At the Active & Alive in Altoona Wellness Fair last summer, businesses from throughout the Chippewa Valley came to show residents various ways to live healthier lifestyles - including showing the importance of physical activities.

   Along with the new year come many new year’s resolutions. These promises might include losing weight, exercising more, and developing healthier lifestyle habits. While some begin with good intentions, it is often easier for most people to maintain new and improved lifestyles if they have camaraderie along the journey – and thanks to the efforts of Altoona city officials and school district staff, a program designed for Chippewa Valley residents with just these goals for 2009 will kick off in two months.

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   Over the years, Pedersen Elementary School’s holiday program has proved to be a popular way to spend a mid-December evening. It is so popular, in fact, that an estimated 1,000 to 1,200 attendees found it difficult each year to see and hear the children on stage. This year, elementary music and art teachers have confronted the long-standing problem by offering an entirely new program called “A Night of the Arts.”

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Pedersen Elementary School physical education teacher Victor Pastrana will join wife Jill and sons Daniel, Lucas, and Pascal in Chile after the 2008-2009 school year ends. He will return in time for the 2009 fall semester.

   This summer, Pedersen Elementary School physical education teacher Victor Pastrana will travel to Chile for an extended stay with his family.

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   A common buzzword we hear about today is mentoring. We see famous movie and television stars on TV, sitting with children  and imploring us, as viewers, to mentor our own.

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   At their meeting on Thursday, December 18, Town of Washington Board members discussed a request for the installation of streetlights from a resident who lives on Whitetail Drive. For a variety of reasons, the board ultimately decided against the proposal.

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   “Old-fashioned” and “out-of-style” are two phrases that might come to the minds of some when the art of knitting is mentioned. Members of the newly created Altoona Middle School Knitting Club, however, do not agree. The club, which is made up of fifth-graders, meets after school every week to learn and practice knitting. Fifth-grade teacher and club advisor Mary Stamos works with 12 AMS staff members, three parents, and a handful of older students to teach the young knitters their craft.

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   Along with colder weather comes the desire for many to make their homes as warm and cozy – and festive – as possible. When it comes to decorating, there are many simple, inexpensive options to make one’s home feel welcoming.

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   It is that time of year again – the time everyone starts making goals for the new year and setting their resolutions… many of which will only be in effect until January 15. About 95 percent of people stick to their New Year’s resolutions until that date. You cannot get a treadmill at the gym on January 2, but by the middle of the month, they are all open again.

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   A tip-in and three free throws, followed by a drawn charge with one-tenth of a second left, capped off a second-half comeback as the Altoona boys’ basketball team won a 65-62 barnburner before a large, raucous crowd at Chippewa Falls McDonell on Friday, December 19.

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Monica Rasmussen and the Altoona girls’ basketball game defeated Gilman 68-28 on Thursday, December 18.

   The Altoona girls’ basketball team rushed out to a 25-point halftime lead and then held Gilman without a basket for the first 12-plus minutes of the second half in a 68-28 runaway at Altoona on Thursday, December 18.

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