JOHNSTOWN — The Tribune-Democrat has received nominations in The Press Club of Western Pennsylvania’s annual Golden Quill Awards.

Interim editor Bruce Wissinger was nominated for his editorials.

Among those mentioned were: “Simmons saga: A cycle of bad decisions,” “No reprieve for Hilltop taxpayers,” “NDIC’s future in Johns­town,” “Strike is not the answer,” “Wozniak slow on the uptake” and “For Windber, a time to heal.”

The Tribune-Democrat staff was nominated for “People’s Gift to America” and “Ten years of emotions – September 11 anniversary.”

Winners will be named and nominees honored at a banquet May 14 at Pittsburgh’s Sheraton Station Square Hotel.

Special Olympics event in need of volunteers

Volunteers are needed for the 2012 Special Olympics Pennsylvania Central Spring Sectional to be held Sunday at St. Francis University in Loretto and at Central Cambria High School in Ebensburg.

The event includes competition in aquatics, athletics and basketball.

Opening ceremonies will be held at 9 a.m. in the DeGol Arena and competition will begin at 10 a.m.

Closing ceremonies will start at about 4:15 p.m. and also will take place in the DeGol Arena.

The event is expected to draw more than 245 athletes, 125 volunteers and 90 coaches from 14 city and county programs.

For information on volunteer opportunities, contact Jennifer Tresp, senior competition director, at 234-8750.

Water conference will be held Monday

LIGONIER –­ An expert on global water shortages will be the keynote speaker for a daylong conference of the Laurel Highlands Conservation Coalition on Monday at the Ligonier Town Hall.

A discussion will follow on whether water withdrawals should be regulated in the Ohio River Basin as they are in the Susquehanna and Delaware river basins.

Three afternoon presentations will provide information on ways to conserve and improve critical water resources.

The morning keynote speaker will be Leonard Konikow of the U.S. Geological Survey.

Konikow speaks internationally about water issues, particularly declining groundwater supplies, and has been a research hydrologist with USGS since 1972.

A donation will be requested for those attending only the morning presentation and discussion.

The cost of lunch will be $20 with preregistration.

To register or for more information, email bclemenson@pec-pa.org.

Library event to focus on fair housing

The Cambria County Library in Johnstown will sponsor a fair housing workshop in its community room from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday.

The workshops are to celebrate passage of the Fair Housing Act in 1968. A representative from West Penn Rural Fair Housing Initiative will speak and answer questions.

There also will be readings of books to children.

The children benefit by being read the books “The Berenstain Bears’ New Neighbors” and “The Fair Housing Five,” a release from the library said.

The library will benefit by being presented with the books.

At each event, information will be available for the parents and goody bags will be provided for the children.

The program is free to the public. No reservations are necessary.

For more information, call the library at 536-5131, ext. 209.

Soup sale planned on election day

DAVIDSVILLE – An election day soup sale will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday at Swank House, 106 S. Main St.

The event is sponsored by Conemaugh Township Historical Society.

For more information, call 479-2067.

Deadline nears for UPJ legacy scholarship Pitt-Johnstown’s alumni association has established a legacy scholarship to assist first-year students and to celebrate the connection between alumni and their alma mater.

To be eligible for the $1,500 scholarship, student applicants must be the son, daughter, grandson, granddaughter or sibling of a Pitt-Johnstown alumnus who is a current member of the alumni association.

The applicant also must be an incoming freshman who is a first-time college student with a 3.0 minimum cumulative high school GPA.

Each applicant must submit a written essay answering the question “Why have you chosen Pitt-Johnstown?”

Additional criteria are available at www.pitt-johnstown.pitt.edu/Alumni.

The application deadline for the 2012-2013 academic year is May 15.

St. Francis to offer Lego League challenge

LORETTO – St. Francis University will hold a robotics mini-camp for children and coaches from June 11-13 to train students and prospective adult coaches for possible participation in the First Lego League challenge in December.

This camp is open to children in grades 4 through 8 as well as adults interested in coaching a First Lego League team.

The camp fee is $30.

Twenty slots have been reserved for girls and 20 slots for boys, and additional slots are available for adults.

Prospective adult coaches and their student teams are encouraged to register together.

First Lego League teams use science and math to design, build and test a solution to a real-world challenge using Lego Mindstorms technology.

Student teams are guided by adult coaches to research topics, identify problems and build robots to complete tasks associated with this year’s theme, “Senior Solutions.”

For more information, email scienceoutreach@francis.edu.