Coudersport Volunteer Fire Fighters were busy Thursday afternoon….Genesee man scammed out of $460…Genesee driver arrested for failing to report an accident…Copper wire stolen in Eldred Township…Brockport man accused of hitting woman and breaking her glasses…..Pennsylvania’s regular Spring Gobbler Season opens Saturday…..
FRI-SUNNY, HIGH 57
FRI NIGHT-CLEAR, LOW 32
SAT-MOSTLY CLEAR, HIGH IN MID 60s
SAT NIGHT-MOSTLY CLEAR, LOW 40
SUN-MOSTLY CLOUDY, THEN RAIN, HIGH 64
Coudesport Volunteer Fire fighters were busy Thursday afternoon. They were dispatched at 4:19 pm to douse a wildfire at 103 Kio Road. They were no sooner back service when they were summoned to a workgin house fire at 11 Dutch Hill Road at 5:21 pm. Smoke was showing when first responders arrive but the blaze was brought under control a few minutes later at 5:36 pm.
State police at Coudersport are investigating theft by deception victimizing a 61 year old Genesee man over the past year. The victim was involved in an online scam and lost approximately $460.00.
A Genesee man has been arrested for failing to report an accident. Coudersport based state police claim 28 year old Colby Thomas told police he swerved to avoid a deer while going
south on Pushersiding Road. His GMC Terrain went into a ditch, struck two large fence posts and a culvert. Troopers claim Thomas left the disabled SUV at the scene but failed to notify police. The crash was called in by a passerby and Thomas was interviewed the next day.
Troopers at Lewis Run are investigating a theft occurring Tuesday afternoon on Route 446 in Eldred Township. Someone stole a spool of copper wire owned by Jack Bell Excavating of Eldred which is valued at $1800.
Physical harassment charges have been filed against 36 year old Richard Will of Brockport in connection to a domestic violence assault early Thursday morning. State police allege Will was highly intoxicated when he struck a 28 year old Brockport woman in the face and broke her glasses.
Mansfield based state police have arrested 39 year old Melissa Phetsomphou of Wellsboro for DUI after stopping her 2007 GMC on Main Street in Tioga Borough during the early morning of March 6.
Pennsylvania’s regular Spring Gobbler season begins Saturday and runs to Tuesday, May 31. More than 150,000 hunters take to forests and fields each spring to chase gobblers.The statewide flock – always among the largest anywhere in the East – is likely bigger right now
than at any time in the last few years according to the Game Commission.First, 2021’s recruitment – or influx of new turkeys into the population – was very good, courtesy of warm, dry weather last spring and, in places, lots of cicadas to eat. Survey work revealed 3.1 poults per hen, on average, statewide.
A smaller-than-usual spring 2021 harvest and shorter fall turkey seasons in some Wildlife Management Units (WMUs), coupled with a statewide elimination of rifles for fall turkey hunting, also surely boosted flocks.
Hunting hours begin one-half hour before sunrise and end at noon for the first two weeks of the statewide season (April 30 through May 14). Hunters are asked to be out of the woods by 1 p.m. when hunting hours end at noon. This is to minimize disturbance of nesting hens.
From May 16 through May 31, hunting hours are from one-half hour before sunrise until one-half hour after sunset. The all-day season allows more opportunity at the point in the season when hunting pressure is lower and nesting hens are less likely to abandon nests.
During the spring gobbler season, hunters may use manually operated or semiautomatic shotguns limited to a three-shell capacity in the chamber and magazine combined. Muzzleloading shotguns, crossbows and long, recurve and compound bows also are permitted. For a complete list of regulations, consult the Pennsylvania Hunting & Trapping Digest, available on the agency’s website.
Only bearded birds may be harvested during the spring season, and hunting is permitted by calling only. Hunters should refrain from knowingly harvesting bearded hens because they do nest and raise broods.
There is no requirement for hunters to wear fluorescent orange during the spring turkey season, though wearing it is recommended while moving.
Blinds used while turkey hunting must be manufactured with manmade materials of sufficient density to block movement within the blind from an observer outside the blind. Blinds must completely enclose the hunter on all four sides and from above. It is unlawful to hunt turkeys from blinds made of natural materials such as logs, tree branches and piled rocks.
Blinds that represent the fanned tail of a gobbler do not hide all hunter movement, and therefore are unlawful to use in Pennsylvania.
It is unlawful, as well as unsafe, to stalk turkeys or turkey sounds. Turkey season has often been the most deadly season. All hunters need to wait patiently and properly identify their targets prior to pulling the trigger. When in a stationary position, a hunter should sit with his or her back against a large tree, rock or other barrier that shields movement and offers protection from others who might approach from the rear.
Turkey hunters should not wear clothing that contains black, like the color found on a turkey’s body, or red, white or blue, like those on a turkey’s head.
Successful turkey hunters must immediately tag their bird before moving it from the harvest site and are required by law to report the harvest to the Game Commission within 10 days.
Reporting harvests is key to turkey management, as it allows the Game Commission to more accurately estimate harvest and population totals.
Hunters can report turkeys in any of three ways: by visiting www.pgc.pa.gov and clicking the blue “Report a Harvest” button near the top of the home page; by calling 1-800-838-4431; or by filling out and mailing the harvest report card in the digest hunters get when they buy a license.
Hunters also are asked to report any turkeys they harvest with leg bands. Information collected on those birds – which are legal to take – helps estimate spring harvest rate and annual survival rate by Wildlife Management Unit.
Leg bands feature a toll-free number or email address for reporting.
Turkey hunters should be aware that multiple cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus have been detected in wild birds in Pennsylvania.
HPAI is a disease that can infect domestic and wild birds. It can also infect humans, though the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has declared that the current HPAI outbreak is primarily an animal health issue that poses low risk to the health of the general public. No human cases related to this avian influenza virus have been detected or reported in the United States.
Still, hunters are encouraged take some common-sense steps to protect themselves.
Harvest only healthy-looking birds.
Wear gloves when handling any wild birds, and change gloves and disinfect hands between handling live birds.
Change clothing as needed, especially if visibly soiled or if any birds handled made contact with your clothing.
Change clothing, including footware, and wash hands well before coming in contact with any pet birds or domestic poultry
If you find a bird that looks unhealthy – perhaps stumbling, circling, exhibiting tremors, with a twisted neck, or unable to fly – contact the Game Commission by phone at 610-926-3136 or by email at pgc-wildlifehealth@pa.gov. If you have had contact with sick or dead domestic or wild birds and are not feeling well, contact your primary care physician or the Pennsylvania Department of Health at 877-724-3258.
The PA Department of Health reports, there have been 44,641 (+12) Covid 19 deaths in the state to date. Deaths in the Black Forest Broadcasting Service area to date are holding steady.
Cameron 20
Elk 101
McKean 140
Potter 92
Tioga 192
All 154
Cat 221