[Bradford, PA] – The Bradford Area Alliance’s Entrepreneur Leadership Mission (ELM) Business Accelerator program is now accepting applications for its 2025-26 program. The ELM Business Accelerator program aims to help existing business owners realize increased business and life success.

The program includes a 2-day Business Owner Renewal Retreat at Beaver Hollow Conference Center. This event kicks off the 9-month journey where participants will be paired with a mentor, benefit from subject matter expertise on key topics, and formulate strategic plans to pursue new opportunities or overcome specific business challenges.

The program is designed to bring about lasting change for entrepreneurs of existing businesses in McKean County. The cohort convenes two times per month from September 2025 to May 2026 on Thursdays from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM (excluding December).

Last year, the program graduated 9 business owner participants. Individual participants experienced 157% increase in monthly sales, 11% increase in owners’ wealth, and 3 new jobs created (and counting).

The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford Vocal Arts Ensemble concert originally scheduled for March 30 has been rescheduled.

The concert will now take place at noon April 16 in the Bromeley Family Theater in Blaisdell Hall. Student vocalists, directed by Regina Gabriel, instructor of music, will perform a variety of music ranging from traditional hymns to present day songs.

                The event is free and open to the public

Penn College golfers focused

Ready to go for the spring.

That was the goal of Pennsylvania College of Technology golf coach Rob Lytle last September going into what he described as the program’s “most aggressive fall tournament schedule” as it prepared for another run at the United East Conference championship and a third consecutive trip to the NCAA Division III Championship.

Led by senior standout Peyton Mussina of Montoursville, the Wildcats are poised to pick up where they left off after eight fall outings — including winning the United East Fall Preview for the third year in a row where Mussina medaled for the third straight time — when they take to the links on Saturday and Sunday in the Pennsylvania Classic hosted by Penn State Altoona on the Penn State Blue Course.

This weekend’s event will be the first of four two-day tournaments for players to hone their games leading to the conference championship on April 25-26.

Jaiden is a student at Smethport High School. At the Seneca Highlands CTC, he has achieved his OSHA 10, Stop the Bleed, BLS, and Nurse Aide registry. After school and weekends, he works at Lakeview Senior Care. Jaiden can also be found volunteering in various community activities. He has a love of music, which is shown through his high school band and guitar lessons he takes outside of school. 

Jaiden is an inspiration in the classroom. He is always willing to try new things, such as participating in the health assistant’s first annual wellness challenge. He has a positive and helpful attitude that has helped his fellow classmates to push beyond their comfort levels. Jaiden is well liked by his classmates for his sense of humor and nonjudgmental attitude. 

Academically, Jaiden is an excellent student who aspires to become a doctor in the future. He has begun his higher education by taking dual enrollment credits in medical terminology and anatomy and physiology through Penn Cole. He also attended the Northern PA Regional College over the summer to complete a class in sociology. He is currently seeking scholarship opportunities to fund classwork at the University of Pennsylvania this summer.

The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford will hold its 15th Empty Bowls and Baskets Dinner on Thursday, March 27.

The event, which raises awareness and money and awareness about hunger in the Bradford area, will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Mukaiyama University Room in the Frame-Westerberg Commons. A requested donation of $10 for the public and $5 for Pitt-Bradford students and children will be accepted at the door.

The tasting will include an array of homemade soups, bread and baked goods along with beverages. Diners may take home a handcrafted basket, ceramic bowl or napkin set as a reminder that someone else’s bowl might be empty.

 The event is a community-wide effort. Pitt-Bradford students, faculty and staff wove baskets, local school students made artwork, and local artisans and students contributed bowls.

Members of the Port Allegany Youth Group enjoyed an afternoon of bowling at the Byllye Lanes in Bradford.  Pictured (left to right) Lily Madison, Molly Barber, Mallory Johnson, Patrick MaMahon, Lillianne Reed, Christian Reed, Maci Lowman, Carri Madison, Patrick Johnson, J.T. Madison, Delany Stromberg, Levi Howard and Archer Trimm.  The Youth Group meets every other Sunday at the Evangelical Covenant Church in Port Allegany.  All are welcome!

Unleash your productivity and take control of your data! Do you manage large sets of numbers, names, dates, or other pieces of information? If so, then you need to know how to create worksheets to manage, store, organize, and even analyze this information. Excel, Microsoft’s powerful spreadsheet software, is the most widely used program for these tasks, and most workplaces want new employees to have a basic understanding of Microsoft Excel.

Kenneth E. Thom, 66, of Ridgway, passed away on Sunday, March 23, 2025 at his residence.

Ken was born on June 28, 1958, in Ridgway, a son of Philip (Kitty) Thom and the late Dolores Kline.

On June 29, 2002 Ken married Sue Monella of Ridgway, who survives. Together they shared more than 22 years of love and marriage.

Ken graduated from Ridgway High School, class of 1976. He was employed by US Resistor for many years. Ken could often be found outdoors, spending time at camp watching the river or attending his granddaughter’s softball games. He enjoyed watching dirt track races and his grandson’s BMX races. He was an avid Pittsburgh Penguins fan, attending many games over the years. Ken faced many medical hardships in his life, needing a double lung transplant in 2013, and a kidney transplant in 2020. He loved nothing more than spending time with his wife and his family.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) announced a contractor has started preliminary work to replace a bridge spanning Oswayo Creek near the intersection of Derring Hollow Road, approximately 1.5 miles Southeast of Oswayo, in Hebron Township, Potter County. This project will improve the overall condition rating of the bridge from poor to good.

Current work will have little or no impact on travel, however, crews will establish a three-day detour around the bridge in April, after which single lane closures will be used with temporary signals providing traffic control. PennDOT will issue updates on project progress as the implementation of these alternate traffic patterns approach. Once in place, the three-day detour will utilize Routes 44, 49, and 449 to route traffic around the project site.

Overall work on this project includes the replacement of the existing bridge with a new structure, reconstruction of the approaching roadway, and related construction. John Nastase Construction of Snow Shoe, PA is the contractor on this $2 million project. PennDOT anticipates completion in October.