Inch by inch and row by row, making your garden grow takes patience and dedication. The garden is a great metaphor for many of the projects being carried out by Bradford’s Office of Economic and Community Development (OECD). Ambitious works like the Elm Street Project (Map) take years of planning and effort to show results.

Part of the Elm Street project’s rejuvenation of neighborhoods is the Bank Street Community Garden. Take one dilapidated property that isn’t on the tax roles anyhow, add volunteers, creativity, and dedication, and what can be accomplished?

Thanks to Elm Street Project Manager Lisa Campogiani, Interns Kara & Rachel, and the volunteers who are donating labor and materials, the gardening project is coming together in one neighborhood. Hopefully it is just the first.

Rachel attends Penn State, and Kara attends Cornell. The are both Landscape Architecture majors contributing their skills (and labor) to the garden. Both chose to come to Bradford because of our location in the Allegany National Forest. They have created the Bank Street Community Garden Blog.

The following is reprinted with the permission of Bradford Texas Hots. The research was done by Sally Costik of the Bradford Landmark Society.

Bradford Texas Hots
Dine In or Take Out
1020 East Main Street
814-362-0393

Bradford Landmark Society
Books by Sally Costik

Nick’s Red Hots

Prokopis Pete Semoudarias, also known as “Nick” was well known for over 40 years for his famous Nick’s Red Hots. Born in Greece, he came to Bradford in the 1950’s and ran his hot dog shop at various locations, including South Avenue, MainStreet, the corner of St. James and Mechanic Streets, and finally on Veterans Square. In addition to his business in Bradford, Nick also ran a second hot dog shop in Clean, NY in the 1970’s. Nick passed away at the age of 73 in May of 1999.

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Two Bradford Churches are working together to launch a new kind of church service in town. Grace Lutheran and Open Arms Community Churches are teaming up to start “The Remix” on Thursday nights at the Grace Lutheran Community Life Center.

“Hip Hop is at this point, a large part of our culture. There are a lot of people in our community who live the hip hop culture, and the church is not connecting with them,” says Josh Hatcher, Outreach Coordinator at Open Arms.

“The Remix” service will be rap worship music with local Christian Hip Hop Group Panic Attack, which is made up of Justin Willoughby, and Larry Petry, and then a “remixed” video version of the weekly church service from Open Arms. Read the rest of this entry »

The public forum with the planning team will be held in the meeting room at Fretz Middle School on the evening of March 5th from 7-9pm. All are welcome - please mark your calendars!

This is your chance to make your opinion heard on Bradford’s future!

Additional information:

Bradford Regional Strategy Web Site
Bradford Regional Strategy - The Master Plan
TalkAboutBradford.com Discussion

April is going to bring more than showers to Bradford this year. The Generations Guitar Workshop will be bringing together area musicians for a day filled with learning, jamming, even an instrument exchange. It is scheduled for Saturday, April 19, 2008, at Fretz Middle School in the large instruction room. The highlight of the workshop and evening performance will be Dan Peters and The West Side Winders from Chicago.

Dan Peters

Dan Peters has been named “Chicago’s Hottest Guitarist”. He will be teaching the Workshop’s Master Class, “Swingin’ Surfabilly Guitar Playin’: Know Your Roots!!” Dan will take students into a detailed analysis of several original compositions and how he developed his own unique musical voice through an appreciation of many different genres. Rockabilly, surf, blues, jazz, country and heavy metal all figure prominently in Dan’s self-proclaimed “Surfabilly” sound and he encourages all students to do their homework and “know your roots!!” Some of the influences Dan names are Brian Setzer, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Elvis Presley, Gene Vincent, Wes Montgomery, Joe Satriani, Dick Dale, Johnny Cash, Steve Vai, Jimmy Bryant and, of course, William Shatner. Read the rest of this entry »

The City Of Bradford Police Department has unveiled their new web site, CityOfBradfordPolice.com. The web site is part of the department’s effort to interact with the community and allow residents to give information to help local police do their job better.

One feature of the site is a form for people to give the police tips and information anonymously. This feature is in response to the many people who already want to help law enforcement. The anonymous form will send information to a secure email address that is monitored by the police department.

The web site will also carry the latest department news, links to law enforcement, resources for crime victims, and information about laws and safety.

The Bradford Area Chamber Of Commerce presents:

The 7th Annual Kinzua Outdoor And Travel Show

February 22nd and 23rd, 2008

Friday - 4pm - 9pm
Saturday - 10am - 6pm

Bradford Mall
1001 East Main Street
Bradford, PA

Details
Event Activities
Speaker Schedules
Vendors & Exhibitors

I’m happy to introduce Bradford-Online.com’s newest feature, Local News Headlines.

Initially we’ll be using syndicated feeds for the local radio station, WESB, and local newspaper, the Bradford Era.

The news department for WESB/WBRR, headed by news director Anne Holliday, updates their news articles throughout the day with items of interest to the local area. Hence their motto, “You hear it here first”. The only way to get local news quicker is to tune into the the radio station.

The Bradford Era is the city’s only daily newspaper. Generally updated each morning, their articles tend to be more in-depth. Their “‘Round The Square” feature has been a printed-edition favorite for decades. The on-line edition also features the work of Francie Long, probably Bradford’s best known photographer.

You’ll also find local sports information from both feeds.

Now you can make Bradford-Online.com your first stop for local news. We’ll be adding more syndicated feeds as we discover sources worth adding. If you have a suggestion, please contact us.

Of course our discussion forum, TalkAboutBradford.com, is also a great source of news, although not guaranteed as reliable as the previously mentioned news outlets. Think of it more as a stop to the local general store to discuss the local “news”.

First Night is a community celebration of the New Year through the arts.

It is an alcohol-free, public festival with both local and regional talent.

There are events and fun filled entertainment for all ages. Best of all, it is accessible and affordable for everyone.

Check the First Night Bradford web site for complete details and this year’s schedule.

There will be events at locations all over Bradford the entire evening. There is so much going on, it’s difficult to take in everything. Fortunately, for $5.00 you can get a First Night Bradford button that gives you admission to everything. This helps defray the cost of the celebration including several professional entertainers. The celebration culminates at midnight on the Town Square with the 10th annual ball-drop and fireworks grande finale.

Here are some of this year’s featured entertainers:
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