Sunday, May 19, 2013
The National Transportation Safety Board recommends reducing the limit. Some say it would save lives. Others say it's unreasonable.
One drink could be the standard for drunken driving—at least for some people if the National Transporation Safety Board has its way. Earlier this week, the NTSB recommended states lower the blood-alcohol threshold for driving under the influence from 0.08 percent to 0.05 percent. About 10,000 deaths a year are related to drunken driving. The NTSB says the lower limit would save 500 to 800 lives a year. However, officials at the American Beverage Institute called the proposal "ludicrous." It said the average woman could reach the 0.05 percent limit by having just one drink. According to the Post-Gazette, a blood-alcohol level of 0.05 would be attained by a would be attained by a 130-pound woman with two drinks consumed within one hour. A …
Thursday, May 16, 2013
The blaze heavily damaged the rental home on May Lane.
Evans City resident Stacy Norris was sound asleep when her mother woke her just after midnight Wednesday to tell her the house was on fire. At first, she didn’t believe her—then she saw the flames. Norris, a nurse at UPMC in Cranberry who rents the house on May Lane with her mother, quickly grabbed the family dog and hurried outside. Norris said she tried to return to the house to try to grab some personal items, but by then the flames already were too fierce. "We couldn't get back in," she said. The white, two-story home was heavily damaged in the blaze and is uninhabitable. Norris said she and her mother would be staying with an aunt in the area until other arrangements are made. Although she believes many items inside the house aren't …
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
The May Lane home is heavily damaged in the blaze.
A mother and her daughter are unharmed after a fire at their home on May Lane in Evans City early Wednesday morning. The home caught fire just after midnight, according to Evans City Fire Chief Mark Adomaitis Stacy Norris, who rents the home with her mother, said she was asleep when her mom, Sue Norris, saw sparks coming from behind a computer in the home’s office. After her mother woke her, Norris said she grabbed the family dog and got out of the house. Norris said she hoped to go back inside the house to grab personal items, but the flames already were too heavy. "We couldn't get back in," she said. The home was heavily damaged in the blaze. Adomaitis said the cause of the fire is still undetermined. Check back with Cranberry Patch for…
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Duane Rill is accused of stealing more than $13,000 while serving as union secretary and treasurer.
A Cranberry Township resident accused of stealing more than $13,000 has been indicted by a federal grand jury, according to the U.S. attorney's office in Pittsburgh. Duane Rill, 51, of Mary Street, faces one count of union embezzlement. According to the indictment, Rill was the secretary-treasurer of the Berry Metal Employees’ Association, an independent union based in Cranberry, where he is accused of stealing about $13,496 from the union by writing and cashing unauthorized union checks and making unauthorized cash withdrawals. The thefts occurred from March 23, 2007 to Nov. 20, 2009, according to U.S. Attorney David Hickton. If convicted, Rill faces up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both. The Department of Labor, Office …
Friday, May 10, 2013
Two people are taken by medical helicopters to area hospitals.
Emergency crews responded to a crash involving an overturned car on the Pennsylvania Turnpike Friday morning that injured three people. According to the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission spokeswoman Renee Colburn, the crash happened about a mile from the Cranberry interchange. Colburn said three people were in the eastbound car when it overturned at about 10:49 a.m. The Cranberry Township Volunteer Fire Company reported on the its Facebook page that the car rolled down an embankment. "Crews worked tirelessly to remove all patients from the vehicle," the company's status said. Two people were transported by medical helicopters to area hospitals, Coleburn said. One person was taken to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, she said. The …
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Passengers tried to warn Frank Schaffner the train was approaching, according to the criminal complaint.
The driver of a Butler Area Rural Transit bus that was struck by a train last month in Evans City, leaving two people dead, is facing vehicular homicide charges. According to the criminal complaint filed by Evans City Police, Frank B. Schaffner, 59, of Butler Township, did not stop at the Maple Avenue crossing the morning of April 26, despite being alerted to the oncoming train by passengers. Video from the bus camera shows Schaffner, who was wearing dark sunglasses on the foggy morning, did not look left or right before driving over the tracks, which are not protected by crossing gates. “On the video, you can hear the horns from the train rapidly approaching,” Evans City police Chief Joseph McCombs wrote in the complaint. “Some passengers…
Pick a reputable contractor with these tips from Cranberry Police and the Better Business Bureau.
With the warm weather finally here, many people are considering having work done on their homes or getting their driveways sealed. But how do you choose the right contractor? Cranberry Police Sgt. Chuck Mascellino warned residents who might want to have their asphalt driveways patched or resealed to be careful about who they hire—especially if the contractor offers to do the job on the cheap. Mascellino said to be leery of contractors who solicit customer by saying they have extra materials left over from a previous job and are able to do another driveway at a third of the price. “Most of the companies may have some excess supply, but not enough to do another entire driveway,” Mascellino said. While these companies may complete the work, …
Jason Eric Bowker already is serving time in Beaver County Prison after pleading guilty to a theft in Beaver County.
A Beaver County-based construction worker charged with stealing more than $10,000 worth of jewelry from a Cranberry Township. Jason Eric Bowker, who police did not have an address listed for, is charged with theft and receiving stolen property. Court documents show that Bowker has been in Beaver County Prison since Feb. 8. On March 27, he was sentenced to six months to a year in prison for receiving stolen property in a Beaver County theft. According to the criminal complaint filed by Cranberry Police, the owners of a home on Deep Lake Drive reported in January that about $10,920 worth of jewelry was missing from their residence. Using business records, investigators found Bowker, who had recently worked at the home under Brighton …
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Leo Stefanacci nearly drowned after his car plunged into the Connoquenessing Creek.
Seneca Valley teacher Henry “Leo” Stefanacci waived a preliminary hearing Tuesday before District Justice Wayne Seibel in Evans City. Stefanacci, 48, of Zelienople, is charged with driving under the influence and careless driving after a near fatal plunge into the Connoquenessing Creek. A popular learning support teacher at Seneca Valley Middle School, Stefanacci was driving on Halstead Boulevard in Zelienople March 3 when he skidded off the road. His car landed upside down in the nearby creek. Firefighters trained in water rescue pulled him from the vehicle after four teens driving on the road noticed a car overturned in the water and dialed 9-1-1. He was taken by medical helicopter to UPMC Presbyterian in Pittsburgh in critical condition…
As part of her sentencing, Orie Melvin must write letters of apology to state judges, her former staff and her family.
Convicted former State Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin was sentenced Tuesday to house arrest followed by probation and must send written apologies on photographs of herself to every judge in the Commonwealth, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. An Allegheny County Common Pleas Court jury convicted Orie Melvin in February on all but one count of using her former Superior Court staff and that of her sister to run campaigns. Orie Melvin was sentenced to three years of house arrest followed by two years of probation and must serve in a soup kitchen three times a week, the P-G said. Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas Judge Lester Nauhaus also ordered that Orie Melvin have her photo taken with an official county photographer so…
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1:43 pm on Monday, May 20, 2013
"Maybe" I SAY RAISE IT! 0.50 BAC what do you say? more ›