Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

4:55 UPDATE: After being arraigned, he was released on $100,000 bail. 3:45 UPDATE: A charge of criminal homicide has been filed against 62-year-old Stephen Stidd of Bradford. He has not been arraigned yet, but is expected to be later today in District Judge Dominic Cercone’s office. 1:15 PM UPDATE: Local and state police are still on the scene of a fatal shooting in the parking lot behind Togi’s Restaurant on East Main Street. We will not be broadcasting or printing the names of the victim and shooter until we get the official statement from police. A person was shot in the parking lot behind Togi’s Restaurant on East Main Street this morning. The victim was reportedly shot in the chest at around 9:30. There’s no word on the person’s condition. The shooter was taken into custody shortly afterward. We’ll have more information as it becomes available. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

More than a dozen bridges in McKean County – including one in Bradford – will be replaced under Pennsylvania’s Rapid Bridge Replacement Project. PennDOT Secretary Barry Schoch announced today that the agency has finalized terms for the $899 million project that will replace 558 bridges across the state. The Bennett Brook Bridge in Bradford, Shep Run Road bridges in Custer City, and the Pennbrook and Foster Brook bridges in Derrick City are among those targeted for replacement. Plenary Walsh Keystone Partners and its team of 11 Pennsylvania-based subcontractors will lead the project, and will be responsible for getting the money to start replacing the bridges, as well as maintenance for 25 years after construction. HAZELHURST SR 6-US 6 MARVIN CREEK Mar 2017 > Oct 2017 MARVINDALE SR 6-US 6 WARNER BROOK Mar 2017 > Oct 2017 3 MI SE BETULA SR 46-PA 46 HAVENS BROOK May 2017 > Jan 2018 1 MI W ORMSBY SR 59-PA 59 TRIB KINZUA CREEK Jun 2016 > Aug 20...

Two Bradford men are accused of breaking into vehicles and stealing items in the Bolivar Drive and Colonial Heights areas this morning. City police say 22-year-old Michael Bailey and 20-year-old William Schoonover were found in the vicinity of the break-ins and had some of the stolen items with them. Police say the targeted vehicles were unlocked and there did not appear to be any damage to them. Several recovered items are still unclaimed. Contact city police if you think the items may be yours. Anyone with pertinent information on these incidents is asked to contact City of Bradford or Foster Township Police. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

UPDATE from state police: The incident happened at 7:12 a.m. in Hamlin Township (the Mount Jewett area) while students were waiting for their bus. Troopers strongly encourage parents to accompany their children while they wait for their bus. Police ask that anyone with information about this incident call 814-778-5555. The Kane School District has sent a message to parents saying an unmarked white van tried to pick up a student in the Mount Jewett area this morning. The student did not recognize the driver and ran away. All the buses and vans the school district uses are marked. State police believe this is credible and are investigating. We're not sure yet if this is related to the incidents in Foster Township and the Mount Jewett area in September of last year. They also involved a white van. This is the message parents received: Notification from: Kane Area School District Hello, A white van has been reported attempting to pick up a child in our area. Police a...

The hearing for a Bath, New York, man accused of taking nearly $30,000 for home improvement work he didn’t do in Bradford and Foster townships had been scheduled for a preliminary hearing today in McKean County Central Court, but that hearing has been moved to next month. 51-year-old Shannon Donahue, who had previously lived in Lewis Run, did appear in court today for a bail hearing and, after being in McKean County Jail all month, has been released on unsecured bail. In all three incidents he allegedly took advance payments from the victims and never ordered materials or did any work. Donahue is scheduled to be back in court on January 28. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A mother of three will be charged after her children had to be rescued from a burning SUV while she was shopping in the Foster Brook Wal-Mart on Friday. Foster Township Police Chief Tom Munn says 32-year-old Stacey Nelson of Smethport was found inside the store. She told police she only left the children for five minutes. Nelson’s 10-year-old daughter started the fire while playing with a cigarette lighter. A two-year-old and three-year-old were strapped into their car seats. Passersby got them out. None of the children was hurt. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A pickup truck crashed into a house next to the Perkins restaurant parking lot at just before 11 o’clock this morning. The driver was able to get out of the truck with some help from Derrick City firefighters, and wasn't hurt. There is significant damage to the house that was hit but no people were hurt. The crash ruptured a water main and all utilities to the house were shut off as a precautionary measure. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Foster Township is getting a Sheetz. Dave Hazelet, director of Real Estate at Sheetz, tells WESB the company is at the very beginning stages of the project, but they have signed an agreement for a long term land lease with MBC Development, LP. Hazelet says they must now begin the engineering and approval phases of the project, which could take up to 18 months. He adds that they are “hopeful that the process will move smoothly and you will see a brand new Sheetz store on a prominent corner in Foster Township … in just a couple short years.” The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

The man who tried to hide from police in a small wooded area off Seaward Avenue because he didn’t like the state parole program he was in has waived his preliminary hearing. Earlier this month on Seaward Avenue near 6V Sales and Service 55-year-old John Crocker got into a fight with his daughter after she told him she was going to take him back to Erie so he could turn himself in. He got out of the car and hid from police for about half an hour, until Bradford Township Police Officer Jeff Shade found him and took him into custody. City and Foster Township Police were also searching. Crocker told police later that he would rather be in jail than in the parole program. He is on parole after serving time for drug charges. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A man who tried to hide from area police officers because he said he’d rather be in jail than the state parole program he was in, got his wish. For now, anyway. 55-year-old John Crocker got into an argument with his daughter at about 6:30 last night on Seaward Avenue near 6V Sales and Service. Police were called to the scene, but by the time they got there Crocker had gotten out of the car and was running toward the wood line near Route 219, according to court papers. Bradford City Assistant Police Chief Mike Ward had officers from Bradford, Foster and Bradford townships set up a perimeter, while others searched the wooded area, which is about 50 yards by 100 yards. About half an hour after the original call, Bradford Township Police Officer Jeff Shade found Crocker lying on the ground trying to hide, and took him into custody. Police say he was slurring his speech and smelled strongly of alcohol when he told them he absconded from parole because he couldn’t stand the program he was...

Work on the Route 346 bridge in Foster Township is coming to end, and the bridge should be re-opened by noon tomorrow so drivers won’t have to use the 12-mile detour any longer. The bridge has been has been closed since mid-June and PennDOT says if more progress is made today than planned it could open even earlier than noon tomorrow. The bridge spans a branch of Foster Brook, adjacent to Rob Roy Road in Foster Township and carries an average of more than 1,600 vehicles each day. Horizon Construction Group of Sandy Lake is the contractor for the $445,000 project. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Two Bradford men are in jail for stealing a pickup truck from the Edmond Chevrolet used car lot. 19-year-old James Peters told police that he and 18-year-old Michael Troupe were waiting for a friend Tuesday afternoon when they noticed vehicles in the lot had keys in them, so they decided to take a set and come back later for the truck. After meeting up with their friend and two teenage girls they waited downtown until dark. Peters and Troupe then stole a license plate from a truck in the city and walked back to Edmond’s. Peters drove out of the lot, then they picked up the girls, went to Byllye Lanes and put the stolen plate on the truck. Troupe then drove the truck to the Lewis Run Crosby’s, where they got gas, and then drove to Kane. State police caught up with them Wednesday afternoon, then let Foster Township Police and Edmond’s know the truck had been stolen. Peters and Troupe are both charged with theft by unlawful taking, conspiracy to commit theft, unauthorized use of a mo...

Work to replace a Route 356 bridge in Foster Township is scheduled to start June 16. The bridge, which spans a branch of Foster Brook adjacent to Rob Roy Road, will be closed at that time. The current 24-foot-long bridge will be replaced with a new box culvert. The 12-mile detour will use routes 346, 219, 46, 246 and Rock City Road. The bridge closure and detour are expected to be in place until August 25, but should be lifted by the time school starts, according to PennDOT. Horizon Construction Group Inc. of Sandy Lake is the contractor for the $445,450 project. All work is weather dependent. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Message from Foster Township Supervisors: Anyone in the Looker Mountain Trail/South Kendall Avenue area whose power is not back on yet can go to the Foster Township Municipal Building to keep warm. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

(News Release) HARRISBURG – Rep. Martin Causer (R-Turtlepoint) today announced approval of a $4.8 million loan by the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PENNVEST) for the Foster Township Sanitary Sewer Extension Project. The project will extend public sewer to 335 structures in the township and eliminate malfunctioning on-lot sewer systems in the area. “A safe and reliable infrastructure is vital to efforts to facilitate growth and improve quality of life in our community,” Causer said. “This is an important investment in our future.” The project includes the installation of 100,000 linear feet of low-pressure gravity collection main, 2,100 linear feet of gravity sewer, two pump stations, 335 individual grinder pumps and all related equipment. The term of the loan is 20 years with an interest rate of 1 percent for the first five years and a rate of 1.743 percent beginning in the sixth year through maturity. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since ...

It appears George Hocker has defeated current Foster Township Supervisor Chairman John Sullivan by a count of 431 to 308 in today’s election. Bradford Township Supervisor Gayle Bauer, however, held off her challenger Richard Yovichin by a count of 410 to 248. It appears Michael Angelo squeaked by Timothy Newhouse in the race for Lafayette Township supervisor by a vote of 58 to 56. In Liberty Township, Fred Ernst defeated Charles Safford by a vote of 106 to 84. Election results are not official until the Board of Elections certifies them on Friday. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Items that could potentially be used to make explosives were found in a Bradford man’s home Monday. Police Chief Chris Lucco says city police officers and agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were at 20 Mechanic Street speaking with 44-year-old Eric Cramer when they could see what appeared to be multiple items that could be used for making an explosive device. Officers secured the apartment, evacuated the building and called the Erie Bomb Squad. Police also searched a storage locker leased by Cramer and found several items that could be used to build and/or detonate an explosive device, as well as detailed notes on how to manufacture such a device, Lucco said. At 10:45 Monday night Cramer was arraigned by District Judge David Engman on felony charges of unlawful possession or manufacture of weapons of mass destruction and causing a catastrophe and sent to McKean County Jail on $300,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Thursday. Lucco thanked the McK...

The Foster Township Police Department is looking for a silver Chevy Avalanche with heavy front end damage that was involved in an incident on Summit Road Saturday. Anyone with information on this vehicle is asked to contact Foster Township Police. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Foster Township Police Chief Tom Munn says his department has received numerous tips on the suspicious van thats driver has approached at least one girl, but none of them turned out to be the van they’re looking for. Munn does want people to be aware that the van is a conversion van – not a cargo van – and does have windows on the sides. (It’s similar to the van in the picture. This is NOT the actual van they’re looking for.) He says they have taken calls from all over the area and “We absolutely appreciate all the calls we’re receiving. We’d rather be safe than sorry.” The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Foster Township Police are looking for suspicious white van and the man in it who has approached at least one child. At about 8 o’clock this morning the van drove past a girl on Looker Mountain Trail near the intersection with South Kendall Avenue, and then turned around and drove past her again. But on August 27, the van was following a girl walking home from school. At the intersection of Bordell and Summit roads, she noticed a vehicle behind her that pulled into two driveways on Bordell. At one point, the driver got out of the van and started to walk toward her. The girl ran to the home of a person she knew, and two dogs ran out. The dogs approached the man, and then he got back into the van and left the area. The van is a white, older model conversion van and the driver is a white man, believed to be in his 60s with gray hair. Anyone with information regarding this vehicle or the driver is asked to contact the Foster Township Police Department. Anyone who sees the van in their ...