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Attorney James Davis and Judge Nancy Vernon


Judge Nancy Vernon and Attorney Eddy


Judge Nancy Vernon being helped on with her robe by her husband, Rick Vernon


Representatives of Centra Bank presented $50,000 to Penn State Fayette the Eberly Campus for scholarships (from left) Ed Franczyk, Cebtra Bank president; Dr. Mallard George, Centra Bank board member; Chris Cluss, Centra Bank board cahirman; Dr. Emmanuel Osagie, PSU Fayette chancellor; and James davis Centra Bank board vice chairman. John F. Brothers/Herald-Standard


REPUBLIC COMMUNITY LIBRARY GRAND RE-OPENING

SPELL OFF 2009
The annual spelling bee sponsored by Davis & Davis was held on November 24, 2009 at Laurel Highlands High School. There were 4th and 5th grade students from 23 schools in Fayette County participating. The top ten students were:

1. Caleigh Hitchcock, - Grade 5 A. L. Wilson
2. Daniel Babyak - Grade 5 Central School - Frazier
3. Allison Bilohlavek - Grade 5 St. John the Evangelist
4. Christopher Sutton - Grade5 D. Ferd Swaney
5. Miranda Yocabet - Grade 5 Marshall
6. Justin Murphy - Grade 4 Friendship Hill
7. Lindsay Coville - Grade 5 George Plava
8. Ashton Zimcosky - Grade 5 Cox Donahey
9. Kylie Huffman - Grade 5 California Elementary
10. Julia Gaggiani - Grade 5 St. John the Evangelist

The top ten students received cash prizes. All students received gift bags which included t-shirts and certificates. The contest was filmed by HSTV and will air on Channel 19 (Atlantic Broadband).

Judges for this year's contest were Joel Chisler, Owner of Brothers Lazer Service; Sally Bryan, Vice President , Private Banking Centra Bank, and Paul Bortz, Realtor, Coldwell Bank/Laurel Ridge Realty. Master of Ceremonies were Samuel J. Davis, Esquire and Jeremy J. Davis, Esquire. The words were given by Cara C. Davis, Esquire.


Dear Mr. Davis,
I want to thank you greatly for providing the resources to California University of PA's Upward Bound program for the Davis & Davis Scholarship. I was selected as the Davis & Davis Scholarship recipient for the Greene County project. You are helping me accomplish my dreams of graduating college and perhaps even getting my Masters.

I don't know if you know much about me, but I have just recently graduated Waynesburg Central High School (WCHS). I am matriculating to California University of PA in the fall. My intended major is Environmental Sciences. With the awarded scholarship, I plan on making it through college in four years of less if possible. Once again I wish to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the scholarship and helping me on my way to accomplishing my goals.

Thank you,
Sincerely yours,
Kala R. Davis


Three regional leaders join Cal U's Council of Trustees
CALIFORNIA, Pa. (July 27, 2009)…The state Senate has confirmed three new members of California University's Council of Trustees. James T. Davis of Brownsville, Annette D. Ganassi of Champion and Lawrence O. Maggi of Buffalo Township will serve until 2015. They will attend their first quarterly meeting of the Trustees on Sept. 2 at Cal U. - Davis is a Cal U alumnus, Class of 1973, and an attorney with a law degree from Duquesne University. He is a member of the University's Board of Presidential Advisors, an advisory board of experienced leaders who provide informal counsel on strategic issues. Davis received the Cal U Alumni Association's Meritorious Award in 2005 and was the featured speaker at the University's 2006 Commencement ceremonies for graduate students. Since 1996, he and his wife, also a California University graduate, have supported the James T. and Martha E. Davis Scholarship, awarded annually to an academically talented junior from southwestern Pennsylvania. - Ganassi is president of the Ganassi Foundation. She and her husband, Greg Terpin, are the owners of Walmar Enterprises, and she is the former owner of Annette Ganassi GMC Pontiac in Shaler Township, Pa. The dealership was recognized as one of the region's largest women-owned businesses when it was sold in 2004. Since 2003, Ganassi has supported an endowed scholarship for graduates of Monessen Senior High School. She returns to the Council of Trustees after serving a previous term, from 1997 to 2003. - Maggi, who graduated from Cal U in 1979, is chairman of the Washington County Board of Commissioners. A Marine Corps veterans and a retired Pennsylvania state trooper, he served six years as the Washington County sheriff before being elected a county commissioner in 2004. Maggi has been a board member of the Cal U Alumni Association since 2002. He received the association's Professional Excellence Award in 1997 and the University's Medallion of Distinction Award in 2008. He recently established an endowed scholarship that will be awarded annually to a student from Washington County.

Cal U's new trustees replace Kristina B. Bologna, Cheri Lee Bomar and Robert Wetzel, who have completed their terms. The state Senate also reappointed Cal U Trustee Robert J. Irey, who serves as the council's vice chair. An 11-member Council of Trustees governs each of the 14 universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. The state law that created PASSHE outlines a wide range of duties and responsibilities for those trustees. Among other duties, they make recommendations to PASSHE for hiring and evaluating the university president, approve academic programs, and set room and board rates and other student fees. PASSHE is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth, with more than 112,500 students. About 405,000 PASSHE alumni live and work in Pennsylvania.


Fayette Invitational Regional Scrabble Tournament (F.I.R.S.T.) 2009
Hosted by California University of Pennsylvania
Sponsored by Davis & Davis
Coordinated by Lynne Reed of Brownsville Area.
Participating School Districts were Brownsville, Central Green, Frazier, Jefferson Morgan, Ringgold and Bentworth.
Grades 4 through 8. Approximately 40 students participated.


Jeremy Davis presented Garnet Lee Crossland to the Court yesterday to be sworn in to the Fayette County Bar Association
Jeremy Davis presented Garnet Lee Crossland to the Court yesterday to be sworn in to the Fayette County Bar Association. She sat for the Bar Exam in July of this year and passed. Garnet is a former law clerk of ours and now works as a law clerk for Judge Gerald R. Solomon of the Court of Common Pleas of Fayette County.

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Fifth-grader wins Spell Off
By Marilyn Forbes, Daily Courier

Ninety-one young hopefuls filled the stage for the annual Spell Off held this week in the Laurel Highlands High School Auditorium in Uniontown.

Representing six Fayette County School districts, 22 elementary schools participated in the annual contest that is sponsored by Davis & Davis Attorneys at Law from Uniontown. All fourth- and fifth-grade students are eligible.
"We do different things for high school students and for junior high students, but there was nothing for the younger students," said Nadine Reposkey, Davis & Davis office manager and event coordinator. "We do anything that we can to promote education. We also feel that this is a great way to give back to the community."

The contest was started in 1987, but ceased for a few years in the 1990s, only to be restarted and made bigger and better, she added.

Each elementary school is responsible for individual competitions to decide who will represent the school at the Spell Off.

"He really studied hard," Sandy Wilson said of her son, fifth-grade student Len Michaux, representing the Cox-Donahey school in Brownsville. "He would ask me some of the words. We made a game of it."
Wilson is referring to the guide book that lists more than 1,500 words, which is given to each student to study prior to the competition.

"I'm proud of him however he does tonight," Wilson said.

After an introduction of the judges and moderator, 15 rules, used as the guidelines for the competition, were read.

The first round of the 2008 competition began with the word "witness."
Approximately 30 students were eliminated at the end of round two; the remaining 32 lasted a few more rounds.
"This is always fun and exciting," said Joel Chisler, who is judging the event for the third time. "I'm always amazed how good these kids all are."

Round five began with the toughest set of words, but it was round six that brought the number of spellers down to three quickly.

Soon it was only two, and fifth-grade student Alia Leonardo of St. John the Evangelist school in Uniontown stood with confidence as she correctly spelled "reassurance" to take home first place.
Alia Leonardo is the daughter of John and Catherine Leonardo. Her father was in the audience to cheer on the champion.

"She loves this," John Leonardo said. "She worked at this every waking moment."

But Alia Leonardo was not always a spelling champ. She was eliminated quickly in her first competition.

"Last time she did this she was so nervous, she was out the first round," John Leonardo said. "But she's always been smart. She could read and write any three-letter word before she was 2."

The top 10 participants all received a monetary prize for their achievements and all students received certificates and T-shirts.

"We're honored to do this," Sam Davis said. "And every year it gets bigger and bigger. These kids are our future leaders and they are the best and the brightest."