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Austin • Coudersport • Crosby • Eldred • Gifford • Kane • Lewis Run • Mt. Jewett • Otto Eldred • Port Allegany Ridgway • Roulette • Smethport • Turtlepoint
Photo by Lucy Nuzzo Construction is underway at the Bradford Mall, where UPMC is creating a multi-specialty office.
UPMC to open multi-specialty practice at Bradford Mall BY MARCIE SCHELLHAMMER . UPMC’s medical offices in Bradford are coming together under one roof — the roof at the Bradford Mall. The work underway between Shoe Department and Dunham’s at the Mall is to prepare the site to house the multi-specialty practice in Bradford, Devone Pepple, director of practice management, explained. Currently, “we have actually two different buildings that house different
specialties,” she said. “We’re bringing those all under one roof. All together there will be primary care and 10 different specialty practices. We’re on track to open at the end of June, beginning of July.” The practice will offer ultrasound and stress testing for cardiology patients, and X-ray and lab services will be available under the same roof as well. Pepple explained the primary care offices will be open Monday through
Friday, while specialists will be scheduled on various days. Specialties include cardiology, bariatrics, gastroenterology, otolaryngology, gynecology, orthopedics, dietary, pain management, general surgical and podiatry. No surgical procedures will be done in the facility, but will be referred to UPMC Kane or Cole, she explained. “We’re just excited to be able to be there and offer this service,” Pepple
said. “Being under one roof gives us better usage of our resources.” There will be 19 exam rooms in the new facility. Lynn Rupp, president of regional health services for UPMC, said, “I was the person who looked at this market and decided we needed to expand the specialty services. We don’t plan on stopping there.” As the facility comes into use, Rupp said, “We will be looking at volume to decide what to add.”
Water Authority’s lead abatement project underway BY MARCIE SCHELLHAMMER The Bradford City Water Authority’s lead abatement project is well underway, even before the digging has started. The project, which includes the replacement of all known active lead service lines, was awarded to two contractors in January — Mortimer’s Excavating from Pulaski, and Chivers Construction Company of Erie. Starting Monday, crews with Chivers will begin door-to-door inspections for all locations called out within the project. (A list of streets appears at the bottom of this story.) Steve Disney, executive director of the water authority, explained Mortimer’s Excavating will start this process in June. “This includes inspections for all known lead service line locations and also all unknown service line locations that remain to be verified. The Chivers/ Mortimers employees will be driving designated Chivers/Mortimers work vehicles and wearing their high visibility designated construction crew clothing which includes company ID badges,” according to authority officials. Work so far has included a lot of research. Authority personnel took active service records and had them evaluated under a process called “machine learning” in which the individual customer cards were scanned,
uploaded and digitally processed for key wording such as “lead.” Customer records found with lead components on either the customer side or the water authority side were compiled into the listing that eventually was used to develop the lead abatement project, according to authority officials. Customer records found to be missing information on service line composition were set aside and authority personnel have been aggressively researching these “Unknowns” through inspections inside the customer homes to check the service line and through curb box evaluations. Service lines not accessible through the curb boxes will be excavated to determine the exact composition. If it is determined to be lead, it will be replaced. The authority was awarded an $8.52 million dollar grant in July of 2021 for lead service line replacements, meaning the project is fully funded by PENNVEST. “The Water Authority is very excited about a number of things relating to this project,” Disney said. “To receive 100% grant funds is a welcomed gift, meaning our customers will not have to carry this financial burden, and we’re not only replacing the affected service lines owned by the Authority, we are also replacing the affected service
lines owned by the customers. This is a huge deal.” The project will involve replacing 573 service line connections that contain lead, and about 3 miles of some of the oldest and most problematic water lines in the system. Explaining the project and the onus for it last year, Disney said that ever since the lead in the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, there’s been a push to replace lead water lines. While the local authority has had no issues with the lead connectors currently in use in the system, they wanted to take a proactive approach to get them replaced before issues arise. On Wednesday, Disney said, “I’m proud that our team was very proactive in this matter, properly addressing our lead service lines and not waiting for potential trigger levels on future water sampling to dictate our actions. Investing in our community’s water infrastructure is very important for our quality of life and we simply cannot grow our local economy without safe, reliable drinking water and the infrastructure to support that.” Customers with any questions can call the Water Authority offices at 814-362-3004 or email at info@bradfordwater.com. Disney said the streets affected with lead service lines are dotted all across the city limits with portions on the following streets:
Abbott Road, Amm Street, Avenue B, Bank Street, Barbour Street, Bedford Street, Belleview Avenue, Bishop Street, Brennan Street, Burnside Avenue, Bushnell Street, Calvin Court, Charlotte Avenue, Clarence Street, Clinton Street, Cole Avenue, Congress Street, Cornen Street, East Main Street, East Washington Street, East Avenue, Edna Avenue, Euclid Avenue, Fisher Avenue, Forman Street, High Street, Hillside Avenue, Hobson Place, Holley Avenue, Howard Street, Interstate Parkway, Jackson Avenue, Jefferson Street, Jerome Avenue, Kane Street, Kennedy Street, King Street, Lawrence Avenue, Leigh Street, Leland Avenue, Lincoln Avenue, Linwood Avenue, Lorana Avenue, Maplewood Avenue, Mechanic Street, Melvin Avenue, Mill Street, Miller Street, Moorehouse Place, North Bennett Street, North Center Street, North Street, Oakwood Avenue, Oxford Street, Park Street, Pearl Street, Pike Street, Pleasant Street, Poplin Avenue, Potter Street, River Street, Rockland Avenue, Rosedale Avenue, South Kendall Avenue, School Street, Sherman Street, South Avenue, State Street, Summer Street, Tuna Avenue, West Corydon Street, West Washington Street, Walker Avenue, Welch Avenue, Whitehead Avenue, Williams Street, and York Street.
While UPMC has had a presence in the community, this will be the first time it will be consolidated under one roof. This model has proven popular in other regions, Rupp said. “In Warren, we’ve had a number of specialists going there for years,” she said. They opened a single location to consolidate services there, and “it’s been a great success.” She added, “Our model is to help (the community) and analyze where the holes are, and to make things as efficient as possible. It’s going to evolve pretty continuously and we’ll add whatever we find is needed.” Pepple said, “We’re making sure we could provide a lot of care in the
same places. People like not to have to go from one place to another for their care.” And the location is a benefit, too. “What’s nice about this with the elderly people and others, it’s right where the Walmart and mall are,” Pepple said. “The bus line goes right past there.” Another benefit is that all UPMC facilities are moving to Epiccare for their electronic patient records which means medical records will be accessible at any UPMC facility. “I’m so proud that UPMC is making the investment to do this,” Rupp said. “It really is a focus to bring care to a community we realize needs it.”
Allegheny National Forest plans for spring prescribed fires WARREN — The US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service plans to use prescribed fire as a forest management tool during March, April and May on the Allegheny National Forest. The Forest Service does not yet have exact dates yet. Operations are weather dependent, and will be implemented at the optimal time to achieve the best results. Communities near the burn sites will be notified 24 to 48 hours before ignitions. To keep community members well informed, posted road signs, road guards, and live information on the National Forest social media accounts (@ Allegheny_NF on Twitter) will be updated while burns are conducted. This spring, the plan is to treat 800 acres spread across five project areas located in both the Marienville and Bradford Ranger Districts. The Forest Service conducts prescribed fires with the safety of the public and firefighters as the highest priority, and uses fire as a tool only when the parameters of an approved burn plan are met, including wind speed and direction, relative humidity, temperature, fire danger, seasonal
restrictions, and mitigation of potential smoke impacts. Fire management staff, in collaboration with Forest resource specialists, identified wildfire fuels reduction, forest health, wildlife, and ecosystem management objectives to accomplish with the use of prescribed fires. Fires are a historic and natural process for some ecosystems on the Allegheny National Forest, grasslands and oak-hickory forests are two prime examples. Oak-hickory forests, which comprise approximately 16 percent of the Forest, require periodic fires to reduce competing undesirable vegetation, recycle soil nutrients and stimulate the increased production of acorns, blueberries, blackberries, and other mast crops. White-tailed deer, turkey, butterflies, songbirds, grouse, snakes, turtles, and other wildlife species utilize burned areas for feeding, nesting, warming, and a place to raise their young. Prescribed fires also reduce the amount of hazardous fuels that, when left unburned, can lead to uncontrolled wildfires that could threaten human life and property.
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APRIL 5, 2022
Pa. GOP senators file for injunction to block carboncutting plan for power plants PITTSBURGH (TNS) — A Pennsylvania court is considering a petition by state Senate Republican leaders to block the Wolf administration from putting fees and a declining cap on carbon dioxide emissions from the state’s coal- and gas-fired power plants. In a petition for a preliminary injunction filed March 25, the GOP leaders asked the Commonwealth Court to prevent publication of the Wolf administration’s marquee climate change rule until their full case for permanently blocking the rule can be considered. The petition for an injunction is part of a flurry of legislative and legal activity by Republican opponents of the rule, which would put Pennsylvania — one of the nation’s largest emitters of greenhouse gas pollution — on a mandated pathway toward a cleaner electric grid through 2030 as part of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). Under its current schedule, the Republican-led
Senate has until Monday to attempt to override Gov. Tom Wolf’s veto of a resolution to reject the rule. If the override attempt fails, the rule could take effect within weeks unless the court grants the injunction. RGGI is a market-based approach to cutting carbon pollution that requires power plant operators in participating states to buy an allowance for each ton of carbon they emit. The allowances are sold at quarterly auctions and the total number of available allowances shrinks each year, except when new states join the program. On Tuesday, the Independent Fiscal Office testified at a Senate hearing that recent high auction prices of $13 and $13.50 per ton have altered assumptions that were used by the Department of Environmental Protection to make projections for the program’s short-term costs and revenue. Current auction prices are 3.8 times higher than the model projected for 2022, which would raise Pennsylvania’s first-year
revenue if it joins the program to $781 million, instead of $207 million in the projections, Matthew Knittel, director of the Independent Fiscal Office, said. If the higher auction prices persist, the carbon rule could also increase residential electricity bills in Pennsylvania this year by 3.8 times the $1.17 per month that the model projected, he said, or $4.47 per month. Economists from Penn State and the University of Virginia cautioned that, while the recent high auction prices are surprising, they are expected to be temporary and are likely to be reduced by Pennsylvania — a large power generator with the potential to reduce emissions cheaply — joining the market. ”Because of Pennsylvania’s competitive retail electricity market, it is simply not the case that RGGI permit costs will necessarily be passed along to Pennsylvaniaratepayers the same way that they might in states without competitive retail electricity markets,”
Seth Blumsack, co-director of Penn State University’s Center for Energy Law and Policy, said in written testimony. The Department of Environmental Protection has said its current authority limits its uses for the funds to improve air quality, so the revenue would largely be spent on programs to improve energy efficiency and build out energy sources, like solar and wind, that do not release carbon when they generate power. Those programs are expected to bring the cost of power down for all consumers, DEP said. The rule is opposed by the state’s broad business and manufacturing trade groups, the coal and natural gas industries, the owners of several fossil fuel power plants, as well as the labor unions that build and run them. It is backed by some natural gas-fired generators, nuclear and renewable energy companies, energy efficiency contractors and environmental groups. Labor union representatives testified Tuesday that
they support an amended version of a House bill that would remove DEP’s authority to implement any measure designed to limit carbon dioxide emissions, including existing programs. In exchange, the amendment provides for a one-time infusion of $250 million from federal COVID-19 relief funds to be spent on carbon capture and hydrogen projects, sewer and water improvements, plugging abandoned oil and gas wells and helping workers and communities affected by power plant closures. The bill, House Bill 637, is expected to come up for a vote in the House on Wednesday.
In Commonwealth Court, Republican Senate leaders are arguing that the carbon-cutting rule is an “unconstitutional infringement upon the General Assembly’s exclusive authority to make laws, to join interstate compacts, and to levy taxes.” They said an injunction is necessary to prevent the “irreparable harm” that will result if the rule is allowed to be published. Because the Wolf administration plans to join the initiative through regulation, a future governor could remove the state from the program through regulation. Wolf’s term ends in January.
APRIL 5, 2022
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APRIL 5, 2022
Potter County To Revise Land Development Ordinance
Photo Provided Fourteen students from Pitt-Bradford, along with university officials, met with state Rep. Marty Causer, front, right, on Tuesday. Also attending were Rick Esch, interim president; Caleb Landmesser, director of alumni engagement (to the immediate left of Marty Causer); Christy Clark, executive director of philanthropic and strategic partnerships (to Caleb’s left) and Dr. Jean Truman, director of the nursing program, who’s in the back row, third from the right.
Pitt students rally in Harrisburg to support in-state tuition assistance HARRISBURG — On Tuesday, more than 100 students traveled to Harrisburg from four University of Pittsburgh campuses. The group met with lawmakers in the General Assembly who represent their home districts and the University campuses, and spoke with them about the importance of the state appropriation and its role in providing an in-state tuition discount to Pennsylvania students. University leadership, including Chancellor Patrick Gallagher, joined the students. “Personally, I would not have been able to get my degree without the in-state tuition assistance that Pennsylvania appropriations provide,” said Brennan Conway (A&S ’22) from Harrisburg. The current in-state
tuition discount saves Pennsylvanians an average of $60,000 over their fouryear undergraduate career at Pitt. The in-state tuition discount is a powerful, life-changing benefit for the state’s residents. Pennsylvanians are paying significantly less than their out-of-state peers to attend Pitt. Today, more than 17,000 Pitt students benefit from this tuition discount, saving the average resident about $15,000 annually or $60,000 over their four-year undergraduate career. “Pitt Day in Harrisburg kicks off a monthslong advocacy effort,” said Chancellor Patrick Gallagher. “Members from the University of Pittsburgh community are showing up and speaking up now — and in the weeks ahead — to call on state lawmakers to continue
supporting the in-state tuition discount, which is vital for Pennsylvania’s students and families.” Pitt does its part, too, in supporting the success of Pennsylvanians and the state we call home. Each year, the University injects more than $4 billion into the state’s economy — including over $850 million in research grants alone. And as the ninth-largest employer in Pennsylvania, Pitt supports nearly 40,000 jobs while building partnerships with businesses and communities in almost every county across the commonwealth. A state-funded tuition discount is a powerful incentive for young people to stay, live and work in Pennsylvania long term. Attending from Bradford were Rick Esch, interim president, and nursing students Hanna
Hibbs from Middleburn, Anna Kafferlin from Spring Creek, Kaegan Matthews from McClure, Emma McClaren from Knoxville, Ashton McGriff of Bradford, Anna McNickle of Pittsburgh, Elizabeth Szurszewski of Pittsburgh and Steven Tyger of Custer City. Other students who attended were Connor Weiss, exercise science major from Allison Park, Shakira Jackson, history/ political science major from Philadelphia, Ty’Jae Murray, computer information systems and technology major from Philadelphia, Abby Martin, exercise science major from Shrewbury, Jenna Kale, forensic science major from Akron, Ohio, and Whitney McCormick, criminal justice major from Meadville.
Telling signs 3 common insects are infesting a lawn Well-maintained laws are a byproduct of hard work. That hard work is a point of pride for homeowners who spend countless hours throughout spring, summer and fall tending to their lawns. All that hard work can be compromised when uninvited guests, namely insects, show up in a lawn. Insect infestations can turn a normally pristine and lush green lawn into a brown and sickly eyesore. Identifying which type of insect is damaging a lawn is the first step toward returning that lawn to its green glory. These are three common lawn insects and signs that they’re infesting a lawn. 1. Grubs Grubs like to feast on the roots of grass right below
the surface. Michigan State University Extention Turf & Landscape reports that grub damage can appear from March to early May or from mid-September to early November. The lawn and garden experts at GardenTech® note that wilted grass blades are often the first indicator of a grub infestation, which is followed by patches of brown turf and eventually death. Crows, skunks and moles eat grubs, so the sight of them in a lawn could indicate an infestation. 2. Chinch bugs The experts at BobVila. com report that chinch bugs are not necessarily problematic when their populations are limited to around 10 to 15 bugs per square foot of lawn. In such instances, chinch bug
populations are generally controlled by ants and ladybugs. However, extreme heat and drought, problems that have plagued various regions in North America in recent years, reduce the populations of bugs that feed on chinch bugs, thus increasing the population of these unwanted guests that feed on grass. GardenTech® indicates that damage from chinch bugs is most visible between June and September. That damage begins with grass taking on a purple tinge before it turns yellow and then brown after wilting. 3. Cutworms The lawn care experts at Scotts® note that cutworms are moth larvae that hide in the thatch layer of a lawn during the day before
emerging at night to feed on grass blades. Patches of brown grass between one and two inches in width is a sign of cutworm infestation. Homeowners who notice a growing number of birds pecking away in their lawns may have a cutworm infestation, which can be confirmed by peeling up a section of damaged grass and looking for cutworms, which are brown, gray or black and tend to be around two inches long. The good news is that grub, chinch bug and cutworm populations can be controlled. Local turf specialists can recommend strategies to curtail such populations and help homeowners restore their lawns to full health.
Potter County Planning Commission (PCPC) members will be updating and revising the county’s Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance (SALDO) in the coming months. Commissioners Nancy Grupp, Barry Hayman and Paul Heimel recently approved a $24,000 contract with professional consultant Denny Puko (above) to advise PCPC. Most of his fee is covered by a state grant. Recommendations by the Planning Commission and its consultant will eventually be submitted to the commissioners for adoption. A series of public input opportunities will be announced. Much of the advance work has already been completed during development of the Potter
County Comprehensive Plan 2020-29. That detailed document reflects comments from hundreds of county residents in developing priorities and values for community and economic development during the decade. A copy of the plan is available online here. Through the SALDO, the county government regulates land development within a framework dictated by state legislation. Goal of the ordinance is to protect public health and safety, maintain community standards, avoid conflicting land uses, and support orderly growth and economic development. Potter County’s SALDO has not undergone a thorough revision in more than a decade. Its revisions will reflect recent statutory changes and case law, as well as land development needs and regulatory practices. Plan review and enforcement practices need to be matched to current administrative capacity and updated for users. Planning Director Will Hunt will spearhead the project. Planning Commission members, appointed by the commissioners, are Rance Baxter (chair), Curt Weinhold, Katie Sasala, Bob Wicker, Helen Turner, Dr. Mike Callahan and Candace Hillyard.
PMEA District 2 Chorus
Congratulations to all students participating in PMEA District 2 chorus at Ridgway High School! Abby Lutz is advancing to
region chorus in March at Franklin High School and will have the opportunity to audition for PMEA allstate chorus in April.