Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

A driver took police on a chase on Route 6 at speeds over 100 mph early this morning. Troopers say the chase started at about 3:50 a.m. near the intersection with Route 449 in Potter County when they tried to stop a vehicle that was going 97 in a 55 mph zone. The vehicle sped up to more than 100, and the pursuit went for 12.3 miles until the vehicle went out of control near the intersection with Route 349 in the Village of Gaines. The vehicle hit two SUVs parked in front of Gaines Garage, ran over road signs and hit a tree, rolled onto its roof and then slid for about 30 yards before stopping. The driver, 22-year-old Sheldon Robinson of Schwenksville, and one passenger, 18-year-old Lyndsey Eckman of Schwenksville, were taken by Galeton ambulance to Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hospital in Wellsboro. Robinson was later taken to Robert Packer Hospital in Sayre. They have both been released. Goodyear Hose Company of Galeton provided assistance and traffic control. A second passenger...

(News Release) HARRISBURG, Pa. – The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) announced today that Tioga County’s Lake Nessmuk will be closed to the public beginning Feb. 18 as the PFBC prepares to conduct a fish salvage and begin construction to rebuild the lake’s dam and spillway. The fish salvage is expected to begin the week of Feb. 24 or March 3 and may take up to two weeks. In preparation, the PFBC will start lowering the water level beginning Feb. 18. The lake can be drained at a rate of about three to five feet per week, depending on weather. After the water level drops, PFBC biologists will open the lake’s outlet gate which leads into Morris Branch and collect fish with nets. The fish will be stored in live wells on PFBC trucks and then relocated to Lake Hamilton. Although fish salvages generally save a large number of fish, a significant amount will also perish, added Jason Detar, PFBC Area 3 Fisheries Manager. “We will collect as many fish as we can with nets...

Local residents should be aware that there is no charge to file a state Property Tax/Rent Rebate form and they shouldn’t fall prey to companies offering to submit the forms for a fee, warned Senator Joe Scarnati (R-25). “Recently, I was alerted that a company is contacting Pennsylvania senior citizens offering to file state Property Tax/Rent Rebate forms for a fee,” Scarnati said. “I want to make sure that everyone is aware that there is no charge to submit this form.” A group calling itself the ‘Senior Advisory Center’ with an address listed as a Harrisburg Post Office Box is mailing seniors offering to complete the forms for $39. “It is important for seniors to know they do not have to pay for this service, Scarnati said. “Local Area Agencies on Aging and other groups serving seniors are available to prepare these forms at no cost.” “In addition, my offices are available to help anyone needing assistance in applying for this important program,” Scarnati explained. Claim...

A Wellsboro man suffered moderate injuries in a crash early this morning on Route 6 in Potter County. Police say 39-year-old Jason Grim was traveling west when his SUV left the road, traveled into a ditch and hit a dirt embankment. Grim was later arrested for DUI. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

The former Galeton teacher accused of having inappropriate relationships with students has pleaded no contest. 37-year-old Kimberly Smith of Wellsboro is accused of kissing two 17-year-old boys and allowing them to touch her while they were on school grounds. Smith will be sentenced on August 7 in Potter County Court. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A Steuben County, New York, woman arrested Friday in Pennsylvania is accused of assaulting a corrections officer, escaping from a hospital, kidnapping a woman and her baby, and holding the baby at knifepoint. 35-year-old Billie Jo Ribble was wanted for breaking into a home in October and stealing $12,000 worth of property, including more than a dozen guns. She was picked up Friday at a Wal-Mart in Mansfield, PA. While she was awaiting extradition to New York she complained of pain due to her pregnancy, so she was taken to a hospital in Wellsboro, where she allegedly assaulted the corrections officer, jumped from a third-story window, to a second-story rooftop, and then used a catwalk to get to the ground. Sheriff’s deputies say she then broke into a house near the hospital, and took a 19-year-old woman and her six-month-old baby hostage. She demanded that the woman drive her to New York, and held the baby at knifepoint during the trip. Before getting out of the car, Ribble took the...

A Wellsboro company has been fined for operating an illegal transfer station at a well pad in Potter County. DEP fined Ultra Resources $40,000 for having storage tanks that were holding more than 760,000 gallons of raw flowback fluid that was being used for fracking at other sites, which requires a permit. Other violations included flowback fluids around wheelie tanks and on the containment liner; failure to properly stabilize several areas of the well pad and access road; and improper construction of a sediment basin. Also, Ultra did not post well permit numbers at the site. DEP says all the violations have been corrected. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A Wellsboro man is in jail in connection with several thefts in Potter County in December. 42-year-old Michael Rosenbloom was arrested following an on-going investigation by Coudersport and Mansfield state police and New York State Police. Rosenbloom is accused of stealing two guns from a camp on Loucks Mills Road, another gun from Shumway Hill Spur Road in Tioga County, as well as ammunition, a knife and an iPod Nano; a firemen’s radio owned by the Genesee Volunteer Fire Department; and other iPod Nano from Loucks Mills Road. Rosenbloom is in Tioga County Jail on $75,000 bail.

Wellsboro – Communities in the heart of the booming Marcellus Shale drilling region are struggling to protect the environment and groundwater supplies while facing growing social service needs, Governor Edward G. Rendell said today when he visited Tioga County. “The Marcellus Shale gas industry is just getting started in Pennsylvania, so we have the opportunity now to ensure that adequate resources are available for local and state government to meeting growing demand for services and protect the environment,” the Governor said. “To accomplish these goals, the gas companies profiting from this rapidly growing industry should be willing to pay a fair share levy. “I share the view of the eight out of 10 Pennsylvanians who, in a recent poll, said that they favor a tax on gas companies to fund programs that will protect our environment and help local governments handled increased demand on their services,” Governor Rendell said. Pennsylvania is the only major energy-producing state that do...