Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

You can take the "acting" off Teri Cannon's title as Bradford City Council voted to make her city administrator during a special meeting late this afternoon. Cannon was named acting city administrator earlier this month. After council voted Cannon into the position Mayor Tom Riel noted that she is a fourth generation city employee, with her family having served Bradford for more than 80 years. She has been employed by the city for 23 years. Her father, Ed Sutherland, worked for the city for 31 years, most recently as director of the public works department until his retirement. Riel also read a letter from John Peterson, who retired as city clerk after 14 years in that position, and 28 with the city fire department. (The city no longer has a clerk position, as it has been replaced with the administrator.) Peterson wished the city’s first administrator the best and says he’s confident she will be able to lead the city for many years to come. Peterson also took the opp...

It's official: The owner of Kabob Kafe in Ellicottville is buying The Option House. Bradford City Council approved a $50,000 loan on Tuesday that completes the funding package he needed to buy the Main Street building from Sam Sylvester. Other money is coming from the McKean County Redevelopment Office and The North Central Regional Planning and Development Commission. Owner Sheikh Iqbal is also investing $40,000 of his own money. Debbie Huston of the Office of Economic and Community Development says the outstanding job Sylvester did in renovating the building is what attracted him to The Option House. In a news release, Huston added that Sylvester is pleased that Iqbal has decided to bring his highly popular restaurant to Bradford's Main Street as "he is a widely experienced restaurateur and caterer." She adds that over the past few months Sylvester and "Icky" -- as Iqbal likes to be called -- have developed a close personal and business relationship. Sh...

Candidates for McKean County Sheriff and Bradford City Council participated in a forum Thursday night at the Bradford Area Public Library, sponsored by the American Association of University Women. The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford's Dr. Stephen Robar was the moderator. To give you an opportunity to form your own opinions on what they had to say, we are providing you with the audio of the event. Candidates for McKean County Sheriff : Steve Caskey, Brian Gustafson, Brad Mason (pictured) Candidates for Bradford City Council Brad Mangel, Tim Pecora, Fred Proper The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

There still time to submit questions for the Candidate Forum set for Thursday night at the Bradford Area Public Library. The forum, sponsored by the American Association of University Women, is set to start at 7:30 p.m. and will include candidates for McKean County sheriff as well as Bradford City Council. Dr. Steve Robar, political science professor at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, will be the moderator. Questions can be emailed to aauw_bradford@yahoo.com  The sheriff race is a contested race between Republicans Steve Caskey, Brian Gustafson and Brad Mason. Three candidates are running for three seats on Bradford City Council. They are Brad Mangel, Tim Pecora and Fred Proper, all Republicans. The forum is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served. The primary election is May 21. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

The American Association of University Women - Bradford Branch is holding a Candidate Forum for the upcoming Primary Election. This Forum, featuring those running for McKean County sheriff and Bradford City Council, will be held at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 18, in the community room of the Bradford Area Public Library. Dr. Stephen Robar, associate professor of political science at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, will moderate the forum. There are three Republican candidates running for sheriff – Brad Mason, the current sheriff, Steve Caskey and Brian Gustafson. There are also three candidates running for three seats on city council. They are incumbent Fred Proper, Brad Mangel, who was appointed to fill the unexpired seat of Rick Benton and newcomer Tim Pecora, all Republicans. “Our group is excited to be able to bring this forum to the voters of McKean County,” said Sandy Rhodes, co-president of AAUW. “We are hopeful that this will give voters the information they...

Bradford native Tim Pecora is seeking the Republican nomination for a seat on Bradford City Council in the May primary. Pecora, who resides at 106 Harding Ave., is currently a sales associate for Control Chief Corp. in Bradford, a position he has held since April. Before that, he was a marketing representative for Burns & Burns Associates of Bradford for eight years. His prior work experience includes positions with insurance companies in Bradford and Pittsburgh. He is seeking one of three seats open on City Council this election. Pecora said his interest to serve on City Council was born out of his love for the community as well as seeing great potential for the city and its residents. “Bradford has all of the ingredients available to make a great success story - warm and friendly residents, strategic location for businesses, affordable cost of living, numerous leisure and recreational opportunities, plentiful natural resources, top-notch higher educational facil...