Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

No one was hurt but a house is destroyed after a fire that started when a resident was thawing frozen pipes. City Fire Captain J.D. Tehle tells WESB the owner was using a heat gun to thaw the pipes at 11 Pearl Street, and thought everything was fine but there was a spark in the blown-in insulation, and the fire quickly spread throughout the house. He explained that blow-in insulation is like “finely ground paper. It gets a spark and just takes off.” He added that while they were looking in the crawl space, smoke was coming from the eaves. “It just travels that fast," Tehle said. The fire eventually spread to an apartment at 9 Pearl Street, which ended up with minimal damage. Anita Hubbart and her three children were able to get out of 11 Pearl Street safely. The Red Cross is helping them and the resident of 9 Pearl Street. Taylor Roofing owns the buildings, which are insured. Tehle said there were no problems with the cold – it was 5 degrees when they were called out at ...

Four people, including an Olean man, have been arrested by the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office for trafficking a quarter of a million dollars’ worth of marijuana. The AG’s office says 33-year-old Andrew Kubiak of Olean, 31-year-old John Nelson and Meadville, 39-year-old Jessica Clark of Erie and 29-year-old Nicole Nelson of Santa Rosa California, conspired to buy bulk quantities of marijuana and take it to Meadville. According to the grand jury’s presentment, Nicole Nelson bought a car in Erie that she and Clark drove to Santa Rosa, where it was packed with 85 pounds of marijuana. Kubiak met the women in Sacramento. He and Clark were going to deliver the marijuana to Nelson’s brother, John, but they were picked up by police in Kansas. John Nelson is in Crawford County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail. Kubiak and Clark were released on $25,000 unsecured bond. A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Nicole Nelson. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Two people had to be freed from their vehicles and then be flown to an out-of-town hospital following a head-on crash in St. Marys this morning. City police say a car driven by Brenda Placer of Ridgway and a pickup truck driven by Anthony Gerg of St. Marys were on State Street near the Laurel Run Reservoir when they collided at around 6:20 a.m. Crystal Fire Department personnel freed them from their vehicles. They were first taken to Penn Highlands Elk, but then flown by Stat Medevac helicopter to another hospital. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

To bring facts and clarity to the public debate about immunization in light of the recent measles outbreak, the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health today unveiled a computer simulation that explores the impact of measles outbreaks in cities across the U.S. Users can see how an outbreak would play out if their city had high or low vaccination rates. The simulation – which is easily accessible from mobile devices – is an adaptation of the popular Framework for Reconstructing Epidemiological Dynamics (FRED), a free resource created at Pitt. By visiting fred.publichealth.pitt.edu/measles measles, people can select cities they’re interested in and watch short animations that play out an outbreak with either high or low vaccination coverage. “FRED users can see on a map of any major metropolitan area in the U.S. how one case of measles can turn into a major outbreak or be quickly quashed, all depending on the vaccination rates of a community,” said Donald S. Burke,...

As part of their ongoing downtown improvement efforts, the Bradford Area Chamber of Commerce and the Main Street Program are working on the next phase of rehabilitating Veteran’s Square, with plans to purchase and install eight steel eight-foot park benches. The benches are being made my Swanson’s Fabrication of Bradford, a local company specializing in structural steel and aluminum, including custom design and engineering. “It was important to us to use a local manufacturer for this project,” said Anita Dolan, Main Street Manager, “and Swanson’s Fabrication has an excellent reputation for working with their customers to achieve high quality, professional results.” Each bench will have a bronze plaque signifying who donated the bench. Wright Monumental Works, also of Bradford, will be creating the plaques. “This is a hometown effort with the Bradford Area Chamber of Commerce and Main Street program working together with local companies to achieve a positive visual impact in...

During jury selection for his trial on charges that he ran from police, a Mount Jewett man allegedly talked to a couple of potential jurors, and is now facing more charges. Court papers say 55-year-old Joseph Notoro was in the Warren County Courthouse when he approached tow potential jurors who were waiting in line to use the restroom. He told them to tell the lawyers and judge they didn’t know him, and then gave them details about his case. One of those people told the district attorney about the encounter with Notoro, and the DA contacted police. Notoro is charged with two misdemeanor counts of jury tampering and is jailed on $3,000 bail. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

The state Department of Health has confirmed it will reopen the State Health Center in Potter County, Rep. Martin Causer (R-Turtlepoint) announced today. “This is great news for public health in Pennsylvania and in our region,” Causer said. “These health centers play a vital role in offering preventive care to adults and children alike.” According to department officials, the reopening date and other logistics have not yet been finalized. Health centers in 16 counties were closed in 2013 as a budget-cutting measure. However, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled late last year the Commonwealth could not close any of the 60 state health centers. “I am very pleased our local center and others serving rural Pennsylvania will soon reopen and resume providing much-needed services to our citizens,” Causer said. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Charges against former McKean Former McKean County Sheriff Brad Mason, who is accused of having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl who was a tenant at a rental home he owns in Bradford Township, have been bound to court following a preliminary hearing this morning. Mason appeared before visiting District Judge Glenn Carlson of Warren for an arraignment, followed by the hearing. A state police news release says the “consensual sexual relationship” went on from December 6 of 2012 to May 12 of last year. He retired as sheriff in July. Mason, who is 52 years old, is also accused of providing alcohol to the girl. State police say the accusations came to light during investigation of an unrelated civil matter. Carlson heard the case because of Mason’s relationships with the McKean County district judges. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Two Wilcox women are dead following a two-vehicle crash Thursday afternoon at the intersection of routes 219 and 321 in Elk County. State police say an SUV driven by 81-year-old Vera Johnson was traveling south on 219 when it didn’t stop for a stop sign and traveled into the path of a tractor-trailer driven by 37-year-old Steven Kilduff of Brookville. Johnson and her passenger, 92-year-old Rose Swanson, were both pronounced dead at the scene. Kilduff was not hurt. Route 321 between Kane and Wilcox was closed for about four hours. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Earlier this month our Monday LiveLine series on infant and toddler development centered on the detrimental effect "screen time" can have on babies. This includes TV, tablets, phones, etc. Thursday, NPR ran a story on the same topic. You can read the NPR piece here . You can listen to local speech and language pathologists Betsy Costello and Alliyson Maduri talk about it by going to WESB.com/listen and scrolling to "LiveLine 02-02-15 Babies and TV" in Local Programs. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Riley William Kovacs will have a great story to tell about his birthday. The little guy was so anxious to enter the world that his parents didn’t think they’d make it to the hospital, so they stopped at the state police barracks in Boston this afternoon. At the barracks, troopers told Dad Matthew to pull his car into the heated garage, where Mom Misty was placed on blankets and towels on the floor, and other state police personnel gathered supplies. Patchin Volunteer Fireman Eric Baumgartner and Police Sgt. Christopher Weiss delivered Riley at 1:55 p.m. Investigator Ryan Shanahan held the newborn until Hamburg EMTs arrived. Misty and Riley – who weighed in at 8 pounds 4 ounces – were taken by ambulance to Mercy Hospital, where they are both doing fine. Read more on this story -- including the names of the all the state police personnel who helped -- here . Photos provided by NY State Police The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

An Elk County man is one of two people charged in connection to a fire that did half a million dollars to a DuBois warehouse and also damaged a city fire truck. 20-year-old Zachary Coombs of Punxsutawney and 19-year-old Timothy Young of Kersey are accused of breaking into Gibby’s Warehouse in the early morning hours of January 5, vandalizing motorcycles with spray paint, and stealing several items. Coombs then allegedly set a fire inside the building. Outside, he and Young both allegedly vandalized the outside of the building, a car and three other buildings. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Route 321 at Wilcox in Elk County is closed in both directions following a crash between an SUV and a tractor-trailer that happened at about 1:30 this afternoon. PennDOT is advising drivers to be prepared for lengthy travel delays and says that drivers who can use alternate routes should use them. We’ll have more information on the crash as soon as it’s available. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Charges against a Bradford woman who admitted to breaking her 15-month-old daughter’s leg have been bound to McKean County Court following a preliminary hearing in front of District Judge Dominic Cercone. Papers filed in Cercone’s office say 27-year-old Leslie Skaggs took the baby to BRMC for treatment of an abscess and, while she was been examined they determined she had a broken leg. The child was then sent to Women & Children’s Hospital in Buffalo, where they determined she had several old, healing fractures. Court papers say that during the course of the investigation, Skaggs admitted she was responsible for the injury. Skaggs is free on $10,000 bail. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Someone tried to steal more than $3,000 from local businessman Todd Hennard by doctoring a check Hennard had given him for computers he wanted to buy. Papers filed in District Judge Dominic Cercone’s office say on November 20 Hennard contacted 36-year-old Joshua Werline of Levittown and got a quote of $1,150 for the computers. He mailed the check the next day, and Werline deposited it on November 29. But then Werline changed the number on the check, erased the date and deposited it three more times and got an additional $3,450 without ever providing computers to Hennard. Werline is charged with three felony counts of forgery and four misdemeanor counts of theft by deception. He’s free on unsecured bail and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on February 26. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Bradford City Council – and a standing room only crowd made up mostly of area landlords – heard about Bradford’s new Property Maintenance office before last night’s council meeting. You can listen to the entire work session -- including questions from landlords and the answers -- by going to WESB.com/listen , and then clicking on the "local programs" tab. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

City of Bradford Police dealt with several motor vehicle accidents throughout the city on Monday. They were also called about harassment on Belleview Avenue, disturbances on Pearl and Bushnell streets, and criminal mischief to vehicles on East Main Street. Officers were called to a domestic incident on Bushnell Street. They also got a call about suspicious activity on North Kendall Avenue. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Four people appeared in Cattaraugus County Court on burglary charges in separate cases. 25-year-old Caitlyn Sarber of Allegany attempted to break into a Town of Allegany building on September 27. 42-year-old Jonathan Perrington of Olean attempted to break into an Olean building on October 6. 24-year-old Jay Miller of Olean attempted to break into an Olean building on September 16, 22-year-old Ally Wanatee broke into a Town of Salamanca house on May 4, 2014, and did $1,500 worth of damage. All four are scheduled for sentencing on April 20. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A 68-year-old Salamanca man has admitted to child pornography charges. Prosecutors say Wayne Gilman had child porn in Salamanca between January 23, 2010, and August 24, 2012. Gilman is scheduled for sentencing April 20 in Cattaraugus County Court. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947