Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford has announced new directors for its international studies and criminal justice programs. Kristin Asinger, visiting instructor of sports medicine, has been named the new director for international studies, taking the place of Isabelle Champlin, who retired last spring. Dr. Steven Hardin, vice president and dean of academic affairs, said, “Kristin brings a wealth of experience to her new position as director of international studies. She has had a long-standing interest in multicultural experiences, as evidenced by her international travel and the fact that she has hosted several international exchange students. I know she’ll do a great job in this new role.” In her new position, Asinger will help students who want to study abroad to fulfill their goals by finding a program that is right for them, providing scholarship information and advising them through the process. She also welcomes and orientates internatio...

UPDATE: The driver has been identified as 36-year-old Candice Workman of Falconer. A woman is dead after her car hit a tree and ended up in a creek late last night in the Town of Poland. Sheriff’s deputies say the 36-year-old woman, who they did not identify, was approaching the “T” intersection of Hartson and Stone roads, and attempted to stop, but the car went off the road and over an embankment. The car then hit the tree and ended up in Cassadaga Creek. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene. Her passenger, 41-year-old Joseph Martin of Falconer, was taken to UPMC Hamot, where he is in critical condition. Deputies are still investigating. The original news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Car Show May Move to the Bradford Mall By ANNE HOLLIDAY WESB/WBRR News Director Foster Township residents won’t see tax or sewage rate increases in 2012, but they may see the Autumn Daze Car Show move into the township. During Monday night’s meeting supervisor Dale Phillips said he has been working with the owners of the Bradford Mall and Street Dreams Car Club president Gary Hoy about moving the show from downtown Bradford to the mall. “It looks very good so far, knock on wood,” Phillips said, adding that Hoy was submitting all the necessary information to the mall’s management company. Phillips said the car club would be teaming up with the township’s volunteer fire departments and 100 percent of the proceeds would go to them. The show is scheduled for September 9. Also Monday, Bolivar Drive resident Bill Hallock asked about the $216,000 “error” made in the funding process for the sewer project, saying he believes the supervisors are taking the situation too lightly. “We should be up...

A South Dayton woman has pleaded guilty to receiving thousands of dollars worth of day care assistance from Cattaraugus County that she was not entitled to. 31-year-old Michelle Rogers received more than $8,200 in assistance between August of 2010 and May of this year, and did not notify the department of social services she was using day care providers that were not approved by the department. A Franklinville woman has pleaded guilty to forging a prescription. 19-year-old Lynette Deer altered a prescription on August 1 in Franklinville. An Olean man has pleaded guilty to attempted criminal sale of a controlled substance. 27-year-old Christopher Winship sold a narcotic on April 21, 2010, in Olean. All three are scheduled for sentencing on February 21. The original news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

The Allegany man accused of bludgeoning another man to death with a crow bar and a pocket knife has pleaded not guilty in Cattaraugus County Court. 22-year-old Gregory Farr is accused of killing 58-year-old Stephen Balser on October 24 at the Valley View Estates mobile home park in Allegany. Farr is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter, assault and criminal possession of a weapon. He’s jailed without bail. The original news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Police agencies in Chautauqua County are investigating a string of burglaries they believe may be related. State Police say someone tried to rob the Red Roof Inn on East Main Street in Ellicott at 8:23 last night. At 9:11 p.m., Jamestown police responded to the Kwik Fill on Fluvanna Avenue for another attempted robbery. The Exxon station on Fairmount Avenue was robbed Sunday night. The suspect is described as a white male, 5 foot 9 inches tall and weighing about 150 pounds. In both incidents, the suspect was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with tan khaki cargo pants. Anyone with information about the suspect is asked to call the Jamestown Police Department at 716-483-7531 or the State Police at 716-665-3113. The original news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Harrisburg – “A Pennsylvania Christmas,” a decorating theme celebrating official state symbols, will welcome visitors to the Governor’s Residence this holiday season, First Lady Susan Corbett said today. “The governor and I are excited to welcome Pennsylvanians to the Governor’s Residence during the holiday season,” said Susan Corbett. “We chose ‘A Pennsylvania Christmas’ to recognize the natural beauty and uniqueness of our commonwealth. We hope that visitors will enjoy this holiday tribute to Pennsylvania.” Christmas trees donated by the Pennsylvania Christmas Tree Growers Association adorn the building’s public areas. Each tree has a specific theme, including White-Tailed Deer, Flagship Niagara, and Brook Trout -- among others. Several original pieces of artwork are also on display, including those of nature artist Ned Smith and artist Nick Ruggieri. Each tree has two ornaments featuring the Corbett’s Airedale puppies, Penny and Harry. The ornaments are hidden on the trees so that c...

New Hologram Makes Spotting ‘Fakes’ Easier Harrisburg – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation today deployed a new security hologram that makes it easier to spot fake drivers’ licenses and identification cards. Pennsylvania is the first state in the nation to use this enhanced security feature. “A driver’s license or identification card has always been a trusted source for establishing a person’s true identity,” said PennDOT Secretary Barry J. Schoch. “We are steadfast in our resolve to combat counterfeit forms of identification, which ultimately jeopardize lives and hold great potential for harm to our national security.” The new hologram suppresses the “rainbow" colors normally associated with holographic images. The result is a hologram that appears to switch between white and black as the image is moved. Also, because the new image is of a much higher resolution, it is clearly visible in bright, moderate and even low-light environments. This state-of-the-art technology...

St. Bonaventure’s Elyse Kosakowski has been named by the American Advertising Federation as a Most Promising Minority Students Program finalist, class of 2012. Kosakowski, of Henrietta, N.Y., is among 20 finalists across the U.S. to be recognized for their achievements this year. She is the first St. Bonaventure student to receive this honor by AAF. Finalists for the award will gather in New York City in February to attend a recognition ceremony that will highlight their achievements. There, they will have the opportunity to meet advertising professionals, immersing themselves in various opportunities such as networking with some of the industry’s largest names. “I feel honored to represent St. Bonaventure in a pool of such qualified candidates,” Kosakowski said. Kosakowski was nominated by Michael Jones-Kelley, a visiting professor in the Russell J. Jandoli School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Jones-Kelley holds Kosakowski in the highest regard and has taught her at both the u...

In an effort to help families cover the cost of college education, the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford has increased its merit scholarships for full-time freshmen and transfer students entering Pitt-Bradford in Fall 2012. The increases apply to scholarships designated for students from the contiguous six-county service region, those from other areas of Pennsylvania and students from other states. “We’re very mindful of the struggles families in our region and beyond experience as they strive to keep up with the rising cost of a college education,” said Dr. Livingston Alexander, president. “Providing substantial merit scholarships is one of many ways in which we continue to make our high quality education accessible to low- and moderate-income families.” Merit scholarships are provided to students at the time of admission and are independent of any other financial aid they may receive. New students may be eligible for merit scholarships if th...

Since her arrival in the United States in the mid-’80s to study art history in the Pacific Northwest, Chisato “Kitty” O. Dubreuil has devoted much of her research to illustrate that the indigenous people of Japan are “a living culture.” Now the Ainu (EYE-noo), relatively unknown beyond their homeland of Northern Japan, are being introduced to people in the Spanish-speaking world. One of only a handful of Ainu researchers in the United States, Dubreuil, an assistant professor of art history at St. Bonaventure University, has focused her in-country research on contemporary Japanese and Ainu visual arts and culture, as well as the traditional and contemporary arts of the native cultures of North America. “I want to emphasize Ainu as a living culture. To have my work translated into Spanish is a great honor,” Dubreuil said. Last spring, Dubreuil was contacted by Dr. Mauricio Martinez, a scholar at Los Andes University in Bogota, Colombia, whose specialty is Japanese art and culture. He had...

The state trooper who stopped the owner of The Corner Bar because he thought she was driving drunk when she wasn’t will be in court today to ask a federal judge to dismiss the lawsuit she filed against him. Dianne Thompson’s lawsuit targets State Trooper Matthew Petrof, who she claims lied about whether she appeared to be driving drunk because she has criticized the methods police use to stop driviers. Thompson claims Petrof wrongly stopped her about 1 a.m. Oct. 31, 2009 as she drove home from The Corner Bar. Petrof ticketed her for littering and sitting too long at a flashing yellow light. He claimed she failed sobriety tests, smelled of alcohol and was glassy-eyed, but did not charge her with DUI. A blood test revealed she had no alcohol in her system and District Judge Dominic Cercone dismissed the other tickets. The original news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A Penn State student is dead and four other students from the university were hurt when an SUV crashed into a tree on Route 219 near Westline Friday night. Police say an SUV driven by 20 year-old Jonathan Edwards of Dumfries, Virginia, went out of control on the ice -covered road, traveled down an embankment, rolled over and hit the tree. A passenger, 18-year-old Courtney O'Bryan of Huntington, New York, was thrown from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene. Three others, 18-year-old Jenna Pardhan, 19-year-old Lauren Bronstein and Christopher Toner suffered moderate injuries. Edwards suffered minor injuries. The original news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

The chief of the Sheridan fire department was shot to death Saturday afternoon in the Town of Stockton. 33-year-old Jeffrey Roberts may have been field dressing a deer when he was shot. He was hunting with his father and a friend when they lost track of each other. When Bill Roberts found his son, he called police and Jeffery Roberts was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy is scheduled today in the Erie County Medical Examiner's Office. The original news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A Milesburg woman is dead after her vehicle rolled over several times on Quehanna Highway in Bennezette Township Saturday morning. Police say 24-year-old Tearany Lucas lost control on a curve, went off the road, crossed back across the center line, went off the road again and flipped multiple times. She was pronounced dead at the scene. The original news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Cattaraugus County Sheriff's Deputies have received several complaints of an automated system calling residents' phones and asking them to update the security on their checking accounts. The message asks them to enter their PIN numbers. Residents are urged not to enter PIN numbers or any personal information over the phone. Several caller IDs have identified the phone number as 702-726-9024 and 702-762-9024. This number comes back to the Las Vegas area. The original news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A Warren man is in jail after taking police high-speed chases on the last two Saturday nights. This past Saturday police tried to stop 20-year-old Adam Robert-Lord Rodgers when they saw him driving 80 mph in 45 and 50 mph zones in Starbrick. He continued into Warren, where police eventually stopped him. After charging him with more than 30 traffic violations, police learned Rodgers took police on a high-speed chase through Brokenstraw and Conewango townships on November 26. Rodgers’ bail is set at $25,000. The original news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A man was shot several times Friday night in Salamanca. Police say 22-year-old Vincent Harris of Buffalo was shot inside a home on East State Street, then jumped out a window and ran down the street. Police and paramedics were notified about the shooting and Harris was taken by Mercy Flight to ECMC. Police couldn’t find anyone at the East State Street house, where they are collecting evidence and continuing to investigate. The original news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

One person is dead following a crash in Sugar Grove early this morning. State police say the crash happened at just before 2 a.m. when the female driver of a Ford Fusion failed to negotiate a curve and the car went off the road and hit a pine tree. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene. Her two female passengers were taken to WCA Hospital in Jamestown for treatment of unspecified injuries. Police have not released the victims' names yet. Their investigation is continuing. The original news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Someone did more than $1,000 worth of damage to an Elk County car wash earlier this week. State police say sometime between 7 o’clock Tuesday night and 7 o’clock Wednesday morning someone used force to enter the Paper City Car Wash along Route 219, and also broke into a change machine on the outside of the building. Damage is estimated at $1,100. The original news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947