Welcome to the Summer 2004 issue of Alle-Kiski Today. We are combining our usual production of the June, July and August issues this year in order to gear up for a grand new, more dynamically combined, version of Alle-Kiski Today Magazine and the Alle-Kiski Today website. Most of what we will unveil in September is still very hush-hush, but I guarantee you will be excited about each month's content.

Our cover story this month features Mike Rowe, principal of North Washington and Washington Elementary schools of the Kiski Area School District. Mike is an Alle-Kiski Valley native, come home to live his dream of teaching where he grew up. We had the honor to video interview Mike for an online streaming media presentation. You can watch the video by going on the Internet to http://www.alle-kiskitoday.com/webcasts/749.

Congratulations are in order for the Freeport Boys track team on their WPIAL AA Track Championship repeat. The Freeport girls and the Kiski Area boys also came within a hair's-breadth of winning their championship matches only to fall short in dramatically close finishes. You can read about it in this month's Alle-Kiski Sports Focus. Keep an eye out online at www.alle-kiskitoday.com for news about the Kiski Area baseball team. At print time they had qualified for states and were entering the semi-final round of the WPIAL's. Congratulations to coach Jewart and the Cavaliers. Also, again just before print time, we learned that Leechburg Blue Devils softball coach Jim Oberdorf had reached the 400 career wins plateau, only the second to do it in WPIAL Softball history. Amazing! You will enjoy our newly redesigned Alle-Kiski Today web site. It is a much more user-friendly version of the site with cleaner navigation and current content for your enjoyment. The site features expanded coverage of the monthly magazine content as well as daily local-feature articles and streaming media. The site continues to grow in popularity with millions of hits per month. Check it out at http://www.alle-kiskitoday.com. If you enjoy sports and marching bands up-close and personal, I am looking for some help this fall getting some short stories and photos of our local school sports teams, cheerleaders and bands in action. This would include Plum, Leechburg, Kiski, Burrell, Apollo-Ridge, Highlands, Freeport, New Ken-Arnold (Valley), Saltsburg, Fox Chapel, Deer Lakes, Springdale, Riverview as well as our local private schools. It is a good opportunity to promote your children and your school sports programs. We have developed a very easy to use Internet web site program for posting photos and stories over any Internet connection and will work with any booster organization to help promote their programs. If interested please contact our sports editor, Jeff Garrett, at 724-567-2302, or e-mail to jeff@alle-kiskitoday.com. We are also seeking photos and short stories featuring any elementary, intermediate and high school activities and academics. For more information please contact our Educational Department Director, Mrs. Lara Laero at 724-567-2302. My best wishes to you and yours for a safe and happy summer. May all of your picnics be grand and may your days be filled with joy and peace.