Putting cows on the front page since 1885.
Putting cows on the front page since 1885.
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The Blair County Board of Commissioners is going to have a new look as two new faces will join a familiar one in steering county government for the next four years. Unofficial results show newcomer Republican Amy Webster the leading vote getter with 14,524 while incumbent Bruce Erb retaining his seat by garnering 13,803 votes. On the Democratic side, Laura Burke, making her first bid for commissioner, wrestled the set away from two-term incumbent Ted Beam. Unofficial totals show Burke pulling in...
Bedford County returned two incumbents to the commissioner's office while electing one new face. Unofficial results show Republican incumbents Josh Lang and Barry Dallara as the top vote getters with Lang garnering 8,440 votes while Dallara received 6,503. Democrat Deb Baughman, making her first run for a commissioner's seat pulled in 3,092 votes. Democrat Candi Bussard received 1,240 votes. In the race for Bedford County Sheriff, Everett Police Chief Wayne Emerick Jr., running on the...
Borough employees Dusty Russell (in bucket) and Brian Miller take advantage of the dry weather to install Christmas decorations along North Market Street in Martinsburg on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Decorations will also adorn South Market Street and Allegheny Street throughout the holiday season...
Two Cove communities are losing a business with the announcement that Dick's Pharmacy, an Altoona-based business founded in 1928, will be permanently closing its doors this month. Dick's has two Cove locations, Claysburg, which opened in 1980, and Williamsburg, which opened in 1985, According to a company announcement, Claysburg will shut its doors at the end of business on Nov. 11, while Williamsburg will be permanently shuttered at the end of business on Nov. 13. The closing of the...
Fire broke out in the barn of Harker Farm along Dunnings Highway on Wednesday morning, Nov. 6. Fire crews from Freedom Township, Roaring Spring, Claysburg, Blue Knob, Duncansville and Hollidaysburg responded to the scene at approximately 6 a.m. Freedom Township Fire Marshall Melvin Edmundson said a skid steer parked in the barn caught fire. He said the barn sustained moderate damage....
Everywhere we go can be a lesson in history, all it takes is a little imagination and a willingness to look behind the surface of the present. Blair County is 173 years old and filled with stories of those who came before us. Whether tucked away in a family Bible or packed away in a long-forgotten box in the basement, the written history of our ancestors is important reminders that the lives of those long gone don't have to be forgotten. Fortunately for us, a group of volunteers met 40 years ago...
The threat of thunderstorms and heavy winds have forced municipalities to postpone trick-or-treat night from Thursday Oct. 31 to Saturday No. 2. Trick-or treat will now be held on Saturday, Nov. 2 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the following areas. Martinsburg Borough, Roaring Spring Borough, Freedom Township, Greenfield Township, Williamsburg Borough, North Woodbury Township, Hollidaysburg Borough, Duncansville Borough, Frankstown Township. Allegheny Township and Blair Township....
Terroristic Threats Daniel Brunner, 43, of Martinsburg, was charged with making terroristic threats at a home along Pulpit Road, Woodbury Township, Bedford County on Sept. 20. State Police, Bedford, said Brunner threatened to burn down the house of a 59-year-old Martinsburg woman. Burglary State Police, Hollidaysburg, are investigating a burglary that happened along Ski Gap Road, Greenfield Township, Blair County on Oct. 3. Police said unknown actors entered the residence by force. While inside, the actors went to the back bedroom and broke...
Prescription medication in the wrong hands can be deadly. According to Safe Kids Worldwide, thousands of kids accidentally ingest prescription drugs every year. Medication is the leading cause of poisoning among children, leading to the death of one child every 12 days. Statistics from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) show that nearly 60,000 kids under the age of 5 accidentally swallow dangerous prescription drugs they find in their home. Failing to properly store medication is just one way...
The local workforce took another blow when Appvion announced last week that it will permanently reduce the number of employees over the next several months. According to company officials, an agreement between Appvion and United Steelworkers Local 10-422 to a restructure of the company's Spring Mill Plant was reached in order to maintain current production volumes while operating an a more efficient cost-effective way. Employees were notified of the coming change by letter. According to the rest...
Fire tore through a Greenfield Township Trailer on Wednesday evening, Oct. 16. Fire crews were called to the Ranch Drive trailer at approximately 9:40 p.m. and arrived to find the structure fully involved. Fire crews from Claysburg, Blue Knob, Imler, Portage, Freedom Township, Roaring Spring and Duncansville battled the blaze for approximately 20 minutes before getting it under control. Firefighters attacked the blaze from all sides as a moderate wind posed a threat of spreading the fire....
How do you get your news? This week we celebrate National Newspaper Week in which we recognize the valuable service and important role newspapers play in our daily lives. For more than 300 years, countless words have been printed and delivered to communities across North America, keeping people informed about the happenings in their community and country. The rise of the internet and social media has created a unique challenge for the daily and weekly printed paper. Between the years 2004 and 2018, nearly 2,000 papers have ceased printing,...
On Aug. 2, 1975, a quiet afternoon in Williamsburg was shattered by the sounds of screaming sirens. It didn't take long for people to realize where the fire trucks were rushing to. A look in the direction of the Blair County Children's Home told them all they needed to know. As smoke poured out of the home's rafters, filling the skies above Williamsburg, Blair County's only home for neglected and needy children was burning. The approximately 30 children living there, most of whom were placed...
Two people fled their overturned vehicle after crashing on Dunnings Highway near Benton Road in Freedom Township on Tuesday morning, Oct. 8. According to witness reports, the vehicle was traveling north on Dunnings Highway when it attempted to pass the vehicle in front. The car traveled into the oncoming lane and onto an embankment, causing it to flip on its roof and slide to a stop. Witnesses who stopped told police that two people crawled out of the wreckage and fled on foot across Bedford Street toward the creek. Police officers from...
Last year, Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman embarked on a tour of the state to gage public interest in the legalization of recreational marijuana. One of those stops included Blair County, where people on both sides of the issue came out to voice their opinions for, and concerns against, legalization. While the debate continues across the state, a group called Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) have been making their own stops across the country to talk to people about the dangers of...
A Williamsburg man’s challenge of his conviction of sexual assault of a 6-year-old was dealt another blow by the Pennsylvania Superior Court last month. Howard Scott Allison, 53, was sentenced to 12.5 to 25 years after being found guilty of rape of a person under 13 years of age, corruption of a minor and statutory sexual assault. Allison first tried to challenge his conviction in 2015 when he appealed his case to the federal court in Johnstown on the grounds he did not receive a fair trial. The district court rejected his claims and the d...
An Altoona man is behind bars after police said he used various Wi-Fi connections, including his mother's in Roaring Spring, to download more than 100 images of child pornography on his cellphone and laptop. Bradley D. Price, 38, was taken into custody on Friday, Sept. 27, following an investigation by the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Child Predator Unit after receiving a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which was notified by the online photo sharing website...
By RICK BOSTON Staff Writer For Elizabeth Hoffman, fire prevention is a way of life. A 32-year member of the Claysburg Volunteer Fire Company, Hoffman teaches fire safety and prevention at schools and organizations throughout the year. On Friday, Spet. 27, Hoffman was at the Claysburg-Kimmel Elementary School teaching fire prevention and safety to grades pre-K through third. "I have done all aspects of fire service," she said. "I believe the first step is fire prevention and it starts with the...
A Freedom Township woman is facing charges after police said she punched a man in the face and then struggled with an officer attempting to take her into custody. According to the criminal complaint, Freedom Township police were called to a home on Chas Lou Court, on Sept. 14 for the report of a domestic incident. Police said Lacey M. Custer, 35, and a male had gotten into a verbal argument which led to Custer scatching the left side of the victim’s neck, causing abrasions. The victim told police that Custer then punched him in the face with a...
A traffic stop in Roaring Spring turned up drugs and drug paraphernalia. According to charges, on Sept. 6, Freedom Township Police were notified by Hollidaysburg Borough Police that a car being driven by Matthew P. Hoover, 37, of Duncansville, was on Dunnings Highway in Freedom Township. Police were informed that Hoover was wanted by the courts and was driving on a suspended driver's license. Freedom Township police stopped Hoover's vehicle along Woodbury Pike, near Nason Drive in Roaring...
A Hollidaysburg man is behind bars after police said he sexually abused a now 13-year-old boy for approximately three years. According to charges filed by Blair Township police, Brandyn Koll, 20, began abusing the boy in 2014 and continued until earlier this year when the boy’s mother found “disturbing” messages and pornographic material on her son’s cellphone allegedly sent by Koll. According to police, the mother brought her son to the police station in late May after viewing the boy’s phone and finding messages that referenced sexual ac...
Some people choose the spotlight, and sometimes the spotlight chooses them. On Nov. 24, 1963, James Leavelle, a homicide detective with the Dallas Texas Police Department, found himself with the spotlight shining brightly on him as one of the most shocking events in American history unfolded in the basement of the Dallas police headquarters. Leavelle was handcuffed to Lee Harvey Oswald, who was being investigated for the murders of President John F. Kennedy and Dallas Police Officer J.D. Tippit...
Four Freedom Township men were recently presented valor awards at the Central Pennsylvania Volunteer Firemen's Association convention held in Clymer last month. The Valor Award is given to an individual who saved a life or helped save a life. Tom Bowman, of East Freedom, was nominated for the award by Freedom Township Supervisor Ed Bender. Bowman was on vacation in Gettysburg, when a man jumped into the hotel swimming pool and hit his head on the bottom, knocking him unconscious and filling his...
No one was injured when a tractor-trailer struck a house along Route 36, Charger Highway, just south of Pope Lane, on Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 9. According to State Police, Hollidaysburg, a 1999 Volvo truck tractor driven by Galen D. Seymore, 69, of Claysburg, was traveling south on Charger Highway at approximately 3 p.m. when it left the roadway and struck a utility pole before crashing into the side of the house. According to Freedom Township Volunteer Fire Company Assistant Chief Nathan...
A Martinsburg man is behind bars facing multiple charges stemming from the abuse of a 5-month-old girl and her mother in separate incidents. Felony charges of aggravated assault of a child less than 6 years of age and endangering the welfare of a child were filed against Jeramiah I. Wond, 38, after the child was injured while left in his care. According to the complaint filed by Blair County Detective Randy Feathers, Wond was staying with the baby's mother at the Roaring Spring Commons...
An East Freedom man is behind bars after police said he conspired to rob a man in Bedford County on Sept. 1. According to charges filed by State Police, Bedford, Thomas M. Burkett, 27, robbed a man who went to a location in Bedford to meet a woman, Ashley E. Clark, 33, of Bedford for sex in exchange for $100 cash. The victim told police that when he arrived at Clark’s residence, he and Clark went into the kitchen to talk when a male walked in wearing a mask. The victim said the male pointed a gun at him and demanded he take everything out of h...
The Roaring Spring Borough Council kicked off its regular monthly meeting on Monday, Sept. 9, by saying goodbye to a long-time employee and welcoming his replacement. Maintenance Supervisor Dane Noel retired on Aug. 23 after 45 years of service to the borough. Council thanked Noel for his dedication and the excellent work he did every day on behalf of the borough. Noel thanked Borough Manager Lisa Peel for all the work she has been doing which, he said, made his job easier. "I want to thank...
When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, John Fisher was a 14-year-old boy living in the borough of Saxton. Four years later he found himself on a ship just off the coast of Japan, loading torpedoes onto submarines and sending them off to fight the empire. Born in Saxton in 1927, Fisher grew up in the grips of the Great Depression. Although his father worked sporadically for the Huntingdon and Broad Top Railroad, medical issues forced him into early retirement, which made for...
A farming accident in North Woodbury Township, Blair County, claimed the life of a 22-year-old man last week. Criserio Alverez Jimenez, of Martinsburg, was working on a farm along Cove Mountain Road on Friday, Aug. 30, when, at approximately 4:40 a.m., a skid loader he was operating drove into a manure pit. Blair County Coroner Patty Ross said Jiminez was quickly immersed, causing him to suffocate. “This was a freak accident,” Ross said. “He was working with his uncle on the farm and fell into a manure pit. A hard-working, good young man....
A Freedom Township couple is facing charges of evidence tampering in connection with the death of a 1-month-old boy in early June. Donald E. McChessney, 37, and Cara J. McChessney, 33, are accused of hiding evidence and cleaning a camper where the boy was found unresponsive on the morning of June 8. The boy died later that morning. According to police, Robert Zeth and Elizabeth McIntyre, along with their two children, a 1-month-old and a 3-year-old, were living in a camper with no functioning shower. The camper was parked on a property known...
The Blair County coroner and the Pennsylvania State Police are at odds over the recent ruling that a man found dead in the parking lot of the former Bickel’s Surplus building in Roaring Spring committed suicide. The body of John R. Garner, 64, of Everett, was found in the parking lot on the morning of April 18. Garner had been treated for a laceration of the arm the evening before at Conemaugh Nason Medical Center in Roaring Spring, just a few hundred yards from where his body was found. Police originally investigated Garner’s death as a hit...
A Williamsburg man was jailed after police said he stole a vehicle and drove it to Altoona following a domestic dispute. According to the charges, State Police, Hollidaysburg, were dispatched to a home along East Second Street on Aug. 15 for a report of a domestic incident. Police said Michael J. Reilly, 28, had broken a flat-screen TV before forcibly taking a cellphone and the key to a female victim’s vehicle. Police said Reilly shoved the victim onto the street before getting into her vehicle and speeding down the street. Police sent out a...
A Martinsburg woman is facing charges after an altercation with police outside an Altoona Hotel. According to charges, police were called to the Altoona Grand Hotel on the evening of Aug. 18 for a report of an intoxicated female attempting to leave in a vehicle. Police arrived to find Stacy A. Ayers, 33, seated on a sidewalk where police said she immediately became loud and agitated as officers approached her. Police said Ayers stood up and yelled at officers and indicated she was not going to cooperate with them. Police also noted that Ayers...
When Dwight D. Eisenhower became President of the United States in 1953, America was less than a decade removed from the end of World War II. In the aftermath of the war, the United States became a global superpower both economically and in its influence over the rest of the world. While the 1950s were a time of great prosperity in America, the growing threat of communism and the cold war it brought ushered in a period of suspicion that threatened to isolate different parts of the world from...
A Freedom Township couple is facing charges in connection with the death of their 1-month old son in June. Elizabeth Ann McIntyre, 29, and Robert Lee Zeth, 37, were arrested on Monday, Aug. 16, after an investigation by Hollidaysburg State Police into the death of their infant son. According to the charges, the couple showed up at Conemaugh Nason Medical Center, Roaring Spring, at approximately 10 a.m. on June 8 with an unresponsive child. Efforts by hospital personnel to revive the infant were unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead about 25...
The Borough of Roaring Spring is mourning the loss of a man who dedicated his life to helping others. Charles F. Yingling, 85, passed away on Wednesday, Aug. 14, following a brief battle with cancer. Born in East Freedom in 1934, Yingling embarked on a life of service to others, beginning with his first job delivering newspapers and ending doing what he called his passion, preparing taxes. In between, he served in the United States Army and was a lay minister for various churches throughout the...
The Roaring Spring Borough Council held its regular monthly meeting on Monday evening, Aug. 12. Council announced that the Roaring Spring Community Library Board has agreed to purchase the Eldon Inn for $1 and have the deed transferred out of the borough's name. The library has been in talks with the borough since last October when council informed the library board that it wanted out from under the aged building. Council cited liability concerns as the main reason for wanting to rid itself of o...
A New Enterprise man was jailed last week after police said he attempted to break into a Duncansville golf shop. According to charges filed by Blair Township police, on Aug. 7, an officer was patrolling the area of Golf World, 139 Golf World Lane, around 2:30 a.m. when he heard what sounded like glass breaking. While investigating, the officer saw a male wearing a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt and jeans run from the front entrance of Golf World into a wooded area along Dunnings Highway. Police observed that the front door of Golf World was...
On Friday afternoon, July 26, around 2:49 p.m., Alda Jays Messner talked with her husband on the telephone. A little more than an hour later he was dead. Somehow in that hour, Todd Messner, 49, made his way from Saxton to Roaring Spring, where he began acting erratically in the parking lot of the Dollar General store. Witnesses called police and when an officer arrived, Messner was in the parking lot of the Roaring Spring True Value Department Store. It was there where Messner allegedly...
A Williamsburg man is facing felony charges relating to the abuse of a 2-year-old boy that allegedly occurred in his home along High Street on Dec. 3, 2018. According to charges filed by the Williamsburg Police Department, police were contacted by Blair County Children Youth and Families after an anonymous family member of the child, who was in the care of Marcus A. Hughes, 25, contacted them to report bruises on the boy. According to police, the child and his mother spent the night of Dec. 2 at Hughes’ house. The next morning, Monday Dec. 3, H...
An officer-involved shooting in Roaring Spring last Friday evening that left one man dead has raised questions about the effectiveness of the mental health care system. At approximately 4:16 on Friday afternoon, July 26, police were called to the parking lot on the area of the Dollar General store in Roaring Spring after the Blair County 911 Center received multiple calls of a man acting erratically. An officer from the Roaring Spring Police Department arrived on the scene to find Todd Messner,...
A Portage man was arrested after police said he threw urine-filled jugs onto the properties of three people with whom he had a personal vendetta. Police said that Earl Flynn, 66, of Portage, over a years time, would fill plastic jugs with urine and then throw them onto properties in Duncansville and East Freedom On July 26, State Police, Hollidaysburg, were contacted by one of the residents concerning the incidents. Police said the victims are a 53-year-old Duncansville male, a 65-year-old East Freedom male and a 66-year-old East Freedom...
Another 70 jobs are leaving the area with the announcement last week that WATCO, a railroad tank car cleaning and repair facility in Hollidaysburg, will be shutting its doors by September. Workers were told early Friday morning, July 19, that they had 60 days of work left at the facility before the doors are permanently shut. WATCO LLC, based in Pittsburg, Kansas, was formed in 1983. It has four divisions including its mechanical division with 19 car repair shops throughout the United States....
An Altoona man is in jail on charges he stole more than $400 from the East Freedom Walmart. According to charges filed by Freedom Township police, John P. Sollenberger, 43, entered Walmart on four separate occasions between May 26 and June 14 carrying a Walmart shopping bag. Police allege that Sollenberger would then remove items from the store's shelves and place them in the bag within a shopping cart. He would then take the items to the courtesy desk and exchange them for a refund. Police...
A Duncansville woman faces charges of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and receiving stolen property after police said she stole a vehicle from a Greenfield Township man and then drove it to a court hearing in Martinsburg. According to charges filed by Greenfield Township police, Jessica L. Markovich, 38, stole the 2009 Mazda from the owner's father on July 15. Police spoke with the vehicle's owner and were told that Markovich did not have permission to take the car. On July 18, Markovich...
One man is dead after being shot by a police officer in the parking lot of the Roaring Spring True Value Department Store at 7565 Woodbury Pike, Roaring Spring. According to police, at approximately 4:16 p.m. Friday, July 26, police were dispatched to the area of the Dollar General store in Roaring Spring after multiple calls came into the Blair County 911 center for a man acting erratically. The man walked to the parking lot of the Roaring Spring Department store, where a local police officer a...
Police have identified the man killed in the parking lot of the Roaring Spring True Value Department Store, 7565 Woodbury Pike, Roaring Spring, on Friday evening, July 26. State Police Hollidaysburg have identified the deceased as Todd Messner, 49, of Three Springs. Blair County Coroner Patty Ross said that an autopsy performed Saturday, July 27, showed that Messner died of a single gunshot wound to the chest. The incident unfolded after Roaring Spring borough police were dispatched to the...
Newry borough has had trouble filling all five seats on its council, making it difficult to conduct borough business. With just three sitting council members and nobody seeking a seat in last May’s primary election, the borough has come to the realization that less is better. With the difficulties the borough has had getting enough people interested in serving on council, borough officials petitioned the court for permission to reduce the number of council seats from five to three. On Monday, July 15, Blair County Judge Wade Kagarise granted t...
A Roaring Spring man who pled guilty in federal court to stealing government funds was sentenced last week to 180 days of home detention, three years of probation and ordered to make restitution. Glenn P. Rhykerd, 69, pled guilty in February of illegally obtaining $50,985 in United States Railroad Retirement Board disability payments from Jan.1, 2015, to May 31, 2016. The Railroad Retirement Board, Office of Inspector General, charged Rhykerd with lying on his disability application to gain benefits he was not entitled to. In a statement made...
In last week’s Herald, I wrote an article about the incident in Claysburg where a pit bull attacked a family of three. In that article I pointed out that this was the second serious pit bull attack in our area in the last 14 months as a 6-year-old Lakemont boy was killed when attacked by his family’s pit bull. This article also cited statistics on pit-bull related incidents across the country and examples of places where this breed is banned. I pointed out that this breed has been labeled a “dangerous breed” by many city officials and organizat...
