Regional category, Page 337
PennDOT honors 2 Uniontown employees for excellence
Two staff members at PennDOT’s District 12 headquarters in Uniontown were among 30 recipients of the department’s annual Star of Excellence awards presented Monday in Harrisburg. Uniontown residents Gary V. Ferrari Jr., senior civil engineer supervisor, and Jay Ofsanik, safety press officer, were among PennDOT employees from across the state...
GirlGov pitches political engagement for local high school girls
The Women and Girls Foundation of Pittsburgh is making a pitch for the next generation of female leaders with its GirlGov program. The free program is open to girls from Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Washington or Westmoreland counties entering grades 9 to 12 this fall. The foundation will launch...
U.S. Rep. John Joyce racks up 12,000 miles of travel in six months
In just six months in office, U.S. Rep. John Joyce, R-Blair County, will have racked up about 12,000 miles on the public dime. In April, Joyce traveled to Yuma, Ariz., to get a firsthand look at the flow of migrants streaming across the U.S.-Mexico border, seeking asylum. He said the...
Several Western Pa. swimming spots fail water-quality tests
Several area swimming spots failed water-quality tests because of strands of E. coli, according to a Melcroft environmental organization. The Mountain Watershed Association, which tests popular swimming spots in the region, found 11 out of 14 tested locations failed the test. Swimming, wading and paddling should be avoided to reduce...
Girl Scouts receive $845,000 grant for building outdoor programs
Girl Scouts of Western Pennsylvania is building their outdoor programs thanks to a $845,000 grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation. Girl Scout officials plan to use the money for research and training, hoping to encourage girls to get outdoors and experience new things, spokesperson Stefanie Marshall said. Troops in...
Police: 2 taken to hospitals after assault in Aliquippa
Two people were taken to a hospital after an assault Sunday night in Aliquippa. Police were called to an apartment complex on Superior Avenue around 11 p.m. after a report that shots were fired, Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV reported. No evidence of a shooting was found, but two people were...
Gas prices continue decline on tariff worries, falling oil prices
Gasoline prices are down again in Pittsburgh, and the national average has fallen for four straight weeks — not something drivers expect at the start of the summer season. “More impressively is the surprise that may soon hit some motorists: the nation’s cheapest gas prices may soon fall back under...
Authorities identify 18-year-old man killed in Butler County crash
A Butler man died from injuries suffered in a crash Sunday in northwestern Butler County, according to state police. Authorities identified the man as 18-year-old Cole Wilson. The crash happened around 4:30 p.m. at Route 108 and the northbound ramp of Interstate 79 in Worth Township, authorities said. State police...
Indiana County man killed by falling carport
An Indiana County man was crushed to death when the carport he was sitting under collapsed, according to authorities. Richard Wade Rearick, 52, of Shelocta was sitting on a chair against a wall under the carport attached to his home when the roof caved in on him, according to Tribune-Review...
15-foot python at large in MorgantownVideo
Morgantown police were looking for a 15-foot python Friday after it apparently escaped from a truck the previous night. According to news partner WPXI, officials warned people to keep an eye on children and small pets — especially when outdoors. The station sent its news chopper to the city to...
Grove City man sentenced to 17 years in federal prison for producing child porn
A Grove City man has been sentenced to 17 years and 6 months in federal prison for producing child pornography. Matthew Switzer, 33, coerced a 4-year-old girl to engage in sexually explicit conduct several times to create at least 13 pornographic photos, according to U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady. The...
Pa. museum gets massive, century-old steam engine running again
A century-old steam engine has been put on display at Pennsylvania’s National Museum of Industrial History after workers got it running again for the first time in nearly four decades. The 115-ton Corliss engine once pumped 8 million gallons of water a day for the York Water Co. in York....
Indiana police recover stolen safe from retention pond
Indiana Borough police are seeking a 28-year-old man accused of stealing a safe containing about $5,000 from a local screenprinting business and dumping it into a storm water pond. A felony warrant was issued for Raymond C. Spencer of Indiana, who police said entered S&S Screenprinting through a window on...
Pa. amusement park removes personalized bullet keychains
ALLENTOWN — A Pennsylvania amusement park is no longer selling a bullet cartridge keychain that could be personalized with the buyer’s name. Sarah Keller tells lehighvalley.com she felt a mix of horror and disbelief when her daughter spotted the souvenir for sale in the gift shop at Dorney Park and...
Storms made May one of Western Pennsylvania’s wettest ever
This week’s storms made the month one of the Pittsburgh area’s rainiest Mays ever, according to the National Weather Service. The region got 5.97 inches of rain this month as of Friday morning. A least a trace of rain was recorded on 23 of the month’s 31 days. The weather...
Bird migrations hint at climate change in Erie
The gray catbird isn’t the most popular of birds, but to Jerry McWilliams and others it is the equivalent of the canary in a coal mine. The bird is telling us something. “It used to arrive here in the last week of April and it left in late September,” said...
Slippery Rock students work with Butler VFD on recruiting new members
Fire departments across Pennsylvania are having difficulty recruiting new members, and chiefs have made no secret of their desire to bring new, younger members aboard. Cory Milkovich of Butler knows all too well the crucial role a well-staffed fire department plays in a community: local firefighters battled a fire last...
Relying on Social Security income? You may want to move to Westmoreland
Pennsylvania residents who rely on Social Security as a main source of income in retirement may do well to find a home in Westmoreland County, according to a recent study. New York financial technology company SmartAsset released a study of Pennsylvania counties where retirees’ Social Security income would go furthest....
Smartwise releases Internet safety guide
Wondering how to keep your kids safe on the Internet during summer vacation? Safewise, a home security and safety advising company, has released a guide to help parents identify threats and ways to protect kids from online predators. Major threats include cyberbullying, online predators and exposure to inappropriate content ranging...
Horseshoes, yo-yos and speedcubing: Western Pennsylvania is home to unusual competitions
Pittsburgh may be known for its football, baseball and hockey, but the region’s competitive spirit goes much further. The East Coast Slingshot Tournament coming to East Huntingdon this weekend is just one of the area’s creative contests. Here’s a few more examples: East Coast Masters yo-yo championship Professional yo-yo players...
Pitt boosts wellness, activities fees
No word yet on next year’s tuition, but Pitt students will have to dig deeper to cover student fees this fall. University officials recently approved a $50 a semester increase in student wellness fees. The increase, which will boost wellness fees from $130 to $180 a semester, has been earmarked...
Rainfall record set Wednesday
Mother Nature shattered a seven-year-old rainfall record on Wednesday. A total of 1.93 inches fell at Pittsburgh International Airport, where the National Weather Service takes its official measurements, according to meteorologist Bill Modzelewski. That broke the record of 1.29 inches for rain on May 29 that had stood since 2012....
Help sought from Attorney General regarding wastewater pollution into Monongahela River
Two county district attorneys have referred their concerns over pollution to the Monongahela River to the state Attorney General’s Office for further investigation. Washington County District Attorney Eugene Vittone and Fayette County District Attorney Richard Bower recently discussed the matter with Chief Deputy Attorney General Rebecca Franz, who is with...
Route 28 reopens, flood watch remains
Route 28 in Pittsburgh reopened early Thursday morning after it was closed due to flooding, according to Allegheny County 911. Most of Western Pennsylvania remains under a flash flood watch until 11 p.m. Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. Much of Beaver County is under a flood warning. Showers...
Motorcyclist uses flannel shirt to save bald eagle on Chester County highway
A Lancaster man used his flannel shirt to rescue an injured bald eagle that had plopped down in the middle of a Route 30 bypass, stopping traffic, in Downingtown, Chester County, on Saturday, according to media reports. Dandon Miller was on his motorcycle when he encountered the traffic jam and...
