Panel gets update on Cornplanter Square progress
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer Venango Regional Economic Development Authority board members heard updates at their monthly meeting Tuesday about the 100 Seneca at Cornplanter…
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Polk plaintiffs file another motion to extend lawsuit
By STACEY GROSS Staff writer A motion filed by plaintiffs in the Polk Center closure lawsuit seeks to extend the existing schedule of the suit…
Man pleads guilty in 2019 murder case
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer A Cochranton man pleaded guilty Thursday in Crawford County Court to the murder of his stepmother and half brother at…
Township officials to meet at convention
From staff reports Officials representing townships of the second class in Venango County will meet Wednesday, Sept. 29, at the Oakland Township fire hall for…
Venango leaders hear updates on election, recycling center
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer Venango County chief clerk Sabrina Backer gave an update on preparations for the November general election during Tuesday’s county commissioners…
Franklin council plans to use CDBG funds on repaving projects
By DILLON PROVENZA Staff writer Allocation of the City of Franklin’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds was discussed at Monday’s meeting of the Franklin…
Franklin man facing strangulation, assault charges
By DILLON PROVENZA Staff writer A Franklin man is facing strangulation and assault charges as a result of an incident in Sugarcreek on Friday. Franklin…
Handgun incident in Oil City leads to 2 being charged
By LAURA O’NEIL Staff writer An Oil City man is facing charges after being accused of firing a handgun in an alley, after brandishing it…
Oil City Council hears update on paving
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer A variety of matters came up at Oil City Council’s meeting Thursday, including an update from City Manager Mark Schroyer…
Police: Oil City woman barricades man inside house
By STACEY GROSS Staff writer An Oil City woman faces charges of unlawful restraint and reckless endangerment after an incident on Wednesday in which she…
Study reveals working families’ child care woes
From staff reports A combined study conducted by the United Way of Pennsylvania (UWP) and the Pennsylvania Early Learning Investment Commission (ELIC) has released a…
Jobless Americans will have few options as benefits expire
NEW YORK (AP) — Millions of jobless Americans lost their unemployment benefits on Monday, leaving only a handful of economic support programs for those who…
School districts again look to navigate COVID changes
By DILLON PROVENZA AND KARA O’NEIL Staff writers Local school district leaders are continuing to react to the state’s mask mandate that goes into effect…
Fire severely damages Franklin structure
From staff reports A building was severely damaged in a fire that was reported at about 2:30 a.m. Friday in Franklin. Franklin Fire Chief Jim…
State System grants to help financially struggling students
From staff reports Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education, working with the State System Foundation, has announced an initiative to help prevent dropout among at-risk…
Virus still frustrates Franklin school leaders, community
By DILLON PROVENZA Staff writer Mask wearing and other COVID-19 issues remained a frustrating topic of conversation for Franklin school leaders and community members at…
PennDOT revises timeline for Route 8 work
From staff reports The timeline has been revised for the final detour phase of the Route 8 reconstruction project in Venango County. All northbound and…
OC man facing numerous drug charges
From staff reports An Oil City man was arraigned Thursday on drug charges in connection with an incident in Franklin in which he was found…
Two people charged with endangering welfare of children
From staff reports A transient man and an Oil City woman are facing child endangerment charges after two young children were found playing in a…
2 Oil City police officers assaulted
From staff reports Two Oil City police officers were injured Saturday during an altercation with a transient Oil City man who was a parole absconder….
Route 8 project moves into fourth phase
From staff reports Work on the fourth phase of the Route 8 reconstruction project in Irwin Township is expected to begin next month. This phase…
100-mile bike ride fundraiser set for Saturday
By LAURA O’NEIL Staff writer A team of about 12 cyclists will set out next weekend on a 100-mile bike ride from Oil City to…
Venango’s new Veterans Affairs director has ideas for programs
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer Venango County’s new Veterans Affairs director has been on the job for a few weeks. Harry Whittemore, of Oil City,…
Chamber’s Leadership Venango gears up for start of fourth year
By LAURA O’NEIL Staff writer The Venango Area Chamber of Commerce is gearing up for its fourth year of Leadership Venango, a leadership training program…
OC man killed in Halyday Run crash
From staff reports An Oil City man was killed in a one-vehicle crash Monday along Halyday Run Road in Cornplanter Township. Franklin state police said…
Grove will seek board approval regarding masking, cyber options
By STACEY GROSS Staff writer Masking requirements, cyber options, and personnel assignment approvals will be sought at next week’s Valley Grove School Board meeting ahead…
Oil City man dies in Bredinsburg Road crash
From staff reports Franklin state police late Friday evening reported an Oil City man died in an accident on Bredinsburg Road in Cranberry Township earlier…
Emergency workers honored for saving man in cardiac arrest
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer Every seat was filled Thursday in Oil City Council chambers as friends and family of six EMTs and paramedics from…
Jeeps group raises more than $4,500 for Two Mile improvements
By STACEY GROSS Staff writer The Oil Valley Jeeps presented a check for $4,569.71 to Two Mile Run County Park’s capital improvement fund on Wednesday….
Cranberry targets relief money for rent, mortgage assistance
By DILLON PROVENZA Staff writer Cranberry Township will allocate more coronavirus relief money toward rent and mortgage assistance for low to moderate-income households. Township supervisors…
OC man facing more than 300 charges for sexual assaults
From staff reports An Oil City man is facing more than 300 charges, including 10 counts of rape, in one case, and several counts in…
OC man facing rape, other sex assault charges
From staff reports An Oil City man has been accused of raping a 14-year-old girl in Rocky Grove. The girl told police Eric Sharp, 21,…
OC man charged for threatening shootout
From staff reports An Oil City man is facing charges for threatening a shootout Saturday in the South Side Country Fair in Oil City. Oil…
Property buyer has gone quiet
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer After generating quite a buzz in the region back in the winter, little has been heard the last few months…
Franklin man faces charges for fleeing police, having drugs
From staff reports A Franklin man is facing charges for fleeing an officer Friday and having drugs in his possession. Sugarcreek Borough police said in…
2 people facing charges after incident in Franklin
From staff reports Two people are facing charges following an incident Thursday in Franklin in which a Polk man is accused of fleeing from police…
Woman charged for role in Franklin robbery
From staff reports A second person has been charged in connection with a robbery in Franklin in March. Polk police said in a criminal complaint…
Weather Service says tornado touched down near Dempseytown
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer The National Weather Service in Pittsburgh has confirmed that a tornado touched down near Dempseytown on Thursday. No injuries or…
Tornado confirmed in Cochranton
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer The National Weather Service in Cleveland has confirmed that a tornado touched down Thursday afternoon at a farm near Cochranton….
National Fuel seeks $10 increase in bill for typical customer
From staff reports National Fuel Gas Distribution Corp. is requesting a rate increase of more than $10 in the monthly bill of a typical residential…
11,000 data breaches over 15 years at core of UC fraud uptick
By STACEY GROSS Staff writer More than 11,000 data breaches, causing exposure of more than 1.6 billion personal records over a span of about 15…
Man accused of raping girl, 13, at camp during family reunion
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer An Ohio man has been charged with raping a 13-year-old girl at a camp in Victory Township on Sunday. Franklin…
Venango, Forest jobless rates drop
From staff reports The tri-county area’s June seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, for the most part, was down from May, according to the state Department of…
Festival art show winners announced
From staff reports “Day Off” by D.P. Warner won the Best in Show award at this year’s Oil Heritage Festival Art Show. The People’s Choice…
Chamber: Impact of fraudulent jobless claims ‘significant’
By STACEY GROSS Staff writer In an effort to understand the impact of a spate of fraudulent unemployment compensation claims in the Oil Region, the…
Ex hospital nurse accused of stealing pain medication 44 times
From staff reports A nurse formerly employed at UPMC Northwest is facing charges for stealing pain medications while she worked at the hospital. The Pennsylvania…
Oil City Council hears bonds sale ‘did very well’
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer During Oil City Council’s meeting Thursday, the panel heard an update on the sale of bonds and approved a resolution…
Catholic Foundation awards grant to St. Joseph Parish
From staff reports New programming at St. Joseph Parish in Oil City will be developed this year through a $2,000 grant from the Catholic Foundation…
Rains cause roadway flooding
Dave Wilson, of Cornplanter Volunteer Fire Department, clears debris from ditches along Oleopolis Road and Route 227 (Rouseville Road) at about 8 p.m. Tuesday. Crews…
OC board hears about COVID policy, hears from union
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer Oil City School Board members heard an update Monday from Superintendent Lynda Weller about the district’s COVID policy going into…