Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

We told you about this story several weeks ago . Today, The Associated Press is running a story about trick-or-treating in Oil City. OIL CITY, Pa. (AP) — For 16 years, real horror overshadowed the make-believe terror of Halloween in this Pennsylvania town, where trick-or-treating after dark was banned after an 11-year-old girl was abducted off the street and murdered. But on Friday, pint-sized witches, princesses and vampires will once again be shuffling from house to house at night, thanks to a petition drive by a fifth-grader. For the full story, go to pennlive.com

Bradford Hospital Auxiliary officials are announcing the start of special holiday hours at their local gift shop. According to Virginia Hauser, the Auxiliary's Executive Director, the change in hours at HeartStrings Gift Shop has occurred to meet customer need. "Our in-house staff and community members say they like the flexibility that these additional hours provide at this busy time of year," Mrs. Hauser explained. HeartStrings is located just inside the lobby of the Outpatient Services Center at Bradford Regional Medical Center, N. Bennett Street access. Holiday hours, beginning Sat., Nov. 1, are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays, and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Fridays. All proceeds benefit BRMC. Shoppers are invited to bring a food bank donation in to receive 10% off their purchases. The gift shop offers a wide variety of seasonal items such as holiday Annalee dolls and year-round in stock items for infants, children and home accessories items including candles, j...

Several U.S. Senators say the National Football League is not making enough football games available on free TV for local fans. The senators have written a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell saying the NFL is too narrowly interpreting what constitutes a home city. Senator Arlen Specter says the NFL does not consider Johnstown to be part of the home market of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The senators are asking the NFL to reconsider its policy. The NFL hasn't commented yet.

Some of you may have already seen this picture on WIVB-TV during Mike Cejka's noon forecast. Well, we somehow managed to get it, too. This was taken not far from downtown Bradford at around 8:30 a.m.

Bradford City Council and the Bradford Sanitary Authority have adopted the Act 537 Sewage Facilities Plan. But City Clerk John Peterson explained during Tuesday's council meeting that, for now, the plan only means that the sanitary authority will monitor inflow and infiltration of stormwater into the sanitary sewer system. After the flow monitoring is complete, officials will revisit the plan and decide where to go from there. Peterson reiterated that there are no immediate plans to build an equalization tank at the waste water treatment plant. The plan does, however, include plant upgrades. Council and the sanitary authority had to adopt a plan by the end of the month to be in compliance with the state Department of Environmental Protection. The sanitary authority adopted the plan during a brief meeting Tuesday afternoon. In a related matter, Peterson read information provided by the Pennsylvania League of Cities and Municipalties concerning the question that will appear on Tuesda...

By ANNE HOLLIDAY WESB/WBRR News Director Bradford businessman Steve Cavallaro is going to be changing the look of Kennedy Street even further. He's working with a Benjamin Moore paint dealer to open a store. He's also planning to buy the J.C. Penney Catalog store and move it, and move Cavallaro Custom Picture Framing from Main Street to Kennedy Street. "Everything's a good a fit and I'm looking forward to it," Cavallaro told Bradford City Council Tuesday night. "The Benjamin Moore people are very excited about having a store back in Bradford. They're also excited about Penney's being in there with me … as is Penney's excited about Benjamin Moore." "I think everybody will be pleased when they come in," he said. "People should feel comfortable when they come in." Cavallaro is also renovating the apartments upstairs at 10-16 Kennedy Street and already has tenants lined up. Sara Andrews, Executive Director of the Office of...

A former plumbing supply salesman convicted of snatching a 7-year-old girl from his neighborhood then strangling and raping her and hiding her body in his attic was executed Tuesday. Asked by the warden if he had a final statement, Eric Nenno replied, "No, warden." Eight minutes after the lethal drugs began to flow, he was pronounced dead at 6:20 p.m. CDT. For the full story, go to the Dallas Morning News

Governor Ed Rendell kicked off his Road to Change bus tour in Erie today, campaigning for Senator Barack Obama. Today the bus tour also made stops in Meadville as well as Lawrence and Beaver counties. Tomorrow's agenda includes stops in Waynesburg, Uniontown, Greensburg, Pittsburgh, McKeesport and Indiana. Rendell's tour runs through Monday, but don't expect any stops in McKean County.

An Ohio Congressman is asking the Treasury Department and a House committee to investigate the purchase of National City Corporation by PNC Financial Services. Steven LaTourette has sent letters to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank. LaTourette says federal Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan steered $7.7 billion of taxpayer bailout money to PNC, and that Dugan was an attorney at a Washington firm that represented PNC before taking his Treasury Department position in 2005. Frank says he will look into the matter.

Charles Cole Memorial Hospital’s pediatrics offices in Port Allegany and Coudersport are sponsoring a Halloween Candy Exchange through November 7 to promote healthy eating and oral health practices. Children who donate candy will receive a prize. All candy will be donated to the troops serving our country. Donations can be made at Coudersport Pediatrics at CCMH or Port Pediatrics at the Port Allegany Community Health Center, 45 Pine St.

In case you missed it, Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly was on The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly this afternoon. Kelly is in New York City to kick off a national campaign to increase awareness and advocate for universal newborn screening. He talked about his son Hunter, who was 8 years old when he died of Krabbe Disease three years ago. "Hunter was diagnosed at four months," Kelly said. "If he was diagnosed at birth we could have done something." Dan Marino, Eli Manning, Bruce Smith and Thurman Thomas were among the people who attended a kick-off event Monday night in New York. For more information, visit Hunter's Hope.org .

Allegheny National Forest Supervisor’s Office employees moved into their new office on U.S. Rt. 62 north of Warren on Monday of this week. The new building is located at 4 Farm Colony Drive in North Warren. “This week will be spent getting employees settled into the new building and preparing to open the office to the public on November 3rd,” according to Forest Supervisor Leanne Marten. According to Marten, “We’re excited to be in our new building. We appreciate the patience the public has shown during this transition and we are pleased to be able to offer expanded services to the public in our new location.” Some of the services available include the sale of annual firewood permits, annual and daily ATV trail passes, annual day-use passes, Interagency annual passes (formerly Golden Eagle Passport), Interagency senior passes (formerly Golden Age Passport), Interagency Access passes (formerly Golden Access Passport), maps and books. If you have questions on any of these programs, yo...

HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania Game Commission is expecting hunters to encounter a sizeable wild turkey population when they head afield for the opening day of wild turkey season Saturday. And finding birds this fall may be easier than it was last year. “Wild turkey hunting is one of Pennsylvania’s premiere outdoor experiences,” said PGC Executive Director Carl G. Roe. “The satisfaction derived from calling in and taking a game bird that can see you twitch at 50 yards is a fulfillment that veteran hunters never tire of and new turkey hunters can’t wait to experience. “The good news for this fall is that we believe there are great opportunities for wild turkey hunters throughout the state. But, as always, pre-season scouting and planning will be important to your hunting success.” Season lengths vary in the state's Wildlife Management Units for fall turkey hunting: WMUs 1A, 1B and 2A (Shotgun and bow and arrow only) - Nov. 1-15; WMU 2B (Shotgun and bow and arrow only) - Nov. 1-22; WM...

WILLIAMSVILLE, NY – Tops Friendly Markets today announced a new policy for all of its stores, which requires any customer purchasing alcohol and tobacco products to display valid proof that they are of legal age, regardless of their age. The policy, known as “We Proof Everyone,” takes effect on Sunday, Nov. 2, and provides Tops with a uniform and comprehensive policy to follow. Tops is implementing “We Proof Everyone” following the success of the policy as part of a pilot project at two stores in Ithaca, N.Y. earlier this year. The goal of this initiative is to prevent underage use of alcohol and tobacco, to protect the communities in which Tops Friendly Markets operates, and to assist and partner with local law enforcement agencies. “We Proof Everyone” replaces a policy that directed Tops’ cashiers to check identification for customers attempting to purchase alcohol and tobacco products who appear to be age 30 or younger. “The result of the pilot program at the Ithaca stores establish...

Earlier this month, Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati sent a letter to all four legislative caucus leaders asking for a meeting concerning the state's looming financial crisis. He tells WESB and The HERO that, so far, no meeting date has been scheduled. "I think all the leaders recognize the importance of (the meeting)," he says. "Some leaders are a little bit more preoccupied with elections right now than others. " He says he believes after the November election attention will turn to getting a meeting together and getting the issue on the table. Scarnati says his intention is to set up a meeting with Senate leaders Dominic Pileggi and Bob Mellow and House leaders Bill DeWeese and Sam Smith in November or December. He says in the meeting they will "discuss how we're going to address a looming billion-dollar-plus budget deficit that we're moving into."

On Thursday and Friday 1490 WESB will be running the program "Eerie, Pennsylvania -- The Cashtown Inn" at 12:30 p.m. Anyone who watches "Ghost Hunters" is probably already familiar with the Gettysburg-area inn/restaurant. But, just in case you're not, Scott Douglas passed along these videos from YouTube: The Cashtown Inn .

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two white supremacists allegedly plotted to go on a national killing spree, shooting and decapitating black people and ultimately targeting Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, federal authorities said Monday. In all, the two men whom officials describe as neo-Nazi skinheads planned to kill 88 people — 14 by beheading, according to documents unsealed in U.S. District Court in Jackson, Tenn. The numbers 88 and 14 are symbolic in the white supremacist community. For the full story, go to The Associated Press .

Police in Corry are looking for information about a man who impersonated a police K-9 officer, stopped a woman driver and searched her van. The man reportedly told the woman he suspected her of selling drugs, then led his German shepherd into her van. Police say the man is between 25 and 30 years old with dark hair and an athletic build. He wore black clothes but did not display a weapon or a badge. The woman was not hurt.

Someone stole an ATM from a VFW Post in Venango Township sometime between 11:45 Sunday night and 1:10 Monday morning. Police say someone pried open the front door of the building and removed the machine. Police found dark-tinted glass by the building's entrance and they believe it came from the back window of the vehicle used to haul the ATM away. Police say the burglars might have used a minivan or SUV to take the ATM.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — State Sen. Vincent Fumo lived like a medieval lord in a 33-room mansion replete with a shooting range, elevator, wine vault and heated sidewalks, and a large staff of state-paid underlings to heed his demands, his son-in-law told jurors Monday. For the full story, visit pennlive.com .