An arrest has been made in connection with the shooting death of a Shenango Township man. State Police arrested 20 year old Elijah Obriant Hirth on criminal homicide charges in the shooting death of 51-year-old Jason Altman. The Shenango Township police department found Altman dead at a home in the 2300 block of Old Chewton Road on Monday, August 13th. Hirth has been charged with criminal homicide, and has been committed to the Lawrence County Jail without bond.
The National Transportation Safety Board says it will not be investigating a deadly house explosion in Plum. Earlier this month, a home on Rustic Ridge Drive exploded, killing six, injuring several others and demolishing three homes. The NTSB normally inspects pipeline accidents, but says its decision to not investigate the explosion is due to preliminary information stating that the source of the explosion came from inside the home, not from an outside pipeline
The Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs wants to make sure those who’ve served know they can get financial help for their kids’ college. The Educational Gratuity Program is for children of honorably-discharged disabled veterans. State officials say students between the ages of 16 and 23 can get 500-dollars per semester over a total of eight terms. They have to show financial need, must have lived in the state for at least five years and need to attend a school within Pennsylvania.
State money for a popular program to fund basic home repairs and energy efficiency upgrades is not getting to counties. That’s despite Governor Josh Shapiro signing the budget that gives 50-million dollars to the Whole-Home Repairs Program. It’s among a list of initiatives that reportedly needs additional legislative language before its funds can be distributed. But some political experts say they don’t expect the funding to be fought over too much longer, considering how the money will be used and whom it serves.
State officials say even 17-year-old high school students can sign up to be poll workers. Commonwealth Secretary Al Schmidt says he wants to encourage everyone who’s eligible to sign up to serve for the November 7th election. Schmidt says precinct workers are paid for their training as well as work on election-day. To sign up, you must be a registered voter and meet eligibility criteria. Pennsylvania allows 17-year-olds to serve if they get permission from their school principal and their parent or guardian.
An Ohio man is facing charges following a one vehicle accident in Beaver County. State Police report 33 year old Chaunce Dolan of Lima, Ohio was traveling on Interstate 376 in Brighton Township when his vehicle left the roadway and struck a cable barrier. Police said Dolan faces charges of leaving the scene of an accident. No injuries were reported.
Pennsylvania’s treasurer wants to take the burden off state residents for getting unclaimed money. Roughly one in ten residents have misplaced money that the state is holding. To get it back, they must search for their name in a public database then file a claim. State Treasurer Stacy Garrity has proposed legislation that would allow the state to automatically return some of those unclaimed funds to people with no action required on their part. Garrity says only amounts under five-thousand dollars with a sole owner who is still alive would qualify. In higher-value cases, residents would still have to file claims.
Consumer advice website MarketWatch is out with results of a new survey looking at America’s Dog-Friendliest Cities. The 98 biggest cities in the country were reviewed in multiple categories including each city’s number of dog-friendly apartments, the number of veterinary offices, average veterinary costs and the number of dog parks. In the survey, Pittsburgh placed as the 15th dog-friendliest city in America with Raleigh, North Carolina at number-one.