Regional News category, Page 352
Census director: 2020 count will be test of technology, public trustVideo
There’s more riding on the 2020 census than a national head count. Beyond the population numbers, demographic information and statistics the census will sort out, the process the U.S. Census Bureau will use will test the reliability of smartphone technology. “There are some concerns,” said Fernando E. Armstrong, regional director...
Ex-firefighter, woman charged in Pa. barn fires
NORTHAMPTON, Pa. — A former volunteer firefighter is charged along with a woman in a series of barn fires in eastern Pennsylvania. State police said 20-year-old Justin Emmons was arrested during a Friday evening traffic stop in Bucks County and returned to Northampton County to face charges including causing or...
Hammer-wielding burglar caught on video breaking into Beaver County homeVideo
Authorities in Beaver County are seeking the public’s help to identify a hammer-wielding burglar who smashed a glass door to enter a house and steal a jewelry box. It happened at 4 a.m. Saturday and was captured on surveillance video. Hopewell police said it happened on Grand Avenue and the...
Harmar bald eagles suspected to have hatched an eaglet
The Harmar bald eagles reportedly welcomed a newly hatched eaglet early Friday in their nest on a hillside above Route 28. Confirmation was still pending Saturday morning from the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania. Without the benefit of a live webcam, observers including a photographer documented the birds likely feeding...
Wrong-way driver killed, other driver hurt in crash on I-79 in Washington County
A wrong-way driver died early Saturday in a two-vehicle crash on Interstate 79 in Washington County, according to investigators. Amanda Sue Towns, 25, of Morgantown, W.Va., was traveling north in the southbound lanes at 3:50 a.m. in North Strabane Township, just north of the Canonsburg exit, according to a news...
Wild for flowers: Spring blooming season finally arrives in Pittsburgh region
Wildflower season is arriving in Southwestern Pennsylvania. With warmer temperatures comes nature’s wonders springing from the earth in a variety of colors and shapes. Some wildflowers have already started blooming in lower elevations, and this week would be a good time to check out the early types, said Rachael Mahony,...
Indiana County woman found dead as her house burns
Indiana County Coroner Jerry Overman has identified a woman found dead Friday morning by crews battling a fire at her Rayne Township home. Betty Ann Coleman, 77, was found dead in the kitchen as firefighters searched the home along Route 119, according to Overman. Investigators aren’t sure why she was...
So you want to be a farmer: Farm Service offers beginning and under-served farmer loans
The USDA Farm Service Agency has loans available for under-served groups and beginning farmers in Allegheny, Armstrong and Butler counties. The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines under-served farmers as those who have been subjected to racial, ethnic or gender prejudice. For program purposes, USDA targeted under-served groups are women, African...
Pair jailed on drug charges after Indiana traffic stop
A traffic stop in Indiana Borough Thursday resulted in two men being jailed for allegedly having more than 300 bags of heroin, Indiana Borough police said. Amir Mithcell, 21, of Wilkinsburg, already was wanted by authorities when Indiana police made the stop at about 10 a.m. in the 300 block...
Police seek witnesses to Washington County movie theater shooting
Washington County authorities continue looking for witnesses to a movie theater shooting last month, the district attorney said Friday. The March 23 shooting at the Regal Theater in North Franklin left one boy with a gunshot wound to his leg after an altercation with a Greene County man that spilled...
Crane operator’s arm nearly severed in accident 300 feet up
A crane operator in Cincinnati had to call 911 for rescue after his arm was partially severed in an accident nearly 300 feet up in the air. A fire official says the crane operator made the call after a cable sliced underneath his arm Friday. Rescue crews used a basket...
Police: Altoona man wakes to stranger sleeping on his kitchen floor
Police say an Altoona man awoke to find a stranger sleeping on his kitchen floor surrounded by torn-up sanitary napkins. Altoona police say they arrested 60-year-old Brian Smith on Thursday after the homeowner called police when he found Smith in his kitchen. The Altoona Mirror reports Smith was unconscious and...
Canonsburg mother donates kidney to honor her late sonVideo
Laura Gillum of Canonsburg wanted to keep the memory of her son alive. In 2015, Gillum and her husband, Paul, lost their 2-year-old, Dean, in a swimming pool drowning accident. The couple donated Dean’s organs to help people in need. A few weeks ago, Laura Gillum, 46, became an altruistic...
Police to charge West Virginia mom after abduction tale
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A woman will be criminally charged for falsely reporting that an Egyptian man tried to kidnap her daughter from a West Virginia shopping mall, a police detective told The Associated Press on Friday. Barboursville Police Detective Greg Lucas said they are going to charge Santana Renee Adams...
Western Pennsylvania teens accused of transmitting sexual images
Two Western Pennsylvania teenagers were charged in juvenile court by state police in Indiana for allegedly transmitting sexually explicit images. Trooper Daniel Bradley reported that a 15-year-old girl from White Township in Indiana County forwarded sexually explicit photographs of herself to a 16-year-old boy in Clearfield County. The boy is...
Lawsuit: Teacher sexually abused child, birthed his kids
WHEELING — A West Virginia man says his middle school teacher sexually abused him for years, gave birth to his children and threatened to take them away if he left her. The Intelligencer reports 28-year-old Christopher Birch is suing former Bridge Street Middle School science teacher and track coach, Elizabeth...
Westmoreland County Community College hosts Express Enrollment
Students considering summer school can fill in all the blanks at Westmoreland County Community College’s Express Enrollment Day on April 6. WCCC will be hosting a “one-stop shop” for prospective students from 10 am. until 2 p.m. at its campuses and centers in Hempfield, Latrobe, Mt. Pleasant, New Kensington, Murrysville,...
Small Indiana County community assessed legal fees in injection well dispute
A rural Indiana County township that fought a gas company’s plan to put an injection well within its boundaries has lost its fight in court in federal court and must pay the gas company’s legal fees. StateImpactPA reports a federal judge has ordered Grant Township, a small northern Indiana County...
Woman dies after vehicle crashes into two homes in Fayette County
A 31-year-old Hopwood woman died early Thursday when her vehicle crashed into two houses in South Union Township, state police said. The woman was identified as Tiffany Minerd by Trooper Lauren Vernail. The crash occurred about 1:20 a.m. at 564 East Main Street. We're Following the CLOSURE of East Main...
Pittsburgh-area billionaire Maggie Hardy ties the knot in Colorado
Standing on top of Aspen Mountain in Colorado, Maggie Hardy and Shawn Knox tied the knot. Hardy, the billionaire president of building supply company 84 Lumber and Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, is the daughter of Joseph A. Hardy III, who founded both businesses. After meeting last year, the Pittsburgh-area couple traveled...
Woman dies after head-on crash with dump truck in Somerset County
State police in Somerset said a woman was killed on Route 30 near Stoystown Wednesday after her car collided head-on with a dump truck. Troopers said witnesses reported the woman was driving eastbound, approaching the Haines School Road intersection ,when she crossed the centerline and drove into the path of...
Somerset dairy farmer urges Congress to bring whole milk back to schools
A Somerset County dairy farmer told a U.S. House subcommittee on Wednesday that whole milk should be offered again in American schools. “It is unfortunate what has happened in the schools and cafeterias where we have tried to push this skim and 1 percent milk,” said Glenn Stoltzfus of Pennwood...
Philadelphia issuing photo ID cards to residents 13 or over
The City of Brotherly Love will start offering identification cards to residents who may have difficulty get a Pennsylvania ID. Homeless people, those in the country illegally and teens can apply for the cards. “The card helps create a more welcoming Philadelphia that embraces everyone who lives here. It is...
Pedestrian, 21, seriously injured when struck by car in Indiana County
A 21-year-old woman was seriously injured Tuesday when she was hit by a car while walking along Old William Penn Highway near Blairsville, Indiana County. State police said Michelle A. Franco, 21, of Dayton, Armstrong County, was taken by ambulance to Allegheny Health Network Forbes Hospital in Monroeville with multiple...
PPG, DEP reach $1.2 million settlement on cleanup of Ford City disposal site
PPG Industries Inc. has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $1.2 million to the state for environmental violations stemming from the former Ford City glass manufacturing plant in Armstrong County, the state Department of Environmental Protection said. The settlement agreement, announced on Tuesday, will require PPG to clean up...
