Bradford, PA — The United Way of the Bradford Area has awarded the fourth round of Quarterly Impact funding. This funding stream is available quarterly throughout the year.
The agencies receiving the fourth quarter funding are; CARE for Children’s McKean County for Cribs, Destinations-Bradford Emergency Housing Program, Evergreen Elm Therapeutic Swimming Program, Willow Creeks Sportsman’s Club Youth Conservation Day and the Bradford Community Pride Lion’s Club’s Senior Center and Living Christmas Giving Program.
Innovation and Impact funds are available to qualifying 501 ( c ) 3 organizations in Bradford, Smethport and Port Allegany. Innovation applications do not have a request limit but are subject to availability of funds. Impact applications are capped at $1,500.00 per request and again, are subject to availability of funds. An announcement will be made in January for the submission of applications for 2023’s first quarter. If you have questions regarding Innovation and Impact funding through the United Way of the Bradford Area, Inc., please call the office at 814-368-6181 or email us at admin@uwbanews.org. Information regarding lines of funding are also available on our website at www.uwbanews.org.
Galeton weather for November was fairly normal. Daytime highs were mainly in the 40s and morning lows were in the 20’s . However, it did hit 60 on the 6th and it dropped into the teens from the 19th through the 24th. We reported 6 foggy mornings.
Tomorrow is the beginning of meteorological winter. The lawnmower may officially be put away until spring unless of course you would like to have them set outside to look at as a reminder that mowing season will be just around the corner. Now is the season when snow shovels should be brought out and a snow blower or blade installed on the tractor. Just a reminder.
Now to get back to the details of the November report. The average high temperature is 45 degrees and the average low is 28 degrees. The average rainfall total is 3.07″ This year we received 4.69″ and last year we recorded 1.63″ Snowfall. This year we received 4.3″ last year 5.2″ We had 2 days with 1″ or more snow on the ground with the greatest depth of 3″ on the 16th. We had 5 days with at least a trace of snow on the ground.
BRADFORD, Pa (November 23, 2022)– Beacon Light Behavioral Health System, an affiliate of Journey Health System, recently purchased the vacant 4,500 square-foot building, formerly housed by Bright Beginnings, at 17 Derrick Road in the Foster Brook Plaza at Bradford, Pennsylvania. Renovations will begin soon to prepare for relocating Beacon Light’s Custer City Private School there, next year. Classes at Custer City will resume until then.
“This move was the result of a recommendation that came out of a master facility plan that the agency engaged an independent architectural firm to complete,” said Journey Health System’s President and CEO Guy Signor. “The Custer City School building met our needs for the past 30 years, however the costs in utilities, distance from our main campus and upkeep were not ideal for our staff and students. This new location is newly constructed and offers better efficiency and accessibility. Our plan is to eventually sell the Custer City property, but until then the baseball field will remain open to the local leagues.”
In addition to constructing special education classrooms for high school students under the age of 21, the preliminary site plan includes: an Autistic support room, calming rooms, cyber-school, the Like Skills program, staff offices and more. The new site for the proposed name, “Beacon Light Academy”, is one-story for easy handicap-accessibility, offers free parking, more energy efficient space, overhead cost savings and is conveniently located near the main Beacon Light campus.
“The new location of our school will not only be beneficial for scaling business for the future but it will improve the learning environment for students, said Jennifer Gesing, MSEd, Beacon Light Behavioral Health System’s Executive Director. “This move is an example of our mission to ensure equity and excellence for all students.”
An additional office building at 58 Derrick Road was also purchased to relocate Beacon Light’s community-based staff from the school building. The 2,686 square-foot space will house the Intensive Behavioral Health Services and the Family Based Mental Health programs. These moves will bring the programs in close proximity to the main campus located at 800 East Main Street.
More information about the transfer of these programs and the Custer City Private School will be announced in the future.
Beacon Light Behavioral Health System was founded in the early 1900’s to provide services to children abandoned or orphaned by the early oil and lumber industries. Throughout its history, the agency has provided quality care to young people. As the needs of local society changed, Beacon Light Behavioral Health System evolved into a private, not-for-profit, social service agency providing quality, professional behavioral health and education services. Beacon Light Behavioral Health System’s continuum of care includes multiple programs of varying intensity that span across northcentral Pennsylvania. Regardless of the location and type of service accessed, qualified mental health treatment professionals provide individualized treatment planning and care.
For information about Beacon Light Behavioral Health System’s services, visit www.beacon-light.org.
OLEAN – Kathleen J. “Grammie” McGonnell, 71, passed away on Saturday (Nov. 26, 2022) at Olean General Hospital, surrounded by her loving family.
Born on March 15, 1951, she was the daughter of Clifford and Dorothy Taft Blakeslee. On May 25, 2002, at their family home, she married James McGonnell.
Kathleen was a 1969 graduate of Olean High School, then went on to attend the former Olean Business Institute and receive her certification in accounting. Kathleen retired as a civilian procurement specialist for the U.S. Navy.
She was a member of the Eagles Club Auxiliary, Portville American Legion Auxiliary and the Hinsdale American Legion Auxiliary.
Kathleen loved to do crypto-puzzles and mahjong. She was an avid sport fan, loved the Yankees and recently became a Buffalo Bills fan. Most of all she enjoyed watching her grandchildren play sports.
Surviving including her husband, is a daughter, Bridget (Michael) Retchless of Olean; two stepsons, James McGonnell II of Alden and Kurtis McGonnell of Salamanca; two sisters, Patricia (Phil) Smith of Olean and Sherry (Bill) Connor of Olean; two grandchildren, Sarah (Steve) Gerhard and Justin (Hannah Wilber) Retchless; three step-grandchildren, Marissa McGonnell, Grayson McGonnell and Kullan McGonnell; a special great-grandson, Colt John Gerhard; and many nieces and nephews with whom she was very close.
Preceding her in death, including her parents, was a brother, Amos Blakeslee; and a sister, Beverly Talbott Smith.
There will be no services at this time.
In lieu of flowers the family asks that memorial contributions be made to The Seeing Eye, a charity for the blind.
Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Environmental Quality Board (EQB) today adopted an emergency rule limiting volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions and, as a co-benefit, methane emissions from existing conventional oil and gas sources, which will lower air pollution from conventional oil and gas sources in the commonwealth.
The regulation mirrors a final-omitted regulation that the EQB adopted on October 12, and that the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) approved on November 17.
Under the federal Clean Air Act (CAA), Pennsylvania has until December 16, to submit to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) a State Implementation Plan, including regulations covering VOC emissions for all required oil and gas sources.
Governor Tom Wolf determined that this emergency certified final-omitted rulemaking is necessary to ensure the commonwealth complies with the CAA and with Pennsylvania’s Air Pollution Control Act. The emergency rulemaking was undertaken after the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee voted to review the final-omitted version of the regulation, causing a delay in the regulatory process that would extend beyond the December 16 deadline.
If the commonwealth does not submit this rulemaking to the EPA as a State Implementation Plan revision by December 16, federal highway funding will be withheld until the submission is made. For the upcoming fiscal year, federal highway funds subject to these sanctions are estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars in “nonattainment areas” – regions that have not met air quality standards for ozone – in the commonwealth. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration and the EPA have identified several hundred projects in nonattainment areas that would not receive funding and would therefore not be completed or would be subject to delay.
The Regulatory Review Act (RRA) allows an agency to immediately implement a final-omitted regulation when the Governor certifies that promulgation is necessary to respond to an emergency circumstance specified in the RRA. Today, November 30, Governor Tom Wolf issued a Certification of Need for Emergency Regulation finding that this rulemaking is required to prevent “the need for supplemental or deficiency appropriations of greater than $1,000,000.” (71 P.S. § 745.6(d)).
The emergency rulemaking establishes the VOC emission limitations for existing conventional oil and gas sources based on Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) requirements consistent with the EPA’s recommendations. The EPA defines RACT as “the lowest emission limitation that a particular source is capable of meeting by the application of control technology that is reasonably available considering technological and economic feasibility.”
These sources include natural gas-driven continuous bleed pneumatic controllers, natural gas-driven diaphragm pumps, reciprocating compressors, centrifugal compressors, fugitive emissions components and storage vessels installed at conventional well sites, gathering and boosting stations and natural gas processing plants, as well as storage vessels in the natural gas transmission and storage segment.
This rulemaking will be effective upon notice or publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
ANNOUNCEMENT: THIS EVENING THE PORT ALLEGANY SCHOOL DISTRICT SHARED THE FOLLOWING EMAIL WITH FAMILIES:
“November 29, 2022
Dear Community,
The Port Allegany School District thanks you for your continued support of our extracurricular programs, student athletes, and coaches. We are in the midst of a historic run through the state football playoffs and collectively wish our team the best of luck in their game Friday v. Union Area.
Over the last several weeks many in our region have appreciated the district’s live streaming of these playoff games on the PASD YouTube Channel. We have enjoyed providing them to you. Unfortunately, we will not be afforded the opportunity to live stream this Friday’s game due to contractual obligations the PIAA has with the NFHS Television Network.
Should you wish to view Friday evening’s game you will need to create and/or access a NFHS account: https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/subscribe/retail . (Please note, the monthly fee to view events is $11.99. The yearly fee is $79.99.)
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause our supporters, but unfortunately, it is something the district has no control over. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.
Also, anyone who has ordered tickets https://www.piaa.org/sports/tickets.aspx?from=mobileNav and is planning on attending the game in person, the address on the printed tickets will be incorrect. That address will take you on campus at Clarion University. The football game will be played at:
Memorial Stadium
23 West Main Street
Clarion, PA 16214
Finally, the district will host a pep rally on Thursday, December 1 from 6:00-7:00 p.m. in the high school gymnasium. The community is invited to attend.
URGENT – WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service State College PA 938 AM EST Wed Nov 30 2022 …WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM EST THIS EVENING…
* WHAT…Southwest winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 50 mph, becoming west.
* WHERE...Warren, McKean, Potter, Elk, Cameron, Northern Clinton, Clearfield and Northern Centre Counties.
* WHEN…Through 6 PM EST this evening.
* IMPACTS…Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result.
* ADDITIONAL DETAILS…The strongest wind gusts will be on the ridge tops and in the gaps of the ridges. The most likely time for the highest gusts will be when a cold front passes through in the late morning and early afternoon, and for a few hours afterward.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
Use extra caution when driving, especially if operating a high profile vehicle. Secure outdoor objects.
MONTOURSVILLE, PA – Three individuals were critically injured in a terrible two-vehicle crash, that injured nine people who were traveling in a van along Interstate 180 East on Tuesday evening.
The accident was reported around 9:22 PM in the eastbound lanes between the Third Street and Loyalsock Avenue exits on Tuesday, November 29, 2022.
Multiple fire units and ambulances rushed to the scene of that two-vehicle incident. The accident closed down Interstate 180 East in Montoursville for nearly 5.5 hours.
According to Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Hutchins, a tractor trailer and a van were involved in the accident. The van was carrying nine people and all nine were reported injured.
It took firefighters approximately 40 minutes to cut apart the mangled van to extricate many of the injured individuals from the wreckage.
Four patients were said to have been transported to the Geisinger Medical Center in Pennsdale, while the other five were transported to the local UPMC Williamsport Hospital. No additional updates have been provided on the victims’ conditions nor have their names been released at this time. All nine victims were said to be Amish.
Borough Police are said to be handling the investigation into this violent accident. However, Pennsylvania State Police were seen assisting at the crash scene. Also it was noted that state police brought in an accident reconstructionist to the scene. The eastbound lanes were reported closed down until 3:00 AM Wednesday morning.
More information is expected to be released by authorities later today (Wednesday). When that information becomes available FNN will add it to this article.
Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced today that a new Pennsylvania law has changed the grading of certain offenses for driving under the influence (DUI), adding more stringent penalties for these violations.
“This law makes significant changes to existing law that will ultimately increase the protection of all drivers by keeping repeat offenders from continuing to operate a vehicle while impaired by drugs or alcohol after being charged with a DUI,” said PennDOT Secretary Yassmin Gramian. “Repeating these offenses puts others at risk and these law changes reflect the severity of these acts to make our roads safer.”
The legislation created Act 59 of 2022 – referred to as “Deana’s Law” – which amends the Pennsylvania Vehicle Code by increasing the grading for certain DUI offenses, requiring consecutive sentencing for certain repeat DUI offenders, and imposing an 18-month driving privilege suspension for a DUI conviction graded as a felony of the second degree.
Under the new law, an individual charged with DUI (general impairment) who refuses a breath or chemical test or who is charged with DUI with a BAC of .16 or higher or a DUI involving controlled substances, and already has the following number of prior offenses, commits:
A felony of the third-degree for two prior offenses (previously two or more prior offenses); and
A felony of the second-degree for three or more prior offenses (previously a third-degree felony).
The felonies mentioned above are classified as follows:
A felony of the third degree is punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of not more than seven years; and
A felony of the second degree is punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of not more than 10 years.
Another change under this law is that a sentence imposed on an individual for a DUI offense who has two or more prior offenses shall be served consecutively to any other sentence the individual is serving or any other sentence imposed by the court, except for violations that are required to be merged. In addition, the law provides for a sentencing enhancement in cases where an individual has four or more prior DUI offenses.
“Driving impaired puts everyone at risk, and repeat offenders disregard the risk they pose every time they get behind the wheel impaired,” said Major Robert Krol, director of the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Patrol. “This law enhances penalties for those individuals, and hopefully they will think twice before reoffending.”
For more information on this law change, please visit the Driver and Vehicle Services website. Driver and vehicle online services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and include driver’s license, photo ID and vehicle registration renewals; driver-history services; changes of address; driver license and vehicle registration restoration letters; ability to pay driver license or vehicle insurance restoration fee; driver license and photo ID duplicates; and driver exam scheduling. There are no additional fees for using online services.
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