Regional category, Page 328
Indiana County man killed by falling carport
An Indiana County man was crushed to death when the carport he was sitting under collapsed, according to authorities. Richard Wade Rearick, 52, of Shelocta was sitting on a chair against a wall under the carport attached to his home when the roof caved in on him, according to Tribune-Review...
15-foot python at large in MorgantownVideo
Morgantown police were looking for a 15-foot python Friday after it apparently escaped from a truck the previous night. According to news partner WPXI, officials warned people to keep an eye on children and small pets — especially when outdoors. The station sent its news chopper to the city to...
Grove City man sentenced to 17 years in federal prison for producing child porn
A Grove City man has been sentenced to 17 years and 6 months in federal prison for producing child pornography. Matthew Switzer, 33, coerced a 4-year-old girl to engage in sexually explicit conduct several times to create at least 13 pornographic photos, according to U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady. The...
Pa. museum gets massive, century-old steam engine running again
A century-old steam engine has been put on display at Pennsylvania’s National Museum of Industrial History after workers got it running again for the first time in nearly four decades. The 115-ton Corliss engine once pumped 8 million gallons of water a day for the York Water Co. in York....
Indiana police recover stolen safe from retention pond
Indiana Borough police are seeking a 28-year-old man accused of stealing a safe containing about $5,000 from a local screenprinting business and dumping it into a storm water pond. A felony warrant was issued for Raymond C. Spencer of Indiana, who police said entered S&S Screenprinting through a window on...
Pa. amusement park removes personalized bullet keychains
ALLENTOWN — A Pennsylvania amusement park is no longer selling a bullet cartridge keychain that could be personalized with the buyer’s name. Sarah Keller tells lehighvalley.com she felt a mix of horror and disbelief when her daughter spotted the souvenir for sale in the gift shop at Dorney Park and...
Storms made May one of Western Pennsylvania’s wettest ever
This week’s storms made the month one of the Pittsburgh area’s rainiest Mays ever, according to the National Weather Service. The region got 5.97 inches of rain this month as of Friday morning. A least a trace of rain was recorded on 23 of the month’s 31 days. The weather...
Bird migrations hint at climate change in Erie
The gray catbird isn’t the most popular of birds, but to Jerry McWilliams and others it is the equivalent of the canary in a coal mine. The bird is telling us something. “It used to arrive here in the last week of April and it left in late September,” said...
Slippery Rock students work with Butler VFD on recruiting new members
Fire departments across Pennsylvania are having difficulty recruiting new members, and chiefs have made no secret of their desire to bring new, younger members aboard. Cory Milkovich of Butler knows all too well the crucial role a well-staffed fire department plays in a community: local firefighters battled a fire last...
Relying on Social Security income? You may want to move to Westmoreland
Pennsylvania residents who rely on Social Security as a main source of income in retirement may do well to find a home in Westmoreland County, according to a recent study. New York financial technology company SmartAsset released a study of Pennsylvania counties where retirees’ Social Security income would go furthest....
Smartwise releases Internet safety guide
Wondering how to keep your kids safe on the Internet during summer vacation? Safewise, a home security and safety advising company, has released a guide to help parents identify threats and ways to protect kids from online predators. Major threats include cyberbullying, online predators and exposure to inappropriate content ranging...
Horseshoes, yo-yos and speedcubing: Western Pennsylvania is home to unusual competitions
Pittsburgh may be known for its football, baseball and hockey, but the region’s competitive spirit goes much further. The East Coast Slingshot Tournament coming to East Huntingdon this weekend is just one of the area’s creative contests. Here’s a few more examples: East Coast Masters yo-yo championship Professional yo-yo players...
Pitt boosts wellness, activities fees
No word yet on next year’s tuition, but Pitt students will have to dig deeper to cover student fees this fall. University officials recently approved a $50 a semester increase in student wellness fees. The increase, which will boost wellness fees from $130 to $180 a semester, has been earmarked...
Rainfall record set Wednesday
Mother Nature shattered a seven-year-old rainfall record on Wednesday. A total of 1.93 inches fell at Pittsburgh International Airport, where the National Weather Service takes its official measurements, according to meteorologist Bill Modzelewski. That broke the record of 1.29 inches for rain on May 29 that had stood since 2012....
Help sought from Attorney General regarding wastewater pollution into Monongahela River
Two county district attorneys have referred their concerns over pollution to the Monongahela River to the state Attorney General’s Office for further investigation. Washington County District Attorney Eugene Vittone and Fayette County District Attorney Richard Bower recently discussed the matter with Chief Deputy Attorney General Rebecca Franz, who is with...
Route 28 reopens, flood watch remains
Route 28 in Pittsburgh reopened early Thursday morning after it was closed due to flooding, according to Allegheny County 911. Most of Western Pennsylvania remains under a flash flood watch until 11 p.m. Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. Much of Beaver County is under a flood warning. Showers...
Motorcyclist uses flannel shirt to save bald eagle on Chester County highway
A Lancaster man used his flannel shirt to rescue an injured bald eagle that had plopped down in the middle of a Route 30 bypass, stopping traffic, in Downingtown, Chester County, on Saturday, according to media reports. Dandon Miller was on his motorcycle when he encountered the traffic jam and...
Police: Philly man fleeing arrest in assault case kills pedestrian
Police say a man fleeing arrest in a sexual assault case struck and killed a female pedestrian in Philadelphia. Police say 36-year-old Raheem Geathers was spotted in a vehicle on a north Philadelphia street at about 2:45 p.m. Tuesday. Police say he recognized an approaching police sergeant and drove onto...
Pa. man charged with selling rattlesnakes hospitalized for bites
WILLIAMSPORT — A Pennsylvania man charged with illegally catching and trying to sell venomous eastern timber rattlesnakes has been hospitalized after being bitten by snakes. Cody Short was bitten by eastern timber rattlesnakes Friday night, said Mike Parker, a state Fish and Boat Commission spokesman. The bites happened hours after...
Pittsburgh region remains under severe storm watch as wild weather fires back up
Severe weather has made its way back into the region. The National Weather Service in Moon issued a severe thunderstorm watch for Western Pennsylvania until 7 p.m. Western Pennsylvania got a short break from the wild weather that flooded homes, closed roads and prompted evacuations, but storms began to bubble...
Roofers union looking for apprentices due to retirements, workload
The United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers, and Allied Workers Local 37 in Bellevue need to fill 40 open apprentice positions, according to a representative at the union’s Joint Apprenticeship Committee on Monday. The Union has jurisdiction in a number of counties in Western Pennsylvania including Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Indiana, Somerset,...
Western Pa. braces for more storms while coping with damage, flooding
Heavy rains and winds tore through several Western Pennsylvania counties Tuesday evening causing down power lines, trees and flooded roadways. Swift water rescue teams in Butler County conducted 10 rescues to evacuate people from rising water in Zelienople, Forward Township, Harmony and Evans City, according to county dispatchers. Butler County...
Aliquippa man pleads guilty to federal drug and gun crimes
An Aliquippa man accused of fentanyl-heroin distribution and firearms violations pleaded guilty in federal court. Landon Alexander Gatta, 23, admitted guilt before Senior District Judge Joy Flowers Conti to charges of possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of a fentanyl-heroin mixture, possession of a firearm and ammunition...
IUP team to present research on biodiversity in Honduras
Four students from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, including two from Allegheny County, are headed to Central America in June as presenters at an international symposium on biodiversity in Honduras. The seminar, organized by their IUP faculty advisor, Dr. Josiah Townsend, will focus on the group’s research on biodiversity in Honduras....
New youth homelessness program looking for volunteer host homes
A new program that aims to reduce youth homelessness in Armstrong, Indiana, Washington and Westmoreland counties is looking for volunteers to provide host homes. The Bridge2Home program will connect youth ages 16-20 who are experiencing housing instability with volunteer host homes for temporary housing. The program is a newly-funded outreach...
