PUC Dismisses Planned Area Code Split

PUC Dismisses Planned Area Code Split
We got great news this week when the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) announced it had dismissed its plan to split the existing 814 area code region to address a projected shortage of phone numbers.

Responding to overwhelming objections from citizens and business owners, I brought the PUC to Bradford for a hearing last summer where the commission got an earful about the negative impact the change would have had on our region. I’m pleased the commission heard our concerns and dismissed its planned geographic split, which would have seen Cameron and most of Potter counties retaining the 814 area code and McKean County and points west receiving a new area code.

It has now been determined that 814 numbers aren’t expected to be exhausted until the second quarter of 2018, so there is no immediate need to develop an alternative to the split.

Guisto and Frey place at Gymnastics Championships

Cassie Frey (left) and Kamme Guisto placed at the Western Pa Gymnastics Championships on April 14. The event was hosted by the Brookville Revolution Gymnastic Team and featured over 200 gymnasts from western Pa.

Cassie took 2nd Place over all at IPO level with 8.40 on beam (4th), 8.60 on floor (2nd), 9.40 on vault (1st), 6.50 on bars (2nd) for a total of 33.25.

 Kamme also placed 2nd overall at Level 5 with 8.10 on beam, 8.15 on floor (4th), 8.60 on vault (1st), 8.40 on bars (2nd) and 33.25 overall.

 Cassie will be traveling to Rochester, NY on Saturday to compete in the New York Gymnastics Championships

Benezette Elk Camera Club

The Benezette Elk Camera Club met this weekend for the spring shoot out. A great bunch of friends, photographers, nature enthusiasts, and elk fanatics came for food, fun, and to enjoy the outdoors.Some came from as far away as Cleveland, and from all over Pa.

WINTER STORM WATCH

Posted by admin on April 21, 2012 in News, WeatherNo comments

...A LATE SEASON...HEAVY AND DESTRUCTIVE SNOWSTORM IS POSSIBLE
SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING... 

.SURFACE LOW PRESSURE WILL FORM ALONG THE SOUTH CAROLINA COAST
EARLY SUNDAY AND MOVE NORTH ALONG THE EASTERN SEABOARD REACHING
THE DELMARVA PENINSULA EARLY SUNDAY NIGHT. A DEEPENING...AND SLOW
MOVING UPPER LOW WILL MOVE NORTHEAST FROM THE OHIO RIVER VALLEY
SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND CROSS CENTRAL OR EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA MONDAY.
THE FAVORABLE TRACK OF BOTH OF THESE FEATURES WILL LEAD THE THE
POTENTIAL OF A HEAVY...AND DESTRUCTIVE LATE SEASON SNOWFALL ACROSS
THE NORTHERN AND WESTERN MOUNTAINS OF PENNSYLVANIA. THERE IS A
DISTINCT THREAT FOR WIDESPREAD DOWNED TREES AND POWER OUTAGES
FROM THE HEAVY SNOW AND POTENTIALLY STRONG NORTHERLY WINDS FROM
THIS STORM. 

...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY EVENING THROUGH
TUESDAY MORNING... 

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN STATE COLLEGE HAS ISSUED A WINTER
STORM WATCH...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY EVENING THROUGH
TUESDAY MORNING. 

* LOCATIONS...NORTHERN AND WESTERN MOUNTAINS OF
PENNSYLVANIA...INCLUDING THE LAUREL HIGHLANDS. 

* HAZARD TYPES...HEAVY SNOW...ACCOMPANIED BY INCREASING NORTHERLY
WINDS LATE SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY. 

* ACCUMULATIONS...IN EXCESS OF 6 INCHES...WITH UP TO ONE FOOT
POSSIBLE ACROSS SOME OF THE HIGHER TERRAIN. 

* TIMING...SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING. 

* IMPACTS...EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS TRAVEL FROM PERIODS OF HEAVY SNOW
AND POOR VISIBILITY. THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR NUMEROUS DOWNED
TREES CAUSING POWER OUTAGES...BEGINNING LATER SUNDAY NIGHT. 

* WINDS...NORTH TO NORTHEAST 10 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 25 MPH
SUNDAY NIGHT...INCREASING TO 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 40 MPH
MONDAY. 

* TEMPERATURES...30 TO 35 DEGREES. 

* VISIBILITIES...BELOW ONE HALF OF A MILE AT TIMES.

2012 Cameron County Canoe & Kayak Classic

A great video production put out by PaGreatOutdoors! Lots of local faces and one very special to me, Cassie" I just like being out in the boat" Frey

U.S. Pizza Team to Compete in 2012 World Championship of Pizza

Salsomaggiore, Italy—The U.S. Pizza Team will compete in the 2012 World Championship of Pizza (Campionato Mondiale della Pizza) Monday-Wednesday, April 16-18, in Salsomaggiore, Italy.

The U.S. Pizza Team consists of expert pizza chefs and dough-spinning acrobatic performers from pizza restaurants across the United States. As the reigning 2011 Team Acrobatics World Champions, the American squad will return to Salsomaggiore, with its members competing in three culinary categories—Classic, Gluten-Free and Pan—as well as in the Freestyle Acrobatics and Dough-Stretching categories.

Team members are: David Smith, Pizza Palace Plus, Emporium, Pennsylvania (Classic); Jamie Culliton, Grimaldi’s, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida (Classic and Freestyle Acrobatics); Mike Amheiser, Pizza Dock, Fredericktown, Ohio (Gluten-Free and Pan); Tom Carfrae, Tomaso’s, Cedar Rapids, Iowa (Pan); Greg Spaulding, Puccini’s Smiling Teeth, Lexington, Kentucky (Classic and Pan); and Wilhelm Rodriguez, Papa’s Pizza, Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico (Freestyle Acrobatics and Dough-Stretching)

The event, which begins at 10 a.m. (4 a.m., EST), Monday, April 16, will be aired live via streaming video at the team’s official website, USPizzaTeam.com, and at PizzaTV.com. Recorded footage of the event will also be streamed at USPizzaTeam.com throughout each day of the three-day event.

PMQ Pizza Magazine, the leading national trade publication for the pizza industry, created the U.S. Pizza Team in 2000. “We look forward to another exciting contest in Italy,” said PMQ Pizza Magazine publisher Steve Green. “The World Championship of Pizza spotlights many of the best pizzaioli and pizza athletes in the world, and the competition will be spirited and challenging. PMQ is pleased to participate in this global celebration of pizza, which is delicious in any language.”

Visit worldpizzachampionship.com to learn more about the 2012 World Championship of Pizza. For more about PMQ Pizza Magazine, visit PMQ.com. For information about the U.S. Pizza Team as well as details about the team’s journey to Salsomaggiore upon its return, contact event coordinator Brian Hernandez at brian@pmq.com or 662-234-5481, ext. 129.

Exhausted Volunteer Firefighters Go Home/DCNR Continues Firefight

Many exhausted volunteer firefighters  have left the mountain around midnight after fighting one of the largest forest fires of the season for nearly 7 hours on the steep mountain terrain of the Driftwood/Sinnemahoning area. 

Fire crews from DCNR remain to keep the fire in check as the winds have died down and weather forecasts are calling for slightly better conditions on Thursday.


The 5:02 pm alarm brought volunteer firefighters from Sinnemahoning and Emporium as the fast moving fire was driven up the mountainside by a swift westerly wind. Those departments were joined by Renovo, and Austin firefighters and many departments were activated for standby assignments.


A DCNR air water tanker was brought in to attack the fire.  


Route 120 remains closed to all but emergency traffic at the midnight hour according to an information officer at the Pennsylvania State Police in Emporium.


Special forest fire crews were brought in from out of the area to assist. One firefighter who was on scene, sent a comment that this was one of the biggest fires he has experienced in the many years he has been a firefighter, and that crews will probably be on the scene of this fire for quite some time.


http://solomonswords.blogspot.com/2012/04/exhausted-volunteer-firefighters-go.html

CC Canoe Race / LOCATION CHANGE

  Attention  all paddlers, spectators, friends, and family.  I am sorry to say we will NOT be running this year's classic on the Driftwood branch.  The water level is extremely low, and there is no rain in the forecast.  

    I am very thankful we have an alternate venue:  The George B. Stevenson Dam in the Sinnemahoning State Park.  The staff of the park are tremendous supporters of the event and are welcoming us with open arms.  My plan is to set up a challenging course around the perimeter of the lake, taking advantage of coves, inlets and islands. There will be buoy turns, some shallow water (nothing you will hit your boat on), deep water, and current.  I hope that you will all understand the situation and come and join us.

    We will still hold registration, breakfast, and sign-ins at the Emporium Country Club 'till approximately 10:30 - 10:45 and then pack up and move to the boat launch area of the Sinnemahoning State Park.  You do not need to come to the Country Club early;  you will be able to sign in, register and pick up your race packet, number, etc., at the park boat launch area prior to the start of the event.  

    There will be information people posted at last year's start line, last year's finish line in Driftwood, intersections, etc.--basically all roads leading into the area to try to let everyone know where to go.

    I am encouraged that we will be able to offer a different location.  The Sinnemahoning State Park offers beautiful scenery and a brand new Wilds center which just opened this year.  The Wilds Center is only 11-12 miles away from last year's finish area of the river event location (Driftwood).

    The 1,910-acre Sinnemahoning State Park is in Cameron and Potter counties, eight miles north on PA 872 from its junction with PA 120 in Sinnemahoning, or 35 miles south from the junction of PA 872 with US 6 in Coudersport.  Some online mapping sites can find the park by using Lushbaugh, Pa.

 

Sinnemahoning State Park

4843 Park Road
Austin, PA 16720
814-647-8401
Manager: Lisa Bainey
E-mail: sinnemahoningsp@pa.gov

 

    The course will be highly spectator freindly.  You will be able to follow the paddlers nearly from one end of the lake to the other.  We will also be running the youth event as soon as the main event concludes!

     We will have on site EMS personnel, safety boats, parking volunteers, and the SVFD Ladies Auxiliary Food Hut.  I hope that everyone will join us for an interesting and fun day on the water!  Bring a bicycle and/or lawn chair and watch all the exciting action, as we will have sorta the Nascar edition of the 2012 Canoe and Kayak Classic. 

    If anyone has any questions at all, please call or email.  This will be all new to me, as well as to most of you.  As always, we will try our best to provide a safe and fun quality experience for everyone to enjoy!

RANDY BAILEY