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Perry Township man could be the next $10 million winner
PERRY TOWNSHIP — Fred Spaulding of Perry Township could become a multi-millionaire today.
Spaulding, 63, is one of 210 people chosen as finalists from a nationwide contest to win $10 million from Publishers Clearing House.
He doesn’t remember if he entered the sweepstakes through the mail or the Internet, but he got a letter Saturday saying he was a finalist and will receive a $1,000 check if he doesn’t win the grand prize. He had to read the letter several times to make sure it was real.
“I’ve gotten a lot of letters like that. I was skeptical,” Spaulding said.
He often enters contests and gets letters from Publishers Clearing House thanking him for being a member since 1970, but the only prize he has ever won was $500 in the state lottery about 10 years ago.
Spaulding, who was born and raised in Greenville, retired several years ago from Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad Co. after nearly 40 years of service.
While hanging out at home Tuesday afternoon with his family, he was still letting it sink in that he could win $10 million.
“I hope that concrete out there is safer than it looks because that’s where I’ll be laying,” Spaulding said of what will happen if he wins.
The lucky winner will be notified today by Publishers Clearing House’s Prize Patrol, complete with flowers, balloons and an oversized check, said Melanie Dennig of Ruder Finn Marketing, the New York City public relations agency that represents Publishers Clearing House.
If Spaulding wins, he’d like to buy a van to accommodate his wife of 43 years, Beverly, who’s in a wheelchair with a bad hip. He might also buy himself a new pickup truck and build a new house.
He would also help his 7-year-old grandson, Noah Spaulding, who has cerebral palsy. Noah, who lives in Hempfield Township, has traveled to Poland several times for intensive physical therapy, which is expensive.
“He’s a very intelligent little fellow,” Spaulding said of Noah, who he said is quite a character for his age.
He doesn’t know how he’ll celebrate if he wins, but said there’s no point in getting excited and finding out he didn’t win. If the Prize Patrol doesn’t ring his doorbell today, he’ll still be happy with $1,000.
“It hasn’t cost me a penny, but I will be somewhat disappointed,” he said.
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Sisters pretty accomplished
The most nerve-wracking moment in a pageant is when it comes down to the last two girls on stage, and 17-year-old Caroline Collins has stood in that spot three times in her life.
After two first-runner-up places in the National American Miss Pennsylvania Pageant, the pressure was really on for the Shenango Township girl the third time — her younger sister, Lexi, had taken the pre-teen crown in Harrisburg the day before in her first pageant run.
But Caroline wasn’t disappointed this year. In August, the Collins family celebrated the crowning of two daughters when the older sister was named Miss Pennsylvania Teen, and they all couldn’t be happier.
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‘Rat Packer’ pays homage to friend
When Jerry Chiodo was in the hospital, shortly before he died, Sirjio the Entertainer, his friend for 40 years, stole into his room one night after Chiodo’s family had left, and sang “New York, New York,” to him.
“I promised him right then, ‘I won’t let people forget you,’ ” Sirjio said.
Sirjio, of Farrell, has made good on his promise by creating the Jerry Chiodo Memorial Scholarship, a non-profit charity that plans to present music scholarships to high school students interested in careers in music.
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Pet project
There are two new faces at Strayhaven Animal Shelter in Hempfield Township, but they don’t belong to any cats or dogs.
Greenville-area residents Kristen Weaver and Todd Dunlap have been working as the shelter’s new managers since May, and they’ve already completed some upgrades to the property at 94 Donation Road.
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Car club hosting national antique car event here
Antique and classic cars are no strangers to local roads this time of year as old car enthusiasts cruise on sunny days.
Next week, expect to see not one or two cars as you drive around town, but dozens.
The folks who put on the Father’s Day Car Show will be hosting a national classic car tour Wednesday through Aug. 27 that will be based in the Shenango Valley.
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Flying fortress
“I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it,” 88-year-old John Grosbeck said in a weak voice that was filled with emotion.
It was the first time Grosbeck had been on a bomber since 1944, he said. The local stop was part of the Experimental Aircraft Association’s “Salute to Veterans Tour,” and on Tuesday and Wednesday people had the chance to buy a seat on a flight aboard the “Aluminum Overcast” B-17G.
The Aluminum Overcast is at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Latrobe, Pa., through today and will be at the Akron-Canton Regional Airport Sept. 14 and 15. Ground tours are offered for a small fee but are free to all veterans. -
Teen wins two World Open baton twirling titles
Brianna Colbert, daughter of Steven and Melissa Colbert, Hermitage, won World Open Three Baton Twirling and World Open Flag Twirling titles at the National Baton Twirling Association’s America’s Youth on Parade at Notre Dame University, July 20-23.
This National and World Open baton competition held in South Bend, Ind., had thousands of twirlers from all over the United States, Canada and representatives from other countries as well. While there,Simone Esters of Hermitage and Marissa Pierce of West Middlesex, members of the Shining Star Competition Team, represented Pennsylvania in the Miss Majorette of America Pageant, founded in 1945.
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Blues will fill air
The Sharon Arts and Music Initiative’s inaugural Sharon City Blues Fest, like its headliner, is “The Real Deal.”
Grammy Award nominee John Primer will take the stage along with local and regional blues musicians on Sept. 11 in downtown Sharon.
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Teaching with technology
Technology in the classroom is always changing and one Greenville teacher has spent the last three summers learning new skills through a program limited to a select few.
Jan Abernethy, a fifth-grade teacher at East Elementary School, was one of 75 teachers nationwide chosen to attend the Discovery Educator Network Summer Institute, which is held at a different location each year.
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Actors visit Camelot
The magic and mysticism that abounds in the King Arthur legend has been just as prevalent in the life of a woman who has written a three-part play chronicling the history of Camelot’s famed ruler.
Youngstown native Carol Weakland said she’s been working for 12 years on the play that premiered last weekend: “The Arthurian Trilogy Part One, Arthur and Merlin: The Making of a King.” She was never able to assemble a cast to play the demanding roles or “whittle down” the lengthy script into a compact but complete show. But this year, everything came together.
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Annual senior fair is Friday in Sharon
State Rep. Mark Longietti will hold his fourth annual free Senior and Health Education Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday at the Sharon American Legion, 1395 E. State St., Sharon.
The fair will feature farmers market coupons, free health screenings, about 50 vendors, door prizes and free information and services.
For more information, call 724-981-4655. - More Community Headlines
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Sisters pretty accomplished
