Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

A National Guard soldier from Kane has died in Afghanistan. 30-year-old Staff Sergeant Ken VanGiesen and two other members of his unit were killed Monday when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device. The National Guard says the others who died are 47-year-old Sgt. Edward Koehler of Lebanon and 49-year-old Sgt, Brian Mowery of Hailfax. Five others were wounded, but their injuries are non-life-threatening. They were all serving with the 131st Transportation Company, 213th Area Support Group, which is primarily in charge of convoys and convoy security. VanGiesen was a 1999 graduate of Kane Area High School. He was on his fourth active-duty tour. He previously served in Germany from 2002 to 2003, Iraq from 2005 to 2006 with the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team and 2009 with the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team. His parents went to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware today to pick up their son’s body. The Ronald McDonald Funeral Home in Kane is handling the arrangements. http://pa.ng....

Rep. Kathy Rapp (R-Warren/Forest/McKean), a member of the Pennsylvania House Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee, was honored to welcome 120 soldiers from Company C of the elite 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team to the new, state-of-the-art Bradford Readiness Center during Thursday's official ribbon cutting ceremony. "With approximately 15,000 members of the Pennsylvania National Guard and Reserve proudly serving in extremely dangerous conditions both at home and around the globe, it is now more important than ever that we provide them with the best possible training facilities," said Rapp. "With a proud history dating back 260 years to Benjamin Franklin, the brave men and women that we are truly privileged to welcome to McKean County today continue to perform above and beyond the call of duty in America's ongoing war and peace time reconstruction efforts. Whether they're serving in a combat zone or delivering emergency relief for natural dis...