Two-part Venango fair in works
By SARAH TITLEY Staff writer The Venango County Fair will go on this August, but there will be some tweaks. Fair Board members voted this…
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Titusville man accused of raping girl, 17
From staff reports A Titusville man is facing felony charges related to the sexual assault of a 17-year-old girl in October. Franklin state police said…
No one hurt in Old Route 8 crash
Nobody was injured in this one-vehicle crash Thursday in Victory Township. Venango County 911 said a tractor-trailer jackknifed and blocked both lanes of Old Route…
Man held for court on burglary charges in OC incident
From staff reports A Franklin man was held for court Wednesday in Venango County Central Court for his role in a burglary and shooting incident…
Franklin man facing charges for attacking boy
By SARAH TITLEY Staff writer A Franklin man is accused of striking a 17-year-old boy in the face Saturday at a residence on Pone Lane…
OC Main Street ‘Heart’ effort promotes unity
By JUDITH O. ETZEL Contributing writer It’s a simple slogan with a heartfelt message – Oil City’s Got Heart! That’s the theme of an Oil…
Tionesta man shot to death in Forest County
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer A Tionesta man was fatally shot late Thursday night in Marienville, and a Greensburg man has been charged with homicide….
Region moving to green
From staff and wire reports Gov. Tom Wolf announced Friday that 17 counties, including Venango, Clarion and Forest, will be moving to “green”, the least…
3 arrested on drug charges after Sugarcreek stop
From staff reports Three men are facing felony drug manufacturing charges in connection with an incident in which they were found with methamphetamine, needles and…
OC woman’s body pulled from Sage Run
From staff reports An Oil City woman was pronounced dead Tuesday after her body was pulled out of Sage Run near Riverside Drive in Cranberry…
Franklin man accused of having unlawful contact with 2 girls
By SARAH TITLEY Staff writer A Franklin man is facing felony charges for having inappropriate contact with two young girls on several occasions as far…
Meat the demand
By DILLON PROVENZA Staff writer While national meat supply chains are strained because of the COVID-19 pandemic, local businesses that sell meat are experiencing an…
Oil City will hold virtual graduation
From staff reports Oil City High School principal Scott Stahl announced Thursday the school will conduct a virtual graduation this year. Each of the 142…
Venango has handled thousands of mail-in, absentee applications
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer Venango County commissioners gave an update at their meeting Tuesday on mail-in ballots and other items related to the June…
Local DAs share views on enforcement of mandates
From staff reports Three area district attorneys have reached out to the newspaper with their thoughts about the enforcement of Gov. Tom Wolf’s mandates regarding…
Oil City police seek help in finding wanted man
From staff reports Oil City police said they are searching for Adrian I. Wise, 18, of Oil City, who is wanted for attempted criminal homicide…
Franklin man charged for firing shots in house
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer A Franklin man is facing charges for firing shots inside his house and making threats Saturday. Franklin state police said…
3 injured in Barkeyville house fire
By DILLON PROVENZA Staff writer Three people were injured in a house fire Friday in Barkeyville Borough. The fire was reported at about 7:20 p.m….
‘We’re just so happy to be open’
By SARAH TITLEY Staff writer A plethora of sandwich boards dotted the sidewalks of Liberty Street Friday for the first time in weeks as many…
Oil City businesses getting back on track
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer As some businesses in Oil City emerged Friday from Gov. Tom Wolf’s shutdown orders, it was evident each had been…
United Way achieves goal in annual campaign
From staff reports United Way of Venango County announced Thursday that it achieved its goal of $495,000 in its annual fundraising campaign. The agency raised…
Polk police still searching for mobile home
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer Polk police are still searching for a mobile home that went missing late last year. The owner of the 14-by-80-foot…
Franklin manager tells council financial picture still clouded
By SARAH TITLEY Staff writer Despite certain financial numbers looking up, city manager Tracy Jamieson told Franklin City Council members Monday the bigger picture is…
Man charged with attempted murder in hospital incident
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer A Clintonville man is facing felony charges, including attempted murder, for strangling a UPMC Northwest employee on Saturday. A criminal…
State outlines plan for park, forest facilities
From staff reports The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) has released a plan for a phased reopening of state park and forest…
County looks to get multimodal, Cornplanter work back on track
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer Two Venango County construction projects in downtown Oil City – Cornplanter Square and the multimodal transportation hub – came to…
PUC approves plan for new ‘overlay’ in 814 area code
From staff reports The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission voted 4-0 Thursday to approve a year-long implementation plan leading to the start of a new “overlay”…
OC middle school students advance in competition
From staff reports A group of seven students from Oil City Middle School competed in a regional contest in a program titled “What’s So Cool…
2 charged for breaking into Halyday Run home
From staff reports Two Oil City residents are facing charges for breaking into a residence Tuesday morning on Halyday Run Road. Franklin state police said…
OC police looking for suspects in shooting during home invasion
By SARAH TITLEY Staff writer Oil City police are still looking for suspects in connection with an armed home invasion that happened at about 2…
State elaborates on reopening criteria
From staff reports The Wolf administration on Saturday elaborated on the state’s plan to reopen portions of Pennsylvania based on Department of Health metrics. According…
Venango swamped with requests for mail-in ballots
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer Venango County has been inundated with requests for mail-in ballots in recent weeks. The county had received about 1,800 to…
More area liquor stores to offer pickup
From staff reports The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board on Friday announced an additional 11 area Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores will begin offering curbside…
Applicants coming forward for help from virus relief fund
By JUDITH O. ETZEL Contributing writer A network designed to help Venango County residents obtain assistance due to the coronavirus pandemic is in place and…
Some county employees take voluntary furlough
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer Venango County gave its employees the option of a voluntary furlough, and earlier this month about 10% of the workers…
OC woman charged with animal cruelty
From staff reports An Oil City woman is facing animal cruelty charges for failing to provide veterinary care for a dog that had been “set…
OC officials hash out issues regarding online instruction
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer Contentious discussion at Monday’s Oil City School Board meeting about the level of instruction district students are receiving highlighted the…
Sheetz reserves store time for those most at risk to virus
From staff reports Sheetz announced Saturday that every Sunday from 2 to 3 p.m., all 279 of its locations in Pennsylvania will be reserved for…
Emlenton woman accused of child endangerment
From staff reports An Emlenton woman is facing child endangerment and other charges for striking a man holding an infant so hard he dropped the…
Judge dismisses homicide charge in Kulling death
From staff reports A criminal homicide charge against a Franklin man accused of killing an Oil City man in December 2017 was dismissed Tuesday in…
Casey co-leads effort to help victims of domestic violence
From staff reports U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., is co-leading a bipartisan letter to Senate leadership and appropriators requesting additional funding and provisions to support…
Small grease fire causes slight delay at Mong’s
From staff reports A grease fire at Mong’s Ice Cream in Seneca momentarily paused business Sunday evening. Seneca Fire Chief Paul Marsh said a grease…
Channellock closed ‘until further notice’
From staff reports One of Crawford County’s biggest employers, Channellock, has temporarily closed the doors of its Meadville facility along South Main Street after one…
UPMC expedites testing of COVID-19 therapies
From staff reports A novel clinical trial developed by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine launched Thursday addresses how doctors should decide…
3 charged for stealing guns from Sugarcreek home
By SARAH TITLEY Staff writer Three Sugarcreek residents are facing a collective 114 felony charges for stealing guns from a home on Causeway Drive in…
Project to reconstruct Route 8 in Venango Co. to resume
From staff reports Work is expected to resume today on Old Route 8 as part of phase one of the reconstruction of Route 8 in…
Venango commissioners say nothing decided as far as possible layoffs
By KARA O’NEIL Staff writer Venango County commissioners said Monday the county is good financial shape right now and that nothing has been decided as…
Fall opening for Rural King; applications sought
By SARAH TITLEY Staff writer Rural King Supply announced Wednesday its new store in Sugarcreek Towne Center on Allegheny Boulevard will open in the fall….
Woman’s body found in river near Franklin
From staff reports The body of a missing Oil City woman was recovered from the Allegheny River Wednesday evening near Franklin. Franklin state police said…
Restaurants helped by Voyten serve up good will in community
By DILLON PROVENZA Staff writer The 10 Venango County restaurants that have received $500 apiece from a county business are indeed “paying it forward” as…