Category — News

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR THE WPSU PRODUCTION OF “OUR TOWN: INDIANA”
Residents invited to help create day-in-the-life public television program

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. (APRIL 13) – Penn State Public Broadcasting has announced that Indiana, Pa will be featured in a future episode of WPSU-TV’s “Our Town” series. The “day-in-the-life” one-hour video scrapbook will capture the people, places and happenings of Indiana County, as seen through the eyes of its residents.

Community members from Indiana County are invited to attend a volunteer planning meeting to learn about the project. The meeting will be held at Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 31. Anyone interested in the production is invited to attend.

At the meeting, local Indiana residents will discuss which landmarks, events and local stories to feature in the upcoming program. WPSU-TV will answer questions about the project during the meeting and ask community members to volunteer as storytellers to do their part to help tell the Indiana story. The volunteer storytellers will work with WPSU-TV to capture video and still photos to feature in the upcoming documentary.

WPSU-TV hopes to recruit 20 to 25 enthusiastic Indiana Countyresidents. There are no restrictions as to age, or experience and no cost to participate, just a willingness to be part of the project. WPSU is recruiting longtime residents and those who recently joined the community to help highlight what makes their town special.

Anyone who is interested in being a videographer and/or storyteller for the program should contact producer Whitney Chirdon at 814-863-6634 or by e-mailing whitney@psu.edu. Additional information about the project can be found online at http://wpsu.org/indiana.

The production date is set for Saturday, June 16. The program will be broadcast on Thursday, August 9 during the station’s spring on-air membership campaign.

As central Pennsylvania’s public television station serving a very large geographic area, the “Our Town” project was developed in an effort to involve the communities and their residents with WPSU-TV. The “Our Town” series is intended to treat viewers to the many personalities, perspectives, and possibilities that local towns have to offer.

“Our Town: Indiana” will be the 67th production in the series. Previous programs have showcased many towns, including Meyersdale, Kane and Mt Jewett, Bedford, Bellwood, Jersey Shore, Bellefonte, Bradford, Johnstown, Huntingdon, Punxsutawney, DuBois, St. Marys, Lewistown, Warren, Windber, and Olean, NY.

Penn State Public Broadcasting serves central Pennsylvania with programming, educational services and community outreach. Its public media services produce, acquire and distribute programs that address local interests and reflect the diverse cultural, political, geographic and demographic characteristics of an audience within central Pennsylvania.

Contact: Whitney Chirdon
814-863-6634
whitney@psu.edu

JUSTIN MOORE RETURNS TO INDIANA TO CELEBRATE 150 YEARS OF THE FAIR

 (Indiana, PA) – Justin Moore is coming back to Indiana to help celebrate the 150 years of the Indiana County Fair.  The Nashville singer-songwriter will be the week’s featured entertainer performing Monday, August 27 at 8 p.m.

 Moore’s recent releases include the #1 “If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away” and the fun single “Bait a Hook”.  Both are from his 2011 sophomore album “Outlaws Like Me” which peaked at #1 on the country album charts.

 The singer, song writer’s musical style is a blend of traditional country and southern rock.  His songs reflect his small town upbringing in Poyen, Arkansas, population 272.  His lyrics describe “the basic but unbendable truths of a place where your word is your bond, elders are respected and bullies are put in their place”. 

Moore’s first local performance was during the 2010 Indiana County Fair.  He is sure to once again connect with the Indiana audience when he sings his first #1 “Smalltown USA” and the top 10 hit “Backwoods” from his self-titled debut album.  Moore’s small town upbringing and play hard, work hard attitude is shared and appreciated by those who attend his high-energy, rocking shows. 

 Tickets for Justin Moore, August 27 are included in the $8 entry fee to the Fair. For more information visit the Indiana County Fair website: www.indianacountyfair.com.

“Take a Book. Return a Book” that is the simple philosophy of the Little Free Library project. Indiana County now has its first Little Free Library at Old Smicksburg Park in Smicksburg Borough (pop. 45). Recently a crew from Indiana County Parks & Trails installed the library box and filled it with its first selections. Everything from fiction, non-fiction to children’s books is included for people to read, take home or share with others.

Several years ago the Indiana Free Library in Indiana Borough conducted a study on improving library services in Indiana County. One finding was the fact that northern Indiana County is not served by a library. While the Little Free Library does not take the place of a real library it does help to encourage people to read and to share their favorite books.

Joan Rittenberger of Indiana, a retired elementary librarian and member of the Indiana Free Library Board, made the county parks staff aware of the Little Free Library project. The Little Free Library project began in Wisconsin and has spread to 30+ states and 20 different countries, according to the website: www.littlefreelibrary.org

There is a new radio show on AM 1160 WCCS! Nick Ruffner is hosting a 2-hour program each day that airs on the station from 8:00 a.m. to 10 a.m. every weekday. Local guests are invited to be on-air for an hour segment. They participate in a one-on-one interview discussion, with Nick, where they converse about a wide variety of topics pertaining to news within and sometimes outside of Indiana County. Executive Director of the Indiana County Tourist Bureau, Penny Perman, appeared as a guest on Thursday, April 26th during the 9:00 a.m. hour. In her interview with Nick, she discussed route 422 advertising with special guests, Jack Cohen from Butler County and JoAnn McBride from Lawrence County who called in during the interview.   The  next scheduled segment, for Penny to be interviewed by Nick, will be May 24, at 9:00 AM.