“Pioneers of Second Fork” book released

St. Marys Daily Press http://www.smdailypress.com/content/view/211825/
Elk County native Jim Burke recently released his first book, “Pioneers of Second Fork,” which traces the history of 16 families of early pioneers who came to settle in western Pennsylvania at a location originally known as Second Fork.Today the area is known as Bennett’s Valley.
Burke explained that he has always had a passion for local history and this is what inspired him to write the book. In the past Burke has written articles for several magazines. He is working with the Mt. Zion Historical Society on plans to publish a diary of a local citizen who was a veteran of the Civil War.
“I’m also considering writing a book on fiction that deals some events of local history,” Burke said.Burke noted that “Pioneers of Second Fork” was an extensive effort and he has notes from the project dating back to the 1960s. “I interviewed many of the descendants of the families who were the early settlers profiled in the book. In this endeavor we obtained many pictures and documents,” Burke said. “We also visited many libraries, museums, and historical societies.”He noted that obtaining information for the book took him to locations such as the town of Winslow in Maine, Andersonville Prison in Georgia and Plymouth Harbor.
He added that all 16 families profiled in the book provided some very interesting information about the history of the area. Some of the stories focus on events such as a shoot-out on the banks of the Sinnemahoning, encounters with indians, and the Paul Bunyan of the Bennett’s Branch. “I also discovered that one of our native sons, born on Rock Hill and educated in Caledonia, is acknowledged as the founder of Los Angles, California,” Burke said.
“Pioneers of Second Fork” is available for purchase at several local locations including from Ben Stone in Benezette, the Valley Farm Market, Burkes Home Center, St. Marys Chamber of Commerce, St. Marys Country Club and the Elk County Historical Society. It can also be purchased online from the Mt. Zion Historical Society or from the publisher, AuthorHouse. Burke also noted that in researching the book he met a wide variety of interesting and knowledgeable people and it would be virtually impossible to acknowledge all of them.
Burke is a lifelong resident of Elk County and is actively involved with the Mt. Zion Historical Society. He noted that the Mt. Zion Historical Park was a dream of his parents, Joseph and Helen Burke.
“When my father passed away I assumed the duties as president of the society. I might add that the society has a very active board of directors, and through their combined efforts have developed the park to what it is today,” Burke said.
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Causer: Funding is Fair, Reasonable

HARRISBURG - Rep. Martin Causer (R-Turtlepoint) today refuted claims by the Rendell administration that the House Republican budget proposal cuts funding for schools. "Every lawmaker in Harrisburg recognizes that educating our students is absolutely a top priority. We owe it to the kids, and it is vital to our Commonwealth's future success," Causer said. "Our plan does NOT cut funding for schools, and I am deeply disappointed by the misinformation being spread by this administration and some in the education community." Causer acknowledged that Gov. Ed Rendell has proposed a greater amount of school funding in his plan but pointed out that it requires an income tax increase of at least 16 percent. Also, his use of the federal stimulus funds in addition to increased state funding will undoubtedly lead to a huge hole in the state budget when stimulus funds expire in 2011-12. "I've heard from many people locally who are opposed to higher taxes, and thousands of Pennsylvanians have voiced their opposition to the plan at StopPATaxHike.com," Causer said. "We have developed a plan that uses a mix of state funds and federal stimulus dollars to fund our schools in a fair and reasonable way without further burdening the taxpayer.
Following is a breakdown of funding by district under the GOP plan. Please note these percentage increases are higher than the districts received in last year's budget. The top figure is the amount of proposed funding. The bottom number is the percentage increase over last year.
Austin Area $1.4 million7.9 percent
Bradford Area $15 million7.6 percent
Cameron County $6.1 million5.4 percent
Coudersport Area $4.8 million4.7 percent
Galeton Area $2.4 million6.6 percent
Keystone Central $23.8 million7.5 percent
Northern Potter $4.9 million7.3 percent
Oswayo Valley $4 million6.1 percent
Otto-Eldred $6.2 million5.5 percent
Port Allegany $8 million5.4 percent
Smethport Area $7 million3.9 percent
"Funding public education is a priority, but school districts have to live within their means just like everyone else does," Causer said. "I wholeheartedly support our schools and the good work they do to educate our students, but in a year when we are proposing to cut almost every other budget line item, I consider our plan to be more than fair."

Marijuana Plants in Cameron Co.

State police are investigating the discovery of 24 suspected marijuana plants along the railroad tracks just east of Memorial Springs along Route 120 in Lumber Township, Cameron County.State police eradicated the plants after they were found at 12:30 p.m. Sunday.Anyone with pertinent information is asked to contact Emporium-based state police.
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Debbie Ryan Searches For Clues In Son's Death

Potter County Mother Searches For Clues On Son's Death
WJAC-TV VIDEO NEWSClick for Video
MARIENVILLE, Pa. -- Four years after her son's death, Debbie Ryan doesn't know how he died.Patrick Ryan, 30, was last seen at a Clarion bar on August 13, 2005.According to officials, it isn't clear what happened after he was seen there.His body was found on August 23, 2005 in a remote area of the Allegheny National Forest near Marienville, Forest County.Autopsy results later revealed high levels of drugs and alcohol in Patrick Ryan's system.Debbie Ryan wants to know how her son's body got to Forest County."They took his dead body and disposed of it like rubbish," she said.Police said the case is still active and they're investigating every lead.Anyone with information should call the Pennsylvania State Police in Clarion at (814) 226-1710.

See these fine prints HERE

Kinzua Dam, a paranormal hotbed?

In 1796 Seneca War Chief Cornplanter was granted 15,000 acres along the Allegheny river by Pennsylvania for his assistance to the State as a loyal and a steadfast protector of American families settling in the wilderness of the upper Ohio River basin. In what would become the oldest standing Indian treaty, George Washington granted the land to Chief Cornplanter and his ancestors forever.
Forever ended in 1965 when the completed Kinzua Dam flooded the Allegheny river and covered the ancestral lands of the Seneca leader. Their homes, their only viable farmland, and the graves of the ancestors were now under hundreds of feet of water. Despite petitions from Tribal leaders to JFK to stop the proposed Dam in 1960, the President and United States ..................MORE
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Why Do We Celebrate the 4th of July?

By: Kim Moon

After learning about why we celebrate the Fourth of July, check out our main 4th of July page more great crafts, activities, and recipes to try out during your Independence Day celebration.
Most people in the United States celebrate the 4th of July, but do you know exactly why the holiday is so important to our country? Imagine how you would feel if someone older than you (maybe an older sister or brother) kept telling you what to do all of the time and kept taking more and more of your allowance.

That is how the colonists felt in the years leading up to 1776. Great Britain kept trying to make the colonists follow more rules and pay higher taxes. People started getting mad and began making plans to be able to make their own rules. They no longer wanted Great Britain to be able to tell them what to do, so they decided to tell Great Britain that they were becoming an independent country. (To be independent means to take care of yourself, making your own rules and providing for your own needs.)
The Congress met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and they appointed a committee (a group of people working together to do a specific job) to write a formal document that would tell Great Britain that the Americans had decided to govern themselves. The committee asked Thomas Jefferson to write a draft (first try) of the document, so he worked for days, in absolute secret, until he had written a document that he thought said everything important that the committee had discussed.

On June 28, 1776, the committee met to read Jefferson's "fair" copy (he put his best ideas together and wrote them neatly.) They revised (made some changes) the document and declared their independence on July 2, 1776. They officially adopted it (made it theirs) on July 4, 1776. That is why we call it "Independence Day." Congress ordered that all members must sign the Declaration of Independence and they all began signing the "official" copy on August 2, 1776. In January of the next year, Congress sent signed copies to all of the states.
The Declaration of Independence is more than just a piece of paper. It is a symbol of our country's independence and commitment to certain ideas. A symbol is something that stands for something else. Most people can look at a certain little "swoosh" and know that it stands for "Nike." Well, the signers of the Declaration of Independence wanted the citizens of the United States to have a document that spelled out what was important to our leaders and citizens. They wanted us to be able to look at the Declaration of Independence and immediately think of the goals we should always be working for, and about the people who have fought so hard to make these ideas possible.

The people who signed the Declaration risked being hanged for treason by the leaders in Great Britain. They had to be very brave to sign something that would be considered a crime! So every time we look at the Declaration of Independence, we should think about all of the effort and ideas that went into the document, and about the courage it took for these people to stand up for what they knew was right -- independence!