Members of the community who are interested in providing input into the search for a new superintendent for the Northgate School District are invited and encouraged to attend a focus group meeting.

Joseph Werlinich of the University of Pittsburgh is conducting the search and will meet at 7 p.m. with interested community members on Monday, Jan. 30, in the Avalon Elementary auditorium, and at 7 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 6, in the Bellevue Elementary auditorium.

Also, a survey is available on the district’s web site, www.northgate.k12.pa.us, until Feb. 17.

For far too many of us, Monday, Jan. 16, will be, at best, just another day off work or school. Few of us will stop to really think about the man who is honored on that day, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

In reality, this world would be a far better place if all of us stopped for a bit and really thought about Dr. King, about the role race plays in the way we think and respond, about the horrifying events that unfolded not centuries ago, but in our lifetimes.

The new year provides us with the perfect opportunity to clean house, so to speak, in all aspects of life. The new year coinciding with the installation of new government officials just reinforces our learned tendency to make the new year a time of dramatic change.

We need to be careful, however, that the "junk" we're throwing out isn't the critical piece of an important item, or a rare collectible that will enrich us all.

Avonworth High School teacher Breanna Maisner (pictured here at left) and juniors Sean Harpst and Alexa Valenta were among more than 1,000 Pittsburghers who took part in the “Polar Plunge” last Sunday morning to raise funds for Special Olympics.With temperatures just above 30 degrees, the participants jumped into the Ohio River on the North Shore. The two students raised more than $700 in pledges for Special Olympics.

Northgate quarterback Jon Girvin looks past Joden Rocco (No. 8) for a receiver during the Flames’ first playoff appearance in years last Friday night. Unfortunately, the Flames took on Beaver County powerhouse Rochester and lost 48-22, but not before Girvin threw for 200 yards to bring his season total to more than 2,000 yards.

Avonworth High School’s 2011 homecoming queen is Alison Chambers, pictured above at right just after being crowned by 2010 queen Liz Grambo, at left. The homecoming court included Mikell Schlumpf, Julianne Hirsch, Stephanie Klesic, Jennifer Bezilla and Lauren Mayernik. The queen and her court were announced during pre-game festivities at last Friday night’s football game.

Order an 8x10 print of this photo. Call us at 412-766-6679 or e-mail the.citizen@verizon.net.

Despite the miserable weather conditions, both local varsity football teams had excellent games on the road last Saturday afternoon. Northgate shut down Wilkinsburg 31-0, and, pictured above, a mud-covered Avonworth running back Ricky Lawniczak leaps over a teammate in the Antelopes' 26-0 win over Riverview.

Both schools celebrate homecoming tonight, with Avonworth taking on section contender North Catholic, and Northgate hosting Leechburg.

Order an 8x10 print of this photo for only $15 (plus tax and shipping, if necessary) To order, call 412-766-6679 or e-mail the.citizen@verizon.net.

The new attitude of the Northgate football program was apparent following last Friday's season-opening win against OLSH, when new head coach T.J. Wiley sent his players into the stands after the game to thank their parents and fans for supporting them.

"School's out for summer!" Alice Cooper sang decades ago, with the lyric becoming a timeless paean for school kids of all ages. However, there have been some exceptions of late, two of them being found among Avonworth middle and high school students and teachers, who happily and voluntarily traded in vacation time for learning time.

Bellevue Elementary second graders in teacher Lynn Tennant Heffley’s class led the way in a school-wide coin collection to benefit the Bellevue Dog Woods, an off-leash dog park being built with private funds in Bellevue’s Memorial Park. In one week, the school raised nearly $800, with the second graders pictured here bringing in a heavy 30.8 lbs. of coins to lead the primary grades and the entire school. In the upper grades, two fourth grade classrooms -- taught by Gail Bernauer and Wendy Santelli -- tied with 17.8 lbs. collected by each.

By late fall, Classic Chevrolet in Bellevue will be offering area residents the opportunity to drive -- and buy -- the new Chevy Volt, a completely electric vehicle named “Car of the Year” for 2011 by Motortrend magazine. Unlike hybrid vehicles currently on the market, the Volt can operate completely on electricity.