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Have a HAPPY THANKSGIVING >>> from Sonny Days Preschool!

Majestic pose from an immature eagle. > Mark's Trail Photography.

A Big Thank You to Mrs. Brownlee and her DuBois Area Middle School Family and Consumer Science class for making these blankets for the Residents to enjoy. Residents got to enjoy listening to Mark Sopic while picking out a blanket for themselves. >> DuBois Continuum of Care Community Inc.

DuBois Central Catholic 6th graders traveled to the Brockway Center for Arts & Technology to learn about advanced metal working and create ornaments! Pretty impressive...

This snow stuck to everything which made for some really beautiful scenes! >> Exceptional Eye Photos

Congratulations, Brian Lemmon! Brian, Building & Grounds Maintenance, is the Gary & Sons, Inc. November 2022 Employee of the Month. Brian is a very versatile employee and takes on any challenge thrown his way. He helps out wherever he is needed, and he always does it with a smile. According to his supervisor, Brian is always on the go and full of energy, never stopping until the job is done. Gary & Sons is very proud to call Brian a part of its work family and thanks him for all his hard work.

Greasers OR Socs - who would you pick? Our 8th grade students @ DuBois Central Catholic School dressed up as Greasers and Socials (Socs) from S.E. Hinton's novel, "The Outsiders." The students were given an opportunity to identify as a Grease or a Soc for our "Evening at the Nightly Double" activity that recreated a scene from the movie that takes place at a drive-in. The students brought in their favorite drive-in theater snacks to share while watching the movie version of the novel. They also compared how translating a literary work into a visual medium affects the tone, mood, characters, overall plot, and themes of the story. So Fun!

One of our treasured Veterans at DuBois Village Personal Care, Bernell Schaffer, was honored on the 11th for his service as one of the oldest Veteran residents, (a young age of 89) at the DuBois VFW. His family also attended this very special service. Thanks, Bernell for all you have done and for who you are today.

Beautiful photo of Wyalusing, PA. by Matt Crockett

Meals on Wheels driver extinguishes fire, saves consumer’s home CURWENSVILLE, Pa. – Joe Lenhart became the newest Meals on Wheels and More driver for the Mature Resources Clearfield County Area Agency on Aging in October, and he wasted no time finding opportunities to go above and beyond his duties. One day, while still learning his route and training with a veteran driver, Bob, the pair pulled into one of their delivery stops and immediately noticed there was a fire burning in the home near Mahaffey. “We got there, Bob went to the door, and there was smoke coming out around the door,” Lenhart recalled. “We touched the knob to make sure it wasn’t hot, then opened the door. Instantly, black smoke just started pouring out.” Luckily, Lenhart is a volunteer firefighter with Curwensville’s Station 8 Rescue Hose and Ladder. His training automatically kicked in. “I made entry, it was so dark with black smoke I couldn’t even see that the kitchen light was on until I was halfway back to the kitchen,” Lenhart said. “I discovered a stack of firewood in a rack that was on fire right next to the wood stove, and it had spread to the rug on the floor. I can only guess the stove must have thrown a spark and started it. Just when we got in there it went up. The flames were fueled by air coming through the open door, and it just took off.” Opening the door was a necessity to get access to the house and to begin letting smoke out, but now Lenhart knew he had to act fast. He said, “I grabbed the entire rack of firewood and ran outside with it. Then I got two big bottles of water out of the van and ran back in and put the fire out on the rug. I didn’t know if it was enough water to fully extinguish the fire on the rug, so I rolled the rug up and took it outside. While I was doing this, Bob called 911 and got the fire department on the way.” The pair then went back into the house to check to see if the residents were inside. Fortunately, they had left to go and get their flu shots, and the house was unoccupied. “If they had been in there, say sleeping or something, they’d be dead of smoke inhalation,” Lenhart explained. A resident of the home, referred to here simply as “Ernest” expressed his gratitude to the drivers who saved his home. He said, “I really hand it to these guys for helping me that day the way they did. It’s a blessing to have them, and a blessing that they do all the things they do and don’t even want anything in return. Thankfully, we’re ok.” Meals on Wheels Fleet Dispatcher Joshua Bush commended Lenhart, saying, “Each driver has been in a situation where they have needed to call 911 for medical assistance, but in my time here, I don't remember a driver ever needing to call 911 for a fire at a consumer's residence. Fortunately, that day Joe, who is a firefighter for Curwensville, just happened to be on the right route on the right day. Joe was able to quickly search the home to see if anyone was inside and while doing so was able to extinguish the fire, saving the consumer's home and belongings. Each one of our drivers has stories about how they were able to help someone while delivering their meals, and as their fleet dispatcher, it makes me proud of each one of them. They are a great team of men and women who love to help others.” Lenhart has already experienced other emergency situations during his short time delivering meals. As Bush indicated, it can happen frequently. Aside from the fire, Lenhart has discovered two different consumers who fell in their homes as he made deliveries. Following protocol, he called emergency medical personnel and waited with the consumers until help arrived. One man had broken a hip and had been laying on the floor for two days over the weekend. Lenhart remembered the man told him, ‘I’ve been waiting for you to come.’ Bush further explained, “Our Meals on Wheels and More drivers are doing more than just delivering meals, they are also the agency's eyes and ears. They get to see and interact with our consumers on a daily basis, and they also check up with our consumers to make sure they are doing well. The drivers have been able to summon help on numerous occasions where they have found a consumer not feeling well, or a consumer has fallen and is in need of medical assistance. As a driver you just never know what may happen as you are delivering these meals. “Being a Meals on Wheels and More driver is rarely ever the same from day to day. Having that ‘more’ part in their job description kind of leaves it open for just about anything. It could mean that you might be delivering company mail between different facilities, or maybe transporting a company vehicle from one place to another. You just never know what is going to come up. So, as a driver you have to be prepared for pretty much anything and everything.” Lenhart added, “Any time you can help people in any way, it feels gratifying. You have to give back to your community. And all of our drivers feel that way. All of them care about the people we deliver too. They get to know them. It’s something great to be a part of.” The Meals on Wheels program typically provides 700-800 hot, nutritious meals each day to consumers in Clearfield County. The AAA contracts with Morrison Living, an international food service provider, to supply the meals that are prepared fresh in the kitchen at the agency’s Curwensville office each day. In addition to hot meals, each year Blizzard Boxes are packed and delivered to homebound Meals on Wheels recipients across the county. A combination of nonperishable foods, they are packaged and delivered at the onset of winter. Consumers are encouraged to store the meals in a safe place to use as a backup for stormy winter days when the Meals on Wheels staff may be unable to deliver a hot meal.

Silly hair/hat day for letter H @ Sonny Days Preschool!

Have I told you how much I love our local rail trail? The Pine Creek Rail Trail? I love it so much I wrote the guidebook to it. So it really is my happy place. Doesn’t matter the weather or the season, its great to be there. But fall? It shows off its colors sooo nicely. For as much as we complain about the knotweed along our streams, it sure is pretty in the fall. >> Linda Stager is in Wellsboro, Pa

Water cascades down the rocks on the lower falls at the DuBois dirt dam at the intersection of Liberty Boulevard and East DuBois Avenue. > Tom Bukousky

Exterior Penn Highlands Center of Excellence Photo The four-story Penn Highlands Center of Excellence, which is located at 123 Hospital Avenue in DuBois, provides convenient and easy access for patients, as well as innovative therapies delivered with advanced technology. Ribbon Cutting Photo Representatives from Penn Highlands Healthcare cut the ribbon to open its new Center of Excellence on November 4, 2022. The complex will serve as the hub of the health system’s outpatient Neuroscience, Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, Rehabilitation, Gynecology/Obstetrics and Pediatrics services in DuBois.

Probably just quacking that it's Monday already! > Adam Turner

The Clarion Home Schoolers had their Fall Dance at the DuBois Parkside Community Center on Saturday Night. These Home School Students are from Clearfield, Jefferson, Clarion and surrounding Counties.

One of the biggest of the Fall warriors that I've come across this year. Pretty sure he demands the respect of his woodland brothers. > Wildlife Journey Photography - Dave Bowser

Nazareth Watch Tower, Nazareth Pa. >> Greg Morgan

I took these yesterday. See them hiding in the grass?... in Venango County. Feel free to share the photos, & please follow & like "Mark's Trail Photography" to see all my photography & follow my journey! > Mark Hutchinson

Trunk or Treat '22 > A BIG THANK YOU TO OUR SONNY DAYS FAMILY FOR MAKING TRUNK OR TREAT AWESOME!

Students in Mrs. Snyder's Art Class at DuBois Central Catholic School used Halloween and Fall Themes in their Art Work

Autumn Serenity at Colton Point State Park in Pa.! > Bernadette Chiaramonte

Congratulations to Katie (Ellenberger) and Jake Hollenbaugh who were married yesterday, October 29th, 2022. After the ceremony the couple hosted a beautiful reception at The Luthersburg Community Center where they surprised their guests with a choreographed FUN medley of songs for their first dance. Best of luck to the Newlyweds!

Meals on Wheels kitchen staff gets five-star review The culinary team that prepares Meals on Wheels for Mature Resources Clearfield County Area Agency on Aging consumers is truly a five-star crew. In addition to surpassing requirements for mandatory state health inspections, an independent health and safety inspector has also given the staff and the kitchen a five-star review, the highest rating available, and the very first one awarded to any kitchen within their company's service region. The AAA contracts with Morrison Living, an international food service provider, to supply the meals for Meals on Wheels and More. The six-person crew works in a kitchen located at the AAA's Curwensville Office preparing hand-made meals from fresh ingredients each day for up to 900 Meals on Wheels consumers. The independent, third-party inspection was performed by UL Everclean Food Safety and Hygiene Solutions in September. Chef Michael Finch, who oversees the Curwensville kitchen, explained, "State health inspections are required, but these independent inspections are not. Morrison takes it upon themselves to have these inspections done because the company takes sanitation, food safety, and the health of our clients very seriously." From left to right, they are, Heather Smeal, Crissa Miller, Lana Laird, Chef Michael Finch, Jim Kephart, and Melissa Brion.

Dying to go kayaking. Taken at a campground near Port Royal, PA. > Marilyn Chastek