WJPA News

Civil rights leader and community pillar James ‘Cookie’ McDonald has died. The 90 year old McDonald was a local businessman and community activist promoting racial equality. McDonald served as President of the NAACP Washington Branch from 1966-1970. He was a member of the Washington School Board. He was involved in founding the organizations Community Action Southwest and the Southwestern Pennsylvania Legal Aid Society. McDonald is a Washington native and father of Judge Traci McDonald-Kemp. She said that she is heartbroken but fondly remembers him as “a leader, a mentor, an advocate, a teacher, a righteous, loyal and honorable man and friend. He was a hero to me and so many others.” Funeral arrangements have not been announced.

Weather did not cooperate but a few Washington County citizens gathered on  Main Street in front of the Washington County Courthouse to hold a ‘Good Trouble Lives On’ rally.  The rally was hosted by the Washington-Greene Central Labor Council. The rally commemorated the memory of Congressman John Lewis and his fight to protect voting rights. Several people offered their reasons for battling the rain. Don Herschell says he has worries about the direction the country is heading. Audrey Holsclaw understands John Lewis’ rally cry and was there to cause her version of Good Trouble. Donna Patrina, chairperson of the Washington Greene Central Labor Council says her group is rallying against the SAVE Act and its restrictions on people’s right to vote. Finally, Byron Timmins Vice Chairman of the Washington County Democratic Committee says that bottom line, voting is most important thing you can do as a citizen, when you vote you make your opinion heard, so get out and vote. Congressman John Lewis was arrested more than 40 times while fighting to dismantle segregation and secure voting rights. ‘Good trouble’ was Lewis’ rallying cry used to urge people to peacefully challenge injustice and stand up for their rights.

The Avella Area Community Festival has been cancelled for today. In an announcement released by festival officials, they say the event scheduled from 4 pm to 10 pm this evening was cancelled due to inclement weather and poor air quality. Organizers are exploring options to reschedule the festival. They say updates will be shared as soon as they become available.

Penn Highlands Mon Valley Hospital is announcing plans to demolish its parking garage. Demolition is set to begin on Monday, July 20. Officials call it the first step of a modernization project designed to improve safety, accessibility and convenience for patients, visitors and staff. In its place the hospital will build a new, level, paved parking lot featuring safety lighting and easy access to the campus. Hospital operations, patient care and emergency services will remain fully operational throughout the demolition and construction process.

Summer might be half over, but there is still plenty of fun to be had at the Washington Community Pool! DeAnna Martin, the Washington Park Director, explains that there are always events for people to utilize the pool, including a Christmas in July evening swim on Wednesday, July 29th. The night will include Christmas pool floats, music, and decorations. Swimmers are encouraged to come dressed in festive swimwear. The pool will also host Shark in the Park and Aqua Zumba in August. Martin says that if the community loses a space like the pool, it would be very hard to get it back. She encourages everyone to continue to enjoy the Olympic-sized pool, whether it be to cool off, get exercise, or to have fun at one of the upcoming events.

Emergency Responders in Washington County will now have a resource to reach out to should on the job stress become overwhelming. Washington County Department of Public Safety Deputy Director Daniel Harvey is announcing the creation of the Responders First Initiative. It is a Critical Incident Stress Management team. Emergency responders respond to incidents regularly that involve critical injury and death. Often times, responders have no one to talk to about what they just witnessed. The program will help emergency responders work through mental and emotional stresses, both immediate and those built up over time, by offering them counseling with trained first responder peers and mental health professionals. The program was established through a $179,000 grant from the Staunton Farm Foundation and a partnership with Healing Bridges, who Harvey says, recognized the need for such services for emergency responders. Harvey says that the program is active right now, but if any emergency responder peers are interested in helping their fellow responders, training is available. Contact Daniel Harvey at the Department of Public Safety or Natalie Ross at Healing Bridges.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — President Donald Trump says Darline Graham, the sister of the late Lindsey Graham, has his support to run for a full term to replace her brother in the U.S. Senate. Graham is serving the remaining months of her late brother Lindsey Graham’s Senate term, but she’s weighing a possible run for a full term. Lindsey Graham’s funeral services will include services in Washington on July 28 and in South Carolina on July 29. Filing for a special Republican primary opens next week. Several people familiar with the deliberations said she has started having conversations about a potential campaign. Her current appointment runs until January. Lindsey Graham died last weekend.

NEW YORK (AP) — Millions of people in the Great Lakes, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states are muddling through another day of unhealthy air from uncontrolled wildfires in Minnesota and Canada. The nation’s capital was enveloped in an eerie haze Friday. And Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Guardians postponed their game against Pittsburgh Pirates in Ohio. Air quality warnings are expected to remain in effect at least through Saturday in parts of the U.S. There’s potential for temporary relief with storms forecast over the weekend. But a forecaster at the National Weather Service says smoky conditions are expected to last as fires continue to burn largely unchecked.

A federal prosecutor in Texas has shared new details about the shooting of Mexican national Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by an ICE officer in early July. The incident occurred while Salgado Araujo was driving to a construction site with co-workers. U.S. Attorney Aaron Reitz says ICE officers were targeting two Guatemalan men driving a similar van. Salgado Araujo’s family claims he was close to obtaining legal status after 35 years in the U.S. The officers reportedly believed Salgado Araujo and his passengers fit the suspects’ description. The shooting has sparked protests and demands for transparency.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United States and Iran have exchanged strikes aimed at infrastructure and military targets as their battle over the Strait of Hormuz intensifies. The region has endured days of back-and-forth attacks in a conflict increasingly focused on control of the strait. The U.S. Central Command said early Saturday it had hit “surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage, and maritime capabilities,” and Iran retaliated, with reports of strikes from Kuwait, Jordan and Iraq while air sirens also sounded multiple times in Bahrain. Iranian officials say recent U.S. strikes have killed dozens of people and wounded hundreds, with new casualties reported Friday, when the U.S. military also acknowledged more injured service members.