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Michael T. Mondak speaks: Community-Based Survey on Bringing a Barnes & Noble to the Hickory Fields Plaza

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Remember last month when I addressed the city commissioners on possibly bringing a bookstore to Hermitage for the first time since 2024?  For those of you who missed it, here it is again. Last month I wrote a letter to the Sharon Herald to address the need for a bookstore to fill the void left behind when the Shenango Valley Mall closed on June 1, 2024.  I addressed the commissioners of the city of Hermitage at their regular September meeting during the public comment portion, mentioning that I had been out and about gauging public interest in bringing a bookstore back to the city. Lately I thought about doing a Google Forms survey on bringing a Barnes & Noble bookstore to Hickory Fields because that was the most promising of my trio of suggestions for a bookstore, a year-round Penn State Creamery ice cream parlor and a party supply store. As I write this entry, I have received 54 responses.  Here are the results as of this entry: When asked if they would support a Ba...
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Michael T. Mondak speaks: Preliminary Community Interest Summary of a Proposed Year-Round Penn State Berkey Creamery Scoop Shop in Hermitage

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Disclaimer:  The initial survey results are based on ten responses. The initial survey results indicate encouraging interest in bringing a year-round Penn State Berkey Creamery scoop shop to the Hermitage area. Key Findings Strong initial interest:   The first nine respondents indicated that they would definitely visit a year-round Penn State Creamery scoop shop. Varied visit frequency:   Among the first nine respondents. three anticipated visiting weekly, three monthly, and three several times per year.  Respondent number ten indicated they would visit for special occasions only. Seasonal considerations:  Respondent number ten indicated spring and summer as the seasons they would be most likely to visit, suggesting that seasonal preferences and special occasions may influence some customers' visits/ Popular flavors:  Death by Chocolate and Peachy Paterno emerged as leading flavors of interest. Year-round potential:   All nine of the first respondents ...
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Michael T. Mondak speaks about school attendance

On Facebook today, I saw a post from a content creator whose little daughter was bummed about likely missing out on a perfect attendance award.  In my book, such awards are meant to be an incentive to encourage students to show up to school on time daily.  It is said that 80% of success is showing up. This reminds me of when I was in sixth grade at Delahunty Middle School.  With exception of leaving early for appointments and such, I showed up to school every single morning in the 1996-97 academic year, earning perfect attendance awards for each of the four marking periods, thus achieving perfect attendance for the entire year.  Awards were given to those who achieved perfect attendance each marking period, and I was one of those who got one each time, which in those days was sponsored by Ponderosa Steakhouse on East State Street in Hermitage, which allowed me to eat a meal for free with my mother and father, who covered their own meals. The end of year perfect atten...
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Michael T. Mondak speaks about the need for Penn State ice cream in the Shenango Valley

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As the Shenango Valley looks toward the future and the redevelopment of the former Shenango Valley Mall site into Hickory Fields, there is an opportunity to bring something genuinely distinctive to our community. My suggestion is simple:  Let's bring Penn State Berkey Creamery ice cream to the Shenango Valley on a regular, year-round basis. I'm not talking about another seasonal ice-cream stand.  I'm talking about a permanent destination where residents can enjoy the actual ice cream produced by the Penn State Berkey Creamery throughout the year. For Penn State fans in Mercer County, this would be more than another place to get dessert.  It would be a convenient way to enjoy something associated with Happy Valley without having to make the trip to State College. And that matters even more during the winter. A trip from the Shenango Valley to State College is already a significant undertaking.  During the winter months, when snow, ice and difficult driving conditions ...
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Michael T. Mondak speaks about the need for a bookstore in the City of Hermitage

Tonight I was in attendance for the Hermitage city commissioners' monthly meeting.  Each month's meeting begins at 6pm with a brief work session, where updates are shared on projects and the like.  After the work session, the monthly meeting begins.  In the citizens' forum portion, I challenged the city commissioners to help get the city a bookstore.  These were the exact words I said to the city commissioners: I'm here this evening to raise an issue that I believe deserves some consideration, and many of you may have seen my letter in the Sharon Herald last Wednesday.  Hermitage needs a full-service bookstore. Since the Shenango Valley Mall closed on June 1, 2024, we haven't had a traditional full-service bookstore in our community.  Residents of our fair city who want to browse a large selection of new books often have to travel to Niles, Boardman, Cranberry or even Erie to visit Barnes & Noble or Books-A-Million, or rely on online shopping. I do not ...
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Michael T. Mondak speaks 30 years later about his McKeever experiences

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Thirty years ago in spring 1997, I was a sixth grader at Delahunty Middle School.  Along with ninety other sixth graders, I spent one week at the McKeever Environmental Learning Center in Sandy Lake between April 28 and May 2. We reported to our homerooms as usual on the morning of April 28, 1997.  I had a suitcase packed with clothes for the entire week, an emergency blanket, a single use camera to take pictures, the Accelerated Reader book I was reading at the time, and the tree cookie I had made in Art on a previous Friday morning.  After tuning into Channel One News and our morning announcements, we hopped on board the buses that would take us to Sandy Lake and the McKeever Environmental Learning Center that would be our home base for the next five days where we would experience Sunship Earth. This trip was spearheaded by my sixth-grade science teacher, the late Paul Estock.  Upon our arrival, we were met by a series of counselors from Hickory High School's class...
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Michael T. Mondak speaks about the need for a Penn State gameday social in Mercer County

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As a Penn State alumnus from the class of 2010 and a lifelong Penn State fan living in Mercer County, I've been thinking about something I believe the community could use:  a regular social gathering for Penn State alumni, former students, fans and friends right here in Mercer County. I'm not talking about another formal meeting or a singles group.  I'm talking about getting local  Penn Staters together on selected Saturdays when the Nittany Lions are playing a home game. Imagine meeting at a local Mercer County venue a couple of hours prior to kickoff, enjoying some food, talking Penn State football, meeting other local Penn Staters, and participating in some Penn State-themed activities before watching the game together. Why Mercer County? There are plenty of Penn State fans and alumni in this area, but I haven't found a regular social gathering specifically designed to bring them together. That's an opportunity. Rather than expecting Mercer County Penn Staters to...
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