OLEAN — With its 118th annual dinner coming up on Nov. 7, the Greater Olean Area Chamber of Commerce announced Thursday that 2024’s L.O.U.I.E. Award will be presented to James M. Stitt, president and CEO of Cutco Corporation.

CYCLONE, Pa. — “Swiss cheese.”

ALFRED — Alfred State College will receive nearly $2 million through the Appalachian Regional Commission to expand truck and diesel and heavy equipment operations programs to help create a pipeline of qualified workers in the industry.

NEW YORK (TNS) — Social Security revealed plans for 2025 — including raising the amount of money that you can be taxed on each year.

ELLICOTTVILLE — The developers of three projects worth over $12.5 million in the southeast corner of Cattaraugus County are seeking tax breaks.

WELLSVILLE — Jones Memorial Hospital welcomes Dr. Karan Ramakrishna to the oncology and hematology department in the UR Medicine Wilmot Cancer Institute, part of Jones Memorial Hospital, in Wellsville and Olean.

(Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series of articles on the members of the 2024 Laine Business Accelerator cohort).

DEAR RUSTY: Both my wife and I are 67 1/2, i.e., past our full retirement age of 66 years and 6 months. Neither of us have yet filed for SS retirement benefits. My wife is entitled to about $1,000/month based on her work history, and I plan to wait until age 70 to file. I was entitled to $3,…

CUBA — With about four months until Great Lakes Cheese is expected to close the site south of the village, officials are hoping to find a new user for the location.

Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments for more than 72.5 million Americans will increase 2.5% in 2025, the Social Security Administration announced.

OLEAN — After more than 50 years of serving the community, Ried’s Food Barn will be sold later this month and renamed Olean Food Barn.

Average gasoline prices in New York have fallen 2.6 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.17/g Monday, according to GasBuddy’s survey of 6,118 stations in New York.

(Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series of articles on the members of the 2024 Laine Business Accelerator cohort).

(Editor’s Note: This article was edited by John Stevens.)

DEAR RUSTY: I claimed Social Security at 70. My wife claimed her own SS at 62, and her earnings were significantly lower than mine. I understand my wife will be eligible to claim my benefit if I pass before she does, but will Social Security reduce that benefit because she didn’t wait until …

ST. BONAVENTURE — St. Bonaventure University alumnus and global businessman Dick Kearns returns to his alma mater this month, bringing along a panel of international business executives for the 11th annual Kearns Global Business Forum.

ALLEGANY — The entire Kinley family expressed love for their business and its connection to the community as they hosted the Greater Olean Area hamber of Commerce’s Business After Hours of the 2024-25 season.

Average gasoline prices in New York fell nearly 5 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.20/g Monday, according to GasBuddy’s survey of 6,118 stations in New York.

COUDERSPORT, Pa. — Dr. Jose Quesada-Olarte has recently joined the urology team at UPMC Cole.

DEAR RUSTY: I just learned that if I served in the military during an active-duty period, I could get extra earnings for Social Security and that these benefits would be automatically added to my record, but I was never asked by the SS employee who calculated my benefits if I was in the military.

DELEVAN — The sale of Bliss Family Farm was the largest sale recorded in the county in August, the county Office of Real Property and GIS Services reported.

ALFRED — The Educational Foundation of Alfred, Inc., a private foundation representing faculty, staff and friends of Alfred State College, has added Amy Bennett and Spencer Peavey to its board.

A shared love for the betterment of the Olean community is something that Louis and Patricia Magnano will always be remembered for.

ALLEGANY — A parcel connected to the Field of Dreams complex is expected to be annexed by the village.

OLEAN — Jim Stitt Jr., president and CEO of Cutco Corporation, and Carolyn Boser Newhouse of Bradford, Pa., have been elected to the Upper Allegheny Health System Board of Directors.

Jessica Kubiak never gave much thought to a future working in higher education administration. Even so, SUNY Jamestown Community College’s vice president of academic affairs understands how the path led her here.

Local unemployment rates remained close to the previous month in August, state Department of Labor officials reported Tuesday.

Average gasoline prices in New York fell 6.1 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.25/g Monday, while reports indicated even Olean outlets dropped 4 cents for the first time since May.

NEW YORK — Attention, Kmart shoppers, the end is near!

OLEAN — Greater Olean Area Chamber of Commerce officials are looking for nominees for some of its top awards ahead of the 118th annual dinner.

DEAR RUSTY: My financial advisor used a computer program which told my husband to take his SS at age 68, then suspend it after a few months. What I understood was if my husband started and then stopped taking distributions, he would earn delayed retirement credits and thus get more at age 70.

LITTLE VALLEY — CCB, the locally owned and operated independent community bank headquartered in Little Valley, announced the appointment of Mark Peters as its new chief financial officer.

WELLSVILLE — With the construction of the village’s Taco Bell changing overnight, inquiring minds want to know when they’ll be reading the menu.

WELLSVILLE — During the third quarterly meeting of Allegany County’s District IV legislators Tuesday evening in a hangar at the Wellsville Municipal Airport, the county’s new economic development director was introduced.