Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

Pheasants Forever Chapter 630 is happy to announce that our Seventh Annual 2008 Youth Hunt, held on October 11, 2008, was another huge success. This year we included drawings for 2 shotguns donated by our club. The luck winners for the Remington 870 20 gauge shot guns were Joe McLaughlin and Tommy Shields. This event gets bigger and better each year due to help and donations from our partners, the Pennsylvania Game Commission, Fox Township Sportsmen, Sheetz (Ridgway and St. Marys), Country Fair of St. Marys, Cenni Beverage of Ridgway, Johnsonburg Beverage, Wal-Mart of St. Marys, and Al and Bonnie Dempsy. Hilltop Seed Company of Ridgway and Shippenville, PA donated all of the chukar birds. For years, the Buhler family has kindly permitted the hunt on their property in Challenge, PA Each of these 37 youth participated in the Fox Township safety day as well as the hunting experience, harvesting a total of 38 pheasants and 6 chukars; Troy Caskey, Shaun Chiesa, Tyler Cribbs, Quinn Cunni...

The McKean County SPCA will hold its annual meeting and elections for positions on the Board of Directors on Monday, November 10, 2008 at 6:30 p.m.. The meeting, which is open to the public, will be held at the shelter, located at 80 Glenwood Avenue in Bradford. For more information call 814-362-8850.

The St. Bonaventure University Jazz Band, directed by professor of music Dr. Les Sabina, will perform Wednesday, Nov. 19. Free and open to the public, the concert is from 7:30-9 p.m. in the Rigas Family Theater at The Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts. The band will be playing original jazz pieces written by variety of composers, including Mike Dana, Doug Beach and Sabina. The SBU Jazz Band is made up of the following St. Bonaventure students: Alvin Kim (alto sax); Katie Reusch and Ashley Waterman (tenor sax); Janet Gunderson (baritone sax); Alex Cole, Donald Frank (trumpet); Jorge Johnson (trombone); Peter Caya and Adam Summers (bass); and Steve Sanfilippo and Ethan Whipple (drums). Jan Rhody of the Olean High School music department will play piano as a special guest of the band.

The Supervisor’s Office of the Allegheny National Forest is now open to the public in its new office located at 4 Farm Colony Drive in North Warren. Business hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The public is invited to tour the new office on Thursday, November 20, from Noon to 6:00 p.m., and learn more about some of the services offered – included are the sale of annual firewood gathering 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. There will also be displays set up to showcase some of the projects and activities currently happening across the Forest. The office is currently experiencing temporary difficulties with its regular phone number (723-5150) but can be reached at 728-6100 if you have any questions. There is no direct access road t...

Award-winning poet and essayist Aimee Nezhukumatathil will read from her works on Nov. 11 at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. She will read poetry starting at noon in the Mukaiyama University Room of the Frame-Westerberg Commons. The reading is free and open to the public. A reception will follow. The event is part of the university’s annual Spectrum Series. Nezhukumatathil is the author of “At the Drive-In Volcano,” which includes a plea to students not to be afraid of her long and foreign name. In another poem, she bathes in a magical garden in India by the light of luminescent worms while keeping an ear out for blue lizards falling in the water. Reviewers often refer to the humor and charm of her poems. Publisher’s Weekly wrote of her first collection, “Miracle Fruit,” that “the Miracle Fruit of Aimee Nezhukumatathil’s debut comes through in light bursts of clean sensuality and joy.” Her poems have been published in a dozen publications, including “...

BRADFORD, Pa. – One Book Bradford will present three lectures relating to its 2008 book choice “The Children’s Blizzard” by David Laskin. “Talking Up a Storm,” featuring talks on meteorology, Mennonite culture and hypothermia will take place consecutively at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 12, at the Bradford Area Public Library. The event is open to the public, and having read “The Children’s Blizzard” is not a prerequisite. “We hope it will give some people that little push to read the book before the author’s visit in February,” said Marilyn Richards, who helped organize the event. “For those who have already read the book or are reading it, the lectures will provide a deeper understanding.” The speakers for the evening will be retired earth and space science teacher Rick Richards on meteorology, a representative of the Bradford Mennonite congregation on Mennonite culture and semi-retired Bradford physician Dr. Anita Herbert on hypothermia. In ...

In case you missed it this morning Kirk Johnson, Executive Director of Friends of the Allegheny Wilderness, was one of Jim Slinsky's guests on the Sportsman's Connection on 1490 WESB. Johnson cleared up a misconception about his group's vision for the Allegheny National Forest. "We actually support the multiple use of the national forest. That includes timber harvest. That even includes oil and gas development," he said. Slinsky added that people from outside the area don't understand what's happening on the forest. "They have no idea what's going on in the Allegheny National Forest," Slinsky said. "This place is getting pummeled." Friends of the Allegheny Wilderness is trying to get 54,000 acres of forest land protected under the National Wilderness Preservation System. The land is not contiguous and includes eight separate tracts. Currently, only 2 percent of the land is protected in the system. Johnson says the targeted areas wou...

Police say the rumors that Corrie Anderson has been found are simply not true. New York State Police Captain Timothy Talley says the rumors have been spreading over the past few days but in fact, the search is continuing for the 36-year-old mother of three who's been missing since October 28. Talley says if Anderson had been found, police would definitely let the public know. Another full day of searching with helicopters, ATVs and canine units will go on until dusk today in wooded areas of Chautauqua County and Pennsylvania. Anderson's van was found October 30 not far from her Town of Busti home.

Pennsylvania Game Commission officials proudly released a rehabilitated bald eagle back into the wilds of State Game Land 143 in Warren County, under the watchful eye of many individuals responsible for the majestic bird’s recovery from injuries sustained in January. On Jan. 23, the injured, four-year old female bald eagle, weighing 13.5 pounds, was found along the side of Route 6 near Youngsville. Warren County WCO David Donachy transported the eagle to Tamarack Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center in Crawford County. “Tamarack is an excellent wildlife rehabilitation facility that we have worked with on numerous occasions, and they have proven themselves to be especially skilled when dealing with raptors, including bald eagles,” said Keith Harbaugh, Game Commission Northwest Region Office. “Sue DeArment and her team at Tamarack, along with Dr. Jamie Lindstrom of Ohio’s Animal Clinic Northview, are to be commended for their caring and compassionate work to rehabilitate this ea...

A 17-0 run early in the game highlighted a solid start to the 2008-09 season for the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team on Friday night as it defeated Mansfield, 86-63, in an exhibition game on Bob Lanier Court at the Reilly Center. A fast-paced offense helped fuel a balanced scoring attack for the new-look Bonnies, who saw seven players get their first action in the Brown and White. Five of those seven players reached double figures, led by freshman Andrew Nicholson (Mississauga, Ontario/Father Michael Goetz Secondary) who posted game-highs of 16 points, nine rebounds and four blocks. St. Bonaventure was able to capitalize on 26 Mountaineer turnovers that lead to 30 points. The Brown and White’s 52 percent (35-68) shooting clip from the field was aided by 22 assists on 22 on 35 made baskets. “I thought we came out of the gates well,” said second-year head coach Mark Schmidt. “We shot the ball decently and we got our offense going. We defended we...

By ANNE HOLLIDAY WESB/WBRR News Director A preliminary hearing for one of the men accused of intentionally spilling 42,000 gallons of crude oil onto the Allegheny National Forest painted a picture of a man who wanted revenge against his former employer, and his son he "constantly harassed" about leaving the company. The hearing for Christopher Horton also revealed the name of a third "person of interest" in the investigation. Christopher Horton and his father, Andrew, are charged with causing and risking a catastrophe and related offenses in connection with an incident in mid-August when valves on tanks owned by Snyder Brothers were opened and oil spilled into Chappel Fork, North Fork, Chappel Fork Bay and Indian Run. After the hearing, which lasted nearly seven hours, District Judge Rich Luther bound all the charges to court. During the hearing, Christopher Horton's former girlfriend Nicolette Hallock testified, "He thought if he quit Snyder's his dad ...

A New York State Supreme Court justice has impounded ballots in the race between Republican incumbent Randy Kuhl and Democratic challenger Eric Massa in the 29th Congressional District, aiming for a court-supervised count of all remaining votes. Lawyers for both campaigns are expected to appear before the court on Wednesday to determine the next step in an election in which Massa now leads by about 4,000 votes. The Massa campaign is sticking by its claim of victory, while Kuhl says nothing is settled.

HARRISBURG – The Department of Environmental Protection issued a drought watch today for 29 Pennsylvania counties as precipitation deficits continue and stream flow levels fall in the western and north central areas of the state. “The commonwealth has received below-normal precipitation over the past two to three months that have resulted in rainfall deficits of as much as five inches in parts of western and north central Pennsylvania,” said acting DEP Secretary John Hanger. “Recent rainfalls have not been enough to bring streamflow and groundwater levels back to normal, so we are asking residents and businesses to conserve water until we get more substantial precipitation in these areas of the state.” Although conditions are better in the eastern portion of the state, county groundwater well levels have shown signs of stress and conditions are being monitored closely by DEP. A drought watch declaration is the first level — and least severe — of the state’s three drought classificatio...

A Franklin woman is dead and a man was seriously injured when their motorcycle collided with a car in Tionesta Township on Thursday. Police say 53-year-old Linda and John Heffernan were traveling north on Route 62 when a southbound car on Route 36 turned in front of them to cross the Tionesta Bridge. The collision threw the Heffernans into the car, then into the road. Linda Heffernan was pronounced dead at the scene. John Heffernan was taken to Titusville Hospital for treatment of serious injuries. The driver of the car, 69-year-old Donna Snyder of Marienville, suffered moderate injuries.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Identical letters sent to three Pennsylvania county courthouses this week mentioned anthrax but did not contain the poisonous substance. The letters were received in Jefferson and Pike counties on Tuesday and Schuylkill County on Wednesday, said Reggie Wade, spokesman for U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Philadelphia. "We are in the process of tracing the letters, where they originated from and trying to develop suspects," Wade said Friday. "We take these incidents very, very seriously." For the full story, go to pennlive.com .

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Ed Rendell has ruled out taking a job in the Obama administration before his term ends in January 2011, in part because a midterm departure could open the door to a Republican takeover of Pennsylvania state government, his spokesman said Friday. Under the state constitution, Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll would succeed Rendell if he left office prematurely. But Knoll, 78, has been battling neuroendocrine cancer since last summer. She has not worked in her office since September, and she was fighting a viral infection when she was released Tuesday from Baltimore's Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. If Knoll is unable to finish her term, the ranking Republican in the GOP-controlled Senate — currently President Pro Tempore Joseph Scarnati of Jefferson County — would become lieutenant governor and succeed Rendell if he stepped down. For the full story, go to pennlive.com .

All charges against one of the men accused of intentionally spilling 42,000 gallons of oil onto the Allegheny National Forest have been bound to court – and a third person of interest has been named in the case. After a hearing that lasted nearly 6 hours, District Judge Rich Luther bound to court charges of risking and causing a catastrophe and related offenses against Christopher Horton. His father, Andrew Horton, waived his hearing on similar charges last month. But during the hearing, the defense learned that Eric Jennings – another former employee of Snyder Brothers – is being considered a person of interest. State Police Trooper Daniel Moore stressed that Jennings is not a suspect. Agent William Mickle, a criminal investigator with the USFS testified that Jennings is part of the ongoing investigation into the case and has been "deceptive while being interviewed." The spill happened in mid-August and killed nearly 4,000 fish and other aquatic life, and caused about half a...

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Barack Obama's election as president and his appointment of Rahm Emanuel as chief of staff are hopeful signs for the struggle to heal the ailing Great Lakes ecosystem, advocates said Thursday. For the full story, go to pennlive.com .

Cattaraugus County law enforcement officers were involved in a high-speed chase with a motorcyclist at just after 6 p.m. Thursday on Route 98. The motorcycle was headed north after getting off the back Kill Buck Road. They decided to stop the pursuit before getting into Ellicottville or Franklinville, and for other safety reasons, but lost sight of the motorcycle before that. We'll have more information as it becomes available.

Dominion Resources is asking federal regulators for permission to build a $40 million natural gas pipeline through the Big Springs area of McKean County, through the Allegheny National Forest in Elk County, into Armstrong County and ending at a compressor station in Westmoreland County. The project includes natural gas measuring and regulating stations to be built in Elk and McKean counties. The natural gas producing companies that have signed contracts to take all the project's available capacity are Equitable Energy, Seneca Resources, Snyder Brothers,Dominion Field Services and Dominion Peoples. Dominion has asked FERC to issue a final order approving the project by June 1, so that the pipeline can come on-line no later than November 1, 2010.