Regional category, Page 191
‘Where the plane went down’: Shanksville remains small, quiet, but forever connected to 9/11
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‘Where the plane went down’: Shanksville remains small, quiet, but forever connected to 9/11 and United Flight 93Video
When someone from Shanksville travels and is asked where they’re from, the question typically gets answered with a generality: “Pittsburgh” — even if they hail from about 80 miles east, in Somerset County. If pressed, they get more specific. Shanksville. Where is that? “Where the plane went down,” said Robin...
‘Hallowed ground’: Families of those on United jetliner, Shanksville community and others forged resolve to see Flight 93 National Memorial come to lifeVideo
Fate threw them together. Two decades later, the unlikely coalition of Flight 93 family members, residents of Somerset County and the National Park Service that worked for years to preserve the story of what happened aboard that United Airlines jetliner will meet this week at the Flight 93 National Memorial,...
The muddier the better: Runners and the adventurous slog up and down Seven Springs mountain just for funVideo
Miranda Veliky was caked in mud Saturday morning, and she didn’t care a bit. Veliky, 23, of New Stanton was one of about 1,000 athletes who jumped, swam, climbed and toppled through mud and water and along the wooded trails that traversed up, over and down the Laurel Mountains during...
Unity woman employs pageant title, awareness group to help fellow concussion sufferers
When vision care assistant Jayden Moffa helps patients at Willowbrook Eye Care Associates, she can empathize with them from personal experience. Vision therapy helped the Unity resident overcome two concussions she suffered beginning in 2014, while she was a student at Greater Latrobe Senior High. As she worked through the...
Interstate 70 crash victim identified
A Butler man died after he lost control of his vehicle and struck a guiderail along Interstate 70 Friday. The crash occurred shortly before 1 p.m. in the eastbound lanes near the Jefferson Avenue exit (mile marker 15) in Washington, Pa. The Washington County Coroner’s Office said Kenneth Sentgeorge, 51,...
State troopers in Indiana ask for help locating man charged in drug death
State police in Indiana are asking the public’s help locating a 33-year-old man charged with supplying a fatal dose of drugs that killed an area resident in White Township in 2019. Troopers obtained an arrest warrant Wednesday for Andrew K. Rankin, 33, of Ernest who is wanted for drug delivery...
‘Think safety and come prepared’: Officials urging caution on waterways
As boaters and rafters gear up for a three-day weekend that some consider the unofficial end of summer, officials are urging caution for possible dangerous conditions on the region’s waterways. The conditions were created when remnants of Hurricane Ida pounded Western Pennsylvania this week, bringing several inches of rain and...
Pa. Board of Game Commissioners meeting in Westmoreland County next week
The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners is coming to Westmoreland County next week. The agency announced the board will meet Sept. 10 and 11 at the agency’s Southwest Region Office off Route 711 in Fairfield Township. The meeting on Friday, Sept. 10 begins at 2 p.m. The purpose of this...
Washington County woman gets prison for keeping disabled sister locked in cage
A Washington County woman pleaded guilty Thursday to keeping her developmentally disabled sister in a cage, according to the state Attorney General’s Office. She will spend just under two years in prison. Leona Biser, 53, pleaded guilty to abuse of a care-dependent person and neglect of a care-dependent person. The...
‘United 93’ re-release will benefit Friends of Flight 93 National Memorial
Ahead of the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, AMC Theatres and Universal Pictures will re-release “United 93,” the story of passengers who prevented a third terrorist attack and forced the hijacked plane down in a field near Shanksville. Directed by...
Ex-Fayette law clerk accused by U.S. Attorney of improperly representing Capitol riot defendants
The acting U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C., complained to a federal judge this week that a lawyer representing 17 defendants in Capitol riot cases improperly used a Fayette County man “who is not a licensed attorney” to represent his clients during court appearances. Defense attorney John Pierce of Los Angeles...
5 things to know before traveling this Labor Day weekend
A three-day holiday weekend might entice some people to get in one more road trip before summer comes to an end. Officials are urging travelers to exercise caution as they travel this Labor Day. “As Labor Day weekend is a popular time for travel and celebrating, PennDOT is urging drivers...
U.S. sues UPMC and top surgeon, alleges care violations and false billing
The federal government on Thursday filed a civil complaint against UPMC, its longtime head of cardiothoracic surgery and a physicians group, accusing them of knowingly submitting hundreds of false claims to Medicare, failing to follow medical standards for surgery and knowingly putting patients at risk. The allegations against Dr. James...
Lawrence County woman charged in Capitol riot case
A Lawrence County woman was arrested Thursday for allegedly participating in January’s Capitol riots. Julia Jeanette Sizer, of Ellwood City, is charged with knowingly entering a restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct; and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. She is not accused of damaging any property, harming...
20th observance at Flight 93 memorial closed to the public
The 20th remembrance ceremony at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Somerset County will be closed to the public. State Trooper Steve Limani said Thursday that no one will be permitted to park at the entrance, on nearby roads or along Route 30 in Stonycreek Township during the ceremony. The...
After Ida, sunny skies expected going into holiday weekend
Despite remnants of Hurricane Ida dumping almost 6 inches of rain in some parts of the region, sunny skies are mostly expected heading into the Labor Day weekend. Ida, which was downgraded from a tropical depression as it made its way inland, arrived in Western Pennsylvania Tuesday night into Wednesday...
Former President Bush to speak at 20th anniversary of 9/11 in Somerset
Former President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush are scheduled to speak at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Stonycreek Township, near Shanksville, on the 20th anniversary of Sept. 11. According to a release from the George W. Bush Presidential Center, Bush will deliver keynote remarks during the...
Covid cases in Westmoreland, Allegheny up for 2nd straight month
After seeing numbers decline earlier in the summer, covid cases increased for a second straight month in Pennsylvania and Allegheny and Westmoreland counties. Cases As of Wednesday’s covid report, the Pennsylvania Department of Health saw 22,269 new cases of covid-19 in the past seven days, averaging 3,181 cases per day....
Photo gallery: Ida’s remains drench Western Pennsylvania region
The remnants of Hurricane Ida moved across parts of Western Pennsylvania late Tuesday and early Wednesday morning. Despite losing its tropical depression status, Ida’s impact was definitely felt on residents — on their streets and in their homes. Some of the heaviest rainfall dropped early Wednesday, with several areas of...
Pittsburgh region jobless rate drops slightly as end to unemployment supplement looms
The Pittsburgh region’s jobless rate dropped slightly in July, falling to 6.2%, the lowest rate this year and less than half of the jobless rate a year ago, the state reported this week. The unemployment rate for the seven-county region fell 0.1 of a percentage point in July, based on...
Pitt experts anticipate major flu surge this season, urge flu shots
This year’s flu season may be severe with up to half a million more flu hospitalizations than usual, according to new studies from University of Pittsburgh researchers. Two studies released Tuesday — both led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health — indicated that waning...
Remnants of Ida move across Western Pa., bringing heavy rainfalls, flooding
Heavy rains thrashed Pennsylvania on Wednesday as the remnants of Hurricane Ida churned across the area, dropping several inches of rain and causing flood damage across parts of the region. By about 9 p.m., 2.3 inches of rain had fallen at the National Weather Service’s Pittsburgh office in Moon, according...
Legal experts say Wolf administration has authority to issue mask mandate
Republican leaders in Pennsylvania said Tuesday that in issuing a school mask mandate, Gov. Tom Wolf and his administration are trying to circumvent the will of the people expressed through the passage in May of a constitutional amendment. Legal experts said that the emergency powers amendment approved by voters in...
Here are rain total predictions for Western Pa. as Ida approaches
Meteorologists predict rain totals will be higher in regions south of Pittsburgh when the remnants of Hurricane Ida arrive in Western Pennsylvania. After devastating parts of Louisiana, Hurricane Ida became a tropical storm as it began a northward journey Monday. Local officials in Western Pennsylvania began preparing for significant rainfall...
