Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

Two people suffered moderate injuries in a motorcycle accident on Kinney Road about a mile and a half west of Route 244 in Potter County. State Police say a deer ran in front of a motorcycle driven by 26-year-old Dann Thompson of Genesee and the bike hit the deer. Thompson and his passenger, a 15-year-old girl, were taken to Jones Memorial Hospital for treatment. ~~ A Falls Creek man suffered major injuries – and is facing DUI charges – following a crash at just before 7 p.m. Friday on Route 872 near Portage Road. Police say a motorcycle driven by 54-year-old Jeffrey Striegel was traveling too fast and went out of control on a curve. The bike then crossed the road, hit the guide rails, turned over and slid another 75 feet. Striegel and his passenger, 40-year-old Patricia Fields of Reynoldsville, left the scene but were found a short time later near the Wharton Tavern. Striegel was taken to Charles Cole Memorial Hospital. Fields sustained minor injuries but refused medical treatment.

Connor Borosky, Kevin Cannon and Frenchie -- a cocker spaniel/lab mix who's available for adoption -- show off the 10' x 12' storage shed that's being raffled off to benefit the McKean County SPCA. You can see the shed until 4 p.m. today at the SPCA, where Kevin is also grilling up hot dogs. This is Kevin's senior project -- and he's been working really hard on it. So, head on down to the SPCA on Glenwood Avenue to help Kevin and the SPCA.

A Jamestown man faces 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine after pleading guilty Friday to a federal charge of possession of child pornography. 42-year-old Kenneth Lamb II had 10 images and 20 videos on his computer showing children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Some of the children were younger than 12. Lamb is scheduled for sentencing September 9.

A former Emporium woman has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for sex crimes against her children that a judge said were so vile that he had to close his courtroom to the public during testimony. Angela Larkin, also known as Angela McCullen, pleaded guilty in 2005 to sexually exploiting children, admitting she sold sexually graphic images of her 2-year-old daughter on the Internet. U.S. Middle District Judge John E. Jones III called the case the ugliest of his legal career. For more on this story, go to the Williamsport Sun Gazette .

The Seneca Nation of Indians has signed a deal with Sullivan County to develop a new casino in the Catskills. The agreement was supposed to be signed in a ceremony last Thursday but it was postponed until today. The Senecas have agreed to pay Sullivan County $15.5 million while the casino is being built. That's expected to take two years. For the next four years after that, the county would get $20 million. That differs from the deal the Senecas have with Cattaraugus, Erie and Niagara counties, which get a percentage of the slots revenues. The Senecas still need approval from Congress before they can move ahead with the project.

By ANNE HOLLIDAY WESB/WBRR News Director Senator Joe Scarnati says his goal in negotiating a state budget is balancing the needs and the wants of state agencies. He says the Senate Republicans have been criticized for passing a budget with major cuts in it – even more cuts than the governor's proposed budget. But, Scarnati says, there has been continuing economic decline and loss of revenue since February when Governor Ed Rendell proposed his budget. The Senate bill would spend $27.3 billion while the governor proposed a $29 billion spending plan. Scarnati says Senate Bill 850 "reflects the current revenues the state expects to receive and the federal stimulus dollars, and (we) used those to craft the budget to live within our means." He says while good programs are being cut and eliminated he believes "working families and our job creators would well-prefer to have state cuts than to take more money out of their pocketbooks." "I refuse to raise taxes,...

On Wednesday, May 27, PennDOT will post weight limit changes on two more Potter County bridges. Effective Wednesday, PennDOT will post the Sweden Valley Bridge on Route 4031 in Sweden Township. The bridge will be posted for a 19-ton weight limit for single vehicles and a 35-ton weight limit for combination vehicles. The Sweden Valley Bridge spans Lyman Creek, near the intersection with Route 6. Also on Wednesday, PennDOT will post the Oswayo Creek Bridge on Route 4017 (Sunnyside Road) in Shinglehouse Borough. The bridge will be posted for a 19-ton weight limit for single vehicles and a 35-ton weight limit for combination vehicles. The Oswayo Creek Bridge spans Oswayo Creek in Shinglehouse. Vehicles exceeding the posted limits on either bridge will need to use an alternate route. The decision to post weight limits on the bridges was the result of recent inspections. The Sweden Valley Bridge was built in 1946, is 14 feet long and carries an average of 176 vehicles...

Saying a person lives on a numbered floor can sound somewhat sterile and blaise so The Pavilion at BRMC has decided to change all that by naming its three residential levels as home-like streets. A vote by Pavilion staff was held during National Nursing Home Week, celebrated May 10-16, in which the second floor will be renamed Apple Blossom Avenue, the third floor as Rose Terrace and the fourth floor as Skyview Lane. “We had a contest for all staff to vote on renaming their floors,” says Bonnie Himes, The Pavilion’s administrator. The Pavilion staff team of Michael Grover, and Rosa Martinez, both CNAs, and Pam Medeiros, LPN, submitted what ultimately were the three winning names, says Mrs. Himes. “I had the idea for the contest. I just thought it was better for residents to say they lived on a nice-sounding street than a numbered floor. It’s just another aspect to make our residents feel they’re at home,” she notes. “It can help both residents and staff to take ownership of their floor...

Leadership McKean participants became tourists at several of McKean County’s prominent attractions during a private bus tour. This session included presentations by Linda Meabon, Zippo Manufacturing Company museum curator and historian, Linda Devlin, Executive Director Allegheny National Forest Vacation Bureau, Steve Appleby, Eldred World War II Museum and Learning Center, Lu Vandermark, McKean County Historical Society Old Jail Museum, Terri Dennison, Route 6 Heritage Corporation and Route 6 Tourist Association, Ta Brant, Small Business Ombudsman, Pennsylvania Wilds, Holly Dzemyan, Environmental Education Specialist and Jason Zimmerman, Park Ranger for Kinzua Bridge State Park, and Ron and Sue Zampogna, Flickerwood Wine Cellars. The theme of McKean County’s rich history and heritage was expressed at each stop on the tour. Visitors are attracted by the beauty and versatility of our natural resources and the authentic experience of rural America. Small businesses to serve the tourist...

Kong Ho, associate professor of art at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, has received a prestigious Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program Lecturing Award to teach mural painting in the fine arts department of the National Academy of Art in Sofia, Bulgaria. Ho, founder and current chairman of the Hong Kong Mural Society with murals to his credit in Hong Kong and the U.S., will spend five months at the academy beginning in February 2010. Ho’s Fulbright Scholarship is sponsored by the U.S. Congress and Bulgarian-American Commission for Educational Exchange. “We couldn’t be more pleased that Professor Ho has received this prestigious fellowship,” said Dr. Steven Hardin, vice president and dean of academic affairs. “It’s a testament to his leadership in the art community and his commitment to public art projects.” While in Sofia, Ho will teach in the bachelor’s and master’s art programs in mural painting at the academy. He will design and paint a commun...

The PIAA has delayed its final vote on a proposal to shorten the football season from 16 weeks to 15 weeks. The proposal would also increase the number of classifications from four to six. The board will address the issue again at its meeting in July. Also on Thursday, the PIAA decided to keep the basketball championships at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center despite a strong bid by the Giant Center in Hershey.

Several students were taken to the hospital after a school bus collided with a car just outside of St. Marys this morning. The crash happened on Routes 255 and 948 at around 9:15 when the bus was making a turn and hit the car. Five of the seven injured people are students, but police say their injuries aren't serious. The bus driver, 72-year-old Kay Lenze of Ridgway, suffered minor injuries. The driver of the car, 57-year-old Robert Davis of St. Marys, suffered unspecified injuries. His car was severely damaged.

Corruption charges have been dropped against a former Pennsylvania state representative, but the attorney general's office plans to refile the charges. Former Representative Mike Veon appeared for his preliminary hearing today in Harrisburg, where a district judge dismissed charges related to misusing taxpayer money and funneling into a nonprofit organization in Beaver County. The judge said the prosecutors didn't have enough evidence to take Veon to trial. Assistant Attorney General Anthony Krastek says if new charges are filed, they might not be the same as those that were thrown out today.

More than 200 Bradford Regional Medical Center (BRMC) volunteers, many who also serve as members of Bradford Hospital Auxiliary, were honored Thursday during the Annual Recognition Luncheon at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. The luncheon also included the Auxiliary’s second $60,000 donation being made to the Bradford Hospital Foundation. This goes toward the Auxiliary’s overall five-year pledge of $300,000, its largest commitment ever. The donation is for the Foundation’s “Building The Future” capital campaign, which began in 2005 and has a $6 million goal. Auxiliary President Beverly Gallup said to BRMC President/CEO George E. Leonhardt, “On behalf of Bradford Hospital Auxiliary and its members, here’s our second $60,000 donation toward our total pledge amount. We know you’ll put it to very good use for our hospital and community.” In thanking the Auxiliary, Mr. Leonhardt said the donation would be extremely helpful in reaching the Foundation’s overall five-year capital camp...

A 33-year-old Edinboro man is accused of pretending to be a 19-year-old bisexual woman to solicit sex from teenagers in an Internet chat room. The state attorney general's child predator unit arrested David Jones after he allegedly propositioned an undercover agent posing as a 13-year-old. Jones is also accused of sending pictures of women to his alleged target, claiming they were pictures of himself engaged in sexual activity. Jones is free on bond pending a preliminary hearing May 29. For more on this story go to the attorney general's Web site .

Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties are set to receive millions of dollars in federal stimulus money for road improvement projects throughout both counties. Part of the money will go toward paving 21 miles of I-86 in both counties. The project should be finished by this winter. A five-mile portion of Route 62 from the Chautauqua County line to the towns of Conewango and Leon in Cattaraugus County will be repaved. Also, about 100 miles of road in each county will be paved. Four million dollars will go toward a bridge replacement project in Jamestown. For more information, go to NY Governor David Paterson's Web site .

State Senator Joe Scarnati today questioned several assertions from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources regarding the impact of the Senate-passed state budget plan for 2009-2010, and called on DCNR to tone down its rhetoric. “Citizens have, sadly, come to expect some exaggeration from state agencies seeking additional tax dollars. But the claims made by DCNR are over the line,” said Senator Scarnati. “Citizens understand that the struggling economy and declining revenues mean the state has to spend less or raise taxes. The budget passed by the Senate chooses to spend less.” Senator Scarnati questioned the following assertions made by DCNR regarding the 2009-2010 budget approved by the Senate (Senate Bill 850): Funding DCNR Senate Bill 850 appropriates approximately $19 million less for the DCNR budget than proposed by the Governor. DCNR recently failed to successfully close two bids for Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling on state forest...

The proposed Tracy Ridge and Chestnut Ridge Wilderness Areas in the Allegheny National Forest are featured in the June 2009 issue of Backpacker magazine. The article "Hike It, Save It" highlights 10 areas of federal public land around the country that organizations would like to see given a wilderness designation. The US Forest Service recently withdrew Tracy Ridge from recommended wilderness status but Kirk Johnson, executive director of Friends of Allegheny Wilderness, says the area remains undeveloped and is still qualified for the designation. He says the article will inspire renewed interest in permanently protecting these areas. The magazine has a circulation of 340,000. Backpacker magazine Friends of Allegheny Wilderness

A port-a-potty rental company has been fined for spilling – something – onto a road in Tioga County. The DEP fined B & L Portable Toilet Rental $2,000 for spilling septage and related debris onto about half a mile of Croft Hill Road. Septage is partially treated household waste stored in a septic tank. It is periodically pumped out by private businesses and taken to a municipal sewage treatment plant for final treatment. DEP says company officials admitted that their driver released a tanker load of the material onto the road after unsuccessfully trying to resolve a mechanical problem with the vehicle. DEP Northcentral Regional Director Robert Yowell says a citizen, not the company notified them of the violation, and that's inexcusable.

A 1-year-old is dead after falling into a pond and drowning near his family's home in Napoli. Caleb Winship, who would have turned 2 in August, was home with his parents and brother at the time of the accident Tuesday morning. Sheriff's deputies say Caleb found his way out of the home and to the pond. He was taken by the Randolph Rescue Squad to WCA Hospital in Jamestown, where he was pronounced dead.