Clearview Federal Credit Union broke ground on its new 2,300-square-foot branch to be located at 105 East Pike St.

The Canonsburg branch, expected to be completed next year, is the latest step in the credit union's regional growth plans.

The office will be a free-standing branch with two drive-up windows, three teller windows, a drive-up automated teller machine and a night drop box.

Thirty-five students and eight faculty and staff members from Waynesburg University will spend a portion of their Thanksgiving break serving others.

Four mission trips slated for this week include the Greene County Habitat for Humanity Work Camp in Greene County, Mustard Seed Communities in Montego Bay, Jamaica, the Pittsburgh Immersion in Pittsburgh, and World Servants in Philippi, W.Va.

Next Wednesday, the U.S. Army All-American Bowl will laud one of the 97 high school musicians selected to play at the 2010 game. Mt. Lebanon High School's Daniel Cohen, who plays alto saxophone, will be honored and given a logo bowl jacket at 11:45 a.m. in the auditorium.

Dan will perform with other high school musicians during halftime of the nation's premier high school football game on Jan. 9 in San Antonio, Texas. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the game, which has the nation's best high school players in an east versus west matchup.

He is the only local student musician so honored and one of only four selected from the state.

The Peters High School's Students Against Destructive Decisions and National Honor Society held their annual Haunted Hallways event last month to raise money for the Washington City Mission. The event, for students in grades K-3, raised more than $1,100 for the mission, which uses the proceeds to provide Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners for the homeless population they serve.

The new township amphitheater at Scott Park will see its first official use at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 3 when a tree-lighting ceremony will be held. Four small planted trees around the new amphitheater will be decorated for Christmas with holiday lights.

Santa will arrive in a sleigh, escorted by a firetruck, and take up temporary residence at the park lodge, where he will visit with children. Hot chocolate and cookies will be available in the lodge, too.

Holiday entertainment will be provided by members of the Our Lady of Grace Choir and a Bower Hill Volunteer Fire Department member, as well as singing by the Scott commissioners, who will change their title for the event to "The Commishes".

To add warmth and sparkle, there will be a bonfire in the fire pit.

In recognition of community traffic safety efforts, AAA rewarded local police departments with awards for work in public education about safety.

The most prestigious prizes, the platinum awards, were given to those departments whose safety enforcement and effort helped make their communities safer.

Recipients in the South Hillsare: Pennsylvania State Police Troops B (Washington), Baldwin Borough, Canonsburg, Castle Shannon, Mt. Lebanon, North Strabane and Peters police departments.

Gold awards, the second highest recognition, were awarded to police departments in Brentwood, Cecil, Homestead, Scott, South Park and Washington. The Washington County Sheriff's Department also received one.

Silver awards were given to Bethel Park, Clairton, Elizabeth Township and Pleasant Hills departments.

A bronze award was given to the Upper St. Clair Police Department.

The state Department of Education awarded several local schools a Keystone Achievement Award for achieving Adequate Yearly Progress in the past two school years.

AYP is determined, in part, by a school's performance on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment, the standardized test given annually to students in grades three, eight and 11.

Local schools honored include

• Bentworth School District: Bentworth Middle School, Bentworth Senior High School;

• Canon-McMillan School District: Canonsburg Middle School, Cecil Intermediate School, Cecil Elementary School, Hills-Hendersonville Elementary School, South Central Elementary School, Wylandville Elementary School, Muse Elementary School, First Street Elementary School;

• Chartiers-Houston School District: Chartiers-Houston Junior High School, Allison Park Elementary School;

• Trinity Area School District: Trinity South Elementary School, Trinity North Elementary School, Trinity West Elementary School, Trinity East Elementary School.

• Dr. Michael J. Platto, of Upper St. Clair, a physical medicine and rehabilitation physician, is new President of the Washington County Medical Society.

He is a member of the American Medical Association, state and county medical societies, American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, American Academy of Electrodiagnostic Medicine and is treasurer of the Pennsylvania Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

Dr. Platto, a native of Potomac, Md., is the medical director of the Department of Physical Medicine at The Washington Hospital. He has offices at the Wilfred R. Cameron Wellness Center, and in Mt. Lebanon. He also serves as consulting staff at Canonsburg General Hospital and adjunct clinical assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh.

• The Washington County Chamber of Commerce will host a breakfast program featuring the county's legislative delegation on Dec. 4 at the Holiday Inn, Meadowlands from 7:45 to 9 a.m.

The event will be moderated by Tonia Caruso, Comcast "Local Edition" host and WQED "OnQ" contributor.

For more, or to register, call Debbie Sims at 724-225-3010 or debbies@washcochamber.com. The cost for the breakfast is $20 for chamber members and $30 for nonmembers.

• Members of the Washington County delegation, including state Sen. J. Barry Stout, D-Bentleyville, and state Reps. Tim Solobay, D-Canonsburg, and Jesse White, D-Cecil, announced nearly $11,000 in state grants for three local automotive service providers under the Nitrogen Tire Inflation System Grant program.

John Sisson Motors Inc. and Jaks Muffler & Brake, both of Washington, got grants for $3,959 and $3,250, respectively. Corwin Jeep Sales & Service from Mt. Pleasant will receive a grant totaling $3,717.

The grant provides state auto service providers who sell tires with 50 percent matching reimbursement grants of up to $5,000 to purchase and install a nitrogen tire inflation system, which improves fuel economy.

Students at district schools packed a bus with food and toiletries earmarked for the Greater Pittsburgh Area Food Bank in time for the holidays.

Now in its third year, the Fill the Bus food drive gathered a record number of donations from district students, whose estimated 8,590 pounds of donated items were delivered Friday.

The brainchild of middle school social studies teacher Glenn Gougler, the bus food drive is made possible by donations from students and staff members at all district schools, as well as residents in the community.

A bus donated by Pennsylvania Coach Lines is parked at the middle school the week before Thanksgiving and left open for donations of nonperishable food, toiletries, detergent or diapers.

During the week, students and staff district-wide participate in friendly classroom food-raising competitions and are rewarded with pizza parties and dress-down days. At the end of the week, the bus is driven to each school, where the items collected at each are packed for delivery to the Greater Pittsburgh Area Food Bank.

This year, students produced a short video seen on the district Web site: www.wmasd.org.

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