A New Castle man has pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh to conspiring to distribute cocaine and cocaine base, and to distributing cocaine base within 1,000 feet of a school. United States Attorney Eric Olshan announced 28 year old Forrest Gilmore faces up to 90 years in prison and a fine of up to six million dollars. A number of agencies were part of the investigation that led to the guilty plea including the Lawrence and Mercer County drug task forces. Sentencing is set for January of 2024.
A Bradford County woman trying to get through security with a handgun at Pittsburgh International Airport Tuesday morning was stopped by TSA agents. Screening procedures detected the loaded firearm in the woman’s backpack. This was the second such incident at the airport in three days. TSA Federal Security Director Karen Keys-Turner says travelers are responsible for the items that they have in their possession and that guns should never be brought to the security checkpoint in carry-on luggage.
UPS is looking to fill seasonal positions. The company says they are hoping to find over 100-thousand workers across the country ahead of the holidays, including about 900 in Western Pennsylvania. Available jobs include delivery driver, driver helper, and package handler. UPS officials have said about 80 percent of the positions do not require an interview.
State Police in Mercer County report a Greenville man was taken to the hospital following a one vehicle accident in West Salem Township. State Police said 29 year old Gary Wheaton traveled off Maysville Road and overturned. Wheaton was taken to UPMC Greenville for treatment.
– The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is inviting state residents to complete a road construction and maintenance survey. Department officials say the questionnaire will help them get feedback on areas of success and potential improvement. The survey is 24 questions long and is available by searching pennDOT-dot-P-A-dot-gov. The deadline to participate is October 20th.
Current state law doesn’t restrict registered sex offenders on where they can live but a House Bill would change that. The House Judiciary Committee recently held a hearing on House Bill 77 to place restrictions on where sex predators can reside. The measure would prohibit offenders from living within 25-hundred feet of a public, private and parochial schools as well as pre-schools and day cares. People who are convicted of sexual crimes are mandated by law to register and stay up to date with the Megan’s Law system in letting officials know where they live, but can currently live where they choose.
Two Pennsylvania lawmakers are proposing a bill that would require all new multi –story apartments and condominiums to have at least two elevators. State Representatives Brian Munroe and Greg Scott are both Democrats from Montgomery County. The proposal would require that at least one of two required elevators must be operational unless circumstances were out of the owner’s control, such as during a power outage.
One person was taken to the hospital following a motorcycle accident in Chicora. State Police said 25 year old Adam Burns of Girard Ohio, pulled from the intersection of of East Slippery Rock and Main Street into the path of a motorcycle operated by 32 year old Cory Claypoole of Hilliards. Claypoole was taken to Butler Memorial Hospital for treatment. No other injuries were reported.
The Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee has approved legislation that would create an urban search and rescue task force in the western part of the state. Currently, Pennsylvania only has one urban search and rescue task force — in Philadelphia. Lawmakers say that large scale emergencies in western Pennsylvania in recent years have demonstrated the need for a similar task force in that area. They cite the Fern Hollow Bridge collapse and the train derailment in western Pennsylvania as examples of needing a response team that’s closer than six hours away. The Senate Bill would establish the new task force in Allegheny.