Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

A woman was sent to jail for not registering with Megan’s Law. 26-year-old Kylie Ann Silsby of Coudersport was convicted of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse in May of 2011 for an incident that happened in November of 2010, according to Pennsylvania’s Megan’s Law website. State Police say she didn’t register with them between December 15 of last year and Saturday. She was sent to Tioga County Jail on $5,000 bail. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

The City of Bradford has received $75,000 in grant money for installation of the Hanley Park Trail and Fitness Area. The project is the final leg connecting the Community Parks Trail to Hanley Park. The fitness loop in the upper portion of the park is expected to include trails with information boards marking exercise stations. The grant from the Greenway Trails & Recreation Program will cover part of the $208,000 cost of the project. ~~~ HARRISBURG – The Commonwealth Financing Authority (CFA) has approved a total of $2,086,132 for six energy, trail and water and sewer projects in the 25th Senatorial District, announced Senator Joe Scarnati (R-Jefferson). The projects approved for funding are a part of four different programs that are administered by the CFA, including the Flood Mitigation Program, Abandoned Mine Drainage Abatement & Treatment Program, Alternative & Clean Energy Program and Greenways Trails & Recreation Program. “I am pleased that six projec...

Careless smoking is believed to be the cause of a fire that killed two people in Tioga County early Monday morning. 30-year-old John Wheaton and 19-year-old Kristle Buchanan died of asphyxiation due to smoke inhalation, according to the coroner’s office. Firefighters found them unresponsive inside the home. They were taken to Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hospital in Wellsboro, where they were pronounced dead. A state police fire marshal says the blaze started in the Knoxville home at just after 5 a.m. on or near a living room sofa. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A man accused of severely beating his girlfriend for not making dinner for him will now get three square meals a day in the Tioga County Jail. 51-year-old Edward Ruditys III of Westfield, PA, is charged with aggravated assault and related offenses for beating the 50-year-old woman so badly that she had to be taken to the critical care unit at Robert Packer Hospital in Sayre. Police say among the injuries Ruditys inflicted on the woman were broken ribs and other internal injuries. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

HARRISBURG – A Smethport bridge will be named in honor of the Bucktail Regiment under legislation sponsored by Rep. Martin Causer (R-Turtlepoint) and approved by the General Assembly. House Bill 1929 designates the Route 6 bridge over Marvin Creek as the Bucktail Regiment Memorial Bridge. “The members of the Bucktail Regiment saw it as their duty and responsibility to serve and protect their country,” Causer said. “It is a privilege to have the opportunity to honor their dedicated service, which helped to make our country what it is today.” The Bucktail Regiment was a group of young recruits from Cameron, Elk, McKean and Tioga counties that rose to the defense of the Union following the bombing of Fort Sumter in April 1861. It was so named because its members adopted the tail of the whitetail buck as their badge of honor and adorned their caps with it. The 700 troops were mostly young woodsmen, lumberjacks, raftsmen, hunters and farmers. As part of the federal army, ...

HARRISBURG - Museums and historical societies in Pennsylvania have been awarded a total of $2 million for 130 grants, according to Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R-25) and Speaker of the House Sam Smith (R-66). Scarnati explained that the grants were awarded as part of the state’s Cultural and Historical Support program, which is administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC). The goal of the program is to strengthen the Pennsylvania museum community through providing general operating support to museums and official county historical societies that are not supported by other state agency funding programs. “Our Commonwealth is fortunate to have outstanding museums and historical societies across Pennsylvania,” Senator Scarnati said. “I am glad that these grants will help offer assistance to historical sites so that they can continue to provide excellent educational opportunities within our communities.” “Museums inspire curiosity and allow peo...

(News Release) HARRISBURG, Pa. – The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) announced today that Tioga County’s Lake Nessmuk will be closed to the public beginning Feb. 18 as the PFBC prepares to conduct a fish salvage and begin construction to rebuild the lake’s dam and spillway. The fish salvage is expected to begin the week of Feb. 24 or March 3 and may take up to two weeks. In preparation, the PFBC will start lowering the water level beginning Feb. 18. The lake can be drained at a rate of about three to five feet per week, depending on weather. After the water level drops, PFBC biologists will open the lake’s outlet gate which leads into Morris Branch and collect fish with nets. The fish will be stored in live wells on PFBC trucks and then relocated to Lake Hamilton. Although fish salvages generally save a large number of fish, a significant amount will also perish, added Jason Detar, PFBC Area 3 Fisheries Manager. “We will collect as many fish as we can with nets...

A 14-year-old from Cyclone was accidentally shot by a 14-year-old from Bradford when the Bradford teen was testing two handguns that were stolen from the city. Police say the teenagers were on a logging road off Pithole Road when the Cyclone teen was shot in the arm and side. The teen was taken to BRMC and later transferred to Children’s Hospital in Buffalo. The Bradford teen is facing several charges including reckless endangerment and theft from a motor vehicle. The teen was taken to the Tioga County Detention Center. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

HARRISBURG - Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane today announced the arrests of four Pennsylvania men on unrelated charges as part of an ongoing effort to target the online sharing, downloading and distribution of child pornography. Attorney General Kane identified the defendants as: • Lawrence Schichtel Jr., 53, 319 Fuller St., Sayre, Bradford County; • William Mattos, 45, 2076 North Williamson Road, Covington, Tioga County; • Jerry Rhinehart Jr., 29, 690 South Broad St., Apt.15, Jersey Shore, Lycoming County; and • Robert Pillot Jr., 38, 148 Mohawk Drive, Hughesville, Lycoming County. According to the criminal complaints for each of the defendants, agents conducting separate, unrelated online investigations found numerous files containing depictions of children engaged in extremely sexually graphic acts and poses, which they later determined were downloaded and shared from each of the defendant's respective computers. Schichtel Schichtel was arrested on October 16, and char...

Last week we told you about projects in Bradford and Potter County that will be receiving money to improve availability and affordability of housing. Today, Senator Joe Scarnati sent us list that includes seven additional projects. According to Scarnati the $1,303,653 awarded within the 25th Senatorial District is part of more than $8.45 million being distributed to groups in a total of 22 counties through this round of funding. Scarnati explained that the funding comes from Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement (PHARE) Fund and Marcellus Shale impact fees. The PHARE program is administered by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency which works to provide affordable homeownership and rental housing options for older adults, low and moderate income families and people with special housing needs. “As the need for housing within our region continues to grow, it is essential that we make sure our communities have the support that they need to ensure peo...

A township road worker is being treated for a broken leg, a broken nose and other injuries after allegedly being attacked by an Emporium man, and being dragged by his pickup truck. Court records say 25-year-old Vincent Earle of Emporium was speeding through a work zone in Gaines Township, Tioga County, and nearly hit a road grader. 55-year-old Randall Ferguson of Gaines stopped Earle at the intersection and tried to get his license information, but Earle attempted to drive away. Ferguson punched Earle and grabbed onto the truck. Earle then knocked Ferguson off the truck, hit him with it and dragged him for a time before driving away. When police found Earle they charged him with aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and harassment, and sent him to jail on $25,000 cash bail. Ferguson was flown by medical helicopter to Robert Packer Hospital in Sayre. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A Tioga, PA, assistant fire chief narrowly escaped injury when an explosive doused in gasoline went off only a few feet away from him. Police say a man lit a ¼ stick of an explosive on Main Street in the borough of Tioga at about 9:30 last night and waited for it to go off. When it didn’t explode, he dumped gasoline on it, but it still didn’t go off so he walked away. At some point a neighbor who watched him dumped the gasoline called the fire department because they thought 28-year-old Robert Rooks III had set a nearby utility pole on fire. When assistant chief Duane Marbaker got out of his vehicle the explosive finally exploded. Right after that, Rooks came back and was confronted by fire department personnel, who told him he needed to stick around because the police had been called. He got agitated while waiting, told a member of the fire police he was going to beat him up, and then ran away again, according to a news release. Trooper Daniel Doney found Rooks a short time ...

Legislation signed into law on Monday prompted a vote today by the Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners to put on hold any changes to regulations for feral swine and wild boars. The commissioners at their January meeting proposed regulatory changes for feral swine and wild boars, which do not occur naturally in Pennsylvania, but sometimes escape to the wild from fenced hunting preserves. The action was based on the conclusion that escaped and feral swine are destructive to native wildlife species and their habitats, and pose health risks and other threats. The animals are prolific breeders and can quickly establish wild populations once escaped. The proposed rulemaking, which was tabled today by a unanimous vote of the commissioners, included the statewide removal of protection for feral swine and wild boars. It also called for a ban on the importation of wild boars and feral swine, then, a year later, for making it illegal to possess the animals. The commissioners indicated ...

A Tioga County man is dead following a logging accident on Tuesday. Police say 29-year-old Robert Burd of Westfield was working with a logging crew in the woods near Crance Brook Road at around 6:30 and trimming a fallen tree, while another worker was cutting down another tree. The tree fell in the wrong direction, and onto Burd. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A Sunday afternoon accident has claimed the life of a Potter County woman. Police say 77-year-old Alice-Faye Erickson and her husband were working on faulty brakes on the camper trailer they were hauling, when the brakes came undone and the trailer rolled over her. The accident happened at about 12:30 p.m. at Tompkins Campground at Cowanesque Lake. Erickson was pronounced dead at the scene. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Pennsylvania is going to do something this spring it has not done since 2009: spray for gypsy moths. The pests have stripped trees in at least 8 counties. Gypsy moth numbers are high enough in parts of Cameron, Clarion, Forest, Jefferson, Lycoming, Potter, Tioga and Venango Counties to warrant the spraying of more than 43 thousand acres of state forest, park and game lands, along with some private property. For more on this story go to PA Matters.com The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A Steuben County, New York, woman arrested Friday in Pennsylvania is accused of assaulting a corrections officer, escaping from a hospital, kidnapping a woman and her baby, and holding the baby at knifepoint. 35-year-old Billie Jo Ribble was wanted for breaking into a home in October and stealing $12,000 worth of property, including more than a dozen guns. She was picked up Friday at a Wal-Mart in Mansfield, PA. While she was awaiting extradition to New York she complained of pain due to her pregnancy, so she was taken to a hospital in Wellsboro, where she allegedly assaulted the corrections officer, jumped from a third-story window, to a second-story rooftop, and then used a catwalk to get to the ground. Sheriff’s deputies say she then broke into a house near the hospital, and took a 19-year-old woman and her six-month-old baby hostage. She demanded that the woman drive her to New York, and held the baby at knifepoint during the trip. Before getting out of the car, Ribble took the...

State Senator Joe Scarnati (R-Jefferson) announced the distribution of $361,165 in Marcellus Shale impact fee revenue to county conservation districts in the 25th Senatorial District. The revenue distributed to the 25th Senatorial District is part of the $2.5 million in Marcellus Shale impact fees designated for county conservation districts. The $2.5 million was collected statewide for calendar year 2011 and distributed to conservation districts by the Public Utility Commission in 2012-2013. Under the impact fee legislation which was spearheaded by Senator Scarnati, the funds allocated for county conservation districts were split evenly, with $1.25 million in block grants of $18,939 for each of the 66 conservation districts across the commonwealth. The remaining $1.25 million was awarded in supplemental grants for administrative costs and well-impact costs. According to Scarnati, eligible expenses for the use of these funds can include providing technical assistance and advice ...

Provided by Pennsylvania State Police

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson, R-Howard, today announced that the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) will make available federal economic injury disaster loans to small businesses and private non-profit organizations located in McKean, Potter, Tioga and Warren counties, as a result of the drought that began on June 26, 2012. “This past Summer, severe drought had a devastating impact along the Northern Tier of Pennsylvania and further west into McKean and Warren counties, with agriculture and small businesses suffering losses," said Rep. Thompson. “Local businesses impacted and eligible for disaster loan assistance have until July 29, 2013, to apply through the U.S. Small Business Administration.” When the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture issues a disaster declaration to help farmers recover from damages and losses to crops, the Small Business Administration issues a declaration to eligible entities affected by the same disaster. Under ...