Patricia Ann Miesowitz, 77, of Smethport, PA
Smethport – Patricia Ann Miesowitz, 77, of Smethport, PA passed away Tuesday (March 26, 2024) at Olean General Hospital, Olean, NY.
She was born July 27, 1946 in Leonard Town, MD, the daughter of Oscar W. and Ruth R. (Wathen) Proffitt. On May 31, 1985, in Leonard Town, MD, she married James Patrick “Pat” Miesowitz, who survives.
Patricia worked at Sena Kean Manor of Smethport for 15 years. She retired there from house keeping in 2017.
She was a member of the American Legion; Bucktail Post #138 Smethport Women’s Auxiliary.
In addition to her husband, “Pat”, she is survived by:
Rotary Hears Information About Borough Sewer System
At our March 18, 2024 meeting at A&W West End Grill, Rotarian Paul Herzig introduced Bill Carpenter, Sewer Operator for Coudersport Borough.
Bill is an award-winning Certified Operator in the State of Pennsylvania and said that he originally spoke with our Rotary Club in 1971.
Our old sewage plant was built in 1968 and was upgraded in 2001. Bill explained that there are many regulations from DEP and that our system uses a laboratory accredited by the state. The plant is manned every day of the year.
Coudersport has a biological system. Raw sewage goes through an oxidation ditch, where bacteria and protozoa feed on it. Then it goes to settling tanks, where solids go below water. A clear effluent goes
through purifiers to a UV ditch where 40 UV bulbs maim the bacteria so they can’t reproduce. Bill said clean water comes out. It is required to be 85% pure but ours is 99%. You could drink the effluent. It has a high oxygen content when it goes into the river, which helps fish in the summertime. During drought, sometimes as many as 250 trout were seen in the effluent pool to get oxygen.
The sewer Board also takes care of over 20 miles of the collection system, which was recently expanded to Sweden Valley. Bill said that if there is any digging, including your own if greater than 2 feet in your yard, please call to be tested for underground lines.
Sometimes lines get clogged. The main causes are tree roots, and “flushable wipes” which get caught in the screens. They biodegrade but much too slowly. Don’t flush them! and household grease.
Thank you Bill for your informative and interesting presentation!
Three Buchanan’s Pharmacy Locations Sold To Rite Aid; Westfield & Elkland Stores Remain Open
It is with mixed emotions we announce the sale of three of our locations to Rite Aid. It was a decision we did not reach lightly. Due to poor insurance reimbursement, independent pharmacies across the country are being forced to close their doors. Pharmacy organizations representing all sectors of retail pharmacy have been aggressively asking legislators to address these issues with the pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) for quite some time. Unfortunately, they have been slow in taking action. It simply is not a sustainable business model when total reimbursement is less than the costs we pay for medications.
Thank you to everyone in the surrounding communities who have supported our business over the years. We appreciate you. It has been our pleasure to take care of your prescription needs.
A huge thank you to ALL of our employees, both past and present. We value each and every one of you. You are what made our business successful for over 40 years.
We are grateful that Rite Aid remains committed to serving rural Pennsylvania and has offered employment to all of our current staff in Potter and McKean counties. No action is required on your part to transfer your prescriptions. All of the prescriptions from our Eldred and Smethport locations will be automatically transferred to Rite Aid in Port Allegany and all of the prescriptions from our Coudersport pharmacy will be automatically transferred to Rite Aid in Coudersport. The last day of business in our Smethport location will be Monday, April 8th, Eldred will be Tuesday, April 9th, and Coudersport will be Wednesday, April 10th.
Please note that there is no change to our Westfield and Elkland locations. With a more diverse and better payor mix in Tioga County, those stores will continue to remain open and it will be business as usual. Once again, we are continuing to operate our stores in Westfield and Elkland.
We sincerely appreciate the support of our valued patients over the past several decades. It has been a privilege to serve you.
Buchanan Brothers Pharmacy
PA Permit Violations Issued
| PA Permit Violation Issued to SWN PROD CO LLC in Herrick Township, Bradford County |
| Description: Environmental Health & Safety violation issued on 3/26/2024 to SWN PROD CO LLC in Herrick Township, Bradford county. 78a56(a) – TEMPORARY STORAGE – Operator failed to contain regulated substances and wastes used at or generated at a well site in a tank, series of tanks or other storage structures approved by the Department. |
| Incident Date/Time: 2024-03-26 00:00:00 |
| Tags: PADEP, frack, violation, drilling |
Lane Restriction on Interstate 80 EB in Columbia County
Montoursville, PA – Motorists are advised of a lane restriction on Interstate 80 eastbound between mile marker 243 and mile marker 244, just east of Exit 242 (Route 339 / Mifflinville / Mainville) in Columbia County, due to a tractor trailer crash. Motorists can expect the right (driving) lane to be restricted.
HEALTH COLUMN: UPMC Physician: Make an Informed Decision for Organ Donation
UPMC Physician: Make an Informed Decision for Organ Donation
By: Swaytha Ganesh, M.D.
Medical Director, UPMC Living Donor Program
Deciding to become an organ donor is important, and it’s worth considering more often than when you renew your license at the DMV.
Every nine minutes, someone in the United States joins the national organ transplant waiting list. Every day, 17 people on that list die waiting for an organ because there are not enough donors. Every person who says yes to organ donation gives hope to the tens of thousands of people waiting for organ, eye, and tissue donations.
Two Routes to Organ Donation
There are two ways you can give the gift of life through organ donation:
- Living Donation: A living person can donate a kidney or a portion of their liver. Living donor transplant offers an alternative for people on the transplant waiting list and increases the number of organs available, saving more lives. The living donation process begins with an assessment at an accredited transplant center to determine eligibility. Next is the matching process. Living organ donors often have a beneficiary in mind when they undergo the suitability check. Others simply desire to save a person’s life, even if they don’t know the recipient personally.
- Deceased Donation: This simply means that you authorize medical professionals — at the time of your death — to assess your eligibility to transplant your healthy organs or tissues to someone in need. Registering to be a deceased organ donor doesn’t guarantee that you will save someone else’s life, but it does make that possible in the right circumstances. If you choose to be a deceased organ donor, you may be able to donate your heart, kidneys, liver, pancreas, intestines, or lungs. You also can donate tissues, such as your corneas, heart valves, ligaments, veins, and bone.
There are over 106,000 Americans currently awaiting transplants, and many have been seeking a donor for years. Choosing organ donation, either living or deceased, has the potential to take recipients off the waiting list and give them another chance at life.
Consider the Facts
Black Forest Falcons win at Oswayo Valley
The Black Forest Falcons bounced back from a week 1 loss at Smethport with a win against Oswayo Valley on Tuesday evening. The Falcons shot great with a team record-setting score of 196. The top eight included:
Taylor Knowles 25 (perfect score)
Ty Daniels 25 (perfect score)
Liam Hunt 25 (perfect score)
Lucas Risser 25 (perfect score)
Coleman Freeman 24
Carson Cooney 24
Logan Jackson 24
Cael DeLong 24
The Falcons’ next match is at home on April 9th/4pm against Otto Eldred.
Cherry Springs State Park is hosting a Partial Solar Eclipse Party
Cherry Springs State Park is hosting a Partial Solar Eclipse Party on the afternoon of Monday, April 8th to view the partial solar eclipse.
If you want to enjoy the eclipse, but don’t want to drive into the path of totality, stop by the park instead to view the partial eclipse! We’re celebrating, observing, and admiring the eclipse from 2 PM – 4:30 PM on Monday, April 8.
The peak of the eclipse will occur around 3:20 PM. In this free, family-friendly event we’ll be doing all kinds of activities. If crowd-sizes permit, we’ll look through our specially filtered solar telescopes directly at stages of the eclipse itself. We’ll even have eclipse glasses available while supplies last.
VENDORS SOUGHT FOR JUNE 24TH SENIOR EXPO AND POTTER COUNTY SENIOR CENTER’S COUNTY WIDE GET- TOGETHER AT THE COUDERSPORT ARBORETUM
A SENIOR EXPO AND POTTER COUNTY SENIOR CENTER’S COUNTY WIDE GET-TOGETHER will be held at the Coudersport Arboretum located at 201 S West Street, Coudersport, on Monday, June 24, 2024 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Rain date will be Tuesday, June 25th. The SENIOR EXPO is sponsored by the Coudersport Arboretum Association and in collaboration with Potter County Human Services Area Agency on Aging. This year the Potter County Senior Center’s County Wide Get-together will join the Senior Expo. Participants from the Coudersport, Galeton, Ulysses and Oswayo Valley Senior Centers will attend to visit the vendor displays, enjoy a hot dog lunch and participate in games and activities.
Janice M. Fitch, 81, of Emporium, PA
Janice M. Fitch, 81, of Emporium, PA passed away at Shadyside-UPMC, Pittsburgh, PA on Tuesday morning (March 26, 2024) following a brief illness. She was born October 23, 1942 in St. Marys, PA a daughter of the late James and Ethel Jacob Lecker.
Janice married her first husband the late James Wendel who passed away in 1992 and later married Clinton W. Fitch who passed away in 1975.
She retired from Elk Regional Health Center as a switchboard operator in 2007.
She was an active member of St. Mark Catholic Church where she served as a Eucharistic Minister, lector, and taught CCD for many years. Teaching CCD gave her so much joy and she still looked forward to running into past students. She continued speaking fondly of those memories until she passed. She always enjoyed and held onto memories of her Wednesday nights. In her later years, she enjoyed spending time with her cat, Gerald; watching her British Television Series; puttering around her yard, and visiting with family and friends. She always had a wonderful time watching the birds, deer, elk, etc. on her rides as well as in her own yard.
$25,000 to be distributed in 2024 Mini Grant Funds by the Lumber Heritage Region
The Lumber Heritage Region (LHR) announces the winners of their 2024 Mini-Grant Program distributing at least $25,000 in 2024 Mini-Grant Funds.
The Lumber Heritage Region (LHR) is pleased to announce the recipients of its 2024-2025 Mini-Grant Program. In addition to at least $25,000 to be distributed in 2024 Mini Grant Funds by the Lumber Heritage Region, these grant projects will leverage more than $63,000 in local spending to build communities and improve life for residents and visitors.
The mini grant program is possible through the funding provided by DCNR’s partnership grant. The LHR was able to fund ten of the seventeen organizations that applied for the grant. “We are ecstatic about the number of great projects that were presented in this round of grants. It’s unfortunate we couldn’t support all of them” says Executive Director Holly Komonczi.
Since 2001, the LHR has leveraged more than 3 million dollars in projects in the Lumber Heritage Region. It is the mission of the organization to support communities and preserve the forest products industries by making tools and assets available to visitors and residents of the fifteen-county region.
To get involved or donate to one of the many projects in the region email info@lumberheritage.org or log on to the LHR’s website at www.lumberheritage.org
Recipients include:
• Austin Dam Memorial Association – Potter County – $800 for Kindling Factory Interpretive Panels
• Castanea Township Recreation Committee – Clinton County – $1,000 for Chestnut Tree and its History in Castanea Interpretative Sign
• Clinton County Government – Clinton County – $4,000 for Bald Eagle Valley Trail Way-Finding Historical Signs
• Dubois Area Historical Society – Clearfield County – $1000 for Sidney Fuller, Lumberman – Historic Educational Panel
• McKean County Historical Society – McKean County – $5,000 For Phase III Fire Tower Restoration
• McKean County Government – McKean County – $3,000 for Route 6 Timber Treasurers: Showcasing McKean County’s Lumber Heritage with Welcome Signs
• Muncy Heritage Park – Lycoming County – $2,000 for ADA Picnic Table Project
• Redbank Valley Trails Association – Clarion County – $640.50 for Andrews Lumber Co. Historic Panel
• Tricounty Rails to Trails Association – Elk County – $3,373.50 for Clarion Little Toby Recognition Through Signs
• Wilds Sonshine Factory: PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship – McKean County – $5,000 for Historic Educational Displays of Refurbished Sheffield Log at Wilds Sonshine Factory