Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

He's been found ~~~ McKean County Children and Youth Services is looking for a 13-year-old boy who hasn't been seen since Wednesday. Shane McCracken was last seen at Fretz Middle School. He's 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighs 120 pounds. Anyone who has seen Shane McCracken is asked to call Children & Youth Services at 887-3350 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or 887-4911 after hours, or the police.

The two convicted killers who escaped from an Arkansas prison and were captured in Hornell last week are back in Arkansas. Calvin Adams and Jeffery Grinder were turned over to Arkansas authorities at the Elmira-Corning Regional Airport. Sheriff's deputies had their guns out during the transfer. Adams and Grinder escaped from the Arkansas prison on May 29 dressed as guards. A New York State Trooper attempted to stop them for speeding last Tuesday. They took police on a high-speed chase, crashed the car and attempted to flee on foot. Police caught them in a residential neighborhood in Hornell.

The Bradford Area School District is offering a Summer Lunch Program that provides free lunches to any child 18 or younger. The program starts next Monday and runs five days a week until August 21. It will be from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at School Street Elementary School. There is no paperwork, enrollment or income qualification to take advantage of the program. Lunches include a sandwich or salad, fruit, vegetable and milk. The program is sponsored by the US Department of Agriculture.

A Jamestown man has been charged with boating while intoxicated after crashing his boat into the Chautauqua Lake Ferry Station in Bemus Point Sunday night. 52-year-old Donald Thompson was able to make it to shore after the crash at 10:30 p.m., but his passenger, Steve McKone, had to be rescued by Bemus Point firefighters. Sheriff's Deputies say both men were taken to WCA Hospital in Jamestown and were in stable condition.

Superior Court Judge Maureen Lally-Green is retiring from the bench effective July 31 to take a job as director of the Diocese of Pittsburgh's Office of Church Relations. According to a news release, Lally-Green will represent the Diocese to civic, charitable, service and community organizations. She was sworn in as judge of the Superior Court in June 1998 following her appointment by then-Governor Tom Ridge and confirmation by the Senate in 1999. She was elected to a full ten-year term the following year. Lally-Green was a full professor of law at Duquesne for 15 years. Lally-Green lives in Butler County with her husband. They are the parents of three grown children. Bishop David A. Zubik is expected to officially announce the appointment this afternoon.

Embedded video from CNN Video Member of All-Black D-Day Battalion to Receive Overdue Honor By John J. Kruzel American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, June 5, 2009 – Sixty-five years ago, he was a young black soldier whose role in the allied landing at Normandy would go largely ignored. But now William Dabney returns to France with due honors. William Dabney, a veteran of the D-Day invasion, poses with son Vinny Dabney at the French Embassy in Washington, D.C., on June 4, 2009, ahead of their trip to France where the elder Dabney is to receive the Legion of Honor, the French government's highest award for his actions in WWII. DoD by John J. Kruzel Then a 20-year-old corporal, Dabney stormed the beleaguered Omaha Beach armed with a type of explosive-laden helium balloon the Army floated at low altitude to interfere with German aircraft. He represented the 320th Anti-Aircraft Barrage Balloon Battalion, the first exclusively African-American unit to fight in World War II. Dabney, t...

The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has said if the Senate Republican budget (SB 850) passes, up to 50 state parks in the Commonwealth would have to close. It turns out one-third of those parks fall within the districts of three state senators: President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi and Appropriations Committee Chairman Jake Corman. Coincidence? Maybe. Playing politics? Probably. A recent news release from DCNR Acting Secretary John Quigley said, in part, "Families that cannot afford to take a vacation because of the tough economic times could always count on enjoying a little rest and relaxation at a nearby state park or forest. However, if the Senate's budget proposal is enacted, there would be even fewer of those opportunities as we would have to close a number of state parks. That means less traffic and fewer dollars being spent in the rural communities with businesses and jobs that count on these parks and forests...

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) is hanging purple panel traps in trees along roadsides and other open areas in the forest to survey for emerald ash borer (EAB) beetles. The color of the purple traps is pleasing to EAB beetles; the traps contain Manuka oil which, to an EAB beetle, is a pleasant scent that mimics that smell of an ash tree. Insects attracted to the purple panel traps become stuck on the panels. The panel traps are surveyed on a schedule to identify insects on the trap. Pennsylvania crews will be driving crew-cab pickup trucks with yellow magnetic signs identifying them as PDA Plant Pest personnel. These crews will also be completing visual surveys and sweep netting of brush to potentially catch a beetle. Placement of these traps is part of a much larger EAB management strategy that includes quarantines, closure orders, tree harvesting, surveys, and bans on the movement of firewood to slow the spread of EAB. Since 2002, the EAB beetle has killed 50...

Developers who want to turn the former Kmart Plaza in Allegany into an ambulatory surgery center are asking for some of Cattaraugus County's proceeds from the Seneca-Allegany Casino to extend sewer and water lines from the village to the site. The project is expected to cost $5 million, but a $1 million infrastructure investment is needed before the tenant can go ahead with the project. Because of a confidentiality agreement, the name of the surgery center can’t be revealed yet, according to Rob Savarino, consultant for the vacant plaza’s owner, Benson Construction and Development. County Development and Agriculture Committee Chairman Jerry Burrell asked legislators to move quickly as a lead funding partner with the Town of Allegany, the state and the federal government because the site is getting so old it's an embarrassment to the county.

Pittsburgh—Members of the United Steelworkers Union (USW) are informing members of the Senate Finance Committee, House Ways and Means Committee and their congressional representatives and senators about the need to retain the alternative fuel mixture tax credit for the U.S. paper industry. Local paper worker Joe Calla, who works at the Domtar mill in Johnsonburg, Pa., is one of the members who met with elected officials. “We believe this is a long-overdue credit for an industry that is the leader in the use of renewable energy,” said USW International President Leo W. Gerard. “The paper sector has invested millions of dollars in recovery boilers and other technologies that use renewable fuels derived from biomass and even sells excess energy generated back to the power grid. This credit allows the industry to play a vital role in our country’s transformation to clean energy.” The tax credit originated from a 2007 tax law change that expanded eligibility for a 50 cents-per-gallon altern...

As the next step in the development of the Father Mychal Judge Center at St. Bonaventure University, a core group of faculty and staff left this week for a visit to Northern Ireland. During their time in Northern Ireland, the group will participate in programming related to Ireland’s educational, economic, political, and reconciliation issues, talk with other higher education faculty and administrators, meet community members who have been involved in the Irish peace process, and identify pedagogical and research areas of common interest to faculty at St. Bonaventure and the Irish colleges. The opportunity to offer St. Bonaventure courses in Northern Ireland and/or to establish a study abroad program at a Northern Ireland college will also be pursued. The Father Mychal Judge Center for Irish Exchange and Understanding will provide opportunities for students to explore the issues that face the people of Ireland as they respond to the end of a century of violent conflict. “We will be loo...

At this week's Hamot-KCH Breast Cancer Forum, J. Gary Rhodes, CEO of Kane Community Hospital and Janet Brunner, R.T. (R),(M) and Clinical Ancillary Services Leader at KCH, announced to those attending the recent addition of stereotactic breast biopsy to their Diagnostic Imaging arsenal, with more equipment and technology on the way. “The newly dedicated room housing the new purchase is complete with state review and approvals and patients are being scheduled for procedures,” noted Brunner. “This equipment is the first of three purchases that will form a new Breast Center to be launched this fall. The other pieces are digital mammography (the first in the area) and small bore Magnetic Resonance Imaging for which the current MRI room is being renovated,” Rhodes announced. The Director of Radiology at KCH, Jamil Sarfraz, M.D. who was speaking at the forum, concurred that he had requested the new equipment for the breast center and that he was hopeful that the community would avail ...

A small earthquake shook up the village of Attica, New York, this morning. The US Geological Survey says the quake hit at just after 11 a.m. and measure 2.9 on the Richter scale. The epicenter of the quake was three miles southeast of the village, and was big enough to be felt but there wasn't any significant damage. The Attica area is on the Clarendon-Linden fault line and has experienced seismic activity before.

The fourth annual motorcycle dice run “Let’s Ride for Special Kids” will be held on Saturday, June 13th to benefit CARE for Children’s special assistance fund for children with disabilities. Pictured from left to right are some of the dice run committee members including Jeff Stahlman from Byllye Lanes Bowling Center, Kim Murphey, community relations coordinator at CARE for Children, Charlie Krepp and Dusty Krepp of Charlie’s Cycle Center and Rodney Jones(seated), age 14, son of Kelly Clark and Jesse Jones. The ride will begin at Charlie’s, on Route 219 in Limestone, NY, with registration from 11:30am to 12:45pm, and kicking off at 1pm. The bikes will travel over 100 miles through McKean County, ending at Byllye Lanes by 5:30pm, where there will be a pig roast and the band Lickin’ Post will perform. CARE’s special assistance fund provides emergency assistance and little extra’s for children with disabilities. Last year’s dice run proceeds were used to help a child’s family with med...

Emergency crews are on the scene of an acetylene tank fire near Minard Run Road. The fire was called in at about 2:30 this afternoon, and explosions have been reported. The fire is just north of Northland Road, which is off Minard Run Road. An ambulance has been called for a burn victim. The Bradford Township and Hilltop fire departments are responding. Two other departments are on standby.

A construction worker on the Route 219 project in the Town of Ashford fell from a bridge this morning, and was hanging more than 200 feet in the air before his co-workers pulled him back up. 48-year-old Ron Gallor was wearing fall-restraint gear when he fell off the bridge at just before 8 o'clock this morning. Cattaraugus County Sheriff's Deputies say the gear kept him from hitting the ground. Gallor suffered minor cuts to his arm and wrist and was treated at the scene by West Valley Emergency Medical Services personnel.

A self guided audio walking tour of the downtown historic district is now available at the Main Street Mercantile, 96 Main Street, Bradford, Pa. People wishing to participate in the tour must leave an ID when picking up the headsets at the Mercantile. The ID will be returned when the headset is returned. There is no charge for the audio tour. “The tour really was community collaboration,” said Anita Dolan, Main Street Manager. The project involved local business owners, staff from OECD and the Bradford Landmark Society. “What a great way to spend an hour or two on a summer day than walking our historic district. Bradford has some beautiful architecture,” added Dolan. Buildings included in the tour are: The Congress Street Diner, Beefeater’s, Bradford Fire Station, Bradford Era, The Option House, the Old Post Office building, Masonic Temple, Veterans’ Square, Herbig Bakery, Old City Hall, Forest Oil Building, Bay State Building, Schonblum Building, Cline Oil Well and the Hooker Fu...

From President Obama: On June 12 – one week from tomorrow – the nation’s full-power television stations will switch to all-digital programming. The transition to digital will free up airwaves for broadband and enhanced emergency communications for our police officers, firefighters, and other first responders. In February, I worked with Congress to postpone the deadline television broadcasters had to end their analog signals, because it was clear that millions of Americans would have been left in the dark if the conversion had gone on as planned. I directed key members of my Administration to reach out and help Americans, especially those in our most vulnerable communities, to make the switch to digital television. In the months since then, we have worked hand in hand with state and local officials, broadcasters, and community groups to educate and assist millions of Americans with the transition. The number of households unprepared for digital television has been cut in half. Stil...