Alternate sled dog program Saturday in Tioga County. See story below.
Photo by John Eaton
Liz Stanaitis runs three of her sled dogs on the Pine Creek Rail Trail during a demonstration in 2020. Enough snow had fallen the day before for the demos to be held but not enough to hold the Challenge.
State police have arrested one of their own….Turtlepoint man scammed by sending gift cards to crook…. Alternate program scheduled after Tioga County Sled Dog Challenge canceled….
Statewide
State police have arrested one of their own. The Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) arrested Scott Berdine Thursday for sexual offenses against two children while they were between the ages of 6-8 years old. The alleged crimes occurred at a residence in Blacklick Township, Cambria County outside of Berdine’s regular work hours.
Berdine has been employed with the PSP as an Enforcement Officer 3 within the Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement since September 2008. He is assigned to the Punxsutawney District Enforcement Office and is suspended without pay pending the resolution of the criminal charges against him.
The following felony and misdemeanor charges were filed by the PSP Troop A Ebensburg Criminal Investigation Unit in District Court 47-3-07:
for acts committed by the accused to a girl (age 6-7) between Jan. 1, 2017 – Dec. 31, 2018
Rape of a child, 18 Pa. C.S. §3121(c)
Involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, 18 Pa. C.S. §3123(b)
Indecent Assault person less than 13 years of age, 18 Pa. C.S. §3126(a)(7)
Corruption of Minors, 18 Pa. C.S. §6301(a)(1)(ii)
for acts committed by the accused to a girl (age 6-8) between Jan. 1, 2019 – July 5, 2021
(2 counts) Involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child, 18 Pa. C.S. §3123(b)
(3 counts) Indecent Assault person less than 13 years of age, 18 Pa. C.S. §3126(a)(7)
(2 counts) Corruption of Minors, 18 Pa. C.S. §6301(a)(1)(ii)
Copies of the criminal complaints may be obtained through District Court 47-3-07. Berdine was arraigned Thursday before Magisterial District Judge John Prebish and bail was set at $75,000. The PSP does not maintain a comprehensive database of liquor control enforcement officer employee photos and, as such, does not have a photo of Berdine on file.
McKean County
Authorities are once again reminding the public to be aware of scams requesting payment via gift cards or money transfers. Troopers at the Lewis Run barracks are investigating a theft victimizing a 60 year old Turtlepoint man sometime between June 18 and January 31. The victim sent payments to a crook posing as an associate from Publishers Clearing House. Police did not indicate the amount of money involved.
Tioga County
The Pennsylvania Sled Dog Club has officially cancelled the Canyon Sled Dog Challenge due to this weekend’s weather forecast.Mary Beth Logue, Challenge organizer, is inviting the public to meet some of her sled dogs, see sled dog teams in action depending on trail conditions, and to learn more about other dog sports, such as skijoring and canicross on Saturday.
This special free event will be at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Darling Run Access to the Pine Creek Rail Trail. To get there, take U.S. Route 6 from Wellsboro or Galeton to Shippen Township, turn onto Route 362, drive about 1.5 miles, turn right, enter the access area slowly and park.
This mid-distance sled dog racer who lives in Trout Run, Pa. will have seven of her Alaskan huskies with her at Darling Run as well as racing equipment and supplies.
At the Darling Run Access parking lot, Logue will give short presentations about mushing. Visitors will have the opportunity to meet her and her dogs and also to dress like a musher and stand behind a sled so a friend or relative can take their photo.
At 11 a.m. Saturday, Logue will also have her huskies, sled and equipment on display at the Burnin’ Barrel at the Ansonia Valley Inn in Shippen Township (Address: 5440 Route 6, Wellsboro, PA 16901). This will give people a second opportunity to meet this musher and her dogs as well as dress like a musher and stand behind Logue’s sled to have their photos taken for free.
The Challenge is a mid-distance run on the Pine Creek Rail Trail that covers a total of 18 miles from Ansonia to Tiadaghton and back to Ansonia. Its purpose is to test the abilities of skijorers – cross-country skiers harnessed to one or two dogs – and teams of six to eight pro and registered breed sled dogs and their mushers.
The Challenge has been scheduled in 2018, 2019, 2020 and this year but due to a lack of snow or the threat of ice on the trail has not yet been held. In 2021, it was not scheduled due to COVID-19.
If there is ice on a trail, it is not safe to run teams of six or eight dogs on it because there is no way to slow them down or to safely stop them according to Logue.
The number of mid-distance races of 30 to 150 miles Logue enters in any given year is dependent on if there is enough snow to hold the events. The organizers of the Canyon Sled Dog Challenge are the Pennsylvania Sled Dog Club, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ Bureau of Forestry and the Wellsboro Area Chamber of Commerce.
For more information about Saturday’s event, visit the club’s FaceBook page at https://www.pasleddogclub.com/races-events-source/2019/2/23/canyon-sled-dog-challenge or on Friday call the Wellsboro Area Chamber of Commerce at 570-724-1926 or email info@wellsboropa.com.
The state Health Department reports the number of deaths in Pennsylvania now totals 43,069. Deaths in the Black Forest Broadcasting Service area to date are mostly holding steady. 
Cameron 19
Elk 95
McKean 132
Potter 90
Tioga 188 (+1)
Allegany (NY) 146
Cattaraugus 211 (+1)