Bluegrass festival continues to draw crowds
The 2018 Bluegrass Festival will be held Friday through Sunday, May 25-27, at the Venango County Fairgrounds. Campers will start setting up at noon May…
Around The County
Memorial Day ceremonies and parade set in Franklin
Franklin’s annual Memorial Day ceremonies and parade will be held Monday, May 28. The first ceremony will begin at 9 a.m. on the 13th Street…
Bishop won’t try to block report on abuse investigation
ERIE (AP) — A Roman Catholic bishop in Pennsylvania says he won’t try to block the release of a report detailing the findings of an…
Sugarcreek council OKs bids for materials, paving project
By WILLIAM STEVENS Staff writer Sugarcreek Borough Council on Wednesday unanimously approved several bids for supplies that will be used for upcoming projects in the…
Area senior centers set schedules
Cranberry Place The Cranberry Place Older Adult Center is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. Lunch is served daily at 11:30 a.m. for a suggested donation…
Victory taxpayers concerned about bridge replacement cost
By JIM MEYER Staff writer The $2 million cost to replace the Fisherman’s Cove Bridge seemed to be the foremost concern in people’s minds at…
Silver Cornet Band offering summer junior program
From staff reports The Franklin Silver Cornet Band is again offering its Junior Silver Cornet Band, a summer outreach program geared toward youth musicians who…
Oil City school board to vote next week on tentative budget
By JIM MEYER Staff Writer Oil City School Board members on Monday reviewed the district’s tentative 2018-2019 budget. The spending plan doesn’t include a tax…
2 recycling collections set for OC residents
The city of Oil City has scheduled two recycling collections for city residents. Electronics collection set An electronics recycling date is set from 8 a.m….
Entries being accepted for Oil Heritage parade
Applications are being accepted for the 40th annual Oil Heritage Festival parade. Returning this year will be clowns, fire trucks, bands, great floats, Zem Zems…
Franklin students do well in Academic Games tourney
From staff reports Several students from Franklin Area School District placed in the 53rd annual Academic Games Leagues of America National Tournament held in Knoxville,…
Crack seal work starting in Franklin
From staff reports City of Franklin contractor Suit-Kote is applying crack seal treatment to roads in the Franklin Heights area starting today. Work will be…
Cranberry students honored
Three Cranberry students were recently honored during a Lions’ Club meeting for exemplary service, effort and initiative in their school and community. The students, all…
Polk police K-9 is sworn in
Polk police department’s newest member of the force, K-9 Armin, was sworn in Monday, May 7, 2018, by District Judge Patrick Lowrey. Armin was born…
Area senior centers set schedules
Cranberry Place The Cranberry Place Older Adult Center is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. Lunch is served daily at 11:30 a.m. for a suggested donation…
Error on GOP ballots leads to absentee deadline extension
By JIM MEYER Staff writer Venango County commissioners on Tuesday approved an extension on the deadline for Republican absentee ballots in next week’s primary election…
Franklin walk to school day is Wednesday
From staff reports Franklin’s spring Walk and Bike to School Day will be held Wednesday. The walk is in memory of the late Jim Holden,…
Classes build, demonstrate gas and oil rig
NEW CASTLE (AP) — Some high school students are learning to make robots and three-dimensional items using laptop computers and other technology. At the Lawrence…
Breakdown of proposed property maintenance code
By JUDITH O. ETZEL Contributing writer The version of a new property maintenance code for Cranberry Township is vastly different than a measure that had…
Students learn about danger of impaired, distracted driving
From staff reports The dangers of impaired or distracted driving hit home at Cranberry High School on Friday, as a senior shared her experiences of…
Everybody ‘on the same page’
By JIM MEYER Staff writer What began as a misunderstanding may have led to better cooperation between Emlenton Borough and Venango County, according to Emlenton…
Venango road project expected to start soon
From staff reports A $1 million project on more than four miles of roads in northern Venango County is expected to begin soon, according PennDOT….
Franklin crews to sweep city streets
From staff reports The City of Franklin street department will be street sweeping next week in the following areas: Monday – Third Shift: both sides…
County road maintenance schedule released
From staff reports Venango County Maintenance Manager Garrett Westover announced the following county maintenance schedule for the week of May 7, 2018, for roadways maintained by the…
CDC accepting Camp Funshine enrollments
From staff reports Child Development Centers is accepting enrollments for its annual Camp Funshine. The all-day, 11-week program for school-age children is set from Monday,…
Date changed for veterans benefits program in Seneca
From staff reports A representative from the American Legion will be at state Rep. R. Lee James’ office in Seneca from 10 a.m. to 2…
Tech center students plant tree to observe Arbor Day
From staff reports Students in the Venango Technology Center natural resources program planted a small red bud tree on Seneca Street in Oil City last…
Area senior centers set schedules
Cranberry Place The Cranberry Place Older Adult Center is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. Lunch is served daily at 11:30 a.m. for a suggested donation…
Annual art studios tour scheduled
From staff reports Art Inside has put out a call to artists for the Art Inside Studio Tour, scheduled June 16 and 17. Interested artists…
Public meeting set on Victory Twp. covered bridge
From staff reports A public meeting to discuss the replacement of the covered bridge on Fisherman’s Cove Road over Victory Run in Victory Township will…
PennDOT line painting has started
From staff reports PennDOT’s northwest district is reminding motorists that line painting operations are underway. The six-county region, which includes Venango, Crawford, Erie, Forest, Mercer…
Registration packets available for Franklin’s Taste of Talent
From staff reports Registration packets for the Franklin Fine Arts Council’s ninth annual Taste of Talent vocal competition are available. The council will sponsor the…
Purple event kicks off Venango Relay for Life
By WILLIAM STEVENS Staff writer The Cat in the Hat made a special visit to the Cranberry Mall on Saturday to show his support for…
Street sweeping schedule listed for Franklin area
From staff reports The Franklin street department will be sweeping streets next week in the following areas: Monday – Third shift:Odd sides of Elk Street…
‘Why do we have to live like this?’
By JUDITH O. ETZEL Contributing writer A junkyard filled with campers, trucks and cars that flanks part of Deep Hollow Road and extends along the…
Adopt-A-Highway project
Jenifer Burrows (left) and Kim Smith joined about 20 other Sheetz employees Friday to pick-up trash along a two-mile stretch of Route 322 in Sugarcreek….
Webco donates $15,000 to refurbish playground
By JUDITH O. ETZEL Contributing writer A longtime Oil City manufacturing company may have put a playground restoration project just about over the top in…
Health fair held at Franklin school
Trooper Michelle McGee, right, from the Pennsylvania State Police participated in a health fair Tuesday at Franklin Junior Senior High School. McGee watches a student…
Senior centers set schedules
Cranberry Place The Cranberry Place Older Adult Center is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. Lunch is served daily at 11:30 a.m. for a suggested donation…
Historic Preservation award winners announced
From staff reports Winners of the 2018 Oil Heritage Region Historic Preservation Awards have been announced. Here is a rundown of the winners: – Mr….
Coding at the library
On April 17, 10 young people learned computer programming at the Oil City Library in the CODE VC program. They were taught by the young…
Franklin board moves ahead on citizen committee
By MARISSA DECHANT Staff writer Franklin Area School board will appoint members to its new citizen advisory committee next month. Board members approved a motion…
OC board OKs high school credits for middle school students
By JIM MEYER Staff Writer Oil City School Board on Monday approved awarding high school credits to middle school students taking high school level courses,…
Local scouts visit Gettysburg
Under the direction of leader Terry Miller, North Sandy Boy Scout Troop 412, of Utica, traveled to Gettysburg on April 20-22. They hiked around the battlefields…
Special needs kindergarten numbers on rise in county
By MARISSA DECHANT Staff writer School districts across Venango County are already experiencing an uptick in registered kindergarten students for the 2018-19 year who will…
NASCAR qualifier to feature work of ex-Cochranton man
By JIM MEYER Staff writer An upcoming NASCAR qualifier has a former Cochranton man and Derrick Publishing employee revved up, but not just because he…
Bluegrass Festival at Venango County Fairgrounds
A bluegrass festival will be held Friday through Sunday, May 25-27, at the Venango County Fairgrounds, 867 Mercer Road, Franklin. The fairgrounds are located between…
Award winners are honored by Venango County Human Services
Venango County Human Services held its annual awards ceremony Wednesday at the Rocky Grove fire hall. This year’s award winners are: — Children and Families…
Cub Scouts clean up
On Wednesday, April 18, local Cub Scouts and parent volunteers from Pack 111 in Seneca picked up trash along Salina Road in Cranberry Township as…
Pitching in to clean up Oil City
Jason Knox, of Dempseytown, volunteers with his friends from The Pointe to clean up along Seneca Street Wednesday during the Oil City Main Street Program’s…