Cranberry

Supervisors gave final approval last Thursday to plans for a new farm, lawn and garden center. Tractor Supply will be built on 5.7 acres on the east side of Route 19, just north of Smoker Friendly. The building will be 23,627 square feet. Merchandise will include lawn mowers, tractors and other items.

Fox Chapel Area

The winning homeowners in the Fox Chapel District Association's first holiday decorating contest have been announced for each community:

Aspinwall -- David and Carol Kelley, 305 Eastern Ave.; the Gladstone family, 204 Brilliant Ave.; and Ralph and Nancy Heil, 318 Third St.

Fox Chapel -- Gil and Gail Gilliland, 1001 Fox Chapel Road; Richard and Kathleen Wendell, 511 Old Mill Road; and Paul and Nancy Chambers, 100 Hillcrest Road.

Harmar -- David and Lucille Byers, 17 Meadowvale Drive, and Bill and Kathleen Gavlak, 420 Hickory Court.

Indiana Township -- Francis and Charlotte Dadowski, 2009 Louise Drive; James and Marianne Stewart, 30 Dunraey Court; and James Meinert, 164 Indianola Road.

O'Hara -- Paul and Traci Guiffre, 119 Crofton Drive, and Tom and Dorothy Skalski, 105 Aqua Drive.

Fox Chapel Golf Club, 426 Fox Chapel Road, won the business category.

The Fox Chapel District Association, established in 1928, plans and implements community projects that enhance and beautify the community. The association is made up of hundreds of families who support the organization through annual membership dues of $25.

Mars Area schools

Increasing the size of the multipurpose room in the new school that will house fifth- and sixth-graders meant more paperwork for the Mars Area School District.

The school board Dec. 6 voted to submit revised documents to the state Department of Education for the change. Last month, the board decided to increase the size of the multipurpose room so it could accommodate bleachers.

The new building is expected to reduce crowding in the growing district by moving fifth-graders from Mars Elementary School and sixth-graders from the middle school.

The motion to submit revised documents passed by a vote of 7-1, with Dayle Ferguson opposed and Cynthia Yeager absent. Mrs. Ferguson, at her first board meeting, said this was her only chance to go on record opposing the building.

The district currently houses kindergarten through second grade in one building and grades three through five in another.

The reorganization of grades will entail a change in academics, and "I am very uncomfortable with that change," Mrs. Ferguson said. "I think I need to be true to what I said and, frankly, I feel I need to be true to what I heard in the community."

Some residents opposed the concept of a building housing fifth- and sixth-graders when it was proposed.

McCandless

Northland Public Library is raising money by participating in the Paper Retriever recycling program by Abitibi-Consolidated Recycling Division.

Newspapers, magazines, shopping catalogs, office and school papers, mail and shredded paper can be placed in designated bins in the library at 300 Cumberland Road. Phone books, manila folders and manila envelopes will not be accepted.

The library will be paid by Abitibi based on the amount of paper collected.

Richland

For the third consecutive year, the Mars Area High School Planets defeated the Pine-Richland High School Rams in the annual St. Barnabas Roundball Classic to raise money for the not-for-profit St. Barnabas Health System.

The final score was 48-44 in the game played Dec. 10 at Mars Area High School.

In the junior varsity game, Pine-Richland defeated Mars Area, 51-38.