3 2022
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MAY
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Austin • Coudersport • Crosby • Eldred • Gifford • Kane • Lewis Run • Mt. Jewett • Otto Eldred • Port Allegany Ridgway • Roulette • Smethport • Turtlepoint
Photo Provided Kinzua Bridge State Park
McKean County “Backyard Tour” coming in May The Allegheny National Forest Visitors Bureau, will host a “Backyard Tour” on May 6. Tourists, residents, business owners and staff, are invited to attend. This is the public’s chance to tour McKean County as a visitor via deluxe motorcoach. The tour group participants will meet at 8:30 a.m., Friday, May 6,
at the Allegheny National Forest Visitors Bureau Welcome Center located at 80 E. Corydon Street in Bradford. Guests will travel an informational itinerary via motorcoach throughout the county, returning to the Welcome Center at around 5 p.m. The tour will include the Penn Brad Oil Museum, Marilyn Horne Museum
& Exhibit Center, Zippo/ Case Museum, the Eldred World War II Museum, Old Town Smethport, and the Kinzua Sky Walk and Kinzua Bridge Visitors Center in Mount Jewett. A wine tasting will be included at Flickerwood Wine Cellars, followed by a tour of the new Wilds Sonshine Factory in Kane. A buffet lunch at the
Cottage House Restaurant & Winery in Smethport, which is located within Old Town Smethport. “Step Back in Time” explores the historic exhibits within Old Town Smethport, and then shop their general store for nostalgic gifts and hand-crafted, locally made treasures. On the return journey from Kane, tour participants will travel
Police: OV superintendent suggested he would have DUI incident covered up BY MARCIE SCHELLHAMMER More details have come to light from the April 15 arrest of Oswayo Valley Superintendent Jed Hamberger after an alleged DUI crash in Bradford, including that he was at a “high level of intoxication” and allegedly suggested to police he would have the incident covered up. Since the arrest, The Era has reached out several times to Hamberger, but received no response. He is on administrative leave from the district while the criminal case is proceeding. While no one from the Oswayo Valley School Board immediately responded to messages, solicitor Timothy Sennett said the district had no comment. Hamberger, 36, of Bradford, had a “high level of intoxication” and was uncooperative at the time of his arrest, court records stated. He could not understand directions for a field sobriety test, refused further testing and said he wanted to speak to an attorney. During his arraignment before District Judge Dom Cercone, Hamberger stated, “I was at an event raising money for the senior center, I then went to the Legion after the event. Yes, I had too much to drink and I should not have drove. I did not think it was a crime to raise money for charity,” read an affidavit of probable cause for a search warrant in the case. Cercone advised him not to speak about the case, the affidavit
read. While Cercone was advising Hamberger he could not threaten or intimidate witnesses in the case, Hamberger asked if arresting officers Deven Grandinetti and Eric Neiswonger were witnesses. When the judge said no, Hamberger allegedly looked at them and smiled, the affidavit read. The affidavit stated “Hamberger asked multiple times (for the officers) to drop the charges and to not make this public knowledge.” The officers said no. While Neiswonger was taking Hamberger home following arraignment, Hamberger asked if the charges would be dropped or “am I going to have to call the county commissioners to influence the judge to have these charges taken care of,” the affidavit stated. He also commented regarding the charges that “this is on the down low and I’ll be running Bradford schools in no time.” On Wednesday, McKean County Commissioner Chairman Tom Kreiner said
Hamberger had not reached out to the commissioners, nor would they entertain such a request to intervene in a criminal matter from anyone. According to Foster Township police, an officer was on patrol at approximately 10:20 p.m. April 15 on South Kendall Avenue in Bradford when a vehicle traveling in the opposite lane nearly struck the officer’s vehicle head-on. “The officer was able to make an evasive movement to avoid colliding with the suspect’s vehicle,” police stated. In the affidavit, Grandinetti said that if he hadn’t had proper training in evasive maneuvers in the police academy, he might not have been able to avoid being struck by Hamberger’s vehicle. That night, the officer made a U-turn and activated his emergency lights. “At that point, the same vehicle sped up and failed to come to a yield for the officer’s emergency lights,” the release stated. “The suspect vehicle was pursued into the city of Bradford.” Shortly after entering the city limits, the suspect’s vehicle left the roadway, struck a telephone pole and a large pile of rocks in front of a residence on South Kendall, where the vehicle came to rest. “Through sheer luck there was nobody walking along the road, sitting or standing in the driveway or in the general area,” Grandinetti wrote in the affidavit. Had someone
been in the immediate area, they likely would have been killed, he suggested. The night of the arrest, after the crash, while Grandinetti was calling additional officers to assist, Hamberger got out of his vehicle and began walking toward the police car. Grandinetti placed him in handcuffs at least until other units could arrive, the affidavit stated. Hamberger was identified, and police noted a strong odor of alcohol coming from his breath. He told police that they didn’t know who they were dealing with, the affidavit stated. Neiswonger noted that when he arrived on the scene, Hamberger’s words were slurred and he wasn’t making sense. Hamberger was charged with fleeing or attempting to elude an officer, a third-degree felony; DUIhighest rate of alcohol, and DUI-general impairment, both misdemeanors; and summary traffic offenses reckless driving, failing to keep right and not using low beam. Hamberger was arraigned at 1 a.m. Saturday by Cercone and released on $5,000 unsecured bail. A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for June 1 before District Judge Rich Luther. He is represented in the criminal case by Edinboro attorney Grant Travis. The search warrant was for audio and video recordings from the American Legion in Shinglehouse, which showed Hamberger drinking earlier that night.
the Longhouse Scenic Drive and learn about the forest from an Allegheny National Forest employee. A special treat from The Grocery Stretcher will be served. The tour fee, including lunch, wine tasting, and snacks is only $40 per person for members of the ANF Visitors Bureau, and $50 for non-members.
Door prizes will be given away during the tour to participants. For additional information and to register for this year’s McKean County Backyard Tour, contact the ANF Visitors Bureau at (800) 473-9370 or info@visitANF.com.
McKean Co. accepting blight grant applications SMETHPORT — McKean County is accepting applications for the second round of funding for the Act 152 blight grant. The county launched the Act 152 Blight Demolition Program in 2021. This program provides grants to demolish blighted structures and is funded through a fee collected by the Recorder of Deeds Office when deeds and mortgages are recorded. During the first year of the program, five buildings were demolished including one in the City of Bradford, two in Kane Borough, one in Port Allegany Borough, and one in Wetmore Township. The total cost of these projects was $67,675.93 including $42,064.95 in Act 152 grant funding and $25,610.98 in local match provided by the property owner or local municipality. Applications for the first round of 2022 Act 152 Blight Funding were recently reviewed by the McKean County Commissioners, who have awarded funding for five Act 152 grants.
Grants include two projects in the City of Bradford, one project in Lewis Run Borough, and two projects in Kane Borough. The total cost of these projects is $53,035 including $39,572.50 in Act 152 grant funding and $13,462.50 in match provided by the property owner or local municipality. The 2nd Round of 2022 Act 152 Blight Grant applications are currently being accepted for this grant and are due by 4 p.m. on May 20. These applications will be reviewed in early June with a goal of awarding grants in late June or early July. Grant guidelines and applications for both the municipal and private landowner programs are available at w w w. m c k e a n c o u n t y p a . org or by contacting: Robert Veilleux, economic development liaison, at 814887-3107 or at raveilleux@ mckeancountypa.org; or by contacting Rick Fry, director of planning, at 814-887-2754, or at rfry@ mckeancountypa.org.
Bradford Community Farmers Market to remain at Legion The Bradford Community Farmers Market will remain at the American Legion at 210 W. Washington St. in Bradford, and will open on May 28. The market will be every Saturday from May 28 to Oct. 1 from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Vendors items include Amish produce, baked goods, canned products,
puzzles, household items, wood crafts and dog biscuits, jewelry, handmade items and gnomes, eggs, honey, Watkins products, pies, cakes, fudge, sugar free and gluten free goodies and much more. Find the group on Facebook for vendor updates or to get information on how to be a vendor.