Jeff and I met years ago on the sidelines of basketball games where he and I both made pictures. Over the years we would talk a lot about photography and life when we saw each other.

We've critiqued each others work, shared slices of pizza and perhaps had a drink or two with suds that kept us talking for even more hours.

These are his photographs and he has posted dozens more on his Facebook page. You can see more here.

I am happy I chose to cover our youth in sports knowing I had people back here covering my back. 

I don't have a problem with games on Memorial Day at all, but I think we need to do better and not schedule them in the morning when we have many who want to take a moment to simply remember, repect and honor those lost and more importantly those living who give of themselves so that we do not forget.

​My rants are over... at least until next year.

(This story was edited to reflect a change in the schedule made after it was posted.)

​Got your lawn chair dusted off? The annual Sounds of Summer Thursday Night Concert Series will be kicking off soon in Bandstand Park. As usual Terri Wittreich and crew will get the summer going with class band sounds and the signature blue shirts of the Silver Cornet Band on June 2.

​Franklin's beloved community band, one of the oldest continuous troupes in the entire country will play seven times in this series line-up, but each week is different and the band's historian/emcee Peter Greene tells different tales each week.

Sprinkled in-between the blue shirt band are several performance of other local artist ranging from Blues local legend Max Schang to more country type bluegrass of the Dempsytown Ramblers. They willl also feature Oil City's version of the Silver Cornets' with Mostly Brass bringing their sound eight miles down the river to cap of the summer series. Granted several players will look familiar who play in both bands.

“One of the best parts of summer is seeing Bandstand Park packed with people enjoying music and fellowship with each other,” said Ronnie Beith, Franklin events coordinator. “This year’s Thursday night schedule features some longtime favorites as well as a few new acts. And the music varies from traditional march tunes to country to jazz to rock and roll.”

The schedule includes the following:

• June 2 – Franklin Silver Cornet Band
• June 9 – Pine Valley Boys
• June 16 – Franklin Silver Cornet Band
• June 23 – Key Factor (Mark DeWalt and Friends)
• June 30 and July 7 – Franklin Silver Cornet Band
• July 14 – Max Schang Band
• July 21 – Franklin Silver Cornet Band
• July 28 – Brandon-Rae Band
• August 4 – Franklin Silver Cornet Band (166th-anniversary concert)
• August 11 – Coversome (Randy Moorehead and Logan McMahon)
• August 18 – Franklin Silver Cornet Band
• August 25 – Mostly Brass Band​

"The Franklin High School Black Knight Marching Band will proudly represent the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania during the 2022 National Memorial Day Parade in Washington, D.C.," band director Steve Johnston said in a press release. The parade is scheduled for 2 p.m. Monday, May 30. It will be livestreamed on musiccelebrations.com/2022-nmdp. 

The release urges everyone to check local listings for the national broadcast.

​"The Pride of Pennsylvania," as Johnston exclaims every time he introduces the marching band, has performed in some pretty big events over that last 22 years including the 1998 National Independence Day Parade; the 2000 and 2003 National Cherry Blossom Festival Parades; the 2006 Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival Parade; and the 2008, 2010, 2013, 2015 and 2018 National Memorial Day Parades in Washington, D.C. The school band was also honored to welcome President George W. Bush to Erie in 2000.

They have also performed on multiple occasions during Steelers and Pirates games, including the 2015 AFC Wild-card game.

While in Washington, D.C., the students will spend Memorial Day weekend exploring many of the major memorials, government buildings and Smithsonian Museum among other places.

"The outpouring of generosity and support of the local community has helped students of the Franklin High School Black Knight Marching Band raise over $50,000 to enjoy this experience of a lifetime," Johnston said in the release.

Lots of ways to be careful on the road and in construction zones

PennDOT urges motorists to slow down when driving in work zones, and also to be alert to changing conditions, avoid distractions and to pay attention to signs and flaggers. Drive responsibly in work zones for your safety and the safety of the workers.

Motorists can check conditions on major roadways by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and access to more than 1,000 traffic cameras.

511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional Twitter alerts accessible on the 511PA website.
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Subscribe to PennDOT news and traffic alerts in Crawford, Erie, Forest, Mercer, Venango, and Warren counties atwww.penndot.pa.gov/District1.

Information about infrastructure in District 1, including completed work and significant projects, is available atwww.penndot.pa.gov/D1Results. Find PennDOT’s planned and active construction projects at www.projects.penndot.pa.gov.

Follow local PennDOT news on Twitter and like the department on Facebook.
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Kids in kindergarten through eighth grade who want to learn what it takes to be a cheerleader can participate in the annual (brought back to life last year) Little Knight Cheer Camp.

Franklin varsity cheer coach Amanda Lewis said it doesn't matter what school district your child is from, all are welcome. The registration deadline is July 8 for the camp that will be held August 1 to 3. They plan to meet on the Franklin High School track from 8 a.m to noon on those days.

The cost is $25 and includes a camp T-shirt.

Scan the QR code on the poster below Or click here for registration forms and for more information.

​Lex Munneke-Corbett is a four-year-old boy living in England with an extremely rare rapidly degenerative muscle-wasting disease known as Spinal Muscular Atrophy with Respiratory Distress or SMARD1. 
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​SMARD1 affects the motor neurons in the spinal cord, meaning that patients rapidly lose the ability to walk, sit, stand, or move much at all.

Lex 's doctors said he wouldn't likely live past two. His parents fought for him and though he needs machines to keep him alive, he has lived two and half years longer than expected.
Many of Lex's doctors have said there isn't a cure and seem to paint a grim picture for Lex's parents.

There does appear to be some hope on the horizon however, if Lex can get on a medical flight, a costly ambulance in the air where someone in need of constant medical monitoring can be cared for as needed. The total cost is around $250,000 from London to Columbus Ohio where a clinical trial for SMARD1 is being conducted.

What does this have to do with Northwest Pennsylvania?

Lex is the grandson of former Crawford County commissioner Kerry Corbett and his wife Sandi, a long-time music teacher in the Crawford Central School district. His mom is Jennifer Corbett who was a district champion discus champion and graduated from MASH in 1997.

Several area teachers, former colleagues of Sandi are trying to help spread the word of a fundraiser to help their old friend's family in a time of need.

It's been a rough couple years.

"We had no idea until he stopped breathing in his mother’s arms one morning when he was 14 months old," wrote Sandi Corbett last week. "He suffered 4 heart attacks and a stroke. Luckily with CPR and a fast ambulance response, Lex lived. We spent the next 8 months fighting a hospital that only wanted to end his life. Eventually, we won, and Lex has been safe and (VERY) happy at home for over 2 years now. We were told that there was no way he would live past 2, and he is currently almost 4.5 years old and going strong. We were told that there was no hope for any treatment or cure - one doctor even laughed in our faces when we told them about potential gene therapy in the US."

In October 2021, clinical trials for Lex's gene therapy were announced at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. It is a three year study requiring several trip back and forth from the hospital. "We realized the only way to save Lex was to move there," Jennifer wrote. She and her husband, Jacob Munneke, have already secured jobs in Ohio and Lex is enrolled in the study.

They just need to get him here.

"Lex is extremely fragile and needs so many machines, including a ventilator that breathes for him via a tracheostomy, " Jennifer said so just hopping on a plane isn't an option. A couple different fundraising sites have been set up that also deal with the currency conversions from U.S. currency to British pounds.

"[We] started fundraising like crazy. We need so much money. Since we are in a different country, no one really cares about Lex here. That's why we are reaching out to my hometown in Meadville. Because there are only about 60 cases of SMARD known, there will never be another place or time that Lex can receive gene therapy and without it, the disease will surely progress and we will lose him in the next few years." 

A link to Lex's US fundraiser can be found here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-little-lex-usa
Because the family lives in the UK and Lex's dad is Dutch, there are fundraisers in two other currencies. The master link to all the fundraisers is here: https://linktr.ee/savelittlelex
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A Zoom BINGO fundraiser is planned to help raise additional funds. Register online by visiting  www.meadvillelions.com to order Bingo packets that will be mailed to you.  The Bingo game is scheduled for 7 p.m. May 26.

" Lex is a really special little guy and we appreciate all the help we can get to bring him home to the US for treatment," said Jennifer, whose grandmother, Mabel Giles, still lives in Meadville at 96 years of age.

​The family hopes to be in the U.s. bu July 17, 10 days before Lex's first scheduled appointment with the doctors at Nationwide.

"He is our whole world and we will do anything for him," Jennifer said. "He is a ball of joy, who makes everyone he meets smile. He is the definition of hope."

The Oil Region Alliance celebrated National Travel and Tourism Week May 1 to 7 by joining nine other western Pennsylvania counties to give away $100 prize packages highlighting amenities and tourism destinations.

Dozens of people signed up for Venango County’s drawing through a link on the ORA’s website and social media pages making them eligible for prizes from Beaver, Butler, Crawford, Erie, Indiana, and Lawrence counties as well as Fayette, Somerset, and Westmoreland counties, All these counties make up  the GO Laurel Highlands region.

Seven oil region folks will have $100 to travel and spend in another county while Venango will see around 10 new faces too as result of this effort.

“This was a great opportunity to spotlight several of the Oil Region’s premiere destinations to our tourism counterparts as well as the general public,” said Emily Altomare, ORA Communications and Tourism Manager. “I look forward to participating in this National Travel and Tourism Week event annually and working to grow it every year with our neighboring counties.”
 
Prizes representing Venango County included gift certificates to Barrow Civic Theatre, Bella Cucina, Benjamin’s Roadhouse, TrAils to Ales, Olive Vault, DeBence Antique Music World, Venango Museum, Core Goods, Karma Coffee, Transit Art Gallery & Gifts, Drake Well Museum & Park, Cross Creek Resort, and Emlenton Brew Haus. 
 
Altomare encourages all to stay tuned to the ORA for more information on future National Travel and Tourism Week events, which will take place the first week of May.

In connection with Franklin’s 4th of July week of festivities, the Franklin Fine Arts Council is sponsoring a writing contest for youth inspired by this year’s parade theme “Red, White and YOU.”
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Students should answer the question “How can I be the ‘YOU’ in Community?” with an original written piece that meets the word limit provided for each age group – Grades 3 to 5, 40 to 60 words; Grades 6 to 8, 75 to 150 words; and Grades 9 to 12, 300 to 500 words.

It is open to any youth who lives in the Franklin and Valley Grove school district service areas.

Entries can be submitted in groups by school officials or teachers or individually through a parent or guardian. 
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Entries can be handwritten or submitted electronically and may include original artwork along with words. Authors are encouraged to be creative with their answers, which may be submitted in any written form, including descriptive essays, poetry, or short story. Click here for full contest rules.

All entries must be the original words of the author.

​Registration is open online as the Ten Miles 4 Two Mile Jeep Run returns to the county park on July 16 and 17.

​The event, which is sponsored by the Oil Valley Jeeps Club, offers two five-mile wood trails for drivers with "mildly modified" Jeeps as well as a 10-mile scenic trail for the less adventurous Jeep enthusiasts. Drivers must be at least 18 years old and Jeeps are required to the "road legal."

This is the only time of the year motor vehicles will be permitted to off-road ride within Two Mile Run County Park. All Jeeps must be part of an official guided tour group to use the trails.