Area couple arrested for making terroristic threats….ID thief uses elderly Cameron County woman’s info to get unemployment benefits….Emporium man slightly hurt in a collision with an elk….Mulch fire on a moving truck doused by local fireman… https://soundcloud.com/gerri-miller-611294886/black-forest-broadcasting-podcast-march-4-2021.
MOSTLY SUNNY TODAY A HIGH OF 46.
A LOW TONIGHT OF 28
CLOUDS BUILD TOMORROW A HIGH OF 32
LOW OF 16.
FRIDAY SUNNY HIGH IN THE LOW 30s.
Coudersport based State Police have arrested a couple of area residents on charges of terroristic threats. Troopers claim that 36 year old Allen Wackwitz of Shinglehouseand 28 year old Amber Jones of Smethport made terroristic threats at a home on Brizee Hollow Road in oswayo Township last Sunday afternoon. A search warrant was executed the next day resulting in multiple firearms and drug paraphernalia being seized from the residence. Jones and Wackwitz were formally charged for terroristic threats, reckless endangerment and simple assault before District Judge Carrie McCleaf.
A 21 year old Austin woman has been arrested for DUI. Police say when they stopped Cassidy Main’s 2007 Chevrolet on South Main Street in Coudersport late February 5, they found that she was driving the car under the influence of alcohol.
Troopers at Coudersport are continuing to investigate a theft by bad checks victimizing 34 year old John Mast of Harrison Valley yesterday Tuesday. No further information was released.
Ridgway State Police are continuing to investigate a an ID theft occurring between this past July 1 and 31st victimizing an 81 year old Ridgway woman. Authorities say that someone used the victim’s information to file for unemployment benefits
Troopers are not really hopeful of finding the owner of some drug paraphernalia that was found in the parking lot at the Ridgway Commons apartment complex Wednesday but anyone with information about the ownership is encouraged to call state police.
A 23 year old man has been arrested for shoplifting at the St. Mary’s Walmart Sunday evening. Police report when they investigated they found $883 worth of items had been stolen by the suspect whose name they did not release.
Minor injuries were reported for an Emporium driver after one vehicle crash occurring Tuesday night on the CCC Memorial Highway and Lumber Township in Cameron County According to Emporium based state police, Jason Shaw was traveling East when his Pontiac Vibe collided with an elk in the westbound lane. After hitting the animal the car came to rest in the eastbound lane. The vehicle was disabled and had to be towed from the scene. Shaw was wearing it lap and shoulder belt at the time of the crash and declined medical attention. The westbound lane of Route 120 was closed for about 60 minutes that traffic was not detoured.
Coudersport volunteer fire department extinguished a fire in a load of mulch yesterday. According to Chief Bryan Phelps, volunteers responded to a scene west of Coudersport where spontaneous combustion caused a small fire in the front of a trailer hauling mulch. The eastbound lane was shut down while crews worked allowing traffic to flow in a single lane around the scene. There were no injuries and only minimal damage to the trailer. Crews used ladders to enter the trailer to douse the fire. The operator was able to continue on his way as crews cleaned the road. All units were back in service about an hour after the2:00 pm call.
The House Majority policy committee chaired by our own representative Martin Causer heard testimony yesterday, reaffirming the potentially devastating economic impacts of Governor Tom Wolf budget proposal on businesses already struggling due to the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. According to Causer much of testimony focused on the governor’s proposed 46% increase in the personal income tax. The lawmaker says it would be huge increase overall levy that’s paid by both families and a large percentage of small small business across the Commonwealth. “His plan is certainly massive it would be a $6 billion tax increase for families and businesses at a time when both are really struggling financially. And our focus is economic recovery and trying to get people back to work and trying to grow our economy in the state. And the governor’s proposal does just the opposite. Now, the governor and his allies are quick to say that he’s proposing to what he calls cut taxes for people with a lower income by expanding the existing tax exemption for poverty. Pennsylvania has a uniformity clause in our Constitution that requires all taxation to be uniform, and there are some narrow exemptions to that, and one of them is poverty. So people at a low income can claim poverty and not pay. Unfortunately, what the governor wants to do is significantly increase the threshold for the poverty exemption to in fact create more of a graduated income tax plan, which is quite honestly unconstitutional. In addition to the governor’s proposed tax increase, he is also proposing to increase the minimum wage to $12 in July and $15 by 2027. His proposal also includes eliminating the tipped wage. Video of yesterday’s hearing is available at
The Pennsylvania Department of Health today confirmed as of 12:00 a.m., March 3, there were 2,577 additional positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the statewide total to 938,411.
There are 1,670 individuals hospitalized with COVID-19. Of that number, 354 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.
The trend in the 14-day moving average number of hospitalized patients per day is about 4,100 lower than it was at the peak on December 25, 2020. However, the current 14-day average is now also below what it was at the height of the spring peak on May 3, 2020.
Statewide percent positivity for the week of February 19 – February 25 stood at 6.3%, a decrease from the previous week.The most accurate daily data is available on the website, with archived data also available.As of 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, March 2, there were 69 new deaths identified by the Pennsylvania death registry, reported for a total of 24,169 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. The Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) COVID-19 vaccine was first allocated to Pennsylvania the week of March 1, and the commonwealth is using it for a special initiative involving educators. 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 3,699,180 doses will have been allocated through March 6:
336,870 first doses will have been allocated this week.
189,410 second doses will have been allocated this week.
To date, of the three million plus doses allocated through March 6, 2,553,518 doses total have been administered through March 2:
First doses, 81 percent (1,761,703 administered of 2,172,935 allocated)
Second doses, 52 percent (791,815 administered of 1,526,245 allocated)
Mask-wearing is required in all Pennsylvania businesses, whenever leaving home, and while outdoors if 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 111,474 individuals who have a positive viral antigen test and are considered probable cases and 636 individuals who have a positive serology test and either COVID-19 symptoms or a high-risk exposure.There are 3,906,535 individuals who have tested negative to date.
In licensed nursing and personal care homes, there are 67,031 resident cases of COVID-19, and 13,144 cases among employees, for a total of 80,175 at 1,566 distinct facilities in all 67 counties.
Approximately 24,886 of our total cases are among health care workers.
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March 16
HARRISBURG – Rep. Martin Causer (R-Turtlepoint) will host a Property Tax/Rent Rebate Clinic to aid eligible Cameron County-area residents in filing for the rebates.The clinic will be held from 10 a.m. to noon at the Emporium Senior Center, 105 E. Fourth St. Appointments are required and may be made by calling Kelly Spencer at 814-486-3707.Participants must follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines, including social distancing and wearing a mask. To avoid crowds of people waiting, participants are asked to arrive only five minutes before their scheduled appointment. Bring all necessary income, property tax or rental information required to process claims quickly and accurately.The Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program benefits eligible Pennsylvanians who are 65 years or older, widows and widowers 50 years or older, and those 18 years or older with disabilities. Eligibility income limits are set at $15,000 for renters and $35,000 for homeowners, excluding 50% of Social Security, Supplemental Security Income and Railroad Retirement Tier 1 benefits. Also, applicants with veterans disability benefits and/or pensions do not need to declare that income. Assistance with filing for rebates is also available at Causer’s offices in Bradford, Coudersport and Kane.