Section of Pechin Road to close 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 14

A section of Pechin Road between Church Hill Road and Ferguson Road in Dunbar will be closed for railroad crossing replacement from 8 a.m. Tuesday through 5 p.m. May14.

The state Department of Transportation District 12 said the closure is necessary for crews to remove and replace the existing crossing surface on Pechin Road.

PennDOT suggests motorists use Church Hill Road and Ferguson Road as the detour.

The contractor for the project is Ohio Track of Youngstown, Ohio.

UPDATE: Woman arraigned on charges of child endangerment

Robert Esquivel/Herald-Standard.
Charles Morrison escorts Amanda Lee Palo, 24, of South Union Township, after she was formally charged with recklessly endangering another person and endangering the welfare of a child.


A South Union Township woman accused of allowing her 3-year-old daughter to fall from the second floor window of her apartment Monday was taken into custody today after police issued a warrant for her arrest Tuesday.
Magisterial District Judge Joseph M. George Jr. charged Amanda Lee Palo, 24, of 603 Surrey Hill Apts. with recklessly endangering another person and endangering the welfare of a child.
The warrant was issued after Palo allegedly allowed her daughter to fall 11 feet from the apartment window while she was busy on the Internet, state police Trooper Charles Morrison said.
The child is listed in stable condition at Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh.
Morrison said the girl suffered “a large skull fracture to the right side of her head” as a result of the plunge.
Palo was taken into custody by police Wednesday afternoon and formally arraigned before George.
For more information, see Josh Krysak’s story in tomorrow’s Herald-Standard.

Murder trial to begin Thursday

The trial of a Fayette County man charged with the June 2006 strangulation death of 12-year-old Gabrielle Miranda Bechen is set to begin Thursday morning in Greene County Common Pleas Court.
President Judge H. Terry Grimes scheduled the 8:30 a.m. starting time after the last three jurors were chosen Wednesday morning, the fourth day of selecting the jury that will be asked to decide if Jeffrey Robert Martin killed and raped the girl and then buried her body and evidence.
The attorneys in the case, Greene County First Assistant District Attorney Linda Chambers and county Public Defender Harry Cancelmi, initially wanted an 18-member jury, including six alternates, but they agreed Wednesday to seat 16, including four alternates.
Seven jurors were April 23, the first day of the selection process, three were picked Monday, when selection resumed, and three more were selected Tuesday.
The selections were made following interviews with 87 of the 200 potential jurors summoned for the case.
Martin, 50, of New Geneva allegedly killed Bechen on June 13 after she rode an all-terrain vehicle to the farm where he worked and is near her home in Dunkard Township and told him she was going to tell her parents that he molested her.
In a tape-recorded statement he made to police, Martin said he panicked and grabbed her arm, but she broke free and ran.
He told police she fell on the gravel driveway and he caught her and chocked her until she stopped moving.
Martin denied sexually assaulting the girl, but an autopsy revealed she had been raped.
Martin buried the body, ATV and her helmet and shoes in separate places on the farm.
Some of the hundreds of volunteers who helped police search for the girl found the ATV buried in manure on June 17.
After the discovery, Martin led police to the body.

See the stoyr by Steve Ferris in tomorrow’s Herald-Standard for more information.

Erie-based medical school plans branch at Seton Hill

GREENSBURG, Pa. (AP) _ An Erie-based medical school plans to open a branch campus at Seton Hill University in southwestern Pennsylvania.
Pierre Belicini, a spokesman for the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, says the branch campus will open by fall 2009 and offer training for up to 400 medical students through Excela Health. Seton Hill is a private, Catholic university in Greensburg, about 30 miles east of Pittsburgh.
Excela owns three Westmoreland County hospitals and is negotiating to buy a fourth, Mercy Jeannette Hospital.
Belicini says Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine has more than 1,500 students in Erie and a second campus in Bradenton, Fla.
Officials with Excela and Seton Hill have not commented on the plans.

Copyright Associated Press 2008

April tax collections brought surplus for Pa. state coffers

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) _ April’s revenue report brought good news for Gov. Ed Rendell and the state Legislature as budget talks approach.
Pennsylvania rang up $3.7 billion in revenue, or $256 million above projections, in the year’s second-biggest tax collection month.
That boosts the state’s running surplus for the fiscal year to $437 million, or nearly 2 percent over projections.
Rendell and lawmakers are preparing to negotiate a $28 billion-plus budget for the new fiscal year that begins July 1.
In February, Rendell had projected a $427 million surplus that he could spend in the next fiscal year.
However, Senate Republican aides warn that the stagnant economy will affect next year’s tax returns and should warrant a cautious spending approach.

Copyright Associated Press 2008

Jury alternates still needed in farmhand rape, murder trial

WAYNESBURG, Pa. (AP) _ Five more alternate jurors are needed before opening statements will begin in the trial of a farmhand accused of raping and murdering a 12-year-old girl on a Greene County horse farm.
Prosecutors say 50-year-old Jeffery Martin, of New Geneva, confessed to the crime and he fought unsuccessfully to keep that out of evidence.
Twelve jurors and one alternate have been selected. The judge wants a half dozen alternates just in case illness or other problems crop up.
Martin is charged with first-degree murder, rape and other crimes in the June 2006 death of Gabrielle Bechen. If convicted of the murder count, he could get the death penalty.
Bechen was reported missing after she went riding on her all-terrain vehicle near her family’s home.

Copyright Associated Press 2008

Woman pleads guilty to involuntary manslaughter in traffic death

A Fairchance woman pleaded guilty Monday to involuntary manslaughter and driving under the influence of alcohol for the 2007 traffic accident that resulted in the death of her husband.
In return for her guilty plea, Peggy L. Varto, 49, of 42 S. Morgantown St. will serve 72 hours to six months of intermediate punishment, according to a plea deal reached with Fayette County District Attorney Nancy D. Vernon.
Varto was charged Oct. 19 before Magisterial District Judge Randy S. Abraham with homicide by vehicle, homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence of alcohol, aggravated assault by vehicle while driving under the influence, two counts of driving under the influence of alcohol, careless driving, reckless driving and three other traffic violations.
The charges were filed following an investigation into a one-vehicle crash June 2 on Route 857 in Fairchance that resulted in the death of Stephen G. Varto, state police said.
For more information, see Josh Krysak’s article in tomorrow’s Herald-Standard.

Hearing continued in identity theft case

A preliminary hearing for a man accused of using other people’s identities to open credit card accounts was continued today.
Jason D. Joy, 37, of Mechanicsburg was charged last month before Magisterial District Judge Joseph M. George Jr. with four counts of identity theft and three counts each of access device fraud, unlawful use of a computer and criminal use of a communication facility.
Trooper Thomas B. Broadwater said the charges were filed following a four-year investigation. Two members of Joy’s family are alleged victims.
Joy is a former professor at Point Park University in Pittsburgh.
For additional information, see Josh Krysak’s story in Thursday’s Herald-Standard.

Police seek suspect in mountain burglaries

HENRY CLAY TWP. — State police are scouring the woods today near Yough Lake in Henry Clay Township in search of a man suspected of burglarizing several vacation homes in the area in recent days.
Few details were immediately available, but police said they caught the suspect burglarizing a home this morning.
Police said the suspect fled the house into a wooded area where police are continuing to search for him.
See Josh Krysak’s article in tomorrow’s Herald-Standard for more information.

Warrant issued for Uniontown man wanted for armed robbery

Uniontown police have issued a warrant for the arrest of a Uniontown man accused of robbing a woman at gunpoint Tuesday afternoon.
Magisterial District Judge Michael Defino charged Anthony M. Hunter, 18, with felony counts of burglary, robbery and criminal attempt to commit robbery as well as misdemeanor counts of theft, receiving stolen property and recklessly endangering another person.
According to Uniontown Detective Donald M. Gmitter, the warrant was issued for Hunter, who resides in Pershing Court, after he allegedly entered the Farragut Street home of Latoya Perez and held her and another man at gunpoint while robbing Perez.
For more information, see Josh Krysak’s story in tomorrow’s Herald-Standard.