October 10, 2019 3:29 am
(WPXI) – The man accused of vandalizing the Washington County Fairgrounds turned himself into authorities on Wednesday. Robert Glass is now facing charges for damaging the county fairgrounds in Chartiers Township on Sept. 29th. According to a police criminal complaint, Glass used his car to ram six garage doors at the fairgrounds. He then broke a window to get into the office and damaged other windows and doors. In addition, police said he used a fire extinguisher to break through a wall and tried to set papers on fire to burn the office, getting rid of any evidence He also allegedly tried to break into an ATM using a hammer According to police, Glass is accused of stealing nearly $1,000 in clothing and other items, even plastic crowns.
October 9, 2019 3:43 pm
BEIRUT (AP) – President Donald Trump says the U.S. does not endorse Turkey’s assault on northern Syria and has made it clear to Ankara that it’s incursion against Kurdish fighters who helped the U.S. battle the Islamic State is a “bad idea.” In a statement Wednesday, Trump said no American soldiers are in the area being invaded. Earlier, Trump ordered U.S. forces out of the area, prompting criticism that he was abandoning an American ally. Trump says he does not want the U.S. to fight “these endless, senseless wars.” He says he will hold Turkey to its commitment to protect civilians and religious minorities, including Christians, and ensure the invasion does not create a humanitarian crisis. He also says Turkey must make sure that IS fighters held captive in Syria remain detained.
October 9, 2019 10:55 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Kurd-held areas in Syria has led to a rare, near immediate result: Turkey launched a military operation on Wednesday against America’s Kurdish partners in the fight against the Islamic State. U.S. officials say it wasn’t supposed to end that way.
October 9, 2019 10:25 am
“The time for talk is over”. That’s according to N. Franklin Township Supervisor Bob Sabot who has announced that supervisors have voted unanimously to cite the landlord of the Rite Aid property along West Chestnut Street over persistant flooding that results following heavy rain. Sabot says they have directed their code enforcement department to begin proceedings against the landlord. He says the flooding is the result of a collapsed pipe on Rite Aid property and the citation will be for creation of a public nusiance. Sabot calls it “a danger to public safety and incredibly irresponsible”. The Township’s solicitor will also notify Canton Township officials of the action since the flooding has effected businesses on the Canton side of the roadway. West Chestnut has been closed or restricted through that area many times following rain storms. Sabot says it has been going on for three years.
October 9, 2019 8:53 am
BERLIN (AP) – A video broadcast by a German television station appears to show a man in a helmet and an olive-colored top firing shots in the eastern city of Halle. The clip shown by regional public broadcaster MDR shows the man getting out of a car and firing four shots from behind the vehicle from a long-barreled gun. It wasn’t clear what he was shooting at. Police say two people were killed in Halle on Wednesday but many details remain unclear.
October 9, 2019 8:47 am
ROSTRAVER TWP (WPXI) – Authorities in Rostraver Township are searching for a woman who was last seen early Tuesday morning at her home. Dina Kotlar has been missing since 4 a.m. Tuesday, police said. Kotlar is driving a white Dodge Nitro with license plate number DDS-2309. Anyone with information is asked to contact police. (Photo: WPXI)
October 9, 2019 7:40 am
Harrisburg, PA – Pennsylvania State Senator Pam Iovino (D – Allegheny & Washington) says she intends to introduce legislation that would make Pennsylvania schools safer by restoring arrest, detention, and citation powers to school police officers. Act 67 of 2019 had the unintended consequence of stripping those officers of their long-held authorities, preventing them from completely fulfilling their school security mission. As a result, school safety responsibilities have been shifted from on-site SPOs to municipal police. The result is an unnecessary requirement on the municipal authority and a degrading of safety in our schools. “I have heard concerns throughout the 37th Senatorial District regarding the repeal of School Police Officers’ arrest, detention, and citation powers and its negative impact on school safety,” said Senator Pam Iovino. “I am hopeful for strong bi-partisan support for this commonsense school safety legislation.” Senator Iovino’s bill, crafted after months of conversations, contains language that was developed from the input from both the Senate Democratic Caucus and the Republican Caucus as well as the Fraternal Order of Police. The language restores SPO powers as they existed prior to Act 67. Since Act 30 of 1997, SPOs have had the power to exercise certain police powers on school grounds. This power is not absolute – the SPO needs to be granted those powers by a judge in the court of common pleas in which the school is located.
October 9, 2019 6:46 am
New ordinances in North Franklin Township adopted by Supervisors on Tuesday are designed to help residents and the Maintenance Department. Two measures were adopted unanimously. The first is an ordinance requiring vehicles be moved off of streets during a snow storm. Residents that have off street parking will be required to park their cars in their driveway during a snow storm and for 12 hours after. The ordinance was written because road crews had a very difficult time last year navigating some township roads because cars were parked on the street when off street parking was available. The ordinance does not apply to residents that do not have driveways but residents are subject to a ticket if cars are left on the street and a driveway is available. The second measure approved is a “Quality of Life” ordinance. This ordinance does not replace any existing ordinances. It simply is an effort to more efficiently deal with nuisance properties. If a property has grass that has grown out of control or trash is accumulating, code enforcement officers will first warn a property owner that they have 5 days to rectify the problem. If after 5 days the problem still exists, a ticket will be issued and a second 5 day period will be granted to comply. If after that, the problem persists, a second ticket and final 5 day period will be issued. If, after this period expires and nothing has been done, the property owner will be taken to the magistrate. North Franklin Township Director of Planning Erin Dinch looks at this as a way to help residents eliminate problem properties in their neighborhood much more quickly.
October 9, 2019 4:23 am
BEIJING (AP) – China has demanded Washington lift sanctions on Chinese tech companies and warned it will “resolutely safeguard” the country’s interests. The Ministry of Commerce on Wednesday criticized curbs imposed on sales of U.S. technology to a group of Chinese companies as interference in the country’s affairs. U.S. officials say those companies provide technology used to repress Muslim minorities as interference in China’s affairs. The ministry said Beijing will “take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard” the country’s interests but gave no details of possible retaliation. The measure announced Monday restricts sales of U.S. technology to a group of Chinese companies working on facial recognition, artificial intelligence and other advanced products.
October 9, 2019 4:22 am
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Retirees John and Greta Maltbie say they prepared for a widespread power blackout intended to prevent wildfires in California by buying bottled water, getting cash and filling their car with gas. But the couple in suburban Sacramento forgot to charge their cellphones and were unable to get information on the Pacific Gas and Electric website, which was down after being overloaded with visitors. The Maltbies were among three people at an air-conditioned tent set up by PG&E in the parking lot of a church. They were charging their phones Wednesday and trying to get more information on the outage. The utility says it has set up at least one community center in every county affected by its outages to provide information, water and power for people who need to charge medical or other devices. California’s largest utility says as many as 2 million people will remain without power at least through Thursday as a precaution to protect against wildfires.
