REGIONAL NEWS

Water well dispute

KANE - Some residents in Kane are protesting a Borough Council plan to prohibit the use of private water wells.

Groundwater contamination is evident in several sections of Kane, a legacy of industries that have since left the borough. Unless a ban on water wells is passed, state law would require that sites targeted for cleanup meet drinking water standards.

Pennsylvania American Water, a private company, serves customers in Kane and borough officials believe there are no residents currently drawing water from private wells.

Critics of the ban on wells say it is a ploy to appease certain property owners and would leave a legacy of contaminated ground water for future generations.

Kane resident Bill Campbell said Borough Council is poised to pass an ordinance that would "lock in pollution."

Principal moves on

JOHNSONBURG - Johnsonburg School District is looking for a new high school principal.

Donald Wismar has submitted his resignation, effective Aug. 15, after five years of service. He has accepted a job as director of human resources for Intermediate Unit 9.

Steals from parents

SMETHPORT - A McKean County man is charged with raiding his parents' bank account. Chad Bell, 23 of Smethport was committed to the McKean County Jail in lieu of $20,000 bail after being arraigned on three counts of access device fraud.

Smethport Borough Police claim Bell used bank cards belonging to his parents, David and Sarah Johnson, at a bank ATM to obtain at least $4,200.

Hospital CEO leaving

KANE - Kane Community Hospital CEO J. Gary Rhodes is leaving his post to begin work as an executive for Quorum Health Resources. That firm provides management and consulting services to more 100 hospitals nationwide.

Rhodes will begin is work at Calais Regional Hospital in northern Maine. He'll leave the Kane hospital in mid-September.

Assault, theft charges

OLEAN -- One suspect has been nabbed and others could be apprehended soon in connection with a bizarre scrap metal theft attempt in Eldred last week.

Police in Olean, N.Y., announced the arrest of a local woman, Rachael V. Mehmel, 22, for the incident at Seal's Service Station on Route 446.

Mehmel, 22, has been charged with aggravated assault, robbery, theft, criminal mischief and other charges by Kane-based state police. They say that, acting with another woman and a man, she attempted to load a pickup truck full of scrap metal Sunday from Seal's. When confronted by owner Gene Seal, Mehmel allegedly drove her truck into the driver's side door of Seal's truck to keep him from giving chase.

The trio fled with Seal in pursuit, crashed their truck and took off on foot. All of the stolen material was recovered and police report additional arrests are imminent. There were no serious injuries.

Youth falls into vat

WESTFIELD - Police report that a 16-year-old boy escaped injury after he fell into a vat of toxic tanning liquor last Wednesday morning in Tioga County.

Westfield Borough Police said the boy, whose name was not released, entered the abandoned Westfield Tannery building and somehow fell into the vat and the pair rode off on bicycles.

A witness notified police, who escorted the buy to the local firehall, where he was decontaminated with high-pressure water before being taken to Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hospital in Wellsboro. Police said there were no injuries.

Welcome to ATVs

KANE - A McKean County community is considering a measure to allow all-terrain vehicles to travel on streets, with the same rights and privileges as cars and motorcycles.

The proposed ordinance will be considered by Kane Borough Council at its July 14 meeting. Councilman John Gentilman, who is sponsoring the measure, said it would allow local residents to conserve gasoline. He noted that ATVs would have to be licensed and would be required to obey all traffic rules.

Park work considered

ST. MARYS - The City of St. Marys is seeking state grants for three separate downtown projects.

An application has been submitted to the Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resources for 50-percent funding of a master plan that was received for Elk Creek Park. A separate request is being sent to state officials for funds to make improvements at Kaulmont Park.

St. Marys also hopes to revitalize a portion of the city through funding from the state's "Elm Street Program." City Manager David Greene said the first step would be a $50,000 planning study.

Pitt-Corning layoffs

PORT ALLEGANY -- A temporary shutdown of Pittsburgh Corning Corp.'s Port Allegany plant will take effect next week and last until September.

Reduced demand for the company's glass blocks as a result of a nationwide construction slowdown is causing the action, a company spokesman said. About 175 employees will be laid off.

Operations at the Port Allegany plant were cut back in early 2007, when a melter area was close, eliminating 45 jobs.

Companies back Colgan

BRADFORD - Three McKean County companies that use the Bradford Regional Airport are urging federal officials to continue the status quo: commuter service to and from Washington, D.C., by the current carrier, Colgan Air Inc.

Nevertheless, the U.S. Dept. of Transportation appear poised to replace Colgan with a competitor, Gulfstream International Airlines.

Colgan's air service from Bradford to Washington started last year. That connection with Dulles International Airport is preferable for business travel, according to executives from Zippo Manufacturing Co., W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Co., and KOA Speer Electronics.

Colgan, which flies in affiliation with United Airlines, has submitted a bid for a two-year contract extension through the federal government's Essential Air Service program that benefi ts underserved areas.

Gulfstream has offered to provide the service for about $1 million less and switch hub cities from Washington to Cleveland. Last week, Gulfstream got the initial approval from the Transportation Department. However, the company still must demonstrate that it can meet all of the service demands. If not, the contract reverts back to Colgan and the connections with Dulles continue.

Zippo officials maintain the connection with Washington is critical because it accommodates company executives' needs to fly to international markets, including Asia and Europe.