Regional category, Page 364
For home-flippers, Pittsburgh region is one of nation’s most profitable bets
Tim Pommer had been managing an auto-repair shop in the Alle-Kiski Valley for nearly a decade when he decided to turn his knack for fixing and reselling cars into fixing and reselling houses. “I figured the profit would be a lot bigger when I flipped bigger things. I wanted to...
As oil prices rise, lowest gas prices may be in rearview mirror
With oil prices back over $50 per barrel, gas prices may soon bottom out and start to move higher, said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy. “While it doesn’t seem that prices will rise very far, it looks more and more like the lowest price of the year...
Monroeville man sought for allegedly stealing car in Indiana County
State police are looking for a Monroeville man charged with stealing a car in Indiana County. Police allege Dakar Allen Jones, 46, took a 2002 Pontiac Grand Am coupe from a Blairsville woman at about 5 a.m. June 3, outside the Eat’n Park restaurant on Oakland Avenue in White Township....
Snow blankets Pittsburgh region, temperatures to remain freezing
Western Pennsylvania residents are digging out Sunday morning after the first measurable snow fall of 2019 hit overnight. Shannon Hefferan, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Moon, said the Pittsburgh region saw, on average, about 3 inches of snow overnight Saturday into Sunday. Hefferan said the area hit the...
Millsboro lumber store considered total loss in Saturday fire
Firefighters suspect a wood-burner heating system may have sparked a blaze that destroyed the main retail building of Millsboro Lumber and Hardware Saturday afternoon in Washington County. No one was injured. The East Bethlehem Township business was evacuated when an employee reported the fire at about 2 p.m., East Bethlehem...
State police are looking for suspect in Somerset County bar break-in
State police are looking for a suspect who took money and alcoholic beverages during a break-in early Thursday at a bar in Boswell, Somerset County. An unidentified white male suspect entered a rear window between 2:50 and 3 a.m. at Merchants Restaurant and Lounge, 325 Main St., broke into a...
27 indicted on federal drug and money laundering crimes
A federal grand jury in Pittsburgh has indicted 27 people in U.S. District Court on multiple counts of drug possession with intent to distribute heroin, cocaine and fentanyl and other crimes. Court papers indicate the eight-count indictment was under seal Tuesday, Jan. 8 and unsealed Friday, Jan. 11. The defendants...
Military veterans warned of benefit scam
Veterans’ affairs officials are cautioning military veterans to be aware of private contractors offering to process claims for them following the announcement that an Allegheny County company was fined $10,000 after an employee falsely held himself out as an accredited veteran’s services agent. Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said agents...
Kraft Hockeyville USA contest looking for most spirited hockey community
Kraft Hockeyville USA returns for its fifth year, and nominations are officially open to find America’s most spirited and enthusiastic hockey communities. Towns nationwide can compete for the title of Kraft Hockeyville USA 2019, which includes the opportunity to host an NHL preseason game and $150,000 in rink upgrades. Rostraver...
Erie mayor’s sister-in-law is $4 million lottery winner
Erie Mayor Joe Schember’s family now includes a millionaire. Schember confirmed to the Erie Times-News on Friday that his sister-in-law, Leann Wolfe, is the Erie woman who won a $4 million prize in the Mega Millions drawing on New Year’s Day. Wolfe, a 58-year-old retired Erie School District teacher, is...
South Butler schools will be in ‘modified lockdown’ on Friday
A student’s threat against the South Butler County School District led to what district officials called a “modified lockdown” last Monday, Jan. 7. With rumors still circulating through the community, Superintendent David Foley announced in a Jan. 10 letter posted to the district’s website that the district will implement a...
Mining could cause section of I-70 ‘to settle about 2 to 5 feet in some areas’
At some point in 2019, PennDOT officials expect parts of Interstate 70 could sink up to five feet between the West Virginia line and the Claysville interchange in Washington County due to longwall mining. “When longwall mining occurs, the interstate can be expected to settle about two to five feet...
New lawsuit filed against Glade Run Lutheran claims another boy was sexually assaulted
The parent organization that ran a since-closed Zelienople youth home and recently settled a lawsuit filed on behalf of a teenage sexual assault victim faces a new lawsuit of a similar nature. Attorney Michael Pisanchyn Jr. of the Pittsburgh-based Pisanchyn Law Firm filed the suit this month against Glade Run...
Technology, fingerprints helped troopers solve 1999 abduction, rape case
Decades of advances in forensic technology, combined with fingerprints obtained from drunk-driving arrests in Maryland, resulted in a break that allowed troopers to arrest a man for the 1999 abduction and rape of a 10-year-old Somerset County girl, police said Thursday. Timothy D. Nelson Jr., 50, of Cumberland, Md., was...
Troopers say Indiana County woman missing for a week discovered ‘safe’
State police in Indiana said an Indiana County woman who was reported missing by her family since Jan. 3 was discovered safe Thursday. According to police, Megan Sue Durand, 35, was last seen at about 4 p.m. Jan. 3 at a residence on Red Street in the village of Iselin...
State police to release details of nearly 20-year-old abduction, rape of Somerset girl
State police plan to announce Thursday details of a nearly 20-year-old investigation into the abduction and rape of a 10-year-old Somerset County girl that resulted in the arrest Wednesday of a 50-year-old Maryland man. Trooper Stephen Limani said Trooper Jeff Brock arrested Timothy D. Nelson Jr., 50, of Cumberland, Md.,...
Parts of Laurel Highlands could get 3-5 inches of snow by Thursday
The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for parts of the Laurel Highlands through noon Thursday. Snow accumulations of 3 to 5 inches are expected, with winds gusting as high as 35 mph, according to the NWS Pittsburgh office in Moon Township. The advisory covers the ridges...
5 charged with kidnapping, torturing pregnant woman in New Castle
State police have charged five people with kidnapping and torturing a pregnant woman in Lawrence County in an attempt to find missing money. The captors allegedly duct taped the victim’s legs together, gagged her with duct tape, injured her toe with a clamp, hit her feet with a hammer and...
More than $35,000 raised for family of children who died in South Union fire
A fundraiser for the family of two children who died Tuesday in a house fire in South Union surpassed its $35,000 goal in less than 24 hours. The GoFundMe page set up by Shienna Ross of Uniontown continues to raise money in memory of siblings RyLeigh Paige Weasenforth, 7, and...
Pennsylvania politicians react to Trump’s national border security address
President Trump’s nationally televised address on border security Tuesday night called on Congress to approve his plan to build a $5.7 billion steel wall along the U.S.-Mexican border and put an end to the second-longest U.S. government shutdown. “The federal government remains shut down for one reason and one reason...
‘Young lives lost’: Fayette County neighbors grieve for 2 children who died in house fire
Families in a South Union neighborhood awoke Tuesday to sirens and flashing lights as fire trucks and ambulances responded to a house fire that killed a young brother and sister. RyLeigh, 7, and Gunner Weasenforth, 5, were pronounced dead at the South Mt. Vernon Avenue home, Fayette County Coroner Phillip...
St. Vincent-Carlow to offer collaborative nursing program
Add Saint Vincent College to the growing list of Westmoreland County institutions hosting undergraduate nursing degree programs. Saint Vincent, which offers a master’s and doctorate program for nurse anesthetists in conjunction with Excela Health System, will partner with Carlow University beginning this fall to offer a bachelor of science in...
Dregs of Rivertowne’s brewpub chain for sale again in bankruptcy saga
Two closed taverns that once belonged to bankrupt Rivertowne Brewery Co. are for sale again after a deal to sell the Verona property fell through and the North Huntingdon site never attracted a buyer at auction. Fybo Management Inc., one of the interlocking bankrupt companies that operated Rivertowne’s Murrysville brewery...
2 children killed in Fayette County fire identified
A brother and sister were killed early Tuesday in a house fire in South Union Township, Fayette County, according to Coroner Phillip Reilly. His office identified the children as RyLeigh Weasenforth, 7, and Gunner Weasenforth, 5. They were pronounced dead at the house on South Mt. Vernon Avenue at 7:48...
Two charged in Indiana hostage situation
Two Allegheny County men are accused of holding a woman hostage in her Indiana apartment on Monday, assaulting her and threatening her and her family, Indiana police said. Jeremy R. Bryant, 37, of McKeesport, and Stevland K. Parks Sr., 33, of Wilkinsburg, are accused of holding the woman inside her...
