Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

Retired Bradford City Police Chief Mike Close has waived his preliminary hearing on charges of simple assault and harassment. Close was charged by state police after an incident at around 12:30 a.m. on March 14, when he allegedly hit and pushed Amy Baker. He's free on unsecured bail.

Bradford City Police Chief Mike Close is retiring Wednesday after being accused of assaulting a woman early Sunday morning. State police say Close hit 36-year-old Amy Baker, causing minor injuries to her lower lip. Close then left the scene, but later turned himself in at District Judge Rich Luther's office, where he was arraigned on charges of simple assault and harassment. He's free on $5,000 bail. Mayor Tom Riel told WESB and The HERO this morning that he's in no hurry to name a new chief, and it could be weeks if not months before a new chief is in place. Close has been with the city police department for 20 years and has been chief since January 7, 2008. Under his leadership, the department set up the Emergency Response Team, Street Crimes Unit and an anonymous tip line. He also helped the department get grant money for equipment including tasers, cameras, a polygraph machine, Segways and breathalyzers. Close was also instrumental in making Bradford's National Nigh...

A Bradford man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for violating laws relating to the sexual exploitation of children. 33-year-old Michael Begin was arrested in February . The FBI said a search conducted in connection with the arrest revealed that Begin possessed a knife, handcuffs and a condom. He told authorities he planned to take the girl to his residence in a Bradford hotel and engage in sexual activity. Authorities say the girl's mother found sexually explicit messages from Begin on her daughter's MySpace page, saved them and reported it to Bradford City Police. The FBI and the City of Bradford Police Department, under the direction of Chief Mike Close, conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case. http://www.justice.gov/usao/paw/pr/2010_march/2010_03_09_02.html

Bradford City Police Chief Mike Close says that because dispatch duties are switching to the McKean County 911 Center on Monday, some residents and businesses have to prepare. All residents and businesses that currently have alarm systems that ring directly to the city police station must be changed. People are asked to contact their alarm companies and request they change their notification to McKean County Control at 887-4911. Close advises people to do this immediately so there's no disruption in service.

By ANNE HOLLIDAY WESB/WBRR News Director Sometimes things aren't quite as simple as you think they're going to be. Like when a 5,000 gallon underground storage tank gets in your way. That's what happened to 6-V Excavation when they were working on the former Bradco site at 44-48 State Street, and discovered the old tank. On September 22, the city awarded a contract to 6-V to demolish, clear and restore the site. But discovery of the tank also included removal, disposal, additional grading work and fill. Tuesday, City Council authorized an additional payment of $2,260 to 6-V for the extra work. Also, the city approved a payment of $6,402 to Northeastern Environmental Management for proper disposal of the tank. The money comes from the OECD's Elm Street project account. Staying in the Elm Street project, council awarded a $28,800 contract to David Kronenwetter for lighting and electric construction, and a $141,658 contract to Glenn O. Hawbaker for general construction in ...

Even if your children get a little confused when thinking about who runs the North Pole and who runs the Bradford City Police Department, you can tell them they don't need to worry. Santa's helpers at WESB always make sure the letters get to the right place. (Having Santa come to the radio station everyday makes it easy for us ... and pretty much ensures that we won't be getting coal in our stockings.)

By ANNE HOLLIDAY WESB/WBRR News Director The Bradford City Police station will be manned 24/7 for at least another couple of weeks. City Council took no action on the matter during its regular meeting Tuesday night. A resolution to turn dispatch duties over to the McKean County 911 Center was the last item on some of the agendas passed out to the public, but Mayor Tom Riel explained that inclusion of the item was a mistake. Before the meeting, council held a brief work session to discuss alternatives to transferring the dispatch duties. Police Officer Chris Lucco said members of the department met and discussed several possible options to having a sworn officer perform desk duties. They decided that "any of the possible options would not meet your (Riel's) exceptions of a cost savings," Lucco said. He said they remain opposed to "anything other than having a police officer man the station for many reasons, but most importantly for the safety of the public and our off...

Chief Michael Close, Lisa Campogiani and the Bradford National Night Out Committee members encourage residents to spend the evening of August 4, 2009 out and about with your fellow neighbors in recognition of the 26th annual National Night Out. Sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch (NATW), National Night Out (NNO) was conceived with the aim of empowering community residents, and as a unique tool against criminal and drug activity. Along with traditional displays of outdoor lights and front porch vigils celebrations of National Night Out also features activities such as block parties, cookouts, parades, flashlight walks, exhibits, contests, youth programs and visits from local police departments. Goals of National Night Out include creating a heightened awareness of crime and drug prevention efforts, as well strengthening neighborhood spirit. NNO 2008 involved 37 million people in 15,449 communities from all 50 states, U.S. territories, Canadian cities, and military base...

Did You? That's what I'll be asking you if you complain about city council or school board. Also, in my travels this morning I learned that quite a few people have been writing in Bradford City Police Chief Mike Close for McKean County Sheriff.

Sheriff Tim Howard's Address Pictured, (top photo) Chief Mike Close (left and Jim Erwin of the Bradford City Police Department lay a wreath in honor of local law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty: Carl Whippo of Johnsonburg, Dave Distrola of Bradford and Steve Jerman of Kane; From left, Dr. Livingston Alexander, president of the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, Pennsylvania Lt. Governor Joseph Scarnati and Erie County (N.Y.) Sheriff Tim Howard wait for the color guard to pass out of the auditorium; Erie County (N.Y.) Sheriff Tim Howard speaks to those gathered in the Bromeley Family Theater at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. ( Photos by Kimberly Marcott Weinberg )

By ANNE HOLLIDAY WESB/WBRR News Director Bradford City Council is asking the Department of Environmental Protection to revise the sewage facilities plan for a possible development on the former site of Micale Construction. The developer, Tarport Properties, has said possibilities for the development include a 73-unit hotel, a restaurant and an auto parts store. Bisett owns the land in question, and is working with the developer, who is new to the area. During Tuesday's meeting, Bradford resident Dave Newman questioned council about the proposed development. "I don't understand how the council can agree to this," he said. "Economic development is great, but that infrastructure in the whole area ..I don't know, right now, if this is such a bright idea." Mayor Tom Riel tried to explain that Forman Street would not be the only entrance to the property, adding that the map hasn't been made public yet because it's still in the very preliminary stages. ...

About 30 people showed up to help pick up the streets around Bradford on Saturday, including Mayor Tom Riel, and City Police Chief Mike Close. The event was organized by Josh Hatcher from Open Arms Community Church. "We really wanted to invite the community to come out and help out. This isn't just an Open Arms thing." In fact, while a lot of people picking up trash were from Open Arms, several people from Grace Lutheran, and even a few from the community came to help out. "I've had a lot of people thank me for putting this together. To be honest, it's not about that. I just thought that cleaning it up is better than complaining about it, and we worked together to make that happen," said Hatcher. The group filled a dumpster that the Department of Public Works had provided within an hour, and continued to gather trash along Maplewood, Jackson Avenue, Bedford Street, and others. "Our hope is that we can continue to keep these clean-up efforts goi...

I am writing to you to address several recent statements made by Bradford City Mayor Tom Riel regarding the handling of a McKean County criminal case that I believe are misleading, inaccurate and incomplete. However, before I do that I want to make it clear that I am making this statement because I believe that the public is entitled to have correct facts and information about their criminal justice system. I am not doing this because of any animosity toward Mayor Riel. I have worked with Mayor Riel and Chief Close regarding several important issues since the Mayor took office. I believe that, despite our clear disagreement regarding this one issue, overall we have had a productive working relationship with the Mayor’s Office. Although I strongly disagree with several of the Mayor’s recent assertions, because I believe the public needs solutions from its elected officials and not squabbles, I will continue to try and productively work with the Mayor and I hope he will continue...

One of Tom Riel's campaign promises when he was running for mayor was that he would make positive changes to the City of Bradford Police Department. In a speech Tuesday afternoon during a joint meeting of the Kiwanis and Rotary clubs, Riel said one of the first things he did after being sworn in as mayor was to make good on that pledge. He said when he named Mike Close as the new chief "reforming the City of Bradford Police Department began." "The publicly requested beat cop was walking the streets the next day," Riel said. "Chief Close dove in head first and was hard at work making the changes the city and police department needed." The department now has the Emergency Response Team and Street Crimes Unit, which were equipped, armed, trained and have specialized vehicles all at no cost to the city. Riel said Microtech, American Refining Group and Zippo were "more than generous" in their support. "The officers themselves were very giving...

Left, Bradford City Police Officer Mike Ward trains on one of the police department's new Segway machines Tuesday morning at Callahan Park. Below, Rob Havsrath of Segway of Western New York shows off some features of the machine to Police Chief Mike Close, while Bradford Area High School student Caitlin Szczupak records the training as part of her senior project. Bradford City Police Officers Chris Lucco, Jason Daugherty and Mike Ward check out a Segway. The machines are part of a community safety effort for our downtown area. The City of Bradford was awarded compensation for two (I) 2 Segway machines as a result of a Community Safety Initiative grant made available to Elm Street Communities through the Pennsylvania Downtown Center. Proposals needed to address revitalizing core communities within the commonwealth by addressing safety and cleanliness issues. The grants proposals needed to explore innovative approaches to enhancing community safety. The proposals were judged on:...

These are the contestants (and their parents) in the annual Little Miss Street Dreams contest. The girls raised more than $7,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Bradford City Police Chief Mike Close and Street Dreams Car Club President Gary Hoy welcome "Barbie" (Olivia Brown). Little Miss Street Dreams '08 Danielle Abbott. The runners up were Julia Coy, Ashley Stoltz and Brianna Keller. These people, and dog, look at some of the cars in the annual show.

By ANNE HOLLIDAY WESB/WBRR News Director Bradford residents have to start being more concerned about the way the community looks. That was the message from University of Pittsburgh at Bradford President Emeritus Dick McDowell during Tuesday's night city council work session on the proposed graffiti ordinance. It's about time we property owners stand up for our rights," he said. "We don't have to live in a blighted city." McDowell said the graffiti ordinance is the third step in cleaning up the city, adding that he hopes "it's a continuing series of ordinances and that other changes will come about." He said the first two steps were the continuing crackdown on drugs and the shopping cart ordinance. "I encourage city council to come up with more ways to make this community more beautiful," McDowell said. McDowell was one of about a dozen people who attended the session prior to Tuesday's regular council meeting. Mayor Tom Riel addres...

Happy Birthday to Bradford City Police Chief Mike Close!

Jazzabilly performs during Lunch in the Square Wednesday at Veterans Square. Fred Pysher and Bradford Area Chamber of Commerce Director Diane Sheeley (left) and Mayor Tom Riel and Police Chief Mike Close (below) were among the people who attended Lunch in the Square. For the second month in a row, I did LiveLine from the Square. My guest today was Fran Stewart from the American Cancer Society