John Last

6 days ago | erienewsnow.com | John Last

I'm at the Hessel Valley Lutheran Church in the community of Chandlers Valley in Warren County. This is a small church in a small rural area. I want to find out why the King of Sweden came here almost 50 years ago. Longtime church member Verne Ekdahl is giving me a tour. He tells me that the Hessel Valley Lutheran Church was founded in 1854 as a place for Swedish immigrants to worship. He says a Swedish couple who first arrived here from Buffalo urged others to follow.

1 week ago | erienewsnow.com | John Last

I'm a sports fan and I'm always amazed how the addition of a new coach brings excitement and vitality to a team. That's what's happening with the Meadville Figure Skating Club. The revitalization of the figure skating club began in August of last year with the hiring of Daniel Smith. I’m visiting with Daniel on the ice at the Meadville Area Recreation Complex. (MARC) Daniel began skating at the MARC as a kid in the early 1980's.

1 week ago | erienewsnow.com | John Last

When I think about the history of West Erie County, I think of Dan Rice, the famous circus clown and entertainer from the 1800s. There's references to him all over Girard. But, I recently learned that Abraham Lincoln made a train stop down the road in Lake City in 1861. However, there's nothing there to commemorate the occasion. Nathan Koble is doing something about that. He grew up in Lake City. He learned as a child about Lincoln's train stop in town on February 16, 1861.

2 weeks ago | erienewsnow.com | John Last

I’m visiting the headquarters of the Youngsville Borough Police Department in Warren County. Todd Mineweaser has been a member of the department for 25 years. 18 years as chief. For some people in town, he's the only chief they've ever known. Chief Mineweaser grew up in this small town of about 1600 people. He loves it here and loves being the police chief. It's the only job he would ever want. The mayor, borough manager, and borough council are happy he's here.

2 weeks ago | erienewsnow.com | John Last

I’ve never worn a virtual reality (VR) headset before. They are used all the time by students at the VAR Lab at Penn State Behrend. I’m visiting the lab because there are two people here who will be wearing these VR headsets a lot. They are trying to get their names in the Guinness Book of World Records. Chris Shelton is the founder of the Virtual Augmented Reality Lab, or VAR Lab for short. Lauren Cass is a Behrend student who has been working at the lab for four years.