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On April 9th, a motorcyclist crashed after failing to stop during a pursuit by state police. The motorcyclist, 31-year-old Nicholas Empfield, and his passenger, 40-year-old Amanda Baker, were reportedly fleeing from officers who attempted a traffic stop for reckless driving on Blue Spruce Road, just north of 7th Street. While trying to evade police, Empfield missed a right turn and lost control of the motorcycle. Empfield was taken to IRMC and Baker to Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center, both with minor injuries.

A slow-moving superload is expected to come through Mercer County on Thursday.

Indiana County’s district courts are scheduled to hold preliminary hearings today, including one for a woman from Creekside charged with simple assault. Indiana Borough Police filed charges against 23-year-old Ariah Alabran for her part in an incident at a home in the 300 block of Gompers Avenue on February 25th. Officers said that she assaulted and injured an unnamed victim. She fled before the police arrived but was later taken into custody after she returned to the house to continue the fight. She was placed in Indiana County Jail in lieu of $20,000 bail. On top of assault, she is charged with summary counts of harassment, disorderly conduct, public drunkenness and criminal mischief.

State troopers will be out in full force for the Easter Weekend. Police are expecting higher than normal travel volumes starting tomorrow for Good Friday and end in the evening on Easter Sunday. Troopers will be on the lookout for aggressive, distracted and intoxicated drivers, along with those who choose to speed. With winter essentially over, people are going to be driving more and troopers also anticipate working and playing along the sides of roads. The warmer weather also increases the number of motorcycles that will be out. Drivers are reminded to remain vigilant as their smaller size can often be overlooked by motorists.

Several power lines were reported down during the strong windstorms that came through Indiana County yesterday. For areas of White Township, a transformer was reported down near the PennDOT Facility in Heatherbrae Square. That knocked out power to several businesses in the area, including the Indiana Mall and others. Power was restored to those areas by the end of the day.

PennDOT is notifying drivers that a very large load is making its way from Allegheny County to Columbiana, Ohio, and will go through parts of Indiana, Westmoreland and Jefferson Counties. The super load is carrying a 136-feet long, 27-feet eight-inch wide steel cone that weighs over 150 tons. It will...

CAMBRIA COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — A man is facing charges after he allegedly beat and then threatened to kill a woman. Brandyn Bloom, 38, was charged after a woman came forward to police about alleged abusive behavior, according to a criminal complaint. On April 7, a woman came to the Conemaugh Township Police Department to […]

With Easter right around the corner, the Hershey Company joined with government officials April 16 to unveil a new Reese Chocolate Processing facility. Built on 55 acres of the former Friendly's restaurant site, the new 250,000-square-foot facility will produce the chocolate used in a variety of brands, including Reese’s, KitKat, Symphony, and Special Dark. Officials said the 1000 Reese Avenue plant is large enough to hold five NFL football fields. "The new Reese Chocolate Processing Plant is the first new manufacturing facility constructed in Derry Township in more than 30 years," Hershey CEO Michele Buck said. "It's Hershey's first...

INDIANA, Pa. (EYT) – The Golden Eagles men’s golf team concluded competition at the Cecil Spadafora Invitational on Wednesday, placing 13th in the field. Clarion carded a team score of 350 at Indiana Country Club. Hayden Siegel was the low scorer for the second straight day, placing 35th...

Two New York men are behind bars after state police said they scammed a Unity woman out of $19,000 and led troopers on a chase that ended with their capture on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Preliminary hearings are scheduled later this month for Reheem J. Anderson, 22, and Floyd B. Forrest,...

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – The Johnstown Redevelopment Authority board expects to soon interview candidates who applied to fill the organization's vacant executive director position. The job opened up after the former director, Melissa Komar, resigned effective April 4. "We've had a decent amount of applicants, yes," JRA Chairman Mark Pasquerilla...

Status conferences will be held today in Indiana County court for several defendants, including an Ernest woman facing charges of child abuse. Indiana County President Judge Thomas Bianco will preside over the conference for 26-year-old Paige Madison Walker. The State Police Criminal Investigation Unit received reports of abuse on February 26th at an apartment on Main Street in Ernest Borough. An investigation resulted in two counts each of aggravated assault of someone under 18, endangering the welfare of children, harassment and simple assault being filed on May 1st. The reported abuse went back to the start of February.

The Army Corps of Engineers is preparing for further remediation operations at the Shallow Land Disposal Area in Armstrong County. The property, located on the right bank of the Kiski River near Apollo and Vandegrift, was the site of radioactive waste disposal operations between 1960 and 1970. As part of work from the Atomic Energy Commission, low level radioactive materials were produced mainly for fuel for nuclear-powered submarines and power plants. Over the last year, residents near the site have seen activity steadily increase, including vehicle traffic and the construction of administrative areas and remediation support and process facilities. But the Corps says there is still a lot that needs to be done, including an excavation building and three interior structures in the material processing building. Other major items that still need to be checked off include new site electrical service, accreditation for the on-site lab, and the finalization of remediation work plans.

EBENSBURG, Pa. (WTAJ) — A man already serving life in prison for his wife’s murder is now facing a second homicide trial, however he’s just lost his legal team, according to our media partners at The Tribune-Democrat. A Cambria County judge on Tuesday granted the withdrawal of two court-appointed attorneys representing Brian Giles, a Johnstown […]

CAMBRIA COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — A Blairsville man is facing charges after he allegedly stole over $5,000 from the South Fork American Legion when he was a financial officer to fund his American Legion campaign. Jeffrey Kaylor, 61, is facing theft charges after he allegedly used his position at a local American Legion to make […]

YORK COUNTY, Pa. — The driver of a box truck who crashed into a construction vehicle on I-83 and killed three workers last year has been charged with murder. Reed Davenport, 25, of District Heights, Md., has been charged with murder and numerous other charges by York County Magisterial District Judge Jason Loper on April 16. This comes just a day short of what would have marked exactly one year of the deadly Fairview Township crash.

The Armstrong-Indiana Intermediate Unit held its annual Convention of School Directors and have re-named an award in honor of their late director. Instead of presenting the annual “Friend of Education” award this year, the IU officially changed the name of the award to the Dr. Brigette Matson Friend of Education award, and present a plaque commemorating the occasion to her family as an act of appreciation for all she did for the group. Matson started as the director of ARIN in 2021. Before that, she was a superintendent at both the Brookville and DuBois area school districts.

Indiana University of Pennsylvania played host today to the first of four Regional Rural Health Summits at the KCAC. Dr. Valerie Arkoosh with the Human Services department said this was the first conference of its kind, and there will be others across the state. She said the reason why IUP and Indiana were chosen as the first site because there has already been success in the region.

“Nothing makes you love art more than how it makes you feel and think,” said Evelyn Messinger (freshman, music education) the focus of this week’s Arts on Campus. Messinger recently made her IUP theater debut as Jo March in “Little Women,” however, her history of musical theater doesn’t start at IUP.

CAMBRIA COUNTY, Pa (WJAC) — Geistown Borough Police Department says its officers are patrolling the Geistown roundabout closely, to assure public safety as traffic collisions increase in the area. Police say they are temporarily handing out traffic safety notices to drivers who are not properly navigating through the roundabout,...