Top Johnstown Area Local News Stories
Source: MedleyStory
INDIANA, Pa. --
State police are meeting with the FBI and Internal Revenue Service to determine whether federal prosecutors will take over the case of a man charged with embezzling nearly $1 million from a gas drilling firm in Indiana County.
Online court records don't list an attorney for 51-year-old Larry Winckler, of Indiana, who's been in the Indiana County Jail since Monday on charges he stole the money from Falcon Drilling in Rayne Township.
Police said the company's controller told police that Winkler ordered her to write him a check in 2005 when he "desperately needed money" and that he's since siphoned up to $5 million from the firm.
Trooper John Matchik said federal authorities may take over the investigation because of its scope.
Winckler is charged with stealing $955,000 found missing so far.
Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 14:30:31 -0500
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. --
One of Johnstown's busiest bridges is back open to traffic.
The Hickory Street Bridge was closed more than three weeks ago after an inspection found corrosion under the bridge deck.
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation officials determined it was easier to complete the repair work with the bridge shut down rather than trying to work around a lane closure.
Weight restrictions on the 75-year-old bridge were lowered after the repairs.
Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 14:24:58 -0500
CAMBRIA COUNTY, Pa. --
Cambria County commissioner said they have come up with a fair and balanced budget with no tax increases.
Since taking office in January, the new board of commissioners has worked to cut spending from the 2012 spending plan, which was approved at the end of December.
Commissioner Doug Lengenfelder said, "Even though the previous budget had $670,000 coming in as revenue for the Day Reporting Center, we all know that the Day Reporting Center isn't even built yet. And so we took a look at it and said, 'Is this realistic? Is it really realistic to expect this type of revenue?'"
There were cuts in the $56 million budget, but Lengenfelder said there were savings, too. He said he and other commissioners restructured their expenses and asked county managers to make a 5 percent cut.
With all of the adjustments made, the commissioners were able to cut $1.2 million. Lengenfelder said, however, that there isn't really a full $1.2 million because some of that money will go toward restructuring the revenue portion of the budget.
He said commissioners plan on working on next year's budget much earlier to figure out where the money is going and how it's being spent.
They also decided on a 2 percent pay increase for management this year. Lengenfelder said commissioners did this to avoid what they call an inverted pay scale, which is where people who are working are receiving more than the managers.
Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:19:48 -0500
BLAIRSVILLE, Pa. --
State police are trying to figure out who abandoned a portable methamphetamine lab in a picnic cooler along a busy highway.
Police said a trucker reported the cooler along U.S. Route 22 near Blairsville, and troopers have determined it was likely left there between 4:30 p.m. Monday and 1 a.m. Tuesday.
Methamphetamine, a powerful stimulant, can be cooked using various volatile chemicals and the ingredients in some over-the-counter cold medicines.
Trooper Steve Limani, spokesman for the Greensburg barracks, says this portable lab was "definitely functional. It was missing two different ingredients."
Limani said anyone could have begun cooking the drug immediately if they had those unspecified ingredients.
Police aren't sure if the lab was left there for someone else to pick up or whether someone dumped it there because they feared being caught with it.
Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 10:41:42 -0500
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. --
Police are searching for three men who broke into a Johnstown house and badly beat a woman while her children were home.
The incident happened on Horner Street in Johnstown. A witness told police that three masked men broke into the home, pointed guns at the woman, then beat her while demanding information.
Another woman in the home was able to hide with the children.
Police said the men may have been searching for someone who fled just before the break-in.
According to police, suspect Cartina Albany showed up and joined in during the beating, demanding to know where something was.
Albany is facing burglary and assault charges, while police are still searching for the three men.
Anyone with information is asked to call police.
Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 10:28:01 -0500
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. --
A Johnstown man is facing close to 50 charges after police said he sexually assaulted a young girl nearly 13 years ago.
Albert Baldish Sr., 48, was arraigned Tuesday.
Police said Baldish sexually assaulted a young girl for a period of six years, starting in 1993. Police said the assaults started when the girl was 9 years old.
Police said the victim was forced to perform sex acts with Baldish on a daily basis, and was sometimes taken out of school to be with him.
When the victim was 15 years old and in ninth grade, police said she finally told someone at school about the alleged sexual abuse.
Cambria County Children and Youth Services removed her from the home, but according to police, when questioned, the victim was too terrified to say anything.
The victim is now almost 30. Police said it's not unusual for victims of sexual abuse to wait a long period of time to come forward.
"A lot of times the victims need to mature and understand that a crime was committed against them," said Johnstown Police Chief Craig Foust. "As they get older, they get influences from outside family members and friends that gives them the strength and courage to finally come forward even after they're an adult."
Baldish posted his $50,000 bond Tuesday. Stay with 6 News, WJACTV.com and WJACTV.com Mobile for continuing coverage.
Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 09:26:25 -0500
A local woman grabbed the attention of the Facebook world by creating a page standing up for a big-name celebrity.
Cathie Miller of Everett created a page to stand up for talk show host Ellen DeGeneres when a group of moms petitioned her JCPenney endorsement.
The group wanted the department store to fire Ellen as their spokesperson, but Miller said, not so fast.
Her page is steadily gaining support with nearly 200,000 ‘likes’ in just under a week. She said she’s standing up for what she believes in.
“It's a great feeling to know that I made a difference and can support people, because I don't believe that we should judge people based on their lifestyle as far as who they prefer to marry, or be with, or their race, or anything else about them,” Cathie Miller said.
Miller said she would love if Ellen saw the page to see all the support she has, and wouldn’t mind going on the show to show it to her herself.
The link to the page is: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/1-Million-people-who-support-Ellen-for-JC-Penney/171435642966371
Published: Tue, 14 Feb 2012 23:15:40 -0500
Somerset County is proposing a new policy for its arraignment procedure. Some county officials are in support, but smaller police departments said it’s going to create problems with manpower.
It’s not in effect yet, but this policy could change the way people are arraigned if arrested after a certain time at night.
The proposal on the table is if any arrests are made after 10 p.m., those charged would be arraigned the following morning.
If this policy goes through, those arrested will be taken to the county jail until the next day. Homicide would be the only exclusion to the policy.
The Daily American reports that the district attorney said the burden will be taken off police departments and put on those that were arrested, but for smaller departments like Shade Township, it said it will only create more problems for the little staffing they already have.
“It's going to affect me very badly because I don't have the manpower, nor will the elected officials authorize the extra pay to keep extra officers doing the arraignment, and what not, for them,” Shade Township Police Chief Tom Holand said.
The chief said his three part-time officers are only guaranteed eight hours, and all of their work must be completed within that time frame. He said the mileage to the jail and back would also cost the township more money.
Published: Tue, 14 Feb 2012 23:15:02 -0500
Residents in Somerset County could soon have a newly formed community.
The mayor of Windber Borough has proposed an idea that would take several municipalities and consolidate them into one.
The municipalities include Scalp-Level, Ogle and Paint townships along with Paint and Windber boroughs. All are only about a mile apart from each other in Somerset County, and that's why Mayor Simon Ohler wants to consolidate them.
"We just happen to be a unique community where we are close," said Ohler. "It would work for us."
Students from all five municipalities already attend the same district, Windber Area, and the police departments have recently combined.
"They're a bigger police force and, when they want grants, they listen to you right away and all the municipalities would save money. The borough would save a lot of money," said Ohler. "I think we can carry this over into being one municipality."
While Ohler said consolidation would be a huge cost savings, he said he doesn't feel cutting jobs would be necessary.
"This isn't a business. This is a government," said Ohler. "You have to have people to operate equipment, you'll have to have different kinds of equipment, so it's not a matter of losing jobs, you'll gain jobs out of it."
Ohler said he's been in talks with the leaders of the other municipalities as well as the residents, and said everyone seems to agree.
"Most people think it would be a good idea, and it's time. That's the key word," said Ohler. "From the conversations that I get from the people and the elected officials, it is a win-win situation."
Ohler said he hasn't heard from anybody who disagrees with the idea, but he said there will be public hearings in the near future, and he hopes that people will attend and voice any concerns they might have.
If the consolidation were to happen, it's still about two years away.
Published: Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:03:07 -0500
Move over, estrogen. There's a new theory that helps explain why men are more likely than women to get heart disease.
A new study shows that some men may inherit a higher risk for heart disease directly from their fathers.
The finding is significant in the world of genetics because it ties heart disease risk to the male Y chromosome. Previous studies have suggested that the Y chromosome, which carries relatively few genes, has little to do with inheritance beyond conferring male sex characteristics.
“It gives a completely new role for the Y chromosome,” says Lisa Bloomer, MSc, who made the discovery as a third-year PhD student in the department of cardiovascular sciences at the University of Leicester in the U.K. “It changes a lot of how we see genetics and the sex chromosomes and how important they are.”
A Visual Guide to Heart Disease
For the study, which is published in The Lancet, an international team of researchers analyzed DNA from more than 3,000 men in the U.K.
In particular, they looked at 11 regions on the Y chromosome. Because the Y chromosome has not changed much over time, scientists can use these regions to determine a person’s ancestry. In genetics, people with shared ancestry belong to the same haplogroup. There are thought to be about 30 haplogroups worldwide.
Researchers found that men who developed heart disease were more likely to belong to the same haplogroup -- haplogroup I -- compared to men who stayed healthy. In fact, being a member of haplogroup I raised a man’s risk for heart disease by about 50% compared to men of different backgrounds.
That risk remained even after researchers took into account traditional risk factors for heart disease like high blood pressure, cholesterol, smoking, diabetes, and obesity.
Haplogroup I was the third most powerful predictor that men would develop heart disease, behind their HDL, or “good,” cholesterol levels, and whether or not they were taking cholesterol-lowering drugs. Experts estimate that about 20% of men in Europe and 10% of men in the U.S. belong to haplogroup I.
The lineage is more commonly found in northern European countries, like Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, and it becomes less frequent in southern countries including Spain, France, and Italy.
“You see kind of a gradient in Europe between the North and the South,” Bloomer says. “Many more people in the North have this group than in [the] South, and you have many more people getting coronary artery disease in the North of Europe than in the South.”
Beyond the association between heart disease and haplogroup, researchers went one step further. They looked to see if the activity of certain blood cells was different between ancestral groups. They found that genes related to the development of atherosclerosis -- hardening of the arteries -- were more active in men who belonged to haplogroup I. There were other key differences related to inflammation and immune function.
“The sex chromosomes matter in terms of disease,” says Virginia M. Miller, PhD, a professor of physiology and surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
Miller, who studies sex differences in heart disease, wrote a commentary on the new findings, but she was not involved in the research.
She says the new findings mean that family history may be a stronger predictor of heart disease risk for men than for women.
“You may have a family history, but this paper says it matters if it’s from your father’s side and you’re a man,” she says.
Some heart disease risk calculators, like the widely used Framingham Risk Score, don’t account for family history or whether it comes from the mother’s or father’s side, she says. If further research confirms the findings of this study, Miller thinks they will probably need adjusting.
“We need to broaden our scope in terms of what is the individual risk and really personalize it for people in terms of managing their own health,” she says.
Published: Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:02:08 -0500
SOMERSET COUNTY, Pa. --
Pennsylvania State Police in Somerset are investigating a break-in at a medical office in Stoystown Borough.
Officials said someone smashed the front door glass at the Medical Associates Of Boswell office just before midnight. A plate-glass window inside the office was also broken.
It was still unclear as of noon Tuesday if anything was stolen until office personnel take inventory.
Anyone with information is asked to call police.
Published: Tue, 14 Feb 2012 13:04:13 -0500
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. --
Penn State University says it's spent more than $3 million on lawyers, consultants and public relations firms in response to the child sex-abuse allegations against former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.
The university posted a breakdown of its related costs Monday as it unveiled a new website, part of an effort to provide more information to the public.
Through December, the university had spent $2.5 million on crisis communications and on an internal investigation led by the Freeh Group.
It's also reporting having spent about $470,000 on university legal services, and more than $210,000 for the legal defense of former Vice President Gary Schultz, former President Graham Spanier and Tim Curley, on leave as athletic director.
Curley and Schultz await trial on charges of perjury and failure to report abuse, which they deny. Spanier hasn't been charged with any crime.
Other investigations have cost it more than $50,000.
Published: Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:57:56 -0500
PITTSBURGH --
A coalition of environmental and community groups say they plan to file a new lawsuit against an Indiana County power plant.
The Sierra Club and Earthjustice said in a statement Monday that the Homer City Generating Station, the state's second-largest coal plant, is violating clean air standards. The groups claim the plant released more sulfur dioxide last year than any plant in the nation.
A federal judge in Pittsburgh dismissed another pollution lawsuit against the plant last year, saying some claims were too old while others were superseded by state and federal laws.
California-based Edison Mission Energy said last month that it plans to add $700 million in pollution control equipment to the plant.
Edison spokesman Charley Parnell told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the company can't comment on potential litigation.
Published: Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:52:07 -0500
HUNTINGDON COUNTY, Pa. --
A Huntingdon County man was arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a 9-year-old girl.
Mount Union Borough police arrested 53-year-old Timothy Neely at his apartment on Federal Drive.
Neely is charged with 13 felony counts, including aggravated indecent assault of a minor and possession of child pornography.
Police said the incident happened in November with a girl who knew Neely.
Neely remains in jail with bail set at $50,000. A hearing is set for next week. Stay with 6 News, WJACTV.com and WJACTV.com Mobile for continuing coverage.
Published: Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:48:16 -0500
HARRISBURG, Pa. --
Gov. Tom Corbett's signature is on three key bills for Pennsylvania's energy sector, including one that would require Marcellus Shale natural gas drillers to help fund various state and local government programs.
Corbett signed the bills yesterday.
The gas-drilling bill also would toughen safety standards and limit the ability of local officials to keep drilling out of their towns.
Money paid by the drillers could provide millions of dollars to help build a massive petrochemical refinery in southwestern Pennsylvania and the reuse of three Philadelphia-area oil refineries that are shutting down.
Such facilities may also qualify for tax breaks for 10 or 15 years under a second bill Corbett signed. A third bill he signed allows public utilities to charge ratepayers upfront for improvements to power lines and pipelines.
Published: Tue, 14 Feb 2012 09:23:58 -0500
SMICKSBURG, Pa. --
An Amish man has died of burns suffered in an Indiana County house fire that killed one of his young sons and critically injured another.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported Tuesday that 29-year-old Ervin Hostettler Sr. died Sunday at a Pittsburgh hospital where he'd been treated since the fire Jan. 24.
Hostettler Sr. and his 5-year-old son, Andy, both suffered third-degree burns to 50 percent of their bodies when a wood-burning stove exploded while he was trying to restart it with kerosene.
Another boy, 4-year-old Ervin Jr., died of burns the day after the fire.
Andy Hostettler's condition has been upgraded from critical to stable condition at UPMC Mercy hospital in Pittsburgh.
The family's house is located in West Mahoning Township.
Published: Tue, 14 Feb 2012 09:08:47 -0500
Officials at State College Area School District are working to reassure parents after a judge loosened Jerry Sandusky’s home confinement rules.
In court documents filed Monday morning, Senior Judge John Cleland ruled that Sandusky can have supervised visits with his grandchildren, he can leave his Grandview Road home for preapproved trips to work on his case with defense attorneys and that he can continue using his back porch.
During a pretrial hearing last week, prosecutors said Sandusky’s back porch was only 50 yards away from the playground at Lemont Elementary School and that several neighbors videotaped Sandusky on his back porch when students were outside for recess.
Deputy District Attorney Marc Costanzo said that prosecutors received calls of concern from parents and neighbors who saw Sandusky on his back deck during home confinement.
“One of the children said they knew something about the case and they were uncomfortable being in close proximity,” said Costanzo.
Defense Attorney Karl Rominger argued that Sandusky never violated the rules of his home confinement and hasn’t bothered neighbors or students.
“Obviously it’s being blown out of proportion, because none of these concerns came up until Jerry filed a motion to modify his bail,” said Rominger.
During last week’s hearing, prosecutors read written testimony from a daycare provider that said activities were disrupted when children saw Sandusky during recess and from a classroom window.
SCASD Public Information Specialist Julie Miller told 6News that the principal has not received notification of any classroom or recess disruptions during school hours because of Sandusky.
"That was actually an employee for the after-school daycare program. That is the Child Development and Family Council who sponsors that. Even though it is hosted at Lemont Elementary, that was not a direct Lemont employee," said Miller. "I'm not sure if they could see (from classroom window). Certainly, we have heard reports that Mr. Sandusky has been on his deck, but that has been part of his bail agreement. That's not restricted. As a district, we're not in a position to change anything with that."
Miller said the school has enhanced security by keeping all exterior doors locked, restricting traffic onto the property, as well as increasing recess supervision ever since the 62-year-old was arrested on dozens of charges connected to child sex abuse allegations last November.
Miller told 6News that officials have sent several emails to Lemont Elementary parents within the last two weeks and do not plan on making any changes to outdoor recess plans.
“Faculty and staff, in fact, have commented over and over again that they do feel safe and they do feel comfortable with the security measures that are in place at Lemont,” said Miller.
Published: Tue, 14 Feb 2012 01:07:22 -0500
A fire destroyed a building and everything inside of it including all of the jerseys and equipment for the Bedford Bison Youth Football Program.
6 News first heard about this fire on Sunday near Cessna. It was used as storage for the Heartland Hall, but that wasn’t all it housed. Nearly $25,000 worth of youth football equipment burned with it.
All that’s left standing of this scorched building is a few walls. The stuff inside wasn’t much of a loss for the Heartland Hall, but for the Bedford Bison Youth Football Program it was everything it had.
"It was everything. I mean, we had literally everything stored in there; the kids’ equipment, [I mean] field equipment, balls, the coaches bags, jerseys, everything, literally,” President of the Youth Football League Darren Cassidy said.
A fire marshal ruled it an arson Monday morning and estimated a loss of nearly $100,000; $25,000 of that in the football program.
"I don't understand what people are thinking. I'm sure they didn't know the football equipment was there, but still to burn a building down is pointless,” assistant football coach Erick Seager said.
"It put a damper on the whole weekend, because I heard it was a total loss fire, so, we had everything there,” Cassidy said.
The program started in 2008, and for the past few years it was stored in the same building. It created a seamless operation.
"We had the nicest equipment in the league. We had the nicest jerseys and I'm basically starting from scratch, all over again,” Cassidy said.
The coaches know it’s going to take a lot to get the program back to where it was, but the support for the league is overwhelming.
"I get told how much the kids love football. I've heard that millions of times.; thank you for starting the league, thank you to the coaches; my son always wanted to play but never had the opportunity, so that's huge,” Cassidy said.
"We'll get back on track. We're not going to let it end here,” Seager said.
If you want to make a donation to help the league get back on its feet, there’s an account set up at Hometown Bank under Bedford Youth Football.
Published: Mon, 13 Feb 2012 23:10:11 -0500
Purchase Line North elementary school is located in Mahaffey, Clearfield County.
The junior-senior high school and south elementary school are located in Commodore, Indiana County.
For the 107 students that attend North, they may soon find themselves riding the bus to South elementary.
Last week, Purchase Line School Board voted to schedule a section 780 public hearing.
The hearing is in compliance with Pennsylvania's Public School Code.
The hearing is the beginning process of potentially closing North elementary school.
Tina Hazelet, superintendent of Purchase Line School District, told 6 News that right now it is an emotional time throughout the school district.
"It is something you maybe don't want to do, because it is a tough decision to make. When it comes down to it, you've got to work with your school board and make fiscally responsible decisions," said Hazelet.
Hazelet said that part of the reason for possibly closing the school is because of the declining enrollment.
Hazelet said that within the last five years, there has been a 32 percent decrease in the number of students enrolled at the North elementary school.
To keep the school open for its 107 students, it would cost the district $1.7 million a year.
"You've got to make some cuts. What are those cuts going to be? You can only cut so much when a bulk of your budget really is wages and benefits. So you take a look at something such as you elementary schools," she said.
The possibility of the school closing does not satisfy parents.
Jodie Kauffman has two children. She said that two are at North and the other is already at the junior-senior high school.
Kauffman said that her teenage son catches the bus just after 6 a.m.
She said he then rides the bus nearly an hour away to school to Commodore, where both the junior-high school and South elementary school are located.
Kauffman said that she does not want her younger children to be put in this situation.
"I understand that we all have to function on a budget. I also have to do that at my own home. However, at this point, I don't appreciate that there has been a dollar sign attached to the forehead of each of our children here at North elementary," said Kauffman.
Nicole Patrick also has a child at North elementary.
She agrees with Kauffman.
"I feel that at the north, the students have a very intimate relationship with their teachers and the faculty. Whenever they're put into a larger class size they could lose that connection," said Patrick.
Kauffman told 6 News that if the school does close she is considering cyber school for her children.
She noted that if parents have to drive more than 30 miles to watch a performance or anything the child is involved in, the school will see less parent turnout.
In an interview with 6 News, Hazelet said that she understands parents concerns.
She said that the district has been trying to avoid the situation for several years but now more than ever they need to make decisions.
Hazelet said 1,007 students are in the district and with the way the economy is they are not seeing more families moving to the district. Rather, they are seeing people leaving, relocating jobs and bringing their families elsewhere.
Hazelet said that she encourages everyone to attend the hearing on Feb. 27.
It will be held in the auditorium of the Purchase Line Junior Senior High School located at 16559 Route 286 Highway E,Commodore, Pa., at 7 p.m.
After the meeting, there will be a 90-day grace period.
The school board will determine whether the school will close on May 29.
Published: Mon, 13 Feb 2012 21:03:07 -0500
A strip mine in Somerset County has nearby residents on edge after they said they were never notified about it.
The land is in Paint Township and borders the Stonycreek River, which was recently named Pennsylvania's river of the year.
"We heard that there were rumblings that they were going to be doing something, but it was just like boom, all of a sudden it started," said Galen Miller, who lives nearby. "[There's been] tree-cutting and we got contacted by an engineering company to survey the house for issues in case there was damage from the strip mine."
Miller can see the cleared hillside from his yard and said he can hear the loud hum of machines.
"Six in the morning one morning it started, until 6 at night when it got dark," said Miller. "It was just like a very, very loud dentist drill all day long."
But his biggest concern, he said, is the damage to the natural surroundings including the Stonycreek River below.
"It doesn't make sense to me if you're going to call something the river of the year and now it's in danger of being polluted by strip mining," said Miller.
Upon crossing the river, it's very clear to see the work that's been done. So 6 News checked with the Department of Environmental Protection office in Ebensburg and discovered that a surface mine permit was actually applied for in January 2010.
But that's something Ronald Coughenour, who also lives nearby, said his neighbors should have known.
"This isn't a surprise for the people living here," said Coughenour. "We've been getting letters, they've been doing blasting, going to be doing blasting, and deep mining coal for years now."
6 News discovered the permit was advertised four different times in early 2010, but since there was no public comment filed, it's been a done deal since.
A spokesperson with the DEP said this is a good reminder for people to check the notices in local newspapers and online. He also said there are guidelines and restrictions in place that make coal companies responsible for keeping local water clean.
Published: Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:47:37 -0500
EbensburgPennsylvania.com
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