— A large-scale fundraiser will be held from 2 until 9 p.m. Saturday to raise money for medical bills for an area man who is suffering from a brain tumor.

Nollapalooza will be held for the benefit of Jim Noll at Cernic’s picnic grounds/Rodoljub Sound Studio on Naylor Road.

The day will include the raffle of Steelers tickets, food sales, live bands, a silent auction, face painting and children’s activities.

Noll was an after-school administrator in the Northern Cambria area when he was diagnosed in April 2009. He has since been forced to quit his job.

For questions about the event, call 574-0596.

Donations also are being accepted through the Jim Noll Fund, c/o Bishop McCort High School, 25 Osborne St., Johns-town, Pa. 15905.

St. Francis ranks on

2 ‘best college’ lists

LORETTO – U.S. News and World Report magazine, in its September edition, is listing

St. Francis University in Loretto as among the best colleges in the Northeast in terms of master’s degrees being granted.

The magazine is ranking the university 51st among the master’s degree-granting universities. It was the same ranking it held in last year’s report.

St. Francis also said that another ranking by PayScale Inc. listed it as 36th out of

282 colleges and universities in the northeast for salary potential for its graduates.

“Our solid rankings confirm the quality of students we are attracting to and graduating from St. Francis,” said Erin McCloskey, vice president for enrollment management at the university.

UPJ, IUP named

‘military friendly’

Pitt-Johnstown and IUP are among the 15 percent of colleges and universities in the nation selected by G.I. Jobs magazine for its 2011 list of Military Friendly Schools.

Criteria for making the list included efforts to recruit and retain military and veteran students, results in recruiting military and veteran students, and academic accreditations.

Pitt-Johnstown’s signature MountainCat Veterans Program, in its second year, offers benefits to veterans ranging from accelerated admission review and application fee waivers to priority registration and expedited credit evaluation.

The Pitt-Johnstown Veterans’ Support Council addresses the needs of returning veterans and serves as primary point of contact in those areas.

This is the second year in a row that the school has earned the Military Friendly Schools designation.

IUP offers a Veterans Affairs Office dedicated to serving student veterans and dependents of veterans.

In June 2009, IUP was notified of its inclusion in the national Yellow Ribbon GI Education Enhancement Program.

The 2011 Military-Friendly School List is available at www.militaryfriendlyschools

.com/mfspr.

Applications due

for job with Critz

The office of U.S. Rep. Mark Critz, D-Johnstown, is reminding residents that Friday is the deadline for job applications for the Wounded Warrior program.

The program provides two-year fellowships for employment opportunities for wounded or disabled veterans.

The new hire, a veteran’s caseworker/field representative, will facilitate and coordinate responses to a wide range of requests received from constituents.

The job is opened to veterans who have served on active duty since Sept. 11, 2001, have a

30 percent or greater Veterans Administration disability rating and less than 20 years of service.

For more information, go to http://cao.house.gov/wwp-about

.shtml.

Boro fills vacancies

in zoning appeals

NORTHERN CAMBRIA – Two residents who attended a recent Borough Council meeting volunteered to serve on the borough’s zoning appeals board.

Local businessman Robert Paterno, owner of City Hotel Bar & Grill on Maple Avenue, and James Whited were unanimously approved to serve on the five-member board.

Two vacancies had remained unfilled after the borough advertised for applicants last month. No letters of interest were received.

Paterno will serve a five-year term and Whited will finish two years of a term vacated by a former member.

Historical group hosting

educator, musician

CONFLUENCE – Paula Purnell, a speaker for the Pennsylvania Humanities Council, will give a presentation at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Turkeyfoot Valley Historical Society building, 600 Logan Place. The presentation is free and open to the public.

An educator and musician from Greensburg, Purnell teaches education courses and presents workshops and professional development classes on regional history, folk music and arts integration.

She has released six albums of original music, including two Parents’ Choice award-winning children’s albums. Her band, The NewLanders, researches, arranges, records and performs traditional songs that capture the American spirit. For more information on the band, go to www.newlanders.com.

The presentation is a program of the Pennsylvania Humanities Council, supported in part by the NiSource Charitable Foundation and Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania. It is sponsored by the Turkeyfoot Valley Historical Society.

For more information on the event, contact the society at tfvhs@tfvhs.com.