The City of Bradford’s Office of Economic and Community Development is pleased to announce that it will be hosting two separate ribbon-cutting ceremonies to celebrate the accomplishments of two significant community development projects funded in part through the Impact Bradford project. The first ribbon-cutting & dedication ceremony will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, September 25th, at the intersection of Onofrio Street and North Onofrio Street. This ceremony will celebrate the revitalization of Onofrio Street through the renovation of sixteen homes and the construction of sixteen new homes along with significant cleanup and infrastructure improvements that have taken place over the past ten years.

The second ceremony will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday in front of the Old City Hall Building on Kennedy Street. This ceremony celebrates the completion of the final phase of the revitalization and redevelopment of the Boylston Street and Kennedy Street area of historic downtown Bradford. The $2.2 million downtown streetscape project primarily funded through Impact Bradford includes the replacement of curbs and sidewalks, which include decorative stamped concrete and traffic-calming areas, new stamped-concrete crosswalks, decorative streetlights, new trees and plantings and the upgrade of the traffic signal at the corner of Kennedy Street and Boylston Street.

Speakers for these ceremonies include Jackie Z. Parker, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development’s Community Action Team. Ms. Parker is representing Govenor Rendell. Other speakers included Senator Pro Tempore Joseph Scarnati, Representative Martin Causer and Bradford City Mayor Tom Riel. The public is invited to help the Bradford community celebrate by attending both of these ceremonies.

Graffiti in Bradford, was the order of business at the Bradford City Council Graffiti Work Session held on September 9. The work session was open to the public, with about 20 local residents attending in addition to City Council members.

Based on ordinances from various other municipalities, Council presented a draft ordinance. The draft ordinance can be found here. After a reading of the draft by Mayor Tom Riel, comments were called for from the residents.

The ordinace proposes to:

• Formally make graffiti a crime.
• Ban the sale to, and possession of, spray paint for minors.
• Require property owners to clean up graffiti in a reasonable time period.

During the public comment period, residents aired concerns such as, what penalties could be levied for offenders, and if the ordinance would apply to everyone equally.

The proposed ordinance leaves punishment up to Pennsylvania state guidelines as imposed by a judge. It also specifically states that it applies to, “associations, businesses, clubs, corporations, partnerships, and bodies politic”.

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Local businessman Mike Smith was found guilty Tuesday afternoon in a case that has drawn wide attention. The City of Bradford issued a citation to Smith for a violation of the sign ordinance, but Smith contended that he was a veteran showing his patriotism by displaying the American flag.

According to WESB News:

Smith was fined $50 and has 30 days to appeal Cercone’s decision…

Join the discussion on TalkAboutBradford.com.

I had no opinion on the Fox News claim of being fair and balanced. After seeing the way they twisted the story of the City of Bradford citing Mike Smith for flying flags in front of his business, I realize they have no problem making up the headline and story they want. Notice their spin on this story, “Veteran Facing Possible 90 Days In Jail For Flying Flag“. Also, why would you interview anyone else? After all, “Fair and Balanced” sounds good, but it really makes for a boring story, doesn’t it?
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So many times we do not know ahead of time so we can prepare for a homecoming. This is your opportunity to make a difference for both the soldier and his family.

We have a young warrior of the 173rd Airborne unit who is arriving home
from Afghanistan on August 4th. His name is John McGriff, a Bradford man and
last week the 9 soldiers killed were from his unit, who gave their lives for
our freedom. As his mother (Dawn McGriff) asked in her e-mail to me, I
believe everyone in Bradford should post their flag the week of August 3rd
in his honor and support. If you have any other ideas of other support let
me know. He also was made a member of Bradford Legion Post 108, he should
have his membership card when he arrives home. They hope he will arrive
around 4-4:30 pm Monday.

Clair D. Butler,
Adjutant, Bradford Legion Post 108

We thank you for your consideration. Please pass this email along to other
businesses and individuals in the community.

This information was provided by:

Diane Sheeley
Bradford Area Chamber of Commerce
www.bradfordchamber.com

John McGriff is a BAHS graduate, Class of 2005. Upon his arrival in Bradford, he’ll have a motorcycle escort through town. The first stop will be to see his mother at her place of employment, KOA Speer, on Williams Street. His escort will lead him along Bolivar Drive, E. Main Street, and Main Street. If you see Specialist McGriff, let him know that he’s a real hero!

For the past week, the story has been circulating that a Bradford, PA business had received a citation from the City for flags that extended into the roadway. A photo from the local newspaper, the Bradford Era, shows the business owner standing amidst a display of American flags in front of his building.

Bradford City Mayor Tom Riel has stated that tne citation has nothing to do with the American flag, or patriotism. The issue is obstructing a City right-of-way.

Today the Mayor revealed that when the citation was issued there were “six or seven white flags with lettering, that sat much lower to the ground”, that were not evident when the Era photograph was taken. Riel said that the display in the Era photo weren’t placed there until after the citation was issued.
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Is Bradford, PA issuing citations to businesses that display the American Flag, as this sign claims?

Local businessman Mike Smith is going to have his day in court after receiving a citation from the City of Bradford. The controversy involves two American flags and one POW/MIA flag that Smith has been displaying in front of his East Main Street business for years.

According to City Code Enforcement Officer George Corignani, the complaint was passed to his office after being received by City Clerk John Peterson. The complaint alleges the flags extend into the City’s right of way on East Main, causing a near accident.

According to City officials, both the City Clerk and Code Enforcement contacted Smith’s business and were told that the flags would stay. The citation was then issued.
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Bradford City Council held it’s regular meeting Tuesday night.

John Kohler was given the Key To The City Of Bradford. Sara Andrews, Director of the OECD, gave a presentation outlining some of Kohler’s contributions. Andrews told the audience, “Ten years ago nobody was investing in Main Street. The City had bought three buildings. We felt there was a need to renovate and encourage investment. John was one of those investors who really stepped up. Not only did he purchase and renovate several downtown buildings, but he actually went out and recruited businesses to occupy them”. It was also noted several of Kohler’s projects resulted in retaining businesses in the area, citing the three acre warehouse he built for Graham Packaging.

During the public comment portion of the meeting one resident raised privacy concerns. She complained that a neighbor had mounted a camera pointed at her house. Bradford City Police Chief Mike Close offered to talk to her after the meeting. Later a police spokesman stated that no charges could be filed in the matter. “The circumstances of each complaint are different. In this case it appears that no criminal law is being broken”.

The large upswing in still and video camera use, and the ease of publishing on the Internet has created a great deal of debate. Most laws that address the subject are civil, not criminal laws. Most of these laws hinge on the individual’s expectation of privacy. Columnist Andrew Kantor recently wrote this editorial on the subject in USAToday.

What do you think? Click here to send us your comments.

Here at Bradford-Online.com we hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th of July holiday. This seemed appropriate for the occasion. The voice should need no introduction, but for the younger crowd, it’s the voice of movie actor john Wayne. The fireworks were from the public display the Seneca Allegany Hotel & Casino in Salamanca, NY put on.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

The Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy (1855-1931), a Baptist minister, a Christian Socialist, and the cousin of Socialist Utopian novelist Edward Bellamy (1850-1898). [Wikipedia]
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