Regional category, Page 212
Conneaut Lake Park plans July 4 opening weekend — but with one nostalgic ride gone
Memorial Day weekend traditionally has been Conneaut Lake Park’s opening, but the new ownership is now targeting the July 4 weekend instead with one of its nostalgic rides gone. A bigger blow to summer nostalgia than the delayed start date, the Tumble Bug — one of the park’s iconic rides...
Spate of thefts in Saltsburg under investigation
State police are investigating a spate of thefts in Saltsburg, just over the border from Westmoreland County. Trooper Clifford Greenfield said items were taken overnight during the weekend. Unlocked vehicles were targeted in some of the thefts on Hemlock Way and Salt, Walnut and Washington streets. Police were looking at...
3 dead in double homicide-suicide in Washington County identified
Three people were found shot to death in what is believed to be double homicide-suicide in Washington County, according to the county coroner’s office. Those found dead Monday night inside a McDonald home on Valley Street were Suzanne Faingnaert, 57, and 27-year-olds Christina Garove and James Garove, according to the...
Pa. wildlife officials swamped with callers who have picked up or taken in wild animals
Wildlife centers and the Pennsylvania Game Commission say they have been deluged with calls from people who have picked up wild animals, often in an attempt to help them. Game Commission spokesman Seth Mesoras said the agency has received a number of calls from people who tried to take in...
Man last seen in Allegheny River near Gilpin remains missing, police say
State police provided no updates Monday on the disappearance of a Punxsutawney man who was last seen swimming in the Allegheny River in Gilpin over the weekend. Nathan “Nate” Lauer, 38, was last seen around 7:30 a.m. Saturday, according to one witness’ statement to police. That witness, identified only by...
So you have woolly adelgid, now what?
The Penn State Extension office in Pittsburgh has been fielding daily phone calls from residents who discovered woolly adelgid on their native Eastern hemlocks. “The good news is that hemlock woolly adelgid can be managed fairly easily in the residential landscape,” said Brian Wolyniak, Penn State Extension educator in Pittsburgh....
Eastbound Pa. turnpike reopens at Somerset after truck crash cleaned up
A tractor-trailer driver was flown to a hospital after his rig overturned on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Somerset County early Monday, according to the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and state police. No other vehicles were involved in the crash, which happened around 12:40 a.m. on eastbound Interstate 70/76 in Allegheny Township,...
Destructive insects threaten to attack, kill Eastern hemlocks in Western Pa.Video
A nasty tiny insect is sucking the life out the state tree, the Eastern hemlock, hitting iconic trees at the Flight 93 crash site, Cook Forest, Fallingwater and one of the wildest landscapes close to Pittsburgh — the Buffalo Valley watershed in Buffalo Township. Known as the woolly adelgid, this...
Washington County man killed in quad crash
A Washington County man was killed Saturday night in a quad crash near Finleyville, the Washington County coroner reported. The victim, Dusty Robinson, 40, of Finleyville, was driving his quad along Garvin Road at about 8 p.m when the vehicle hit a ditch, the coroner stated. The victim, who was...
Mobile, online sports wagers upping tax revenues in Pennsylvania
As more states look to online sports betting as a way to bolster their budgets, Pennsylvania for several years has been reaping the benefits of the now billion-dollar industry. Since Rivers Philadelphia, formerly SugarHouse Casino, opened the state’s first virtual sportsbook in May 2019, online wagers on sporting events have...
Man electrocuted while cleaning gutters in Hopewell
A man died Saturday after he was electrocuted while cleaning gutters in Hopewell, according to the Washington County coroner’s office. Joseph Bevec, 57, of Canonsburg was working as a handyman and using an aluminum ladder to clean gutters at a residence on Brush Run Road when the ladder came in...
Teen shot in head in Uniontown
A 15-year-old boy was hospitalized Friday night after being shot in the head in Uniontown, Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV reported. The shooting of the teenager occurred around 8 p.m. in an alley off Coolspring Street. The teenager was flown by medical helicopter to an area hospital. Uniontown police Lt. Thomas...
Butler County authorities probing cause of fatal car explosion in Cranberry
Cranberry police and firefighters were still processing the scene of a car explosion in the parking lot of a Red Robin Restaurant on Friday night that left one person dead, according to township police. A Butler County 911 dispatcher reported multiple agencies responded after the dispatch center received multiple calls...
2 men indicted on murder charges in slaying of Nashville nurse from Butler
A grand jury in Tennessee has indicted two men on charges of first-degree murder in connection with the December killing of a Nashville nurse, originally from Butler County, court records show. James Cowan, 28, and Devaunte Hill, 21, both face charges in the Dec. 3 shooting death of Caitlyn Kaufman,...
Clymer man killed in 3-vehicle crash in Cherryhill Township
A 59-year-old Clymer man was killed in a three-vehicle crash Thursday in Indiana County, according to state police. Police said the man was headed east on Route 286 in Cherryhill Township northeast of Blairsville and was over the fog line when he came up on a disabled box truck on...
State police: Man ran meth lab out of his home near Smicksburg
State police in Indiana County are preparing charges against a man who allegedly operated a meth lab out of his home near Smicksburg. Officers from the county’s probation department, who were conducting a check at the 39-year-old man’s home Wednesday, contacted state police after they suspected he was making methamphetamine,...
Busy as bees: ‘We need them a lot more than they need us’
Thursday was a busy day for beekeepers, and not just because it was World Bee Day, when people should reflect on the importance of bees and their role as pollinators supporting our food crops and environment. Bill Kopar of Fawn Township, owner of the Kopar Honey Farm, recently has been...
Fayette man’s rapid control of robotic arm at Pitt lab detailed in ‘Science’
Having the sensation of touch makes quite a difference for Nathan Copeland. The 35-year-old man from Dunbar, Fayette County, lost the sensation and most of the motion in his limbs at 18 when he broke his neck in a car crash. Since 2014, he’s been participating in a study at...
Former Pittsburgh mobster, Youngstown mob boss Lenny Strollo dies at age 90
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — A former mob boss whose criminal enterprise helped earn Youngstown the name “Crimetown U.S.A” before turning federal witness has died at age 90. The funeral home handling arrangements on Thursday confirmed Lenine “Lenny” Strollo’s death. Authorities accused Strollo of running a criminal enterprise that involved gambling, drugs...
Visitation resumes at 5 Pa. state prison facilities
The state Department of Corrections will slowly start phasing in-person visitation back in at five facilities, including SCI-Laurel Highlands, officials said this week. The decision to allow in-person visits at any particular facility is based upon vaccination rates, the percentage of cases among those incarcerated, and the amount of the...
Richard King Mellon Foundation gives $150M gift to Carnegie Mellon University
The Richard King Mellon Foundation on Thursday announced its largest ever grant — $150 million to Carnegie Mellon University. Half of the historic investment — $75 million — will go toward the construction of CMU’s long-awaited, cutting-edge $210 million science building on Forbes Avenue, adjacent to the Carnegie Museum in...
Leechburg paramedic for Allegheny Health Network featured in Marvel comic bookVideo
If you ask Gary Cockroft, he’s about as far from a superhero as you could get. “I’m really quiet. I don’t like the camera; I like to stay in the background,” said Cockroft, 64, a Leechburg resident and paramedic with A-K Pulser. Marvel Comics and the Allegheny Health Network, however,...
Police: Seward-area Corvette targeted among vehicle thefts in 3 counties
State police are investigating a string of vehicle thefts from three counties, including Westmoreland. Troopers this week searched for a red 2014 Corvette Stingray stolen from the Seward area. It was among three vehicles stolen since Friday night or early Saturday morning in what investigators believe are connected thefts across...
Pa. woman charged in Capitol riot recorded saying she wanted to ‘hang’ Nancy PelosiVideo
Two McKean County residents were charged Tuesday in connection with their participation in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Pauline Bauer, of Kane, organized a bus trip to the “Stop the Steal” rally that day in Washington, D.C., according to the FBI. She then illegally entered the Capitol,...
Greater Latrobe bus provider among area recipients getting grants for ‘green’ vehicles
State Alternative Fuel Incentive Grants are helping several area companies and municipal entities add green vehicles to their transportation fleets — including the firm that buses students to Greater Latrobe schools. General Manager Jay Kilpatrick said the $300,000 grant Norvelt-based DMJ Transportation received will help cover the extra investment the...
