Regional News category, Page 326
First 911 Trail Challenge near Shanksville offers special closed road access for cyclists
The inaugural 911 Trail Challenge on Sept. 7 will offer bicyclists a 24-mile course, including an eight-mile section at the Flight 93 National Memorial near Shanksville that will be open only to cyclists. The Sept. 11 National Memorial Trail is a 1,300-mile network of bicycle and pedestrian trails linking the...
Worker dies after wall collapses at Washington County coal mine
A worker at a Consol Energy coal mine in Washington County died Thursday evening when a wall collapsed, according to authorities. The victim was identified as Tanner Lee McFarland, 25, of Washington, according to state police, who are investigating the incident. The wall collapsed about 6 p.m. in the Enlow...
PUC: Improvements planned at Washington County railroad crossing after 2018 crash, acid spill
A series of flashing warning lights and a warning bell will be installed at a railroad crossing in Centerville, Washington County, where a freight train collided with a tractor-trailer carrying hydrochloric acid last year causing several injuries and an evacuation, according to the state Public Utility Commission. The commission voted...
2-way flow of Laurel Pipeline approved by state commission
A petition to start bi-directional service on the Laurel Pipeline between Pittsburgh and Altoona has received the necessary regulatory approval from the state. The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission voted 5-0 to approve a joint settlement agreement between the Laurel Pipeline Co. and a group of complainants, including Giant Eagle and...
Archaeologists probe oldest, deepest part of Meadowcroft Rockshelter
Archaeologists are looking for new clues at one of the oldest known sites of human habitation in North America. Devlin Gandy, an archaeologist from St. John’s College at the University of Cambridge, and James M. Adovasio, the director of archaeology at Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Historic Village, are conducting research at...
Feds looking for man they say robbed PNC Bank in Cranberry
Federal and local authorities are asking for help in identifying a man they say robbed a bank Wednesday in Cranberry. The man went to the PNC Bank at 20940 Route 19 in Cranberry shortly after 4:45 p.m. and displayed a note to the teller indicating he had a weapon, according...
Police: Armed customer robs Subway in Butler County
State police are investigating an armed robbery at a Subway restaurant in Butler County. According to state police, the robbery happened around 8:50 p.m. Wednesday at the shop at 1768 N. Main St. Ext. in Center Township. Police said a man placed an order and then drew a handgun. He...
Technology issues cause Butler Area schools to delay first day until Tuesday
Students at the Butler Area School District preparing to start classes Thursday now have a few more days left to their summer vacation. Ongoing technology failures causing issues with transportation caused Superintendent Brian White to delay the start of school until Tuesday, Sept. 3, according to a letter sent to...
Officials: PNC Bank in Cranberry robbed
A Cranberry Township bank was robbed Wednesday evening, according to Butler County 911 dispatchers. Officers responded to PNC Bank, located at 20940 Route 19, around 5 p.m. for reports of the robbery. Further details were not immediately available Wednesday night. This is not the first time that PNC Bank has...
Ohiopyle seeking votes as Top Adventure Town for outdoors fun
Fans of Ohiopyle’s many outdoors activities can vote for it to be recognized as a Top Adventure Town. Nominated by the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau, Ohiopyle is among 80 communities in contention for four final spots in the ninth annual contest conducted by Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine. The online contest...
Butler photographer waited days for perfect shot of indigo bunting and sunflowerVideo
Visually, call it the last kiss of summer: A bright male indigo bunting singing his heart out on a fully blooming sunflower. It won’t be too long before the indigo buntings migrate south, flying about 1,200 miles to reach wintering grounds from southern Florida to northern South America, according to...
‘Jelly brains’ emerge in Pennsylvania lakeVideo
Gooey blobs are living in a Monroe County lake. Visitors to Skytop Lodge near Canadensis just might catch a glimpse of these melon-sized bryozoans, or jelly brains, reports WNEP-TV. The colony of moss animals is harmless and indicators of healthy water. They were intriguing to guests on guided nature walks...
Johnstown man caught with loaded gun at Pittsburgh International Airport
A Johnstown man was stopped at the security checkpoint at Pittsburgh International Airport on Tuesday when a loaded handgun was discovered in his carry-on bag , according to the Transportation Security Administration. The TSA contacted Allegheny County police, who responded to the checkpoint, confiscated the .380-caliber handgun and detained the...
Infant twins, triplets sought for Amazon film in Pittsburgh
A Pittsburgh casting company is seeking infant twins or triplets for an Amazon Studios movie filming in the area this fall. Mosser Casting is looking for identical, white, male twins and triplets who will be between 3 and 9 months old by the start of filming on Oct. 23. The...
Maryland man gets 30 years for 1999 abduction, assault of Somerset Co. girl
A Maryland man will spend the next 30 years in prison for the 1999 abduction and sexual assault of a 10-year-old Somerset County girl. Timothy D. Nelson, 50, of Cumberland, Md., was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Kim Gibson in Johnstown. He could have received life in prison for...
Cops: Suspected meth lab discovered in Indiana home
A 33-year-old Indiana woman has been charged after state police served a search warrant at her home and discovered a suspected “one-pot” meth lab inside, according to state police in Indiana. Police reported the meth lab was discovered at a residence along South 12th Street, where troopers and officers with...
Fayette man charged with cruelty in shooting death of neighbors’ cat
A Fayette County man is charged with cruelty to animals, accused of shooting and killing a pet cat that strayed into his yard from a nearby home. State police from the Uniontown station said Harold Earl Hair Jr., 63, of Dunbar, admitted using a .22-caliber rifle to shoot a black...
Cars, tunes, yard sales fill September weekend in Saltsburg
Classic wheels, live music and second-hand treasures will abound in Saltsburg during the second full weekend in September. The 13th annual Historic Saltsburg Car Cruise will kick things off from 5 to 9 p.m. Sept. 13 in the town’s Canal Park. On Sept. 14, town-wide yard sales will beckon those...
Fire destroys multi-unit Uniontown house
A fire Monday destroyed a turn-of-the-20th century Uniontown house converted into apartments, leaving several residents homeless, a Uniontown fire official said. No one was injured in the fire that destroyed the wood-framed, three-story house at 300 Main St., said Uniontown Fire Department Lt. Scott Conn. Residents from two of the...
U.S.-China trade war keeping gas prices down for Labor Day
The escalating trade war with China will benefit motorists at the gas pump this Labor Day. “With Labor Day around the corner, motorists will see the cheapest end to the summer since 2016, a great send-off to wrap up the summer driving season, but more good news likely lay ahead...
Troopers searching for pair who fled I-79 traffic stop
MCKEAN — Pennsylvania State Police troopers are searching for two people who fled from a traffic stop along Interstate 79, then ran off after their vehicle crashed off the McKean exit. The incident was reported shortly before 9 a.m. Monday. According to state police, an attempt was made to stop...
Pa. prosecutor won’t charge ex-Rep. Brian Ellis over sex assault claim
HARRISBURG — A prosecutor said Monday he believes a crime occurred but does not plan to charge a former state representative who resigned during an investigation into allegations he sexually assaulted a woman four years ago. Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo said he agreed with a conclusion in a...
Cleveland officer accused of trying to entice child pleads not guilty
CLEVELAND — An off-duty Cleveland police officer charged with attempted kidnapping for trying to entice a 12-year-old girl waiting for a school bus has pleaded not guilty. Thirty-four-year-old Solomon Nhiwatiwa pleaded not guilty Monday in a Cuyahoga County courtroom to charges that also include child enticement, indecent exposure, pandering obscenity...
Police: Somerset County pair lose thousands in prize scam
Two Somerset County residents were scammed out of thousands of dollars by a man who claimed they’d won millions of dollars worth of prizes, state police said. Police said a 42-year-old Confluence man and a 61-year-old Stonycreek Township woman were contacted by a man who claimed to be a Publishers...
Police: Bus driver electrocuted despite warning from passing motorist
A bus driver with hearing problems might not have heard another motorist’s shouted warnings Friday before he got out of his wrecked school bus on a rural Beaver County road and was electrocuted, an official said. Timothy VanKirk, 60, of Ellwood City died instantly from the live high-voltage electrical wires...
