Potter County
Minor injuries were reported for one driver following a collision Tuesday afternoon in Hebron Township. According to state police said 79 year old Ivan Morgan of Coudersport was going North when he failed to make a right turn onto the Coneville Road and his 1994 Chevrolet Suburban hit a culvert. The SUV continued on and collided with a parked Ford 5000 tractor pushing it into a nearby fence. The SUV continued hitting a utility pole before stopping. Morgan declined treatment for his injuries as did his passenger Travis Shirk of New Holland, PA.
An elderly Galeton man has been arrested for criminal trespass by state police at Coudersport. Troopers claim 82 year old Joseph Reed entered properly posted property owner Michael McCauley on Cottage Lane in West Branch Township June 20. McCauley allegedly had told Reed previously he was not allowed on the property.
PennDOT is reminding area drivers that a bridge replacement project will begin soon on Route 144 in Potter County. The bridge spans Ives Hollow Run in the
village of Carter Camp. PennDOT expects work to begin July 5. The 28-foot bridge dates from 1934 and carries an average of 281 vehicles each day. Replacing the bridge will improve its rating from poor to good. As work begins on July 5, the bridge will be closed, and a lengthy, official detour of 30 miles will be in place. The detour will direct motorists to use Route 44, Route 2002 (West Branch Road), Route 6, and Route 144. The detour will be used through the duration of the project, currently expected to finish by August 8. Motorists familiar with the area may consider alternate routes. Work will include removal of the existing T-beam bridge, placement of a new, precast concrete box culvert, paving, pavement base drain, guide rail, and miscellaneous items. All work is weather and schedule dependent. Glenn O. Hawbaker, Inc, of State College is the contractor for this $1 million job.
Elk County
Simple assault charges have been lodged against 37 year old Lucas Catalone of St.Marys. State police claim Catalone struck and shoved his 31 year old girlfriend causing visible injuries during an argument at around 2:00 am Sunday on River Road in Weedville.
A St. Marys woman was slightly injured in a one-vehicle accident Monday afternoon in Ridgway Township. Troopers report the passenger side tires on Cassandra Reed’s Chevrolet Cruz dropped off the pavement causing the car to sideswipe a utility pole and roll over twice. Reed was trapped in the wreckage but was not seriously hurt.
State police at Ridgway have arrested 55 year old Michele Zimmerman of Wilcox for harassment. Troopers claim Zimmermann sent her adoptive father, a 79 year old Weedville man a distasteful handwritten letter after he sent her a cease and desist letter this past January 8.
Tioga County
Drug possession charges are pending against a Batavia, NY man after his vehicle was pulled over on Route 15 in Richmond Township, Tioga County Tuesday evening. Troopers seized suspected drugs from the vehicle.
Statewide
The Pennsylvania Game Commission again is seeking input from the public in surveying wild turkeys this summer. The Pennsylvania Wild Turkey Sighting Survey opens July 1 and runs through Aug. 31.Survey data allow the agency to determine total wild turkey productivity and compare long-term reproductive success within Pennsylvania and across states, as this is a standard methodology used across the country. Data also are used in the turkey population model to track population trends.Turkey sightings can be reported through the Game Commission’s website https://pgcdatacollection.pa.gov/TurkeyBroodSurvey. The mobile app is no longer available. On the website, participants are requested to record the number of wild turkeys they see, along with the location, date and contact information if agency biologists have any questions. Viewers can also access results from previous years.
Participants should report all turkeys seen, whether gobblers, hens with broods, or hens without broods.
Many factors, including spring weather, habitat, previous winter-food abundance, predation, and last fall’s harvest affect wild-turkey productivity. Weather across Pennsylvania during late spring and summer 2021 were relatively warm and dry, but varied by Wildlife Management Unit (WMU), as well as the other factors that affect reproduction. For example, WMUs that experienced the 17-year Brood X cicada hatch tended to have excellent recruitment. These included parts of WMU 2C, and WMUs 4A, 4B, 5A, 5B and 5C. Cicadas are an excellent source of protein for turkeys and predators that normally would prey on turkey poults.
This above-average reproductive success last summer (3.1 poults per hen), coupled with more conservative fall 2021 turkey hunting seasons (shorter seasons in most WMUs and elimination of rifles) allowed for higher turkey survival into the 2022 spring breeding season. At the WMU level, reproductive success in 2021 improved in 15 of 23 WMUs compared to the previous three-year average. It was similar to the previous three-year average in two WMUs (2F and 4E) and declined to below average in only six WMUs (compared to declining in 11 WMUs in 2021). Units that declined were WMUs 3A, 3B, 3C, 4C and 5D, with a slight decline in 2D.
Reproductive success in surrounding states for 2021 was less than 3.0 poults per hen in Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia, but 3.0 or higher in New Jersey and New York.