WJPA News

Uniontown, PA – PennDOT has announced that a portion of Route 88 between Hidden Hollow Road and Beach Drive/Cardox Road in Union Township, Washington County, will close to traffic beginning Monday, August 3 at 6:00 a.m.  A posted detour will remain in place through mid-August utilizing Route 3038 (Connor Road), Route 3009 (South Park Road), Route 1002 (McMurray Road), Route 1019 (Bebout Road), Route 1010 (Valley Brook Road), Route 1006 (Venetia Road) and Route 88.  Local traffic and deliveries will have access to Hidden Hollow Road from the south and Beach Drive from the north. There will be no through access on Route 88 between those locations because of the open excavation.   Crews from Plum Contracting Inc. will replace a pipe. An infrastructure investment of $150,000.

A woman from Ohio wanted on homicide charges is last reported in the Washington County jail awaiting extradition.  38 year old Karenda Hutsenpiller was charged in connection with a police chase Friday here in the City of Washington as well as East Washington Borough.  Police stopped her vehicle along North Avenue and she was apprehended by an East Washington police officer after she tried to flee on foot.  Police say she is wanted on an active warrant in connection with a homicide in Ohio and was on supervised release after pleading guilty to manslaughter 15-years ago in Warren, Ohio.  She has been charged with fleeing police, evading arrest, resisting arrest and other offenses.

City of Washington Police have filed charges against a West Virginia man in connection with an alleged fraud scheme involving Stewart Snacks, LLC, an independent distributor of Little Debbie snack products.  The investigation began after reports of fraudulent business records and missing product associated with deliveries made throughout Washington County at stores including Shop-N’-Save, Giant Eagle and WalMart.  James Powell, of Valley Grove, was employed as a distributor and allegedly created fraudulent delivery invoices indicating that the products had been delivered to several retail stores.  Powell allegedly forged signatures on delivery invoices and received commission payments for deliveries that never occurred.  Police have charged him with three counts of Forgery, two counts of Theft by Deception, two counts Theft by Unlawful Taking and other charges.  Police say they are seeking more than $17-thousand dollars restitution. Powell was taken into custody in West Virginia and is last reported awaiting extradition to Washington County.

An adult has been arrested in connection with a high school sextortion ring that was discovered earlier this year in Peters Township.  Authorities say they arrested Aaron White because  he was allegedly exchanging sexually explicit text messages, videos and pictures with a teenage boy who was already a victim of a sex trafficking and sextortion operation that focused on Peters High School students — and was allegedly run by their senior class president, Zachariah Meyers.  Detectives say they found White’s messages when they searched the victim’s phone – and saw White was communicating with the boy through Snapchat, under the username “Whitey_1896.”  Police say they were able to trace the account to a PCT.edu email address, which is the email domain for Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport.  White is free on bond and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in August.

The Amwell Township Planning Commission has unanimously voted to recommend approval of its comprehensive plan, new zoning ordinance, and Subdivision Land Development Ordinance, known as “SALDO,” to the Board of Supervisors. Chairman Scott Hartley says the next step is for the Washington County Planning Commission to complete a review, and then thirty days to make a decision. The next public hearing is tentatively set  for October 8th. John Trant, the CEO & President of the Pittsburgh based company, Strategic Solutions, is working with the township and says the comprehensive plan is to lay out future use of the land, growth and preservation infrastructure. The new zoning, its first since 1975, and SALDO are for regulations that make sure they are consistent with the community’s vision for the future. Hartley said as well that the board wants to protect all residents, keep the Township rural open space, while keeping large development out.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans’ confidence in the economy fell this month as gas prices resumed their climb after the U.S. and Iran stepped up their fighting. The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell to 90.8 in July from 92.2 in June. Consumers view of current business and labor market conditions fell by 3.6 points to 114.9, the third straight monthly decline. Consumer attitudes had improved modestly in June as gas prices came down to around $3.70 a gallon from more than $4.50 a gallon in late April and early May. But consumer anxiety increased in July, along with the price of gas.

CAIRO (AP) — Mediators have made progress in efforts to bring the United States and Iran back to negotiations and prevent an all-out war in the Middle East. That’s according to two regional officials who spoke to The Associated Press. But scattered attacks by armed groups across the region underscored the lingering tensions. Neither the U.S. nor Iran have claimed any strikes for three days. Mediators led by Qatar and Pakistan are working to bridge the gap between Washington and Tehran. The U.S. has paused attacks after targeting Iranian areas in response to Iran firing at ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is preparing to ramp up funding by hundreds of millions of dollars for programs designed to counter China’s growing influence worldwide. It comes after having put a halt to many of those initiatives last year during a flurry of budget and personnel cuts. The administration notified Congress late last week that it intends to spend $175.8 million to replace outdated and aging undersea telecommunications cables in the Caribbean and Central America to prevent China from moving in. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the notification Monday. The funding appears to be part of a broader push to restore support for initiatives aimed at blunting Chinese influence globally that would cost hundreds of millions of dollars more.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is remembering Sen. Lindsey Graham as “a giant of the United States Senate” and a “true American original.” Trump joined foreign leaders, lawmakers and others at a memorial service for Graham on Tuesday at Washington National Cathedral. In his remarks, Trump said Graham was “the first person to make you laugh and one of the last people that you’ve really ever wanted to fight.” Earlier Tuesday, Graham’s flag-draped casket arrived for a service at the U.S. Capitol, where the Republican served for more than 30 years. There will be two days of services for Graham, with burial Wednesday in his home state of South Carolina. He died July 11 at age 71.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Early in-person voting is beginning in swing state Wisconsin’s chaotic Democratic primary for governor, with a democratic socialist trying to overcome the incumbent governor’s pick. Democrats are hoping to retain control of the governor’s office and flip both chambers of the Legislature to earn full control of Wisconsin state government for the first time since 2010. But they have failed to coalesce around one candidate in the tumultuous primary for governor. Voters began casting ballots in person Tuesday ahead of the Aug. 11 primary. The Democratic candidates were meeting for their only debate Tuesday night.

TOKYO (AP) — An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.1 has shaken Japan’s southern main island of Kyushu, leaving dozens of people missing or injured. The quake caused part of a shopping center in the town of Kashima to collapse on Tuesday and also a chimney collapsed at a paper factory. A tsunami advisory was issued but quickly lifted. Japan’s prime minister said there’s been damage to roads, bridges and buildings. Shinkansen bullet trains and local trains in Kyushu were suspended for safety checks. Authorities said there were no reports of damage to major public facilities or infrastructure, including three nearby nuclear power plants. The Japan Meteorological Agency urges residents to be cautious over the next few days.