The Tri-County Report for May 17th, 2013...
An Aliquippa woman is accused of stealing nearly 80-thousand dollars from the company where she worked. 29 year old Annie Dushac is facing two counts of theft and access device fraud. At the time of the alleged thefts, Dushac was working as an office manager for a consulting company called Tripp Umbach Incorporated. Authorities say she was caught after going on maternity leave. That is when an employee filling in for her found the personal charges on the company credit card. She faces a preliminary hearing set for Monday.
The Mercer area is going to be without one of its community swimming pools. That is because the board of directors at Brandy Springs Park has voted to close the park's swimming pool. The seven-to-two vote comes as officials say the pool has been losing nearly 20-thousand dollars a year for the last several years. Board President Cory Masson says the pool doesn't even see many swimmers, claiming a good day for the pool would be five to ten people. Only twenty people purchased season passes last year.
Investigators looking into Wednesday afternoon's fire in the basement of a Butler Township home now say it started when somebody emptied an ash tray into a garbage can. It happened in the 100 block of Fairlane Drive. Fire fighters were called to the scene but say the fire was out by the time they arrived. Six departments had been called out but crews were at the home for less than an hour. Damage was estimated at five thousand dollars.
A former Sharon man is finding himself on the hot seat as a federal judge issues an arrest warrant for him. 61 year old Matthew Hosey was already scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing this morning on local drug charges...now he is being indicted by a federal grand jury on charges in connection with the same case. Hosey, a resident of Warren, Ohio, is currently being held in the Mercer County Jail. He could face up to thirty years in prison due, in part, to a previous federal drug conviction.
The United Way of Butler County says it has reached a milestone...with more than nine-thousand local people receiving assistance through its prescription drug discount card program. The United Way runs that program in partnership with FamilyWize. Nationally the program has helped more than five million people through nearly one-thousand United Way chapters.
A mistrial in the case of a Beaver Falls man facing indecent assault charges...after the suspect's mother dies while testifying during the trial. 55 year old Donnie Dreher of 10th Street in Beaver Falls is accused of assaulting a woman at her home in September. Dreher's mother, Dorothy Carlo, had been called to testify on her son's behalf. Officials say she lost consciousness right after taking the stand and died not long after arriving at the hospital. They believe she died of an aneurysm.
A Beaver County woman is facing charges after she allegedly fired a gun during an argument with two other women. 24 year old Latoya King of Harmony Dwellings reportedly pulled out a .22-caliber revolver while confronting another woman about a relationship. Police claim King fired a shot from the gun before hitting the victim with it. The serial number on the gun had been ground off. King has already waived her right to a preliminary hearing and is free after posting 25-thousand dollars bond.
Organizers of the Third Annual Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival in Butler County say they need volunteers. They had around 300 volunteers for last year's festival but they need a lot more this time around because it is expanding to a three day event. It is scheduled to take place June 14th, 15th and 16th at Cooper's Lake near Slippery Rock. Festival Director Patti Jo Lambert says volunteers have to be 18 or older and will be needed to work four-hour shifts. Anybody wanting to do so can call 724-234-2291.
Police in Beaver Falls are looking for clues after a series of car vandalisms. Police Chief Charlie Jones said several cars have been vandalized and had items stolen from them over the past month. Some vehicles have even had their windows smashed out but nothing was taken from inside. Jones says the department has been involved with foot chases with a suspect as a result of phone calls from residents but they haven't been able to catch anybody.
Breathe a sigh of relief, the nuclear gauge that fell off a truck somewhere between Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia has been found. The Department of Environmental Protection said the device was not tampered with and no radioactive materials were released. It was recovered in Maryland and returned to Valley Quarries of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.