Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

The Bradford City Water Authority along with Zippo President and CEO Greg Booth will be honored by the YMCA of the Twin Tiers with the organization’s George G. Blaisdell Community Service Award. The awards presentation will be during the annual breakfast on May 5 at Pitt-Bradford. Also, the 2015 Ray C. Uhler Outstanding Youth Award recipients have been named. They are Sarah Potter from Bradford Area High School, Lauren Kerr, Otto-Eldred; Dillon Mattis, Kane; Keenan Kost, Smethport; and Jefferson Stehle, Port Allegany. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A man who had been banned from attending Otto-Eldred school activities but was arrested after attending two sporting events earlier this month has waived his preliminary hearing. 50-year-old Scott Porter of Rixford also allegedly threatened representatives of the school district and their families on Facebook. Court records say Porter had been issued notices from the school district banning him from school activities four different times in 2012 and 2013. Then on October 2 he attended junior varsity and varsity games. Porter is charged with making terroristic threats, harassment and criminal trespass. He had been in McKean County Jail but was released after this morning’s hearing on $30,000 unsecured bail. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Charges against a former elementary school teacher who had been accused of having weapons in her classroom have been dismissed. 51-year-old Ziva Ann Rios of Eldred had been charged with possession of a weapon on school property after a utility knife and a razor blade type tool with extra blades were found in her desk drawer back in July. Rios had been suspended from her position as a third grade teacher at Otto-Eldred Elementary School in May for an unrelated matter. The knife was found while her classroom was being checked to make sure she removed everything. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

The Cameron County Red Raider Marching Band was one of three that performed in exhibition tonight during the 35th Annual Autumn Classic at Parkway Field. The other two were Bradford and Otto-Eldred. Cameron County has been selected to be the official state representative band for the 2014 Pearl Harbor Memorial Parade in Honolulu, Hawaii, on December 7. If tonight's performance is any indication, they will do us proud! As for the results for the bands that were being judged: Class A: Coudersport 3rd, Port Allegany 2nd, Saegertown 1st Class AA: Cochranton 1st Class AAA: General McLane 2nd, Iroquois 1st You can see more pictures at Facebook.com/1490wesb . The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

An elementary school librarian is accused of being drunk in a classroom. 50-year-old Denise Whiteman of Eldred is the librarian at Otto-Eldred Elementary School and courts records say that on March 31 she was so drunk she was staggering in the hallway and slurring her words when confronted by Principal Terry Stanley. The staggering was captured on surveillance video. She was in contact with about 100 students that day. Whiteman is charged with endangering the welfare of children, public drunkenness and related offenses. She’s free on $5,000 bail. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Bob Esch, the Bradford Area School District and Lisa Minich were among the people honored this morning during the annual Bradford Family YMCA Community Awards breakfast. Minich was named Volunteer of the Year. Hannah Schutz was recognized as Youth Volunteer of the Year. Esch and the school district received community service awards. Also, five high school students received Ray C. Uhler Outstanding Youth Awards. They are Allyson Marasco from Bradford, Brittany Kowatch from Kane, Margaret Decker from Otto-Eldred, Logan Hutton from Port Allegany and Emily Housler from Smethport. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A new program at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford will offer $1,000 scholarships to qualifying high school students currently enrolled in its College in the High School courses. The $1,000 award is in addition to other merit awards that a student may receive and is renewable for up to four years. Qualifying students must have a 2.5 grade point average in the Pitt-Bradford courses they’ve taken through College in the High School in order to qualify. “With college costs rising across the nation, we know that affordability and quality are of prime concern to students and their families,” said Dr. Livingston Alexander, president. “At Pitt-Bradford, we’ve partnered with local schools in our College in the High School program to ensure that students across our region have access to the best in higher education.” College in the High School courses through Pitt-Bradford are offered in 18 school districts in north central and northwestern Pennsylva...

Seven schools in the 25th Senatorial District have been selected by the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) to receive Pennsylvania school safety grants, according to Senator Joe Scarnati (R-Jefferson). The grants being awarded today are for the Safe School Initiatives Program. The funding will be used by educational institutions to establish and implement plans to prevent and reduce incidents of violence. Each of the schools selected in the 25th Senatorial District will receive the maximum grant award of $25,000. “Ensuring that students and teachers feel safe in their learning environments is a crucial part of helping children to learn and succeed,” Scarnati stated. “I am very pleased that seven area schools have been selected to receive this grant funding. Across Pennsylvania each school’s safety needs are unique, which this program recognizes by allowing local school officials to determine how best to use the grants to protect our children.” Scarnati explained that ...

The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford’s Financial Aid staff will be offering free financial aid advice to college-bound students. The financial aid high school night presentations begin next week in Coudersport and continue through the end of January 2013. The schedule is as follows: 6:30 p.m. Dec. 4 Coudersport Junior-Senior High School 6:30 p.m. Jan. 8 Allegany-Limestone (N.Y.) Central School 6 p.m. Jan. 9 Otto-Eldred Library 6:30 p.m. Jan. 9 Smethport Junior-Senior High School 6 p.m. Jan. 10 Bradford Area High School, Room 232-236 6 p.m. Jan. 16 Cameron County High School 6 p.m. Jan. 23 Sheffield High School 6 p.m. Jan. 30 Oswayo Valley Junior-Senior High School ...

Pennsylvania General Energy Co. of Warren has made a $40,000 contribution to the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford that will allow more high school students to take advantage of programs that allow them to earn college credit. The contribution is made possible through a tax credit program offered by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. Pitt-Bradford has two kinds of programs in which students can earn both high school and college credits for the same course, College in the High School and Bridges. Both programs will benefit from PGE’s contribution. “PGE is pleased to make a contribution that will provide the direct benefit of improving educational experiences to students in Pennsylvania’s Northern Tier counties, including a dozen school districts and more than 450 high schoolers,” said President and Chief Executive Officer Douglas E. Kuntz. “Pitt-Bradford is a great partner in making the most of this important pro...

The McKean County Fair Queen candidates paid a visit to The Morning Buzz today. Pictured with Scott Douglas are Mary Rosenswie, Miss Port Allegany; Makayla Anderson, Miss Kane; Mandy Myers, Miss Otto-Eldred; Brianna Barnish, Miss Smethport; and Marissa Pattison, Miss Bradford. You can hear part of their conversation with Scott here , including their rendidtion of "Stayin' Alive." For more about the 107th annual McKean County Fair go to http://mckeancountyfair.net/ The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Six area school districts will share nearly $3 million in federal grants to promote literacy efforts. In making the announcement, Senator Joe Scarnati say the grants will be used to help increase reading achievement, utilize technology to improve literacy and provide new resources to teachers and administrators.   The school districts and they money they will receive are: ·         Port Allegany School District $452,548 ·         Otto-Eldred School District $307,985 ·         Bradford Area School District $879,250 ·         Brookville Area School District $724,085 ·         Clearfield Area School District $70,258 ·         Austin Area School District $276,518   “Improving reading and writing scores in our schools is one of the b...

The results are in from the Pennsylvania System of School Assessments given to students in the spring, and all schools in the Bradford Area School District have made Adequate Yearly Progress. The Pennsylvania Department of Education says the district is on the right track, but students in grades 6-8 and 9-12 still need work in reading and math. The Otto-Eldred, Smethport, Kane and Port Allegany school districts also made Adequate Yearly Progress. http://paayp.emetric.net

Adults and students in grade 6 through 12 can try out for “Charlotte’s Web” in Duke Center on Tuesday (Aug. 30) and in Bradford on Wednesday (Aug. 31). The first production of Bradford Little Theatre’s “Fun, Furious” 15th season will be mounted October 21, 22 and 23 at Otto-Eldred Junior-Senior High School in Duke Center. Tryouts on Aug. 30 will be held at the school from 6:30 to 8 p.m.; tryouts in Bradford will be held at Bradford Area Public Library on Aug. 31 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. “We are hoping that having the show and tryouts in Duke Center will offer more opportunities for actors and techies in that area to take part in this children’s classic,” said director Nanci K. Garris. She noted about half of the rehearsals will also be at the Duke Center school. Joseph Robinette’s adaptation of the tale about a friendship between Wilbur the pig and Charlotte the spider remained true to the spirit and intent of the original, said author E.B. White. There are at least four ro...

A children’s classic, a drama and a mystery dinner theater make up Bradford Little Theatre’s “Fun, Furious 15” season. The season kicks off in October with “Charlotte’s Web” and then moves on to the tension-filled “Twelve Angry Men” in February with the comic “Stay as Dead as You Are” in April. “It’s going to be great to offer another production featuring young people, a drama about jury deliberations in a murder case that touches on current events, and, by popular demand, our second dinner theater” said Nanci K. Garris, BLT president. “Charlotte’s Web” will offer both adults and students in grades 6 and up the opportunity to perform in the auditorium at Otto-Eldred Junior-Senior High School in Duke Center. Garris, who has directed young people in BLT’s “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” and “A Christmas Story,” returns to direct the full-length play by Joseph Robinette. Story author E.B. White wrote to Robinette that “You have kept its spirit and my intent. Congratulations an...

Brigadier General (Pa.) Michael G. Gould speaks at the Memorial Day ceremony in Eldred on Monday. Gould, a 1977 graduate of Otto-Eldred High School and 1981 graduate of United State Military Academy at West Point, served in the U.S. Army for more than 29 years before retiring last year. He now works in the Pennsylvania State Veterans Affairs Office. Photo courtesy of Sandra Rhodes

Charles Cole Memorial Hospital celebrated Hospital Week with a variety of events for staff and the community. High school students from Coudersport, Shinglehouse, Otto-Eldred, Austin, Galeton and Northern Potter visited CCMH to learn about a variety of clinical and non-clinical healthcare careers, education requirements, interviewing skills and future job outlook. The Heart of Cole Community Connections employee giving club presented checks for $200 each to 12 area volunteer EMS companies during an educational breakfast. The HOC Community Connections group chooses a community project every year as a way to give back. Last year, the group donated to area senior centers. During the breakfast the EMS groups also learned from hospital staff about emergency preparedness, medical command, and ventilation/CPAP. Children from Alliance Daycare visited the hospital during Hospital Week. While touring the hospital, they learned about various healthcare services and departments. Hospital Week als...

Children sustain more than 275,000 nonfatal bicycle injuries each year; with an average 140 fatalities, according to the National Center for Injury Prevention. Safe Kids McKean is partnering with the School Street Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) and St. Bernard Elementary School to promote 'Bike Smart from the Start... Wear a Helmet' during the Ride Safe Bicycle Safety Fairs that will be held on Wednesday, May 11th from 6pm to 7:30pm at School Street for students and family members. A second event will be held Thursday, May 12th from 6pm to 7:30pm at St. Bernard Elementary/Middle School for students and families. The safety fairs will focus on promoting bicycle helmet use and educating children and parents how to correctly fit and use a helmet. Children may bring their helmets for fitting and Safe Kids McKean will provide replacement helmets if necessary. According to Safe Kids USA nearly half (40 percent) of injured bicyclists have traumatic brain injuries....

More than 300 works by young artists are on display through May as part of the annual Middle School Art Exhibition at the Regina A. Quick Center of the Arts at St. Bonaventure University. The exhibition opens officially at 7 p.m. Thursday when the artists, representing 14 schools in New York and Pennsylvania, will be present to answer questions about their work. A reception will follow. “The level of excellence was so high that it made our jobs very difficult,” said Karen Vester, a St. Bonaventure art major and one of four jurors for the exhibition. Another juror, Courtney Blackmon of the Cattaraugus County Arts Council, agreed, adding, “I’m in awe of some of the art these students created.” Students from the following schools have works in the exhibition: Allegany-Limestone, Olean Middle School, Portville, Wellsville, Randolph, Oswayo Valley, Port Allegany, Ellicottville, West Valley, Cassadega Valley, Otto-Eldred, Bolivar-Richburg, Salamanca and Fillmore.

Students from 11 area schools showed off their math skills during the 2011 Challenge-24 Mathematics Contest held Saturday, April 9, at St. Bonaventure University. There were 47 students from the following participating schools: Cuba Elementary, Cuba-Rushford Middle School, Friendship, four Olean elementary schools (Boardmanville, East View, Ivers J. Norton, and Washington West), Olean Middle School, Otto-Eldred Elementary School, Otto-Eldred Middle School, and Southern Tier Catholic. Challenge-24 is a game in which contestants are presented with four numbers between one and nine. The object is to combine the numbers, using each number exactly once, to produce an answer of 24. Any of the standard arithmetic operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division) may be used as needed, perhaps more than once, to get the result. Medals were awarded to the first-, second-, and third-place students at each grade. Winners are: 3rd grade: First Place: Caileigh Bump (Cuba Elementary...