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Canonsburg considering drone program

By By Conner Goetz

Members of Canonsburg Borough Council are weighing the endowment of a formal public safety drone program after severe flooding in August tested the limits of the borough’s current, ad hoc drone efforts. According to Borough Manager Jennifer Foster, Canonsburg staff and elected officials realized the need for an expanded drone program after they were unable to use its current drones during two severe floods that inundated the borough last month. Foster confirmed that the Canonsburg Police Department owns two drones and boasts three Federal Aviation Administration-licensed pilots among its ranks, with one set to leave the department in the near future. The two drones operated by the ...

Brownsville man accused of molesting pre-teen girls in Charleroi

A Brownsville man is accused of molesting two pre-teen girls on multiple occasions dating back more than eight years ago. George Michael Lacotta, 43, of Brownsville, was charged with multiple felony child sex crimes in connection with the alleged sex assaults and fondling of the girls at two Charleroi residences and a Washington home over several years. Charleroi Regional police said the mother of the two accusers contacted investigators this June and told them of the assaults, prompting the police to interview the two girls, who are now teenagers. One girl told police she was fondled and sexually assaulted on multiple occasions going back to when she was 9 and continuing until she ...

Chartiers weighs police department renovations

The Chartiers Township Board of Supervisors is considering a rescoped package of renovations at the Chartiers Township Police Department building within the township municipal complex. According to Township Manager Jodi Noble, the revised project includes constructing a locker room for female police officers, a secure records storage area and an interview room. The initial project design would have cost approximately $600,000, Noble said, and the board asked for a revised scope to bring the total cost down to around $400,000. Noble said the revised project still represents a “functional and necessary” for the department, which currently employs 13 full-time officers to provide ...

$13 billion power plant proposed in Fayette County

Residents will have a chance next week to talk with representatives from the company looking to operate a $13 billion power plant project being discussed in Fayette County. NextEra Energy Resources is developing the proposed 3.75-gigawatt plant, which would be located in Luzerne Township along a former mining site on the Monongahela River. NextEra was selected for the development in March as part of a larger trade agreement between the U.S. and Japan for energy infrastructure development across the country. It received federal funding for the buildout at the Fayette County site through the U.S. Department of Commerce in August. The proposed facility, named the East Riverside Energy ...

Sandusky won't pursue recantation allegations

BELLEFONTE (AP) — Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky appeared in court remotely Tuesday where he said he agreed with his lawyers not to go forward with testimony from an accuser who wants to recant allegations that Sandusky sexually abused him years ago. The hearing ...

Motorcyclist killed in Route 136 crash

A Finleyville man died Wednesday morning when his motorcycle crashed into a van in Nottingham Township. Edward C. DeRosa, 56, was driving west on Route 136 and approaching Sundust Road shortly before 11 a.m. when a commercial van made a left-hand turn across the westbound lanes and collided with the motorcycle, according to the Washington County coroner’s office. DeRosa, who was not wearing a helmet, was pronounced dead at the scene, the coroner’s office said. State police, who are investigating the crash, did not immediately release information on the incident. Information on the driver of the van or if anyone inside that vehicle was injured was not available Wednesday ...

Montour Trail making progress with National Tunnel fundraising efforts

The National Tunnel – which is considered by many to be the crown jewel of the Montour Trail – has been closed for nearly a year, but the trail’s leadership is beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel with their fundraising efforts to rebuild it. The 630-foot-long tunnel has ...

Observer-Reporter Daily News Update

This daily email features the latest news for Washington County, Greene County, and the Mon Valley.

Sports

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Bentworth girls breeze past Chartiers-Houston in section opener

ELLSWORTH – Bentworth has a newly hung banner commemorating last year’s WPIAL Class A girls soccer title at the midfield stripe of Ellsworth Stadium. The Bearcats certainly looked the part of a defending district champion on Wednesday night. From the start, Bentworth was in control in its ...

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Heyward calls franchise tag ‘stupid’ as Steelers near Porter Jr. deadline

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Cam Heyward is over the franchise tag. The longtime Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle said Wednesday that the mechanism which lets teams retain control over their players beyond the length of their current contract is "stupid." "It hampers players," the seven-time Pro ...

Kirby pitches Wild Things to win in Game 1

FLORENCE, Ky. – Zach Kirby pitched seven stellar innings, Cole Fowler hit a solo home run and Isaias Quiroz drove in three runs as the Wild Things opened the Frontier League playoffs with an 8-3 victory over Florence on Wednesday in Game 1 of a best-of-3 wild-card series. Game 2 will be ...

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Opinion

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Op-Ed: Tariffs can be like barriers that isolate an economy

A tariff is a tax imposed on imported goods, and it sits at the center of how nations manage trade, protect industries, and shape economic strategy. At its core, a tariff raises the price of foreign products entering a country. This makes imported goods less competitive compared to domestic ...

Living

article image - Kidney exam

From symptoms to solutions: How to recognize and treat kidney stones

Kidney stones are hard, solid deposits of minerals and salts that form inside the kidneys, affecting millions of adults each year. These painful structures develop when urine becomes overly concentrated, allowing substances like calcium, oxalate, uric acid and cystine to crystallize. Over ...

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