Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

Tonight students from the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford will unveil a new interactive website and phone application they have developed for the Potato Creek Trail in Smethport in conjunction with the Allegheny National Forest Visitors Bureau. The unveiling will take place at 7 p.m. in the Hamlin Memorial Library in Smethport. The app will allow visitors to the Potato Creek Trail to learn more about sites along the way, including insects, flowers, trees or historical sites such as homes in the Mansion District. The project has been a collaboration of three different disciplines at Pitt-Bradford. Students in computer information systems and technology instructor Jeremy Callinan’s Android Programming class constructed the web site, databases and programming for the application. Students of Dr. William Schumann III, assistant professor of anthropology, provided the information about sites found in the application, and students of Dr. Reece Wils...

By ANNE HOLLIDAY WESB/WBRR News Director The Bradford Sanitary Authority has decided to hire a consultant to help their engineers get through the upgrade to the sewage treatment plant. Authority member Lee Ann Doynow updated Bradford City Council during its regular meeting Tuesday night. She said the board looked at several consultants after council expressed concerns about the project. They decided to go with Tighe & Bond of Massachusetts because, Doynow said, they have the most experience with the broadest base. According to the company’s website, Tighe & Bond “has a long history of designing efficient, cost-effective wastewater collection and treatment systems to achieve compliance with federal, state and local regulations. Projects range from small industrial pretreatment systems to large regional treatment facilities. Designs may include features to conserve and/or reuse water, facilitate advanced nutrient removal or incorporate innovative residuals management processes wh...

By ANNE HOLLIDAY WESB/WBRR News Director The City of Bradford has come up with a new battle plan in its fight against blight. Instead of demolishing only a handful of properties this year, they’re going to go after many more by, as OECD director Sara Andrews said, getting more bang for their buck. She explained that every year $30,000 of Community Development Block Grant money is set aside for demolition. But this year, they are going take out a loan for $150,000 and pay back the loan with the CDBG money. Andrews said she checked with the state Department of Community and Economic Development and they said using the money that way would be fine. City Council on Tuesday authorized OECD to send letters to lending institutions in an effort to secure the loan. She said Councilman Rhett Kennedy has complied of list of 56 properties that need to be demolished, and that list is growing. She added that they are in the process of getting the “legal end of things” tied up so they can secure the ...

Tortuga's Restaurant will be serving free Christmas meals from 1 to 5 p.m. on Christmas Day. The Christmas dinner will be prepared by Mike Dolan of Ott & McHenry Pharmacy and Jeremy Callinan of Tortuga's. It includes appetizers, main course and soft drinks. (Alcoholic beverages are not included.) Anyone who wants a hot Christmas meal is welcome. http://tortugasrestaurant.com The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Saturday was the first-ever Tortugas Binge Bowl presented by 100.1 The HERO. Igor took on challenger Zach Ruth to see who could eat the most tacos in 15 minutes. Here, Igor gets pumped up before the contest. Igor greets a young fan. Zach gives Igor the evil eye. Zach flexes his muscles as Tortugas owner Jeremy Callinan looks on. Jeremy was a judge, too. Zach, holding his Binge Bowl trophy, gets congratulations from a fan. Yes, he beat Igor by eating 10 tacos to Igor's 7. Video to follow ... and you won't want to miss it! Photos by Amanda Kleps and Anne Holliday

By ANNE HOLLIDAY WESB/WBRR News Director The site of the former Third Ward School is going back onto the tax rolls. Bradford City Council on Tuesday agreed to sell the .85-acre site to local businessman Todd Hennard for $25,000. Hennard plans to build three or four market-priced single-family homes on the site. The Office of Economic and Community Development bought the site from A Partnership in Housing in April of 2008 as part of its effort to improve the quality of the city’s housing stock and to increase the tax base by building new housing units. Also Tuesday, council accepted quotes from Tom Vickery to demolish blighted properties at 13 and 17 Howard Street. Vickery’s quotes were $2,954 for 13 Howard and $2,54 for 17 Howard. Both quotes include demolition, clearing the structure and transporting the construction debris to the McKean County Landfill. Both quotes were the lowest of five received for each site. The cost will be paid from the city’s 2009 Community Development Block G...