Happy New Year!
"My students at Pioneer Education Center in Brookline. They're overcoming mental and physical handicaps in their daily lives but they're always cheerful.''
-- Carole Faloon, 52, Dormont
Teacher at Pioneer.
"My father, Edwin Amrhein. He is suffering from some serious ailments but he wakes up with a smile every day. He has a bright outlook on life. It inspires me to enjoy life to the fullest each day."
-- Andrew Amrhein, 45, Bethel Park
Owner, Evey True Value Hardware.
"Richard Lenigan, a friend and Brentwood school board member who died in 2005. He was a man who loved life and making other people happy, sharing his enthusiasm for life with everyone he made contact with. As a kindergarten teacher, I appreciate the time he spent with many children over the course of his life and through his efforts on the school board and as an official with the Brentwood Athletic Association. I intend to continue his legacy."
-- Cynthia Buckley, 50-plus, Bethel Park
Teacher at William Penn Elementary School in Bethel Park.
"Dormont Mayor Thomas Lloyd. He still runs for office and still tries to do the right thing for the borough. That's all I ever try to do, no matter what job title I hold."
-- Russell McKibben, 46, Dormont
Interim manager and police chief
"George W. Bush. I'm a good Republican. I'm for all his policies, but mostly those in Iraq. In 2006 I hope he keeps trying to do what they won't let him do."
-- Calvin Hale, 81,
Rockbridge Baths, Va.
Retired president of Pitt Chemical, visiting relatives in Castle Shannon.
"All the heroes in the Hurricane Katrina story. They're individual people who went on their own to the Gulf Coast to come to the aid of people and even animals. They brought blankets, toys. They were unselfish."
-- Michaelene Evanosky, 53, Allentown
Business manager at Teen and Family Services Inc. in Mt. Lebanon.
"Green Tree borough manager David Montz. He inspired me to use more energy and to never say never. In 2006, I hope to be more innovative in my work, to never give up and to think outside the box."
-- Deborah Gawryla, 50, Green Tree
Webmaster Green Tree Borough.
"A friend in Peters who died unexpectedly this year. He rode motorcyles, cooked, made his own beer and just bought a sailboat. Life was ahead of him. It taught me to spend more time with my family.''
-- Steve Schantz, 60, Peters
House painter and retired physical education teacher at Gill Hall Elementary School in Pleasant Hills.
"The troops and their families that have made sacrifices to serve this country. I think many Americans take for granted what they have. I hope in 2006 to continue to give back to the community without expecting anything in return."
-- Brian Reddecliff, 38,
Upper St. Clair
Fire chief and sales rep.
"Bethel Park Mayor Cliff Morton. He's a sweetheart. Whenever I have needed him, he's there. He's the light of the community and everyones' lives that he touches."
-- Barbara Domzalski, 50,
Bethel Park
Owner of Mill Site tavern in the South Side Works.
"Inspiration is not the same thing as admiration. I'm 76. If you still need inspiration at 76, then you're living in a cocoon."
-- Myron Cope, Mt. Lebanon
Retired Steelers color commentator.
NEW YEAR'S INSPIRATION
First Published: December 29, 2005, 5:00 a.m.