NEWS

 Those who go on the first Saturday Morning Bird Walk on April 1 at Hills Creek State Park may see a ring-necked duck (shown).

Members of the Tiadaghton Audubon Society will lead the Saturday Morning Bird Walks at Hills Creek State Park located on Hills Creek Road in Charleston Township, about seven miles northeast of Wellsboro. The walks are free and open to the public.

All of the nine walks will begin promptly at 8 a.m. on Saturdays, April 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29 and May 6, 13, 20 and 27.

Registration is not required. Everyone is invited to participate, including both children and adults and birders of all levels, first timers to experienced.

BRADFORD, Pa. – The Friends of Hanley Library will sponsor a reading by Civil War scholar Dr. Christopher Mackowski at 7 p.m. March 29 in Harriett B. Wick Chapel at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford.

Mackowski, a 1991 graduate of Pitt-Bradford, will discuss his latest book, “Grant’s Last Battle,” and share excerpts and stories from the book, particularly about how the Union general and former president wrote his memoirs while dying of throat cancer.

Mackowski is a professor in the Jandoli School of Communication at St. Bonaventure University in Allegany, N.Y., where he serves as associate dean for undergraduate programs, and works with the National Park Service at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, which includes the Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Wilderness and Spotsylvania battlefields. He is the historian-in-residence at Stevenson Ridge, a historic property on the Spotsylvania battlefield.

He is the editor-in-chief and co-founder of the Emerging Civil War blog and has authored or co-authored nearly two dozen books and edited a half-dozen essay collections on the Civil War. He is vice president and serves on the board of directors of the Central Virginia Battlefields Trust and serves on the advisory board of the Civil War Roundtable Congress.

Earlier this month, he was selected by the American Battlefield Trust as a recipient of its highly regarded Copie Hill Civil War Fellowship.

The Friends of Hanley Library is a non-profit group that supports education and literary programming for Pitt-Bradford and local communities.

 A reception and book signing will follow Mackowski’s presentation, which is free and open to the public.

Snowshoe Hare Fun Hunt Followed Breakfast.

Marienville, PA—Joe Ewing Reporting–The second annual Big Woods Hare Hunters of the Allegheny St. Patrick’s Day Breakfast was held in the Shamrock Room at the Kelly Hotel in historic downtown Marienville, PA. on March 18^th, 2023. Hare hunters from as far away as Tampa, FL, and Buffalo, NY, were in attendance. Fellowship and camaraderie over good food and good conversation were enjoyed by the 26 members attending. After breakfast, the group moved to a secret location on the Allegheny High Plateau known for harboring the elusive varying hare or snowshoe hare.

A long convoy of pickup trucks conveyed the hunters to hare habitat in the Allegheny National Forest. Before launching the pack of beagles, the hunters gathered to listen to two special guest speakers who spoke to the members about game lands and game animals.

Mr. Lane Potts, a wildlife health technician from the Wildlife Futures Program, spoke of the health of Pennsylvania’s game animals, including snowshoe hare, cottontail rabbits, Appalachian cottontails, and ruffed grouse. Lane, an honorary member, discussed Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus 2 (RHDV2) and the proactive measures the PGC is taking to mitigate that threat. In September 2022, the Game Commission established Pennsylvania’s first RHD – Disease Management Area (DMA) that covers roughly a 5-mile radius around where RHD was detected in a domestic rabbit facility.

The Wildlife Futures Program, started in 2019, is a science-based wildlife health partnership between the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine, designed to strengthen the resilience of Pennsylvania’s 480 species of birds and mammals. 

Mr. Scott Wolbert, Northwest Regional Forester for the Pennsylvania Game Commission, spoke on the health of Pennsylvania’s forests and the programs the PGC is undertaking to keep our forests healthy. Managing Pennsylvania’s Game Land forests for the benefit of game animals, namely snowshoe hare, was discussed. The Big Woods Hare Hunters of the Allegheny understand that grouse and hare habitats go hand in hand. The Grouse Priority Area Siting Tool (G-PAST), which identifies locations where ruffed grouse can quickly take advantage of habitat creation based on landscape variables and nearby source populations, was discussed, and a question and answer period followed each presentation.

The Big Woods Hare Hunters of the Allegheny, headquartered in Lucinda, PA, is Pennsylvania’s premier snowshoe hare conservation organization. The members meet annually to advance their knowledge concerning snowshoe hare, rabbit habitat, and beagling by hearing from the experts. The members take the opportunity to renew friendships and promote fellowship. The Big Woods Hare Hunters of the Allegheny remain dedicated to preserving snowshoe hare and beagling on the Allegheny Plateau and throughout Pennsylvania.

Open Tuesday -Friday 10-5 Sat. 9-4

            OLEAN, NY – Arthur Goldstein, MD, medical director of the Center for Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine, is nearing his thirteenth work anniversary as a provider at Olean General Hospital (OGH).  Over the course of the past thirteen years, Dr. Goldstein has witnessed tremendous progress at The Center for Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine which is located on the OGH campus in the Gundlah Dental Center at 623 Main Street, Olean, NY 14760.

            “Having hyperbaric medicine treatments is very unique to a small-town hospital,” said Dr. Goldstein.  “Typically, this service is only found in larger cities like Buffalo, Rochester, and Erie.”

             The hyperbaric oxygen therapy is a treatment in which patients are enclosed in a pressurized chamber in which the patient breaths 100% pure oxygen at a higher atmospheric pressure.  This higher pressure increases the dose of oxygen allowing the body to promote wound healing and help fight infections. 

Last year, the Center for Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine celebrated as it performed its 10,000^th hyperbaric oxygen treatment since it’s inception in 2007.  The treatment is effective for slow healing wounds including diabetic ulcers and radiation treatment complications.  Patients are normally treated daily, Monday through Friday, and are efficiently in and out of the office within two hours.

Other than the hyperbaric oxygen therapy treatment, the wound center also offers different procedures to the community.  A few of these procedures and treatments include compression therapy for venous ulcers, lymphedema management, treatment for pressure ulcers, tissue/bone biopsy, compression therapy, and other advanced specialty wound care treatment/dressing.  The team focuses on providing the patient with an advanced level of care, individuality and patient specific treatments.  Through a collaboration among the wound center team, the use of a comprehensive approach to not only to heal the wound but improve conditions and reduce the risk of reoccurrence.

“A lot of the conditions we see most common are ulcers from a variety of causes; diabetes, varicose veins, and blood clots, and leg swelling/edema, pressure ulcers, and radiation therapy,” Dr. Goldstein stated.  “We have an experienced and dedicated team that are patient focused and provide excellent care to our patients.”

Since starting in 2010, Dr. Goldstein highlighted how the Center for Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine has never been closed due to weather, or any other extreme circumstances.

“My team and I live and work in our community.  This makes it easier for us to be here for our patients when they need us the most,” said Dr. Goldstein.  “I’ve been here for thirteen years and I feel like I’m a part of this community.  I have always practiced in a small-town.  I love the connection you can build not only with the community but with our patients, they get to know me, and I get to know them.” 

            The team typically has about 300 to 350 patient visits per month.  The work doesn’t stop only in the office but they also provide the community with various health-related education. Recently, Dr. Goldstein and his team conducted an educational presentation to the local first responders about carbon monoxide poisoning and treatments. 

The Center for Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Medicine is open 7:30am to 4pm, Monday through Friday.  Referrals are not required for an appointment.  To schedule an appointment, please call (716) 375-7577. 

The Wound Clinic at Bradford Regional Medical Center (BRMC) is another service that’s offered to the community.  The service is led by LaTroy Navaroli, DNP, and has an experienced team that evaluates and treats a variety of chronic wounds that may be caused by diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis, and other medical conditions.  The Wound Clinic at BRMC is open Mondays and Fridays from 8am to 3:30pm.  Appointments can be made by calling (814) 362-8245 and referrals are not necessary.

Elk County- Doug Gaffey, St. Marys Area United Way President presented a $3,500 grant award to Lindie Gnan, Program Supervisor and Natasha Bowley, Teacher’s Aide for Dickinson Center, Inc. Dickinson applied for this grant to purchase treatment materials and groceries and kitchen supplies for their Crossroads Program located on the Penn Highlands Elk campus in St. Marys.

Dickinson Center provides a comprehensive spectrum of behavioral health, intellectual disability, and prevention services. Dickinson Center is an affiliate of the Journey Health System and provides programs and services in several Northwestern Pennsylvania counties. Crossroads is one of the many clinical services Dickinson offers to support children in Elk County.

Crossroads is a day treatment program for adolescents ages 11-18 struggling with the symptoms associated with a mental health diagnosis. While at Crossroads, children have the opportunity to receive individual, group, and family therapy in addition to medication management.  Crossroads also includes an academic component, which allows youth to remain in their home school district. A teacher is available to provide instruction while a mental health worker is present in the academic milieu to provide therapeutic interventions.

Crossroads overall goal is to help adolescents be successful at home, in school, and their community. The program supports youth from Elk, Cameron, McKean, and Jefferson counties.

Over the next couple of weeks, the United Way will continue to notify the public of all the grant recipients and award amounts. The grant funding disseminated in 2023 is as a result of the funding raised during the St. Marys Area United Way 2022 campaign. Funding raised in 2023 will be available for organizations to seek grant funding in 2024.

The St. Marys Area United Way relies on the contributions from companies and local individuals. If you would like to become one of these individuals or corporate donors, please call 781-6000 or mail your check to the St. Marys Area United Way, 44 So. St. Marys Street, St. Marys, PA 15857

I have the pleasure of working with Joshua Raught in my culinary arts class where he recently earned the title of
Student of the Week. Joshua is an outstanding student who shows great enthusiasm and dedication in
all his endeavors. Joshua is a first-year student and a junior.

Joshua is a hardworking individual who knows what needs to be done and is always willing to go the
extra mile to achieve his goals. He consistently demonstrated excellent teamwork skills and was always
ready to assist his fellow students. In addition to his academic achievements, Joshua holds a ServSafe
certification which showcases his knowledge and understanding of proper food handling techniques.

Apart from his educational achievements, Joshua is also a volunteer fireman, demonstrating his
willingness to serve his community and help others in need. He enjoys riding ATV's, which shows his
adventurous spirit.