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…
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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…
‘Long road’ for firefighter; fundraiser dinner is tonight
By DILLON PROVENZA Staff writer A Clintonville volunteer firefighter has a “long road to recovery” after being injured while responding to a pileup crash last…
Police release more details on Emlenton Bridge crashes
From staff reports Clarion state police released information on the initial nine-vehicle pileup crash that occurred Thursday morning along the Emlenton Bridge. Police said William…
Police release details about 1 crash on Emlenton Bridge
From staff reports Clarion state police are continuing to release details about the pileup Thursday morning on the Emlenton Bridge on Interstate 80 that involved…
Grand opening for shoe store; 2 other businesses in new spots
From staff reports A new shoe store has opened in Cranberry, and two other businesses have moved to new locations in Seneca. Shoe Sensation, located…
Franklin panel gets funds for water projects
From staff reports The Franklin General Authority has received nearly $1 million in state grant money as part of a massive investment in water infrastructure…
Panel gives conditional OK to solar farm plans
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer Venango County Regional Planning Commission members gave conditional approval Tuesday to land development plans for a solar farm in Cherrytree…
Man facing numerous charges for sexually assaulting girl
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer An Edinboro man is facing multiple charges for sexually assaulting a young girl in January in Cherrytree Township. Franklin state…
Tri-county reports 2 deaths, 109 cases over past week
From staff reports The state Department of Health announced the tri-county area reported 109 new cases of COVID-19 and two additional virus-related deaths over the…
Music garden outside library expected to harvest interest
By LAURA O’NEIL Staff writer It’s spring, and the Oil City Library has just put in a new garden. However, it doesn’t contain vegetables or…
Franklin man faces drug charges
From staff reports A Franklin man is facing charges that accuse him of having methamphetamine in his possession in Franklin. Franklin police said in a…
Man facing more charges for sexual assaults of girl
From staff reports A Seneca man who was arrested last week for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in Seneca is now facing more charges in…