STARSHIP Starring Mickey Thomas to land on BCPAC’s 2015-16 Season

Starship featuring Mickey Thomas, will bring its classic rock and roll sounds to the Bradford Area High School Auditorium for a 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 16, 2016 performance. This is the seventh show announced by the Bradford Creative & Performing Arts Center (BCPAC) for the upcoming season.

The legendary San Francisco band, featuring Mickey Thomas, almost needs no introduction. They had a hand in shaping rock and roll music for nearly four decades. Many may remember Starship rose out of the shadow of their parent group, Jefferson Starship, and before that, the Jefferson Airplane.

“I’m really excited about this show,” says BCPAC executive director, David Fillenwarth. “This band is known for putting on a great performance, and it answers the plea of area residents who want to see and hear a classic rock band.” Fillenwarth added, “We’re going to hear the full catalog of hits from their storied history and a couple of added surprises.”

The band produced iconic 1980s songs including, “We Built This City,” “Sara,”  “Layin’ It on the Line,” “Find Your Way Back,” “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” and “Jane.”

Thomas joined the then Jefferson Starship in 1979, after the departure of singer Grace Slick and singer-guitarist Marty Balin. The group made various personnel changes, eventually touring as Starship.

During the 1980s, Thomas served as the main vocalist, performing several duets with Slick, who rejoined in 1981. When Paul Kantner left in 1984, Thomas became the band’s solo leader.

From 1985 to 1989, Starship recorded some of its biggest hits, some with Slick, who left again in 1988. After her departure, Starship reached the Top 40 charts with “It’s Not Enough.”

In 1990, Thomas changed the group’s name to “Starship featuring Mickey Thomas,” and the group has made periodic tours since then.

Tickets are priced at $45 each and will be available for season subscribers in July, and for the general public August 3^rd. Additional information will be forthcoming at the BCPAC office 814-362-2522, or online at www.bcpac.com.

Rotary Report

The Port Allegany Rotary Club held their weekly meeting Thursday at the Moose Family Center.  Several guests were introduced  including guest speaker Sebastian Munoz, Woody Woodruff and Ralph Detweiler from the Bradford Rotary Club, Troy Herzog from the Smethport Rotary Club, Nicole Larson and Rotary Exchange Student Anniek Zingerink.  There were 18 Rotarians present for a reportable attendance of 69 percent.  

Ki Bayline was the lone Rotarian celebrating a club anniversary in April.  Rotarians with April birthdays are Tony Flint, Frank Rackish and Christa Schott.  

Sebastian Munoz who is a sixteen year old Rotary Exchange Student hosted by the Bradford Rotary Club, gave a program on his homeland of Lima, Peru.  

The Lucky Rotarian of the day was John Robinson.  

At the April 2 meeting, guests included Lynn Cox, a guest of Charlie Cox and Nicole Larson, a guest of Christa Schott; Smethport Rotarian Troy Herzog and George Hults, visiting from the Coudersport club.  

The Lucky Rotarian of the day was Frank Rakish.

There was no noon meeting April 16 as Road Cleanup was held.  Rotarians gathered at 5 p.m. at Walt Miles Salvage.  When the cleanup was done, dinner was held at the Moose Family Center.

Pictured are Rotary Exchange Students Sebastian Munoz, Anniek Zingerink and Rotarian Charlie Cox.  Pam Fischer Photo

Food Drive

You can help C&N Bank fight hunger by donating to support the cause today or any day throughout the year.  Employees of Citizens & Northern Bank will be wearing jeans on the last Friday of each month and have made a donation to their local food pantry.  C&N has also committed to donating $1 to the Central PA Food Bank for every Like or Share on one of the Facebook posts associated with this initiative.  Watch for future food drive events and volunteer opportunities to get involved and help your neighbors in need.  Port Pantry Packers will hold food drives from May 26-30; August 24-29 and November 23-28.  All food items and cash donations will go to PACS (Port Allegany Community Services).  Pictured are Peggy Majot and Nancy Hardes as they await your donations.  Pam Fischer Photo

Op-Ed by Rep. Causer: Working to Bring Fairness to Government Country

We call Potter County “God’s Country,” but in some ways, it may also be appropriate to call it “Government Country.”

Of the county’s nearly 692,000 acres, 291,128 – a whopping 42 percent – are owned by the state government and are therefore exempt from real estate taxes. That leaves other landowners in Potter County with larger and increasingly burdensome tax bills.

Potter County and its taxpayers aren’t alone in this challenge.

In Cameron County, well over half – an estimated 60 percent – of the county’s total acreage is owned by the state.

In Centre County, 35 percent of its land is owned by the state (and that doesn’t include Penn State University property, which is also tax exempt).

In Elk County, 30 percent of land is owned by the state, and in Tioga County, it’s nearly 25 percent.

In McKean County, just 6 percent of the acreage is owned by the Commonwealth, though the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy has been working to acquire more than 17,000 acres of land that it would then hand over to the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) to be added on to the Elk State Forest. That would nearly triple the amount of state forest land in the McKean County.

In these counties, and others across the Northern Tier, government ownership of vast amounts of land is shrinking the local tax base, leaving local governments and school districts with nowhere else to go but the pockets of private property owners when it comes time to balance their budgets.

Government has long recognized the financial burden tax-exempt land can place on counties, school districts and municipalities, and it has attempted to compensate for that through “payment in lieu of taxes” or PILT. However, the PILT rate, last increased in 2006, is not keeping pace with property values or costs.

To address this fairness issue, I have introduced legislation to increase the PILT on state-owned forest and game lands from $3.60 per acre to $6 per acre. As is the case now, PILT funds would be divided equally among the municipalities, school districts and counties in which the land is located. An increase in PILT funds is an important step in the effort to achieve tax fairness for property owners in the counties referenced above and across rural Pennsylvania.

I recently received notification from the folks managing the Allegheny National Forest about nearly $2 million in funds being returned from the federal government to Elk, Forest, McKean and Warren counties based on the sale of timber from the forest. Conversely, in Pennsylvania, any proceeds from the sale of timber, oil or natural gas harvested on state-owned lands go directly into the state’s general fund. Local governments do not see a dime of it.

To address this fairness issue, I have introduced another bill calling for 20 percent of total revenue collected from the sale of these natural resources on most state-owned lands to be deposited into a restricted fund for disbursement to local governments across the Commonwealth, proportionally based on the number of acres of state land in each municipality, school district and county.

House Bills 344 and 343 are awaiting consideration in the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee.

In the meantime, the Pennsylvania State Land Tax Fairness Coalition, led in part by Potter County Commissioner Paul Heimel and Austin Area School District Acting Superintendent Jerome Sasala, is hard at work educating state and local government leaders as well as taxpayers about the need for these changes in state law. The group has put together an informative website that includes maps and data that helps make the case for the legislation. Check it out at www.pastatelandtaxfairness.com.

Let’s work together to bring tax fairness to God’s Country and all of rural Pennsylvania.

Free tickets available for Illuminations arts celebration

BRADFORD, PA – Tickets are now available for “Illuminations – A Celebration of Families and the Arts” planned for May 16 at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford.

The free day of arts activities and performances for families will focus on children age 6 months through 10 years of age. Tickets may be obtained on a first-come, first-served basis through the Bromeley Family Theater Box Office. The box office may be reached by calling 814-362-5113 or emailing Courtney Mealy at cmealy@pitt.edu.

The event will fill Blaisdell Hall with artists performing and conducting workshops. In addition to a young children’s performance of “Hatched” by the Treehouse Shakers and a concert by the Grammy Award-winning family musicians The Okee Dokee Brothers, Illuminations will feature local groups and hands-on activities.

The event is made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts Challenge America Grant.

“We are so excited to have received the NEA grant for this project that will give children and their families the opportunity to experience the arts together. It will be a day filled with art exploration, performances and fun,” said Patty Colosimo, coordinator of arts programming.

Local groups helping fill the day with fun include Bradford Little Theatre, Studio B. Dance Academy, Windworks from Olean, N.Y., and local artists.

Bradford Little Theatre board members Nanci K. Garris and Beckie Confer will present two theater workshops. A preschool workshop will give young children an opportunity to present a simple play with a narrator. There will also be a session with puppets along with simple songs and finger plays.

Children elementary age and above will also have an opportunity to use puppets to create their own play. This age group will also explore stage directions, theater terms and who is necessary to produce a play. If time allows, both groups will have an opportunity to explore improvisation.

Studio B Dance Academy instructor Katie Neidich will teach a fun warm up and a short jazz dance combination to some of today’s popular hits. The combination will piece together movements from the warm up with new ones to create a short, fun dance.

Isaac Spaeth of Windworks in Olean will bring an instrument “petting zoo,” where children of all ages can learn about different musical instruments. Children can pick up the instruments and play them. They will also learn the names of each instrument, the type of sound that it makes, how to create that sound and its classification, such as a woodwind or brass instrument.

Ken Waldman, a former college professor with a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing, will lead children of different age levels in creating poetry and writing song lyrics to be accompanied by his fiddle. He has been a visiting writer at more than 80 colleges and universities, a visiting artist at more than 200 schools in 32 states and has led workshops from Alaska to Maine.

Four local artists will work with children in a variety of media.

Anna Lemnitzer, assistant professor of art, will lead participants in creating their own miniature koinobori, carp-shaped wind socks used in the celebration of Children’s Day in Japan.

Artist Anne Mormile will teach children to create their own fairy friends that can go live in their own back yards.

Laura Hickey will introduce science into the art-making process with a watercolor and oil marbling station where children can create colorful abstract paintings.

Floyd C. Fretz Middle School art teacher Janelle Turk will demonstrate the ancient art of printmaking and help students create their own image and transfer the image to a piece of art.

In the KOA Art Gallery, students from Bradford Area School District will display their artwork.

“Studies show that there is a correlation between the arts and academic achievement,” Colosimo said. “In young children it helps to develop motor skills, language development, and creativity that will grow to be very beneficial throughout their academic years. We wanted to have an event that would provide these benefits to local students while at the same time making it an enjoyable family experience.”

In addition to the NEA grant, matching funds are being provided by The Three Sisters Fund and the Bradford Kiwanis Club, which is also providing volunteers to work at the event. Other partners of the event include the Bradford Area School District. BAHS Art Club and Key Club students are also volunteering. Additional activities will include face painting, sidewalk art (weather permitting), healthy food vendors and arts-themed giveaways.

For disability needs related to the event, contact the Office of Disability Resources at (814) 362-7609 or clh71@pitt.edu. To find out more about how NEA grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.

Craig Hartburg to receive Pitt-Bradford's Presidential Medal of Distinction

BRADFORD, PA – Craig Hartburg, chairman of the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford’s Advisory Board since 2005, will receive the Presidential Medal of Distinction, the university’s highest honor, at this year’s commencement ceremony.

Dr. Livingston Alexander, president of Pitt-Bradford, will present the medal to Hartburg at the 2015 commencement ceremony at 2 p.m. April 26.

“Craig has provided outstanding leadership for the last 10 years as chair of the Pitt-Bradford Advisory Board,” Alexander said. “He is very deserving of the high honor not only for his service and leadership, but also for his longstanding support and commitment to our campus and its students.”

Hartburg said, “It is a tremendous honor to receive the Presidential Medal of Distinction from Pitt-Bradford. I am humbled to join the company of those who have received this esteemed award.”

Hartburg has been a member of Pitt-Bradford’s Advisory Board since 2000 and also serves on its Executive Committee and Governance Council. Additionally, he is a member of Pitt’s Board of Trustees since 2009, one of two trustees from Pitt’s regional campuses.

Hartburg, who attended Pitt-Bradford from 1973 to 1975, went on to graduate with his bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh.

“As a graduate of this institution and a member of this community, it’s a special honor for me,” Hartburg said of serving as chairman of the Advisory Board. “Through its leadership and vision, the board has been an integral part of the growth that you see on campus today.”

Hartburg and his wife, Nancy, have established the Craig and Nancy Hartburg Family Scholarship for students who are graduates of Bradford Area High School and participate in the Blue and Gold Society or who are eligible for the Labor Scholarship Program at Pitt-Bradford.

In 2010, Hartburg was honored as the Pitt-Bradford Alumni Association’s Distinguished Volunteer, having been an active alumnus almost since the time of his graduation from Pitt.  He has served in various posts in the PBAA.

David Higie ’74-’75, who also serves on the Advisory Board, said that “Craig has been a true leader for Pitt-Bradford at both the university level and in the community. He has recruited students to Pitt-Bradford, raised a significant amount of funds for the school and now has the highest ‘civilian’ position at the university as head of the Advisory Board, where he does an outstanding job.”

Hartburg is the owner and has been president of Servco Services Inc. since 1995. He has filled several executive roles with the company since beginning his tenure in 1977. Servco provides building services to commercial, institutional, health care and industrial customers in Pennsylvania, New York and North Carolina.

Hartburg lives in Bradford and is active in the community, serving on many organizations’ boards of directors.  He is past campaign chairman and past board president of the  United Way of Bradford and received its prestigious Red Feather Award, which is presented to exceptional volunteers.

Hartburg currently serves on the Board of Beacon Light Behavioral Health Systems as chairman of the Institutional Advancement Committee and as past chairman of the board.  Recently he received the organization’s B.E.A.C.O.N Award for service to the Agency.  Hartburg also serves on the boards of Stairways Behavioral Health Systems in Erie, Control Chief Corp. in Bradford, and the Bradford Educational Foundation.

Hartburg is the 27^th individual awarded the Presidential Medal of Distinction, which is presented to a person who has either volunteered his or her time for several years; supported the university either financially or with expertise or advice; served the university’s service region through community, government or business affiliation; or has made distinctive achievements in his or her field that have affected Pitt-Bradford.

Recent medal winners include Chancellor Emeritus Mark V. Nordenberg, the Rev. Leo Gallina, George Duke, Thomas Bromeley and former University of Pittsburgh Provost James V. Maher.