WJPA News

Peters Township Council passed an ordinance that regulates the use of electric bicycles and other vehicles on township owned property. According to Peters Township Police Captain Judd Emery, police have been receiving calls daily about the reckless use of electric bikes in parks and along trails throughout the township. Riders have been seen tearing up the grass in parks and have been confrontational with walkers especially along Arrowhead Trail. Highlights of the ordinance limit the speed of the electric bikes to 15 miles per hour, in line with other similar ordinances. They must stay on paved pathways and are strictly prohibited from going on fields, grass or open spaces on township property. It requires operators of electric bikes to be at least 16 years of age and helmets must be worn until age 21. According to Emery, this is an educational notice to parents as well, because some of the newer versions of electric bicycles actually require riders to be licensed. He said that kids can have all of the fun they want on private property, but on public property not only are there township regulations, state regulations are at play also. Emery was adamant that the township does not want to see any rider injured or killed by being reckless with their riding of the electric bicycles. In other township business, Council also authorized the $75,000 purchase and installation of 16 high resolution cameras and two license plate readers to be placed in Peterswood Park. They will serve as an investigative tool when incidents occur in the park.

The Washington County District Attorney and officials within the Ringgold School District announced today that the investigation into alleged misconduct among the high school football team has ended and there will be no charges filed. Officials say that after a thorough investigation of administration rules and regulations, they concluded that there was inappropriate behavior and violations to those rules and regulations, however, the violations were isolated to a small group of football players and were not pervasive.  Due to the misconduct allegations though, Friday’s football game was postponed. District officials say privacy considerations limit their ability to discuss what the allegations involved, they say appropriate action has been taken to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

One person was flown from the scene of a 3-vehicle crash Sunday night along Interstate 70.  Washington County 9-1-1 says it happened around 8:15 p.m in the eastbound lanes at mile-marker 26 near the Dunningsville exit.  Another person was transported from the scene by ambulance to a local hospital.  There is no word on the identity or condition of those injured.  Dispatchers say the interstate was closed for about thirty minutes following the crash.

PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – A massive crater stretching across Brereton Street after a landslide is now creating a new threat for homeowners in Polish Hill. Water from a water main break could be seen shooting several feet into the air. The break destroyed much of the road causing part of it to collapse early Friday morning. When the street started to crumble, it sent tons of mud, trees and chunks of pavement down the hillside onto the East Busway, forcing part of it to close. Traveling between the Strip District and Oakland will take more time, something that will impact a lot of riders. Neighbors on Brereton Street say water has been bubbling up through cracks in the road over the last year and claim the water authority has only been making temporary fixes that don’t address the underlying problem. Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority’s Public Affairs Senior Manager Rebecca Zito sent a statement that read: “The safety of our customers is our highest priority. In coordination with the City of Pittsburgh, PWSA has initiated an assessment to identify the factors that contributed to Friday’s landslide. That assessment is ongoing.” A spokesperson for the PRT said engineers are monitoring the hillside and will conduct tests to make sure it’s not at risk for more landslides.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania voters this fall will decide three statewide offices in addition to races for U.S. Senate and the presidency. The attorney general oversees hundreds of prosecutors, the auditor general keeps a watch over government agencies and the treasurer handles the state’s money. The attorney general’s race pits Republican York County District Attorney Dave Sunday against Democrat Eugene DePasquale. DePasquale, who is a former auditor general and state representative. Incumbent Republican Treasurer Stacy Garrity is being challenged by Democrat Erin McClelland. And Republican Auditor General Tim DeFoor faces Democratic state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta.

Products sold at various retailers such as Walmart, Aldi and Trader Joe’s are part of the recall of almost 10 million pounds of meat, chicken and turkey products processed by BrucePac. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service released a list of products that were sold to consumers from many popular grocery stores. The items include the following brands: Great Value (Walmart), Michelina’s, Boston Market, Atkins, Trader Joe’s, Good & Gather (Target), Taylor Farms, Little Salad Bar (Aldi), Kroger, Amazon Fresh and Giant Eagle among others. To see the complete list, visit the USDA’s website. In addition to the USDA’s alert, the Food and Drug Administration announced Reser’s Fine Foods recalled some of its meal kits because they contained chicken from BrucePac.  (Photo:  AP)

Hurricane Helene Relief Drives are underway across our area.  Businesses, groups, organizations and churches are organizing donation drives to help the victims of Hurricane Helene.  Helene struck Florida on September 26^th and then continued its path of destruction inland and into North Carolina and surrounding areas.  For a list of donation sites and needs, click here.

‘Tis the season – for 2000 Turkeys.  Believe it or not – Thanksgiving is just around the corner and that means we need your help making sure area families have a traditional Thanksgiving meal. WJPA’s annual 2000 Turkeys fundraiser is now underway. Committee members say there are even more families and individuals in need this year as compared to last and they need all the help they can get.  They say it would be wonderful if a group or organization were to make this their fundraiser this year.  Laurel Ziemba of Range Resources says “when you prioritize how you feed your family, Thanksgiving dinner is a luxury that a lot of families can’t afford.”  She says “that’s where 2000 Turkey’s will be able to supplement their income this holiday season to ensure they have a nice dinner for their family”.  If you would like to donate, you can send a check to; 2000 Turkeys P.O. Box 2000 Washington, Pa. 15301.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump took their fight for Pennsylvania’s Electoral College votes to opposite ends of the state on Monday. Harris spoke in the northwest corner of Erie and Trump’s held a town hall in the southeastern suburbs of Philadelphia. Democrat Harris and Republican Trump are making regular appearances in what is the country’s largest battleground state. It will be Harris’ 10th visit to Pennsylvania this campaign season. Trump made stops in both Scranton and Reading last week.

ATLANTA (AP) — The latest method of voting to fall into the political crosshairs is the way overseas voters cast their ballots – including members of the military stationed abroad. The process is governed by federal law and implemented by states. In recent weeks, Republicans have been challenging how states handle these voters. It’s part of a broader legal strategy by Republicans to position themselves for post-election challenges should Donald Trump lose. Election officials in the three states being targeted, Michigan, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, say they have strict procedures to ensure that only eligible voters cast ballots. They also note that overseas ballots have already been sent.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Authorities say a Nevada man with a shotgun, loaded handgun and fake passports in his vehicle was arrested at a security checkpoint outside Donald Trump’s rally Saturday night in the Southern California desert. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said Sunday that the suspect is a 49-year-old Las Vegas resident who was driving an unregistered black SUV with a “homemade” license plate. The man was stopped by deputies assigned to the rally in Coachella, east of Los Angeles. The department says the man was arrested on suspicion of possessing a loaded firearm and possession of a high-capacity magazine. Officials say the incident “did not impact the safety” of the former president or those attending the rally.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli airstrike on a hospital courtyard in the Gaza Strip early Monday killed at least four people and sent flames sweeping through a packed tent camp for people displaced by the war. Palestinian medics said the attack early Monday left more than two dozen people with severe burns. The Israeli military said it targeted militants hiding out among civilians, without providing evidence. In recent months it has repeatedly struck crowded shelters and tent camps, alleging that Hamas fighters were using them as staging grounds for attacks. The hospital was already struggling to treat a large number of wounded people from an earlier strike on a school-turned-shelter that killed at least 20 people.

OCEAN CITY, N.J. (AP) — A beloved boardwalk amusement park at the Jersey shore is shutting down. Gillian’s Wonderland Pier in Ocean City was to close Sunday night after generations of anchoring the vacation scene for families from Philadelphia, New York and southern New Jersey. Jay Gillian, the city’s mayor, says he tried his best to keep the park open, but determined the attraction his family ran for generations is no longer viable. It is currently owned by a hotel company, but Ocean City has already rejected a plan by that company to build a hotel nearby. Gillian’s family has operated amusement rides and attractions on the Ocean City boardwalk for 94 years.  (Photo:  AP)

(AP) – Bath & Body Works is apologizing for selling a candle with packaging that some people said looked like Ku Klux Klan hoods.  The 3-wick candle was called “Snowed In” and briefly appeared on the company’s website for purchase. It was quickly pulled off of the website once the issue was brought to Bath & Body Works attention.  The image on the packaging was supposed to convey a snowflake cut out of paper. The outer edges of the snowflake are white and cone shaped, with two holes cut out near the center.  “I have never seen a snowflake that looks like that,” one Instagram user commented.  “This wasn’t an accident,” said another.  But others felt differently.  “It’s just a poorly executed design – that shouldn’t have been approved,” one Instagram user countered.  “This is a paper snowflake. I would not have looked at that and thought it was a racist candle,” said another.  A Bath & Body Works spokesperson said in a statement on Monday that the mistake was unintentional, and that the company is committed to fixing it.  “We apologize to anyone we’ve offended and are swiftly working to have this item removed and are evaluating our process going forward,” the spokesperson said.  (Photo:  ABC News)