Regional category, Page 320
Shelter in place lifted 2nd time for chemical fire in Beaver County
Firefighters and a hazardous materials team remained at the scene of a fire and chemical release in Rochester Saturday afternoon, but officials said it was safe for residents of the immediate area to leave their homes. Authorities issued two “shelter in place” orders advising residents to stay in their homes...
French connections abound in Southwestern PennsylvaniaVideo
On Sunday, when France celebrates its day of independence, Bastille Day, it’s a good time to acknowledge the strong influence that country and its people have had on Westmoreland, Allegheny and surrounding counties — beginning before the United States existed. A number of Southwestern Pennsylvania communities have names that reflect...
Western Pa. residents grow weary of rain, flood cleanups
Thursday’s torrential rains may have been the final straw for Janet Seman. After six floods since moving to her North Huntingdon Township home in 2004, Seman doesn’t know if she can clean mud out of her basement one more time. “I have sump pumps, I have what I’m supposed to...
Pregnant woman, son die after car swept away in Berks County flooding
BOYERTOWN — A series of storms socked the Northeast with heavy rains and strong winds, causing the deaths of a boy and his pregnant mother whose car was swept away by floodwaters while she was on the phone with emergency officials. The rain started falling Thursday and continued through early...
Lancaster man accused of sex abuse at Kenyan orphanage he founded
Federal prosecutors say a Pennsylvania man sexually molested four teenage girls at a Kenyan orphanage he founded with a church’s help. U.S. Attorney William McSwain announced charges Friday against 60-year-old Gregory Dow, of Lancaster, hours after Dow was taken into custody. McSwain says Dow fled Kenya in September 2017 after...
FBI seeks leads in 1994 murders of Beaver County girl, 2nd from Ohio
A quarter-century has not abated the FBI’s desire to find out who killed Sarah Boehm and Kathryn Menendez and left their bodies in an Ohio park. Boehm was 14 when she was last seen alive leaving her Rochester Township home in Beaver County on July 14, 1994. Her body was...
T-shirts remind Dr. Phil that, yes, there is a Slippery Rock University
Remember that time Slippery Rock University and Dr. Phil got into a spat? SRU does. The university had T-shirts made to commemorate the dust-up, and some of the proceeds will go into a student scholarship fund, according to spokeswoman Rita Abent. In April, Phil McGraw, the TV celebrity therapist better...
Officials: Uniontown man found dead with dog biting at neck
Police are investigating after a Uniontown man was found dead in his home Thursday morning with his dog biting his neck, Tribune-Review news partner WPXI reported. The news station identified the man as 52-year-old Homer Utterback, who investigators say suffered from seizures. Officials believe Utterback had an episode and fell...
Expect another huge blob of algae on Lake Erie this summer
TOLEDO, Ohio — Scientists are likely to warn that another massive harmful algae bloom will blanket western Lake Erie this summer when they release their forecast. It will be released Thursday. Researchers are expecting that record-setting rains in Ohio and neighboring states in recent months will fuel a large mass...
Prosecutors go to court in support of Philly drug injection site
PHILADELPHIA — More than 60 prosecutors and other law enforcement officials have filed a court brief in support of a proposed supervised drug injection site that Philadelphia’s top federal prosecutor is trying to block from opening. The officials say that Safehouse’s proposed injection site would prevent overdose deaths and help...
Torrential rain leads to widespread flooding across Western Pa.
Traffic on several roads remained affected in Allegheny County Friday morning after heavy rains pounded Western Pennsylvania Thursday, causing widespread flooding and hazards that shut down major thoroughfares throughout the region. PennDOT spokesman Steve Cowan said those roads spanned from Frazer Township to Crescent Township: • A bridge on Kittanning...
Ohio woman sentenced to prison for federal drug crimes and money laundering
An Ohio woman was sentenced in federal court in Pittsburgh to four years and four months in prison for her convictions on conspiracy to distribute heroin and money laundering. Senior U.S. District Judge David S. Cercone imposed the sentence on Britny Beaver, 25, of East Liverpool. Federal authorities said Beaver...
Pa. principal who wore blackface to take sabbatical, be teacher
GLEN ROCK — A Pennsylvania school principal who wore blackface to a staff meeting last year is taking a one-year sabbatical and will return as a teacher. The York Dispatch reports that minutes from a June 20 school board meeting indicate that Friendship Elementary School principal Lisa Boyer’s yearlong leave...
2 fined, face license revocations for illegal fishing in Armstrong County
Two men accused of keeping illegal fish from the Allegheny River in Armstrong County could lose their fishing licenses for two years and be forced to pay thousands of dollars in fines. A state Fish & Boat Commission officer said another fisherman called the commission May 7 to report that...
Sheetz offers free fries on National Fry Day
Saturday is National Fry Day and, to celebrate, Sheetz is giving away free french fries. Customers who order through the Sheetz app can also receive any size fry for free, along with dipping sauce. While the history of National Fry Day is unknown, according to the National Day Calendar, it...
Turnpike Route 66 in Westmoreland, plaza at Ohio border to go cashless
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is converting two more toll plazas — Gateway at the Ohio border and the Route 66 bypass in Westmoreland County — into cashless collection sites. According to the Turnpike’s cashless tolling website, the plazas will be converted by Oct. 27. The change is part of an...
Pennsylvania, Allegheny County health departments issue heat warnings
A cool front Wednesday is expected to bring a little reprieve from the heat, but only after the mercury rises to nearly 90 degrees. Afternoon showers forecasted for Wednesday could drop as much as three-quarters of an inch of rain, according to the National Weather Service in Moon Township. The...
Ross Perot’s ties to Western Pa. began with marriage to Greensburg native
A young Naval officer from Texas who came to Greensburg in 1956 to marry a local girl and went on to become a billionaire and two-time presidential candidate, is being remembered as a kind and thoughtful man who used some of his wealth to help make the region better. Lt....
Indiana County man jailed on $50K bond after alleged standoff with troopers
An Indiana County man is being held in the county jail on $50,000 bond after being involved in an hours-long standoff late Friday with state troopers. Garry F. Faber, 65, is charged with aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of children, making terroristic threats, reckless endangerment, resisting arrest, simple assault and...
Police: Fayette County woman charged with animal cruelty, neglect in dog’s death
An arrest warrant was issued this week for a Fayette County woman accused of causing the death of her dog by leaving it without shelter, food or water, according to court documents. Charges of aggravated animal cruelty, cruelty to animals and neglect were filed Tuesday against Leighann Pomplas, 27, of...
PennDOT plans job fairs in 3 counties
Winter employment opportunities with PennDOT will be the subject of three job fairs this month in District 12, which covers Westmoreland County. Prospective employees can visit 144 Donohoe Road in Hempfield, near Westmoreland Mall, from noon to 8 p.m. July 18. Agency employees will talk about job openings during the...
Blood banks seeking donors; says blood supply in region at ‘critical shortage’
The American Red Cross and Vitalant Pittsburgh put out an emergency call Tuesday for blood donors. It is down to less than a three-day supply of most blood types, the Red Cross said in a statement.. The Red Cross said it has less than a two-day supply of type O...
Suspect arrested in fatal stabbing of boy in Lawrence County
A man suspected of stabbing an 8-year-old boy to death Monday night in Lawrence County was arrested Tuesday in Ohio. Police said that Keith Burley, 43, of Edinburg, stabbed the boy multiple times in front of his three brothers, telling him to “die” as he did so. Police identified the...
Police: Philly officer, wife dead in apparent murder-suicide
Police in Philadelphia say that an officer and his estranged wife were found dead inside a home and that they are investigating it as a murder-suicide. Police Commissioner Richard Ross says couple’s 17-year-old daughter called police to check on her parents after she could not reach one of them. They...
Greensburg author Scott Brown recounts heartfelt tales of region’s opioid epidemic
If the stories in Scott Brown’s new book, “Hope and Heartbreak: Beyond the Numbers of the Opioid Epidemic,” sound familiar, it might be because they are. Brown, a Greensburg native and former sports reporter for the Tribune-Review, ESPN and Philadelphia Inquirer, mined a decade of reports on the epidemic to...
