Archive for December 18th, 2008

By Michael Divittorio
Daily News Staff Writer

“Bill was always Bill.”

That’s how Munhall council President Bernie Shields began his comments about the late William Davis after a moment of silence at Wednesday night’s council meeting.

Davis, who served for 25 years on Munhall council, died Monday.

“Two months ago he was here,” Shields said. “He told me about something that was on his mind. On the way out the door, he wasn’t feeling real well but he grabbed me by the hand. Sometimes he called me Bernie, sometimes he called me Barney. He gave me the nicest compliment.”

“Bill’s been around longer than I have, or as long as (Mayor Raymond Bodnar),” Councilman John Tichon said. “We came to be good friends … we exchanged pleasantries. We’d have spirited debates on issues that we weren’t always in agreement on.

“One thing about Bill is when the discussion was over, we were still friends. We respected each other’s position, and we continued to be friends.”

[ Full story available at: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20224048&BRD=1282&PAG=461&dept_id=182121&rfi=6 ]

Families come in all shapes and sizes, face numerous challenges and, in the end, sometimes the people who love you the most don’t share any DNA.

Those were the sentiments expressed by some students in the Steel Valley School District in the essays they wrote for a contest sponsored by Green’s Funeral Home in Munhall, “What Family Means to Me.”

One student winner was chosen from each of the district’s four schools, Barrett and Park elementaries and the middle and high schools. Winners had their essays read at a recent school board meeting.

The younger students received $50 Barnes & Noble gift cards, while Ashley Wolford received a $100 check and the chance to have her essay entered into a national competition sponsored by Aurora Casket Co.

When senior Ashley, 17, — who was the winner from the high school — heard about the contest she knew it was her opportunity to pay tribute to her stepmother, Gina Wolford.

“The first thing that came to my mind was that I wanted to tell her how much she means to me,” Ashley said.

[ Full story available at: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08353/935734-55.stm ]