Senator Stefano

This week in Harrisburg, we celebrated @piaasports Champion wrestlers from across the commonwealth. 🏆 I’m elated to say that Bedford and Somerset Counties have produced four extraordinary student-athletes whose hard work, talent, and grit have earned them places in Pennsylvania wrestling history:

🤼‍♀️ Violette Lasure – A sophomore at Chestnut Ridge School District High School, Violette went undefeated in the 2024–2025 season and captured her second state championship title, finishing her season ranked 25th in the nation.

🤼‍♀️ Juliet Alt – A freshman at Chestnut Ridge, Juliet claimed 1st place at the 2024–2025 PIAA State Girls’ Wrestling Championships in the 155-lb class, ending her debut season with an incredible 31–2 record.

🤼‍♂️ Rowan Holmes – A senior at Somerset Area School District High School, Rowan made history by winning the school’s first-ever PIAA State Wrestling Title, finishing the season with a near-perfect 44–1 record.

🤼‍♂️ Dominic Deputy – A junior at Chestnut Ridge, Dominic earned the 2024–2025 PIAA State Championship in the 121-lb class with a 4–2 victory.

Congratulations to Violette, Juliet, Rowan, Dominic, and all of the remarkable young wrestlers who competed this year! 💪🏅 …

Last week, I joined some tiny advocates as well as local early childhood educators and community leaders in Somerset County, for a press conference at @thelearninglamp Center for Children, to shine a light on the growing child care staffing crisis impacting families and our economy.

In Somerset County alone, 17 early childhood educator positions remain unfilled, leaving over 200 children without care. Statewide, 92% of providers are struggling to hire staff. This isn’t just a child care issue. It’s a workforce crisis. For every teacher we’re missing, our centers are missing even more students that could be filling those spots, which means parents can’t go to work.

I’m committed to working with my colleagues in Harrisburg to ensure families in Somerset County — and across Pennsylvania — get the support they need to best serve our working families. …

Proud to stand with Senator Devlin Robinson and others in support of Purple Star Schools. 🎖 This April, we celebrated three years since the establishment of Act 69 of 2022, formed from legislation sponsored by Sen. Robinson and myself, providing the Purple Star Schools Program for schools throughout the commonwealth.

The program, implemented by about 15 schools across Pennsylvania – including Windber Area School District, addresses the challenges that military-connected students face during their education. From frequent relocations to disrupted routines to general emotional strain, students from military families often tackle obstacles that many of their peers do not fully understand. But thanks to this program, we are ensuring that military families have schools that recognize and support their children’s needs.

There are thousands more schools across Pennsylvania that can be a part of this program. Plenty of schools in our communities are already doing incredible work to support military-connected students, so we encourage every school to #PurpleUp and apply for the Purple Star designation to further the great work that this program is already doing. …

Congratulations to @downtownbedford! DBI has been honored with two prestigious 2025 Townie Awards from the Pennsylvania Downtown Center:

🏆 Physical Improvements & Design – Program-Wide Façade Restoration
🏆 Organizational Excellence – Community Partnerships: “A Model Partnership for Downtown Revitalization”

Their achievement of organizational excellence through community partnerships shows what’s possible when collaboration is at the core of your organizations vision. Together DBI and their Bedford partners are continuously fostering economic growth, preserving Bedford’s historical charm and strengthening community ties. …

Last week, Gabe Bente from Connellsville and Kalilah D’Angelo from Dunbar, students at the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, joined us at the capitol with their peers and teachers.

The Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf provides exceptional education and support for students who are deaf or hard of hearing from across the commonwealth. Gabe and Kalilah shared with me how much they love being part of their school community—where they’re receiving a quality education, building lifelong friendships and embracing countless opportunities. It was great to meet them and each of their classmates. …

Congratulations to Sebastian McClain, @fayettecopa’s newest Recycling Ranger! 🌎♻️

Since he was 3 years old, Sebastian has been diligent about visiting the Fayette County Recycling Convenience Center each month and doing his part to ensure his family`s recyclables are carefully sorted. In honor of Earth Day and because of his commitment to keeping Fayette County green, the recycling center named him a Recycling Ranger. Great work, Sebastian! …

As a part of Pennsylvania Fair Queen Advocacy Day, local county fair queens journeyed to the capitol to discuss agricultural issues with their legislators. 👑 It was great to spend time with the three fair queens from the 32nd District: Olivia Sewalk, Bedford County; Haylee Bill, Fayette County and Sydney Walker, Somerset County. …

🚌 This week is National School Bus Safety Week. 🚌

Congratulations to Evalyn Regetta of Stoystown who captured second place in Division 2 of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT)`s School Bus Safety Week Poster Contest! 🎨 A student of North Star Middle School, Evalyn was selected as one of 10 young artists from across the commonwealth to have her poster displayed at the Pennsylvania State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg this week. She developed her poster to illustrate this year’s theme of “Driving Safely into the Future.”

Great work, Evalyn! 🥈 …