June 29, 2022 3:55 am
The former Treasurer of the Cecil Township Volunteer Fire Department Number 2 was sentenced on Tuesday for her role in a series unauthorized charges to the department’s debit card and checks being written to herself. Toni Zombeck, 68 of Muse entered an open plea of guilty to a felony charge of theft by failure to make required deposits. Her sentence was lenient in that she will serve seven years probation with the first six months on house arrest on electronic home monitoring. She will also be required to make $32,279 in restitution to the Utica Insurance Company. In her allocution statement Zombeck spoke of mental and physical health issues that she has been experiencing since the death of her husband several years ago. She blamed her addiction to gambling on lottery tickets as the reason that she used the fire department funds to make personal payments to herself. Zombeck apologized to the court, fire department and community at large. Zombeck could have been sentenced to three to twelve months in jail. The judge took into account her remorse and clean criminal record remarking that she does not even have evidence of a traffic ticket during the sentencing. Both, the defense attorney and district attorney described the sentence as fair.
June 29, 2022 2:39 am
(WPXI) – Ahead of this 4th of July weekend, two popular rides at Kennywood Park are closed for repairs. Kennywood General Manager Mark Pauls provided a statement confirming the Steel Curtain coaster is closed and they’re working to reopen it as soon as possible — although no timeline was given. Pauls said the record-setting ride is the first of its kind, and requires additional maintenance to best ensure guest and team member safety, which is their top priority. The Thunderbolt is also closed, but Pauls said they have a goal of opening in time for the holiday weekend.
June 28, 2022 4:11 pm
MENDON, Mo. (AP) – The toll from the Missouri railroad crossing where an Amtrak train slammed into a dump truck rose to four deaths and 150 injuries on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the county’s chief elected official says residents and county leaders have been pushing for a safety upgrade at the railroad crossing for nearly three years. A day after the deadly crash on Monday, the Missouri State Highway Patrol provided its first estimate of the injured – about 150 people taken to 10 hospitals with injuries ranging from minor to serious. At least 15 remain hospitalized. The dead – three passengers and the truck driver – have not been identified.
June 28, 2022 3:45 pm
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) – Tuition will increase by an average of more than 2.5% across the West Virginia University system for the coming fiscal year under a new $1.2 billion budget. The WVU Board of Governors approved the budget, which includes a 2.62% or $120 increase per semester for resident students. Nonresident students will pay 2.88% more, or $372, per semester. Housing rates will go up 3% except at WVU Tech in Beckley. The university said Friday after the board’s approval that dining fees will rise by 4.5%, partly due to inflation. Vice President for Strategic Initiatives Rob Alsop says employees will receive average increases of 4% to 5%, with the starting minimum hourly compensation raised to $13.
June 28, 2022 4:15 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – Cassidy Hutchinson, a aide in Donald Trump’s White House, has told the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection that she was “scared, and nervous for what could happen” after conversations with Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and others. Meadows told Hutchinson that “things might get real real bad,” and Giuliani told her it was going to be “a great day” and “we’re going to the Capitol.” Hutchinson told the panel that she was apprehensive because she had heard plans for a rally and possible movements to the Capitol. (Photo: ABC News)
June 28, 2022 4:12 am
ELMAU, Germany (AP) – The Group of Seven developed economies is wrapping up a summit intended to send a strong signal of long-term commitment to Ukraine’s future, ensuring that Russia pays a higher price for its invasion while also attempting to alleviate a global hunger crisis and show unity against climate change. The leaders on Monday pledged to support Ukraine “for as long as it takes” after conferring by video link with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy’s address, amid a grinding Russian advance in Ukraine’s east, came hours before Ukrainian officials reported a deadly Russian missile strike on a crowded shopping mall in the central city of Kremenchuk.
June 28, 2022 4:12 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Ghislaine Maxwell has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for helping the wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls. The sentencing Tuesday was the culmination of a prosecution that detailed how Epstein and Maxwell flaunted their riches and associations with prominent people to groom vulnerable girls and then exploit them. Those crimes occurred even as the couple hobnobbed with some of the world’s most famous and wealthy people, including former U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump and England’s Prince Andrew. Epstein killed himself in jail while awaiting trial. Maxwell denied being Epstein’s accomplice. (Photo: ABC News)
June 28, 2022 4:11 am
SAN ANTONIO (AP) – Fifty-one people have died after being abandoned in a tractor-trailer on a remote back road in the sweltering Texas heat. It’s the latest tragedy to claim the lives of migrants smuggled across the border from Mexico. Nearly all of the victims in San Antonio were found Monday at the scene. Five people later died after being taken to hospitals. More than a dozen people had been taken to hospitals, including four children. San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood says they were hot to the touch and dehydrated, and no water was found in the trailer. The home countries of all of the migrants were not immediately known, but officials say some were from Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras.
June 28, 2022 4:08 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A proposal is advancing in the Pennsylvania Legislature to require the four state-related universities to promise they are not conducting research or experiments with fetal tissue from elective abortions. The measure was added to a state budget bill by House Republicans on Monday. The target of the measure is the University of Pittsburgh, which is in line to receive $155 million from the state in the coming year. Another GOP-sponsored amendment, to force Penn State to disclose the whereabouts of a statue of former head football coach Joe Paterno, was easily defeated.
June 28, 2022 4:02 am
In a meeting that was largely administrative in nature, Peters Township Council scheduled two public hearings. The hearing of most interest will likely be the one where council will once again take testimony on changes to the zoning ordinance as it pertains to the township’s mixed use activities center. Proposed changes would include eliminating the 36 unit per structure maximum that currently exists and altering floor area ratio calculations. If changes were adopted this would lead the possibility of a 250 unit apartment complex proposed by Cincinnati, OH developer Al. Neyer. The original vote on this ordinance change was a 3-3 tie forcing the ordinance to remain in tact. Councilman Matt Rost was absent for the last vote causing the tie. A straw poll taken at a February meeting showed a 4-3 opinion favoring the change. Recently, council has had several residents voice displeasure with a proposed 80 home development and now the apartment complex idea is coming under fire. The meeting will be advertised for July 25 at 7:00 just before the regularly scheduled council meeting. A second public hearing will be scheduled the same time for budget amendments.
