Eight & 322/Eight & 27 - Front Page

This Week's Online Front Page: Groundhog Day on its way; Venango gathering comprehensive plan feedback; Local Fred Bell Tourney results; Franklin on Ice has busy schedule; Nature of Things basement blooms

1/30/2023

It's just been so grey lately... we are thinking spring!

Winter means moving flowers inside. Nature of Things author Anna Applegate writes about her basement "greenhouse" where plants of all sorts are waiting out the winter. Click here to see the pictures of all the colorful basement bloomers.

To Hibernate or Not

With Groundhog Day just around the corner, our resident Nature of Things expert takes a look at the hibernating habits of different animals in northwestern PA.

Here's a hint, groundhogs are notorious hibernators, but grey squirrels and the canine crew at the Nature of Things estate - not so much.

OC teacher nominated for MVT

Seventh Street Elementary School teacher Stephanie Staub is trying to bring some serious cash to Oil City Area School District to enrich their STEM program. She needs your vote, and she needs it now as the deadline is 11:59 p.m. January 31, 2023. Vote for her here - www.nhl.com/mvt.

ISO: Input on Venango comprehensive plan development

Venango County is looking toward the future and is looking for help to identify needs, wants and priorities.

The county is looking for feedback and suggestions on a variety of topics, including the location, character and timing of future development, land use, housing needs, transportation, community facilities and utilities.

Click here to read more about the four open house meetings to be held at various locations within the county.

Cranberry routh at Fred Bell Tourney, Titusville tenth

Brayden McFetridge and Dalton Wenner took the top spot on the podium in the 215 and 107 weight brackets and to help the Cranberry squad finish fourth at the highly competitive Fred Bell Wrestling Tournament in Grove City. Cranberry had five medalists on the weekend. Titusville had four on their way to a 10th place finish out of 41 teams.

Read about all the local results in the Sports tab.

Franklin on Ice schedule is jam-packed with activities this year

Winter sculptures made of nearly 100 blocks of ice might be the centerpiece of the weekend, but Franklin on Ice is so much more this year.

There will be carriage rides, several craft and storytime stations around the downtown, musical performances in the evening and so much more. Items were added after the initial story posting. Click here to check out the list under News From You for all the updates.

This Week's Online Front Page: Fair Queen represents, Regional basketball play underway; Poets Against Racism; Things to do and scholarship opportunities; Wrestling; and It's been pretty gray 'round here

1/22/2023

Rocky Grove High School student Jaimie Thomas spent the weekend at Hershey Lodge competing alongside 57 other teens vying for the title PA State Fair Queen. She is pictured after winning the Venango County Fair crown in August. (Read that story here.)

Thomas was the first-ever Venango County representative in the contest. She and the other contestants were evaluated by a panel of three judges on their written and speaking skills, knowledge of the fair and agriculture industries, and their poise and personal presentation in business attire.

Chloe Bomgardner of Lebanon County was crowned the 2023 PA State Fair Queen on Saturday at the 110th annual convention of the Pennsylvania State Association of County Fairs (PSACF) and Pennsylvania State Showmen’s Association.

Photo from Venango County Fair Queen Facebook.

Photo from Venango County Fair Queen Facebook.

Updates on the contest were posted throughout the weekend on the Venango County Fair Facebook page including the following message on Sunday: " ... as a fair we want to thank Jaimie for representing us. She was graceful and flawless each step of the way. She has so many ideas that she wants to bring back to our county that she learned from the other queens. Even though she did not bring back the state title, she is still our hometown queen, and forever will be. We are proud of all you have done and will do in the future. We hope the memories you have made this weekend are unforgettable and that there will still be more to be made until you crown the next queen in August."

Watch the PA State Fair Queen broadcast on the group's Facebook page.

Regional play heats up for area hoopsters

Rocky Grove falls to Kennedy Catholic in their opening game of Region 1 play.

Franklin defeated Titusville handily to improve to 2-0 in Region 6 while the Rockets fall to 0-2.

Click on the pictures to read more about the games and to see additional photos.

Also this week: Oil City hosted Titusville and the Rocky Grove girls hosted Youngsville.

Poets contrary to bigotry met in Franklin

Poets Against Racism USA combined with other poets brought their message to Franklin Saturday. The poets offered readings and information about the battle against hate in society.

For more information click here or on the photograph itself.

News From You: Celebration of Talent Announces Feb. 4 Lineup

There will be some familiar faces and a few new ones on the stage next month as the Barrow-Civic Theatre and the Franklin Rotary Club present the 6th Annual Celebration of Talent Competition at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 4.

This year’s contestants are Stefon Austin, Kaleb Beichner, Kayla Christine, Tim Craver, Ethan Culp, Bellina Devine, Kachina Earhart, Wild Will Ion, Alexander Karg, Megan Orris, Almost Famous (Luke Pentz) and Madison Wakefield.

Read more about the event by clicking here.

In other News From You:
There are a couple scholarship opportunities for young adults wanting to go to college, a Starlight Run Jeep event to benefit Two Mile Run County Park and your hands could be helping hands with a neat art project. Click here for all these stories and more.

Cranberry takes trophy, Franklin records individual wins at tourney

Congrats to Cranberry who recorded six first-place finishes on their way to winning the Howland Wrestling tournament.

Franklin grapplers Cael Dailey and Jonah Heckathorn also stood at the top of the podium during the weekend competition.

Read more about the tournament under the Sports tab or by clicking here.

Also check out the photos and story from Franklin vs. Redbank earlier in the week here.

Did You Know?

Franklin City Council meets the first Monday of each month at 7 p.m. (with the exception of the months of July, September and November, when the council meets the second Monday) in council chambers at Franklin City Hall, 430 13th Street.

There are three city council seats up for re-election in 2023.

Click here for more information.

The Nature of Things examines the gray of winter and taking advantage of the sun when it shows itself

Franklin Retail spotlight of the week

Check out our calendar

This week there are books sales, a guest bartending events for the United Way, Karma Coffee, Puzzle fun, Jazz and learning how to care for old family photos. Click here details and for more.

This Week's Online Front Page: Sports, sports and more sports; EMT shortage, Bluebird sighting, calendar and a lot of new you can use.

1/15/2023

Winter sports season heads into final stretch

The Rocky Grove Orioles played a very controlled four quarters to defeat the visiting Reynolds Raiders 71-40 Tuesday night. Lots of pictures from the win here.

On Friday, they dropped a 70-61 game to West Middlesex. The Orioles who are even on the season at 6-6 hit the road to play Youngsville on Tuesday and have their first Region 1 game at home Friday against Kennedy Catholic.

The Titusville wrestling squad recorded two wins last week. Wednesday they won 57-12 on the road against Youngsville. We were there Friday when they easily defeated Slippery Rock 60-6. Lots of pictures of the match under the Sports tab.

Oil City and Franklin swimming teams met Thursday with the Oilers coming out on top on the boys side 97-71 and on the girls side 96-72. Check out pictures of the action here.

Cranberry fell to North Clarion on Wednesday in a game that went right down to the final seconds.

Titusville Man Named to College Board

Kevin Sprong of Titusville was appointed to the Northern Pennsylvania Regional College’s Board of Trustees during its January meeting.

News From You

EMT Course Starts Soon
An EMT class will run from 6 to 10 p.m. Thursdays for 15 weeks starting Jan. 26 at the Venango Technology Center. Mark Baughman, who teaches protective services classes at the center, is facilitating the class and can be reached at 814-673-0681 or mbaughman@vtc1.org.

Crawford Trail Meeting Planned
An informational meeting about the trails in eastern Crawford County, including the East Branch Trail and Queen City Trail, will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 23 at the Hydetown Volunteer Fire Department social hall.

Scholarship available through PA House
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives Scholarship program annually awards a privately-funded, four-year scholarship to two students preparing for post-secondary education.

This week Anna went for a walk in the sun and blue skies when they presented themselves and caught a glimpse of a bluebird, so she wrote a little about how common or uncommon such sightings are this time of year. Click here to check out this and other posts from our The Nature of Things columnist.

In January, the paintings of DP Warner will continue to be shown at the Meadville Council on the arts, there are opportunities for improv and poetry, Karma Coffee series continues, there is Tai-Chi, Jazz and the last chance for the Liberty Cabaret at the Barrow. Check out these and more things to do coming up on our calendar.

Heads up ball

1/13/2023

Oil City girls had a 49-35 win over visiting Corry Thursday night. Eight & 322 stopped briefly for a couple photos in between assignments.

What a swim meet

1/13/2023

Edited to correct how the meets are scored.

Oil City has depth, but Franklin and OC match up pretty well with the top swimmers. What a swim meet that found the Oilers coming out on top on the boys side 97-71 and on the girls side 96-72. Below are several photos from the tight meet.

Scoring in swim meets are:
1st - 6 points
2nd - 4 points
3rd - 3 points
4th - 2 points
5th - 1 point
6th - 0 points
Relays are scored:
1st - 8 points
2nd - 4 points
3rd - 2 points

More pictures below and even more by clicking here.

PHOTOS: Cranberry Boys basketball vs. North Clarion

1/13/2023

We really liked the action in this photo from the JV game. It reminded us of a classic renaissance grouping of bodies at peak conflict. The rest of the photos are from the varsity game which also had several moments of peak action in battle..

The final school didn't reflect the battle. Needing North Clarion to miss foul shots in the end, which they didn't, Cranberry was within striking distance of winning right to the end. In the end North Clarion, behind a monster game from Aiden Hartle who scored 36 points, took the victory 71-64.

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This Week's Online Front Page: Tool City Tournament; Franklin 'Business of the Week'; Titusville looks back, forward; OC flooding history; Sports

1/8/2023

Tool City Rumble

The Tool City Tournament has a long tradition of boosting wrestlers to the next level. Over the course of two days, several wrestlers got a chance to test their meddle against some top opponents.

Check out the semi-final action photos here and finals action here.

New Ad Feature

In collaboration with the Franklin Retail Association, we will begin having a "Feature Business of the Week."

This is a paid advertisement by the association for its members and we're pleased to be able to help spread the word about the many offerings from businesses in Franklin.

We hope many members take advantage of this new opportunity.

The first "Business of the Week" is Amy's Closet & Sassy's Gifts, which is having at Fill the Bag Sale.

This ad will appear in stories throughout the week. Look for it in the Tool City Wrestling Tournament that involves many communities and has already been shared many times over on social media.

Titusville council looks back and then forward

During the first council meeting of the year, Titusville's manager Neil Fratus gave members a round-up of the many accomplishments made in 2022. The councilors then spoke about some of the things they would like prioritized in 2023. Click here for full story.

ICYMI: Eight & 322 also looked back on 2022 with pictures and stories that had an impact on us.

It was quite a busy week for local sports

We spent the week covering all the major varsity winter sports. Titusville boys and girls swim teams competed against Mercyhurst. We hit the road to catch Rocky Grove. Though the result wasn't what they wanted, they played hard and we were glad we went. Titusville girls also played hard this week but ran into a Sharon buzzsaw.

Franklin and Cochranton grappled at The Castle for a midweek dual meet (pictured above).

And we helped a friend with a look back at the top sports story in Crawford County in 2022.

Click on the photos to check out the stories.

PHOTOS:

Has Eight & 322 taken a photo of a loved one that would make a nice addition to your refrigerator, walls or digital frame? We offer low-cost opportunities to get your own copy of photos here.

Nature of Things strolls by the river and through the now

Nature of Things columnist Anna Applegate put together a look at ice and flooding in Oil City after noting (and photographing) all the ice on the rivers last week.

She also got outside with her favorite walking companions for a trek in the snow and lots of photographs, especially of Sherman, her elder statesman Saint Barnard.

Upcoming calendar highlights

To send us items for our calendar please email us at 8and322@gmail.com

January 12, 19 and 26

KARMA CONCERTS - The December concerts in the Karma series will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. at Billy's on Seneca Street. Performers will be Jan. 12, Acoustic Earle; Jan. 19, Killin Time; and Jan. 26, Tunes in a Bucket. $5 at the door with the proceeds going to the Lyric Restoration Project.

January 14

ENGLISH DIALECT WORKSHOP - Shawn Clerkin will teach a class at 10 a.m. at the Barrow-Civic Theatre in Franklin. The class includes two primary dialects, and tea and crumpets. The cost is $10 and students must be 15 or older.

PIG TOURNAMENT - The Rocky Grove High School basketball teams will host a co-ed PIG tournament from 4 p.m. at the school gym. Doors open at 3:30 p.m. Ages groups are 9 to 11, 12 to 14, 25 to 18 and 19 and older. The cost is $15. Must register in advance. Registration forms available online.

ELKS HOOP SHOOT - The Elks Lodge #264 will hold its traditional hoop shoot at noon at the Titusville YMCA. It is opened to ages 8 to 13. Birth certificates will be required. Registration will open at 11:30 a.m. Lunch will be served prior to the competition.

HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE - Franklin Preservation will hold a Divine Intervention gathering 5 to 9 p.m. at 1 Park Way in Miller Park, Franklin.

January 13, 14, 20 and 21

LIBERTY CABARET - Liberty Cabaret: Soundtrack will hit the Barrow-Civic Little Theatre at 7:30 p.m. with comedy and music inspried by the hits that went from the screen to the stereo. Tickets are $18 (one drink included) with limited seating available. Mature audiences are recommended. Go to barrowtheatre.org to reserve a seat.

View more upcoming events by clicking here.

Today's Online Front Page: Oil City's First Night; Annual frigid splash returns; Pictures of the year; Holiday b-ball tournaments; Franklin mourns tragic loss; Knights retire number 50

12/31/2022

Happy New Year!

First Night says so-long to 2022, hello to 2023

Oil City said so long to 2022 with some last night "First Night" entertainment on both sides of the river. See more photos from the night at http://www.8and322.com/eight--322/photos-first-night-oil-city.

Littlest city makes a big cold splash

An old tradition returned to Parker. A few hundred folks decided the best way to bring in the New Year was to jump in the cold waters of the Allegheny River, perhaps to wash away 2022 and start anew.

See several more photos here.

Billingsley honored before tourney final

Former Franklin High School standout Jody Billingsley's number was retired finally by the district with her family and coach in attendence.

Click the graphic for a look back on 2022 with some of our favorite photos and important moments.

The Franklin school district continues to mourn the loss of 15-year-old Madison Johnson, who passed away after a car crash. The community rallied to help the family, students and 4-Hers struggling with this tragedy.

Holiday tournaments culminated in a buzzer beater in Franklin

Franklin's tourney ended with a final second shot.

Harbor Creek wins the Cranberry tournament.

See lots of sports photos at http://www.8and322.com/sports

Today's Online Front Page: Future of The Movies up in the air; Slow moving train of weather; Taco Bell construction; Runaway deer

12/26/2022

Will Venango lose its only movie theater?

On Friday, The Movies at Cranberry put out on Facebook that it will be closing its doors at the mall unless there is a big enough influx of holiday movie goers over the next couple weeks.

The post said the lease is coming due and the decision whether to renew or not must be made. "So like a great movie, we are searching for a Christmas miracle."

Since opening at the Cranberry Mall in 2007, the theater has showed more than 600 films on five screens, according to the post. "It has been an honor to be a gathering place for (Venango) county ...," the posts states.

If the owners choose to close the doors, it will leave the county without a place to see newly released films. The county at one time had several theaters in Oil City, such as the Latonia and Col. Drake, and Franklin, including the Kayton and Orpheum.

Should the Cranberry theater close, moviegoers will have to add a little gas mileage on to their night out to get up to Cochranton's Motzing Center, The Movies at Meadville in Vernon Township or the AMC at the Clarion Mall.

Currently, The Movies at Cranberry is advertising hours for seven days a week through January 2, 2023. For what is showing and times you can visit themoviesat.com.

"We hope to see you over the holidays to say farewell… or maybe not? We will leave that to you and your ability to spread the word."

The full statement posted on The Movies at Cranberry Facebook page:

Patrons:

It has been a true privilege and pleasure serving you for the past 15 years. When we first opened in 2007, we worked hard to create the best and most comfortable small town theater in America. We have shown over 600 different movies and watched a whole generation of kids grow up to be adults. It has been an honor to be a gathering place for Venago county (sic) and the communities of Oil City and Franklin.

The pandemic was difficult for us through restrictions, closures, and simultaneous film releases to the home. However, through it all, we have made it to the end of our lease. Our hope in getting to this day was that our loyal customers would come back and give us the opportunity to stay, but business levels have not returned to pre-pandemic levels, and at this point we do not have the visits needed to keep the doors open.

We are hoping that people come out in droves over the next two weeks to have the finances to POSSIBLY extend our lease into 2023 and beyond. So like a great movie, we are searching for a Christmas miracle. We hope to see you over the holidays to say farewell…or maybe not? We will leave that to you and your ability to spread the word.

Sincerely,
The Team at The Movies at Cranberry

Inching closer to tacos in Titusville

Even though Christmas was being observed with an extra day off Monday, framers were hard at work in the cold constructing walls for the future Taco Bell in Titusville.

We happened upon some deer along the road and slowly inched up closer. And grabbed a few shots along the way. Click on photo to see more pictures.

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Warm up is on the way

The National Weather Service seven-day forecast indicates temperatures are on the rise. Tuesday is expected to peak near 30 degrees and it is expected to just get warmer from there. Wednesday should get into the 40s and may get as high as 50 by Friday.

Today's Online Front Page: Festive activites; Lots of sports contests and annoucements; Community remembers passing of impactful members

12/22/2022

Our "The Nature of Things" columnist had some fun making a few animal holiday dress-up photos with her favorite subjects - her pets. Check out all the fun, including a goat with a Santa hat and more here.

Happy Christmas

Was Santa in Franklin for a candlelight service on Christmas Eve before heading out on his annual route to deliver toys around the world? Check out our documenting of the First United Methodist Church's annual traditional candlelight service here.

This was a very full week

Saullo is Elf on a Shelf

The Valley Grove Elementary School principal surprised his students by dressing up as the Elf on a Shelf for their last day before the holiday break.

The school also held its annual fun school-wide obstacle course. Let's just say it wasn't a quiet day out in Sugarcreek. See a lot more photos by clicking here.

Jones named Citizen of the Year

The Venango Area Chamber of Commerce named Franklin resident and Oil City grad Denise Jones its 2023 Citizen of the year.

Click here to read about her many accomplishments the led to this honor.

CAUTION on the roadways this season

A wicked cold blast came roaring in providing this area with a white but freezing Christmas causing state officials to issue travel speed restrictions and urge caution.

Click here for several tips to travel safely on the roadways this winter. Also, get links to a means to make your traveling smoother year round.

Lyric Theatre fundraiser announces January lineup.

Click poster for more.

Franklin School board heard several announcements

At Franklin Area School District's final board meeting of the year, they were updated on the Honorable Knights program, a partnership with the YMCA towards a healthier staff and how one educator might help shape the future of education as part of Governor-elect Josh Shapiro's transition team.

Byham lands PAC 12 job

Former Franklin and Pitt football star Nate Byham learned this week that he got the tight end coaching job at Stanford University. Our friends at Route 8 Rivalry and YDL D9 and 10 sports reported it early, so we linked to their coverage as we also announced.

Read more about Byham's career and job at the links provided here.

FHS junior placekicker gets invited to national camp

Nate Pfennigwerth's skills were impressive enough to get invited to kickers' camp in Florida next month.

See more photos here as well as a link to a story on Route 8 Rivalry page.

Franklin's art effort raises a little over a grand

The Franklin Area High School art department is trying to establish a legacy art culture. They held a sale before the senior high holiday to raise money to purchase a work of art for its permanent collection.

Their goal is to have $2,000 to put toward the purchase and they raised a little more than half. Learn how you can enter a piece or help the department raise more funds by clicking this link.

SPORTS

Franklin and Titusville boys basketball teams head into the holidays with big wins. Titusville swimming split a tight one at home. Check out many photos from each by clicking on the pictures above over visit our sports section in the main menu.

Eight & 322 Remembers

We wrote about losing two from our community this week that have touched us at Eight & 322. You can read the column we wrote here about two of our losses.

Since then we also lost a former local newspaper editor and consulate historian. Caralee Michener has been a fixture at the Venango County Historical Society for many years. Her knowledge of the area and interest in research made her one of the county's greatest assets for information. She will be missed.

Rocky Grove and Franklin held holiday concerts

Click on photos above for more even photos from each show.