Wednesday’s high, 33; Overnight low, 19
SNOW TODAY HIGH 28.
LOW TONIGHT OF 18.
MOSTLY SUNNY, AND A HIGH OF 20. TOMORROW,
OVERNIGHT LOW OF SEVEN
SATURDAY A LITTLE IMPROVEMENT PARTLY TO MOSTLY SUNNY HIGH OF 28.
CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS SATURDAY NIGHT, LOW 24.
Westfield resident accused of robbery…..Gaines driver cited for speeding for a one-vehicle crash…Hit and Run charges filed against James City motorist…..Icy roads blamed for Eulalia township accident….Potential farmers invited to virtual conference next month
State Police at Mansfield have charged 21 year old Larius Pierce of Westfield with robbery in connection to a crime which allegedly took place at around 3:45am January 27 on Stevenson Street in Westfield. Troopers responded to that location for a robbery and upon arrival, the suspects had already fled the scene. Upon investigation police found that robbers had entered the home of a 27 year old Westfield man and then broke open the bedroom door where he was located. The criminals took $680 from the victim and then fled the scene. But Pierce was later identified and charges were filed in District Court.
A Gaines driver is being cited for speeding in connection to a one vehicle crash occurring Tuesday morning just before noon, on Route 362 in Shippen Township. Shawn Crouthamel was driving a 2012 Nissan Rogue headed south when the SUV went out of control and spun over an embankment. The driver was wearing a seatbelt had to be extracted from the vehicle through the windshield. He and was taken to UPMC Wellsboro for treatment of minor injuries.
A James City Pennsylvania driver is being charged in connection to a hit and run taking place last Friday night in Highland Township Elk County. Daniel Gillespie was driving a 2008 Pontiac GT6 and failed to stop at the intersection of Lamont Road and Route 66. The westbound car continued through the intersection and traveled across both lanes of Route 66 before striking a ditch covered in snow. Gillespie allegedly fled the scene but was later located by State Police
A Coudersport driver and her passenger escaped injury and a weather related accident Monday afternoon in Eulalia Township. Heidi Fink of Coudersport was going south on Dingman Run when her Hyundai Santa Fe slid on ice while negotiating left curve. The SUV struck a culvert where it became disabled but Fink and her 13 year old female passenger were using seatbelts at the time
Potential farmers as well as small and part-time producers are encouraged to attend the virtual Starting and Improving Farms Conference, which will detail various aspects of agricultural production and help individuals in their farm journey. This conference will be held March 6, 8, 9, and 10, 2021, with various timed sessions that participants can choose to join and learn more about specific practices.
For new and beginning farmers, participants will learn what is required to begin a farm business, discover what products Penn State Extension has that will assist with these decisions, and connect with educators and staff that are available to help.
For existing and diversifying farmers, participants will learn in-depth information to guide the diversification or expansion decision, discover avenues to expand research into a potential venture, and connect with educators and staff that are available to help.
Registration is required to receive the links to access the conference webinars. Webinar recordings will be distributed to all registrants for convenient, on-demand viewing.
Topics include, but are not limited to, marketing, financial management, land access, agritourism, agricultural alternatives, livestock production, crop production, soil science, poultry production, pest management, food safety, and organic production.
The cost to participate is $25. To learn more or register, visit https://extension.psu.edu/starting-and-improving-farms-conference. Registration closes March 6 at 11:00 a.m.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health today confirmed as of 12:00 a.m., February 17, there were 3,413 additional positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the statewide total to 902,650. Here in the Black Forest Broadcasting Service Area McKean County has 2247 confirmed cases, Tioga County 2133; Elk 1213; Potter 795; and Cameron 171. Across the border in New York State Cattaraugus County has 4203 confirmed cases and Allegheny County 2796.
There are 2,356 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19. Of that number, 491 patients are in the intensive care unit with COVID-19. Most of the patients hospitalized are ages 65 or older, and most of the deaths have occurred in patients 65 or older. More data is available here.
The trend in the 14-day moving average number of hospitalized patients per day has increased by nearly 2,300 since the end of September.Statewide percent positivity for the week of February 5 – February 11 stood at 8.0%.The most accurate daily data is available on the website, with archived data also available.
As of 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, February 16, there were 193 new deaths identified by the Pennsylvania death registry, reported for a total of 23,319 deaths attributed to COVID-19. County-specific information and a statewide map are available on the COVID-19 Data Dashboard.
Pennsylvania hospitals began receiving shipments of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine the week of Dec. 14 and Moderna COVID-19 vaccine the week of Dec. 21. Please note that this does include vaccine administration through CVS as part of the Federal Pharmacy Partnership. Vaccination numbers for Pennsylvania do not include Philadelphia, which is its own jurisdiction, or federal facilities, which are working directly with the federal government.
This week, a total of 326,850 doses will have been allocated through February 20:
183,575 first doses will have been allocated this week.
143,275 second doses will have been allocated this week.
To date, of the 2,766,400 doses allocated through February 20, we have administered 1,749,949 doses total through February 16:
First doses, 82 percent (1,313,538 administered of 1,610,175 allocated)
Second doses, 38 percent (436,411 administered of 1,156,225 allocated)
Mask-wearing is required in all Pennsylvania businesses, whenever leaving home, and while outdoors where social distancing is not possible even if fully vaccinated. Health Experts continue to say consistent mask-wearing is critical to preventing the spread of COVID-19.
There are 105,497 individuals who have a positive viral antigen test and are considered probable cases and 637 individuals who have a positive serology test and either COVID-19 symptoms or a high-risk exposure.
There are 3,791,021 individuals who have tested negative to date.
In licensed nursing and personal care homes, there are 65,713 resident cases of COVID-19, and 12,729 cases among employees, for a total of 78,442 at 1,556 distinct facilities in all 67 counties.
Approximately 24,257 of the total cases are among health care workers.
The goal of the 2021 Hamilton-Gibson Women’s Project titled “Woodpecker Lips” is to provide opportunities for women to write, perform, direct and tell local stories meaningful to community theater audiences.
In keeping with that goal, a free workshop is being held for aspiring and experienced writers.
“Intro to Monologue Writing” will be from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 27 via Zoom. Through the workshop, each participating writer will develop an original monologue about a living or historical local or Pennsylvania woman. The length of the monologues will vary.
Leading the workshop is Lilace Guignard. She will talk about the elements of a stand-alone monologue and how to create one. During discussion and group activities, the writers will choose their topics and begin the process of character development. Writers can come up with their own idea about the woman they would like to research or can choose one from the list.
There will also be two free feedback sessions during which the writers will give helpful input about each other’s monologues in progress. The participating writers will determine the dates, times and whether the feedback sessions will be held online or in-person in Wellsboro.
The deadline to register for the Feb. 27 workshop is Friday, Feb. 19. Before writers register, they are asked to watch a video about the overall project and details about the upcoming Feb. 27 workshop and then complete the online registration form. Both can be found on the Hamilton-Gibson website at https://www.hamiltongibson.org.
“The Feb. 27 workshop is the only instructional one, so writers that miss the Feb. 19 deadline can’t join in later,” said Guignard.
Those with questions about the free writing workshop and feedback sessions or the Zoom format can email Guignard at lilacemellin@gmail.com.
Jessie Thompson is the producer of “Woodpecker Lips”, the 2021 HG Women’s Project, which will end with performances of the original monologues created by the writers at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 5 and 6 and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 7.
Thompson is leading the free Director’s Workshop from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 26. It will be held online or in Wellsboro at a location to be announced. This workshop is for adult women interested in directing a monologue for the November production and also for actors. Discussed will be the tools necessary to foster trust and allow exploration of a character to bring out the creativity in every actor and performance. To register for this workshop, email Thompson at woodpeckerlips2021@gmail.com or call the HG office at 570-724-2079.
Auditions for actors will be in-person in the Warehouse Theatre at 3 Central Avenue in Wellsboro at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 28, 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 30 and 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 1. No registration is necessary. Or, actors can do a one to two-minute video monologue and email it to woodpeckerlips2021@gmail.com.