County looks to get multimodal, Cornplanter work back on track
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer Two Venango County construction projects in downtown Oil City – Cornplanter Square and the multimodal transportation hub – came to…
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PUC approves plan for new ‘overlay’ in 814 area code
From staff reports The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission voted 4-0 Thursday to approve a year-long implementation plan leading to the start of a new “overlay”…
OC middle school students advance in competition
From staff reports A group of seven students from Oil City Middle School competed in a regional contest in a program titled “What’s So Cool…
2 charged for breaking into Halyday Run home
From staff reports Two Oil City residents are facing charges for breaking into a residence Tuesday morning on Halyday Run Road. Franklin state police said…
OC police looking for suspects in shooting during home invasion
By SARAH TITLEY Staff writer Oil City police are still looking for suspects in connection with an armed home invasion that happened at about 2…
State elaborates on reopening criteria
From staff reports The Wolf administration on Saturday elaborated on the state’s plan to reopen portions of Pennsylvania based on Department of Health metrics. According…
Venango swamped with requests for mail-in ballots
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer Venango County has been inundated with requests for mail-in ballots in recent weeks. The county had received about 1,800 to…
More area liquor stores to offer pickup
From staff reports The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board on Friday announced an additional 11 area Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores will begin offering curbside…
Applicants coming forward for help from virus relief fund
By JUDITH O. ETZEL Contributing writer A network designed to help Venango County residents obtain assistance due to the coronavirus pandemic is in place and…
Some county employees take voluntary furlough
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer Venango County gave its employees the option of a voluntary furlough, and earlier this month about 10% of the workers…
OC woman charged with animal cruelty
From staff reports An Oil City woman is facing animal cruelty charges for failing to provide veterinary care for a dog that had been “set…
OC officials hash out issues regarding online instruction
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer Contentious discussion at Monday’s Oil City School Board meeting about the level of instruction district students are receiving highlighted the…
Sheetz reserves store time for those most at risk to virus
From staff reports Sheetz announced Saturday that every Sunday from 2 to 3 p.m., all 279 of its locations in Pennsylvania will be reserved for…
Emlenton woman accused of child endangerment
From staff reports An Emlenton woman is facing child endangerment and other charges for striking a man holding an infant so hard he dropped the…
Judge dismisses homicide charge in Kulling death
From staff reports A criminal homicide charge against a Franklin man accused of killing an Oil City man in December 2017 was dismissed Tuesday in…
Casey co-leads effort to help victims of domestic violence
From staff reports U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., is co-leading a bipartisan letter to Senate leadership and appropriators requesting additional funding and provisions to support…
Small grease fire causes slight delay at Mong’s
From staff reports A grease fire at Mong’s Ice Cream in Seneca momentarily paused business Sunday evening. Seneca Fire Chief Paul Marsh said a grease…
Channellock closed ‘until further notice’
From staff reports One of Crawford County’s biggest employers, Channellock, has temporarily closed the doors of its Meadville facility along South Main Street after one…
UPMC expedites testing of COVID-19 therapies
From staff reports A novel clinical trial developed by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine launched Thursday addresses how doctors should decide…
3 charged for stealing guns from Sugarcreek home
By SARAH TITLEY Staff writer Three Sugarcreek residents are facing a collective 114 felony charges for stealing guns from a home on Causeway Drive in…
Project to reconstruct Route 8 in Venango Co. to resume
From staff reports Work is expected to resume today on Old Route 8 as part of phase one of the reconstruction of Route 8 in…
Venango commissioners say nothing decided as far as possible layoffs
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer Venango County commissioners said Monday the county is good financial shape right now and that nothing has been decided as…
Fall opening for Rural King; applications sought
By SARAH TITLEY Staff writer Rural King Supply announced Wednesday its new store in Sugarcreek Towne Center on Allegheny Boulevard will open in the fall….
Woman’s body found in river near Franklin
From staff reports The body of a missing Oil City woman was recovered from the Allegheny River Wednesday evening near Franklin. Franklin state police said…
Restaurants helped by Voyten serve up good will in community
By DILLON PROVENZA Staff writer The 10 Venango County restaurants that have received $500 apiece from a county business are indeed “paying it forward” as…
Sugarcreek councilman resigns amid charges
By SARAH TITLEY Staff writer Sugarcreek Borough Council member Tom Hartle has resigned his position amid criminal charges that have been filed against him. Borough…
Department of Corrections reports first COVID-19 case
From staff reports The state Department of Corrections on Sunday announced it has an inmate who has tested positive for COVID-19, which is the agency’s…
93 tests conducted at Clarion Hospital
From staff reports Butler Health System said Thursday it had conducted 680 tests for the coronavirus at Butler Memorial and Clarion hospitals as of Wednesday….
Jobless claims swamp PA amid rise in virus cases
HARRISBURG (AP) — The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Pennsylvania rose by 50% to more than 1,600 cases, while record numbers of state residents…
Businesses can apply for low-interest state loans
From staff reports Small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 public health emergency can apply now for low-interest state loans, according to state Sen. Scott Hutchinson….
Franklin board updated about school plans if shutdown lingers
By SARAH TITLEY Staff writer School will be in session for Franklin School District students by April 13 even if the statewide shutdown hasn’t ended….
OC crews dealing with several clogged sanitary sewer lines
By JUDITH O. ETZEL Contributing writer The scarcity of toilet paper supplies, a dilemma revved up by fears of the coronavirus spread, has eased somewhat….
Butler Health System confirms presumed positive case of coronavirus
From staff reports Officials at Butler Health System on Saturday confirmed it has treated a patient with presumed positive results for the novel coronavirus that…
Chambers reach out
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer Area chambers of commerce are stepping up to help local businesses that have been forced to temporarily close or drastically…
Cranberry employees sent home; township declares emergency
By JUDITH O. ETZEL Contributing writer Cranberry Township employees were sent home Friday morning and will not be returning to work at the township building…
Crisis prompts help for small businesses
From staff reports Gov. Tom Wolf on Thursday announced the availability of low-interest loans for small businesses and eligible nonprofits in all 67 counties in…
OC man accused of choking woman
From staff reports An Oil City man is facing strangulation and terroristic threats charges for lashing out at a woman at their East Seventh Street…
Venango planners give conditional OK to 2 building projects
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer The Venango County Regional Planning Commission gave conditional approval to two new building projects Tuesday during a meeting conducted via…
State high court issues statewide judicial emergency
From staff reports Amid COVID-19 mitigation efforts, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Monday declared a statewide judicial emergency, effective until April 14, according to a…
Food available to students during school shutdown
From staff reports Community agencies, businesses and schools will be providing food to students affected by the school shut down. – Oil City School District…
Some ideas laid out as planning starts for OC 150th
By JUDITH O. ETZEL Contributing writer The City of Oil City’s 150-year anniversary celebration set for 2021 got off to a hefty start Tuesday as…
Police report 2 scams affecting residents
From staff reports Area police have released information about two more scams affecting residents. Marienville state police are investigating an incident in which they say…
Apartment damaged in fire above Billy’s
By DILLON PROVENZA Staff writer Nobody was injured after a fire broke out at about 5 p.m. Thursday in a third-floor apartment above Billy’s bar…
OC man held for court on several drug charges
From Staff Reports An Oil City man accused of selling drugs to a confidential informant in Franklin was held for court Wednesday in Venango County…
Shavings on Route 8 flatten tires, close road for hours
From staff reports Metal shavings lost from a truck Tuesday on Route 8 led to many flat tires in Venango County. Franklin state police said…
Man arrested after high speed chase in OC, Franklin
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer A Sandy Lake man is facing charges for leading police on a high speed chase through Oil City and Franklin…
Police: Coroner called to crash scene
From staff reports Franklin state police confirmed the Venango County coroner was called to the scene of an accident involving an Amish buggy and a…
State reveals Route 8 project details
From staff reports The Wolf administration on Wednesday announced that a two-year, $32.6 million reconstruction of nearly 12 miles of Route 8 in Sandycreek, Irwin…
Polk council hears about potential lead in mobile home case
From staff reports Polk Borough police Sgt. Alan Heller told borough council members Thursday the department has a potential lead in the disappearance of a…
Man facing several sex assault charges
By SARAH TITLEY Staff writer A Franklin man is facing almost a dozen felony charges for alleged, repeated sexual assaults of his young daughter in…