Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

The Smethport Borough Authority has been selected to receive an $805,000 low-interest loan to make major improvements to their water system, according to Senator Joe Scarnati (R-25). Scarnati said the loan was awarded through the state’s PENNVEST Program which provides low-interest loans and grants for the design, engineering and construction of drinking water distribution facilities, storm water conveyance and wastewater treatment and collection systems. The Smethport Borough Authority will utilize the funding to construct a new screening facility to remove debris upstream of the combined sewer overflow regulator. A washer compacter will also be installed. The improvements will be made to an existing system and system wide user fees are not expected to increase. “This PENNVEST funding will provide for needed updates within the community to improve local water supplies and protect public health,” Scarnati said. “I congratulate everyone from Smethport Borough and McKean County ...

Drug charges against an Olean man accused of selling cocaine in Bradford have been bound to court, while a Bradford woman facing similar charges waived her hearings. 32-year-old Brandon Warmley is accused of selling cocaine to an informant for the McKean County Drug Task Force in a parking lot off West Corydon Street on April 9 of last year. He’s free on bail. 27-year-old Dawn Buterbaugh is accused of selling cocaine to an informant on April 22 at a Pearl Street house and on April 24 of last year at the Hotel Holley. She is also charged for arranging the deals using text messages and voice mail. She’s in the State Correctional Institution at Muncy on unrelated charges. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Assault charges against a Bradford man accused of hitting another man so hard that the victim needed reconstructive surgery have been bound to court. Justin Wilmoth is accused of hitting the victim in the face with an unknown object and then choking him during an after-hours party on October 27, 2012, according to court papers. The victim had to be taken to ECMC in Buffalo for reconstructive surgery on his jaw. Wilmoth is free on bail. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A Bradford man accused of threatening a nursing supervisor at Bradford Regional Medical Center and disrupting the ER’s waiting room has waived his preliminary hearing. Back in January, 38-year-old Slim Lewis was “extremely agitated” about having to wait and caused a loud disturbance in the waiting room, according to court papers. He tore off his ID bracelet, threw it at the registration clerks and then stormed out. He later called to talk to the nursing supervisor, when he yelled and swore at her and threatened to "kick her f***ing ass." Lewis is free on bail. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) today announced it will hold a public meeting and formal hearing concerning the Ridgway Borough landfill site in Ridgway Township, Elk County, on April 29 at 6 p.m. at the Ridgway Borough building, 108 Main Street, Ridgway. The landfill site consists of about 15 acres that once operated as a mixed waste landfill between the early 1960s and June of 1975. During a department investigation, lead-containing industrial waste and 55-gallon drums containing trichloroethylene (TCE) were encountered in several trenches throughout the landfill. “This is an opportunity for the department to share important information with the public concerning the hazards at this landfill as well as DEP’s planned response,” Staci Gustafson, Acting Northwest Regional Director for DEP said. “We will be answering questions in addition to a formal hearing.” DEP, under the authority of the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act, 35 (HSCA), has determined that a ...

For the second time in two days a motorcycle crash has claimed a life in Cattaraugus County. 52-year-old Roy Beverlin Jr. of Ashford was found unresponsive by a passing motorist on Bolton Road in the Town of Ashford Tuesday night. The motorist called 911. Beverlin was later pronounced dead at the scene by the county coroner. State police say Beverlin failed to negotiate a curve in the road and hit a fence and trees off the west shoulder. On Monday, 79-year-old Paul Maddex of Colden crashed his motorcycle in East Otto, and was also found unresponsive at the side of the road. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Charges against the Bradford man accused of threatening Tasta Pizza employees because he got a square pizza instead of a round one have been bound to court. 44-year-old Gerard Young is accused of calling the restaurant at least 37 times because of the dispute. Court papers say he swore at the person who answered the phone and the calls he made prevented employees from taking orders over the phone. When police arrived at JJ’s Saloon looking for Young, he struggled, screamed and swore, and then charged at an officer, with his hand moving toward the officer’s face. Young is free on bail. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Warren Area High School was on lockdown for a short time this morning after a bomb threat. Police conducted a search of the facility and didn’t find anything. The school was taken off lockdown at around 1 o’clock. The investigation is continuing. Last month the school was placed on lock down for about two hours after a student left a threatening note. The 16-year-old has since been diagnosed with disruptive behavior disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and is in a treatment facility. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Arson, burglary and other charges against a Bradford man accused of starting at least four fires in Bradford have been bound to court. 21-year-old Harvey Rose told police he started fires at 8 Thompson Avenue and 10 Congress Place, according to court papers. He is also accused of setting a fire at 125 West Washington Street because he was upset with a resident he says owes him money. He is also charged in connection to a fire at 338 East Main Street. Surveillance video from nearby businesses captured Rose near the scenes at the times of the last two fires. Charges against his co-defendant in the case of the East Main Street fire have also been bound to court. 26-year-old Jeremiah Smith of Bradford and Rose each told police the other started the fire. Smith remains jailed on $250,000 bail. Rose remains jailed on more than half a million dollars bail for these cases as well as theft and drug charges, and charges related to the burning of his 2-week-old baby. The news leader of t...

A 26-year-old Bradford man is facing charges for having a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old. Anthony Goodrich is charged with 34 felonies and 16 misdemeanors for having sexual intercourse and oral sex with the child in a house in Bradford between March 11 and April 15, according to court papers. Specifically, the felonies are statutory sexual assault, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a person younger than 16, unlawful contact with a minor and corruption of minors. Goodrich is in McKean County Jail on $100,000 bail. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A Bradford man is accused of violating his bail conditions and a protection from abuse order by breaking into his ex-girlfriend’s home and threatening a person inside. 27-year-old Christopher Bishop got into the apartment at just before 11 o’clock Friday night and then told Dudley Griswold he was going to stab him, according to papers filed in District Judge Dominic Cercone’s office. Bishop was arraigned this afternoon on a felony charge of criminal trespass, along with a misdemeanor charge of terroristic threats, and then sent to McKean County Jail on $25,000 bail. The previous case is also a felony criminal trespass from December. A Last Day to Plea in that case had been scheduled for May 29 in McKean County Court. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Bradford Area High School will be hosting the IU9 Elementary ChorusFest at 7 p.m. Thursday. This choir includes 114 5th and 6th grade students from around the Intermediate Unit stretching from Northern Potter to St. Marys. The students rehearse many hours during the day to culminate in a spectacular evening performance. The host director and guest conductor for the day are Andrew Dutko, choral teacher at Fretz Middle School, and Gina Lupini. Lupini is a teacher at Valley View School District, the recipient of many awards for her choirs and holds an MA in Choral Conducting Mansfield University. The Fretz Middle School Show Choir will open the concert with tunes like "Drive My Car" and "One Moment in Time," and the 114-member choir will perform pieces like "I've Got the World on a String" and "Old Dan Tucker." Tickets for the event are $3 for adults and $2 for students. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

One of four men accused of killing a Chautauqua County couple in their home last spring has taken a plea deal. Steven Todd has pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree manslaughter, and has agreed to testify against his co-defendants, Davide Coggins, Joshua McCormick and Ricky Knickerbocker. Police say the four Elmira-area men broke into the Town of Carroll home of Gordon and Joyce Skinner, killed them, and then set the house on fire. District Attorney David Foley says, even with the plea deal, Todd will receive a lengthy prison sentence. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A man is dead following a motorcycle crash late Monday afternoon on Connoisarally Road in East Otto. Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s deputies say 79-year-old Paul Maddex of Colden went off the road and into a ditch, and was unresponsive when they arrived. Maddex was taken to Bertrand Chaffee Hospital in Springville, where he was pronounced dead. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Penn State Extension Water Resource Educator, Jim Clark, led a workshop on aquatic invasives for 69 McKean County Students on Wednesday, April 16, 2014, at Wildcat Park near Kane, PA. The high school students came to the park to release trout into local streams. These trout were raised in their classroom aquariums. Clark’s talk explained to the students that normally humans should never release anything into the water bodies of Pennsylvania. Millions of dollars are spent each year trying to control or eradicate invasive species in the United States. Many of these invasives were introduced by gardeners, for example the giant hogweed and purple loosestrife plants. Many exotic plants and fish that were released from unwanted aquariums or escaped into the wild are now invasives in ponds and lakes. The state of Florida has problems now with an over population of python snakes in the wild, that are believed to have been started from aquarium pythons, that became too big and were releas...

St. Bonaventure University alumnus Dr. Robert Kochersberger, ’72, will appear on Jeopardy! on Monday, April 28. The quiz show airs locally at 7:30 p.m. on WIVB (Channel 4 in Buffalo). Kochersberger, associate professor of English at North Carolina State University, graduated from St. Bonaventure in 1972 with a degree in journalism. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee. Kochersberger has been teaching journalism at N.C. State since 1986. He is an expert on muckraker Ida Tarbell and routinely writes for the Raleigh News & Observer. He has also been a Fulbright professor in Yugoslavia, Thailand, Egypt and Slovenia. For fun, he is a private pilot. In the 1970s, Kochersberger worked as a reporter at The Post-Journal in Jamestown and then at The Daily Press in Binghamton. Pictured, Kochersberger with Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

The 13th annual Bradford Area Town Wide Garage Sale will be held on Saturday, May 31, beginning at 9 a.m. in the Bradford area. Registration forms are available at the Tin Ceiling Gift Shoppe, 51 Main Street, Bradford, and the Main Street Outlet, 90 Main Street, Bradford. Individuals or organizations can register. There is a fee to participate. The deadline to register is Wednesday, May 14. Participants will receive a yard sale sign and their location will be included in the Bradford Area Town Wide Garage Sale map which will be distributed the week prior to the event. All registrants will be responsible for their own set up at their location, as well as the placement and removal of yard signs. The event is sponsored by the Downtown Bradford Business District Authority. For more information contact the Main Street Manager’s office. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Lane restrictions will be in effect as crossing near Larabee is repaired ELDRED – Work to repair a railroad crossing on Route 446 in Eldred Township is scheduled for Thursday, April 24 and Friday, April 25. Crews from the Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad will be working to repair a rail at the crossing, located between the villages of Coryville and Larabee. An alternating traffic pattern will be in place, enforced by flaggers in the roadway and crossing. Area drivers should expect short delays as this work takes place. All work is weather dependent. PennDOT reminds drivers to move through work zones with caution, obey posted speed limits and always buckle up. Motorists can check conditions on major roadways by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and access to more than 680 traffic cameras. 511PA is also available by calling 5-1-1, and regional Twitter al...

A Coudersport man is accused of shooting a Ulysses man to death after finding him in bed with his girlfriend. Court papers say 27-year-old Greg Riehl shot 37-year-old Anthony Palmieri early Sunday morning. Riehl says he and 35-year-old Michelle Nelson and had been drinking at Palmieri’s house. Riehl passed out and, when he woke up, found Nelson and Palmieri in bed together and shot the other man. Riehl then drove to Lancaster County, where his father lives, to “tell him something.” After the father and son had breakfast together, Riehl turned himself in. Riehl is charged with first- and second-degree murder and is being held in Potter County Jail without bail. Image from Google Earth © The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

UPDATE: This fire burned approximately 4 acres of woodlands. Lafayette Twp. Vol. Fire/Rescue Department was assisted on the scene by several other stations, as well as Distric 15 wildfire crew and the DCNR fire suppression team. The fire was put out and the forestry remained on scene until dark extinguishing hot spots. Firefighters are battling a wildfire Lafayette Township that was reported at about 2:45 this afternoon. At least three fire departments are on the scene (or on their way) and the US Forest Service is sending a plane. McKean County Emergency Management officials are on the scene, as are a crew and trucks from the US Forest Service. More Forest Service personnel are on the way. Image from Google Earth © The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947