Casey Introduces Legislation to Support Medical Schools

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) introduced two bills aimed at helping medical schools improve education and research.

“Countless reports in recent years have found that our country needs to educate and train more physicians in order to meet growing need for medical services,” said Senator Casey. “In order to prevent predicted physician shortages, Congress must take action to help bolster medical school construction to spur job creation and increase the number of physicians.”

Senators Casey and Schumer introduced the Medical Education Development Act, which would create grants to fund scholarships, develop academic research programs and residencies, recruit and retain faculty and build infrastructure.

The Senators also introduced the Medical School Construction Grant Act, which would create grants for medical schools to construct new facilities or renovate and improve existing facilities. Newly accredited schools would be given first priority.

 

Causer’s Office To Close For Senior Expo

BRADFORD – Rep. Martin Causer’s (R-Turtlepoint) Bradford office will be closed on Friday, Aug. 5, for his annual senior expo.

The expo is open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford Sports and Fitness Building gymnasium. Causer said his staff will have a table set up at the expo to answer questions about the many state assistance programs available to older Pennsylvanians. Dozens of other businesses and organizations will also offer valuable information at the expo, and a free lunch will be served.

Causer’s Bradford office will be closed all day on Aug. 5, but the Coudersport office will be open regular hours. That office can be reached at 814-274-9769. The Bradford office will reopen on Monday, Aug. 8.

Information about the senior expo is available at RepCauser.com.

 

New Service Being Offered By Cable Provider

With the beginning of school about a month away, a cable company is stepping up to help those in need.

Comcast announced in the last week that they will be providing internet service to those families whose children receive free lunches through the National School Lunch Program.  As long as those students who qualify remain in school, the service will continue to be available.

Eligible students will receive:

* Service for a year for $9.95 a month (not including several charges)

* The chance to buy a $149.99 computer, plus tax

* Access to training – online, in print or in person

Additional information can be obtained by calling (855) 8 INTERNET (855-846-8376).  Or you can log on to http://www.internetessentials.com/. An application will then be mailed to be filled out and returned.  You should hear from Comcast within 7-10 days.

 

Former PLCB Chairman Announces Support of PLCB Privatization

PHILADELPHIA – Former Pennsylvania Liquor Control (PLCB) chairman Jonathan Newman today announced his support of privatizing the PLCB at a press conference with House Majority Leader Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny). Turzai has sponsored legislation, House Bill 11, to privatize the wholesale and retail operations of the PLCB.

“Jonathan Newman knows the PLCB inside and out,” Turzai said. “The fact that he favors privatization speaks volumes. Government has no business selling alcohol. We have crafted a bill that moves Pennsylvania out of the Prohibition era while at the same time strengthening enforcement of liquor laws. This is a proposal whose time has come.”

“The current system is antiquated – all anyone has to do is drive across the border to any of our neighboring states to see how out of touch the PLCB system is,” Newman said. “I am intimately familiar with the history and operations of the PLCB, as well as with modern retailing practices. There is no doubt in my mind that due to the inherent problems with the system, there is a desperate need to privatize. Privatization will lead to greater convenience and better prices. It is time to stop burdening Pennsylvanians with this backwater system that dates back to Prohibition.”

The current monopoly system was created in 1933 by then-Gov. Gifford Pinchot, who said the PLCB’s mission was to make liquor sales “as inconvenient and expensive as possible.” Currently only two states, Pennsylvania and Utah, have complete control over wholesale and retail operations. Under Turzai’s privatization proposal, the PLCB’s role will focus solely on regulation and education, removing the conflict of interest that currently exists by having the same entity promote and regulate alcohol sales.

“House Bill 11 is a commonsense proposal,” said Rep. Tom Killion (R-Chester/Delaware), a co-sponsor of the legislation. “This legislation responsibly moves Pennsylvania out of the alcohol business, while at the same time maintaining state revenues and ensuring greater enforcement of the Commonwealth’s liquor laws. Privatization would enable to the PLCB to focus its priorities solely on regulation and education.”

“The PLCB is an archaic dinosaur that is sorely out of step with the times,” said Rep. Curt Schroder (R-Chester), also a co-sponsor of House Bill 11. “The opposition’s arguments against privatizing are nothing but an attempt to protect the status quo and continue on with business as usual in Harrisburg. The people of Pennsylvania have spoken. Numerous opinion polls have shown a majority of Pennsylvanians are in favor of privatizing the PLCB. It’s time to move Pennsylvania into the modern age.”

Specifically, House Bill 11 proposal would:

The proposed bill can be viewed at www.repturzai.com/LCBPrivatization.aspx, just click on the “House Bill 11” link.

 

Casey Pushes for Transparency in Post Office Closure Process

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) today sent a letter to Patrick Donahoe, Postmaster General of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), pushing for more transparency in the process of considering post offices in Pennsylvania for closure. Earlier this week, the USPS announced it was considering closing 203 post offices in Pennsylvania. 

“Unfortunately, many of my constituents feel as if the USPS has repeatedly dismissed public opinion associated with these closures,” wrote Senator Casey. “While I understand that the USPS needs to restructure, when citizens of Pennsylvania ask reasonable questions regarding this process, it is imperative that the USPS respond to these inquiries in a thorough manner.”

Senator Casey requested that the USPS submit a plan to ensure that public input is given the weight it deserves as facilities are considered for closure.

Senator Casey also expressed his commitment to working with the USPS to overcome the agency’s fiscal challenges while preserving the jobs and services on which Pennsylvanians depend.

 

Potter County Down In Dumps?

By Martha Knight

That was among the findings of a study done by Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful (formerly Pennsylvania

CleanWays). The group has been performing such studies of all Pennsylvania’s counties, a few at a time and issuing studies. Potter is among the counties studies most recently. A similar study was done in McKean County several years ago.

According to the report, 82 percent of the dumps are considered “active.” Nearly all are in rural areas—but then, Potter County is nearly all rural.

There is no curbside recycling in Potter County. Only 13 of the county’s municipalities have access to a recycling drop-off program. 

The study notes that 18 of the illegal dumps are within 50 feet of a stream or body of water. In fact, at 12 sites there were waste materials in the waterway.

The survey teams noticed that most of the sites contained recyclables, and 84 percent contained household trash. There were bagged trash and tires in 77 percent—clearly visible tires numbered 500 when surveying was going on; the team believes many more could have been under other discards.

The recyclable materials the survey team noticed include steel and bi-metallic items, aluminum cans, glass, plastic containers, newspapers, magazines and cardboard, and other items not listed.

None of these findings surprised Potter County Solid Waste manager Mike Salvadge. He saw the data some time before the report was released to the public last week.

Salvadge has known all along that illegal dumping occurs in the county, and is not surprised at all. For many of the county’s approximately 17,500 residents, there is no convenient way to recycle, and even garbage collection is not easy to arrange.

The county sprawls over 1,081 square miles, most of it too far and too sparsely settled to appeal to a commercial garbage collection firm. Municipalities have not developed direct garbage collection systems.

As Salvadge points out, Act 101 (a state measure) requires every county to provide a disposal point for its citizens. In Potter County, that would be the transfer point at Gold. All municipal and construction waste is brought there.

Casella Waste Services hauls the material from the transfer station to a landfill at Angelica.

Recyclables can be brought to recycling stations, where they will be collected by Casella and taken to its sorting operation in Geneva, N.Y.

Salvadge explains that Potter County municipalities do not have garbage collection contractors and curbside recycling in place because the communities are not attractive to the companies that provide such services elsewhere. Distance is the enemy.

It would not be profitable for companies to ply the county’s roads with garbage trucks, even if those did not weigh too much for the rural roads and bridges. In some areas the distances between customers would mean that labor and fuel costs would be far more than could be recovered by the providers through fees, short of charging more than the residents would be willing to pay.

The county and its Solid Waste Authority have had their difficulties for the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and operate the transfer station under its scrutiny. The county has had to deal with the closing and cleaning up, to DEP satisfaction, the old-line dump or landfill operation used years ago. This is a task many municipalities and counties have faced.

Salvage points out that municipalities are responsible for enforcing the laws against dumping. From time to time there have been grant programs that would fund eligible projects—he was not sure whether the current state budget includes such funding.

There have been local organizations that were active in cleaning up illegal dumps or held periodic clean-up days to help residents and businesses dispose of accumulated refuse and discards lawfully. The groups active in those efforts asked the county and the Solid Waste Authority to waive tipping fees for the special cleanup events, and usually the requests were accommodated. Salvadge mentioned former John Turok as an elected official who was a leader in those efforts.

It isn’t as if Potter County is about to be buried under gross accumulations of trash and construction waste, Salvadge points out: county-wide, only about 7,000 tons of solid waste is generated in a year.

“We have an ordinance in the county—the Waste Flow Control ordinance,” Salvadge says. All of the kinds of waste it covers must be disposed of through the systems operated by the SWA. Although some residents might wish to use some other method, “the Supreme Court of the United States has upheld this approach.”

As for the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful study and resulting report, Salvadge sees it as confirmation of what local officials and many others know. Illegal dumps exist. They are undesirable, but difficult to prevent. Cleanup projects help.

 

Allegheny National Forest Visitors Bureau releases new Dining Guide and Map

BRADFORD, Pa. – A brand new brochure – Dining Guide & Map of the Allegheny National Forest Region – is now available through the Allegheny National Forest Visitors Bureau.

The brochure includes information on 25 area restaurants and farmers markets along with the times the business is open, if there is a full bar or if reservations are required. There is also a map of the region that identifies the location of those in the brochure as well as other attractions in the area.

The Allegheny National Forest Visitors Bureau is the official destination marketing organization for McKean County.  The free maps are available by calling 800-473-9370 or e-mailing info@visitANF.com. In addition, a variety of tourism information for individuals or businesses may be picked up at the ANF Visitors Bureau Welcome Center located at 80 E. Corydon Street, Bradford, which is open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

 

Boro Almost In DEP Good Graces

By Martha Knight

“It never rains but it pours” seemed to be the way the spring and summer have been going, concerning borough operations, according to a report by borough manager Dick Kallenborn.

“Either there’s no rain or we get these big storms,” he said. A July 25 downpour dropped 1.5 inches in half an hour, causing catch basins to overflow.

Worse, just as Port Allegany was coming up on one year without any sewage treatment plant bypass incidents, a pump shutdown occurred on July 22, causing a minor bypass to occur. The bypass-free year must start anew, counting from July 23.

That was the frustrating news Port Allegany borough manager Richard Kallenborn gave the Port Allegany Borough Council at its monthly meeting Monday night.

No matter how brief the bypass incident was, or that it was a mishap caused by equipment failure that could not have been foreseen, the result is that the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will hold the borough to the provision in its consent agreement, and will continue to restrict additional sewer hookups.

Also part of the agreement is continuing upgrades to the collector system, thus eliminating most infiltration and leakage. In addition, any channeling of eaves gutters and other non-sewage flows into the sanitary sewer system must be eliminated by property owners.

Extreme temperature could have been a factor in the electrical overload that caused a pump to shut down, allowing sewage to bypass the treatment plant and be discharged into the Allegheny River, Kallenborn said.

Heat caused other concerns about borough operations, during the recent heat wave Kallenborn said that on days when the heat index was over 100, he “had to pull the men off the job by noon.” They were assigned to indoor tasks in the afternoon. While on outdoor jobs he saw that they had food and ample hydration to offset the effects of extreme heat.

One of the ongoing projects has been laying over 1,000 feet of new water line along Smith Avenue, and placing two new fire hydrants. The new line will be tested by September 15.

Other work has involved sluice and berm repairs along Church Street, Smith Avenue and West Mill Street. Blacktop patching is continuing. Council member Dave Fair mentioned places where pavement needs repair, at the Mill Street and Chestnut Street intersections with Main Street, and Kallenborn added them to the list.

It was reported that two sewer customers who had not accomplished their re-connections to sewer laterals, following sewer line replacements in their neighborhoods in recent years, had hired contractors and would soon be in compliance.

Police Chief Dave Distrola praised the borough crew for its prompt assistance in clearing a street of obstacles, after a truck hauling rocks had lost part of its load. “They were helpful,” Distrola said. 

Plans for next year’s sewer line replacement project call for work to be concentrated in the East Mill and Hillside Avenue area, Kallenborn said.

A fire department report included an informal and preliminary opinion that the net proceeds from Firemen’s Old Home Week, the week before last, will prove to be down somewhat from past years’ take. Star Hose Company members had put in some 800 fund raising hours in July, much of the time in connection with the annual event. The hot weather had caused some drop in attendance of the carnival and parades.

Mayor Don Carley noted that requests to television cable franchisee Zito Media for a Pittsburgh channel have resulted in the addition of WTAU as Channel 67.

Borough secretary Sue Roboski reported that the 2011 real estate tax levy is at 80.20 percent collection, normal for this time of year. She foresees collection of better than $60,000 0f the amount outstanding.

Negotiations with non-uniformed borough employees will be held at 6 p.m. August 8 and 10. Council chairperson Judy Taylor announced that she and Fair have received a notice that the police officers also want to open labor negotiations. 

Kallenborn mentioned that the hot weather has taken a toll on some of the floral plantings in the community, including those in public areas, around the gazebo and in the downtown area. He praised the efforts of organizations that have helped weed and water the flowers, and asked that businesses where there are hanging planters on street light poles water the planters nearest them, as some have been doing.

 

Monkey Island VBS - The ever-popular Port Allegany Alliance Church Vacation Bible School, Monkey Island, was held last week at the church.  In this photo, Debbie Beckley tells a story to the Pre-K class.  A week full of laughter, learning and fun was on the agenda.  For more photos from this event, turn to this week's picture page.  Pam Fischer Photo

 

Splash Parties Announced

The Port Allegany Youth Counselors have announced their annual Splash Party dates as follows:  Elementary Splash (for students who have completed grades K-6) is scheduled for Wednesday, August 10 from 6 to 8 p.m.; the High School Splash (for students who have completed grades 7 through 12) is Thursday, August 11 from 8 - 10 p.m.  Pizza will be provided at no charge.  The party will also feature a DJ.  Any questions can be directed to Tracy Kio at 642-7923 or Barb Delacour at 642-5123.  

 

Health Center Update

A luncheon and informational session on the Port Allegany Community Health Center renovation and expansion project was held July 27 at the Port Allegany United Methodist Church.  The project is expected to be completed in nine months.  In addition to the Port Allegany Community Board Advisory Committee members, former Port Allegany Hospital employees were also invited so they could give their input on how to best capture the history of the hospital, for display within the building, as a lasting tribute to the work and dedication of many community members.  Rev. Randy Headley gave the welcome and invocation followed by a project overview by Ed Pitchford. Patrice Levavasseur (pictured) spoke on the Community Campaign.  Also pictured are some of the former employees of the Port Allegany Hospital (left to right) Dianne Russell, Okla Sweet, Janet Howard, Mary Jane Rickard, April Lang, Mary Ostrander, Beverly Comes, Dawn Johnson and Pat Wilson.  Photos and other Port Allegany Community Hospital memorabilia are being sought as are the names and addresses of former PACH employees.  Contact Pam Fischer at 814-642-7514 or at pamdfischer@gmail.com, if you have something to share.  Pam Fischer Photo

 

Summer Reading Program At S. W. Smith - The 2011 Summer Reading Program at S. W. Smith continued with PAHS French teacher, Sara Bishel and her daughter, Katie, talking with the Kids Club members about France.  Theme for this year's program is One World, Many Stories.  Leading the program is children's librarian Karen Strait.  Pam Fischer Photo Port

Allegany

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Jakob's Hollow - Members of the group, Jakob's Hollow are pictured as they entertained concert-goers Thursday night on the square.  The free concerts, sponsored by the Port Allegany Women's Club, feature great music, great food and great fun in the outdoors.  Even the rain didn't dampen spirits of those in attendance.  The concert series continues Thursday nights at 6:00 p.m. during the month of August.  Pam Fischer Photo

 

Story Hour - Drive by the S. W. Smith Memorial Public Library on Wednesday mornings and you're likely to see kids...lots of kids.  Each week, the library hosts Story Hour for pre-school kids and Kids Club for those in grades Kindergarten and up.  In the above photos, Matt Lawton reads a story to the older set of pre-schoolers while Pat Errick hands a piece for the flannel board to Nick Wilfong.  Organizing these summer events is Children's Librarian, Karen Strait.  Pam Fischer Photo

P. A. O.

 

PAHS Class of 1971 - A 40-year reunion was held for the Port Allegany High School Class of 1971.  The weekend festivities began with a Friday-night gathering at the home of Barry and Donna Sauers.  Saturday, the class toured PAES and PAHS with superintendent of schools and Class of 71 grad, Tony Flint guiding the group.  The classmates then met at the Veterans Memorial Home for a dinner/dance.  Those pictured are (front row, left to right) Jeff Ford, Rhoda Treat Weimer, Bonnie Culver, Jane Foster Smith, Linda Lute Ford, Rhonda Jackson Elliott, Larry Hults, Wayne Shelley; (back) Ron Johnson, Gary Caulkins, Floyd Chilson, Mark Bowen, Cliff Frederick, Ron Deitz, Jim Lane, Rick Simar, Phil Tobias, Jim Radlinski, Ed Nolder, Tony Flint, Bruce Mowery, Susan Bova Flint, Dave Bockoras, Sue Skelton Villa and Diana Culver Batchelor.  Attending the reunion, but not pictured are Donna Taylor Sauers, Barry Sauers and Kris Miller Nulph.  Pam Fischer Photo

 

 

Community-wide VBS Ends Tonight - The annual Community-wide VBS, sponsored by the Port Allegany Ministerium, will end their five-day program tonight at 8 p.m.  Parents are invited to gather in the sanctuary of St. Gabriels Catholic Church at 7:45 p.m. to enjoy the music provided by the Worship Band and VBS students.  In the above photo, Leigha Nelson pours water into a cup on the head of her team member Madeline Smith as Madelynn Triplett looks on.  More photos of this event will appear on this week's picture page.  Pam Fischer Photo