A man is in custody following a stabbing yesterday afternoon at the Social Security office in Lawrence County. According to police, Glenn Samuels Jr. assaulted his brother as the brother was working at the office. The victim suffered cuts to the head and was taken for treatment. The suspect is charged with multiple counts of aggravated assault and is being held in the Lawrence County Jail on a 300-thousand dollars bond.
A woman is facing charges after allegedly being intoxicated when she caused a crash in Butler County with a child in her vehicle. State police say the crash happened on the Fourth of July on Brownsdale Road in Penn Township. The driver, 32-year-old Chelsie Brown, was allegedly under the influence of alcohol when she caused the head on crash. Her three-year-old son was in the back seat of her vehicle at the time. She is facing multiple charges and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for next month.
The presiding judge has denied a request by defense attorneys to have the body of Robert Bowers’ father exhumed. Bowers was found guilty last month on charges stemming from the killing of 11 people at the Squirrel Hill synagogue in October of 2018. Jurors have since determined that he is eligible for the death penalty and are now charged with deciding if he’ll get it. The defense wanted the late Randall Bowers exhumed for the purposes of paternity testing. Randall Bowers had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and attorneys for Robert Bowers say his own schizophrenia played a role in his committing of the crimes.
A Prospect man was taken to the hospital after he struck a deer while operating a motorcycle. State Police in Lawrence County report 22 year old Jacob Roxberry was traveling of route 19 in Washington Township when he struck the deer. Roxberry suffered injuries to his face and various parts of his body. He was taken to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Youngstown for treatment.
Industry experts say part of the reason for rising gas prices in Pennsylvania may be related to weather. Refineries are often impacted by extreme heat, causing equipment malfunctions and breakdowns. Higher temperatures also can resulting in inflated costs because of an increase in water temperatures. The average price for a gallon of gas in Pennsylvania is 10 cents higher this week, at three-dollars and 77-cents per gallon, according to Triple-A.
PennDOT officials are reportedly considering using more reclaimed asphalt as a way to save money. An administrator for the Pennsylvania Asphalt Pavement Association brought up the idea at a state meeting Tuesday, saying the commonwealth could also cut carbon emissions if it used the reclaimed material. The state produces over a million tons of asphalt each year and Mary Robbins says about 18-percent of reclaimed asphalt pavement is already used in new high-volume highways. Regulations limit its use on low-volume roads, primarily in rural areas.
Despite its federal status as a controlled substance, new figures show many Pennsylvanians have used marijuana on a regular basis and continue to do so. It’s permitted for medicinal purposes, but using it recreationally is still illegal. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, over one-point-nine-million people in Pennsylvania who are aged 12 or older have reported using marijuana in the last year. That amounts to 17-and-a-half percent of the population. Currently, 23 states have legalized recreational marijuana use.
The University of Pittsburgh Board of Trustees has approved a tuition increase for students enrolled at the school’s Oakland campus. The moves made by the board yesterday mean that, beginning this fall, Oakland campus in-state undergraduate students will see a two-percent hike while out-of-state undergrads will have a seven-percent hike. Graduate students from in- and out-of-state will experience a three-and-a-half-percent increase.
State Police in Lawrence County report a number of car break-ins that took place on Monday at McConnell’s Mills. According to reports, the first break-in happened around 5:30 p.m. Monday afternoon. Police said they found a vehicle with its rear window broken, but found that nothing had been taken from inside. Then, shortly before 9 p.m. the same day, police were called to the park again after the driver of a Jeep said their front window had been smashed, the report states. The Jeep’s owner said a small backpack purse had been taken from the car. Anyone with information is asked to contact State Police.