Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

A Mount Jewett man accused of stealing money from a company he was doing books for is headed to McKean County Court. Two felony theft charges against 67-year-old Donald Blair were bound to court following a preliminary hearing in front of District Judge Rich Luther. Blair was hired by Sutton Water Hauling of Bradford in 2005. In 2012 the company’s owner learned that his business hadn’t paid state or federal taxes for seven years. According to court records, Blair used the money to buy personal items and pay personal credit card bills. Blair is free on $50,000 bail. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A traffic stop on I-86 has led to drug charges against an Oklahoma man. State police say they stopped 32-year-old Jamie Post at about 2 p.m. on Saturday in the Town of West Almond and later charged him with unlawful manufacture of methamphetamine and unlawful possession of marijuana. Post is in Allegany County Jail awaiting a court date on Thursday. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Two Kane residents suffered minor injuries in an accident on Route 66 Monday afternoon. Police say 38-year-old Lisa Hutchins was traveling south when her SUV crossed over the fog line and started to travel along the berm of road. When she attempted to get the vehicle back onto the road she overcorrected, causing the SUV to slide across the road, hit a ditch and roll over. Hutchins and a14-year-old passenger were taken to Kane Community Hospital for treatment. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

City of Bradford Police on Tuesday investigated thefts on East Main and North Bennett streets and on Harding Avenue. They got complaints about harassment on High Street, disorderly conduct on Pearl Street and disturbances on Main and North Bennett Street. Officers also looked into suspicious activity on Campus Drive. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Do you like to play games? If you enjoy games, you’ll love chess! To learn how to play or to improve your play, visit the Bradford Knights’ Chess Club on Wednesday, October 2 at 6:30 PM at School Street Elementary. Players may register at the door. The club meets in the School Street Elementary cafeteria each Wednesday from 6:30 - 8:15 PM. All students in grades 3-12 are invited to join the scholastic chess program. The introductory program is scheduled for 5 weeks from October 2 through October 30. The Bradford Businessmen’s Chess League will begin November 6 and run through March 12. Many activities are scheduled, including pizza parties, matches, and tournaments. Research continues to confirm the educational value that chess instruction has on cognitive development, critical thinking skills, and academic subjects. There is a fee. For additional information about joining the club or the educational benefits of chess, please visit our website at http://bradfordchessclub.org/ ...

Classic rock band Cheap Trick, a perennial entertainment favorite among Seneca Casinos fans, comes to Seneca Allegany Events Center in Salamanca, N.Y. for a 5 p.m. performance on Sunday, December 29. Tickets start at $30 and go on sale Monday, October 7, at noon. The band’s biggest hits include “I Want You to Want Me,” “Surrender,” “Don’t Be Cruel” (an Elvis Presley cover) and “The Flame.” They also wrote and performed the theme song for the hit TV show “The Colbert Report.” Cheap Trick was also recently ranked No. 25 in VH1's list of the 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock. Tickets for all shows are available at Seneca Casino box offices, Ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster locations or by phone at 800-745-3000. Starting ticket prices and on-sale dates are below in the full schedule of confirmed upcoming entertainment at Seneca the Seneca Allegany Events Center. Click on the image to make it larger . The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

St. Bonaventure University and Hilbert College, Franciscan institutions in New York, will explore options to build on their 20-year partnership and to enhance student access, opportunities and experience. The Boards of Trustees of both institutions have approved a feasibility study to determine if the two institutions should expand their unique collaboration in academic programs, facilities and operational practices. The two campuses are about 60 miles apart in Western New York. St. Bonaventure has offered graduate programs on the campus of Hilbert College in a weekend format for the past two decades. The Boards authorized the study that could lead to a strategic plan for “some form of further strategic alliance” between the two institutions. “While the feasibility analysis is a ‘discovery process,’ we wouldn’t be investing in this effort if we didn’t think there were likely some ways in which St. Bonaventure and Hilbert College could collaborate more closely and achieve gr...

HARRISBURG – The House Game and Fisheries Committee today approved four bills, including one sponsored by Rep. Martin Causer (R-Turtlepoint) that clarifies the authority of conservation officers. House Bill 1584 outlines the authority of wildlife and waterways conservation officers to issue written or verbal warnings in lieu of making arrests or issuing citations. “While this authority is available to conservation officers currently, it is not specifically spelled out in law and therefore may not be being used as much as it could be or should be,” said Causer, who serves as chairman of the committee. “As a former police officer, I know how important it is to exercise discretion in law enforcement.” The committee also approved Senate Bill 648, sponsored by Sen. Richard Alloway (R-Adams/Cumberland/ Franklin/York), which protects the rights of property owners who allow hunting on their property. The bill ensures those landowners are not subject to prosecution for violations co...

Intercollegiate club hockey is coming to the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford this fall thanks to some fans of the wintry sport. The club team will play four games at its home rink in Callahan Park at 10 a.m. Oct. 13 against the University of Buffalo; at 10 a.m. Oct. 27 against Gannon University; at 10 am. Nov. 10 against Medaille University; and at 10 a.m. Nov. 17 against D’Youville College. Admission is free, and, following the $1.8 million renovation of the rink at Callahan Park, there is spectator viewing. Practice began last week, supervised by Greg Miller, coordinator of residential network services at Pitt-Bradford, and the team opened away Sept. 29 at D’Youville College. Matthew Pekular, a junior petroleum technology and environmental studies student from Pittsburgh, was the driving force behind starting the club. Pekular has played amateur hockey since he was 4 and continued playing in high school fo...

A car flew into a house Sunday morning, seriously injuring the driver. 61-year-old Alvin Swan of Westfield, PA, was on North Fork Road in Potter County when his car traveled off the road while making a left turn, then went into a field, and eventually hit a tree, causing it to fly into a house, where it got stuck. Swan was taken by medical helicopter to Robert Packer Hospital in Sayre for treatment of major injuries. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

One of the people involved in a fiery car crash on September 21 in Clearfield County has passed away. 48-year-old Rebecca Towne of Ridgway died last night from severe injuries she sustained in the crash. Towne, her husband and two of her children, along with the other driver, were all trapped inside their vehicles and were pulled out by witnesses. Towne was an on-air personality at The Hound radio station in Ridgway. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A Ridgway man is dead following a crash Monday morning in Jefferson County. Police say 37-year-old William Duffeild was making a left turn in Reynoldsville at about 7:45 a.m. when his SUV went out of control, hit an embankment and rolled multiple times. Duffield was thrown from the SUV and was pronounced dead at the scene. Route 310 was closed for two hours for cleanup and investigation. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A new agreement between the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford and the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine allows Pitt-Bradford students to enroll in the early acceptance program at LECOM’s dental school. Students wishing to attend the LECOM School of Dental Medicine in Bradenton, Fla., can apply for early acceptance at the same time they apply to Pitt-Bradford, if they meet certain criteria. Students can also apply in their freshman or sophomore years at Pitt-Bradford. LECOM officials interview students during their freshman or sophomore years and notify them of their acceptance. The agreement stipulates criteria that the students must meet to enroll and stay in the program and dictates a course of studies for all four years at Pitt-Bradford. “Ambitions students who enter programs like this one have the advantage of well-defined goals and educational outcomes,” said Dr. Mary Mulcahy, associate professor of biology and co-coor...

One of the men who ran a meth lab in Allegany has pleaded guilty. 32-year-old Joshua Safford of Allegany was indicted for having the ingredients to make methamphetamine. He and his co-defendants were indicted after the meth lab was found in March. Safford is scheduled for sentencing in Cattaraugus County Court on January 6. Also today, Philip Boudreaux and Bryant Galmer, both of Olean, pleaded not guilty to selling heroin back in January. Jessica Gunning of Olean pleaded not guilty to selling hydromorphone and Oxycontin. All three cases have been adjourned for motions. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A Dunkirk man admitted to filing dozens of state and federal tax returns – using the names and social security numbers of dead people. In 2008 and 2009 42-year-old John Berry field 40 fraudulent New York State income tax returns claiming more than $25,000 in refunds, and 122 federal returns claiming $200,000 in refunds. He’s facing charges of offering a false instrument for filing and attempted grand larceny. Berry’s next scheduled court appearance is October 15. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Pittsburgh native Governor Tom Corbett roots on the Pirates as they chase the pennant by raising the Jolly Roger at the Governor's Residence in Harrisburg today. This flag has flown over PNC Park and will fly over the residence until the Pirates' post-season run ends. You can hear tomorrow's game on 1490 WESB. Photo provided by Commonwealth Media Services The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A man who was found with more than 30,000 unstamped cigarettes will spend the next five years on probation. 54-year-old Steven Licata of West Seneca was sentenced today in Cattaraugus County Court for attempted to evade or defeat the state’s cigarette tax. Licata must also pay a $1,000 fine. The incident happened on June 2, 2012, in the Town of Carrollton. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

The state trooper who was shot and critically injured Thursday afternoon in Brockway is in stable condition at UPMC in Pittsburgh, but officials say he will have a long road to recovery. Officials wouldn't give specifics about Trooper Bradley Wilson's condition, but did say he is expected to survive. Wilson was shot in the neck and torso by 60-year-old Kenneth Lees Sr. as he and another trooper were attempting to execute a search warrants at Lees’ home. Lees took his own life several hours later after barricading himself inside his home. Police did not storm the house because they suspected a meth lab was operating there and the chemicals used to cook the drug are highly volatile. They had been investigating for about two weeks. Lees’ son, Kenneth Lees II, is charged with felony counts of aggravated assault and fleeing or attempting to elude police, for taking officers on a 15- to 20-mile chase Thursday night. He’s jailed on $75,000 bail, The news leader of th...

A Kane man is accused of biting, kicking and threatening police officers who were searching his home for drugs and paraphernalia. According to papers filed in District Judge David Engman’s office police were called to a Park Avenue home at about 8:30 Sunday night for a domestic incident and learned that people in the house had been “shooting up.” After getting consent to search the house police found a spoon with burn marks and drug residue in a bathroom cupboard. 19-year-old Matthew Confer then allegedly called police “f***ing d***heads,” “f***ing a******s” and “pigs.” Police then put Confer in handcuffs, searched him and sat him in the floor. His mother then told police she had one hypodermic needle. They searched the rest of the house and found nine more needles that they say looked to be used. Police called adult probation because Confer had fresh injection marks on his arms and they didn’t know what to do with him. Confer said they were hornet stings. The probation ...