Regional News category, Page 318
State police: Man serving life for murdering children killed cellmate in Indiana Co. prison
A 43-year-old inmate from Philadelphia already serving two life terms for murdering two toddlers was charged Wednesday with the New Year’s Day killing of his cellmate at SCI Pine Grove in Indiana County. Dwight Darnell Bowen, now incarcerated at SCI Houtzdale, was charged by state police with homicide in the...
Police seek Jefferson Hills man charged with trying to rape boy
Authorities are searching for a registered sex offender from Jefferson Hills who is charged with attempted rape of a teen last month in Washington County. Russell Marycz, 43, is charged with attempted rape; kidnapping, unlawful restraint, false imprisonment and corruption of minors; criminal solicitation; simple assault; and interference with custody...
Snyder of Berlin sold to competitor Utz
Snyder of Berlin, a well-known Somerset County producer of potato chips, pretzels, popcorn and other snacks, has been sold to Utz Quality Foods, its York County-based competitor, the company said Wednesday. Snyder of Berlin had been owned by food conglomerate Conagra Brands Inc. Utz bills itself as the largest family-managed,...
Ex-Fayette County funeral director admits bilking clients out of more than $500K
A former Uniontown funeral director pleaded guilty Tuesday in Fayette County to bilking more than 80 customers out of more than $500,000 worth of pre-paid funeral policy payments. Stephen E. Kezmarsky III, 52, of Uniontown, pleaded guilty to multiple counts of theft by deception, theft by failure to make required...
Twitter user gets Sheetz logo tattoo
Some people love Sheetz. Some people get Sheetz tattoos. Twitter user @Schulte_ posted a challenge Sunday to other tweeters: 100 likes and the Sheetz logo would be a part of them. If this gets 100 likes I’ll get @sheetz name tattooed on my leg. ?— Schulte?? (@Schulte__) October 20, 2019...
Fall trout stocked in Western Pa. waterwaysVideo
Steady rain didn’t dampen the anticipation of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and local anglers for the fall stocking of rainbow trout Tuesday at Deer Lakes Park and other waterways. The water temperature at Deer Lakes was 58 degrees, which is perfect for stocking trout, a coldwater fish, said...
Student experiment glitch prompts WVU building evacuation
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A spokesman for West Virginia University says a campus building has been evacuated after a student’s chemical lab experiment went awry. WVU spokesman John Bolt says students, faculty and staff in the engineering research building on the Evansdale campus were ordered out Tuesday. No injuries were reported....
Study: Rail-trails inject $930M annually into Pa. economy
Walking and biking trails developed along railroad rights-of-way contribute $930 million annually to Pennsylvania’s economy, and the regional Great Allegheny Passage trail is an important part of that figure, the Rails-To-Trails Conservancy estimates. According to the conservancy’s methodology, that estimate is on the low end of spending along the state’s...
House fire reported in Upper Tyrone
Firefighters responded to a house fire in Fayette County’s Upper Tyrone around 7:30 p.m. Monday, according to an 911 dispatch supervisor. The supervisor said at least four fire companies from Fayette County and several others from neighboring Westmoreland County responded to the fire at a house in the 300 block...
Census hiring events scheduled throughout week
Census officials are gearing up hiring efforts before the 2020 survey, and recruiting efforts will take place across Westmoreland and Allegheny counties this week. Interested applicants can ask questions about available positions — which include census takers, recruiting assistants, and office and supervisory staff — and receive help submitting applications....
Indiana County man killed in farming accident
An Indiana County man was fatally injured Friday afternoon when his jacket became caught in farming equipment. Leonard Mark Johnston, 57, of Creekside, was pronounced dead in a field off Johnston Road in Washington Township, Indiana County Coroner Jerry Overman said. He attributed the death to multiple blunt trauma. Johnston...
Trib Total Media creates scholarship to honor late editor
Trib Total Media has created a scholarship to honor the late Jim Borden, who served as managing editor of the Tribune-Review. The company will give up to $30,000 — paid in $7,500 annual installments — to one student every year, along with a guaranteed yearly internship with Trib Total Media...
3-vehicle crash in Indiana County kills 1, injures 3
A Creekside man was killed and three others were injured in a three-vehicle crash Friday afternoon in Indiana County. Robert Daniel Riddle, 61, died of blunt force trauma to the chest, Indiana County Coroner Jerry Overman said. Riddle was taken by ambulance to Indiana Regional Medical Center, where he was...
What’s in a name? High school stadiums, fields honor football standouts, coaches and supportersVideo
A football field, by any other name, would still measure 100 yards from end zone to end zone. But there are individuals, and stories, behind many names attached to local varsity gridirons and the stadiums that house them. Offutt Field in Greensburg and Weller Field in Ligonier are named for...
Washington, Pa., man gets up to 13 years for crimes involving drugs, guns, domestic violence
A Washington, Pa., man was sentenced this week to 6 1/2 to 13 years in state prison for cases involving domestic violence, drugs and gun possession. Shaquore Yarbrough, 26, of Third Street, was sentenced Wednesday in Washington City by Judge Valarie Costanzo. District Attorney Eugene A. Vittone said Yarbrough was...
Police: East Pittsburgh man fled scene of head-on crash
An East Pittsburgh man was arrested Friday after police said he fled from a head-on crash in Plum. The crash happened just before 10 a.m. along New Texas Road. Police said a car driven by Sean Tally, 20, crashed into an oncoming vehicle containing an Upper Burrell couple, ages 50...
Events around Western Pa. will honor Tree of Life victims 1 year after attack
Grief defies borders. As the world focuses on commemorating the one-year mark of the country’s most violent anti-Semitic attack, synagogues across Western Pennsylvania will hold special services of their own. Rabbi Amy Bardack of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh is coordinating events marking one year after Oct. 27, 2018,...
Mercury to transit between the Earth, sun in November
The planets will align on Nov. 11 this year. Well, two of them, at least. Mercury will transit between the Earth and the sun on Veteran’s Day this year. “When we have a ‘transit’ of the moon, we call it a solar eclipse,” said Ken Kobus of the Amateur Astronomers...
Aliquippa man caught with drugs, stolen gun and $70K gets 10 years in federal prison
A Beaver County man was sentenced in Pittsburgh federal district court to serve 10 years in prison for drug and gun crimes, U.S. Attorney Scott Brady said Wednesday. Senior U.S. District Judge Joy Flowers Conti sentenced Landon Alexander Gatta, 24, formerly of Aliquippa, for the crimes of possession with intent...
Game Commission shares video of black bear release in Fayette CountyVideo
Did you ever wonder what it would be like to have a 200-pound black bear charge at you? A video by the Pennsylvania Game Commission of a bear being released from a trap on state game lands in Lower Tyrone Township in Fayette County gives viewers that up close, in-person...
Former Redirections doctor sentenced to home confinement for illegal prescriptions
A former employee of Redirections Treatment Advocates was sentenced in federal court this week to home confinement and probation for illegally prescribing a drug used to treat opioid addiction. Michael Anthony Bummer, 40, of Sewickley, also was fined $20,000 and ordered to pay roughly $157,000 in restitution, prosecutors said. U.S....
Man killed in turnpike crash in Somerset
A Cincinnati area man was killed Wednesday when his can hit a parked tractor-trailer on the Pennsylvania Turnpike near the Somerset-Bedford border, state police said. Justin Drew, 34, of West Chester, Ohio, was driving a 2019 Dodge Caravan eastbound when it went off the road and hit the tractor-trailer parked...
Police: Man dead in Beaver County stabbing
One person died after a stabbing in Beaver County, according to Hopewell Township Police Chief Brain Uhrmacher. Officers responded to Guy Street in Hopewell Township around 11 p.m. Tuesday, where they found a man suffering from a stab wound. Uhrmacher said he was transported to UPMC Presbyterian in Oakland, where...
Orionid meteor shower will be dimmed by bright moonVideo
As the Orionid meteor shower peaks Oct. 21 to 23, don’t expect to see fireworks in the sky because of light interference from the waning full moon, according to Terry Trees of New Kensington, past president of Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh. That’s not saying that you can’t see the...
Superintendent: Laurel Highlands bus driver fired after failing alcohol test
A Laurel Highlands School District bus driver has been fired after failing an alcohol test, according to school officials. Laurel Highlands Superintendent Jesse T. Wallace III said he was told the driver failed a random test conducted on Friday by the driver’s employer — district transportation contractor First Student. “I...
