Public Notification

Coudersport Rotary Club’s January 29, 2024, guest speaker was Curtis J. Campbell, District 16 Commander of the American Legion Department of PA. Curtis was born and raised in Coudersport. He served from 1977-1984 as an Army Medical Specialist. After his time in the service he went to college for Electronics Engineering.

Curtis’s goal with the American Legion is to assist veterans and Potter County has the highest percentage of veterans in the Commonwealth.

The mission of the American Legion includes Service for Veterans, National Security, Americanism, Children and Youth, Community Service, and Honor and Remembrance.

The Coudersport American Legion supports the community. In 2023 they donated $11,800 to 19 different community organizations. They also sponsor 2 groups of young men and women, Bull’s-eye Blasters 4-H Air Rifle Team and Black Forest Falcons Trap Team. The American Legion has emergency funds available for veterans and their families if they need lodging, food and gas. They assist Potter County veterans and their families if they need temporary financial assistance. They provide, free of charge, handicap equipment to veterans and the general public and have wheelchairs and crutches available at their building.

The American Legion building is available for use for special events.

We appreciate Curtis coming and providing this very important information about the American Legion.

The Souper Bowl of Caring is a national movement across the nation working together to fight hunger and poverty in their communities around the time of the Super Bowl football game.  

The Souper Bowl of Caring began in 1990 with a simple prayer said by Reverend Brad Smith at Spring Valley Presbyterian Church in Columbia, South Carolina: Lord, even as we enjoy the Super Bowl football game, help us be mindful of those who are without a bowl of soup to eat. 

As they have for many years, the Port Allegany United Methodist Church is collecting cans of soup and boxes of crackers as well as monetary donations.   

Stop by the Port Allegany Shop n Save Friday (February 9)  between 5 and 8 p.m. or Saturday afternoon between 12 to 3 p.m. to make your donations.   The food and cash donations will be given to PACS (Port Allegany Community Services). 

The Souper Bowl of Caring collection at UMC is under the direction of Patty Fabish. 

Pictured preparing for the event are Lillianne Reed and Makayla Alcorn.  

The family of Erika Lentz would sincerely like to “thank’ everyone who reached out to us on our mother’s passing.

For every condolence, card, prayer and thought you gave us during her last days and after we
sincerely appreciate it. We are so blessed with so many responses to us her children and to her grandchildren, they were a big part of her life and legacy.

Farewells are very hard but knowing other people care plays a big part in healing.

Thank you…

OLEAN, N.Y., February 7, 2024 – The Cattaraugus Region Community Foundation board recently elected Shelley Jack and Brent Driscoll to its board of directors and named its slate of Foundation officers for 2024.

Jack is the owner of Shebe Marketing, a marketing consultancy agency focused on helping women-led businesses with their branding and marketing strategy.

Jack has more than 25 years of experience in the marketing field, aiding clients in the manufacturing industry, higher education, healthcare and consumer brands.  

Jack will serve on the Foundation’s marketing and donor development committee.

The board of directors also elected Brent Driscoll to a three-year term.

Driscoll, a retired CFO of Cutco Corporation, will sit on the CRCF finance committee. Driscoll also serves on the board of Olean Business Development and the Cattaraugus County Industrial Development Agency.

The combined expertise of Jack and Driscoll will complement the existing board members’ strengths, enhancing CRCF’s mission to “grow good” in the community.

Dennis Pezzimenti, Audra Stevens, Jim Stitt Jr., and Sandi Brundage, all currently serving board members, were re-elected for a three-year term starting on January 1, 2024.

The PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship has been selected as a Host Community for the Economic Recovery Corps (ERC), an opportunity made possible by the Economic Development Administration.

The PA Wilds Center’s project, “Advancing Rural PA’s Outdoor Recreation Sector,” seeks to accelerate job creation and increase connectivity, awareness, participation, community engagement, and capacity for outdoor recreation and entrepreneurship in communities of rural PA.

As a Host Community, the PA Wilds Center went through a competitive process to be matched with an ERC Fellow who will be placed with the nonprofit for a 30-month period to implement the project beginning in early 2024. Each project across the U.S. receives a dedicated fellow (fully funded for the 30 months from the ERC program) who serves as a field catalyst to enhance, strengthen, and coordinate relationships and local efforts alongside the host community. 

The ERC Fellowship program aims to build capacity in economically distressed areas across the U.S. while cultivating the next generation of economic development leaders. The ERC Fellowship was launched in 2023 through a $30 million cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA). It is led by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) and supported by 6 other national economic development organizations.

The Bradford Area Public Library has exciting news to share with the community. Thanks to a United Way of McKean County grant, the library has launched a new website. “We were striving for a site design that reflected the energy of our patrons, our diverse programs, and the variety of services we offer our community,” reflected Janelle Nolan, BAPL’s Marketing Coordinator. Rebecca Feightner, BAPL’s Executive Director, expressed gratitude to the United Way and the highly motivated team from Firespring, a web design company that specializes in working with small nonprofit organizations.

The new website is designed to be user-friendly and easy to navigate, providing information on library programs, events, and resources to the community. “We wanted to make it as convenient as possible for our patrons to use the library’s online resources. With the new website, they can do everything from the comfort of their own homes,” stated Feightner.

An exciting feature of the website will enable individuals to register themselves for upcoming programs whenever program registrations are necessary. Parties can register two people at a time and will be able to see how many remaining spots are available for a particular event. “This is a beneficial tool, since some programs fill up quickly when monthly emails are sent to subscribers,” Nolan pointed out.