Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

Harrisburg – Judges celebrated top PA wines from across the state at the 2013 Pennsylvania Farm Show Commercial Wine Competition. Karamoor Estate Vineyards of Fort Washington, Montgomery County, took top honors with their Estate Meritage. The 2008 vintage received Best of Show Dry Grape, Best Vinifera and Double Gold awards. Greendance Winery of Mount Pleasant, Westmoreland County, received Best of Show Sweet/Dessert Grape with its Diamond. The 2011 vintage also received Best American and Double Gold honors. Crossing Vineyards and Winery of Washington Crossing, Bucks County, received Best of Show Fruit and a Gold award with its Wild Berry. Pickering Winery of Wysox, Bradford County, received Best Hybrid and a Gold Award for its 2011 Vignoles, and Wilcox Winery of Wilcox, Elk County, won Best Sparkling and a Gold Award for its 2011 Celebration. “Whether sweet, dry, white or fruit, there’s a wide variety of wines to sample here in Pennsylvania,” said Paul Vigna, Patriot-News wine...

By Sandra Rhodes Visitor & Member Services Allegheny National Forest Visitors Bureau Mother Nature’s premier show of the year has just begun and promises to have at least a two-week run in the Allegheny National Forest region. Fall is Bigger in Pennsylvania and a prime example of that is in the Allegheny National Forest region, 513,000 acres nestled in the hills of northwestern Pennsylvania, located 90 minutes south of Buffalo, N.Y. This beautiful forest of hardwoods and hemlocks offers the perfect place to see the grandeur of autumn color at its best. The “show” in this area is always a feast for the eyes with vibrant hues of scarlet, orange and butterscotch yellow. Local forestry officials anticipate Oct. 2-10 as the peak for the best color this season, and are predicting vivid color due to the early warm temperatures and cool nights in the higher elevations of the Allegheny Plateau. One great way to see this canopy of color is to “Do 6” – meaning Route 6, the major west-east cor...

Police have been investigating the Lockes Hill area of Wilcox for a week, but haven't said yet exactly what they're looking into. State Police Information Officer Bruce Morris says there is nothing to report while they are still in the investigation stage, but they will release some information soon because of the "buzz" and rumors caused by the police presence. Local, state and federal officials, including a state police forensics van, have been spotted in the area. Along with marked state police cruisers, a truck with government plates and US Forest Service Department of Agriculture vehicles have been parked along Lockes Hill.

02/28/08 - Husband, Wife Jailed on Murder Charges A Sinnemahoning woman is in jail on murder charges for allegedly providing drugs to a woman who died on New Year's Day. 28-year-old Shawna Coffman is accused of crushing up several pills and giving the substance to 38-year-old Melissa Marshall during a New Year's Eve party. Marshall was found unresponsive at 9 o'clock the next morning, and was later pronounced dead at an area hospital. An autopsy showed that she died of cardiac arrest, exacerbated by multiple drugs in her system, including cocaine, oxycodone and alcohol. Coffman's husband, Jesse Coffman is also charged with drug delivery resulting in death. Both of the Coffmans are in jail on 100 thousand dollars bail each. 02/28/08 - More Charges Filed Against Kane Burglar Additional charges have been filed against a Kane woman who already confessed to breaking into several homes and stealing money last spring and summer. 30-year-old Heidi Lynn Horton of Birch Street ha...