The Summer 2024 Olympics have officially kicked off in Paris, and a local doctor has the opportunity to practice medicine during the Olympic games. Dr. Mark Lavallee will serve as one of the International Weightlifting Federation's (IWF) Chief Medical Officers. Dr. Lavallee is a Sports Medicine Physician at UPMC in Harrisburg, Pa. He has nearly 30 years of experience in the medicine field including 27 years as the chairman of sports medicine for USA weightlifting. Dr. Lavallee sat down with The Spark host Asia Tabb about his journey to the Olympics and more in depth about his role as a IWF Chief Medical Officer.

The Summer 2024 Olympics have officially kicked off in Paris, and a local doctor has the opportunity to practice medicine during the Olympic games. Dr. Mark Lavallee will serve as one of the International Weightlifting Federation's (IWF) Chief Medical Officers. Dr. Lavallee is a Sports Medicine Physician at UPMC in Harrisburg, Pa. He has nearly 30 years of experience in the medicine field including 27 years as the chairman of sports medicine for USA weightlifting. Dr. Lavallee sat down with The Spark host Asia Tabb about his journey to the Olympics and more in depth about his role as a IWF Chief Medical Officer.

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from WITF, host Asia Tabb starts conversations about what’s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at https://witf.org/programs/the-spark.

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from WITF, host Asia Tabb starts conversations about what&rsquo;s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at https://witf.org/programs/the-spark.

The Spark

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from WITF, host Asia Tabb start the conversations about what’s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at https://witf.org/programs/the-spark.

When people come together and talk about really interesting topics, great questions spark better understanding and opportunities for new ideas to form. On The Spark from WITF, host Asia Tabb start the conversations about what&rsquo;s happening in the world and at home. Share your ideas at&nbsp;<a href="https://witf.org/programs/the-spark">https://witf.org/programs/the-spark</a>.

UPMC doctor to serve as chief officer for Olympic games

Wm. Chester Ruth

Donegal HS

(00:00:00)

Gwendolyn Ruth Dickinson talks about her grandfather William Chester Ruth (1882–1971) who was an African American machinist, inventor, and business owner from Pennsylvania. Born in Ercildoun to parents who overcame slavery, Ruth developed a passion for machinery early on, leading him to establish Ruth's Ironworks Shop in Gap, PA, in 1922. Over his career, he secured more than 50 patents for agricultural innovations, including the Combination Baler Feeder and a self-lifting farm elevator, significantly enhancing farming efficiency. Beyond his mechanical contributions, Ruth was a respected community leader and lay minister, dedicating his life to both technological advancement and spiritual guidance.

(00:22:29)

Donegal Performings Arts is the premier high school theater program in the Donegal School District. Each year, the program produces spectacular fall plays and spring musicals for our Central Pennsylvania community. A multidimensional theater education is the goal of the program; we hope to train students in all elements of theater: lights, sound, wardrobe, makeup, acting, singing, dancing, paint technique, set building, backstage management, and prop design. Through the training of all these skills, the theater program fosters skills of collaboration, critical thinking, communication, creativity, and empathy, making Donegal students both theater ready and life ready. This year's show is Anastasia

(00:00:00)
Gwendolyn Ruth Dickinson talks about her grandfather William Chester Ruth (1882&ndash;1971) who was an African American machinist, inventor, and business owner from Pennsylvania. Born in Ercildoun to parents who overcame slavery, Ruth developed a passion for machinery early on, leading him to establish Ruth's Ironworks Shop in Gap, PA, in 1922. Over his career, he secured more than 50 patents for agricultural innovations, including the Combination Baler Feeder and a self-lifting farm elevator, significantly enhancing farming efficiency. Beyond his mechanical contributions, Ruth was a respected community leader and lay minister, dedicating his life to both technological advancement and spiritual guidance.
(00:22:29)
Donegal Performings Arts is the premier high school theater program in the Donegal School District. Each year, the program produces spectacular fall plays and spring musicals for our Central Pennsylvania community. A multidimensional theater education is the goal of the program; we hope to train students in all elements of theater: lights, sound, wardrobe, makeup, acting, singing, dancing, paint technique, set building, backstage management, and prop design. Through the training of all these skills, the theater program fosters skills of collaboration, critical thinking, communication, creativity, and empathy, making Donegal students both theater ready and life ready. This year's show is Anastasia

From Invention to Inspiration: William Chester Ruth’s Legacy; Donegal Performing Arts’ Next Generation

Journalist Roundtable

Zach King

Erica Jo Shaffer

(00:00:00)

Gabriel Martinez and Manada Fries of Spotlight PA, discuss an Ice detention facility planned for Berks County.

(00:23:14)

When Perry County musician Zachariah King wanted to record a cover of the 1844 song “Blue Juniata”, it led him down a rabbit hole of discovery about the song’s writer, Marion Dix Sullivan. Sullivan was from a town near Boston but had once travelled through Perry County around the time of its founding. She was inspired to write Blue Juniata while there. WITF Music’s Joe Ulrich sat down with King to hear about his research on the song and his trip up to find Sullivan’s gravestone.

(00:34:17)

And Erica Jo Shaffer is back to tell us how to prep for the spring season.

(00:00:00)
Gabriel Martinez and Manada Fries of Spotlight PA, discuss an Ice detention facility planned for Berks County.
(00:23:14)
When Perry County musician Zachariah King wanted to record a cover of the 1844 song &ldquo;Blue Juniata&rdquo;, it led him down a rabbit hole of discovery about the song&rsquo;s writer, Marion Dix Sullivan. Sullivan was from a town near Boston but had once travelled through Perry County around the time of its founding. She was inspired to write Blue Juniata while there. WITF Music&rsquo;s Joe Ulrich sat down with King to hear about his research on the song and his trip up to find Sullivan&rsquo;s gravestone.
(00:34:17)
And Erica Jo Shaffer is back to tell us how to prep for the spring season.

Berks County ICE Controversy, Spring Prep Tips, and a New Take on ‘Blue Juniata'

A standing-room-only crowd filled the room at Gettysburg College as businessman, philanthropist, and historian David Rubenstein took the stage for this year’s Blavatt Lecture, an annual event hosted by the Eisenhower Institute that brings in speakers with distinctive perspectives on American democracy.

and

Veteran journalist David Greene and Pennon interim President and CEO Tom Baldrige discussed Greene’s new nonprofit, Always Lancaster, which will assume ownership of LNP | LancasterOnline and transition the historic newspaper into an independent nonprofit newsroom. Greene, who moved to Lancaster as a teenager and began his journalism career at McCaskey High School before going on to the Baltimore Sun and NPR, described the effort as “almost like a calling,” outlining a three-part revenue model built on subscriptions, advertising, and philanthropy to sustain local journalism.

A standing-room-only crowd filled the room at Gettysburg College as businessman, philanthropist, and historian David Rubenstein took the stage for this year&rsquo;s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/live/skDt11nCy6g?si=W7G8VJ8dvMv3bpVO">Blavatt Lecture,</a>&nbsp;an annual event hosted by the Eisenhower Institute that brings in speakers with distinctive perspectives on American democracy.
and
Veteran journalist David Greene and Pennon interim President and CEO Tom Baldrige discussed Greene&rsquo;s new nonprofit, Always Lancaster, which will assume ownership of LNP | LancasterOnline and transition the historic newspaper into an independent nonprofit newsroom. Greene, who moved to Lancaster as a teenager and began his journalism career at McCaskey High School before going on to the Baltimore Sun&nbsp;and NPR, described the effort as &ldquo;almost like a calling,&rdquo; outlining a three-part revenue model built on subscriptions, advertising, and philanthropy to sustain local journalism.

UPMC doctor to serve as chief officer for Olympic games

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