Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

Several Bradford High students, staff and coaches attended last night’s board meeting to support the proposed fitness center at the high school. Physical education teacher Zack Stark presented Superintendent Sandy Romanowski and the school board with a petition signed by 324 students who support a fitness center. We'll be talking more about the fitness center on tomorrow's LiveLine.

Bradford Area School District officials say there will be no tax increase for the eighth year in a row. Directors made the announcement during Monday night's school board meeting. Business Manager Kathy Kelly also says the district will receive state stimulus money and will use it on math coaches, junior-senior English electives and additional special education support staff. The budget also includes a $3,000 increase in the amount the school district pays to support the Bradford Area Public Library.

Mike Cejka tells us that because of the clear skies tonight we'll have a great opportunity to see the International Space Station. The first pass will take 6 minutes and starts at 9:13 p.m. in the southwest and will go toward the northeast. The second pass will be at 10:49 p.m. and will go from the northwest to the northeast. The first pass will be 68 degrees above the horizon. The second will be 22 degrees above the horizon. Mike says the space station moves on a straight path across the sky and looks like a bright plane but has no flashing lights.

An Allegany man is dead following a motorcycle accident in Zoar Valley. 55-year-old Robert Monahan lost control of the motorcycle while rounding a curve and hit the guardrail. He was taken by Mercy Flight to ECMC, where he died of his injuries.

Police are looking into the death of a 50-year-old Irving man who fell down on 75-foot ravine while camping behind his home early Sunday morning. Isaac Carreras fell down the embankment into a stream, where he was pronounced dead. Authorities believe Carreras had been drinking with a friend and wandered too close to the edge. Chautauqua County Sheriff's deputies are waiting for autopsy results and are interviewing Carreras's friends.

Police have released the name of a man who died following a fight outside a bar in Tidioute early Saturday morning. 37-year-old Troy McFarland died after being punched in the face by 25-year-old Brandyn Bynum. Police say McFarland fell to the street and hit his head on the ground. He was pronounced dead at the scene. McFarland and Bynum had just left the Tidioute Pub on Main Street when the fight started at around 2:35 a.m. Bynum was charged with criminal homicide and aggravated assault. He's in Warren County Jail without bail.

May 3 to May 9 2009

A state senator from Brooklyn has been stripped of his leadership positions following allegations that he assaulted a newspaper's photographer. Democrat Kevin Parker was arrested Friday night on a charge of criminal mischief after the incident outside his parents' home. Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith released a statement Saturday afternoon saying he considered the charges serious and had stripped Parker of his positions as Majority Whip and chairman of the energy committee effective immediately. Smith also said payment of the stipend for Parker's leadership position has been suspended. The photographer says Parker chased him, damaged his camera and ripped a panel off his car door.

... with this dog. But, due to circumstances beyond my control, I can't adopt her. Her name is Flower and she's SO sweet! Go to the SPCA's Open House that's going on until 4 p.m. today and see for yourself. (Or, if you can't make it today, call Rhonda -- also pictured -- and she'll introduce you to Flower at a time that's convenient for you.) They have plenty of other dogs and cats looking for good homes, too. Even if you already have a dog -- and you want to give him or her a treat -- the SPCA has something for you: Pupcakes! And they also had something special for WESB and The Bradford Era today. We got plaques "In grateful appreciationi of (our) constant support to the McKean County SPCA." Speaking on behalf of everyone here at WESB ... It's our pleasure!

A Warren man has pleaded guilty to helping a man get away from police before he was fatally shot on April 1. Fred Kearney admitted to lying to police in regard to the whereabouts of Charles Tubbs. When police found Tubbs and attempted to serve him with a warrant on a simple assault charge, he took them on a high-speed chase. After wrecking his car, he fired a rifle at Police Officer Brian Gulnac. Gulnac fired back and hit Tubbs, who died at Warren General Hospital. Jason Baribeau and Brian Emerson of Warren and Lawanda Collins-Haines of Youngsville are also charged with helping Tubbs avoid police.

Two Warren men arrested last August for a bomb-making operation have been sentenced. Justin Steinman will serve 27 months to six years in state prison. He pleaded no contest to two counts of causing or risking a catastrophe. Ricky Allen Barr was sentenced to three months to two years in Warren County Jail on a prohibited weapons charge. According to court records, Robert Edwards of Warren helped Steinman make the bombs in Edwards' basement. Bombs were detonated in the Point Park and Washington Park areas. According to experts, some of the explosive devices qualified as weapons of mass destruction.

A Roulette man is facing charges after his truck hit a utility pole in Roulette Township. Police say 58-year-old Randy Cornelius was towing a large garage on a lowboy when it hit a utility pole, cable wire, a fence and a street sign on Third Street. He kept going and turned onto Burelson Avenue. The incident happened April 29. Summary charges were filed on Friday.

Chautauqua County Sheriff's deputies picked up an illegal immigrant Friday evening in Dunkirk. They say 25-year-old Alejandro Luna was standing on the side of the road when they learned he had been in the United State illegally. He was detained, then turned over to the US Border Patrol.

A Tidioute man has been charged with homicide following an incident at about 2:30 this morning in the borough of Tidioute. 25-year-old Brandyn Bynum is in Warren County Jail without bail. Police say he and the 37-year-old male victim, and some other people, were on the sidewalk on Main Street outside a local establishment they had both just left. Bynum and the victim got into a fight and Bynum allegedly punched the victim in the face causing him to fall to the street. He suffered a fractured skull and died at the scene. Police didn't release the victim's name.

Legendary NBA Coach Chuck Daly died this morning in Florida after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 78. Daly coached the first Dream Team to Olympic Gold in 1992 after leading the Detroit Pistons to back-to-back NBA championshiops. Daly was voted one of the 10 greatest coaches of the NBA's first half-century in 1996, two years after being inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. He was the first coach to win both an NBA title and Olympic gold. Daly was born in St. Marys, and grew up in Kane. He played college basketball at St. Bonaventure and Bloomsburg State universities. He coached eight seasons at Punxsutawney High School. Daly is survived by his wife, Terry, as well as daughter Cydney and grandchildren Sebrina and Connor. For more on this story, go to the Detroit Free Press .

Madeline Miles, a member of the Bradford Area Public Library Board of Trustees; Keith Hatch, president of the board; and Linda Newman, library director; look at some of the $47,500 that was raised during the first-ever Derby Gala on May 2 at the Bradford Club. That total raised surpassed the $35,000 goal, which was set by gala organizers, by $12,500. The newly raised dollars will be added to the library’s endowment fund, whose income funded 20 percent of the library’s expenses last year. Next year’s gala will be held on May 1. ( Photo provided by the Derby Gala Committee ) I'm sorry I forgot to post this here yesterday! At least I got it to WESB.com though.

Listen now:

By George Nianiatus, senior writer Communications Department Bradford Regional Medical Center (BRMC) on Monday will institute an added safety measure of using new color-coded patient wristbands as visual alerts to nurses and other hospital staff. After a year of preparation, research and staff training, BRMC will be using color-coded wristbands with snap-on colors that are designed to quickly and easily let staff know of a patient’s unique clinical needs, say hospital officials. “We’re going to use standardized colored wristbands to further support patient safety,” says Deborah Price, BRMC’s senior vice president of Patient Care Services. “We know this is the right thing to do because a color-coded wristband is one of those critical communication points between patients and hospital staff,” Mrs. Price says. The new wristbands with snap-on color tags replace what patients previously received, Mrs. Price says. Patients’ previous wristbands were color-coded as well but the colors were not...

Elk County Catholic High School was on lockdown this morning after police received a report of a juvenile walking toward the school carrying two rifles. Police found 22-year-old Joshua Hakes in a nearby house where he was temporarily living, and learned that he was taking the guns to that house from another house and there was no violation. Hakes was, however, charged with a secondary violation as a result of the investigation. Johnsonburg, Ridgway and state police, along with the Elk County Sheriff's Department assisted St. Marys police during the incident.

The deadline is fast approaching for businesses, individuals and organizations to financially support the purchase of hanging baskets for the downtown Main Street area. “As in previous years, we are looking for donations to purchase the baskets,” said Main Street Manager, Anita Dolan. “People in the community are tremendously supportive of our events and programs, and this program is such a valuable asset to the appearance of Main Street.” Dolan added. A long time sponsor, the Betty Jane Monjar Garden Society is again willing to help financially with the event. They are providing a financial matching program where they will match any funds raised up to $1,000. “The Garden Society has always been very supportive and helpful with this program,” said Dolan. “The matching funds program will significantly help us reach our fundraising goals. Any donation amount will be appreciated.” Additionally, baskets can be purchased in honor or in memory of a loved one. Each donor will be recogn...