Baker case: DA wants more charges
By MARISSA DECHANT – Staff writer One of the co-defendants accused of killing a Franklin woman in October appeared in court Friday to oppose a…
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Some hurdles need to be cleared for recycling center in Cranberry
By JUDITH O. ETZEL – Contributing writer More details have emerged about a potential county-wide recycling center that may be located in Cranberry Township. The…
Proposed county recycling center is response to public demand
By JIM MEYER Staff writer Venango County’s recycling and solid waste coordinator says plans for a collection center in the county are in response to…
Police looking for OC man accused of hurting girlfriend
From staff reports An Oil City man is wanted in connection with the assault of his girlfriend Saturday at their Plummer Street residence. A criminal…
Titusville Moose presents $34k to emergency responders
From staff reports Titusville Moose Family Center 84 presented $2,000 donations to 17 first response agencies during the center’s annual emergency night on Friday. The…
Oil City man gets lengthy prison term
By MARISSA DECHANT – Staff writer An Oil City man who pleaded guilty in December in three separate cases involving sexual misconduct with three children…
OC man gets 5-year probation terms for corruption, threats
By MARISSA DECHANT – Staff writer An Oil City man who pleaded guilty in February in two separate cases involving the corruption of minors and…
Catholic diocese IDs priests, lay people accused of abuse
ERIE (AP) — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Erie, Pennsylvania, has published a list of 34 priests and 17 lay people who have faced credible…
Sugarcreek council approves 2 ordinances
From staff reports Sugarcreek Borough Council approved two ordinances that will affect borough residents at the panel’s meeting Wednesday. Borough manager Joe Sporer said that…
Charges withdrawn against couple in alleged scam
From staff reports Charges have been withdrawn against a couple from Palmyra who were accused of trying to scam $15,000 from a Jackson Township woman…
Trooper says he was forced to use pepper spray on dog
From staff reports A Franklin state police trooper says he determined he needed to use pepper spray on an aggressive dog late Monday afternoon in…
Kennerdell woman faces charges tied to drug overdose death
By MARISSA DECHANT Staff writer A second person is facing charges in connection with the overdose death of a 28-year-old Callensburg woman in September. Grace…
Man dies in Mercer County crash
From staff reports Mercer state police reported that a 26-year-old man died at the scene of a crash at 10:57 a.m. Friday on Petersburg Road…
Second man accused of forging school medical excuses
From staff reports A second man is facing numerous charges in connection with the creation of forged medical excuses for a student at Oil City…
Utica woman accused of stealing from wrestling club waives hearing
From staff reports A Utica woman accused of the fraudulent withdrawal of more than $5,000 from the Friends of the Franklin Wrestling Club during her…
OC couple waive hearings on drug, endangerment charges
From staff reports An Oil City couple accused of possessing drugs and a firearm at their Manning Street residence where two young children also live…
Edinboro president resigning following uproar over comments
EDINBORO (AP) — The embattled president of a small northwestern Pennsylvania college is resigning following an uproar over his comments on problems at the financially…
OC school board renews district food service contract
By JIM MEYER Staff Writer Oil City School Board members on Monday approved the renewal of the district’s food service contract with The Nutrition Group…
Clarion state police seek assault, DUI suspect
From staff reports Clarion state police have issued a felony arrest warrant for a Rimersburg man. Dennis Horner, 61, is wanted on felony counts of…
Man accused of forging medical excuses for daughter
By MARISSA DECHANT – Staff writer An Oil City man is facing 40 charges after he allegedly forged medical excuses for his daughter who attends…
Woman accused of stealing GoFundMe money held for court
By MARISSA DECHANT Staff writer A Franklin woman accused of stealing nearly $2,700 through a GoFundMe page she created for the victims of a house…
State ag secretary wants Dean to extend deadline
From staff reports Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding has sent a letter to Dean Dairy Holdings following the announcement that the company provided termination…
Sheriff: Teenager dead, 2 wounded in Maryland high school
GREAT MILLS, Md. (AP) — A teenager with a handgun shot a girl inside his Maryland high school Tuesday before he was fatally wounded during…
Officials: Shooting at a Maryland High School
GREAT MILLS, Md. (AP) — School officials report that there’s been a shooting at a Maryland high school, that the ‘event is contained’ and the…
Week of Giving begins today
From staff reports The second annual Week of Giving sponsored by Bridge Builders Community Foundation starts today. The Week of Giving event kicks off at…
Franklin native in spotlight during NCAA tourney TV ads
By MARISSA DECHANT – Staff writer March Madness fans tuning in to this month’s NCAA basketball tournament are likely to spot a familiar face among…
Franklin man accused of assaulting boy
A Franklin man is facing charges after he allegedly cut off the airways of a juvenile boy during an altercation last month at a Pacific…
Wanted OC woman spotted in Titusville
By JIM MEYER Staff writer Oil City police said an Oil City woman who has been wanted since January was recently seen on security camera…
Former wrestling club president accused of stealing $5,000
By MARISSA DECHANT Staff writer A Utica woman is facing fraud charges after she allegedly withdrew more than $5,000 from the Friends of the Franklin…
Multimodal, Cornplanter Square plans moving forward
By JIM MEYER Staff Writer Two major revitalization projects for Oil City continue to move forward following action Tuesday by the Venango County commissioners. The…
PennDOT opens REAL ID identification process
From staff reports PennDOT has opened online application for REAL ID pre-verification for customers who are interested in obtaining a REAL ID and obtained their…
OC graduate acquitted of homicide in Edinboro shooting
From staff reports A former Venango County resident was acquitted Friday of homicide charges in connection with a shooting almost three years ago near the…
Memorial event scheduled Wednesday in Franklin to honor Parkland victims
From staff reports A memorial demonstration will be held at 5 p.m. Wednesday on the Venango County Courthouse steps to honor the 17 people killed…
OC police charge 2 men in meth case
By MARISSA DECHANT Staff writer Two men are facing charges after police allegedly found them in possession of methamphetamine during the execution of a search…
Ohio woman accused of taking vehicle, fleeing waives hearing
From staff reports An Ohio woman accused of stealing a vehicle from the Country Fair on Oil City’s North Side in November waived her preliminary…
Meals on Wheels: Program in danger without more drivers
By JUDITH O. ETZEL Contributing writer A non-profit agency that aims to put food on local residents’ plates has a simple need – drivers to…
Police say teen again flees from Clintonville foster home
From staff reports A Farrell teenager who fled from his Clintonville foster home and was returned there has once again fled, Franklin state police said….
OC man waives hearing on DUI-drugs, firearms charges
By MARISSA DECHANT – Staff writer An Oil City man accused of driving under the influence of various drugs while in illegal possession of a…
Woman facing charges for attack on boyfriend
By MARISSA DECHANT – Staff writer A woman is facing aggravated assault charges after she allegedly injured her boyfriend with a baseball bat Thursday at…
Woman waives hearing on assault, resisting arrest charges
From staff reports A Franklin woman accused of biting a police officer and making threats to her mother and authorities last month waived her preliminary…
Police still looking into 2 OC disappearances
From staff reports Oil City police chief Bob Wenner said Wednesday investigations are continuing into the disappearances late last year of two Oil City men,…
Pitt trustees approve new vision for Titusville
From staff reports The University of Pittsburgh’s Board of Trustees on Friday approved a new vision for the Pitt-Titusville campus. At the board’s annual meeting,…
Franklin man arrested on drug charges
From staff reports A Franklin man is facing drug charges after police allegedly found him with marijuana in Riverfront Park last week. A criminal complaint…
OC police have been to schools 8 times in 2 weeks
From staff reports Oil City police said Friday they have responded to eight reported incidents at the Oil City high school or middle school in…
Wenner, school leaders respond to lockdown rumors
By JIM MEYER Staff writer Recent rumors of Oil City High School going into lockdown because of a threat were based on social media gossip…
OC school district issued robocall to quell lockdown rumors
From staff reports A robocall was initiated Wednesday by Oil City High School principal Scott Stahl to dispel rumors of a lockdown in response to…
Former Grove board member raises concerns about safety
By WILLIAM STEVENS Staff writer A former Valley Grove School Board member attended the panel’s meeting Tuesday night and addressed safety concerns in the wake…
Police investigating deaths of 2 women
From staff reports Franklin state police are investigating the separate deaths of two women in Scrubgrass Township and Sugarcreek Borough over the weekend. Police said…
Venango overdose deaths dropped drastically in 2017
By MARISSA DECHANT – Staff writer Overdose deaths decreased by more than 50 percent in Venango County in 2017. Coroner Christina Rugh reported six overdose…
Plumer stepping down from substance abuse post
By MARISSA DECHANT – Staff writer Venango County substance abuse director Marie Plumer will be leaving her position to take on the role as executive…