. Michigan 14

Dec. 23 Birmingham (Ala.) Bowl South Florida 38, Texas Tech 34 Armed Forces Bowl at Fort Worth, Texas WEDNESDAY’S SCHEDULE Army 42, San Diego State 35 (Note: Several games could be postponed Dollar General Bowl at Mobile, Ala. because of inclement weather in forecast) Appalachian State 34, Toledo 0

HIGH SCHOOLS

Dec. 24 Hawaii Bowl at Honolulu Fresno State 33, Houston 27

BOYS BASKETBALL Iroquois tournament Fort LeBoeuf vs. General McLane, 5 p.m.

Girard vs. Iroquois, 8 p.m.

Sheffield tournament Youngsville vs. Kane, 6 p.m.

Sheffield vs. Union, 7:30 p.m.

Non-region Corry at McDowell, 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday’s Games Heart of Dallas Bowl Utah 30, West Virginia 14 Quick Lane Bowl at Detroit Northern Illinois (8-4) vs. Duke (6-6), late Cactus Bowl at Phoenix Kansas State (7-5) vs. UCLA (6-6), late

GIRLS BASKETBALL Conneaut (Ohio) tournament St. John (Ohio) vs. Grand Valley (Ohio), 6 p.m.

Conneaut (Ohio) vs. Edgewood (Ohio), 7:30 p.m.

Corry tournament Seneca vs. Clymer (N.Y.), 6 p.m.

Corry vs. Youngsville, 7:30 p.m.

Cranberry tournament Harbor Creek vs. Keystone, 6 p.m.

Franklin vs. Cranberry, 7:30 p.m.

Iroquois tournament Erie vs. Fort LeBoeuf 3:30 p.m.

Iroquois vs. Northwestern, 6:30 p.m.

Kane tournament Clarion vs. Eisenhower, 6 p.m.

Kane vs. North Clarion, 7:30 p.m.

North Allegheny tournament Kennedy Catholic vs. North Allegheny, 8 p.m.

Saegertown tournament Meadville vs. North East, 6 p.m.

Saegertown vs. Titusville, 7:30 p.m.

Non-region Girard at Cambridge Springs, 7:30 p.m.

Sharpsville at Hubbard (Ohio), 7:30 p.m.

Shenango at Wilmington, 7:30 p.m.

Today’s Games Independence Bowl at Shreveport, La. Southern Mississippi (8-4) vs. Florida State (6-6), 1:30 p.m. (ESPN) Pinstripe Bowl at Bronx, N.Y. Boston College (7-5) vs. Iowa (7-5), 5:15 p.m.

(ESPN) Foster Farms Bowl at Santa Clara, Calif.

Arizona (7-5) vs. Purdue (6-6), 8:30 p.m. (FOX) Texas Bowl at Houston Texas (6-6) vs. Missouri (7-5), 9 p.m. (ESPN) Thursday’s Games Military Bowl at Annapolis, Md. Virginia (6-6) vs. Navy (6-6), 1:30 p.m. (ESPN) Camping World Bowl at Orlando, Fla. Oklahoma State (9-3) vs. Virginia Tech (9-3), 5:15 p.m. (ESPN) Alamo Bowl at San Antonio Stanford (9-4) vs. TCU (10-3), 9 p.m. (ESPN) Holiday Bowl at San Diego Washington State (9-3) vs. Michigan State (9-3), 9 p.m. (FOX) Friday’s Games Belk Bowl at Charlotte, N.C. Wake Forest (7-5) vs. Texas A&M (7-5), 1 p.m.

(ESPN) Sun Bowl at El Paso, Texas NC State (8-4) vs. Arizona State (7-5), 3 p.m.

(CBS) Music City Bowl at Nashville, Tenn.

Kentucky (7-5) vs. Northwestern (9-3), 4:30 p.m.

(ESPN) Arizona Bowl at Tucson, Ariz.

New Mexico State (5-6) vs. Utah State (6-6), 5:30 p.m. (CBSSN) Cotton Bowl Classic at Arlington, Texas Southern Cal (11-2) vs. Ohio State (11-2), 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)

COLLEGES WEDNESDAY’S SCHEDULE No events scheduled

HOCKEY OHL

WESTERN CONFERENCE Midwest Division

W L OTL SL PTS Kitchener 21 11 2 0 44 London 18 14 2 0 38 Guelph 17 13 1 2 37 Owen Sound 14 13 1 4 33 Erie 11 17 5 1 28 West Division Sault Ste. Marie 29 3 2 0 60 Sarnia 25 8 2 0 52 Windsor 18 11 2 1 39 Saginaw 17 12 3 0 37 Flint 10 20 3 0 23 EASTERN CONFERENCE East Division Hamilton 20 7 3 3 46 Kingston 17 10 3 3 40 Ottawa 15 16 1 2 33 Peterborough 15 16 1 1 32 Oshawa 15 17 2 0 32 Central Division Barrie 20 10 2 1 43 Niagara 16 11 3 2 37 North Bay 12 18 4 0 28 Mississauga 13 20 0 1 27 Sudbury 10 19 5 0 25 Note: OTL is overtime loss; SL is shootout loss.

Tuesday-Wednesday No games scheduled

Saturday, Jan. 20 East-West Shrine Classic at St. Petersburg, Fla. East vs. West, 3 p.m. (NFLN) NFLPA Collegiate Bowl at Carson, Calif.

American vs. National, TBA (FS1) Saturday, Jan. 27 Senior Bowl at Mobile, Ala. North vs. South, 2:30 p.m. (NFLN)

PRO BASKETBALL

FCS PLAYOFFS

NBA G LEAGUE

Long Island Westchester Maine Raptors Central Division Wisconsin Fort Wayne Grand Rapids Canton Windy City Southeast Division Lakeland Greensboro Erie Delaware Western Conference Midwest Division Oklahoma City Iowa Sioux Falls Memphis Pacific Division South Bay Agua Caliente Santa Cruz Reno Northern Arizona Southwest Division Rio Grande Valley Austin Texas Salt Lake City

W 13 14 10 8

L 7 8 10 10

PCT .650 .636 .500 .444

GB — — 3 4

W 12 11 11 8 7

L 8 8 10 10 11

PCT .600 .579 .524 .444 .389

GB —

1½ 3 4

W 13 8 7 6

L 5 12 12 12

PCT .722 .400 .368 .333

GB — 6 6½ 7

W 10 8 8 7

L 10 9 11 12

PCT .500 .471 .421 .368

GB —

½ 1½ 2½

W 13 12 11 7 7

L 6 8 9 10 12

PCT .684 .600 .550 .412 .368

GB — 1½ 2½ 5 6

W 15 12 10 3

L 6 8 10 17

PCT GB .714 — .600 2½ .500 4½ .150 11½

Tuesday’s games Greensboro 103, Wisconsin 96 Erie at Long Island, late

Monday, Jan. 1, 2018 Outback Bowl at Tampa, Fla. Michigan (8-4) vs. South Carolina (8-4), noon (ESPN2) Peach Bowl at Atlanta UCF (12-0) vs. Auburn (10-3), 12:30 p.m. (ESPN) Citrus Bowl at Orlando, Fla. Notre Dame (9-3) vs. LSU (9-3), 1 p.m. (ABC) Rose Bowl (CFP Semifinal) at Pasadena, Calif.

Oklahoma (12-1) vs. Georgia (12-1), 5:10 p.m.

(ESPN) Sugar Bowl (CFP Semifinal) at New Orleans Clemson (12-1) vs. Alabama (11-1), 8:45 p.m.

(ESPN) Monday, Jan. 8 College Football Championship at Atlanta Rose Bowl winner vs. Sugar Bowl winner, 8 p.m.

(ESPN)

Thursday’s games London at Flint, 7 p.m.

Peterborough at Guelph, 7 p.m.

Mississauga at Hamilton, 7 p.m.

Ottawa at Kingston, 7 p.m.

Niagara at North Bay, 7 p.m.

Kitchener at Owen Sound, 7 p.m.

Erie at Oshawa, 7:05 p.m.

Sault Ste. Marie at Saginaw, 7:05 p.m.

Windsor at Sarnia, 7:05 p.m.

Sudbury at Barrie, 7:30 p.m.

Eastern Conference Atlantic Division

Saturday’s Games TaxSlayer Bowl at Jacksonville, Fla. Louisville (8-4) vs. Mississippi State (8-4), noon (ESPN) Liberty Bowl at Memphis, Tenn.

Iowa State (7-5) vs. Memphis (10-2), 12:30 p.m.

(ABC) Fiesta Bowl at Glendale, Ariz.

Washington (10-2) vs. Penn State (10-2), 4 p.m.

(ESPN) Orange Bowl at Miami Gardens, Fla. Wisconsin (12-1) vs. Miami (10-2), 8 p.m. (ESPN)

½

Championship Saturday, Jan. 6 At Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas North Dakota State (13-1) vs. James Madison (14-0), noon

HEART OF DALLAS BOWL UTAH 30, WEST VIRGINIA 14

UTAH 7 10 0 13 — 30 WEST VIRGINIA 0 3 3 8 — 14 First Quarter UTH—Moss 58 run (Gay kick), 11:37 Second Quarter WVU—FG Staley 28, 13:09 UTH—Huntley 2 run (Gay kick), 5:46 UTH—FG Gay 29, 1:08 Third Quarter WVU—FG Staley 26, 6:43 Fourth Quarter UTH—Huntley 2 run (Gay kick), 5:46 UTH—FG Gay 26, 11:38 UTH—FG Gay 24, 4:15 WVU—Ka.White 18 pass from C.Chugunov (Shuler pass from McKoy), 1:58 UTH WVU First downs 19 6 Rushes-yards 53-197 21-29 Passing 165 124 Comp-Att-Int 12-27-0 10-30-2 Return Yards 85 161 Punts-Avg. 6-42.33 9-42.0 Fumbles-Lost 2-2 2-2 Penalties-Yards 5-32 5-51 Time of Possession 38:34 21:26 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING—Utah, Moss 20-150, Huntley 25-57, Henry-Cole 2-13, Howard 2-6, Simpkins 1-(minus 7), (Team) 2-(minus 8), Wishnowsky 1-(minus 14). West Virginia, McKoy 14-31, Wellman 2-6, Pettaway 2-4, C.Chugunov 3-(minus 12).

PASSING—Utah, Simpkins 0-1-0-0, Huntley 12-26-0-165. West Virginia, McKoy 1-1-0-(minus 5), Jennings 0-1-0-0, C.Chugunov 9-28-2-129.

RECEIVING—Utah, Carrington 4-62,

Singleton 2-52, Simpkins 2-17, Nacua 1-23, Moss 1-9, Jackson 1-4, McCormick 1-(minus 2). West Virginia, Jennings 3-66, Simms 3-33, Ka.White 3-26, McKoy 1-(minus 1).

COLLEGE BASKETBALL MEN’S BASKETBALL THE AP TOP 25 POLL

The top 25 teams in The Associated Press’s college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Dec. 24, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last week’s ranking: RECORD PTS LW 1. Villanova (43) 12-0 1,600 1 2. Michigan State (16) 12-1 1,560 2 3. Arizona State (6) 12-0 1,481 3 4. Duke 12-1 1,435 4 5. Texas A&M 11-1 1,309 8 6. Xavier 12-1 1,242 9 7. West Virginia 11-1 1,226 10 8. Wichita State 10-2 992 11 9. Virginia 11-1 969 13 10. Texas Christian 12-0 923 15 11. Kansas 10-2 920 14 12. Oklahoma 10-1 901 17 13. North Carolina 11-2 891 5 14. Purdue 12-2 839 16 15. Miami (Fla.) 10-1 827 6 16. Kentucky 9-2 735 7 17. Arizona 10-3 511 18 18. Baylor 10-2 437 18 19. Tennessee 9-2 405 21 20. Gonzaga 10-3 382 12 21. Cincinnati 11-2 377 20 22. Texas Tech 11-1 351 21 23. Seton Hall 11-2 227 23 24. Florida State 11-1 169 24 25. Creighton 10-2 143 25 Others receiving votes: Arkansas 85, Clemson 55, Notre Dame 40, Louisville 26, Texas 21, UCLA 12, Oklahoma St. 8, Auburn 5, St. Bonaventure 5, SMU 5, New Mexico St. 4, Rhode Island 2, Florida 1, Michigan 1, Minnesota 1, Nevada 1, Stephen F. Austin 1.

THE AP TOP 25 RESULTS/SCHEDULE

Monday’s Games No. 14 Miami 84, Middle Tennessee 81 Tuesday’s Games None scheduled Today’s Games No. 1 Villanova at DePaul, 7:30 p.m.

No. 6 Xavier at Marquette, 8:30 p.m.

MONDAY’S RESULTS

SOUTH Davidson 91, Akron 78 Miami 84, Middle Tennessee 81 FAR WEST Princeton 77, Hawaii 63 Southern California 77, New Mexico State 72

TUESDAY’S RESULTS

No games scheduled

TODAY’S SCHEDULE

EAST Butler at Georgetown, 6:30 p.m.

E. Michigan at Syracuse, 7 p.m.

Delaware St. at Penn, 7 p.m.

Florida Gulf Coast at Rhode Island, 7 p.m.

SOUTH Limestone at South Carolina, 3 p.m.

Coppin St. at Georgia Tech, 7:30 p.m.

MIDWEST Villanova at DePaul, 7:30 p.m.

Xavier at Marquette, 8:30 p.m.

Chicago St. at Wisconsin, 9 p.m.

SOUTHWEST CS Bakersfield at Arkansas, 8 p.m.

UCF at SMU, 9 p.m.

FAR WEST Morgan St. vs. Grand Canyon at Las Vegas, 9 p.m.

San Diego St. at Wyoming, 9 p.m.

San Jose St. at Utah St., 9 p.m.

Air Force at New Mexico, 9 p.m.

Colorado St. at Boise St., 9:30 p.m.

San Diego Christian at CS Northridge, 10 p.m.

Nevada at Fresno St., 10 p.m.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL THE AP TOP 25 POLL

The top 25 teams in The Associated Press’ women’s college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Dec. 24, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last week’s ranking: RECORD PTS LW 1. UConn (32) 10-0 800 1 2. Notre Dame 11-1 748 2 3. Louisville 14-0 740 3 4. South Carolina 11-1 687 4 5. Mississippi State 13-0 674 5 6. Baylor 10-1 628 6 7. Tennessee 12-0 621 7 8. Texas 9-1 589 8 9. West Virginia 12-0 508 9 10. Oregon 11-2 498 10 11. UCLA 9-2 463 11 12. Ohio State 11-2 440 12 13. Florida State 11-1 413 13 14. Duke 10-2 398 14 15. Maryland 11-2 369 15 16. Missouri 12-1 319 16 17. Oregon State 9-2 274 17 18. Villanova 10-0 236 20 19. Green Bay 10-1 194 21 20. California 9-2 159 24 21. Michigan 11-2 154 23 22. Texas A&M 10-3 140 19 23. Iowa 12-1 101 25 24. Oklahoma State 9-2 91 — 25. South Florida 10-3 39 22 Others receiving votes: Stanford 36, Arizona St. 25, Syracuse 23, Michigan St. 10, Rutgers 8, New Mexico 4, Oklahoma 4, Southern Cal 4, Ball St. 1, DePaul 1, Marquette 1.

THE AP TOP 25 RESULTS/SCHEDULE

Monday’s Games None scheduled Tuesday’s Games None scheduled Today’s Games None scheduled Thursday’s Games No. 2 Notre Dame vs. Syracuse, 7 p.m.

No. 3 Louisville at Georgia Tech, 7 p.m.

No. 5 Mississippi State vs. MVSU, 8 p.m.

No. 6 Baylor at Kansas State, 8 p.m.

No. 8 Texas at Oklahoma, 8 p.m.

No. 9 West Virginia at TCU, 7:30 p.m.

No. 12 Ohio State at Nebraska, 8 p.m.

No. 13 Florida State vs. Jacksonville, 7 p.m.

No. 15 Maryland vs. Illinois, 6 p.m.

No. 18 Villanova at Creighton, 8 p.m.

No. 19 Green Bay at Wright State, 4:30 p.m.

No. 21 Michigan vs. Penn State, 6 p.m.

No. 22 Texas A&M vs. SMU, 8 p.m.

No. 23 Iowa at Wisconsin, 8 p.m.

No. 24 Oklahoma State at Texas Tech, 7:30 p.m.

PRO HOCKEY NHL

EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division GP Tampa Bay 35 Toronto 37 Boston 34 Montreal 36 Florida 36 Detroit 35 Ottawa 34 Buffalo 36 Metropolitan Division GP New Jersey 35 Washington 37 Columbus 37 N.Y. Rangers 36 N.Y. Islanders 36 Carolina 35 Pittsburgh 37 Philadelphia 36 WESTERN CONFERENCE Central Division GP St. Louis 38 Nashville 35 Winnipeg 37 Dallas 37 Chicago 35 Minnesota 36 Colorado 35 Pacific Division GP

W 26 22 19 16 15 13 11 9

L OT Pts 7 2 54 14 1 45 10 5 43 16 4 36 16 5 35 15 7 33 15 8 30 20 7 25

GF GA 133 87 122 104 101 89 98 114 103 119 96 113 92 114 78 120

W 21 22 22 19 19 16 18 15

L OT Pts 9 5 47 13 2 46 13 2 46 13 4 42 13 4 42 12 7 39 16 3 39 13 8 38

GF GA 113 103 114 107 105 99 117 104 130 127 99 109 104 118 99 103

Vegas 34 23 9 2 48 119 100 Los Angeles 37 22 11 4 48 109 85 San Jose 34 19 11 4 42 95 84 Anaheim 37 16 13 8 40 101 108 Calgary 36 18 15 3 39 101 106 Edmonton 36 17 17 2 36 108 113 Vancouver 37 15 17 5 35 98 121 Arizona 38 8 25 5 21 85 133 2 points for a win, 1 point for OT loss. Top three teams in each division and two wild cards per conference advance to playoffs.

Monday’s Games None scheduled Tuesday’s Games None scheduled Today’s Games Buffalo at N.Y. Islanders, 7 p.m.

Montreal at Carolina, 7 p.m.

Ottawa at Boston, 7 p.m.

Columbus at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.

Detroit at New Jersey, 7 p.m.

Nashville at St. Louis, 8 p.m.

Washington at N.Y. Rangers, 8 p.m.

Dallas at Minnesota, 8 p.m.

Edmonton at Winnipeg, 8 p.m.

Arizona at Colorado, 9 p.m.

Vegas at Anaheim, 10 p.m.

Thursday’s Games Philadelphia at Florida, 7:30 p.m.

Boston at Washington, 7:30 p.m.

Montreal at Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m.

Toronto at Arizona, 9 p.m.

Vegas at Los Angeles, 10 p.m.

Chicago at Vancouver, 10 p.m.

Calgary at San Jose, 10:30 p.m.

PRO BASKETBALL NBA

EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division W Toronto 23 Boston 27 New York 17 Philadelphia 15 Brooklyn 12 Southeast Division W Washington 19 Miami 17 Charlotte 12 Orlando 11 Atlanta 8 Central Division W Cleveland 24 Indiana 19 Detroit 18 Milwaukee 17 Chicago 10 WESTERN CONFERENCE Southwest Division W Houston 25 San Antonio 23 New Orleans 17 Memphis 10 Dallas 9 Northwest Division W Minnesota 21 Oklahoma City 19 Denver 18 Portland 17 Utah 15 Pacific Division W Golden State 27 L.A. Clippers 13 Sacramento 11 L.A. Lakers 11 Phoenix 12

L 8 10 16 18 20 L 15 16 21 23 25 L 10 14 14 14 22

PCT. .742 .730 .515 .455 .375 PCT. .559 .515 .364 .324 .242 PCT. .706 .576 .563 .548 .313

GB 1 — 8 10 12½ GB — 1½ 6½ 8 10½ GB — 4½ 5 5½ 13

L 7 11 16 23 25 L 13 15 15 16 19 L 7 19 21 21 23

PCT. .781 .676 .515 .303 .265 PCT. .618 .559 .545 .515 .441 PCT. .794 .406 .344 .344 .343

GB — 3 8½ 15½ 17 GB — 2 2½ 3½ 6 GB — 13 15 15 15½

Monday’s Games Philadelphia 105, New York 98 Golden State 99, Cleveland 92 Washington 111, Boston 103 Oklahoma City 112, Houston 107 Minnesota 112, L.A. Lakers 104 Tuesday’s Games Indiana at Detroit, late Toronto at Dallas, late Orlando at Miami, late Chicago at Milwaukee, late Brooklyn at San Antonio, late Memphis at Phoenix, late Utah at Denver, late Sacramento at L.A. Clippers, late Today’s Games Boston at Charlotte, 7 p.m.

Dallas at Indiana, 7 p.m.

Washington at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.

Brooklyn at New Orleans, 8 p.m.

Denver at Minnesota, 8 p.m.

New York at Chicago, 8 p.m.

Toronto at Oklahoma City, 8 p.m.

Cleveland at Sacramento, 10 p.m.

Memphis at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.

Utah at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.

Thursday’s Games Detroit at Orlando, 7 p.m.

Houston at Boston, 8 p.m.

Minnesota at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.

New York at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.

Philadelphia at Portland, 10:30 p.m.

NFL

Pct .800 .533 .400 .333 PCT .667 .533 .267 .200 Pct .800 .600 .400 .000 Pct .600 .533 .400 .333

PF 432 280 265 292 PF 407 319 325 241 PF 378 368 259 210 PF 388 325 291 265

PA 290 343 371 356 PA 253 346 414 391 PA 284 272 322 382 PA 315 262 343 355

Pct .867 .533 .467 .133 Pct .733 .733 .600 .267 Pct .800 .533 .467 .333 Pct .733 .600 .467 .333

PF 457 348 332 228 PF 424 353 331 304 PF 359 375 309 254 PF 465 342 269 297

PA 289 332 370 378 PA 295 305 305 358 PA 242 365 349 297 PA 295 306 337 370

WEEK 16 Dec. 23 Baltimore 23, Indianapolis 16 Minnesota 16, Green Bay 0 Dec. 24 Chicago 20, Cleveland 3 New England 37, Buffalo 16 L.A. Chargers 14, N.Y. Jets 7 Washington 27, Denver 11 Carolina 22, Tampa Bay 19 Cincinnati 26, Detroit 17 Kansas City 29, Miami 13 L.A. Rams 27, Tennessee 23 New Orleans 23, Atlanta 13 Seattle 21, Dallas 12 Arizona 23, N.Y. Giants 0 San Francisco 44, Jacksonville 33 Monday’s Games Pittsburgh 34, Houston 6 Philadelphia 19, Oakland 10

WEEK 17 Sunday’s Games N.Y. Jets at New England, 1 p.m.

Washington at N.Y. Giants, 1 p.m.

Chicago at Minnesota, 1 p.m.

Dallas at Philadelphia, 1 p.m.

Green Bay at Detroit, 1 p.m.

Cleveland at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m.

Houston at Indianapolis, 1 p.m.

Cincinnati at Baltimore, 4:25 p.m.

W L OT Pts GF GA New Orleans at Tampa Bay, 4:25 p.m.

W 23 21 20 20 17 18 17

L OT Pts 13 2 48 9 5 47 11 6 46 14 3 43 13 5 39 15 3 39 15 3 37

GF GA 113 94 116 99 121 105 110 106 103 94 102 106 112 113

Drawings for Tuesday, Dec. 26 Pennsylvania Day Drawings (Wild: 6): Pick 2: 0-3 Pick 3: 3-0-4 Pick 4: 6-8-8-8 Pick 5: 1-1-9-8-1 Treasure Hunt: 1-2-11-21-23 Night Drawings (Wild: 7): Pick 2: 1-4 Pick 3: 5-5-4 Pick 4: 0-4-8-6 Pick 5: 0-6-1-5-3 Cash 5: 9-20-25-26-34 Match 6: 7-9-21-31-32-49 Payout information: The Treasure Hunt jackpot is $50,000.

The Cash 5 jackpot is $400,000.

The Match 6 jackpot is $2 million.

Ohio Day Drawings: Pick 3: 4-7-5 Pick 4: 0-5-9-0 Pick 5: 5-0-0-2-8 Night Drawings: Pick 3: 1-1-5 Pick 4: 2-1-0-8 Pick 5: 8-0-4-8-6 Cash 5: 15-27-28-30-37 Payout information: The Classic Lotto jackpot is $25.8 million.

Kansas City at Denver, 4:25 p.m.

Jacksonville at Tennessee, 4:25 p.m.

Buffalo at Miami, 4:25 p.m.

Arizona at Seattle, 4:25 p.m.

San Francisco at L.A. Rams, 4:25 p.m.

Oakland at L.A. Chargers, 4:25 p.m.

Carolina at Atlanta, 4:25 p.m.

New York Midday Drawings: Daily: 5-2-1 WinFour: 5-4-2-1 Night Drawings: Daily: 3-6-6 WinFour: 8-0-9-7 Pick 10: (pulled after press deadline, see Thursday paper) Payout information: The New York Lotto jackpot is $8.3 million.

Multistate lotteries Payout information: The Powerball jackpot is $337 million. The Mega Millions jackpot was $277 million.

Late drawings: Monday, Dec. 25 Ohio Lucky for Life: 8-37-43-44-45 Lucky Ball: 16 New York Take 5: 2-7-12-14-28 Pick 10: 4-7-10-13-14-18-20-26-27-30-3334-44-46-49-53-58-60-72-77 Multistate lotteries Cash4Life: 2-18-34-42-57 CashBall: 3

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS Jan. 1 Rose Bowl at Pasadena, Calif.

Georgia +3 2 60 Sugar Bowl at New Orleans Alabama 2 3 47

Oklahoma Clemson

NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE Sunday FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG 11 9½ 40½ Cincinnati OAKLAND 0 7 3 0 — 10 at Baltimore 7 7 43 Green Bay PHILADELPHIA 7 0 3 9 — 19 at Detroit Buffalo 2½ 3 42½ at Miami First Quarter at Atlanta 3 3½ 46 Carolina Phi—Ajayi 17 pass from Foles (Elliott kick), New Orleans 8½ 7½ 50 at Tampa Bay 2:51. at Tennessee 3 6 41 Jacksonville Second Quarter at New England 17 15½ 45 N.Y. Jets Oak—Cooper 63 pass from Carr (Tavecchio at Indianapolis 1 4 41 Houston kick), 12:36. at Pittsburgh 16 13½ 39½ Cleveland Third Quarter Washington 3 3½ 38 at N.Y. Giants Oak—FG Tavecchio 25, 10:50. at Minnesota 12 12½ 39½ Chicago Phi—FG Elliott 35, 2:13.

Dallas 3 2½ 41at Philadelphia Fourth Quarter at L.A. Chargers 7 7½ 44 Oakland Phi—FG Elliott 48, :22. at Seattle 7 8 39 Arizona Phi—Barnett 23 fumble return, :00. at Denver 4 3½ 38 Kansas City A—69,596. at L.A. Rams 6 4 45½ San Francisco Oak Phi Updated odds available at Pregame.com First downs 13 12 Total Net Yards 274 216 Rushes-yards 33-137 21-78 Passing 137 138 Punt Returns 2-20 3-18 Kickoff Returns 4-69 0-0 BASEBALL Interceptions Ret. 1-3 2-19 American League Comp-Att-Int 15-29-2 19-38-1 MINNESOTA TWINS — Signed LHP Zach Duke to Sacked-Yards Lost 1-3 2-25 a one-year contract.

Punts 5-41.4 8-41.8 NEW YORK YANKEES — Agreed to terms with Fumbles-Lost 4-3 3-1 LHP CC Sabathia on a one-year contract.

Penalties-Yards 7-50 8-60 Time of Possession 34:21 25:39 National League INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS CINCINNATI REDS — Agreed to terms with RHP RUSHING—Oakland, Lynch 25-95, Richard Jared Hughes on a two-year contract.

4-42, Carr 3-3, Washington 1-(minus 3).

Frontier League Philadelphia, Ajayi 14-52, Clement 2-14, GATEWAY GRIZZLIES — Signed OF Terry McClure Blount 5-12. to a contract extension.

PASSING—Oakland, Carr 15-29-2-140.

LAKE ERIE CRUSHERS — Signed RHP Justin Philadelphia, Foles 19-38-1-163.

Sinibaldi to a contract extension.

RECEIVING—Oakland, Cooper 3-66, SCHAUMBURG BOOMERS — Signed INF John Roberts 3-23, L.Smith 2-16, Richard 2-14, Holland to a contract extension.

Lynch 2-(minus 3), J.Cook 1-15, Patterson 1-7, Washington 1-2. Philadelphia, Ertz FOOTBALL 9-81, Agholor 4-35, Ajayi 2-21, Celek 1-12, National Football League Clement 1-6, T.Smith 1-5, Blount 1-3.

ARIZONA CARDINALS — Placed S Antoine Bethea MISSED FIELD GOALS—Oakland, Tavecchio on injured reserve. Signed LB Edmond Robinson 48. Philadelphia, Elliott 33. from the practice squad.

CAROLINA PANTHERS — Placed WR Damiere Byrd on injured reserve.

CLEVELAND BROWNS — Signed WR C.J. Board to the practice squad. Placed WR Kasen Williams on PREGAME.COM LINE practice squad injured reserve.

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION DALLAS COWBOYS — Released LB Justin Durant.

Today GREEN BAY PACKERS — Signed TE Emanuel Byrd FAVORITE LINE O/U UNDERDOG from the practice squad. Placed OT Jason Spriggs New York 1 207 at Chicago on injured reserve. Signed WR Jake Kumerow to Boston 1 206 at Charlotte the practice squad. at Indiana 6 206½ Dallas MINNESOTA VIKINGS — Signed LS Jeff Washington 5½ 212½ at Atlanta Overbaugh. Placed G Nick Easton on injured at New Orleans 10 220½ Brooklyn reserve. at Oklahoma City 3½ 211 Toronto NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS — Signed LB James at Minnesota 6 214½ Denver Harrison. Released LB Trevor Reilly.

Cleveland 9½ 207½at Sacramento NEW YORK GIANTS — Placed S Landon Collins on at L.A. Lakers 2½ 198½ Memphis injured reserve. Signed LB Derrick Mathews from at Golden State 12 205½ Utah the practice squad.

Canadian Football League COLLEGE BASKETBALL WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS — Re-signed OL Today Manase Foketi.

FAVORITE OPEN UNDERDOG Butler 3 at Georgetown HOCKEY at Syracuse 13 E. Michigan National Hockey League Villanova 15 at DePaul AHL — Suspended Hartford F Peter Holland two Xavier 4 at Marquette games for a slashing incident in a Dec. 23 game at New Mexico 9 Air Force against Bridgeport. at SMU 11 Central Florida San Diego St. 4 at Wyoming LACROSSE at Utah St. 12½ San Jose St. National Lacrosse League at Boise St. 12 Colorado St. BUFFALO BANDITS — Signed G Zach Higgins to a Nevada 2 at Fresno St. one-year contract.

LATE MONDAY EAGLES 19, RAIDERS 10

TRANSACTIONS

ODDS

PRO FOOTBALL All times Eastern AMERICAN CONFERENCE EAST W L T y-New England 12 3 0 Buffalo 8 7 0 Miami 6 9 0 N.Y. Jets 5 10 0 SOUTH W L T y-Jacksonville 10 5 0 Tennessee 8 7 0 Houston 4 11 0 Indianapolis 3 12 0 NORTH W L T y-Pittsburgh 12 3 0 Baltimore 9 6 0 Cincinnati 6 9 0 Cleveland 0 15 0 WEST W L T y-Kansas City 9 6 0 L.A. Chargers 8 7 0 Oakland 6 9 0 Denver 5 10 0 NATIONAL CONFERENCE EAST W L T y-Philadelphia 13 2 0 Dallas 8 7 0 Washington 7 8 0 N.Y. Giants 2 13 0 SOUTH W L T x-New Orleans 11 4 0 x-Carolina 11 4 0 Atlanta 9 6 0 Tampa Bay 4 11 0 NORTH W L T y-Minnesota 12 3 0 Detroit 8 7 0 Green Bay 7 8 0 Chicago 5 10 0 WEST W L T y-L.A. Rams 11 4 0 Seattle 9 6 0 Arizona 7 8 0 San Francisco 5 10 0 x-clinched playoff spot y-clinched division

LOTTERY RESULTS

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Today FAVORITE LINE UNDERDOG at New Jersey -147 Detroit at Pittsburgh -160 Columbus at N.Y. Islanders -182 Buffalo at Boston -194 Ottawa at Carolina -130 Montreal at N.Y. Rangers -115 Washington at St. Louis -116 Nashville at Winnipeg -120 Edmonton at Minnesota -115 Dallas at Colorado -155 Arizona at Anaheim -117 Vegas

COLLEGES LINE +137 +150 +167 +179 +120 +105 +106 +110 +105 +145 +107

COLLEGE BOWL GAMES Today FAVORITE OPEN TODAY O/U UNDERDOG Independence Bowl at Shreveport, La. Florida State 14 15½ 48 SouthernMiss.

Pinstripe Bowl at New York Iowa Pk 2½ 46 Boston Col. Texas Bowl at Houston Missouri +1½ 3 61½ Texas Foster Farms Bowl at Santa Clara, Calif.

Arizona 4½ 3 66 Purdue Thursday Military Bowl at Annapolis, Md. at Navy 3½ 1½ 54 Virginia Camping World Bowl at Orlando, Fla. Oklahoma State 6½ 4½ 63 Virginia Tech Alamo Bowl at San Antonio, Texas Texas Christian 2 3 49 Stanford Holiday Bowl at San Diego Michigan St. +4½ 1 47 Wash. St. Friday Belk Bowl at Charlotte, N.C. Wake Forest 2½ 3 66 Texas A&M Sun Bowl at El Paso, Texas North Carolina St. 5 6½ 59½ Arizona State Music City Bowl at Nashville, Tenn.

Northwestern 6 8 51 Kentucky Arizona Bowl at Tucson, Ariz.

Utah State 2½ 4 61½ NMSU Cotton Bowl at Arlington, Texas Ohio State 6 8 64½ Southern Cal Saturday Taxslayer Bowl at Jacksonville, Fla. Louisville 4½ 7 63 Miss. State Liberty Bowl at Memphis, Tenn. at Memphis 3 3½ 65½ Iowa State Fiesta Bowl at Glendale, Ariz.

Penn State 3 3 54 Washington Orange Bowl at Miami Wisconsin 6 6½ 45 at Miami Monday, Jan. 1 Outback Bowl at Tampa, Fla. Michigan 7½ 8 43 S. Carolina Peach Bowl at Atlanta Auburn 8½ 9½ 66 Central Florida Citrus Bowl at Orlando, Fla. Louisiana State 1 3 52 Notre Dame

MISSISSIPPI — Announced DL Breeland Speaks will enter the NFL draft.

CALENDAR MLB

2018 Jan. 12 — Salary arbitration figures exchanged.

Jan. 29-Feb. 16 — Salary arbitration hearings, Phoenix.

March 29 — Opening day. Active rosters reduced to 25 players.

April 17-18 — Cleveland vs. Minnesota at San Juan, Puerto Rico.

June 4 — Amateur draft starts.

June 15 — International amateur signing period closes.

July 2 — International amateur signing period opens.

July 6 — Last day to sign for amateur draft picks subject to deadline.

July 10 — All-Star Game, Washington.

July 29 — Hall of Fame inductions, Cooperstown, N.Y July 31 — Last day to trade a player without securing waivers.

Oct. 2-3 — Wild-card games.

Dec. 10-13 — Winter meetings, Las Vegas.

NBA

Jan. 5 — 10-day contracts can now be signed.

Jan. 10 — All contracts are guaranteed for rest of season.

Jan. 15 — Last day to sign two-way contracts.

Feb. 8 — Trade deadline.

Feb. 16-18, 2018 — All-Star weekend, Los Angeles.

April 11-14 — Portsmouth Invitational Tournament (Portsmouth, Va.).

April 11 — Regular Season ends.

April 14 — Playoffs begin.

April 22 — NBA draft early entry eligibility deadline (11:59 p.m. EDT).

May 31 — NBA Finals begin.

June 11 — NBA draft early entry entrant withdrawal deadline (5 p.m. EDT) June 17 — NBA Finals latest possible date.

June 21 — NBA draft.

NFL

Dec. 31 — Regular season ends.

Jan. 6-7 — Wild-card playoffs.

Jan. 13-14 — Divisional playoffs.

Jan. 21 — Conference championships.

Feb. 4 — Super Bowl at Minneapolis.

Feb. 20 — First day for clubs to designate franchise or transition players.

Feb. 27-March 5 — NFL comine in Indianapolis.

March 6 — Deadline for clubs to designate franchise or transition players.

Erie Times-News | GoErie.com |

FOOD VEGGIE CURIOUS?

DINNER PLANNED There will be a vegetarian/ vegan dinner Jan. 6, 6 p.m., at the Woman’s Club of Erie, 259 W. Sixth St., to introduce people to vegetarian and vegan diets and lifestyles.

The dinner will include speaker Tessa Wellmon, a nutrition coach at UPMC Hamot Center for Healthy Living.

Reservations are $30, due by Monday. For more information, call 823-9005.

CONTEST

WIN A COOKBOOK We have a copy to give away of “A Deadly Eclair: A French Bistro Mystery,” by Daryl Wood Gerber.

The hardbacked book is a mystery that includes recipes. What more could you want?

To enter, send a postcard to Jennie Geisler, Erie Times-News, 205 W. 12th St., Erie, PA 16534, or email jennie.geisler@ timesnews.com.

Include mailing address and the name of the book.

SAFETY FIRST

HOLIDAY LEFTOVERS The U.S. Department of Agriculture wants us all to get through the holidays without food poisoning.

Here are some tips: If perishable foods sat out for more than two hours, toss them.

If hot foods were kept at 140F, refrigerate in shallow containers so that they cool down quickly.

The less time food spends between 40F and 140F the better.

Most leftovers will keep for about four days in your refrigerator.

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

D1

Pat Bywater Managing Editor 870-1722 pbywater@timesnews.com

L OAV E S & D I S H E S

Rise and

shine Jennie Geisler

I

s it possible? Is it just a dream? Or could the holidays be just about, gulp, over?

Nope. Sorry. Not even close, my weary revelers. We have five more days of rocking and rolling before the parties are over and resolutions kick in. Leave the reindeer antlers on the car. Keep the spare room functional. You could probably even bake another batch of cutouts. I think you’re running low on peppermint Schnapps. (I was, but switched to straight whiskey at some point on Tuesday.)

Come on, everyone. We need to keep up our strength, especially in the mornings. The mornings after. Especially the big Morning After. New Year’s Day, the morning to beat all mornings after. You need your salt, protein and vitamins, and the other nutrients like the phytonutrients and the supercalifragilistic nutrients. And it has to taste good.

I like to call that meal “brunch.”

It requires eggs, sausage and sauteed vegetables (I’d prefer some cheese, but I’m catering to my dairy-avoiding husband.) It also, for me, requires something dough-based and sweet, preferably something that absorbs warm pure

See GEISLER, D2

For New Year’s brunch, try apple and oat scones, bottom, and sausage and sweet-potato casserole. [GREG WOHLFORD/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

L O O K W H AT I F O U N D

Cheese dip & pretzel nuggets will delight find on an end cap.

Anyway, it being the holidays, many temptingly lusFound: Giant Eagle cious prepared food prepared foods area, trays, such as snacks, small tray veggies, cookies, Cost: $12.99 (larger fruits, are waiting ones available for for people who don’t $24.99) have time to cook to come pick them So I’m wonderup and take them ing as I’m wandering to a party. And this through Giant Eagle’s one caught my eye. produce/prepared And perhaps the foods/beer/wine/ whole case for this bakery/magical area, tray can be made as I’m wont to do. by what happened I might just be at next. I was, as I said, the store for milk or eyeing them, and a some of my at-work young woman came beverage of choice, up next to me, at Pure Leaf Iced Tea, about 8 in the mornbut you (well, I) can’t ing. She had a pumjust blow through pernickel loaf under that area. Don’t one arm, and a large know why. Just can’t. container of what I When I’m there, assume was spinach I usually get what dip in her other hand.

I need, of course— We stood there for some sort of bauble a moment before or garnish for a she said: “These photo, or plastic look really good.” cutlery, or some I agreed. She said Food Day neces“I think I’m putsity or another. (We ting this back,” and have office Food gestured with the Day potlucks the pumpernickel. last Friday of every Then it felt like I month, and, yes, I had to get one before capitalize Food Day.) she came back and But I feel a profestook them all. sional need to peruse Pretzel nuggets what else is going and beer cheese are on there. I think the about as on-trend best food trends as you can get, with show up in that area, fancy beers popping no matter what you up like mushrooms

By Jennie Geisler jennie.geisler@ timesnews.com

after a good spring rain, and these pretzel nuggets are undeniably irresistibly adorable.

I’m here to tell you the cheese sauce should be heated, but man, oh, man is it tasty. It has a little bit of heat to it, but it’s not overly spicy at all. Just addictive.

In fact, if you want to be safe, you can buy an extra container of the cheese (in the same case), for $4.99.

FIND SOMETHING? If you run into something new at the store and you want to know more

[JENNIE GEISLER/ERIE TIMES-NEWS]

about it, let us know, and we’ll dig into it.

Send requests to jennie. geisler@timesnews. com (subject Look

What I Found); or by regular mail to Jennie Geisler, Look What I Found, 205 W. 12th St., Erie, PA 16534.

D2

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

|

Erie Times-News | GoErie.com

FOOD

Lentil soup gets all depth and flavor without the meat

By Melissa d’Arabian The Associated Press

Rich bean soups are classic winter comfort food. They are filling, healthy, and inexpensive, making them a worthy addition to the menu rotation. The downside to dried bean cookery is the time it takes to soak and then cook beans.

Canned beans are a reasonable substitute, although they cost more than three times the price of their dried, bagged counterparts.

An easy,

money-saving solution is lentils, which you can find easily at any grocery store, next to the dried beans. Brown lentils — the type you’ll most likely find in inexpensive bags next to the rice — don’t require any soaking (although a good rinse is recommended), and are cooked to tender perfection in about a half hour. Green lentils are a little thicker and firmer than brown lentils (and often a little pricier), so they take a few minutes more to cook. Red lentils are softer, holding

their shape less, so are best used for sauces or stews where you are seeking a thicker, creamier texture — for instance, when you are making an Indian dal.

Don’t let the cheap price fool you: the everyday brown lentil is a nutrition powerhouse.

One serving has over 8 grams of filling fiber, 9 grams of protein and a nice array of vitamins and minerals, including over half the daily requirement of folate and nearly 20 percent of our daily iron.

Lentils themselves

have an earthy, mild flavor, so they easily take on the flavors of other ingredients. Today’s recipe for Smoky Lentil Soup is all plantbased, which means it’s truly jam-packed with health-boosting foods but it’s also full of flavor. It gets its smokiness from smoked paprika instead of the traditional ham bone, and little bit of cumin.

Finely chopped mushrooms add meaty depth of flavor, and I use small cubes of butternut squash instead of classic carrots for

This Dec. 18 photo shows lentil soup in Bethesda, Md. This dish is from a recipe by Melissa d’Arabian. [MELISSA D’ARABIAN VIA THE ASSOCIATED PRESS]

just a touch of sweetness. A bonus: the entire dish cost about $10 to make, and you’ll

probably have leftovers. Meatless Monday fans, this may be your new favorite dish.

Smoky (Vegan) Lentil Soup Servings: 8 Start to finish: 45 minutes, including cook time Ingredients: • 1 tablespoon olive oil • 1 large onion, chopped (about 2 cups chopped) • 1 stalk celery, chopped (about ½ cup chopped) • 4 ounces white mushrooms, finely chopped (about 1 cup chopped) • 1 ¼ cup cubed butternut squash (½-inch cube) (or substitute chopped carrot)

GEISLER From Page D1

maple syrup (which my husband will have nothing to do with. His loss.)

So today I give you Easy Paleo Breakfast Casserole (no soaking overnight necessary!) and Apple Scones.

Five things I learned:

1

I think I’ve described my husband’s diet before, but for those who don’t memorize my prose, the broad strokes are as such: It’s called the “paleo diet” and it eliminates all grains, dairy, legumes and refined white sugar and some other stuff derived from that, as well as synthetic preservatives and stuff like that. The idea is that our bodies evolved to eat certain food derived by hunting and gathering, and foods derived from modern agriculture are the reason for many of our ills.

So no flour, no bread, no beans, no milk or cheese, no soy, no lots of things that I consider basic foods. He’s been eating like this for a couple of years. (He does cheat.

Rarely, but he does.)

The funny thing about cooking for people following the paleo diet is that you eventually find that everything is either a thinly disguised frittata (start with eight or so eggs) or a sculpture made by molding clarified butter and almond flour. (Why clarified butter is allowed but not actual butter I do

• 5 cloves garlic, minced • 1 teaspoon ground cumin • 2 teaspoons smoked paprika • 1 teaspoon chili powder • 2 teaspoons dried Italian herb seasoning (or dried oregano) • 3 cups vegetable stock • 2-3 cups water • ½ pound dried brown lentils, rinsed and picked through (about 1 ¼ cup) • 1 bay leaf • 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar (or wine vinegar) • ½ teaspoon kosher salt, if needed

Steps: In a large heavy-bottomed soup pot or Dutch oven, soften the onion, celery and mushrooms in the olive oil over medium heat, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the squash, garlic, cumin, smoked paprika, chili powder and Italian herbs and cook for another five minutes, stirring frequently. Onion should be quite soft now.

Add the stock, 2 cups of the water, the lentils, and bay leaf and bring to a simmer over medium high heat. Reduce heat, cover partially with a lid and let

Easy Breakfast Casserole Total time: 50 minutes; prep time 25 minutes; cook time, 25 minutes; serves 6 • 2 tablespoons fat of choice (coconut oil or butter or ghee, etc.), melted • 1 large sweet potato or yam, diced • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt • 1½ pound breakfast sausage • ½ yellow onion, diced • 2 cups chopped spinach • 10 eggs, whisked • ½ teaspoon salt • ½ teaspoon garlic powder

While sweet potatoes are cooking, place a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add breakfast sausage and yellow onion. Cook until no pink remains in meat.

Place meat mixture in baking dish, add sweet potatoes and spinach then add eggs along with salt and garlic powder and mix until well combined.

Place in oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until eggs are set in the middle.

Preheat oven to 400 F. Grease a 9-by13-inch baking dish.

paleomg.com/ easy-breakfast-casserole/

Toss diced sweet potatoes in fat and sprinkle with salt.

Nutrition information per serving: 481 calories; 37 g fat (14 g saturated); 383 mg cholesterol; 1,318 mg sodium; 9.5 g carbohydrate; 1.9 g fiber; 2.6 g sugar; 27 g protein

Place sweet potatoes on baking sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until soft.

Apple Scones Total time: 30 minutes; prep time, 15 minutes; bake time: minutes; serves 12 • 2 cups all-purpose flour • ¼ cup white sugar • 2 teaspoons baking powder • ½ teaspoon baking soda • ½ teaspoon salt • ¼ cup butter, chilled • 1 apple, peeled, cored and shredded • ½ cup milk • 2 tablespoons milk • 2 tablespoons white sugar • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon Measure flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, and salt into a large bowl. Cut in butter or margarine until crumbly. Add shredded apple and milk. Stir to form a soft dough.

not understand.)

So, to finally get to my first point, you can make this breakfast casserole in the morning because it contains no bread. Most breakfast casseroles have to sit overnight to let the bread, which provides

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead gently 8 to 10 times. Pat into two 6-inch circles. Place on greased baking sheet. Brush tops with milk, and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Score each into 6 pie-shaped wedges.

Bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes, or until browned and risen.

Serve warm with butter or pure maple syrup.

www.allrecipes.com Nutrition information per serving: 139 calories; 4.2 g fat (2.5 g saturated); 11 mg cholesterol; 237 mg sodium; 23 g carbohydrate; 0.9 g fiber; 6.5 g sugar; 2.7 g protein

the structure, absorb the egg before baking.

There are, naturally, 2 degrees of adherence to the paleo diet,

and gray areas such as white potatoes (not really sanctioned, but come on), sausage (What’s

in sausage? I don’t pay much attention, just get the good local homemade stuff and John eats it). Some people insist on grass-fed meat, but in addition to being a paleo dieter, John is also something of a penny pincher, so that’s where

simmer until lentils and squash are tender, about 25-30 minutes. If the mixture gets too thick, add up to another cup of water.

Once soup is cooked, remove 1-2 cups of the soup to a blender and very carefully blend on low until somewhat smooth.

Pour the thickened, blended soup back into the pot and stir. Stir in vinegar and taste for salt. Add the salt only if needed.

Chef’s Note: green lentils may also be used, but add about 10 minutes of cooking time.

he draws the line.

Honestly, I think just skipping the white sugar and flour probably does him the most good, but I’m in no way qualified to tell anyone how to eat.

One thing that paleo dieters agree on is sweet potatoes and/or yams.

They put those things in everything. I know they’re superfoods but, wow. I think my husband is going to turn the color of the president pretty soon. They are tasty, yes, and pretty.

It called for chopped 3 spinach, which sent my mind immediately

to the frozen 10-ounce block you use for spinach dip. I thawed it out, squeezed the daylights out of it and stirred it in. As I was doing so, it occurred to me that perhaps I should have purchased fresh spinach and chopped it. I’m still not sure. The fact that they called for 2 cups gave me pause.

The frozen kind stirred in easily, and fresh spinach might have been a challenge. If you go with fresh, use a really big bowl. I probably lost some nutrients in that green liquid I squeezed out of the frozen kind.

It’s up to you. For convenience, I’d stick with

the frozen 10-ounce block (thawed and squeezed to almost dry).

To pack in the nutrients, go with the fresh.

The Apple Scones 4 couldn’t have been simpler. In fact, they

were a little too simple.

Next time, I’ll jazz them up a little with some raisins or dried cranberries, maybe chopped nuts or cinnamon chips. They’re excellent soaked in warm maple syrup, but I think I might have already mentioned that. Oh, well. It bears repeating. The part about the maple syrup, I mean.

If your tummy can 5 take it, you could dress this breakfast up

with a spot of orange juice spiked with sparkling wine in a Champagne flute to sip on, or a spicy Bloody Mary.

But if not, black coffee or plain ice water might be a better idea.

Jennie Geisler writes about her adventures as a home cook every Wednesday. You can reach her at 870-1885.

Send email to jennie. geisler@timesnews. com. Follow her on Twitter at twitter. com/@ETNgeisler.

Erie Times-News | GoErie.com |

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

D3

DEAR ABBY

ASK THE DOCTORS

Husband’s threat compels wife to lose weight

Angioplasty not always called for in stable angina

Improve that muscle tone, and along with it your image of yourself. Then, once you have achieved your goal and feel better about yourself, decide whether you want to remain married to a man who has such poor “muscle tone” between the ears.

Jeanne Phillips Dear Abby: I have been married for 18 years and have two wonderful kids, ages 14 and 12.

Ten months ago, my husband said to me, “I told you I would divorce you if you ever got fat.”

Yes, I have gained some weight over the years, but at 5 feet 5 inches tall and 150 pounds, I was not exactly obese.

I was frightened by what he said, so I took off 25 pounds. He didn’t appear to notice, so I asked him, “Now what do you think?”

He said, “You have no muscle tone”! Nothing I do is good enough. I work part-time and take care of our kids and the house.

What should I do?

— Biggest Loser in New York Dear “Loser:” The way some abusers maintain control is by withholding approval, love, money, etc.

According to the National Institutes of Health, a woman who is 5 feet 5 inches tall should weigh between 114 and 144 pounds to be considered a normal weight. For your husband to threaten you with divorce if you didn’t lose weight was brutal. Nothing you do is good enough because keeping you insecure and always trying to gain his approval is how he maintains the upper hand in your marriage.

Take him at his word. Your husband may have said your muscle tone is flabby, but from where I sit, what’s sagging is your self-esteem. Go to the gym.

Get into a training program.

•••

Write Dear Abby at www.dearabby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

D equals G

EYCSD

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GB

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BHANCKBK

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SBBK

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FBNR VY LSK

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MAIJRAHU

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Previous Solution: “Gospel songs are the songs of hope. When you sing gospel you have the feeling there is a cure for what’s wrong.” — Mahalia Jackson © 2017 by NEA, Inc., dist. by Andrews McMeel Syndication

Jumble

Cryptoquip

DL

MBPVYMB

12-27

MGX

AK

P A C T H XNJ

G

RAV

N J

ODEEG

LZAI

R J

HAIDKA’M,

T J L X

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FZCMNJH?

Yesterday’s Cryptoquip: When high winds totally ruin your outdoor event, I would say you’ve had uninvited gusts.

Today’s Cryptoquip Clue: C equals U The Cryptoquip is a substitution cipher in which one letter stands for another. If you think that X equals O, it will equal O throughout the puzzle. Single letters, short words and words using an apostrophe give you clues to locating vowels. Solution is by trial and error. © 2017 King Features Syndicate, Inc. 12-27

Crossword

Eugene Sheffer Crossword ACROSS 1 Eden evictee 5 300, to Cato 8 Release money 12 Office note 13 Foot rub response 14 Within (pref.)

15 Fleet of ships 17 Swelled heads 18 Stephen King novel 19 Dense 21 Gratuity 22 Arias for one 23 Stolen 26 Away from NNE 28 Boob tube, to a Brit 31 Love god 33 Gut-punch reaction 35 Lost traction 36 Singer Lena 38 Inventor Whitney 40 TV spots 41 Chinese secret society 43 “Suits” network 45 Eccentric 47 Hire 51 Sentry’s cry 52 Senora’s scarf 54 Cruise stop 55 Rainbow shape 56 Close 57 Peruse 58 Hobbyist’s abbr.

59 Jewels

DOWN 1 Like most car radios 2 Sandwich shop 3 Old Testament book 4 Sacred song 5 Trinidad music 6 Nev. neighbor 7 Utter disorder 8 Ladybugs, e.g.

9 One of the Leeward Islands 10 Altar vows 11 Misplace 16 Eye part

20 Automaton, for short 23 Sneaky laugh 24 Acapulco gold 25 Mexican pancake 27 Travail 29 Cover 30 QB’s stats 32 Expressed derision 34 Ease of speaking,as a language 37 Conclusion 39 “— It Romantic?”

42 Flip out 44 Getting on 45 Spinning

Send your questions to askthedoctors@mednet.ucla.edu, or Ask the Doctors, c/o Media Relations, UCLA Health, 924 Westwood Blvd., Suite 350, Los Angeles, CA 90095.

PUZZLES

Celebrity Cipher cryptograms are created from quotations by famous people, past and present. Each letter in the cipher stands for another.

JCPV

Q: I’ve been having chest pain, and my doctor said I should consider a stent. Now I read they’re useless. What are my options?

A: What you’re describing is angina— chest pain caused by decreased blood flow to the heart via the coronary arteries.

Stable angina occurs with exertion, not rest, because the exertion makes your heart work harder.

Unstable angina is irregular, can occur even at rest and is a harbinger of an imminent heart attack.

In 1977, doctors began to treat angina with angioplasty, which uses a balloon to open the partially clogged coronary arteries. In the 1990s, they started using stents to keep the arteries open and make them less likely to collapse. In this procedure, a metal stent is placed over a balloon so that when the balloon expands, the stent presses outward to buttress open the artery.

Because these metal stents can increase the risk of blood clots, they’re often now coated with a drug that prevents clots. Angioplasty has been found to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes in people with unstable angina.

For stable angina, the picture recently became murkier. The study to which you’re referring assessed outcomes in stable angina patients with one or more coronary arteries at least 70 percent narrowed.

People were excluded from the study if they’d had a previous heart attack, bypass surgery or another vessel blocked more than 50 percent but

Dear Abby: I am a 63-yearold widow. I have not been with a man since my husband died 10 years ago. I am now dating a 31-year-old man. I am deeply in love with him. He says he’s in love with me, too, but his family says he doesn’t know what love is.

Am I crazy for dating a man who is 31? He’s everything I have always wanted. He claims his only problem with dating me is that I will probably pass away in 20 years, and he will be alone and devastated. My concern is I feel I am preventing him from future children and a possible wife his own age. He says he doesn’t want kids.

— Help, Please, in Pennsylvania Dear Help, Please: You didn’t mention how long you and this man have been involved, but if it has been less than a year, you would be wise to slow things down. It would be in your interest to know why his family thinks he doesn’t know what love is. The answer to that question could be enlightening.

As to your not being certain that he doesn’t want to be a father, not everyone wants children. If you aren’t sure that everything he’s telling you is the truth, I suggest you wait for a few more innings before swinging for a home run.

Celebrity Cipher

“GB

Dr. Robert Ashley

not causing symptoms. In the first six weeks of the study, participants received standard medical therapy, including blood thinners, cholesterollowering medication, blood pressure medications and long-acting nitrates.

After that, study subjects were randomized into a group that received a stent or a control group that didn’t.

After another six weeks, all the patients underwent a cardiac stress test and an assessment of symptoms.

No difference in symptoms was found. Even an evaluation of the ability to walk on a treadmill showed no difference between the two groups. However, when given a medication to stress the heart, the stent group showed an improvement in contraction of the heart muscle as seen on ultrasound.

Similarly, a 2007 study showed no difference in death rate or heart attack rate among people with stable angina treated with angioplasty compared to those who received medical therapy. The group that received an angioplasty did report an improvement in symptoms two and one-half to seven years after the treatment, but it’s possible the placebo effect played a role. That’s because the participants knew whether they’d had angioplasty.

That said, stents are not useless.

They do prevent heart attacks and death in people with unstable angina, and they may benefit people with stable angina who have symptoms even on medication or who are intolerant to medication. But it seems to me that the robust benefit of stents in people with stable angina is not evident. I’d recommend talking with your doctor further; you do have a choice.

sound 46 Lighten 48 Sheltered 49 Glitz partner

50 Canal zones?

53 “Entourage” agent

Answer to Previous Puzzle

ACROSS 1 Mean 6 Playwright Oscar 11 Number 12 Ocean game fish 13 End a shutdown 14 Injustices 15 Ranch measure 16 Fictional rafter 17 Wine label info 18 Dance in triple meter 19 Part of a foot 23 Carpet nail 25 With aloofness 26 Interest amt.

29 Striped animal 31 Unopened flower 32 Sweater letter 33 Helen, in Spanish 34 Drop in on 35 Buenos — 37 “I, —” (rock autobio) 39 Palomino feature 40 Nourished 41 Close the curtains 45 Tall grass 47 Gunk 48 Bungalow 51 Wrinkled fruit 52 Get familiar 53 Relax 54 Veld grazer 55 Mural base DOWN 1 Nephew’s sister

2 Where Aesop shopped 3 Top-notch 4 Very, for Pierre 5 Kyoto cash 6 Admonish 7 Wry 8 RN helper 9 Half-star movie 10 Coast Guard off.

11 Skirmish 12 Itty-bitty branch 16 Couldn’t sit still 18 Lock up 20 Pen points 21 Evidence

22 Jekyll’s alter ego 24 Hwys.

25 Persia, today 26 Baby buggy 27 “Wool” on clay sheep 28 Tattered 30 Camelot lady 36 More uncanny 38 Wings it (hyph.)

40 Amazing act 42 Gentle slopes 43 Acid in proteins 44 Make one’s way

46 Sicilian spouter 47 Rational 48 Kissin’ kin

49 “— we there yet?”

50 Family mem.

51 Carpet

Answer to Previous Day’s Puzzle

D4

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

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Erie Times-News | GoErie.com

COMICS BEETLE BAILEY

MARK TRAIL

PEARLS BEFORE SWINE

REX MORGAN, M.D.

BLONDIE

MARY WORTH

LOLA THE BUCKETS

SHOE LUANN

MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM

THE GRIZZWELLS

B.C. CLOSE TO HOME

LOOSE PARTS

GET FUZZY

Daily Bridge/Playing poker at the bridge table

BY PHILLIP ALDER Sometimes at the bridge table, you can use a poker tactic: Bluff. The most common is a psychic bid, when you misrepresent your hand in terms of high-card points, or suit length, or both. There is no law against a psych (except a bid that is artificial and forcing), as long as it is as big a surprise for partner as it is for the opponents, and partner treats the bid at face value.

This deal, though, features a different kind of bluff, one that is partner-proof.

In the auction, South should have raised three diamonds to four, expressing slam interest and asking partner to controlbid. Then, when North continued with four

spades, South could have bid five diamonds, making it fairly clear that he was missing the heart and club aces.

Instead, though, South plunged into Blackwood.

Then, when North showed one ace, South raised to six diamonds, hoping his partner did not have the spade ace.

West led the heart ace, then was in a quandary at trick two. How could his partner have an ace?

Declarer knew the ace position and had bid a slam. So, hoping partner had the singleton heart, not South, West led another heart.

Maybe South should have played dummy’s nine, but he won with the jack and discarded a club.

Two more clubs disappeared on the spade ace-king, and a spade ruff failed to bring down the queen. However, when two rounds of trumps uncovered the 2-2 split, declarer discarded his last two clubs on the heart king and queen.

Your Astrograph/December 27 CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Getting along with relatives isn’t always easy.

Keep your thoughts and opinions to yourself to avoid starting a family feud.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Offering to help someone is a kind gesture, but don’t let anyone take advantage of you. Consider ways to improve your financial situation next year.

PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) Dig up any information you can about new interests and ways to bring in more cash. Consider your skills and the updates required to reach your goal.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) Don’t allow impulsiveness to take the reins. An emotional matter will escalate quickly if you react rashly.

Choose your words wisely to avoid a mishap.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Focus inward and consider ways to help a loved one who is struggling.

Your compassion and thoughtful suggestions will make a difference.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) You’ll bepronetoacttooquickly.

When it comes to money matters, you shouldn’t let your emotions prompt you to act without considering affordability.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) If someone is pushy or unpredictable, you are best off backing away.

Don’t get involved in sketchy deals that could lead to loss.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) You can enjoy the festivities, but don’t go overboard. Limit your spending and monitor your eating and drinking. Stick close to those you love and trust.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Don’t sit at home. Get out and do something that motivates you. Extending goodwill toward those less fortunate will make you feel good.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23) Emotional turmoil will surface at home. Getting along with others will be difficult, as well as emotionally and physically draining.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 22) Take the time to talk with a relative you don’t see often or with someone you love and need to share your thoughts with. Reflect, but don’t labor over mistakes.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23-Dec. 21) A discussion with someone you trust will open your mind to all sorts of interesting opportunities.

Don’t make unnecessary purchases.

Erie Times-News | GoErie.com |

COMICS BABY BLUES

ZITS

FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE

PEANUTS

ARLO AND JANIS

FRANK AND ERNEST

DILBERT SOUP TO NUTZ

WUMO PAJAMA DIARIES

BIG NATE HI AND LOIS

THE BORN LOSER GARFIELD

LIO THE WIZARD OF ID

MR. BOFFO

HERMAN

MODERATELY CONFUSED

PICKLES

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

D5

D6

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

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Erie Times-News | GoErie.com