News

LWV Distributes Facts for Citizens 2017

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The League of Women Voters of Washington County is distributing the newest edition of its popular free print publication, Facts for Citizens. The brochures are available in municipal offices, public libraries, and the Washington County Department of Elections. The information is also available on the League’s website at washingcountypalwv.org.

For many years the League has published Facts for Citizens to encourage informed and active participation in government. While the internet makes finding details about some levels of government easier now than it was in the past, current local government information can still be difficult to track down, especially for some of the county’s smaller municipalities.

Facts for Citizens 2017 provides meeting times and contact information (addresses, phone and fax numbers, and email and web addresses when available) for the county’s 66 municipalities and 14 school districts as well as contact information for county, state and federal officials. Elected board members and term expiration dates are included.The conveniently-sized brochures are published in ten different regional editions, each with a contiguous group of municipalities and the school districts that serve them. County residents should look for the edition that covers their municipality and school district.

The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan, political organization which encourages informed and active participation in government and influences public policy through education and advocacy. Membership is open to men and women. Local League activities are carried out entirely by volunteers. The Facts for Citizens publications are funded by the League of Women Voters Education Fund, the Observer Publishing Company, and Masters Ink.

For more information about Facts for Citizens, email lwvwashingtoncounty@gmail.com or call the project manager at 724.344.3464.

New and Notable in Non-Fiction

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Mary Kipling and her crew from our Tech Services Department have added several new books to the non-fiction collection. The books are located on the 1st floor on the New Books shelves. If a book is already checked out, you can select the Place Request button in the library catalog or ask the Circulation Desk staff to place a reserve request on any title you are interested in.

The new books include:

Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy, by Heather Ann Thompson (Pulitzer Prize, History, 2017)

The Return: Fathers, Sons and the Land in Between, by Hisham Matar (Pulitzer Prize, Biography/Autobiography, 2017)

Climate of Hope: How Cities, Businesses and Citizens can Save the Planet, by Michael Bloomberg and Carl Pope

Cork Dork: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for Taste, by Bianca Bosker

The Death and Life of the Great Lakes, by Dan Egan

The Evangelicals: The Struggle to Shape America, by Frances Fitzgerald

Food Fights & Culture Wars: A Secret History of Taste, by Tom Nealon

A Great Place to Have a War: America in Laos and the Birth of a Military CIA, by Joshua Kurlantzick

Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI, by David Grann

To Be a Machine: Adventures Among Cyborgs, Utopians, Hackers, and the Futurists Solving the Modest Problem of Death, by Mark O’Connell

Why Time Flies: A Mostly Scientific Investigation, by Alan Burdick

Wild Nights: How Taming Sleep Created Our Restless World, by Benjamin Reiss

Money for College

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As part of our Thinking Money programming in April, we will be offering Money for College on Saturday, April 29 from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. Register online or call 724.941.9430 #1.

Positioning your child to be a prime candidate for scholarship money for college can start as early as 4th grade! At Money for College, Rebecca Bowman will show parents how to take advantage of opportunities to “find” money. She will look at the significance of building a student resume and keeping records, the importance of having a disciplined plan, and the power of building a portfolio.

Rebecca Bowman is a McMurray business owner whose children attended the Peters Township School District, college, and graduate school. She is both a professional civil engineer and an attorney, currently serving on both the Construction Appeals Board and the Peters Township School Board. She lectures internationally and is a published author.

Celebrate National Library Week Apr 9-15

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Beginning April 9, the Peters Township Public Library joins libraries across Pennsylvania and libraries in schools, campuses and communities nationwide in celebrating the many ways libraries are transforming their communities every day through the services and invaluable expertise they offer.

April 9-15 is National Library Week, a time to highlight the changing role of libraries, librarians and library workers.  Libraries aren’t only a place of quiet study, but also creative and engaging community centers where people can collaborate using new technologies, learn how to use a 3D printer or even record their own music.

Libraries of all types are evolving to meet the needs of the communities they serve. Elected officials, small business owners, students and the public at large depend upon libraries and the resources they offer to address the needs of their communities. By providing such resources as e-books and technology classes, materials for English-language learners, programs for job seekers or a safe haven in times of crisis, libraries and librarians transform their communities.

“The library embraces the entire community, offering unlimited opportunities for personal growth and lifelong learning,” said Library Director Myra Oleynik. “Libraries level the playing field for people of any age who are seeking the information and access to technologies that will improve their quality of life.”

Libraries also offer something unique to their communities, the expertise of individual librarians. Librarians assist patrons in using increasingly complex technology and sorting through the potentially overwhelming mass of information bombarding today’s digital society. This is especially crucial when access to reliable and trustworthy data is more important than ever.

Visit the Peters Township Public Library and see how libraries transform!

Thinking Money traveling exhibition!

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Peters Township Public Library will host Thinking Money, a new traveling exhibition designed to teach tweens, teens and the adults in their lives about money, from Saturday, April 1 through Sunday, April 30. The public is also invited to attend a variety of programs for all ages about financial topics like saving, spending and avoiding fraud.

“Money affects all of us, but many of us lack the information we need to make smart decisions about our financial futures,” said Sue Miller, Assistant Library Director. “Thinking Money is designed to teach us about financial literacy in a way that is not only understandable, but fun, and we’re proud to bring it to our library – the only one in Pennsylvania!”

Through an adventure-themed storyline, interactive iPad content and other fun activities, Thinking Money explores themes like wants vs. needs, preparing for a rainy/sunny day, imagining your future self and avoiding financial fraud.

Programs will include:

  • Thinking Money Kick-off Financial Fair for all ages on Saturday, April 1 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
  • JA More Than Money for grades 3 through 5 on five Mondays, April 3, 10, 24 and May 1 and 8 from 4 to 4:45 p.m.
  • Youth Financial Education Workshop for ages 13 and up on four Thursdays, April 6, 13, 20 and 27 from 7 to 8:00 p.m.
  • Achieving Financial Excellence for adults on Saturday, April 22 from 10:00 a.m. to 12 noon – CANCELED by the instructor from NeighborWorks Western Pennsylvania
  • Junior Jumpstarts for students in grades 9 to 12 and parents on Tuesday, April 11 from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.
  • Financial Fraud Bingo for adults on Tuesday, April 25 from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m.
  • Money for College for adults on Saturday, April 29 from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m.

Admission to the exhibition, which will be located in main lobby of the library, and all programs are free of charge.

Thinking Money was created by the American Library Association (ALA) in partnership with the FINRA Investor Education Foundation.

In April 2016, ALA and the FINRA Foundation announced 50 libraries nationwide to host the 1,000-square-foot exhibition. In addition to the exhibition loan, the Peters Township Public Library also received a $1,000 programming allowance, expenses paid for a training session at the 2016 ALA Annual Conference in June 2016, and promotional and support materials.

This Financial Literacy program is offered as part of the Pennsylvania Library Association’s statewide initiative, PA Forward, to demonstrate that libraries can help citizens become informed consumers and guide individuals, small businesses, and other organizations to contribute to the economic vitality of their communities. Learn more at www.paforward.org.

A Family’s Courageous Battle with Alzheimer’s

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Walk into a shopping mall. A crowded theater. A sporting event. An amusement park. As your eyes scan the crowd, you are looking at someone – in fact, probably several people – whose lives are forever changed by Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. It is the only cause of death in the top 10 without any way to stop it or even slow it down.

The Inheritance: A Family on the Front Lines of the Battle Against Alzheimer’s Disease follows the DeMoe family’s courageous journey into Alzheimer’s research as well as the dramatic history of the disease, one of the great medical mysteries of our time. The library will welcome Niki Kapsambelis, author of The Inheritance, on Tuesday, April 4 at 7:00 p.m. Registration for this program is closed. This program is filled. A book signing will follow the program. Read the Pitttsburgh Post-Gazette front page article about the book and the DeMoe family.

The DeMoe family of Tioga, North Dakota, has the most devastating form of the disease: an inherited genetic mutation that causes the disease in virtually 100 percent of all cases, striking its victims in their 40s, killing them in their 50s. Even more sobering is that a person who has the mutation carries a 50 percent chance of passing it on to their children.

Rather than give up in the face of such news, when the DeMoes learned what was happening to them, they agreed to spend their precious, abbreviated years as part of a worldwide study that seeks to find a successful treatment for Alzheimer’s by 2025. Multiple generations of the family are participating in the study, which is now testing experimental prevention drugs. If successful, these drugs have the potential to avert an international pandemic.

Two members of the DeMoe family will appear at the library event to speak about their experiences. They are Robin McIntyre, 33, and her sister Jessica, 36. Their mother, Lori (DeMoe) McIntyre, died from Alzheimer’s in February 2016 at the age of 57. Before she died, Lori was a key contributor to The Inheritance.

Robin, who now lives in Laramie, Wyoming, learned at the age of 29 that she has the Alzheimer’s mutation. She is currently enrolled in a trial testing an experimental drug designed to prevent the disease.

Jessica, who lives in Denver, Colorado, tested negative for the mutation. She has made a pact with her sister to support her in her fight against Alzheimer’s and raise awareness for the disease that took their mother.

This Health Literacy program is offered by the library as part of the Pennsylvania Library Association’s statewide initiative, PA Forward, to demonstrate that libraries can play an important role in helping citizens manage their own and their family’s well-being, and empower them to be effective partners with their healthcare providers so they can live longer, more productive lives.

This program is brought to you through generous funding by Washington Financial Bank.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Niki Kapsambelis was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. She worked for several years as a newswoman for the Associated Press in New England, Los Angeles, and Pittsburgh. Her work has appeared in publications around the world, including The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and People magazine. She lives in Mt. Lebanon.