Obituary Jack Maze

John D. "Jack" Maze, 77, of 449 Treasure Lake DuBois, formerly of Richardson Ave., Lewis Run, passed away Monday, June 17, 2013, at Christ the King Manor in DuBois.

Born April 23, 1936, in Kane he was a son of the late Samuel E. and Geneva (Carlson) Maze.

On November 30, 1963, at St. Francis Church he married Eleanor (Kopelack) Maze who survives him.

Mr. Maze went to Kane High School. He served in the United States Navy during the Korean War. He had been employed as a Forester for the US Forestry Service for 38 years. Mr. Maze worked many years as a police officer and retired from the Foster Township Police Department in 2006 due to illness.

He was a member of the Lewis Run Volunteer Fire Department and a member and past board member of the Greater Bradford Area Senior Center.

Mr. Maze was an avid outdoorsman, and enjoyed hunting and fishing. He loved his work, family and friends.

In addition to his wife of 50 years he is survived by a daughter, Lori Maze (Samuel) Donahue , of DuBois; two sons John J. (Debbi Beal) Maze and James M. (Jody Leonard) Maze, all of Bradford; a sister, Edna Vanderstrom, of Kane, 5 grandchildren; Samuel Maze, Michael Maze, Conner Maze, Hailey Donahue and Sabrina Donahue and several nieces and nephews, and special friends of the family Jack and Linda Kerr of Lewis Run and Donna Moore of Warren.

He was preceded in death by his parents and a brother Samuel Maze, Jr.

Family will be receiving friends on Friday, June 21, 2013, from 3:00 to 7:00pm in the Hollenbeck-Cahill Funeral Homes, Inc., 372 East Main Street, where funeral & committal services will be held at 7:00pm with Rev. Leon Canfield, retired Baptist Minister, officiating. Burial will be in St. Bernard Cemetery.

Memorials, if desired, may be made to: Christ the King Manor, Bradford Senior Center, or Hahne Cancer Center.

Online condolences may be made at www.hollenbeckcahill.com

Woman Sentenced for Going into Wal-Mart

An Olean woman spent her birthday in Cattaraugus County Court, and will spend the next two to four years in state prison for going into a Wal-Mart after being banned from all Wal-Marts.

27-year-old Andrea Warrior went into the Allegany store back in February. She was charged with four counts of burglary.

Warrior was sentenced as a second felony offender.

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NY Farm Bureau Lauds Passage of Bill That Caps Land Assessments

Farmers in New York just received a big boost to help contain rising property taxes.

The Assembly followed up the Senate’s action by unanimously passing a bill that will cap agricultural land assessment increases at 2% a year. This has been a top priority for New York Farm Bureau this legislative session. There has been great concern among our farmer members who have seen rising land values push up property tax bills for farmland in recent years, essentially doubling since 2006.

Agricultural land assessments are dictated by a complicated formula that takes into account national production value statistics and soil type. Currently, New York farmers pay $38.41 per acre in property taxes, according to Farm Credit East. That is the second highest rate in the country and eats up 15% of a farm’s net income. This puts farmers in this state at a clear competitive disadvantage.

“The passage of the 2% cap on agricultural assessments is welcomed news on farms all across New York. Not one has been immune to the skyrocketing property taxes that make it more difficult to provide local food and products to their communities. We very much appreciate Sen. Catharine Young for her strong support on this bill that she co-sponsored, and we are hopeful Governor Cuomo will sign off on the legislation that will go a long way to keep New York families on their farms,” said Dean Norton, President of New York Farm Bureau.

“For far too long, the cost of doing business for farmers has continued to increase. By placing a cap on the base rate that is used for assessing farmland, the state will be able to rein in some of these costs for one of our state’s largest and most important industries. With the passage of this bill, farmers can focus on their crops and animals, without having to worry about tax rates swallowing up an increasing amount of their revenue,” said Senator Catharine Young (R,C,I-Olean), Chair of the Legislative Commission on Rural Resources and a sponsor of the legislation.

While the legislation will address the immediate needs of farmers, New York Farm Bureau is also advocating for the establishment of a working group comprised of stakeholders and experts to address the long term problem of agricultural assessment valuation.

OGH Nurses Holding 'Informational Picket'

OLEAN, NY – Registered nurses at Olean General Hospital will hold an informational picket in front of the hospital on Wed., June 19 from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.

The 220 RNs, who are members of the New York State Nurses Association, have been in contract negotiations with the hospital since November of last year.

NYSNA is proposing safe minimum staffing levels at Olean General Hospital to ensure safe care for patients. New nurses are being forced to take on too many patients at one time, and they are burning out -- making recruitment and retention an ongoing problem and financial burden for the hospital.

Patient safety is the nurses’ primary concern, but being forced to care for too many patients at one time puts that safety in jeopardy.

Nurses have expressed that they often leave their shift “feeling like I did the very best I could do – with very little staff.” When planning RN staffing, acuity, or severity of illness, must be considered. The hospital currently staffs its units based solely on numbers of patients, and not the acuity of those patients.

On Wed., June 19, the nurses will be in front of the hospital from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. to let the public know that they are fighting for more nurses at Olean General to provide safe care for their community. All are welcome to show their support.

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Man Jailed for Threatening to Kill Mother

A St. Marys man is in jail for threatening to kill his mother because he believed she was trying to poison him.

25-year-old Joshua Coffey is charged with assault and terroristic threats after the incident that happened at around 10 p.m. on June 11.

Court records say Coffey accused his mother of trying to poison him by giving him pork, which is against his religion. He got a 10-inch kitchen knife and threatened to kill his mother, who climbed out a window and onto the roof. Coffey then held a knife to the throat of a man who was with his mother, and threatened to kill him if his mother called police.

His bail is $5,000 and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 2 in front of District Judge Mark Jacobs.

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Obituary Frances Sweeney

In case you didn't know, this is why I have not been posting regularly and why I may not be back to normal for a while. ~~ Anne

Frances B. Sweeney, 85, of Bradford, PA passed away on Thursday, June 6, 2013, in Bradford Regional Medical Center surrounded by her loving family.

She was born on May 14, 1928, in Bradford, a daughter of George and Frances DiNuzzo Bove.

She was a 1946 graduate of the Bradford Area High School and a 1950 graduate of the former Bradford Hospital School of Nursing. She also attended Shippensburg State College, Shippensburg.

On July 25, 1959, in St. Bernard Catholic Church she married John J. Sweeney who preceded her in death on March 22, 1989.

She was a member of St. Bernard Catholic Church, the National Association of Retired Federal Employees, where she was a former Vice President; the 50+ club; the Catholic Women’s Club, where she was a past President; a PTA member of the former 4th Ward School, where she was a past President; and a charter member of the Mental Health Association. She was formerly involved with the local Girl Scouts and Cub Scouts, where she was a den mother. She was also an active volunteer for the March of Dimes. She enjoyed working in her flower garden and surfing the Internet.

She was formerly employed as a registered nurse for the Bradford Hospital, St. Bernard School and the Dresser Memorial Presbyterian Home for the Aged.

She is survived by one son, James J. Sweeney of Boston, Mass.; two daughters, Anne Holliday of Bradford and Theresa (Frank) Hummel of Clarksburg, WV; two brothers, John (Patty) Bove and George Bove, all of Bradford; three grandsons, Adam Jay Moyer of Mercer, Alexandyr J. Hummel and Aaryn J. Hummel, both of Clarksburg; several nieces and nephews; and a special friend, Bruce Holliday.

In addition to her parents and husband she was also preceded in death by one brother, James Bove and two sisters, Elizabeth Wozniak and Mary Bove.

Visitation will be held on Sunday, June 9, 2013 from 2:00 to 4:00 and 7:00 to 9:00 PM at the Mascho Funeral Home, Inc., where a prayer service will be held at 9:15 AM Monday, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:00 AM in St. Bernard Catholic Church with the Rev. Raymond Gramata as celebrant. A Christian wake service will be held at 3:30 PM Sunday in the funeral home.

Burial will be in St. Bernard Cemetery.

Memorial contributions in her memory can be made to the St. Bernard School, 450 West Washington St., Bradford, PA 16701 or a charity of the donor’s choice.

Funeral arrangements are entrusted to the care of the Mascho Funeral Home, Inc.

Online Condolences can be expressed at MaschoFuneral.com.

Crash Closes Chautauqua County Road

Route 76 in the Town of Sherman was closed for about four hours this morning after a feed truck flipped over on the road.

Sheriff’s deputies say the truck driven by 32-year-old Justin Raynor of Conewango Valley, New York, left the road at around 7:30 a.m., hit a ditch and went back onto the road, where it flipped onto its passenger side. It slid on the road until it went down a ravine.

Raynor was taken by ambulance to UPMC Hamot for evaluation.

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Would-Be Jail Escapee Pleads Guilty

One of three people who tried to escape from the Warren County Jail on New Year’s Day has pleaded guilty.

Daniel Morehead, who turns 18 on Thursday, dug grout from around the concrete blocks of his cell using a coat hanger, and then replaced the grout with toothpaste. Authorities also found two pieces of metal with sharpened ends in his shoes.

Morehead was originally jailed on charges of burglary, theft, receiving stolen property and criminal trespass. He pleaded guilty to those charges as well.

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Man Allegedly Had More Than 60 Grams of Pot

A Michigan man is accused of having more than 60 grams of marijuana while he was in Allegany.

Sheriff’s deputies and the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force charged 29-year-old Dhal Kachuol of Lansing with criminal possession of marijuana after he was found with 66.3 grams of pot on Route 417.

He is scheduled to appear in Town of Allegany Court next Monday.

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Woman Dies in Camping Accident

A Sunday afternoon accident has claimed the life of a Potter County woman.

Police say 77-year-old Alice-Faye Erickson and her husband were working on faulty brakes on the camper trailer they were hauling, when the brakes came undone and the trailer rolled over her.

The accident happened at about 12:30 p.m. at Tompkins Campground at Cowanesque Lake. Erickson was pronounced dead at the scene.

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4 Sued for Illegally Selling Cigarettes

Four people are accused of illegally selling cigarettes online, and Pennsylvania attorney general Kathleen Kane has filed a civil lawsuit against them.

She says Phillip Jimerson, Heidi Jimerson, Wendy Boon and William Achord set up online businesses to avoid paying state cigarette taxes. They sold the cigarettes through the websites NativeBlends.net and Savontobacco.com, among others.

Kane says customers were led to believe they would not owe state sales taxes because the companies were based in Panama. But, she says, payments were deposited in a Nebraska bank, and the cigarettes were ordered from a New York warehouse and shipped from U.S. facilities.

The lawsuit seeks monetary damages and civil penalties.

The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947