Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

The Pitt-Bradford men's basketball team will host Pitt-Greensburg in the first round of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Tournament at the Sport & Fitness Center on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Admission is $4 for adults, $2 for children and free for Pitt-Bradford students with proper I.D. The No. 2 seeded Panthers (15-10, 15-5) split with the seventh-seeded Bobcats (12-13, 10-10) by losing at home 73-63 on Dec. 5 and then winning at Greensburg 69-65 on Jan. 23. The winner will advance to the AMCC semifinals at host Medaille College on Friday (8 p.m.) and face the winner of the No. 3 Penn State Behrend (18-7, 14-6) versus No. 6 Penn State Altoona (12-13, 10-10) contest. We'll be giving you live updates on the game during our broadcast of the Owls/DuBois Beavers game on 1490 WESB and online at 100.1 The HERO.

Claudine Cooper, instructor of hospitality management at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, will compete Tuesday in the Pennsylvania Tourism and Lodging Association’s “Pennsylvania Palate.” The Iron Chef-style competition, in which nine chefs are given the same ingredients and a few hours to create an entrée that can be served as an hors d’oeuvre, is part of the Pennsylvania Tourism and Lodging Association’s food and beverage conference being held at the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel in State College. Cooper will prepare her food with the help of a student from the Pennsylvania College of Technology. In addition, two of Cooper’s hospitality management students, Heather Jordan of Tiona and Robin Pile of Audubon, will be able to attend the conference and take part in sessions. The prepared food will be served at a reception for the conference attendees who will have a chance to vote for the best of show, most creative and best use of local...

Amanda's Law took effect today in New York state. Under the law, all homes in the state must have carbon monoxide detectors. All homes built before January 1, 2008, can have have battery-powered CO alarms, while homes built after this date must have the alarms hard-wired into the building. Also, Amanda's Law will require contractors in New York State to install a CO alarm when replacing a hot water tank or furnace if the home is not equipped with an alarm. The law is named for 16-year-old Amanda Hansen of West Seneca, New York, who died on January 17, 2009, due to a carbon monoxide leak from a defective boiler while she was sleeping at a friend's house.

The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford will hold its annual “One World” Cultural Festival Saturday, February 27, celebrating the many different cultures represented by Pitt-Bradford students, faculty, staff and the community. The event, which is open to the public, will take place from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. on the first floor of the Frame-Westerberg Commons. Pittsburgh’s Irish Gaelic music group Hooley will headline this year’s festivities, which will focus on Celtic culture but celebrate the contributions of all cultures and countries during this festival of food, music, song, dance and costume. The event will also showcase displays from students and faculty, as well as food and entertainment from different cultures. All attendees are asked to bring canned goods to support Students in Free Enterprise’s Can Hunger campaign in conjunction with Campbell Soup Co. A large sampling buffet of international dishes created by Pitt-Bradford faculty, staff and guests will be included along with ot...

State Police are still looking into the cause of the fire that heavilly damaged the West Pike Motor Inn on Route 6 in Galeton Sunday morning. The say a tenant reported the fire at about 6:30 a.m. The entire structure was heavily damaged by fire, smoke and the collapse of the second story. Damage is estimated at more than $150,000. Co-owner Ronda Youndt and seven tenants who were occupyng four apartments escaped without injury. Anyone with information on this incident is asked to contact state police in Emporium.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson has released an action plan to guide the Obama Administration’s historic efforts to restore the Great Lakes. The action plan, which the administrator unveiled at a Sunday meeting with governors from the Great Lakes states, lays out the most urgent threats facing the Great Lakes and sets out goals, objectives and key actions over the next five years to help restore the lakes. “We have an historic opportunity to restore and protect these waters. This action plan outlines our strategy to protect the environmental, human health, and economic interests of the millions of people who rely on the Great Lakes,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “We’re committed to creating a new standard of care that will leave the Great Lakes better for the next generation.” “The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative highlights the important and urgent cause of protecting and restoring this valuable natural treasure,” Governor E...

Today was the final day of workouts for just the pitchers and catchers. A few pitchers had their daily early work and some of the hitters took some swings in the batting cages between 8:00 and 9:00. The pitchers and catchers also had their daily video meeting at 9:15 with Pitching Coach Joe Kerrigan and the rest of the Pirates coaching and managerial staff. The players were once again on the fields at 10:00 for the daily stretch and throwing program under sunny skies, windy conditions and temps in the mid 60’s. Today marked the third bullpen session for the following pitchers (Ross Ohlendorf, Paul Maholm, Kevin Hart, D.J. Carrasco, Jeff Karstens, Jack Taschner, Steven Jackson, Bryan Morris, Brad Lincoln, Donnie Veal, Chris Jakubauskas, Justin Thomas, Anthony Claggett, Virgil Vasquez). Those 14 pitchers threw between 45 and 50 pitches during their time in the bullpen. The non-throwing pitchers participated in fielding and base running drills and were off the fields by 11:30. The final...

The Potter Unit of the American Cancer Society presented the Patterson Cancer Care Center at Charles Cole Memorial Hospital with its Pennsylvania Division Citation Award Thursday during an award presentation and open house at the cancer center. Tammy Ahles, ACS regional vice president, presented the award which she said recognizes cooperation and commitment to carrying out the mission of the ACS. She also mentioned the ACS resource center at the PCCC and patient requests doubled within the first six months of the cancer center’s opening. “We’ve been able to accomplish many good things in the county. We really couldn’t honor a more deserving partner,” she said. Tony Moscato of Sen. Joe Scarnati’s office also presented the PCCC with an official congratulatory citation from the state senate. The ACS and PCCC partner to provide support, education and encouragement. Through joint programs, cancer patients benefit from Look Good…Feel Better, I Can Cope, Man to Man, Relay for Life, Hearts of...

St. Bonaventure University is set to host its 22nd annual High School Programming Competition on Friday, Feb. 26. About 120 different high school programming teams have participated over the competition’s 21-year history. The competition, which only drew local teams in its early years, has hosted teams from as far as California. There are 15 teams registered for this year’s competition coming from Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and New York. “We have a very strong reputation for having a well-run competition with challenging problems,” says Dr. Steve Adrianoff, associate professor of computer science at St. Bonaventure and competition director. “Several of the schools attend other programming competitions and relate that ours compares favorably.” Each team, which consists of four students and an adviser, will work in a computer laboratory located on campus; they will all receive the same six to eight problems to solve. Scoring is based on the speed at which each team submits correct solut...

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. 19-year-old Lance Cpl. Larry M. Johnson of Scranton, Pa., died Feb. 18 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

The Ninth Annual Kinzua Outdoor and Travel Show, February 26th and 27th, offers a broad range of speakers and children’s programs with a wide variety of interests that appeal to all ages. The Show, held at the Bradford Mall, is scheduled for 4 pm to 9 pm Friday the 26th, and 10 am to 6 pm Saturday the 27th. “The 2010 speaker series and youth activity lineup will compel you to attend the event,” stated John Sullivan, event chair. “It is impossible to select just one to attend in either our main speaker area or the youth activity area.” The Speaker Series kicks off on Friday the 26th at 6:30 pm with Rick Esch and John Shinaberger of the Tuna Valley Trail Association to discuss Tuna Valley Trail Association: Past, Present, and Future. At 7:15 pm, Kirk Johnson of the Friends of Allegheny Wilderness – Warren will present Preserving Wilderness Areas in the Allegheny National Forest. Both programs appeal to all ages interested in exploring and protecting the abundant natural resources thro...

The first place family in the Family Fun Chess Tournament was the Yost family with Jessica and Jacob as top scorers. They also tied for second place individuals. The second place family, scoring just one point behind the Yost family in the event, was the Nelling family. Top scorers were Ray and Rayelle Nelling. In addition, Ray tied for 2nd place individual along with the Yosts and Leah Swineford. The Wedge family and the Swineford family tied for 3rd place family. Justin, Kyle, and Katie Wedge had identical scores and won third place honors on tie breaks, leaving Dr. Dennis and Leah Swineford to finish 4th. In fifth place, were Mr. Rhett Kennedy and sons Brent and Hugh. Top individual winner was Ron Buchheit. Jacob Yost claimed the top grade 8 & under trophy, and his sister Jessica took the 5th grade & under on tiebreaks. The Family Fun Chess Tournament was held on Saturday, February 20th at the First United Methodist Church in Bradford. The tournament was organized a...

Players took the field by 10:00 for the morning stretch and long-toss program under sunny skies and temps in the mid 50’s. It warmed up to the upper 60’s by the end of the workout. All pitchers participated in fielding and bunting drills and non-throwers conditioned and were off the fields by 11:25. The following 16 pitchers threw their second bullpen session of the spring (Zach Duke, Charlie Morton, Daniel McCutchen, Brian Burres, Brendan Donnelly, Javier Lopez, Octavio Dotel, Jeremy Powell, Evan Meek, Wil Ledezma, Vinnie Chulk, Brian Bass, Ronald Uviedo, Ramon Aguero, Jeff Sues, Jean Machi). Two groups of 10 position players (Jose Tabata, Garrett Jones, Steve Pearce, Doug Bernier, Brian Myrow, Jeff Clement, Brian Friday, Brandon Jones, Aki Iwamura, John Raynor) took batting practice from 10:45 to 11:15 and were off the fields by 11:30. The final group of pitchers were finished with their conditioning at 12:25. The catchers took batting practice from 12:00 to 12:20, conditioned and w...

The One Book Bradford event "Never the Twain Shall Meet" delighted an audience at the Bradford Area Public Library Saturday afternoon. The one act play was written by Diane Kerner Arnett. This is the second year Bradford Little Theatre has presented an event for One Book Bradford. Photos courtesy of Diane Kerner Arnett

Pennsylvania James Nellis, Port Allegany High School 6’2” 205lbs. Tackle and Defensive Tackle James plans on attending college in the fall. James honors include: 2010 Football Captain, Member of the 7 time AMWL wrestling Champions, District runner up in wrestling, 2 time NTL Champions in track. James was asked why he would like to play in the game and he said, “I love football and it’s an honor to be part of the game and I wanted to play one last time.” James biggest thrill came playing the homecoming game in the snow. Also, being one of the sack leaders for his team. T.J. Wehler, Elk County Catholic High School 6’2” 270lbs. Offensive and Defensive Line T.J. Plans on attending Clarion University to major in Business Management. T.J. was a captain of the football team and a member of the National Honor Society. T.J. spoke about the upcoming game, “It is a good opportunity to play against some skilled players I never competed against before.” T.J.’s hobb...

Monday -- Habitat for Humanity Tuesday -- Ariel Campbell, Josh Hatcher and Panic Attack Wednesday -- Cast members from the Fretz Middle School Production of "Thoroughly Modern Millie Jr." Thursday -- Pastor Mike McAvoy will talk about "The Simple Life" 12:30 p.m. on 1490 WESB and online at WESB.com

Entertainment journalist Susannah Gora is the author of "You Couldn't Ignore Me If You Tried: The Brat Pack, John Hughes, And Their Impact on a Generation." Listen here . For more information, go here .

Players took the field for the morning stretch and long-toss throwing program at 10:00 under cloudy skies and temps in the 50’s. The final 30 minutes of the workout included a few drops of rain. Today was the second bullpen session for the following pitchers (Ross Ohlendorf, Paul Maholm, Kevin Hart, D.J. Carrasco, Jeff Karstens, Jack Taschner, Steven Jackson, Bryan Morris, Brad Lincoln, Donnie Veal, Chris Jakubauskas, Justin Thomas, Anthony Claggett and Virgil Vasquez). Those 14 pitchers threw between 40-45 pitches during their session. The workout was much of the same as yesterday. Pitchers participated in fielding and bunting drills. Those who didn’t throw, conditioned and were off the fields by 11:45. All pitchers were finished by 12:05. After their throwing program and catching bullpens, the catchers took batting practice, conditioned and were done by 12:25. Various position players took batting practice from 10:45 to 11:45 (four groups/15 minutes each) and were off the fields by...

From CNN: Former Secretary of State Alexander Haig has died, a Johns Hopkins Hospital spokesman says. Haig was a retired United States Army general who served as the United States Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan and White House Chief of Staff under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. In 1973 Haig served as Vice Chief of Staff of the Army, the number-two ranking officer in the Army. Haig served as the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, commanding all U.S. and NATO forces in Europe. For more, go to CNN.com .

Musician Ed Epstein, who has played in Broadway musicals and as a CBS studio musician for the Arthur Godfrey Show, will perform an improvised piano concert Feb. 25 at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. “A Songbook of 20th Century Music” will start at 11:30 a.m. in the KOA Speer Electronics Lobby of Blaisdell Hall. The free Noon Tunes series concert is part of the university’s Spectrum Series. “It’s difficult to predict the music he’ll treat us to during the Noon Tunes concert, but I think it’s safe to say that his roots in jazz and musical theater will come through,” said Dr. John Levey, assistant professor of music at Pitt-Bradford. “I think there will be a few surprises, too. Dr. Epstein has internalized a vast amount of repertoire, and it will be exciting to discover what he has planned for the audience.” A Brooklyn, N.Y., native, Epstein began tickling the ivories at age 4, with having lessons twice a week until he was 15. At 8 years of age, he began studying the trumpet. He...