Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

Futures Rehabilitation Center will be closed Wednesday, November 27, 2013 due to the winter storm. The closing affects all participants and staff. Futures Rehabilitation Center will be closed on Thursday and Friday, November 28th and November 29th for the Thanksgiving Holiday. We will resume our normal work schedule on Monday, December 2, 2013. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

The Otto-Eldred Ministerium's annual Thanksgiving Service, scheduled for tonight at the Duke Center United Methodist Church, has been postponed due to the expected inclement weather. A new date will be announced. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A Hinsdale man has pleaded not guilty to a number of charges related to having sex with a child. Prosecutors say 18-year-old Benjamin VanHorn had sex with a child younger than 17, who he knew was related to him, between March of last year and March of this year. He’s charged with two counts each of incest and sexual misconduct well as endangering the welfare of a child. The matter has been adjourned for motions. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Police are looking for a Lewis Run man who hasn’t been seen since Thursday. They say the last time anyone had any contact with 52-year-old Albert “Bud” DiFonzo was 11 o’clock Thursday morning. DiFonzo is 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs about 215 pounds. He has short brown hair and brown eyes. He is possibly driving a brown 1997 Chevy Tahoe with Pennsylvania license plate JGW1420. Anyone with information on DiFonzo’s whereabouts is asked to contact Kane-based state police. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

The Department of Environmental Protection has reached a proposed consent decree with Waste Treatment Corporation that addresses adverse impacts to the Allegheny River caused by the company’s treatment and discharge of wastewater in Warren. DEP conducted biological surveys in 2012, which indicated that the discharge from Waste Treatment Corporation’s plant at 341 West Harmar St. in Warren was harming the river’s water quality and biological community. Among the requirements are that Waste Treatment must install additional wastewater treatment measures, and they must be installed and meet requirements in the decree by January 1, 2016. The proposed consent decree must go through a 30-day public comment period before Commonwealth Court’s final approval. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Rep. Martin Causer presents a citation from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to Judy Ordiway in appreciation of her 37 years of service to McKean County. Ordiway of Cyclone has spent the last 30 years serving as the county’s director of elections. She previously worked in the Prothonotary’s Office and Children and Youth Services. Photo provided by Causer's office The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

An Eldred man was hurt in a two-vehicle crash at just before 8 o’clock this morning at the intersection of Route 446 and McCrea Brook Road in Eldred Township. Police say a pickup truck driven by 50-year-old Vincent Bock of Wellsville was traveling south on Route 446 when an SUV driven by 59-year-old William Morrison pulled out in front it. The pickup then hit the driver’s side of the SUV. Morrison was taken to Olean General Hospital for treatment of moderate injuries. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Two people have been arrested in connection to the burglary at Perry’s Corner Store in Austin last week. 24-year-old Evan Heller of Renovo and 29-year-old Shawna Shay of Milesburg are each charged with burglary, theft, receiving stolen property, prohibited possession of a firearm and criminal mischief. State police say with the help of the US Marshal Service, several other state police agencies and the federal bureau of alcohol, tobacco and firearms they were able to find Heller and Shay and items linking them to the burglary. Heller is in Potter County Jail. Shay is in Clinton County Jail. Their bail is a quarter of a million dollars each. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A 17-year-old Kennedy, New York, boy is facing charges for firing a gun into a field and almost hitting a young hunter. State police say the boy borrowed his friend’s 20-guage shotgun on Sunday, walked into the backyard on an old railroad bed and fired a slug into a field. A man who was hunting with his minor son in a field near the intersection of routes 394 and 62 told police the round missed his son by only a few feet. The son told police he saw a person wearing a dark sweater and a hat on the railroad tracks near where the shot came from. Police followed footprints to the teen’s home. The 17-year-old was then arrested by Environmental Conservation officers for discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a residence and possession of a slug in the field with no hunting license. He has been scheduled to appear in Town of Portland Court. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

A Wellsville woman is dead following a multi-vehicle accident in south-central Pennsylvania Sunday morning. 77-year-old Beverly Grantier died at about 10 a.m. after the crash that shut down Interstate 81 in both directions near the Maryland border. Another passenger in the mini-van, 79-year-old Gordon Grantier was critically injured. State police say a tractor trailer jack knifed, blocking both northbound lanes, and causing nine other vehicles to crash. Investigators blame the crash on the sudden onset of snowy conditions. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

After making an appearance in the Cruisin' into Christmas Parade, Santa made an appearance at the Main Street Mercantile to listen to some Christmas wishes. Kids who didn't get a chance to talk with Santa tonight can write him a letter and drop off in the special mail box at the Mercantile -- and then Santa will read it on 1490 WESB! See parade pictures at http://facebook.com/1490wesb The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

In case you missed yesterday's LiveLine on 1490, Anne Holliday spoke with author Max Allan Collins about his newest book, "Ask Not," which focuses on an investigation into the assassination of President Kennedy. To hear the show go to WESB.com , click on the "listen" link and then on "Local Programs." (The first question, which got cut off is: Why do you think people -- 50 years later -- are still so interested in this story?) The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

HARRISBURG (News Release) — After casting her fourth "no" vote in less than a week, Rep. Kathy Rapp (R-Warren/Forest/McKean) issued the following statement regarding Thursday evening’s final passage of a transportation funding plan that contains a $2.3 billion increase in gas taxes and fees on Pennsylvania drivers: “There is no excuse to impose an additional $2.3 billion gas tax and fee increase on Pennsylvania motorists when we already spend close to $7 billion annually on transportation. My constituents view this transportation plan which is now awaiting the governor’s signature as more money they are going to have pay to fuel and maintain their vehicles to subsidize mass transit for Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. “Any additional revenue that comes out of this transportation funding plan comes at the full expense and burden of Pennsylvania motorists. While I agree with the governor that funding and maintaining our infrastructure is a core function of governm...

HARRISBURG (News Release) – The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) today announced an invitation for project applications to the Sinnemahoning Creek Watershed Restoration Grant Program. Project applicants must meet the eligibility criteria and must use the application form specified in the grant application package. Project applications must be postmarked no later than Saturday, Jan. 25, 2014. The PFBC anticipates final selection and public announcement of grant awards by mid-May 2014. This funding is available through a 2007 settlement agreement with Norfolk Southern as restitution for environmental damages from a June 30, 2006, train derailment in rural Norwich Township, McKean County. The accident spilled sodium hydroxide into Big Fill Run, Sinnemahoning-Portage Creek and the Driftwood Branch of the Sinnemahoning Creek. Under the settlement, Norfolk Southern agreed to pay the Commonwealth $7.35 million as restitution for environmental damages. The PFBC received $3.675...

(News Release) McKean County Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) & Hospice a department of Bradford Regional Medical Center has been named a Top Agency of the 2013 HomeCare Elite™, a recognition of the top-performing home health agencies in the United States. A total of 77 agencies, only 16% of Pennsylvania's 479 home health agencies, were named to the 2013 HomeCare Elite, a compilation of the top-performing home health agencies in the United States developed by OCS HomeCare by National Research Corporation. Winners are ranked by an analysis of publicly available performance measures in quality outcomes, best practice implementation, patient experience, quality improvement and consistency, and financial performance. “This is a significant recognition of the hard work and dedication offered by the McKean County Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) & Hospice, said Timothy J. Finan, president and CEO of Upper Allegheny Health System and Bradford Regional Medical Center. “Improvi...

ITHACA, N.Y. (News Release) — Get your game on for Thanksgiving – and we aren’t talking about football. For many families, fresh venison and wild trout are culinary traditions intertwined with the fall season, Thanksgiving and winter’s first bite of frosty air. Wild Harvest Table, a Cornell Cooperative Extension website, offers hints, tips and recipes for preparing wild-harvest foods while helping researchers study how local game is an important part of the locavore movement. The site started as a celebration of the culinary bounty represented by wild game and fish in the Finger Lakes region of New York State. Cornell Cooperative Extension nutrition educator Moira Tidball, from Seneca County, started the website in January 2009 as a resource for game and fish recipes, nutrition information, and preparation techniques. Keith G. Tidball, Senior Extension Associate in Cornell’s Department of Natural Resources, helped with the inception of the website and recognized its potential to aid...

BRIDGEVILLE -- Winners of the “Hunt with the Black and Gold” drawing, sponsored by Northwest Savings Bank, met on Tuesday for an exclusive hunt with members of the Pittsburgh football team. The winners are: Brandon Cellela, Bethel Park Eric Driscoll, Pittsburgh Stan Hasselman, Johnsonburg Randy Holt, Bradford Mary Kennedy, Cochranton Roy Maines, Williamsport Rob Radnich, Meadville Ryan Schwingel, Canonsburg Jacob Smith, Greenville Tom Wakefield, West Aliquippa The winners, their guests and representatives of the bank met the players at the Alpine Club in Bridgeville, south of Pittsburgh, for an afternoon of fun. The winners joined Pittsburgh Steelers Matt Spaeth, Mike Palmer, Will Allen, Kion Wilson, Brett Keisel, Gregg Warren, Cody Wallace, Lawrence Timmons, Bruce Gradkowski and Joe Long in a guided bird hunt, followed by lunch and an autograph and photo session with the players. Northwest Savings Bank offered the opportunity to enter the contest, which ran from ear...

HARRISBURG – Governor Tom Corbett joined PennDOT Secretary Barry J. Schoch, members of the state Senate and House of Representatives and other officials tonight to discuss the final affirmative vote on an historic comprehensive transportation plan -- the most comprehensive piece of state transportation legislation -- in decades. The final House vote sends to the governor’s desk a plan to keep Pennsylvania safe and economically competitive by investing an additional $2.3 - $2.4 billion by the fifth year of the plan. Photo provided by Commonwealth Media Services The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

HARRISBURG (News Release)– Rep. Martin Causer (R-Turtlepoint) today cast a “no” vote on legislation that would increase gas taxes and fees on Pennsylvania drivers. “There is clearly a need to invest in our roads and bridges here and across the Commonwealth, but I could not support this proposal,” Causer said. “I believe it goes far beyond what is truly necessary and far beyond what the people I represent can afford.” Under the bill, the tax on gasoline could increase by as much as 28.5 cents and the tax on diesel fuel by 39.8 cents per gallon by 2017. The tax hikes, along with increases in more than 100 other user fees such as vehicle registrations, licenses and traffic ticket fines, are expected to generate an additional $2.3 billion per year, including $1.65 billion for highways and bridges and nearly $500 million for mass transit. Pennsylvania’s current budget invests $6.8 billion in transportation. Causer said he was prepared to vote for a proposal that would hav...

For continuing coverage on the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy go to: http://www.nbcnews.com/ It includes video from Arlington National Cemetery and Dallas, as well as many stories and interactive features. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947