March 13, 2025 4:28 am
City of Washington frefighters were called out to a structure fire at 2:35 Wednesday morning. The fire was located in the 400 block of Second Street. When firefighters arrived they found an active fire. According to 9-1-1 officials, the fire was brought under control in about 30 minutes. Two adults and a dog were affected by the fire, one of the adults was treated for smoke inhalation at the scene. The fire marshal will arrive later today to determine the cause of the fire.
March 13, 2025 4:24 am
Washington County held its first annual Real Estate Expo on Wednesday. Part of the event was the State of the County address. Commissioners Nick Sherman and Electra Janis detailed a number of projects that the county is involved with. They also made one big announcement about a big box store coming to the site of the soon to be demolished Washington Mall. Costco will be moving in. According to Commissioner Nick Sherman, bids to demolish the old Washington Mall will go out soon. Other projects include the construction of the new Public Safety Building on the site of the Courthouse Square Building, the addition of thirty cabins and RV sites at Cross Creek county park. Also, the construction of the new AHN Canonsburg Hospital, continued support for the UPMC Washington Hospital merger and welcoming a new medical partner WVU Medicine that will be moving into Southpointe.
March 12, 2025 1:46 am
The second day of testimony in the child rape trial of Anthony Ardeno, Sr. has ended with the defense resting its case after Ardeno took the stand in his own defense. Morning defense testimony centered on Ardeno’s family members offering their views on his life in the community as a law abiding citizen. They described his demeanor and the victim’s demeanor at large gatherings where he and the victim were both in attendance. In afternoon testimony, Ardeno took the stand and described photos from large gatherings in which he and the victim were together and their proximity to each other after the assault allegations were made. In testimony pertinent to the time frame of the allegations, Ardeno said he had not been able to have sex since his mid 60’s because of debilitating back issues and erectile disfunction. Ardeno admitted to having a pornography collection. Under cross examination, prosecutors asked why he had a pornography collection if he had ED. They pushed further asking if his performance issues were because he preferred a six year old girl to an adult. Ardeno denied the allegation. Closing arguments and deliberations will take place on Thursday.
March 13, 2025 1:14 am
Washington, PA – Governor Josh Shapiro and Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) officials joined Penn Mechanical Group and local leaders in Washington County on Wednesday to plug the 300th orphaned or abandoned well under the Shapiro Administration. The Shapiro Administration has surpassed the number of wells plugged in the previous decade in just two years – the latest historic milestone under Governor Shapiro’s leadership to protect public health and create jobs by aggressively plugging these wells all across Western Pennsylvania. The 300th well was plugged in North Franklin Township under an emergency contract with Penn Mechanical Group, a family-owned and operated company located in Indiana, PA. The well – which is leaking methane – sits between two reservoirs on the site of the township’s future Waterside Park, an 89-acre park to connect residents to green-spaces, outdoor recreation, environmental education, and serve as a community hub. “When I took office, I directed the Department of Environmental Protection to move aggressively to draw down state and federal funding to make a meaningful impact plugging orphaned and abandoned wells. Today, I’m proud to announce that this well will be the 300th well plugged during my time as Governor,” said Governor Josh Shapiro. “By plugging orphaned and abandoned wells, we’re tackling a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions and creating thousands of good-paying jobs in the process. This is a smart, commonsense way to protect public health and create jobs – and I’m going to continue to work with DEP to put state and federal funding to good use by plugging these wells that create problems across rural Pennsylvania.”
March 12, 2025 8:41 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. inflation slowed last month for the first time since September even as additional tariffs on steel and aluminum kicked in Wednesday that could send prices higher. The consumer price index increased 2.8% in February from a year ago, Wednesday’s report from the Labor Department showed, down from 3% the previous month. Core prices, which exclude the volatile food and energy categories, rose 3.1% from a year earlier, down from 3.3% in January. The core figure is the lowest in nearly four years. The declines were larger than economists expected, according to a survey by data provider FactSet.
March 12, 2025 2:11 am
Washington County’s Public Affairs Director has resigned his position, following his arrest in Mahoning Valley, Ohio, on misdemeanor charges of engaging in prostitution and possession of criminal tools. The Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force says 55-year-old Patrick Geho responded to an ad and arranged to purchase sex from some females. Geho reportedly pleaded not guilty and was released on a personal recognizance bond. He is due in court June 2nd. Washington County Commissioners subsequently released the following statement: “When we became aware of the charges in Ohio, the commissioners immediately acted to place Mr. Geho on unpaid leave, pending further details. While this is now a matter for the Ohio courts, Pat and the commissioners understand that his continued employment would serve only as a distraction. Consequently, Pat has made the decision to leave his position, a decision we all agree is in the best interest of the people of Washington County.”
March 10, 2025 2:29 am
A Washington County Court Jury deliberated for a just few hours Thursday before returning a not guilty verdict in the trial of 81-year-old Victor Ardeno of Canton Township. Ardeno was facing multiple charges related to the alleged rape of a girl over a period of several years, from the time she was five-years-old until she was eleven. Prosecutors laid out their case during the trial, by calling on the victim’s divorced parents who had entrusted the care of the victim and her brother to Ardeno several days a week when the mother had to work at night during her days of custody. Testimony revealed that Ardeno told the girl not say anything to anyone regarding the assaults. Finally, a school counselor was told of the assaults while they were trying to figure out the victim’s chronic absenteeism at school and failing grades. Victim testimony described the assaults that started as inappropriate touching all the way to full acts of intercourse. Defense attorneys tried to poke holes in the victim testimony pointing to differences in a forensic interview and direct testimony on the stand regarding the timeline of events. Ardeno’s attorney, Lane Turturice told WJPA that the verdict gives him hope for our system of justice and that things went the way for someone whom he thinks is a good man.
March 12, 2025 2:48 am
South Strabane Township Police say they have arrested 29-year-old Lindsie Spillar of Oakdale on charges of operating an escort and prostitution enterprise from the Rodeway Inn in South Strabane Township. Police say they served a search warrant on her room at the Inn and they found her actively engaged in prostitution with a male guest. Spillar was jailed on multiple charges, including possession of cocaine and heroin. Police say a search of the room revealed a small amount of cocaine and heroin, a large amount of cash and sexual paraphernalia. Police say Spillar also had an arrest warrant out of Westmoreland County for unauthorized use of a vehicle and for failure to appear. South Strabane Township Police Chief Drew Hilk says North Strabane Township Police and District Attorney Jason Walsh assisted in the investigation.
March 12, 2025 4:59 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has officially increased tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports to 25%. He has promised that the taxes will help create U.S. factory jobs at a time when his seesawing tariff threats are jolting the stock market and raising fears of an economic slowdown. Wednesday’s move eliminates all exemptions from his 2018 tariffs on the metals, in addition to increasing the tariffs on aluminum from 10%. The U.S. president has separate tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, with plans to also tax imports from the European Union, Brazil and South Korea by charging “reciprocal” rates starting April 2.
March 12, 2025 4:57 am
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union has announced its own countermeasures, saying they will enter into force from April 1, after the Trump administration officially increased tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports to 25%. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday that as the United States is “applying tariffs worth 28 billion dollars, we are responding with countermeasures worth 26 billion euros,” or about $28 billion. The commission manages trade and commercial conflicts on behalf of the 27 member countries. Von der Leyen said that the EU “will always remain open to negotiation.” Britain, which isn’t part of the EU, meanwhile said it won’t impose retaliatory measures of its own on the U.S.
