A man is in custody after he robbed a Beaver County credit union armed with a baseball bat. The robbery happened yesterday at the Beaver Falls Federal Credit Union on 37th Street when 34-year-old Derrick Grant entered the credit union wielding an aluminum baseball bat. After an hours long search that included SWAT, a helicopter and state and local police, Grant was taken into custody last night. He is facing multiple charges, including robbery, theft and evading.
An Ellwood City woman was taken to the hospital following a one vehicle accident Monday night. State Police report 51 year old Melinda Tuttle was westbound on route 488 when she lost control and struck a utility pole causing the vehicle to overturn. Tuttle was transported to Allegheny General Hospital for treatment. Police said the investigation into the accident is ongoing.
Police are investigating two serious crashes that happened on the same Butler County road within twelve hours of each other. The first crash happened just after 6 p.m. Tuesday night on Route 38 in Oakland Township where two people were killed. 19 year old Hayden Ernest of Hillards struck a vehicle head -on operated by 32 year old Jacqueline Rock of Chicora. Both drivers were killed. Two passengers suffered serious injuries. A second crash happened on Route 38 just after 2 a.m. Wednesday morning, leaving four people with serious injuries. Of those injured, one is said to be a 13-year-old boy. Both crashes are under investigation.
A Volant Borough Council member faces charges following a scuffle that took place at a Borough council meeting back in July. WFMJ-TV reports John Shaw faces a September 5th hearing before a district magistrate on one count of assault and three counts of harassment. The charges stem from a July 11th council meeting where Shaw said he was attempting to remove a woman who refused to leave the meeting. Shaw says he shoved a man who got in his way. The man fell to the ground and was taken to a hospital by ambulance. The complaint filed by police say the man claims to have suffered a concussion. Councilman Shaw also allegedly pulled the arm of the woman he was attempting to escort from the meeting and shoved another woman as well. Police say they reviewed a video of the incident before filing the charges.
A study commissioned by the state House recommends that Pennsylvania shift away from mandates dictating how many hours educators must devote to training. Instead, the Joint State Government Commission report suggests they could satisfy training requirements by demonstrating that they understand the content. The report also calls for giving school districts greater flexibility in determining which staff need training in specific areas. Those include for training on substance abuse, dating violence, pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
Members of the state’s Basic Education Funding Commission say they’re planning a series of public hearings that will begin next month. The panel will collect testimony to help improve the basic education funding formula. The state’s high court has directed lawmakers to find a more equitable way to distribute tax dollars for education to include all students. The first three hearings are scheduled September 12th through 14th in Allentown, Harrisburg, and Philadelphia.
Pennsylvania lawmakers are cutting funds for violence prevention programs. Some advocates say that’s unfortunately happening just as federal money is running out. The state injected 75-million of its federal COVID relief dollars into over a hundred existing programs last year, when funding totals reached 105-million. Governor Shapiro’s original budget had asked for the same amount, but the spending plan approved by both the Senate and House includes just 40-million dollars for antiviolence grants. A letter sent by over 100 non-violence groups urges Governor Shapiro to find alternative methods to secure additional funding now that the budget is signed.
A former Pittsburgh resident has been sentenced to prison after having been convicted on federal child pornography charges. Christopher Pelzer was found guilty of possessing child porn and was sentenced this week to a term of 30 months in prison with five years of supervised release after the fact. He’s also been ordered to pay six-thousand dollars in fines.
Pennsylvania Treasury officials say about one in ten state residents has unclaimed property. It can come from several sources including closed bank accounts, uncashed checks, lost stocks and bonds and forgotten safe deposit boxes, among other sources. The officials encourage you to look to see if you’re in the database and say it’s easy to do. Go to the state treasury’s website, select their unclaimed property page and put in your information. There’s also an 800-number to call to check.