he McKean County Conservation District will be holding a Free No-Till Demo Day on May 2, 2023 from 12:00 – 2:00 PM at the McKean County 911 Center, 17175 Route 6 in Smethport.  The field day will give participants a demonstration of the District’s recently purchased Great Plains 10’ No-Till Drill.  Participants will also learn more about the Natural Resource Conservation Service’s Farm Bill related programs on grazing and pasture practices that are available.  Please contact our office at 814-887-4002 to register for the Demo Day.

This field day will serve as the kick-off for the District’s No-Till Drill Rental Program for landowners within McKean County.  The following rates have been established:

¨ $12.00 per acre or $24.00 per acre if used on conventional tilled ground. 

¨ Free use of the drill up to 30 acres if planting a non-harvested cover crop. 

The District will transport the drill; however, landowners leasing the drill will pay a $25.00 delivery fee within McKean County. When completed with the drill, all seed and fertilizer must be cleaned from the machine. Failure to clean the drill will result in a $25 clean out fee. 

No-till farming is an agricultural technique for growing crops or pasture without disturbing the soil through tillage. No-till farming decreases the amount of soil erosion tillage causes in certain soils, especially in sandy and dry soils on sloping terrain. Other possible benefits include an increase in the amount of water that infiltrates into the soil, soil retention of organic matter, and nutrient cycling. These methods may increase the amount and variety of life in and on the soil. While conventional no-tillage systems use herbicides to control weeds, organic systems use a combination of strategies, such as planting cover crops as mulch to suppress weeds.

Landowners can utilize a no‐till drill to establish a cover crop after harvesting corn silage. Rotate or convert annual crop land to hay or pasture. Improve their hay or pasture and/or establish legumes (i.e. soybeans) or cereal grains without primary tillage.

Rental is FIRST COME FIRST SERVE, contact Adam Causer, Watershed Specialist at 814-887-4003 or accauser@mckeancountypa.org to schedule your anticipated use TODAY!

                            “When we express the beauty inside of us, it can help us see the hope.”–            Olga Snyder

Olga Snyder, a Potter County, Pennsylvania resident and Ukrainian native, moved to the United States 25 years ago. Although Olga spent her whole childhood into her young adulthood studying and creating art in Ukraine, it was not until just a month before immigrating to the United States that she learned about pysanky also known as Ukrainian Easter eggs for the first time. She was walking down her favorite street in Kyiv with her fiancé, now husband, John, when she spotted a little box full of the most colorful, beautiful round shapes she had ever seen. Olga approached the man standing behind the box, asking him about its contents, and he was shocked by her lack of knowledge.

• 28 Years Total Law Enforcement Experience
• 21 months experience in a Maximum Security State Prison
• Almost 7 Years experience at Potter County Sheriff’s Department
• Knows the Responsibilities and Duties of the Sheriff’s Department
• Knows the Procedures of the Sheriff’s Department
• 14 years Law Enforcement Supervision Experience
• Graduated from Southwest Law Enforcement Institute, Management College
• Currently a Certified Deputy with the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency
• Currently certified by the Municipal Police Officers’ Education and Training Commission as a Firearms Instructor
• Volunteer Assistant Coach for State Champion Black Forest Youth Trap Team

Paid For By The Candidate

PA State Rep. Martin Causer 

Had the opportunity today to meet with Roulette Township, Potter County officials to discuss and take a look at their water system infrastructure. The township has a plan for infrastructure upgrades and is working hard to maintain clean drinking water for the community. Glad to work with them and support state assistance for their project.

Jack S. Keifer has announced his candidacy for a seat on the 2024-27 Potter County Board of Commissioners. He’s seeking a nomination in the May 16 Democratic Primary Election.

Keifer cites his qualifications as a military veteran, a small business owner, the county’s technology consultant for seven years, and as an active member of Coudersport Borough Council.

A U.S. Air Force veteran, he has operated multiple internet-based businesses, ranging from product creation to retail commerce during his 24 years as a resident of Potter County. He also served for 13 years as information technology director for the Coudersport Area School District.

“My approach has always been based on good planning, hard work and careful financial management,” Keifer said. “That is the same way I would approach my leadership role in county government. I am the only Democratic candidate who is familiar with our county government through first-hand experience, and I do see some areas for improvement.”

If elected, he would work to increase county efficiencies and transparency through more effective deployment of technology. He would also spearhead a comprehensive review of staffing and employee compensation, improve county communications, and pull together stakeholders from across the county to explore strategies for community and economic development.

“County commissioners have an impact on many people across the county,” Keifer said. “A commissioner should be proactive in communicating with the public and seeking input from the citizens.”

If elected, he would be actively engaged with the county’s Human Services Department.

“Thousands of people, especially the underprivileged and others in need, rely on Human Services,” Keifer said.

He would take a similar approach with the Department of Emergency Services.

“The county needs to be an active partner with our volunteer fire and ambulance services, communicating regularly with them and standing up for them in Harrisburg,” he added.

Also on his task list is hands-on support for the county’s Department of Veterans Affairs.

“As a veteran myself, I’m well aware of the challenges these men and women can face when they return home and find themselves caught in a maze of red tape when it comes to accessing the benefits and services they have earned.”

Economic development will also be a priority.

“We need to be marketing the best of what Potter County has to offer, which is our rural lifestyle and outdoor assets, to people who are looking to relocate,” Keifer noted. “With expansion of high-speed internet service, people can move here and still keep their jobs as telecommuters. I know that first hand.”

The candidate added that, through his service on Borough Council, he has gained a great understanding of conservative fiscal management, contract negotiations, personnel management, and engaging members of the public in the decision-making process.

Keifer chairs the borough’s Streets/Utilities committee, spearheading improvements such as the Ross Glen stormwater management that recently qualified for a state grant.

“I believe the county government can also do a better job of securing state and federal grants that can support our communities while keeping taxes down,” he said. “The current board of commissioners has been able to freeze the county taxes for five years and I would work hard to continue that trend but still not reduce needed services. You can do a lot with greater efficiency and better use of technology.”

George Duke addressing guests at the dedication of Pitt-Bradford’s new engineering and information technologies building, which is named in his honor.

From left, Rick Esch, president of the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, George B. Duke, owner of Zippo Manufacturing Co., and State Rep. Martin Causer celebrate the dedication of the George B. Duke Engineering and Information Technologies Building at Pitt-Bradford Friday.

Photos by Glenn Melvin

BRADFORD, PA – April 3, 2023–If the presence of hundreds of local industry executives at the dedication of the George B. Duke Engineering and Information Technologies Building on Friday didn’t make it clear, then the building’s namesake did: local industry sees itself as a partner with the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford in the technical training of professionals that they need to maintain and advance their businesses

Duke, the owner and chairman of Zippo Manufacturing Co., pledged $2 million to Pitt-Bradford last year to equip the new building’s ultramodern engineering labs with the best and newest of everything students need to learn, test and build.

The $24.5 million building, with its labs full of precision measuring and automation devices, 3D printers, a plasma cutter, CNC milling machines and lathes, fluid dynamics systems, strength of materials testers, and state-of-the-art electronics measurement systems has made two new majors possible: mechanical engineering technology and energy engineering technology.

Duke said that when Zippo made its pledge, the company’s President and CEO Mark Paup said to him, “We can make this very cool. Let’s think about this as a collaboration with Pitt-Bradford. … Zippo wins. The university wins.”

Zippo is eager to see Pitt-Bradford mechanical engineering technology students at work as interns and show them the possibilities of working in Bradford. Other area industries that supported the project financially are just as eager to work with interns and graduates, including KOA Speer Electronics Inc., American Refining Group, Northwest Bank, Control Chief Corp. and Napoleon Engineering Services.

 Duke explained why industries are hungry for engineers.

“Our equipment wears out. The pieces that come in [to replace them] are very, very complicated, and they take engineers to keep running, and that’s not just at Zippo.”

Other speakers included Chris Napoleon ’86-’88, owner of Napoleon Engineering Services in Olean, N.Y., who said he saw supporting the building financially as an investment.

Napoleon said that at the start of his career, former engineering faculty Dr. August Freda and Dr. Ronald Mattis were teaching at Pitt-Bradford.

“They invested their time and energy in me for two years, [and eventually] Pitt’s investment [in me] enabled the creation of a business,” he said. “My coworkers and I are thankful to be a part of this project with a real return on investment. … It all starts with filling this awesome space with awesome students.”

In addition to making two new engineering technology programs possible, the Duke Building is the home to one of Pitt-Bradford’s most popular and successful majors, the computer information systems and technology program, another vital program for area employers seeking to hire technical workers. For the information technology program, the Duke Building has a new virtual reality lab and a systems, networks and projects lab as well as the most up-to-date classrooms.

“This is a second-to-none facility,” Duke said. People will be banging the doors to get in this place.”

Other speakers for the dedication included Dr. Ann E. Cudd, provost and senior vice chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh; State Sen. Cris Dush; State Rep. Martin T. Causer ’96; Pitt-Bradford President Richard T. Esch ’93, Dr. Matt Kropf, director and designer of the new engineering and technology programs; and Mychal Berlinski, a junior energy engineering technology student from Allegany, N.Y.

Following speeches and a ribbon-cutting ceremony, the hundreds of guests were able to visit the labs, talk with students and current faculty, and see some of the machinery in action, including scene-stealing CNC lathes that students were using to create light metal bottle openers. Large windows on the sides of the machine allowed guests to watch the process as it happened.

In a crowd full of engineers, several reminisced about their own schooling as they admired the new lab equipment.

One of the visitors was former professor Mattis, who retired after 36 years of teaching engineering at Pitt-Bradford in 2021, just before ground was broken on the Duke Building.

“It’s great to see it done, and you can tell how excited people are,” he said. “It really helps complete the campus.”