Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

A Bradford man has been charged with impersonating a police officer after allegedly entering and searching the home of some St. Bonaventure University students. 33-year-old Daniel Benner of Derrick Road is accused of going to the home on the evening of August 25 and telling the students he was a Foster Township Police officer looking for a person had illegally provided tattoos. The students told police he didn't have identification and forced his way into the house. He left after searching the property. Later, Benner also allegedly told an off-duty Allegany Police officer he was an undercover officer. Officer Tim Peterson did get Benner's license plate number and provided it to Foster Township Police, who helped identify him. Benner is free on his own recognizance and scheduled to appear in Allegany Town Court on October 6.

The homicide trial for a Marienville man is set to start in February in Elk County Court. 19-year-old Raymond Lambert is accused of robbing, shooting and killing Sigel-area resident Timothy Finucan in August of 2008. In December of last year he pleaded not guilty to criminal homicide, burglary and several other charges.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bob Casey announced today that $453,713 in federal funding has been awarded by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to the Guidance Center, part of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, in Bradford. This grant will allow local communities to expand mentoring and support services for youth foster care programs. “Children in foster care too often lack a stable support system,” Senator Casey said. “This funding will allow the Guidance Center to provide additional mentors and volunteer programs so that foster children can go through their daily lives knowing that someone is there for them.” This funding was awarded by the DOJ Mentoring Initiatives for Foster Care Youth Program. It will assist the Guidance Center to provide quality supportive mentoring services and to recruit volunteers within the children’s existing social networks. This will reduce juvenile delinquency, boost school attendance and performance, enhance familial relationships and prevent substance ab...

Changes have been made to the travel alert related to the filming of the movie "Unstoppable. The intersection of routes 120 and 155 at the east end of Emporium will be restricted Friday, Monday and Wednesday and will be controlled by police from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. all three days. Motorists can also expect intermittent traffic delays on Route 120 between East Allegany Avenue and Spring Street in Emporium all three days. Lanes will also be closed intermittently on the Route 120 steel bridge in the village of Cameron on Friday. Next Thursday, there will be traffic delays in Turtlepoint on Champlin Hill Road between Route 155 and Pine Grove Road. Next Friday, motorists can expect delays on Route 120 between Port Allegany and Liberty. news release from PennDOT

A man wanted by Town of Carrollton Court and McKean County Court on separate charges has been arrested. Acting on a tip from the City of Bradford Police Department, and assisted by the Olean Police Street Crimes Unit, sheriff's deputies located 44-year-old Mayholn Troutman at the Microtel Motel in Allegany. Troutman is accused of breaking the arm of a female as a he dragged her down a flight of stairs during a domestic dispute last month in Limestone. He then allegedly threatened to kill a female neighbor who attempted to help the victim, and made a verbal threat to kill her children. Deputies also arrested 28-year-old Sara Schwab of Limestone for hindering prosecution. The motel room where Troutman was staying had been rented in Schwab's name. Troutman is also wanted on a felony bench warrant from McKean County for failing to appear for sentencing on drug charges. Troutman is in Cattaraugus County Jail on $10,000 cash bail. news release from Cattaraugus County Sheriff's De...

The Kiwanis Club of Bradford has completed a $5,000 pledge to its scholarship at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. Money for the donation came from the proceeds of the Kiwanis Kapers, the club’s annual fundraising variety show held each November. The gift was matched by the Agnes L. and Lewis Lyle Thomas Scholarship Challenge. Shown here are Todd Peine, president of the Kiwanis Club, left, and Dr. Livingston Alexander, president of Pitt-Bradford. The scholarship is awarded to promising and deserving students showing financial need who are returning to Pitt-Bradford. Preference is given to former members of the Bradford Area High School Key Club, children of Kiwanis Club of Bradford members and graduates of BAHS. ( Photo courtesy of Pitt-Bradford )

The intersection of routes 120 and 155 at the east end of Emporium will be restricted Saturday and Monday as filming for the movie "Unstoppable" continues. The intersection will be restricted and controlled by police from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. both days. Route 120 between East Allegany Avenue and Spring Street in Emporium will be closed. Drivers may also encounter intermittent traffic delays on Saturday and Monday along Route 155 between Pine Tree Road and Gardeau Road. PennDOT says motorists should choose alternate routes around the restriction and closure. Drivers can follow PennDOT’s official detour or they can choose alternate roads they prefer. from PennDOT

A Jamaica man has been charged with rape following an alleged incident in the Town of Allegany. Sheriff's deputies arrested 21-year-old Archie Dweh on Monday and charged him with rape and unlawfully dealing with a child. Dweh was arraigned in Allegany Town Court and taken to jail with bail set at $1,000.

Coudersport state police are investigating two separate incidents where school bus sheds were tipped over. The first incident happened late Saturday night or early Sunday morning at the intersection of Route 49 and Dwight Creek Road in Allegany Township. The second incident happened early Sunday morning on Kio Road near the intersection with Route 872 in Eulalia Township. Both sheds belong to the Coudersport School District. Anyone with information on these incidents is asked to contact state police.

A Sheridan man is facing assault charges in connection with an incident Friday night in Sheridan. Sheriff's deputies say 47-year-old Robert Kilburn got into an argument with a female and eventually pushed her and threw her to the ground, causing substantial injuries. After an investigation, Kilburn was located and charged with assault. He'll appear in Sheridan Court at a later date.

A Bradford man has been arraigned on charges related to a car jacking this summer. 24-year-old Michael Blum of Congress Street, along with Jessica Gulledge, allegedly took a vehicle at knifepoint from the parking lot across from Zippo on Barbour Street on August 6. Blum is accused of holding a knife to the victim's throat, and demanding his keys and wallet. Following his arraignment by District Judge Dom Cercone, Blum was sent to McKean County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail.

A Tionesta man is accused of leaking an e-mail about a drug investigation to a friend whose sister was named in it. Forty-one-year-old Scott Henry, the chief information technology officer for Forest County, is charged with obstruction and hindering apprehension or prosection. Attorney General Tom Corbett says Henry came across an e-mail from the U.S. Forest Service about a suspected marijuana growing operation on national forest land. The e-mail contained surveillance information and a list of people associated with the investigation. Corbett says the marijuana-growing operation was soon abandoned. Henry is free on bond and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for October 13. from the state attorney general's office

The first step has been taken to bring a steel recycling firm to Western New York. The New York Power Authority board of trustees today approved an allocation of low-cost hydropower for Steel Development Company. The company is looking to create 200 permanent jobs in Western New York and invest $200 million in a new manufacturing facility. New York was competing with several other states and Mexico for Steel Development’s new facility. Once the economic development package is finalized, Steel Development’s new plant will use state-of-the-art equipment to turn recycled steel into rebar. In addition to the 200 permanent jobs, the Steel Development project is expected to create 600 to 1,000 construction jobs for the new facility, which is expected to be completed by the first half of 2011. from the NY Governor's Web site

Students from St. Bonaventure University and Siena College will team up Oct. 2-3 to help the efforts of Operation Dignity, a national movement to restore old and abandoned psychiatric hospital cemeteries. St. Bonaventure’s Franciscan Center for Social Concern, together with Siena College’s School of Social Work, is sponsoring the event, which includes a Friday evening panel discussion at St. Bonaventure followed by a Saturday work detail at a cemetery that holds the remains of approximately 1,000 former residents of the now-closed Gowanda Psychiatric Center. Many mental health patients who died while institutionalized at psychiatric centers across the nation were buried in unmarked or numbered graves on the grounds of such facilities. Through Operation Dignity, mental health providers, consumers and other volunteers are working to restore these forgotten and often inaccessible grave sites. The Mental Health Association in Cattaraugus County is spearheading efforts at the former Gowanda...

The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy has acquired 2,400 acres in Clearfield County to permanently conserve forested slopes and streams at the headwaters of Bennett Branch, a tributary to Sinnemahoning Creek. The purchase includes six parcels that are largely adjacent to Moshannon State Forest and State Game Lands within the Pennsylvania Wilds region. The land is visible to motorists traveling on Route 255 to the Elk Scenic Byway. One of the parcels includes significant frontage on the Bennett Branch of Sinnemahoning Creek. The $3.5 million purchase was made possible through a grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation from The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy

A Lewis Run man is facing assault charges after allegedly throwing a frozen pack of meat at his girlfriend. According to records filed in District Judge Dom Cercone's office, 25-year-old Nicholas Blauser allegedly threw the meat at Michele Schaming sometime between 12:30 and 1 a.m. today. Schaming suffered a laceration to her face and had to be treated at Bradford Regional Medical Center. Blauser is free on $10,000 unsecured bail.

A Bradford Township man is in Hamot Medical Center in Erie after being pinned underneath a tractor Monday evening. Bradford Township Police say Andrew Terwilliger was driving the tractor on his West Washington Street property when it apparently tipped over and fell on top of him. Crews from the Bradford and Corydon township volunteer fire department freed Terwilliger. He was flown by medical helicopter to Hamot.

Authorities are waiting for test results on the skeletal remains found Saturday on the shoreline of the Allegheny Reservoir before they can start trying to figure out the person's identity. But already people in the Twin Tiers are thinking about three missing people. Lori Bova was last seen leaving the Red Lobster restaurant in Lakewood on June 7, 1997. Damien Sharp was last seen in Warren on Memorial Day weekend in 2002. Corrie Anderson was last seen on October 28 of last year leaving a car dealership in Jamestown. Testing on the remains is being done in Buffalo and could take several weeks.

Micro-dissection techniques used by St. Bonaventure assistant biology professor Julie Hens, Ph.D., in her mammary gland research have caught the eye of a Harvard research fellow. Silva Krause, Ph.D., a research fellow in the Vascular Biology Program at Children’s Hospital of Boston and Harvard Medical School, will be on campus Wednesday and Thursday to meet and train with Hens in the William F. Walsh Science Center. “My research focuses on embryonic mammary gland biology, and the molecular mechanisms involved in this processs. I micro-dissect mouse mammary buds and study the molecular mechanisms that enable them to outgrow into an initial branching structure. We do this by using explants of the mammary buds and mesenchyme and growing them in vitro,” Hens explained. “With all the great new facilities at Walsh … we have the ability to accomplish much of the research that a larger lab facility can offer,” said Hens. The university’s new $14.6 million science center opened just a year ago...

WARREN — While there has been a tremendous amount of misinformation regarding Pennsylvania workers and businesses, Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati wants to set the record straight. “Even though the Commonwealth continues to struggle with revenue collections due to the state of the economy, this budget reflects an understanding that we must provide an environment where workers are working and businesses are doing business,” Scarnati stated. “While some critics fail to understand the fiscal reality of the taxpayer, Senate Republicans found a balance of assisting our workers and businesses and not taking money out of working families paychecks.” Scarnati mentioned that various business groups, such as the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, have come to the forefront with their thoughts on the budget, even though there was a slowdown in the phase out of the Capital Stock and Franchise Tax. They too recognized that taxpayers were burdened enou...

Energy company Dominion Resources says it's moving ahead with a proposed $600 million project to pipe natural gas from fields in West Virginia to southwest Pennsylvania. The Virginia-based company plans to complete the project by 2012. It includes building 110 miles of pipeline and four compressor stations from West Virginia to Delmont, Pa., about 25 miles east of Pittsburgh. Dominion says in a statement Monday that it's begun the process of getting approval for the project from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. from Dominion Resources

Norfolk Southern has unveiled a battery-operated prototype train to be used in its Pennsylvania rail yard, and the company says it looking at hybrid long-haul trains next. The 1,500 horsepower locomotive will be used to move cars around the rail yard It uses 1,080 rechargeable 12-volt lead acid batteries to store power, and can run for about a day on a charge. It also recharges using the energy from braking. The battery-only operation gives the train zero exhaust emissions. The company says a hybrid locomotive for long-haul use would run on a mix of electricity and a diesel engine, and it would channel energy from braking back to the batteries. The company hopes to test a prototype of that locomotive by the end of next year. from Norfolk Southern

Foster Township Police are asking motorists to use caution while driving on South Kendall Avenue. They say the road is slippery from the area of the Crosby Mart on South Kendall to the intersection with Looker Mountain Trail. Police say it appears a slippery substance leaked from a vehicle making the road slick.

U.S. Representative Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson, R-Howard, joined five of his Pennsylvania Congressional colleagues today to nominate Erick Coolidge, of Tioga County, to the Dairy Advisory Committee, being created within the U.S. Department of Agriculture, (USDA). “Since this past January, dairy farm profits are nearly half what they were in 2008,” said Thompson. “The expenses of dairy producers are nearly twice as much as their profits, leaving many small farms across the country struggling to stay in business. In addition to previous actions attempting to raise dairy prices, USDA is forming a new Dairy Advisory Committee, which will work directly with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. Coolidge is a great candidate for a position on the committee. He is a longtime dairy producer and currently a Tioga County Commissioner. He has also served in various capacities in many agriculture and dairy organizations in Pennsylvania.” In the joint letter, Thompson and the legislators commented, “Be...

A Bradford man has pleaded guilty to conspiracy in connection with the attempted robbery of Domino's Pizza in Allegany last October. 20-year-old Douglas Carnahan, along with Bradford residents James Munday and James Baribeau, attempted to rob Domino's on October 9 while Munday displayed what appeared to be a gun. Carnhan will be sentenced January 4 in Cattaraugus County Court. Munday was sentenced in June to 5 years in prison. Carnahan also took part in robberies at the Bradford Uni-Mart on Chestnut Street and Mastercraft. ~~~~~ An Eldred man has admitted to trying to use counterfeit money. Joshua Stebbins pleaded guilty in Cattaraugus County Court to attempted criminal possession of a forged instrument. On March 20, in Olean, Stebbins attempted to possess a forged $100 bill. He'll be sentenced January 4. From the office of DA Ed Sharkey

Bridge work is winding down on two different projects, one in Port Allegany, McKean County and one in the village of Loucks Mills, Potter County. The Route 155 bridge in Port Allegany was repaired this year while traffic continued to use the bridge. The bridge spans the Allegheny River on Route 155 in Liberty Township, just beyond the Route 6 intersection near Port Allegany. Work included deck repair, guiderail updates, back wall repair, painting, new expansion dams and erosion/sedimentation measures. The L.C. Whitford Company, Inc. of Wellsville, New York was the contractor on the $1.3 million project. Work is expected to be complete within the next 7 to 10 days on a new bridge spanning the Genesee branch of Pine Creek in the village of Loucks Mills, Potter County. The new bridge is located on Route 1004 /Township Road 545. Nestlerode Contracting Company Inc. of Lock Haven was the contractor on the $537,000 project, which came in $45,000 under budget. For more information on road...

Governor Ed Rendell has told legislative leaders he wants a budget by Sunday. "I asked them to make sure that when the Legislature returns … that they understand, and they're notified, that they're here for the duration – as long as it takes to get a completed product," Rendell said during a news conference Monday afternoon. "The caucus leaders all agreed to that," he said. "It's my hope that we will get a budget by Sunday – a budget that I can sign." Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi said during a news conference later in the afternoon that having the budget ready to sign by Sunday would be a "best case scenario." Rendell and leaders of three of the four legislative caucuses announced 10 days ago that a deal had been reached, but none of the budget bills has been put up for a vote yet. From Commonwealth Media Services

Stan Sheetz, president and chief executive officer of the Sheetz convenience stores, will discuss the company’s management philosophy and customer focus on Wednesday, Sept. 30, at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. Pitt-Bradford’s business management program is sponsoring the free presentation at 10:30 a.m. in the Bromeley Family Theater of Blaisdell Hall, as part of the Executive Speaker Series. Started in 1952 as a small dairy and deli in Altoona, the store has expanded across six states: Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio and North Carolina. Employing more than 12,000 people, Sheetz has been named one of the Best Places to Work in Pennsylvania for the seventh consecutive year and one of the top 10 Best Large Employers in Ohio. Additional information is available by contacting Jody Randolph, administrative assistant for the Division of Management and Education, by jar1@pitt.edu or (814) 362-5056. From Pitt-Brad...

St. Bonaventure University has announced plans for the creation of a lifestyle destination development on property owned by the university on Route 417 in Allegany. Ross Wilson & Associates of Buffalo is the master developer and project manager for the development, to be called Bonaventure Square. “We have been working with Ross Wilson & Associates since February, and we are delighted that they are now ready to advance plans for the property to the Allegany Town Board,” said Brenda McGee Snow, senior vice president for finance and administration at St. Bonaventure. “We feel confident that the proposed development will significantly enhance the quality of life for our students and for regional citizens and tourists, while also supporting the university’s long-term plan for growth.” Among the planned components of the approximately $60 million development — to be located on the site of the former Castle Motel — are a recreation complex with bowling alleys, sports lounge, arcade ...

By Pat Frantz Cercone Director of Communications and Marketing The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford has reached its longstanding enrollment goal of 1,500 full-time equivalent students and also shattered previous enrollment records, including having its largest student body and biggest freshman class. The enrollment figures became official today in a report submitted to the University of Pittsburgh. “This is a magnificent accomplishment for our campus and for our region,” Dr. Livingston Alexander, president, said of reaching the 1,500 FTE goal. “We’re very proud that we were able to reach this milestone three years in advance of our projected time frame.” Full-time equivalent is a measurement used by colleges and universities that serve both full- and part-time students. The measurement allows administrators to better plan and budget for the demands placed on the faculty and student services. This year the campus has 1,535 FTE, a 10.2 ...

Authorities are still trying to identify human remains found by a fisherman along the shore of the Allegany Reservoir over the weekend, and they say it's too soon to tell if they could belong to missing Jamestown mother Corrie Anderson. They're not even sure yet if the person was a man or woman or if foul play was involved. The remains are in the advanced stages of decomposition, and have been sent to Buffalo for testing. Corrie Anderson disappeared in late October of last year.

Congressman Glenn Thompson presents a gift to University of Pittsburgh at Bradford President Livingston Alexander during "Government Outreach 2009" Monday morning. The annual event welcomes students from the Bradford, Clarion-Limestone, Northern Potter, Cameron County, Smethport, Austin, East Forest, North Clarion, DuBois, St. Marys, West Forest, Port Allegany,Sheffield, Warren, Kane, Eisenhoser, Youngsville and A-C Valley school districts.