Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

A parole board has rejected early release for a former engineer imprisoned for killing his wife by sending their minivan over the edge of a 160-foot cliff. Walter Casper III had his murder conviction reduced on appeal to manslaughter last summer, but drew a maximum sentence of five years to 15 years when he was re-sentenced in January. Since Casper had already served more than seven years, he was allowed to immediately seek parole. But a three-member state Division of Parole panel decided that "your lack of insight is a great concern ... and leaves us with little confidence in your ability to lead a law-abiding life." Provided Casper continues to show good behavior in prison, he could be freed in June 2010. Casper told friends he took his wife, Catherine Bly-Casper, out for a surprise breakfast in July 1999 and pulled off the road at Grimes Glen near their destination in the village of Naples in western New York. Prosecutors said Casper put the minivan in gear and threw himse...

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — A Syracuse teenager is hospitalized with head injuries after police say he was attacked by golf club-wielding man whose car he allegedly tried to burglarize. Syracuse police say 15-year-old Jason Crump and a friend were looking for unlocked vehicles to steal from when they were spotted by Montell Gregory early Thursday morning. The teens ran away but the 30-year-old Gregory soon caught up with them. According to police, Gregory was angry because his car was burglarized twice in a week. He told police he only meant to scare the teens when he swung the golf club at Crump, hitting him in the head and fracturing his skull. Crump is listed in fair condition at University Hospital. Gregory is charged with assault and criminal possession of a weapon.

FORT DRUM, N.Y. (AP) — A playground at Fort Drum in northern New York is closed after a youth center worker fell into a sink hole while checking to see if the ground was safe for children. Elene Nemergut says she spotted a depression in the middle of the playground Thursday while watching a group of 3- to 5-year-olds at the Child Youth Development Center. She says she was jumping on the spot to test it when the ground gave way. The 35-year-old was buried up to her knees in mulch in a 6-foot-deep hole. Fort Drum firefighters pulled her from the hole. She was treated at a local clinic for ankle and shoulder pain. Officials say there is a storm sewer where the sink hole formed and that Nemergut landed on the pipe, which prevented her from falling farther.

Former Congressman Bill Clinger, a Republican from Warren who served in Congress from 1978 to 1997, has announced his endorsement of Derek Walker of Clearfield County for the 5th District Congressional seat being vacated by John Peterson. Clinger says he has been watching the race with great interest and he believes Walker is the strongest candidate. Congressman John Peterson, who is retiring, has endorsed Glenn Thompson of Centre County.

Port Allegany native Brian Stavisky has signed with the Lancaster Barnstormers, a professional baseball team based in the Freedom Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. The 27-year-old outfielder was named MVP of the Class A California League in 2004 in Modesto when he hit a league- leading .343 with 39 doubles, five triples, 19 homers and 83 RBsI. Along with winning the batting crown, Stavisky topped the Cal League with 108 runs scored and 282 total bases. In Midland in 2005 he put up another strong campaign, batting .316 with a TL-best 36 doubles, six triples, 11 homers and 88 RBIs. The former Academic All-American at Notre Dame has spent a portion of the last two seasons at AAA Sacramento. Overall, he hit .306 in six pro seasons after being drafted by the A’s in the sixth round of the 2002 draft.

The second year of the Pennsylvania Game Commission's two, time-limited collectible series -- the Wild Turkey Heritage Series and the Upland Game Bird Series -- now are available for ordering. Orders will be taken, through Aug. 31, only by mail or by calling 1-888-888-3459 (toll-free). A downloadable application is available the game commission's web site . The "Upland Game Bird Series" features five collectible mini-trapper knives made by W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Co., of Bradford, McKean County, and will sell for $74.95 (plus tax and shipping). The year, the series showcases the American woodcock. The first year featured the ruffed grouse, and subsequent years will focus on the ring-necked pheasant, bobwhite quail and mourning dove. Each knife will be made with a different bone handle -- bone stag, chestnut bone, old red bone, amber bone and antique bone -- and comes in an attractive tin featuring the artwork of that year's upland game bird. Like the tu...

News: 04/11/08 - Coudy Man Jailed on Terroristic Threats A Coudersport man was arrested last Sunday after choking and threatening to kill a Coudersport woman. State Police say 21 year-old Dennis Leber also threatened the victims family and was in possession of brass knuckles. Leber was sent to the Potter County jail on $15,000 dollars bail. 04/11/08 - McKean County Has 9 Million Dollar Debt McKean County Commissioners have revealed that McKean County has a $9 million debt. Commissioners say the county will be paying an average debt service of $878,000 annually until 2022 to pay off its accrued debt, which was created by taking out bonds for capital projects. They say they will be spending less than budgeted this year and know that balancing the 2009 budget will be difficult. 04/11/08 - Manning Named County EMA Director McKean County Commissioners have named Bruce Manning Emergency Management Director. Manning, of Port Allegany, has been the interim director since the beginning of the y...

A Lehigh County man is dead after he fell down a well and loosened a cinder block that then fell and hit him on the head. State police say 53-year-old David Ober of Bethlehem died Friday afternoon at his camp near Sigel. Police say Ober was checking water lines next to the 17-foot covered well when he fell through the well cover, pulling the cinder block down with him. Police say Ober's 19-year-old son did not immediately realize his father had fallen. Both men were at the camp for the start of fishing season on Saturday.

Jason Dunham of Scio, New York, sacrificed his life while fighting in the war in Iraq and now that sacrifice has been honored. On Friday, a small group of people gathered for a keel laying ceremony at Bath Iron Works for a Navy destroyer named the U.S.S. Jason Dunham that will join the Pacific Fleet. The vessel is expected to be ready for active duty in 2010. Dunham died in April of 2004 after throwing himself on a live grenade in Iraq. His action saved the lives of two of his fellow soldiers. He was 22 years old. Dunham was also awarded with the nation's highest military honor, the Medal of Honor. Last August, Dunham's jersey number was retired during halftime ceremonies at the annual Don Raabe Big 30 Charities Classic All-Star Game, in which he played following his senior year of high school.

Two geoscience professors stirred the industry when they estimated the Marcellus Shale rock formation contains 168 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and could contain as much as 516 trillion cubic feet. By comparison, the United States produces 30 trillion cubic feet of natural gas year. Recent technology has made it possible to cheaply extract that gas, and State Representative Marty Causer says a large portion of the Marcellus Shale formation is in this region. "It's something that really could cause a boost to our economy and it's something, I think, we as a state have to pursue," Causer says. The Marcellus Shale formation is about 600 miles long and covers 54,000 square miles, stretching from southern West Virginia into western Virginia, through eastern Ohio and most of Pennsylvania into New York, stopping about 90 miles from New York City.

The controversy over whether a multi-use field should be put in at Parkway Field continues. Today on Sports Forum, Bradford Area School Board President Tim Bean talked about one reason the field could benefit the community. He said he'shoping it makes the district more presentable so when people come into the community, maybe it will sway their decision to come here and work here. One of the arguments against the new field is the one-million-dollar price tag. The district will be using part of a budget surplus to pay for it. The field will be a topic of discussion at Monday's school board meeting.

Harry Halloran Jr., board chairman and owner of American Refining Group, and Harvey Golubock, ARG’s president and chief operating officer, will be given the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford's Presidential Medal of Distinction, the university’s highest honor. University President Dr. Livingston Alexander says their gifts of property and funding for scholarships and energy-related projects will enable the university to make college more affordable for their students and position the institution to better serve the workforce and needs of the bustling oil and gas industries. Most recently, ARG and Halloran Philanthropies gave the university a gift of $500,000. The first half of the gift will be endowed, and funds generated from the endowment will support scholarships. The second half of the gift will be used to help Pitt-Bradford develop its Energy Institute, which will foster the study of traditional fossil-fuel applications and pilot renewable energy projects. In 2006, ARG donate...

A Meadville woman must abide by a previous court order that she stop contacting former NBA star Michael Jordan and cannot use litigation over the order to continue claiming that he fathered her child, according to a court ruling. 35-year-old Lisa Micelli claims Jordan fathered her 4-year-old son. In the lawsuit Jordan filed in February, seeking to keep Miceli away from him, the former Chicago Bulls star says a pair of 2005 paternity tests proved he was not the boy's father. Jordan agreed to the second paternity test only after Miceli agreed to have no contact with him if he was ruled out as the child's father. Despite that, Miceli has continued to contact Jordan and his associates through hundreds of e-mails and phone calls in the ''mistaken belief that she still has a valid paternity claim against Jordan,'' Sperling said in court documents. A judge issued a restraining order against Miceli in response to that lawsuit. Earlier this month, she asked the judge to ...

New York State's cigarette tax will go up by one dollar and 25 cents a pack on June 3, but the Seneca Nation of Indians won't be charging that tax. Although former Governor Eliot Spitzer had promised to stop the sale of tax-free cigarettes to non-Indians, Governor David Paterson has declined to say what, if anything, he plans to do about the tax issue. In a written statement, Seneca Nation President Mo John said cigarette sales are not overly significant to the tribe's increasingly diverse economy. He added that it would be wrong for anyone to think the state'stax increase will be a windfall for Indian nations.

See the stories and video from WPXI-TV in Pittsburgh.

Pitt-Bradford president emeritus Dr. Dick McDowell of Bradford is seeking the Republican Party nomination in the primary election to represent McKean County on the Republican State Committee of Pennsylvania. McDowell says he is interested in serving as a committeeman so he can help influence public policy in Harrisburg for the ultimate benefit of the residents of McKean County. As a member of the state committee, McDowell would represent all registered Republicans from McKean County at meetings of the Republican State Committee and vote on official party business on their behalf. If he receives the nomination, McDowell would be the second McDowell from Bradford to represent McKean County on the Republican State Committee. His uncle, Jack J. McDowell, was a state committeeman in the 1960s and early 70s. Prior to his state committee post, Jack McDowell served as a member of the House of Representatives, representing the 67th Legislative District.

Congressman John Peterson has endorsed Glenn Thompson, one of 9 Republicans seeking the 5th District Congressional seat that Peterson is vacating. Peterson says Thompson is the most qualified candidate to succeed him in Congress. Peterson is retiring after 12 years in Washington. Peterson will be campaigning on Thompson’s behalf and Peterson’s aide, Patrick Creighton, will be taking a leave of absence from the congressman’s office to work on Thompson’s campaign. Thompson is in his second term as chairman of the Centre County Republican Party.

Troops on the front lines in Iraq pitch in to help Hunter By KATE DAY SAGER Olean Times Herald When Cheryl Winship of Freedom, N.Y., opened an envelope this week addressed to her little boy, Hunter, the tears started coming and wouldn’t stop. Inside was a document holder with a photo from U.S. soldiers serving on the front line in Iraq, a Bronze Star from one of the men and a written comment stating Hunter was their hero. The letter, along with several paper airplanes made by the soldiers out of the Iraqi form of money called Dinas, were added to the hundreds of thousands of airplanes little Hunter has received over the past few months. Hunter, 5, was diagnosed in January with Burkett’s Lymphoma, a rare form of cancer. Over the past several months, he has received chemotherapy at Buffalo Women and Children’s Hospital in his fight against a disease that results in fast-growing tumors. Read Kate's complete story HERE .

The driver in an accident that seriously injured a Bradford woman and killed her two sisters has been charged with third-degree murder and vehicular homicide. 33-year-old Eric Veltri of Brockway is also charged with DUI. He's in Jefferson County Jail on 100 thousand dollars bail. Delora Burrow-Bradish of Bradford was seriously injured in the crash. She's currently recovering at Health South Rehabilitation Hospital in Erie. Her sisters, Connie Bailey of Brockway and Karen Peters of Newark, Delaware, died in the crash.

On the second anniversary of her tragic death, we are celebrating the life of Sister Karen Klimczak, SSJ with the new book, PEACEPRINTS: Sister Karen’s Paths to Nonviolence, edited by Evelyn McLean Brady, to be released on Saturday, April 12 from 2:00-4:00 p.m. during a beautiful ceremony (2:30) at the SSJ Sister Karen Klimczak Center for Nonviolence, 80 Durham Avenue, Buffalo, NY. Help us cherish the memory of this beloved prophet of peace, who dedicated her life to providing sanctuary and hope to ex-offenders and to bringing the message of nonviolence to the people of Buffalo and beyond. Following an opening prayer and a few words from members of the Interfaith Peace Network who commissioned this beautiful homage, several vignettes from the book will be read by their authors, including Mary O’Herron; Joan English, who will read from Sister Karen’s journals; Sister Ann Oestrich; Marc Fuller, and Chuck Culhane. David Granville will perform his “Peaceprints” song, and Father Roy Herberg...