Chuck Biedka stories, Page 9

Chuck Biedka
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Pope Francis, first Latin American pontiff, dies at 88
No injuries reported when train strikes car in East Vandergrift
A car was struck by a Norfolk Southern train early Wednesday in East Vandergrift but there were no reported injuries, according to a spokesman for the railroad. The incident happened at about 2:30 a.m. when a train struck a motor vehicle at the Risher Street railroad crossing. There were no...
Murrysville wreck entraps dump truck driver
Emergency workers pulled a dump truck driver from his truck Wednesday morning after it overturned and blocked a Murrysville road, according to Westmoreland County dispatch. The truck rolled over just off the road at Pleasant Valley Road near Trafford Road around 8 a.m. The man was removed from the truck...
Federal jury convicts East Pittsburgh man of gun, drug offenses
A federal jury at Pittsburgh spent three hours in deliberations before finding a former East Pittsburgh man guilty of gun and drug violations. The jury of seven men and five women late Monday convicted Douglas Tyrone Williams, Jr., also known as “Chrome,” 39, in front of U.S. District Judge Mark...
Netflix series ‘Manhunt’ closes Kittanning Citizens Bridge for filming
The Kittanning Citizens Bridge and parts of South Water Street are closed thorough about 8 p.m. so TV production crews can get less than five minutes of video on the bridge. Traffic is being rerouted to the Graff Bridge, PennDOT said Tuesday. Kittanning police Chief Bruce Matthews said the Netflix...
2 sent to hospitals after Route 28 crash near Tarentum exit 
Two women were taken to a hospital Monday afternoon after the car in which they were riding veered off Route 28. Witnesses told police the car flipped several times in the area of mile marker 19, just past the Tarentum exit, according to state police. The driver and her passenger...
Arnold homicide suspect to stand trial
A Braddock man accused of killing an Armstrong County man during a June robbery in Arnold waived his right to a preliminary hearing in district court on Monday. The criminal case against Allen Duwayne Herring, 32, now proceeds to Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court. Police said Herring killed Gregory Ray...
Winning $800K ticket sold at Exxon in Lower Burrell
A Pennsylvania Lottery Cash 5 ticket worth $800,000 was sold Friday in Lower Burrell. The winning ticket matched all five balls drawn, 08-35-36-42-43, according to Lottery officials. PNP Exxon, 2700 Leechburg Road, will receive a $5,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket. “It’s super exciting,” said store owner Mike Dhakkar....
New Kensington waterline work should lead to Carl Avenue paving — at some point 
When a South Buffalo Township contractor’s crew finishes installing a large waterline under part of Carl Avenue in New Kensington, officials will have a decision to make: How and when to finally pave a stretch of Carl Avenue that normally is a popular shortcut between Tarentum Bridge and Craigdell roads....
FirstNet communications network to be topic at W. Pa. Firemen’s Convention
Volunteer firefighters attending the Western Pennsylvania Firemen’s Convention business meeting Tuesday, Aug. 13 in Arnold will hear about the nation’s first special communications network for police, fire and emergency services crews. The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) overseeing the communications network selected AT&T to provide the broadband network. Michael Varney,...
State police seize marijuana from Apollo building 
State troopers Thursday morning removed marijuana plants and related items from a former funeral home in Apollo. The building at the corner of South Pennsylvania Avenue and North Second Street is next door to the First Evangelical Lutheran Church and across the street from a former school. The brown building...
Fallen tree blamed for power outage for 1,300 in Lower Burrell, Allegheny Township 
A fallen tree along Route 56 in Lower Burrell Thursday morning caused a power outage for about 1,300 customers in Lower Burrell and Allegheny Township, according to West Penn Power and city officials. At about 9:30 a.m. a tree fell into the power lines near Midas Muffler on Route 56....
Harrison man headed to trial on assault charges
A Harrison man was ordered Wednesday to stand trial on assault and other charges in connection with a July 31 incident in which police said he beat a woman inside their Walnut Street home. Dominic Pelligrini, 43, faces a felony charge of aggravated assault and misdemeanor counts of simple assault,...
New Kensington cops revive 2 men who overdosed, then charged 1 of them
New Kensington police revived two men with the opioid overdose-reversal drug Narcan and then filed drug-related charges against one of them, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday. Police said they found the men unconscious just before 8 p.m. Friday in a car parked at Sheetz on Freeport Street. The...
Leechburg police sporting new look 
Leechburg police have a new look. Since Aug. 1, the department’s officers have been wearing dark blue uniforms, new badges and carrier vests over their dark-blue protective vests that read “police” in block white letters on the front and back. The department’s former uniforms were gray. Mayor Wayne Dobos said...
Leechburg Public Library to reopen after Labor Day
Leechburg Public Library hired a librarian and its collection should reopen next month, according to the president of the library board. Board President Karen Freilino said Leechburg resident Lisa Flick Kimbrugh was hired to direct the library when it reopens sometime after Labor Day inside Leechburg Junior/Senior High School. The...
Arnold ready to host Western Pa. Firemen’s Convention
Volunteer firefighters from across the region and numerous state fire officials will meet in Arnold next week for the annual convention for the Western Pennsylvania Firemen’s Association. The Aug. 8-14 convention will be the fifth to be held in Arnold since the 1950s and the first since 1996, according to...
Hyde Park man to stand trial for wife’s 2017 death, her taped accusations played in court 
Among the witnesses who testified Friday against a Hyde Park man accused of killing his wife in 2017 was the victim, herself. Jeffrey Mark Fondrk, 57, was ordered to stand trial Friday for allegedly beating Patricia Ann Fondrk to death in July 2017. Fondrk pleaded not guilty. At his preliminary...
AG: Freeport man tried to arrange sex encounter with agent posing as teen boy
A Freeport man known online as “Verse Dad” was arrested Wednesday night on charges of trying to arrange a sexual encounter with who he allegedly thought was a 14-year-old boy but was actually an agent with the state Attorney General’s Office. Prosecutors say Scott Alan Speer, 54, of Main Street...
Armstrong County man accused of firing up to 11 shots at couple
Bullets “ricocheted and sparked off the pavement” when an Armstrong County man fired up to 11 shots at a couple after he argued with them Wednesday night, but no one was hurt, according to state police. Anthony Kyle Long, 30, of East Franklin, faces nine charges in connection with the...
Apollo police chief’s move to Washington Township benefits Kiski Area schools
Apollo’s loss could be the Kiski Area School District’s gain. Apollo police Chief Jarred Kier submitted his resignation this month to take a full-time patrolman’s job in Washington Township. His resignation is effective Aug. 15. Kier will become the ninth full-time officer for Washington Township. He will be paid about...
Police: Arnold man smashed window, shot into girlfriend’s house
An Arnold woman was cut by shattered glass last week after, police say, her boyfriend smashed her front window before firing a shot into her house while her three children were inside. Police charged Andrew Damar Ellis-Barnes Sr., 35, of Arnold with firing a gun into an occupied structure and...
Hyde Park fire department names honorary chief, dedicates new equipment 
John Zanotti Jr. started volunteering with Hyde Park’s fire department when he was 16 years old and went on to become the department’s treasurer in addition to his duties as a firefighter. Now, Zanotti, 90, can add a new title to his list of roles with the department: honorary chief....
Armstrong County drug case dismissed after judge says speedy trial rule violated
An Armstrong County judge threw out drug charges against a Ford City man, saying prosecutors took too long to bring the case to trial. Matthew Cani, 44, was facing six felony and four misdemeanor drug charges after police said he sold drugs to a confidential informant in May 2018. The...
South Buffalo police actively patrolling 30 square-miles 
South Buffalo is regularly patrolled by police officers who know the township’s 30 square miles and the neighboring community of Cadogan Township. That comes as a surprise to some residents, said police Chief Jeffrey Kuntz. Maybe that’s because, the chief says, the most dangerous thing in the quiet community might...
Police: Drums, guns, alcohol played role in Washington Township arrest
A Washington Township man is accused of threatening to shoot police officers who responded to a noise complaint at his home and then resisting arrest. Police say it took multiple attempts to subdue Robin Mitchell Saula, 61, with a Taser. Police said they received calls after 11 p.m. Tuesday about...


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