Area news briefs

Fiber system eyed

SMETHPORT -- The McKean County Commissioners are investigating establishment of a fiber-optic communications system to link government organizations, schools, industries and other potential customers in the region.

Steve Zwerin, a consultant affiliated with the Coudersport based Zito Media, pitched the plan to Commissioners Joe DeMott, Judy Church and Al Pingie last week.

Commissioners agreed that the system would help the county recruit new employers who would insist on a modern telecommunications network.

Phase One of the plan would focus on Smethport, Port Allegany, Bradford, Mount Jewett and Kane.

Zito Media proposes to provide an "optical ring" with broad capacity to carry internet traffic, meeting business, government and residential needs for years to come.

Sheriff takes office

RIDGWAY - There's a new sheriff in town.

Democrat Jeffrey C. Krieg, 53, was sworn in this month as Elk County Sheriff after serving with the Ridgway Borough Police Department for more than 30 years.

He became a part-time deputy sheriff in 2000.

Stolen credit card

SMETHPORT - State police at Kane are continuing their investigation into a theft and fraud incident which victimized International Waxes of Farmers Valley, near Smethport.

Sometime since early October, unknown thieves accessed a credit card belonging to the company and used it on the internet to purchase three video games and a camera. The information was also used to fraudulently charge the credit card with more than $16,000 in UPS shipments.

Police say they are tracking leads that suggest the crime may have been part of a Nigerian scheme, or may have been perpetrated by an employee.

Charged with theft

BRADFORD -- A Portville, N.Y., man remains free on $2,500 bail after waiving his preliminary hearing into McKean County Court on theft charges.

State police from Kane charged Clifford Easton, 36, of stealing more than $3,500 from Wayne Concrete, based in Shinglehouse, while employed in the company's Bradford office between April and November 2007.

Court records indicate that Easton failed to deposit delivery money and receipts which were given to him by drivers.

New mayor named

PORT ALLEGANY -- Don Carley has been named mayor of the Borough of Port Allegany. He succeeds Joe DeMott, a Republican who resigned after being elected to the McKean County Board of Commissioners.

Among the mayor's responsibilities is supervision of the Police Department. Carley previously served as the borough's police chief and, before that, as a police officer.

Meanwhile, Sonny Duell recently stepped down from his long-time position as president of the Port Allegany Borough Council. His successor is Judy Taylor.

Landfill closing

LEEPER - After almost four years of steps to meet state environmental laws, the owners of the landfill near Leeper in Clarion County have announced plans to close the facility by June.

County Environmental, also known as County Landfill Inc., is owned by Allied Waste. The firm has faced almost $250,000 in fines and has tried unsuccessfully to develop a treatment system for wastewater emanating from the landfill, located in Farmington Township.

A spokesman said that, during the exhaustive enforcement period, the landfill has moved close to its volume capacity and expansion isn't practical. Garbage currently dumped at Leeper will likely be trucked to the Greentree Landfill in Elk County or a landfill near Grove City.

He added that a transfer station may be built off Interstate 80 near Clarion.

Prison meets standards

SMETHPORT - The McKean County Prison is in full compliance with state regulations, according to Warden Tim Woodruff. An inspection report from 2007 marks the first time the facility has ever been fully compliant.

Woodruff said a training program for new employees and staffing adjustments have helped the prison meet state standards for inmate care and operations.

Timber thieves nabbed

RIDGWAY - Two Elk County men face prison sentences and hefty fines if convicted of charges filed last week for allegedly cutting and stealing valuable black cherry trees in the Allegheny National Forest.

John M. Harvey, 40, of Ridgway and Steve Merritt, 33, of Kersey were indicted by a grand jury in Erie for theft of government property, and depradation of U.S. property. They are accused of cutting 11 old-growth cherry trees, each worth more than $1,000.

If convicted, each could receive up to 20 years in prison and a fine as high as $500,000.

Animal cruelty plea

BRADFORD -- A woman facing charges stemming from the death of more than 20 Great Danes has pleaded guilty to six counts of cruelty to animals.

Cheryl Magnotta, 59, was charged with 21 counts of animal cruelty and 44 counts of scattering rubbish based on the results of an investigation at her kennel and adjacent property in the City of Bradford.

District Attorney John Pavlock agreed to the plea arrangement, worked out with Magnotta's lawyer, Public Defender Ron Langella.