Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

A parole board has rejected early release for a former engineer imprisoned for killing his wife by sending their minivan over the edge of a 160-foot cliff. Walter Casper III had his murder conviction reduced on appeal to manslaughter last summer, but drew a maximum sentence of five years to 15 years when he was re-sentenced in January. Since Casper had already served more than seven years, he was allowed to immediately seek parole. But a three-member state Division of Parole panel decided that "your lack of insight is a great concern ... and leaves us with little confidence in your ability to lead a law-abiding life." Provided Casper continues to show good behavior in prison, he could be freed in June 2010. Casper told friends he took his wife, Catherine Bly-Casper, out for a surprise breakfast in July 1999 and pulled off the road at Grimes Glen near their destination in the village of Naples in western New York. Prosecutors said Casper put the minivan in gear and threw himse...

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — A Syracuse teenager is hospitalized with head injuries after police say he was attacked by golf club-wielding man whose car he allegedly tried to burglarize. Syracuse police say 15-year-old Jason Crump and a friend were looking for unlocked vehicles to steal from when they were spotted by Montell Gregory early Thursday morning. The teens ran away but the 30-year-old Gregory soon caught up with them. According to police, Gregory was angry because his car was burglarized twice in a week. He told police he only meant to scare the teens when he swung the golf club at Crump, hitting him in the head and fracturing his skull. Crump is listed in fair condition at University Hospital. Gregory is charged with assault and criminal possession of a weapon.

FORT DRUM, N.Y. (AP) — A playground at Fort Drum in northern New York is closed after a youth center worker fell into a sink hole while checking to see if the ground was safe for children. Elene Nemergut says she spotted a depression in the middle of the playground Thursday while watching a group of 3- to 5-year-olds at the Child Youth Development Center. She says she was jumping on the spot to test it when the ground gave way. The 35-year-old was buried up to her knees in mulch in a 6-foot-deep hole. Fort Drum firefighters pulled her from the hole. She was treated at a local clinic for ankle and shoulder pain. Officials say there is a storm sewer where the sink hole formed and that Nemergut landed on the pipe, which prevented her from falling farther.

Former Congressman Bill Clinger, a Republican from Warren who served in Congress from 1978 to 1997, has announced his endorsement of Derek Walker of Clearfield County for the 5th District Congressional seat being vacated by John Peterson. Clinger says he has been watching the race with great interest and he believes Walker is the strongest candidate. Congressman John Peterson, who is retiring, has endorsed Glenn Thompson of Centre County.

Port Allegany native Brian Stavisky has signed with the Lancaster Barnstormers, a professional baseball team based in the Freedom Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. The 27-year-old outfielder was named MVP of the Class A California League in 2004 in Modesto when he hit a league- leading .343 with 39 doubles, five triples, 19 homers and 83 RBsI. Along with winning the batting crown, Stavisky topped the Cal League with 108 runs scored and 282 total bases. In Midland in 2005 he put up another strong campaign, batting .316 with a TL-best 36 doubles, six triples, 11 homers and 88 RBIs. The former Academic All-American at Notre Dame has spent a portion of the last two seasons at AAA Sacramento. Overall, he hit .306 in six pro seasons after being drafted by the A’s in the sixth round of the 2002 draft.

The second year of the Pennsylvania Game Commission's two, time-limited collectible series -- the Wild Turkey Heritage Series and the Upland Game Bird Series -- now are available for ordering. Orders will be taken, through Aug. 31, only by mail or by calling 1-888-888-3459 (toll-free). A downloadable application is available the game commission's web site . The "Upland Game Bird Series" features five collectible mini-trapper knives made by W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Co., of Bradford, McKean County, and will sell for $74.95 (plus tax and shipping). The year, the series showcases the American woodcock. The first year featured the ruffed grouse, and subsequent years will focus on the ring-necked pheasant, bobwhite quail and mourning dove. Each knife will be made with a different bone handle -- bone stag, chestnut bone, old red bone, amber bone and antique bone -- and comes in an attractive tin featuring the artwork of that year's upland game bird. Like the tu...

News: 04/11/08 - Coudy Man Jailed on Terroristic Threats A Coudersport man was arrested last Sunday after choking and threatening to kill a Coudersport woman. State Police say 21 year-old Dennis Leber also threatened the victims family and was in possession of brass knuckles. Leber was sent to the Potter County jail on $15,000 dollars bail. 04/11/08 - McKean County Has 9 Million Dollar Debt McKean County Commissioners have revealed that McKean County has a $9 million debt. Commissioners say the county will be paying an average debt service of $878,000 annually until 2022 to pay off its accrued debt, which was created by taking out bonds for capital projects. They say they will be spending less than budgeted this year and know that balancing the 2009 budget will be difficult. 04/11/08 - Manning Named County EMA Director McKean County Commissioners have named Bruce Manning Emergency Management Director. Manning, of Port Allegany, has been the interim director since the beginning of the y...

A Lehigh County man is dead after he fell down a well and loosened a cinder block that then fell and hit him on the head. State police say 53-year-old David Ober of Bethlehem died Friday afternoon at his camp near Sigel. Police say Ober was checking water lines next to the 17-foot covered well when he fell through the well cover, pulling the cinder block down with him. Police say Ober's 19-year-old son did not immediately realize his father had fallen. Both men were at the camp for the start of fishing season on Saturday.

Jason Dunham of Scio, New York, sacrificed his life while fighting in the war in Iraq and now that sacrifice has been honored. On Friday, a small group of people gathered for a keel laying ceremony at Bath Iron Works for a Navy destroyer named the U.S.S. Jason Dunham that will join the Pacific Fleet. The vessel is expected to be ready for active duty in 2010. Dunham died in April of 2004 after throwing himself on a live grenade in Iraq. His action saved the lives of two of his fellow soldiers. He was 22 years old. Dunham was also awarded with the nation's highest military honor, the Medal of Honor. Last August, Dunham's jersey number was retired during halftime ceremonies at the annual Don Raabe Big 30 Charities Classic All-Star Game, in which he played following his senior year of high school.

Two geoscience professors stirred the industry when they estimated the Marcellus Shale rock formation contains 168 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and could contain as much as 516 trillion cubic feet. By comparison, the United States produces 30 trillion cubic feet of natural gas year. Recent technology has made it possible to cheaply extract that gas, and State Representative Marty Causer says a large portion of the Marcellus Shale formation is in this region. "It's something that really could cause a boost to our economy and it's something, I think, we as a state have to pursue," Causer says. The Marcellus Shale formation is about 600 miles long and covers 54,000 square miles, stretching from southern West Virginia into western Virginia, through eastern Ohio and most of Pennsylvania into New York, stopping about 90 miles from New York City.

The controversy over whether a multi-use field should be put in at Parkway Field continues. Today on Sports Forum, Bradford Area School Board President Tim Bean talked about one reason the field could benefit the community. He said he'shoping it makes the district more presentable so when people come into the community, maybe it will sway their decision to come here and work here. One of the arguments against the new field is the one-million-dollar price tag. The district will be using part of a budget surplus to pay for it. The field will be a topic of discussion at Monday's school board meeting.

Harry Halloran Jr., board chairman and owner of American Refining Group, and Harvey Golubock, ARG’s president and chief operating officer, will be given the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford's Presidential Medal of Distinction, the university’s highest honor. University President Dr. Livingston Alexander says their gifts of property and funding for scholarships and energy-related projects will enable the university to make college more affordable for their students and position the institution to better serve the workforce and needs of the bustling oil and gas industries. Most recently, ARG and Halloran Philanthropies gave the university a gift of $500,000. The first half of the gift will be endowed, and funds generated from the endowment will support scholarships. The second half of the gift will be used to help Pitt-Bradford develop its Energy Institute, which will foster the study of traditional fossil-fuel applications and pilot renewable energy projects. In 2006, ARG donate...

A Meadville woman must abide by a previous court order that she stop contacting former NBA star Michael Jordan and cannot use litigation over the order to continue claiming that he fathered her child, according to a court ruling. 35-year-old Lisa Micelli claims Jordan fathered her 4-year-old son. In the lawsuit Jordan filed in February, seeking to keep Miceli away from him, the former Chicago Bulls star says a pair of 2005 paternity tests proved he was not the boy's father. Jordan agreed to the second paternity test only after Miceli agreed to have no contact with him if he was ruled out as the child's father. Despite that, Miceli has continued to contact Jordan and his associates through hundreds of e-mails and phone calls in the ''mistaken belief that she still has a valid paternity claim against Jordan,'' Sperling said in court documents. A judge issued a restraining order against Miceli in response to that lawsuit. Earlier this month, she asked the judge to ...

New York State's cigarette tax will go up by one dollar and 25 cents a pack on June 3, but the Seneca Nation of Indians won't be charging that tax. Although former Governor Eliot Spitzer had promised to stop the sale of tax-free cigarettes to non-Indians, Governor David Paterson has declined to say what, if anything, he plans to do about the tax issue. In a written statement, Seneca Nation President Mo John said cigarette sales are not overly significant to the tribe's increasingly diverse economy. He added that it would be wrong for anyone to think the state'stax increase will be a windfall for Indian nations.

See the stories and video from WPXI-TV in Pittsburgh.

Pitt-Bradford president emeritus Dr. Dick McDowell of Bradford is seeking the Republican Party nomination in the primary election to represent McKean County on the Republican State Committee of Pennsylvania. McDowell says he is interested in serving as a committeeman so he can help influence public policy in Harrisburg for the ultimate benefit of the residents of McKean County. As a member of the state committee, McDowell would represent all registered Republicans from McKean County at meetings of the Republican State Committee and vote on official party business on their behalf. If he receives the nomination, McDowell would be the second McDowell from Bradford to represent McKean County on the Republican State Committee. His uncle, Jack J. McDowell, was a state committeeman in the 1960s and early 70s. Prior to his state committee post, Jack McDowell served as a member of the House of Representatives, representing the 67th Legislative District.

Congressman John Peterson has endorsed Glenn Thompson, one of 9 Republicans seeking the 5th District Congressional seat that Peterson is vacating. Peterson says Thompson is the most qualified candidate to succeed him in Congress. Peterson is retiring after 12 years in Washington. Peterson will be campaigning on Thompson’s behalf and Peterson’s aide, Patrick Creighton, will be taking a leave of absence from the congressman’s office to work on Thompson’s campaign. Thompson is in his second term as chairman of the Centre County Republican Party.

Troops on the front lines in Iraq pitch in to help Hunter By KATE DAY SAGER Olean Times Herald When Cheryl Winship of Freedom, N.Y., opened an envelope this week addressed to her little boy, Hunter, the tears started coming and wouldn’t stop. Inside was a document holder with a photo from U.S. soldiers serving on the front line in Iraq, a Bronze Star from one of the men and a written comment stating Hunter was their hero. The letter, along with several paper airplanes made by the soldiers out of the Iraqi form of money called Dinas, were added to the hundreds of thousands of airplanes little Hunter has received over the past few months. Hunter, 5, was diagnosed in January with Burkett’s Lymphoma, a rare form of cancer. Over the past several months, he has received chemotherapy at Buffalo Women and Children’s Hospital in his fight against a disease that results in fast-growing tumors. Read Kate's complete story HERE .

The driver in an accident that seriously injured a Bradford woman and killed her two sisters has been charged with third-degree murder and vehicular homicide. 33-year-old Eric Veltri of Brockway is also charged with DUI. He's in Jefferson County Jail on 100 thousand dollars bail. Delora Burrow-Bradish of Bradford was seriously injured in the crash. She's currently recovering at Health South Rehabilitation Hospital in Erie. Her sisters, Connie Bailey of Brockway and Karen Peters of Newark, Delaware, died in the crash.

On the second anniversary of her tragic death, we are celebrating the life of Sister Karen Klimczak, SSJ with the new book, PEACEPRINTS: Sister Karen’s Paths to Nonviolence, edited by Evelyn McLean Brady, to be released on Saturday, April 12 from 2:00-4:00 p.m. during a beautiful ceremony (2:30) at the SSJ Sister Karen Klimczak Center for Nonviolence, 80 Durham Avenue, Buffalo, NY. Help us cherish the memory of this beloved prophet of peace, who dedicated her life to providing sanctuary and hope to ex-offenders and to bringing the message of nonviolence to the people of Buffalo and beyond. Following an opening prayer and a few words from members of the Interfaith Peace Network who commissioned this beautiful homage, several vignettes from the book will be read by their authors, including Mary O’Herron; Joan English, who will read from Sister Karen’s journals; Sister Ann Oestrich; Marc Fuller, and Chuck Culhane. David Granville will perform his “Peaceprints” song, and Father Roy Herberg...

04/10/08 - Man Arrrested on Drug Charges A Bradford man has been charged with offering women drugs and alcohol in exchange for nude photos of the them. Court records show that Bradford City Police and the McKean County Drug Task Force arrested 39 year-old Daniel Friel on March 29 and charged him with possession of drugs and wanting to exchange the drugs for the women allowing him to photograph them naked. Friel is free on $10,000 dollars bail. 04/10/08 - Copper Wire Stolen from Warehouse State Police are looking for the thieves who stole copper tubing and wire from an old warehouse on Main Street in Genesee. Unknown individuals took 400 feet of the coppery wire and tubing and did $4,000 dollars damage to the warehouse. The warehouse is owned by Adam Chapman of Wellsville. 04/10/08 - Cyclone Woman Held on Drug Charges A Cyclone woman has been charged with dealing drugs and theft. Court records indicate that 36 year-old Rebecca Stone is facing delivery of a controlled substance, posses...

An autopsy shows that the Cross Fork woman found in Cross Fork Creek in Potter County died Sunday of hypothermia. The coroner says the autopsy on 50 year-old Patricia Blouse revealed that she died after spending significant time in the creek in Stewardson Township Sunday night. State Police say the incident was likely exacerbated by alcohol intoxication. They also say a second person, 55 year-old James Gelzenlichter was found alive in the creek and taken to Bucktail Medical Center in Revono. He remains hospitalized after suffering from hypothermia too.

New York City police officer has been arrested in connection with a bank robbery in Berks County. Authorities with the FBI say they arrested 21-year-old Christian Torres a few blocks from the bank, where he allegedly confronted a manager as she opened up at about 8 a.m. Court officials say Torres is charged with robbery, assault, a weapons count and other offenses. He is in the Berks County Prison, with bail set at $500,000.

The man accused of hitting a Salamanca teenager with his truck, then leaving the scene has waived his preliminary hearing. 34-year-old Albert Covell of Randolph was arrested Saturday for hitting 17-year-old Ceanna Maybee. He's charged with assault, reckless endangerment, driving without a license and leaving the scene of an injury accident. Ceanna was found lying on the side of the road by a passerby. She's still recovering at ECMC, where she is in serious condition in the trauma intensive care unit.

If you still haven't decided who you're voting for to fill John Peterson's seat in Congress -- here are some resources in case you'd like to do some research: PCN will be covering a copule of upcoming forums. WPSU.org is offering a variety of information on all 12 candidates. Peterson is expected to endorse a candidate on Friday.

04/09/08 - Gowanda Man Dies in Newstead A Gowanda man died Tuesday in an accident at a Adessa Auto Auction at Newstead. 54 year-old William Bushnell who was at the auction working for an auto dealer was struck by a car driven by 52 year-old Roseann Adornetto of Buffalo. Adornetto was working for the auction moving vehicles when she lost control of one while pulling into a bay and struck Bushnell. The vehicle was impounded by the Erie County Sheriff's Department to to see if a mechanical problem may have caused the accident. 04/09/08 - Property Tax Decrease in Portville Portville residents will be seeing lower taxes this year. The Village Board passed the 870 thousand dollar budget on Tuesday. It includes a 4 percent decrease in property taxes. Mayor Tim Emley says they were able to reduce property taxes because of years of having extra money in the general fund.

An Olean excavation contractor left permanently paralyzed by an undiagnosed brain aneurysm that led to a massive stroke a decade ago has been awarded $5 million following a three-month malpractice trial in State Supreme Court. Kaleida Health must pay 94 percent of the award to Daniel Oakes. Insurance carriers for Dr. Rajnikant Patel, Oakes’ family doctor, and neurologist Dr. Satish K. Mongia of Jamestown must pay the rest. Oakes was driving with his wife, Lisa, on July 18, 1998, when a brain aneurysm ruptured, causing vomiting and what Oakes described as the worst headache he had ever had. Though the Oakes returned home safely, he experienced vomiting and headaches for three more weeks, even though he went to a number of doctors and had a brain CT scan at Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital on July 23, 1998. Because the hospital then sent the CT scan to an outside agency for review, the ruptured vessel was not detected and led to a massive stroke Aug. 7, 1998, that left him paralyzed an...

A 10-year-old girl accused of brutally attacking another girl on a playground is too emotionally immature to understand the criminal charges against her and they should be dismissed, according to her lawyer. The 10-year-old and an 11-year-old girl face charges including aggravated assault for the attack on another 10-year-old girl in an elementary school playground the evening of April 3. The girls are accused of stomping on the victim and breaking her hip. Erie County Public Defender Tony Logue says he will ask a Juvenile Court judge to dismiss criminal charges against the 10-year-old girl. The injured girl said the other girls pulled her off the monkey bars and attacked after she told the girls to stop splashing water on her 8-year-old sister in the school playground. The two girls repeatedly stomped on her head and legs. The victim remains hospitalized and is expected to undergo at least one week of rehabilitation at a hospital. She has three pins in her hip to keep the bones in pla...

A Bucks County school is being sued by neighbors who say noise from soccer games is interfering with their peace and quiet. Louis and Susan Stellar filed the lawsuit Wednesday in Bucks County Court. They say soccer games and practices at Holicong Middle School in Buckingham sometimes make so much noise they are forced to leave their home. The lawsuit says they have also canceled social events because of it. The Stellars say they have been unable to get the township to enforce its noise ordinance where soccer is concerned. And they say requests for the Central Bucks School District or Central Bucks Athletic Association to move soccer activities to another field have been ignored. Township attorney Craig Smith and supervisor Chairwoman Maggie Rash say they haven't seen the lawsuit. They declined to comment.

Two Grove City Area High School students are suspended, though school officials doubt the girls meant any harm when they drew up a "murder list" of nearly 50 classmates and teachers. The girls are 15 and 17. They are suspended from school and now Grove City police have charged them in juvenile court with terroristic threats. Police say they learned about the list after a girl whose name was on it alerted school officials last week. The girls have been suspended since Friday and school officials are to decide whether to extend that punishment up to 10 days. School Superintendent Robert Post says it's clear the girls are sorry for what they've done and meant no harm.

A 10-year-old girl and an 11-year-old girl have been charged in Erie County juvenile court with aggravated assault, simple assault and criminal conspiracy for dragging another girl off a set of monkey bars, stomping on her head and legs and breaking her hip. 10-year-old Rikki Triana had to have surgery to have 3 pins inserted in her hip and will receive at least a week of therapy at Erie Shriner's Hospital. She's currently recovering at Hamot. Rikki says the girls attacked her after she told them to stop splashing water on her 8-year-old sister. Her attackers' identities have not been released. A judge did not immediately determine whether the girls would have to remain in a detention facility while they await a delinquency hearing.

The House has passed a bill approving $45 million to help states expand newborn screening programs. The bill's sponsor, Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut, held a news conference with Senator Hillary Clinton and former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly to promote the legislation. Dodd said that with passage of the bill, we're another step closer to ensuring that every baby born in the U.S. will be tested for a full panel of genetic and metabolic disorders. The bill also creates the Hunter Kelly research program at the National Institutes of Health. Kelly's son, Hunter, died 2 1/2 years ago of Krabbe disease, an inherited degenerative disorder of the nervous system. About 4,000 babies are identified and treated every year for conditions that could threaten their lives or health. Photo Courtesy of The Hunter's Hope Foundation .

The state Senate has approved a bill that would impose tougher identification requirements for people who apply for public benefits. Proponents say the stricter requirements will help ensure that illegal immigrants do not improperly get such benefits. However, opponents say there is no proof of illegal immigrants improperly getting such benefits. They say the only people who will be hurt are U.S. citizens who do not have ID. The bill passed 39-10, with all Republicans but one supporting it and nine of 21 Democrats opposing it. It now goes to the House. Senator Joe Scarnati is the sponsor of the bill.

People interested in becoming a Certified Weed Warrior for the Allegheny National Forest (NF) are invited to participate in a training session on Thursday, April 17, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Slater Room in the Warren Public Library. The training will include an introduction to invasive plants, their impacts on wildlife and other plants, identification, and control practices. The training will lead to certification as a Weed Warrior after participation in one of the pcoming Weed Warrior events. Forest botanists have selected locations on the Allegheny NF where volunteers can work on their own to help control non-native invasive plants. People interested in becoming a Weed Warrior, but not able to attend the training on Thursday, April 17, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., may still learn about the Weed Warrior program by attending any of the Weed Warrior scheduled events. Please register in advance by Tuesday, April 15, for the Weed Warrior training at 814-728-6168 so the Forest Servic...

A resolution calling for a study of the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s current white-tail deer management program has been passed by the state house. Rep. Sam Rohrer is Republican chairman of the House Game and Fish Committee, and says as he travels around the state the issue people talk to him about most is decimation of the deer population. Lawmakers say they are concerned over the distribution of deer across the state, with too many deer in populated areas, and not enough deer in areas known for hunting.

The state house has passed a resolution challenging the US Forest Service plans to limit the development of private oil and gas rights on the Allegheny National Forest. State Representative Kathy Rapp says the Forest Service is asserting new and unprecedented authority to control private oil and gas development, as well as restricting producer access to their mineral rights. She says the new forest management plan reverses long-standing forest service practices and rewrites national policy.

An 11-year-old girl and a 10-year-old girl are being held in an Erie County juvenile detention center because police say they brutally attacked another little girl and broke her hip. Police say the girls will be charged today at a juvenile court detention hearing. The alleged victim told police the attackers splashed her 8-year-old sister with water on Thursday. Police say when the 10-year-old sister told the other girls to stop, they dragged her off some monkey bars and began stomping her head and legs. She remains hospitalized. Erie County District Attorney Brad Foulk and the police say they don't recall an attack of his magnitude involving young children. On a related note: Eight Florida teenagers are facing assault and false imprisonment charges after filming themselves attacking a 16-year-old girl. The Polk County Sheriff's office, which released the video, said the six girls and two boys wanted to post it on YouTube.

The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford will host its third Empty Bowls and Baskets Dinner Friday, April 11, to raise awareness of the fight against hunger. Proceeds will benefit the Friendship Table. Sponsored by the Women’s History Month Celebration committee, the dinner will be held at 5:30 p.m. in the Mukaiyama University Room of the Frame-Westerberg Commons. Tickets for the event are $10 and will be sold at the door. Dinner will consist of homemade soup and bread, and diners can select a handmade ceramic bowl or a basket as a reminder of the dinner’s purpose. According to Dr. Holly J. Spittler, associate dean of student affairs and chairwoman of the event, "The premise behind the dinner is to provide adequate food and a place at the table for all, as well as to educate to help end hunger." Pitt-Bradford students and volunteers spent several afternoons and evenings painting bisque bowls or weaving baskets for the event. Inmates from the Federal Correctional Instit...

The former Third Ward School property will soon be home to several townhouses. CBI I is buying the site for 40 thousand dollars. O-E-C-D Executive Director Sara Andrews says the city has been talking with Nick Cummins for several months about his plan to build 10 market-priced homes on the site. Elm Street Manager Lisa Campogiani reminded council members that the Elm Street Cleanup Day - as part of Clean Sweep PA -- starts at 10 a.m. April 26. The headquarters is Grace Lutheran Church. She also said the Elm Street Neighborhood will be participating in the National Night Out on August 5. She explained that it's a time for people to tell everyone "they're not going to stand for crime" in their City Parks Director Chip Comilla and Councilman Rick Benton accepted a new flag from Norm Geist of Disabled American Veterans Chapter 72. The flag will be flown in Veterans Square. Bradford resident Jim Kinney thanked Mayor Tom Riel and Police Chief Mike Close for curbing the dru...

Update: 6:00p.m. Classes will be held tonight. Police and AU campus security have confirmed that the situation has been resolved. The student who was reported to have been carrying a gun was found to have a toy gun used in a game of tag that involves students shooting each other with plastic balls. Campus is secure and safe, and faculty, staff and students may resume business as usual. Classes are proceeding as scheduled this evening. For the latest information, go to Alfred's web site . Officials rules for Humans vs. Zombies

A 2-year-old girl who was severely beaten with a video game controller by her mother's boyfriend has died from her injuries. Police say Darisabel Baez suffered injuries to her head and body when Have Johnson beat her until she was unconscious. The girl's mother, 19-year-old Neida E. Baez, 19, called an ambulance Sunday afternoon after Johnson brought the unconscious child to her, limp and wet from an attempt to revive her in the bathtub. Johnson acknowledged beating the girl with a video game controller before she lost consciousness, but did not say why, police said. Baez said Johnson had abused the girl in the past, and she had heard the girl scream after Johnson beat her Sunday. Both Johnson and Baez are in York County Prison.

News Busters

Current and retired Bradford City Firefighters pay their respects to retired Captain Bob Zeigler as the funeral procession passes by the fire station. Zeigler died Thursday at his home following a lengthy illness. Yes, the sniffling you hear is me crying. He was my next-door neighbor for many years. I have wonderful memories of him -- as a firefighter, the father of a friend of mine, and a guy I'd chat with at church or whenever I saw him around town. Can't get into that now, though, because I have to go on the air soon and there are more tears just below the surface.

Five students from the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford will receive the Robert C. Laing Creative Arts Award for their work in the creative and performing arts. This year’s recipients are Seth Bickford, a senior public relations major from Emporium, who will receive the award for theater; Debra Bell, a junior history/political science major from Shinglehouse, who will be honored in music; Kathleen Melvin, a senior public relations major from Bradford, will receive the award in art along with Adriana Vaccaro, an interdisciplinary arts major from Bradford. Finally, Darah Wolf, a senior writing major from Mechanicsburg, will be honored for writing.

Hundreds of people filled the Brockway High School auditorium and cafeteria to attend a funeral for 10 people killed in a house fire on Thursday The mourners packed the auditorium and filled the cafeteria, where they watched the 90-minute service on a screen rolled in for the occasion. Flowers and pictures adorned 5 caskets, with religious embroideries hanging behind them. Some of the children are being buried with their mothers. Earlier today in Harrisburg, Senator Joe Scarnati, a Brockway native, asked his colleagues for a moment of silence in remembrance of the victims. Investigators haven't determined a cause of the fire yet. For more on this story, visit pennlive.com Video from KDKA television in Pittsburgh. In both the article and the video, you'll see that Jason Mowry actually escaped the fire, but then went back in to try to save the children.

State Police in Coudersport are investigating the death of a Cross Fork woman that happened between 8 and 11:15 p.m. Sunday on the bank of Cross Fork Creek. They say 50-year-old Patricia Blouse went into Cross Fork Creek about seven-tenths of a mile north of Route 144 near the village of Cross Fork. The cause of death is undetermined. An autopsy is pending. Police will release further details as they become available.

Voter registration for Pennsylvania's presidential primary may set an all-time record. State officials Monday released updated numbers that show total registration at about 8.3 million — fewer than 50,000 votes shy of the record set in the last presidential election. And that number will increase, because county officials aren't finished processing all the applications that were filed by the March 24 deadline. The number of Democrats now stands at 4.2 million — an increase of 8 percent since last fall's election. The Republican total is 3.2 million — a decline of about 2 percent.

Malcolm Kysor will soon be on his way back to Pennsylvania, after waiving extradition during a hearing today in Kern County, California. The 53-year-old convicted murderer who escaped from the State Correctional at Albion in November was picked up Saturday in a park in Bakersfield after bragging about being on "America's Most Wanted." Kysor faces escape and other charges related to his Nov. 25 escape. Kysor was serving a life sentence for a 1981 murder. Pennsylvania authorities have until April 17 to get Kysor back to Erie County.

The convicted murderer who escaped from a state prison near Erie in November has been arrested in California after boasting that he'd appeared on Fox's "America's Most Wanted." 54-year-old Malcolm Kysor was picked up Saturday in a Bakersfield, Calif., park after a citizen there notified police after his remark. Kysor escaped from SCI-Albion by hiding in a trashcan that was taken from the prison on a truck and picked up by a farmer who collects food scraps. Kysor had been serving a life sentence since 1988 for a murder in Erie County. Sgt. Allan Abney of the Bakersfield Police Department says police always get their man -- even if he travels all the way across the country. Kysor is being held without bond in Kern County awaiting extradition proceedings.

Less than one week after successfully voting to defeat extreme gun control legislation to impose criminal penalties on victims of lost or stolen firearms, state representatives Marty Causer and Kathy Rapp, today joined with hundreds of Pennsylvania gun owners and outdoorsmen in the state Capitol rotunda for the Third Annual Right to Keep and Bear Arms Rally. Rapp says "The responsible ownership of firearms remains a treasured heritage throughout Pennsylvania, especially in Warren, Forest and McKean counties." Causer adds that the timing of the rally couldn't have been better because lawmakers are under intense pressure to enact gun controls that will do far more harm to law-abiding gun owners than to criminals. For the latest Second Amendment legislative updates visit RepCauser.com or RepRapp.com .

From left to right, Cody Hennard, Leah Swineford, Justin Wedge, and Ashley Hennard. In the elementary section, Cody Hennard won all his games to claim first overall. Leah Swineford, Justin Wedge, and Ashley Hennard tied for second place. Left, Nico Alvarado finished tied for second place in the junior high/senior high section of the tournament. The tournament was held in Dubois, PA on Saturday, April 5, and was organized by Tom Shade. The tournament director was Dan Lines. The event is made possible by the generosity of Owens-Illinois & the Tri-County Chess League. Other champions participating from Bradford, but not pictured, included Katie Wedge, Kyle Wedge, Nancy Lawton, and Jeremy Wedge. Photos courtesy of Chris Lawton

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is reporting that an 18-year-old Conewango Valley boy is missing. Anthony "Ant" Consier was last seen at 2 a.m. March 19, leaving his home. He is Caucasian with red hair and brown eyes. He is 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighs about 125 pounds. He has a pierced left ear and may be wearing glasses. Anyone with information on Anthony Consier should contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678 or the Cattaraugus County Sheriff's Office at 716-938-9191.

John and Timothy Rigas are claiming the government is prosecuting them twice on the same tax evasion and conspiracy charges. The Adelphia founder and his son have filed a motion in U.S. Middle District Court asking charges to be dismissed because they amount to double jeopardy or duplicate prosecution. The two are scheduled for trial in July on charges they obstructed the Internal Revenue Service from collecting more than $300 million in taxes on money they illegally obtained from Adelphia. The Rigases contend the charges are based on the same alleged illegal activity for which they were convicted in New York in 2004 on conspiracy, bank fraud and security fraud charges. They were acquitted of wire fraud. John Rigas is serving a 15-year prison term and his son 20 years. Both have maintained their innocence.

LILLY, Pa. (AP) — A small western Pennsylvania borough hopes to memorialize a deadly 1924 clash its townsfolk endured with hundreds of Ku Klux Klansmen. The Lilly riots occurred on April 5th, 1924, when 300 to 400 Klansmen arrived by train. The Klan targeted the town because of its mostly Catholic immigrant population and its strong United Mine Worker presence, local historians say. For the full story, go to pennlive.com .

BROCKWAY, Pa. (AP) — Fire Chief Chris Benson and other emergency responders say they are grateful for the outpouring of support from near and far following the house fire that killed 10 people in this small, tight-knit community. "It's just unbelievable. I just can't put it into words," Benson said Saturday, holding an inch-thick stack of e-mails that included messages from Texas, Alaska and a U.S. soldier in Iraq. For the full story, go to pennlive.com .