Download the DAILY AMERICAN NEWS APP on your tablet or smartphone unes Available at the App Store on iT or for Android on Google Play — Award-Winning Investigative Journalism — WWW.OURTOWNJOHNSTOWN.COM SO-3106631 CONTESTED DA Mostoller making a big RACE LIKELY WEEK OF OUR TOWN JANUARY impression with art parties An outgoing assistant district attor- 31 - KAYLA PONGRAC ney has confirmed that he wants to be Our Town Correspondent Cambria County’s chief prosecutor. FEBRUARY Greg Neugebauer, a partner with bout three years ago, when Ellen the Ebensburg-based Neugebauer & 5, 2019 Mostoller began repurposing items Swope law firm, is seeking the Repub- such as wall hangings and vintage lican nomination for district attorney. suitcases, she thought it’d be fun to He has been an assistant district addA some colorful finishing touches to her “new” attorney in Cambria County the past household items. So, she purchased a large col- two-and-a-half years. lection of stencils and stenciling equipment. Jan. 25, Neugebauer said, was his “But every time I used those stencils,” last day in that position. SPORTS Mostoller said, “it was a huge disaster. I’m pretty The move may pit Neugebauer crafty, too, so I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t against Cambria County District able to do it.” Attorney Kelly Callihan, his former Around the time one such disaster occurred, supervisor. Callihan also confirmed a new business called Chalk Couture popped up on Mostoller’s Facebook feed. with Our Town that she will seek a “When I saw the ad for Chalk Couture, I said, third term. ‘Could that really be as easy as it looks?’ and Neugebauer, a Cresson native, lives in Ebensburg. He said he is married then, to be honest, I completely forgot about it Ellen Mostoller of Westmont poses for a photograph. and bought more stencils,” she said. and has two children. Then another project flopped. And then Asked for details regarding his cam- another. paign, he declined to elaborate. Stenciling just wasn’t working out. Both Neugebauer and Callihan said “Finally, I said, ‘This is crazy. I should take they will be releasing campaign details ATHLETE a look at Chalk Couture.’ So, I went on their in the near future. website and I was absolutely thrilled with OF THE everything I saw,” the Westmont resident It really is as easy as it looks. But let’s say WEEK: said. “I ended up donating all of my stencils to something goes wrong. Maybe too much paste Goodwill.” was used, or the person decides last-minute that In the months since, Mostoller has gone “all purple isn’t the color of the day. Mostoller can BROCK Staff photo by Kayla Pongrac Staff photo by Kayla Pongrac in” when it comes to Chalk Couture, a new direct The “before” image of a lift up the transfer, wipe the chalkboard clean The “after” image of this and . well, there you have it: a blank slate. MOORE sales company headquartered in Utah. She is Chalk Couture piece. Chalk Couture piece. Johnstown’s first “independent designer” with Let’s say the chalkboard transfer comes out so — B1 the company. well that the person never wants it to be erased. “You know when you find a good show on much guaranteed to be put on display due to the Sure thing. Mostoller can make the design Netflix and you start talking to everyone about nature of the craft. permanent with a special spray. The silk screen it? That’s how I feel about Chalk Couture,” she With Chalk Couture, Mostoller said, transfers are reusable and there are so many said. “I just feel like I need to share this. I just participants aren’t painting per se — they’re transfer designs from which to choose. FAMILY VALUES love it so much.” transferring a pre-made design to a product of Next month, Chalk Couture is releasing more Chalk Couture gives Mostoller and other their choice. than 120 new designs. These designs cover a independent designers opportunities to host Making a piece of art with Chalk Couture is wide range of interests, from sports to religion events that offer participants “experiences” that regarded as easy and, in some cases, fool-proof. to literature. If someone wants to make a winter are similar to guided art parties, which involve Take one of Mostoller’s chalkboard products, for scarf featuring a quote from and a silhouette painting on canvas with friends in a laid-back, instance. of Mr. Darcy from Jane Austen’s “Pride and friendly, judgement-free environment. No If someone wants to apply a Chalk Couture Prejudice,” that could be done. If someone artistic ability is necessary to participate in design to a 5x7 inch chalkboard, Mostoller wants to place a quote from the Bible on a piece these parties, and participants get to take their would instruct him or her select paste colors of furniture, no problem. artwork home with them at the end of the to use, and then he or she would place the silk The items to which Chalk Couture designs can evening. screen transfer on the chalkboard, dab the paste be applied are as wide-ranging as the transfers With guided art parties, Mostoller said, there’s intermittently across the transfer and, finally, themselves: picture frames, mirrors, pillows, CAIRNBROOK always a chance participants may not like their use a squeegee to spread the paste across it. T-shirts, blankets, mugs, bags, bibs and more. finished painting and therefore may not feel It’s so simple that even children as young as The transfers are also wood, metal and glass- NATIVE inclined to display it. Chalk Couture is a little bit 5 — with a parent or guardian present to assist friendly. LEADS different in that the finished product is pretty — could do it. (See MOSTOLLER, A3) MEDICAL RESEARCH AT PITT — C1 WEEKLY RECIPE WINNER TERESA MROZOWSKI – A4 SO-598511-1 CURTIS RENTALS East Conemaugh Boro Call 539-9505 Apartment & House Rentals SO-595155-1 SO-609959-1 A2 Wednesday, January 30, 2019, Our Town, Johnstown, Pa. OUR TOWN GENERAL MANAGER - SALES MANAGER OPINION Jeff Katora [email protected] LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY CIRCULATION EDITORIAL CARTOON Our Town welcomes letters to the editor which express a MANAGER specific view on topics of general interest. Letters submitted Sue Sheehan for publication must be signed and contain the address and [email protected] telephone number of the writer. Letters should be limited to about 250 words. EDITOR Our Town reserves the right to edit all letters. Letters can- Bruce Siwy not be returned. Letters may be mailed to Our Town at 334 bruces@ourtownjohnstown. W. Main Street, PO Box 638, Somerset, PA 15501. You may also com fax them to us at 814-269-9783 or email them to bruces@ ourtownjohnstown.com. WRITERS The following are additional guidelines: Beth Ann Miller • Letters from local writers and about local topics or races Cody McDevitt take precedence. LAYOUT/GRAPHIC • Letters should be the original works of the authors. Just DESIGNERS clearly make your case for the candidates or topics of your Mindy Faidley choice, in your own words. Holly Pelliccione • We will not publish form letters or letter-pushes. If we think Joyce Brown the letters are cut-and-paste, we won’t run them. • Letters must be 300 words or less and signed with the writ- MEDIA CONSULTANTS er’s real name. Rick Baughman • Writers must provide an address and phone number for Terrie Crisi verification. Sue Sheehan • Writers are limited to one letter per month. Ginger Pollock Bruce J. Siwy Editor - Our Town 334 W. Main Street, P.O. Box 638, Somerset, PA 15501 LETTER TO THE EDITOR Phone: 814.269.9704 Advertising Fax: To the editor: ing in the dust. But perhaps my biggest com- right place with messages of 814.445.2935 The film opened on over 3,500 plaint is with the acting. courage and perseverance, and I Editorial Fax: Unless they’re part of a huge screens and made a dismal esti- It doesn’t help that the acting laughed at some of the bits with 814.444-5966 franchise like “Harry Potter,” mated $7.25 million. team here is working with bland, Merlin (Imrie has an impressive live-action kids’ movies are a This is a record low for that big unnatural dialogue, but they little ritual he does when casting ourtownjohnstown.com tough sell. a release. could give it more life than they spells), but is it ever a slog. True, Steven Spielberg had The film is obviously a disas- do. If you want a better live-action dailyamerican.com good fortune with some fam- ter commercially and I’m sorry “The Kid Who Would Be King” kids’ movie, go see “A Dog’s Way ily-friendly hits, and “Home to say that it doesn’t fare much currently holds an 86 percent Home,” now in its third weekend. Our Town is published by Schurz Communications, South Bend, Alone” and its various knockoffs better creatively. approval rating on Rotten To- It’s by no means great, but Indiana, every Wednesday. Please direct comments, editorial did some decent business in the My list of complaints about matoes, I suspect because of its the families at my screening submissions, or suggestions to Our Town Editor, PO Box 638, ’90s, but the general rule is that this movie is long, from the bad climactic battle, a “Home Alone”- clearly enjoyed it, whereas there Somerset, PA 15501. Our Town if you want to bring in kids and lighting in certain scenes to the style sequence where schoolchil- weren’t any families at “The Kid does not assume responsibility for any unsolicited contributions you don’t have a character they script forgetting to give Dorris’s dren battle flaming skeletons, Who Would Be King,” I suppose or communications.