Fish Commission charges Spencer in connection with 2019 flooding issues
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer Cranberry Township junkyard owner Randy Spencer has been charged by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission in connection with the…
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Vehicles vandalized in county
Oil City police are investigating incidents of criminal mischief in which windows have been shot out of multiple vehicles in Oil City, Cornplanter Township, and…
Man pleads guilty to third degree murder in Jefferson Co. case
From staff reports A Jefferson County man accused of shooting and killing his roommate entered a guilty plea Tuesday afternoon. William Joseph Sivak, 65, pleaded…
2 men charged for firing shots at Cornplanter Twp. residence
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer An Oil City man and his cousin from Ellwood City are facing charges for shooting at an occupied house on…
Kennerdell home destroyed by blaze; no one injured
By LUKA KRNETA Staff writer No one was injured in a fire that destroyed a home at 755 North Kent Road in Kennerdell on Friday…
Woman accused of assaulting Sugarcreek officer
From staff reports An Oil City woman who was at the Sugarcreek Borough police station in connection with citations she had received is now facing…
Woman facing hindering, obstruction charges
From staff reports A woman is facing charges after allegedly lying to police and preventing the apprehension of a runaway teenager on Monday. Franklin state…
Man charged with stalking for second time in six days
From staff reports A Seneca man who was charged last week for stalking a woman is now facing additional charges after he returned to the…
Oil Heritage Festival back to full capacity this year
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer After last year’s abridged Oil Heritage Festival, things are on track for Oil City’s annual summer celebration to return to…
Tionesta woman accused of repeatedly stalking OC man
From staff reports A Tionesta woman is facing charges for repeatedly contacting and harassing an Oil City man. Oil City police said in a criminal…
Grant effort seeks to reduce vaccine hesitancy in state
By STACEY GROSS Staff writer Would you like a vaccine with that funnel cake? A grant introduced last week seeks to help local nonprofits in…
First Forest County Bigfoot Festival draws hundreds of fans
By RANDY BARTLEY Staff writer Bigfoot left a big impression in Marienville last weekend. The first Forest County Bigfoot Festival drew hundreds of fans of…
Caregiver accused after autistic man found wandering
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer An Oil City man is facing charges after an autistic man he was supposed to be caring for was found…
Ex-Butler Health System official, husband, sentenced in fraud case
From staff reports A former chief operating officer with Butler Health System and her husband were sentenced on Thursday in federal court on fraud and…
Look closely. Those spots you spot could be a fawn
By STACEY GROSS Staff writer Keep your eyes peeled among the rose bushes this week, and you might find a fawn hidden in them. That’s…
Venango OKs Second Amendment resolution
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer Venango County commissioners have approved a resolution that declares the county to be a Second Amendment county. In the resolution…
OC man pleads guilty in sexual exploitation case
From staff reports An Oil City resident has pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of violating federal laws relating to the sexual exploitation…
Alliance’s outdoor recreation business contest starts today
From staff reports The Oil Region Alliance’s outdoor recreation business contest is starting today. The Alliance seeks to award up to $5,000 to a business…
Nonprofits found ways to survive
By RANDY BARTLEY Staff writer The COVID-19 pandemic has made things difficult for the region’s nonprofits for about the past 14 months. Some brick-and-mortar organizations…
Vote tally turns up more write-in nominees in primary election
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer Write-in candidates received enough votes in several Venango County municipalities for their names to appear on the general election ballots…
Man charged with endangering child as result of ATV accident
From staff reports An Oil City man faces charges after an April 25 ATV accident in the area of Reservoir and Beech streets on the…
Venango in line with state on masks
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer After being given the choice, Venango County will permit unvaccinated people to enter its buildings without masks once the state…
School put on lockdown during prom after ‘credible’ threats
NEW CASTLE (AP) — New Castle High School was placed on lockdown during a procession for students attending the prom after what officials called “credible”…
Ohio man faces charges in Franklin man’s drug death
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer An Ohio man is facing charges of delivering drugs, which led to the death last year of a Franklin man,…
Police say drugs, $4,000 found in Franklin apartment
From staff reports A Franklin man is facing charges after 400 grams of methamphetamine as well as other drugs and $4,000 were found in his…
Police locate man facing multiple drug charges
From staff reports Oil City police have arrested a transient Oil City man they were searching for who is facing multiple drug-related charges. On Monday…
Franklin gets $129,000 grant to remove blighted properties
From staff reports The city of Franklin was awarded a $129,000 grant to demolish and excavate 10 properties, according to a news release from state…
Mercer man faces charges in drug case
From staff reports A Mercer man is facing charges after he was found under the influence and in possession of drugs in the area of…
Pennsylvania to resume work-search rule for jobless benefits
HARRISBURG (AP) — Pennsylvania will resume work search requirements in July for people receiving unemployment compensation, a top Wolf administration official said Monday. Gov. Tom…
Eyes on the road
By LAURA O’NEIL Staff writer Cranberry Area High School students on Friday morning were greeted with a sobering sight. As students got off the bus,…
County election officials begin to finalize count
From staff reports Venango County Election Board members met Friday to begin canvassing all the votes from Tuesday’s primary election. Sabrina Backer, the county’s elections…
Man pleads guilty to stealing info from UPMC employees
From staff reports A Michigan man pleaded guilty Thursday to hacking UPMC human resources databases and stealing personal information for tens of thousands of employees….
Route 428 resurfacing project to start next week
From staff reports A $1.8 million resurfacing project on more than five miles of Route 428 in Dempseytown is scheduled to start Monday, according to…
Woman charged with homicide in death of Titusville man
From staff reports The driver of a vehicle where a Titusville man was fatally shot in Erie in March is now facing charges. The Millcreek…
Endangered man found dead in Armstrong County
From staff reports Kittanning state police confirmed the body of a 20-year-old man who was reported as endangered after his vehicle was found on the…
County election officials ready for light primary
By KARA O’NEIL and RANDY BARTLEY Staff writers Election officials in Venango and Clarion counties say things are on track at their offices in preparation…
A wild year here for wildfires
By DILLON PROVENZA Staff writer As the wildfire season comes to a close, a forester with the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources says…
Man charged after son, 2, found wandering in middle of road
From staff reports A Rocky Grove man is facing charges after his two-year-old son was found wandering in the middle of the road with no…
Man already in jail accused of intimidating witness
From staff reports A transient Franklin man already accused of stealing a woman’s gun and forcing her to give him a ride in her vehicle…
Man accused of trespass, assault for repeatedly contacting woman
From staff reports A Franklin man is facing charges for repeatedly contacting a woman at her place of employment in Sugarcreek Borough over three days…
State’s upgrades to unemployment compensation services underway
From staff reports The state Department of Labor & Industry’s announced its next phase of the unemployment compensation customer service improvement initiative began Monday, with…
Man facing more than 800 counts related to animal cruelty
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer A Titusville man is facing 834 charges related to animal abuse after nearly 200 rabbits, chickens, quail and chinchillas were…
YMCA scholarship fund established in memory of lawmaker McIlhattan
From staff reports A new scholarship has been created to help local youths attend the Scenic Rivers YMCA’s summer day camp. The Fred McIlhattan Camp…
Free food boxes available to OC school families
From staff reports Free food boxes will be given to families in the Oil City Area School District through a “Farmers to Families” program. The…
OC police seeking man wanted in drug case
From staff reports Oil City police are looking for Zachary Luhellier, 27, of Oil City. Luhellier is wanted on charges stemming from an incident in…
Man charged in 2015 crime after DNA match found
From staff reports A former Oil City man currently incarcerated at the SCI Fayette state prison has been charged with breaking into a house in…
Man accused of entering residence without permission
From staff reports A Franklin man is facing a felony charge for entering a woman’s residence in Oil City on Sunday without her permission. Oil…
Venango tech center team battles to victory at robotics tourney
By LAURA O’NEIL Staff writer Venango Technology Center students are celebrating their first-place finish in the annual RoboBOTS competition held last weekend at Meadville High…
OC man facing charges for assaults on 2 women
From staff reports An Oil City man is facing charges for assaulting two women and strangling one of them as well as pouring gasoline on…
Move Over Law is now in effect in state
From staff reports The state’s new Move Over Law took effect Tuesday, and PennDOT is reminding motorists the law requires drivers approaching an emergency response…