NEWS

MCKEAN COUNTY, Pennsylvania – April 10, 2023 – This week is set aside to recognize the nation’s Dispatchers. 

In each call, a dispatcher is the only connection with victims and witnesses. In each call, a dispatcher is required to maintain composure while assessing the nature of the emergency and determining the type of assistance required – sometimes instructing the caller how to provide lifesaving aid. With any call, a dispatcher may be the actual lifeline between the victim and help from first responders. The skill required is the ability to handle each call with finesse during times of utter chaos.

The skill required is not seen by the public but is widely recognized by police, firefighters and ambulance personnel. Each day, lifesaving assistance is provided in McKean County because of the Dispatchers at our 911 Center and Pennsylvania State Police – Lewis Run barracks. On behalf of the McKean County District Attorney’s Office, I express our  gratitude for our County’s dispatchers.  Thank you.                                               -Stephanie L. Vettenburg-Shaffer, District Attorney

​Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) is actively recruiting individuals who share the Department’s commitment to providing safer communities.

PSP’s Bureau of Training and Education is recruiting for the 169th, 170th, and 171st Cadet Classes. The current testing cycle examination closes on July 31. Additionally, the Law and Leadership Program, a free camp modeled after police academies for those considering law enforcement careers, is accepting applications through April 14.

Every Pennsylvanian deserves to be safe and feel safe in their community – and Governor Josh Shapiro recognizes that building safer communities starts with ensuring police departments are well-staffed, well-funded, and well-equipped. That’s why the Governor’s commonsense budget proposal includes $16.4 million for four new trooper cadet classes to hire and train 384 new state troopers, and tax credits to recruit and train more police officers across the Commonwealth.

The Pennsylvania State Police Academy

Applicants to the State Police Academy must be at least 20 years old by the date their application is completed. They must be at least 21 years old, and cannot have reached their 40th birthday, before their appointment as State Police Cadets.

After graduation from the Academy, a Trooper’s starting base salary will be $65,763. Members and their dependents are eligible for no-cost medical, dental, vision, and prescription drug coverage.

All applicant requirements and job benefits can be found at https://www.patrooper.com/.

The Law and Leadership Program

The Law and Leadership Program is geared toward students ages 18 and above who are enrolled in a high school or vocational law enforcement program, or an accredited college curriculum focused on careers in law enforcement.

Cadets in the program get a firsthand look at the process of becoming law enforcement officers. The curriculum includes instruction in traffic enforcement and criminal investigations, physical training such as running and swimming, along with time management, self-discipline, and teamwork.

The nine-week camp will be held at the Pennsylvania Army National Guard Armory in Hershey, at 1720 Caracas Avenue, every Monday and Wednesday from 8-11:30 a.m., beginning May 15. To apply, contact TFC Clint Long at 717-497-4577 or ra-sprecruiter-acad@pa.gov.

Reminder!
Dawn Smith, Bath V.A. Outreach Director, says this is for ALL COUNTIES in NY AND PA, and is for all Active Military, Military Veterans, and Widows of Military Veterans.
Veterans Service Officers will be present to answer your questions.
It’s not necessary to attend the entire time; just when you can make it.

34Weekly2022-23/April 3-9

Penn College baseball, softball showdowns loom

Pennsylvania College of Technology baseball and softball teams had a combined 10-win, 1-loss week as the spring sports season continued. And both teams have big road showdowns looming this week against United East-leading Penn State Harrisburg — softball on Tuesday and baseball on Friday and Saturday.

FLASHBACK

Baseball

A six-run second inning, highlighted by a two-run double from Shane Price, of Kersey, and a two-run single by Jacob Wagner, of Palmyra, helped keep the Wildcats in their home UE game against St. Mary’s (Md.) College on Monday. But it was a solo walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh by Tyler Rudolph, of Hemlock, New York, that provided the winning run in an 8-7 first-game victory and made a winner of relief pitcher Keegan Nytz, of Allentown, who improved to 2-0.

The United Way of the Bradford Area is hosting its Red Feather and Report to the Community Event on May 25th, 2022 at 6:00 pm at the Bradford Club with music by Jim Ronan.

The Red Feather recognition is to honor a volunteer in our community who is truly passionate about the United Way and the work we do year after year.  We also take time to award an organization or agency that shares our mission within their own community involvement with the Excellence in Representation as well as a Small Business Award to a local business that exemplifies the meaning of volunteerism and community within their professional endeavors.

Johnsonburg, Pa.:  Has your dog got the winter blues from lack of exercise?  Do you need a good day to just stretch the dog’s legs?  Then mark Sunday, May 7, on your calendar as the Rolfe Beagle Club will be opening their club grounds to the public for their famous Bird Dog Challenge from 7:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.  “This is a day where dog folks get together, tell lies about our dogs, chase some birds, and just enjoy the camaraderie,” said Tommy Launer.

Members of the Upland Bird Hunt Chapter of the Ruffed Grouse Society will be managing the Bird Dog Challenge.  Only 16 dogs and owners will be accepted at the club grounds at 1016 Long Level Road, Johnsonburg, Pa., in Elk County, in order to manage time and quality of the event.  Lunch will be available.

All dog handlers wanting to register their dog(s) should contact Mary Hosmer at 1016 Long Level Road, Johnsonburg, Pa., or at email wlhab9@gmail.com.

I am sorry to be late with the February report. I have been the NWS observer since 1968 and this is the first year I have fallen down on the job. On February 17 I ended up in the hospital for a few days then in rehab for several more days a total of 49 days total. Rick Jones helped with some measuring in my absence.
February was warmer than normal as was January. It took winter longer to get in full swing this year, however March helped to get back to normal weather for the season.  In February most mornings we were in the low to mid teens. However it was minus 5 degrees on the 4th. Afternoons it warmed to the mid and upper 30’s. The average high for February is 32 degrees and the average low is 14 degrees.
We received 2.02″ rainfall and melted snow. The total snowfall was 6″  Last year we received 4.72″ of rain and melted snow and 4.9″ of snow. The average rainfall total is 2.31″
Henry W. Lush, NWS Observer

The nonprofit PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship (PA Wilds Center) will reopen its PA Wilds Conservation Shop mobile unit at Leonard Harrison State Park in mid-April, but does not have any current plans to open a second store in Tioga County.

The PA Wilds Conservation Shop at Leonard Harrison State Park focuses on selling regionally-made and value-added products, including those made in Tioga County, and it will reopen for the season on Monday, April 10. Shop hours will be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Monday. 

The Leonard Harrison Conservation Shop is the Center’s second in the PA Wilds region, with the flagship store opening at Kinzua Bridge State Park in 2016. 

The PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) project to renovate and upgrade the park’s visitor center and parking areas will also include relocation of the Conservation Shop inside the center. This $3.4M project is slated to start this summer. If construction alters shop hours or location this season, public announcements will be made.

Dr. Thomas Pauley poses at the T.K. Pauley Amphibian Loop, a trail at Kanawha State Forest near Charleston, W.Va., named in his honor.

BRADFORD, Pa. – Former University of Pittsburgh at Bradford faculty member and renowned Appalachian herpetologist Dr. Thomas Pauley will speak April 13 about his more than 50 years of studying amphibians and reptiles of West Virginia.

            Pauley’s talk, titled “Salamanders and Snakes: Stories from the Central Appalachians,” will take place at 7 p.m. in the Bromeley Family Theater of Blaisdell Hall on campus. It is free and open to the public.

Smethport, Pa.:  The Ruffed Grouse Society (RGS) has scheduled its singing ground surveys for woodcock for Tuesday evening, April 18.  Members of the RGS Upland Bird Hunt (UBH) Chapter will be conducting the surveys, but other members of the public are invited to learn about the woodcock ‘sky dance’, one of nature’s truly unique courtship displays.  Please register with John Dzemyan at jdzemyan@gmail.com if you plan to attend so information is available for everybody.

UBH Chapter members will meet between 6 and 6:30 pm at the Clermont Park in Clermont, McKean County.  All members will be bringing a snack of some type to share – e.g., sausage, cheese, chips, dips.  Once everybody has become familiar with other attendees, had a bite to eat, and have their woodcock survey information, the volunteers will head to their survey spots between 7-7:30 p.m.  Most surveys will start after 8:00 p.m. and last 30-40 minutes as the sun sets.

The six survey routes out of Clermont were established by the US Geological Service decades ago, and have been monitored on an annual basis by volunteers within the RGS or the American Woodcock Society.

Come on out and learn what this fun volunteer activity is all about and how it benefits woodcock.