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Unified Bocce 

Posted on by gshslionsdenadmin

By: Quinn Isenberg 

 The winter sports line up is welcoming Unified Bocce as an exciting new option for athletes at GS.  

While the sport is new, it won’t be completely unfamiliar to students as it shares a lot of properties found in lawn games. 

“Bocce is an Italian game similar to horseshoes or cornhole,” Athletic Director Mr. Drake D’Angelo said. “You’re trying to get to a point, which is called the pallina. Then there’s two sets of four balls that you try to roll closest to that target.”   

Bocce is growing in popularity and GS has joined numerous other schools in the county in helping Bocce grow by starting a team.  

“The last district I taught at had bocce and it was not available here, and Mr. D’Angelo reached out to us about starting the program,” Unified Bocce coach Mrs. Christen Negich said. “I thought it would be a good program for our students.”  

Bocce at GS will be a Unified Sport, meaning it is a program sponsored by the Special Olympics in which students in special education programs will team up with students in general education programs on a single team. Unified Sports bring a lot of benefits to a school district.  

“It helps with inclusion, general education students becoming more understanding of our students that have disabilities and creating a good relationship between those students,” Mrs. Negich said.  

Those involved with the sport hope it will highlight the capabilities of the special education students at GS.  

Players listen to instructions while watching the demonstration.

Photo by: Quinn Isenberg

“It will get them out in front of the regular education population to showcase what skills they do have because a lot of times they’re not seen or heard, so this will help them be seen and heard in a positive manner,” she said.  

Due to the nature of Unified Sports, it is typical for at least one of the coaches of a Unified team to be a teacher with a background in special education. At GS both Unified Bocce coaches, Mrs. Kathryn Cutia and Mrs. Negich, have experience in this field.  

The coaches encourage students to make time to show up at games and give the athletes their support.  

“I would love to have people come and cheer on our team at the Bocce game because they’re a lot of fun and it feels really good to have the support of your classmates,” Mrs. Cutia said.  

The Unified Bocce season will be easy to follow for students looking to support the team.  

“We only have five games this season, so we’ll have three away games, and they’re all in the area no more than 45 minutes away, and then we have two home games,” she said.   

The odds are in the GS Unified Bocce team’s favor as the team has very dedicated and experienced players under its belt. 

“I’ve played about seven years, and this will be my eighth,” junior Janaya Thomas said.  

With the sport beginning, those involved are hoping for a bright future for Bocce at GS.  

“It would be awesome if we made it to state, but I would just love to see the school getting excited about Bocce the same way everybody does for other sports,” Mrs. Cutia said.  

Greensburg Active Transportation Plan

Posted on by gshslionsdenadmin

by: Kerrick Shaw 

Greensburg City Council approved an Active Transportation Plan blueprint to help improve safety within the city.   

On September 9, the Active Transportation Plan was approved for development by City Council. The plan will provide a road map for funding and implementing projects to remove any physical barriers that prevent pedestrians from safely walking, biking or using any mobility aid to get from place to place.  

The city put out an interactive map, provided by the Southwest Pennsylvania Commission, and surveys for citizens to participate in. Pins could be stuck on specific locations of the online map that the community believed needed improvement. 

“There were so many great suggestions from the public for this Active Transportation Plan,” Director of Planning and Development for the city of Greensburg Alec Italiano said. “Some specific suggestions we received concerned traversing through the two main railroad tunnels in town. We took that into consideration when prioritizing the final projects for this study.” 

College Avenue Railroad Tunnel.

Photo by: Kerrick Shaw

 WalkWorks funded the plan with a $20,000 grant, and it was prepared by Gibson-Thomas Engineering.  

WalkWorks is an initiative between the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Pennsylvania Downtown Center that provides funding to Active Transportation Plans to increase the opportunity for safe, accessible and active routes in communities.  

“The most important aspect of the plan was to gather information from the citizens and the City Administration on what projects were needed for the city,” Gibson-Thomas Project Manager Mark Szewcow said.  

Italiano and Szewcow worked together, along with an assisting staff, to establish a budget, schedule and the final product. Szewcow was responsible for all quality control, project budgets and deadlines. 

“I think people will be inclined to walk more; it’s going to be good for people in general,” senior Ryan Ashley said. “Some sidewalks throughout the city need upgrading, with the overgrowth and damage; some crosswalks need to be a lot safer, too.” 

Five priority projects were identified by the City Council with 34 total, all of which had their cost, complexity and timeframe determined as well.  

The priority projects include implementing safe crossings on Tunnel Avenue, enhancing the Arch Avenue tunnel for pedestrian safety, enhancing the College Avenue tunnel, cyclist safety improvements on College Avenue and pedestrian and cyclist safety improvements on Main Street.   

“It has the possibility of revitalizing downtown Greensburg,” social studies teacher Robert Lehman said. “We as a community have to embrace it.”