Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

The Smethport man charged in connection to a crash that killed an 8-year-old Shinglehouse boy in February of 2013 has pleaded no contest. 22-year-old Tieler Raymo pleaded to a charged of involuntary manslaughter, which was added as part of a plea agreement that dropped eight other charges, including homicide by vehicle. District Attorney Ray Learn explained that the reason the no contest plea was offered is that experts have differing opinions on the circumstances of the crash. Raymo is scheduled for sentencing on July 9. He remains free on unsecured bail. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Bradford Police are hoping a new ordinance will cut down on thefts of scrap metal and other stolen items. The ordinance – which is only in draft form right now – would require businesses that buy items such as scrap metal, jewelry and precious metals to keep more detailed records and send those records to police weekly. During a City Council work session last night, McKean County District Attorney Ray Learns said tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of items have been stolen and sold under the guise of being scrap. "The real problem is that sometimes what’s being sold as scrap was never intended to be scrap. So it’s not that somebody is stealing a pile of rusty metal behind a house that they were going to use as scrap," Learn said. "The bigger problem is when they’re cutting good copper pipe out of a house, or they’re cutting up a good well jack, or they’re cutting up a power station or they’re cutting up something else that has a legitimate use and then selling it fo...

Some of the charges against a Bradford nurse practitioner accused of writing prescriptions she wasn’t authorized to write have been dismissed by the McKean County District Attorney’s office. 54-year-old Darlene Venezia-Skaggs had been charged by the state attorney general’s office for leaving a prescription pad in the office of Medicor Associates after she was terminated so her patients could still get prescriptions for controlled substances. Court papers say she told agent Heather Dunkle she was concerned that her patients would not get the medication they needed after she was terminated because Dr. Steven Hermann would rarely write prescriptions for controlled substances. She had been scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Tuesday. The charges were dismissed today. District Attorney Ray Learn tells WESB this set of charges was withdrawn as part of a plea agreement in another case, where she is accused of writing a prescription for a former patient and then delivering to him. T...

A former Bradford man has been sentenced to three to nine years in state prison for selling prescription pills. 53-year-old Daniel Kloss sold 291 pills to a confidential informant with the McKean County Task Force for $1,550. McKean County District Attorney Ray Learn says this is part of a large prescription drug problem in the county that law enforcement is addressing. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

City of Bradford Police Chief Chris Lucco, along with Frank Williams and Stoney Greenburg, participated in the Bradford YWCA's inaugural Walk a Mile in Her Shoes event to raise awareness about sexual assault. More than 100 walkers made their way down Main Street to Veterans Square for a recognition ceremony, a proclamation from Mayor Tom Riel and other festivities, includiing a band. You can see more pictures on our Facebook page: http://facebook.com/1490wesb

Police say a Bradford man has confessed to setting two fires on December 17 and is charged in connection to two more fires last month. 21-year-old Harvey Rose, who is also facing charges after his two-week-old baby was burned by bath water earlier this month, told police he started fires at 8 Thompson Avenue and 10 Congress Place, according to papers filed in District Judge Dominic Cercone’s office. Rose is also accused of setting a fire at 125 West Washington Street on January 8 because he was upset with a resident he says owed him money and wanted to scare her. Surveillance video from Oxley’s Service Center captured Rose riding a bicycle to and from the scene. He is also charged in connection to a fire at an apartment building at 338 East Main Street on January 11. 25-year-old Jeremiah Smith of Bradford is also charged in connection to that fire. Smith and Rose each told police that the other man started the fire. Surveillance video from the nearby Kwik Fill gas station shows the...

The Johnsonburg pastor and his wife accused of underfeeding their three adopted children have pleaded no contest to child endangerment charges. 43-year-old Mark Hooper and 40-year-old Susan Hooper of Mount Jewett had been scheduled for trial next week. District Attorney Ray Learn says the plea deal that reduces the charges from felonies to misdemeanors spares the children from having to testify at trial. The children are all younger than 12 and are living with foster parents. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

The trial for a Port Allegany man accused of smoking marijuana with a 15-year-old and then sexually assaulting her started today in McKean County Court. 40-year-old Jeffrey Pinchock is charged with statutory sexual assault, sexual assault and corruption of minors, all felonies, in connection to the August 2012 incident. District Attorney Ray Learn tells WESB he expects the trial to wrap up tomorrow. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

The McKean County Courthouse was closed for several hours after a bomb threat was reported early this morning. District Attorney Ray Learn tells us state police and his office had bomb sniffing dogs searching the building. The building was cleared at around 10:40 a.m. Learn says Smethport Police, detectives from the DA’s office and state police are continuing to investigate. This is the third bomb threat in a little over two weeks in Pennsylvania county courthouses. The Mercer County Courthouse received a threat on October 28. The Blair County Courthouse received a similar threat on October 25. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A McKean County jury has found a Smethport man guilty of raping a woman back in June. 33-year-old John Brown Jr. showed up uninvited at a woman’s home on June 20, dragged her through the house in front of her three young children, choked her and raped her. Besides rape, Brown was charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, indecent assault and indecent assault by forcible compulsion. District Attorney Ray Learn tells WESB they found Brown guilty of all charges except aggravated assault. The trial started at 8:30 this morning. The verdict came in at about 5:15 this afternoon. 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...

A man pleaded guilty today to all charges related to his assault of an 11-year-old girl. 28-year-old Kevin Collins of Duke Center got angry with the girl back in April and then choked her, slapped her and slammed her to the floor, knocking her unconscious. She was critically injured and had to be treated at Children’s Hospital in Buffalo. McKean County District Attorney Ray Learn tells WESB, “I would not offer Collins a plea agreement given the nature of the charges.” Collins remains jailed on $50,000 bail and will be sentenced at a later date. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Big Brothers Big Sisters of McKean County would like to thank the businesses and individuals who participated and donated in Bowl For Kids’ Sake 2013. Bowl For Kids’ Sake is our largest annual fundraiser that took place on March 23, 2013 at Byllye Lanes in Bradford. Funds raised will support ongoing professional match support for one on one matches between adult volunteers and youth in need of an additional positive adult role model throughout McKean County. Big Brothers Big Sisters is an evidence-based mentoring program shown to prevent substance abuse and anti-social behavior among youth. Served youth show significant improvements in school attendance, academic performance, involvement with positive school and community activities, self-esteem, interpersonal and problem solving skills, and future planning and goal setting. Served youth are also much more likely to develop friendships with positive peers and have improved relationships with family members. It costs approximately $1,...

A small games of chance informational session will be held Wednesday evening at the Bradford Area Public Library. Starting at 6 p.m., McKean County District Attorney Ray Learn, along with Mary Jo Sherwood and Shannon Brown of the McKean County Treasurer's Office, will be on hand to discuss the recent changes in the small games of chance reporting. This session will be geared towards non-profit organizations, but anyone is welcome to attend. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

McKean County District Attorney Ray Learn has released more information about the drug bust on the Allegheny National Forest. He says on Tuesday the McKean County Drug Task Force and US Forest Service Law Enforcement busted a sizeable marijuana growing operation in the forest in Lafayette Township. About 100 freshly harvested marijuana plants were seized. 57-year-old William Kamholtz of Frewsburg, New York, is charged with a felony count of manufacturing a controlled substance and two misdemeanor possession charges. He was arraigned by District Judge Rich Luther and sent to jail on $75,000 bond. Bradford Township Police and the DA’s office assisted in the drug bust. Photo courtesy of Ray Learn The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Waide E. Nolf entered a plea of no contest today in McKean County Court and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. From the DA's office: Nolf pleaded no contest to one count of first degree murder in the death of Tonya Haight, 24, of Bradford and one count of Involuntary Manslaughter in the death of Haight’s three week-old infant daughter. By pleading no contest, Nolf agreed that the Commonwealth could prove the facts alleged if the case went to trial. On March 19, 2010, the Defendant, Waide Eugene Nolf was residing at 56 Pleasant Street, City of Bradford, McKean County. Also residing in the residence was Tonya Haight, her husband John J. Haight Jr, their infant daughter Tamara Haight (DOB 02/25/2010), other children of Tonya Haight, another adult couple and their children. Sometime between 0300 hours and 0900 hours, Nolf was in the bathroom located on the first floor of the residence. Tonya Haight entered the bathroom while Nolf was in it, angering the...

Four Kane residents are in jail after being arrested on drug charges Wednesday following an investigation by the McKean County Drug Task Force, State Police and Kane Police. 27-year-old Travis Whipple, 45-year-old Virginia Milner, 31-year-old Terry Morton and 44-year-old Marlene Dyne were charged with a variety of offenses. Whipple was charged with two felony counts of drug delivery and two misdemeanor counts of a controlled substance. on January 13 he allegedly sold heroine to a confidential informant with the task force. On February 15 he allegedly sold morphine to a confidential informant. Milner was charged with two felony counts of drug delivery. She allegedly sold morphine to a confidential informant on February 8 and 11. Morton was charged with one felony count of drug delivery. On January 30 he allegedly sold Suboxone pills to a confidential informant. Dyne was charged with two felony counts of drug delivery. On October 13 she allegedly sold Xanax pills to a confidential inform...

A Bradford man committed suicide Monday night in the Crosby Mart parking lot on Route 219 in Lewis Run. State Police say 36-year-old Daniel Benner was found dead in an SUV. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at 9:15pm. Police were getting ready to stop Benner for questioning when he pulled off the road and into the Crosby's parking lot. When police approached Benner's SUV they discovered him dead inside. McKean County District Attorney Ray Learn says Benner was wanted by Foster Township Police for several charges, including rape, indecent sexual assault and incest. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

The woman accused of operating a meth lab in Port Allegany was scheduled to be in court this morning, but her hearing has been moved to next week. 23-year-old Sara Jones is facing seven felony counts related to manufacturing methamphetamine, as well as risking a catastrophe. The state police clandestine lab response team, along with detectives from the McKean County DA’s office and McKean County Drug Task Force raided the lab on the evening of March 14. Jones is jailed on $200,000 bail. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Detectives from the McKean County District Attorney’s Office, McKean County Drug Task Force, and the Pennsylvania State Police Clandestine Laboratory Response Team raided a residence at 63 South Main Street in Port Allegany on the evening of March 14, 2012. An active methamphetamine laboratory including precursor chemicals, pseudoephedrine, laboratory paraphernalia, and approximately two grams of finished crystal methamphetamine, was located inside and around the residence. Arrested was 23 year old Sara Jean Jones. Jones was charged by McKean County Detective Ryan Yingling with seven felony counts related to the manufacture of methamphetamine and disposal of chemicals in the manufacturing of methamphetamine. Jones was also charged with a felony count of risking a catastrophe and misdemeanor charges of reckless endangerment and drug possession. The manufacturing of methamphetamine is extremely dangerous and involves the use of several toxic and explosive chemicals. Members of the Pennsy...