Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

The Department of Environmental Protection has approved the application by the Greentree Landfill to expand its municipal waste facility in Fox Township in Elk County. The decision to issue the expansion permit caps a 21-month-long assessment of environmental issues and technical details of the project. The permit will allow the landfill to increase the existing disposal area by about 104 acres and increase the overall permit area from 986 acres to 1,148 acres. The site now has about 230 acres of permitted disposal area. Based on the permit average, the proposed expansion would provide about 10 years of additional disposal capacity.

State police say a western Pennsylvania woman conspired with two men to kill her estranged husband. State police say they found 39-year-old Shawn Yeager's body on the rear deck of his home in Tionesta on Friday afternoon. Police say he was shot to death. Police say Yeager's estranged wife, 33-year-old Susan Yeager, has been charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Twenty-six-year-old Robert Pessia has also been charged with conspiracy. Twenty-eight-year-old Cory Altman has been charged with first degree murder and other related charges.

The lawyer for a Salamanca man accused of killing his three-year-old daughter wants evidence in the case to be suppressed. Cattaraugus County Judge Larry M. Himelein is to hear a motion today asking that DNA and other evidence against 27-year-old Guy Maybee be suppressed. Maybee is accused of killilng Ianna Maybee last March has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder, manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and related charges. Ianna's injuries included a broken clavicle and ribs, a damaged spinal cord, severe bleeding in the right side of her brain, multiple bruises and internal bleeding. Maybee’s trial has been postponed several times and is now scheduled for the end of February. A co-defendant in the case, Maybee’s live-in girlfriend, 32-year-old Stephanie Pierce, has pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide.

Potter County officials are investigating the death of 24-year-old Austin resident Brock Hooftallen. Austin Borough Police Chief Kyle Day says Hooftallen was found dead at his residence on Main Street Friday morning. Day says an autopsy is planned for today in Erie. Potter County Coroner Kevin Dusenbury and the Potter County District Attorney's office are also involved in the investigation.

You may have heard this story on 1490 WESB: A study completed today among 768 Americans revealed that people have become less tolerant of their neighbor’s elaborate Christmas decorations this year compared to last year. HCD Research compared this year’s results to an identical study conducted during the 2007 holiday season. You can find more information HERE .

Federal prosecutors yesterday called witnesses and presented canceled checks to show that former Senator Vince Fumo had a South Philadelphia charity pay the $27,000 for a bulldozer to dig a pond at his farm. For the full story, go to philly.com .

The search and recovery group Texas Equusearch will join the effort to find 36-year-old Corrie Anderson, whose been missing since late October. Members of the group will be in the Jamestown area sometime next week. Currently cadaver dogs are being tested to see if the animals can track scents deep in the snow. Texas Equusearch has participated in over 900 searches to date. They work with both law enforcement and family members to organize searches for missing and endangered people. They also have specialized equipment that may not be available to all law enforcement agencies. Find Corrie.com

An ex-partner of former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly, stole $179,000 from a company Kelly started, and has been sentenced to 18 months in prison. Kelly's former partner, Trent Orbaker, used his 15 percent ownership share in Hall of Fame Life Promotions to access a line of credit Kelly thought had been closed. Orbaker abused the account to pay his own personal bills and to put a new roof on his house. He must pay $204,000 in restitution. Orbaker Plea News Release (PDF)

30 pit bulls and the remains of a badly mauled puppy have been removed from a Duquesne home, and authorities are investigating the possibility of dog fighting in the house. They say many of the dogs had severe injuries that appear to have been inflicted by other dogs. The surviving dogs are being treated at Triangle Pet Control facilities, and are expected to live. And in another case of cruelty to a dog ... SHEBOYGAN, Wis. (AP) - A dog weighing more than 120 pounds survived being frozen to a sidewalk overnight, probably because he was insulated by layers of fat, authorities said. For the full story, go to the Sheboygan Press .

Despite a new administration coming into power, U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan said she plans to stick around. For the full story, go to The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette .

State Rep.-elect Matt Gabler (R-Clearfield/Elk) will be opening the first of his planned two 75th Legislative District offices at 9 a.m., on Monday, Dec. 8, in DuBois. "Monday morning, we will start handling residents' questions and concerns face to face when we open our office in Suite 10 of the DuBois Area Plaza at 1221 East DuBois Avenue," Gabler stated. "My staff and I are anxious to meet one-on-one with the people of our district and provide them the level of constituent service that we promised and that they deserve." Gabler and his staff are currently finalizing plans to open a district office in St. Marys. Both offices will be staffed full-time. "Constituents may also get in touch with me through my Harrisburg office," added Gabler. Until we have phone numbers for our local offices, I can be reached by calling toll-free 1-866-901-2916." You can find out the latest news concerning Gabler on his Web site, RepGabler.com, where you may also ...

A Corry man will be on probation for a year after pleading guilty to stealing a baby cow from a Crawford County farm in April. 20-year-old Justin Cooper took the week-old calf then sold it at the Mercer County Livestock Auction for $200. The person who bought the calf took it to another auction, where the owner recognized it and called police. Cooper also was ordered to undergo mental health and drug and alcohol assessments, and to get a job while serving his probation.

The search for a missing Sykesville woman continues. Police say although they have received numerous tips on the whereabouts of Joey Lynn Offut since her story appeared on "America's Most Wanted," they haven't been able to confirm any of the sightings were actually her. Offutt has been missing since a fire destroyed her home in July of last year. The body of her 6-month-old son was found inside the house. Her car was found several days later in State College. For more information, you can go to findjoey.org .

The father of a woman who was killed by a teenager in Salamanca told state officials last night that closing youth detention facilities in Limestone and Great Valley is a bad idea. Jerry Lockwood told the crowd at a public forum that 15-year-old Edward Kindt fell through the cracks of the system when he wasn't sent to a residential facility to get services before he killed Lockwood's daughter, Penny Brown. Cattaraugus County Undersheriff Timothy Whitcomb said the community failed both Kindt and Brown, and warned that something like that could happen again if youth detention facilities are closed. Governor David Paterson has proposed closing the facilities as a cost-cutting measure.

Two Ohio congressmen who have criticized the federal government's role in the sale of National City Corp. say the banking deal probably won't change. National City is being acquired by PNC Financial Services Group Inc. for $5.6 billion. Congressmen. Steven LaTourette and Dennis Kucinich say the deal was brought on by National City's financial troubles, and they have questioned why PNC got federal bailout money and National City didn't. They met this week with officials involved in the rescue program.

The trial for defendants in the Bonusgate case is being pushed back for several months. A judge has issued a new court timetable for the 12 people associated with the House Democratic caucus who are accused of conflict of interest, theft and conspiracy. Trial had previously been scheduled for January 12. Now pretrial motions won't be due until April 15, and a hearing on them will take place in mid-June. In July, the attorney general's office filed the charges as part of an ongoing investigation into the use of government workers and resources for electioneering and other illegal purposes.

A Punxsutawney man is dead after an accidental shooting on Thursday. Police say 53-year-old Timothy Kramer was in his garage getting dressed to go hunting when his .45-caliber handgun fell to the floor, discharged and hit him in the abdomen. Kramer was taken to the Punxsutawney hospital, where he died. Another hunter has died of natural causes while in the woods. Victor Ciana, a retired Pittsburgh police officer, died in a treestand near his hunting camp in Crawford County on Thursday. Officials say he suffered a heart attack while waiting for a trophy buck to get into shooting range.

Hamot Medical Center and Kane Community Hospital have announced a joint venture in the Johnsonburg Medical Park, and are exploring other opportunities for the organizations to work together. The hospitals didn't give details about the partnership in the Johnsonburg Medical Park, but did say it will serve as only the first joint venture between the two. They say by working together they can improve efficiencies and service quality while enhancing recruitment and retention efforts for doctors and additional medical staff.

A jury has convicted a man of assault for stabbing a man behind Bradner Stadium last Valentine's Day. 48-year-old Cyrus Reed, who has no permanent address, stabbed Ernest Braxton. Braxton's neighbors called police, who followed footprints in the snow and found Reed in a nearby parking lot. Reed will be sentenced in January.

Retiring U.S. Rep. John Peterson, a leading force against tolling I-80, attended a transportation symposium in Clarion today and characterized Act 44 as "destructive" because it requires the turnpike commission to borrow $2.5 billion to turn over to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. He also warned people and businesses living along the I-80 corridor to "be on alert," predicting turnpike and state officials will try again to win federal approval for tolling the highway because there will soon be a Democratic President and Democratic-controlled Congress. Meanwhile, Joe Markosek, chairman of the House Transportation Committee said Act 44 will generate the $2.5 billion in new transportation funding in a three-year period without I-80 tolls. He also said Act 44 represents a clear long-range solution to the state's funding crisis, all without raising taxes or relinquishing control of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.