Charges were filed Tuesday against two former employees of the Wal-Mart Super Center in South Union, Fayette County, for allegedly under-ringing items at the store and collecting fraudulent returns, state police said.
Joetta C. Settle, 37, of 316 Fifth St. in West Leisenring and Stacy Sue Custer, 34, of 103 Gardener Ave. in Lemont Furnace, were each charged with retail theft and theft by deception before Uniontown District Judge Joseph George.
Trooper Charles Morrison responded Aug. 29 to a request by Katrina Jaquay, loss prevention officer at the Matthew Drive store, where Jaquay informed Morrison that both Settle and Custer were under-ringing purchases by not scanning merchandise and/or covering up the products' bar codes, Morrison said.
Jaquay provided Morrison with receipts and photographs of the alleged acts, Morrison said.
Settle allegedly failed to ring up $821.99 in merchandise between June 28 and July 14, Morrison said, while Custer failed to ring up $1,002.27 in merchandise between June 16 and July 13.
Settle and Custer provided written statements admitting to the acts, Morrison said.
Charges against an additional suspect, an unidentified 48-year-old woman, were pending yesterday at George's office.
Uniontown
Motorists asked
to report suspicious behavior
PennDOT District 12 is asking motorists to report any suspicious behavior around storm water drainage inlets on state and local roadways to the appropriate law enforcement agencies.
Recently, PennDOT has noted a rash of inlet cover grate thefts which creates safety hazards for motorists and pedestrians alike. Also, the average cost to replace a single inlet cover grate is $250 and their theft creates an unnecessary expense for PennDOT and taxpayers in replacement costs.
To date, more than 50 have been reported missing in District 12 which covers Fayette, Greene, Washington and Westmoreland counties. Thefts have also been reported in PennDOT District 11 in Penn Hills Township, Allegheny County and 12 in various areas of Beaver County .
Motorists are also urged to contact PennDOT at 800 FIX ROAD to report missing grates so they can be quickly replaced.
Dunbar
Fall cleanup
Sept. 22 and 23
Dunbar Borough will hold its annual fall cleanup Sept. 22 and 23. Cost will be $20 per load. You need to be on the list prior to pickup. Last day for borough residents to sign up is Sept. 19. Sign up and pay at the Dunbar Borough office from 8 a.m to noon weekdays. For more information, call 724-227-4949.
Uniontown
Route 2040 stretch
to be closed
A section of Route 2040 (Fayette Street) between Iowa Street and South Pennsylvania Avenue in the City of Uniontown will be closed for railroad crossing repairs starting at 8 a.m. Sept. 13 through 5 p.m. Sept. 17, weather permitting.
This closure is necessary for crews to replace the crossing surface on Route 2040. The contractor for this project is GW Peoples of Eighty Four.
Motorists are urged to use Gallatin Avenue, Edison Street, Connellsville Street and Stewart Avenue as the detour.
Johnstown
Red Cross issues
blood appeal
Officials of the Greater Alleghenies Region of American Red Cross Blood Services said its emergency appeal for blood donors announced on Aug. 18 is continuing through at least this week despite increased donor turnout in portions of the 100-county region.
"Blood reserves have improved somewhat; however, looking ahead to the upcoming Labor Day weekend, we remain very concerned about supply levels," stated Jim Starr, CEO, Greater Alleghenies Region.
He explained that travel over holiday weekends may increase the potential for accidents, plus transfusion needs continue for some cancer patients, surgical patients and others with acute or chronic blood needs. A typical victim of an automobile accident may need four to 40 blood products, although in some cases patients require a higher number of transfusions.
Starr said that as of yesterday, inventories of three blood types stood at critical or emergency levels, with a day's supply or less in reserve of O negative, O positive and A negative blood for patients in the nearly 100 hospitals in the region's service area. Reserves of all blood types are well below desired five-day inventory levels.
"Ideally we would have 585 Type O negative red cell products in reserve. Type O negative is the universal type for red blood cells and may be transfused to patients of other blood types in an emergency. Yet this morning we had just 32 Type O negative products available," he noted.
Individuals age 17 or older, who weigh at least 110 pounds, and are in generally good health can donate blood. Sixteen-year-olds in Kentucky, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia may donate blood with parental consent. Those with specific eligibility questions should contact the Nursing Collections office at 800- 542-5663. Most donors are eligible to give blood every 56 days.
Upcoming donation sites include:
• Sept. 9, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.., Nemacolin Woodlands, 1001 LaFayette Drive, Farmington
• Sept. 9, 1 to 7 p.m., Springfield Township Fire Department, Route 381, Mill Run
• Sept. 13, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Liberty Baptist Church, 183 Oliver Road, Uniontown
• Sept. 19, noon to 6 p.m., Highlands Hospital, 401 E. Murphy Ave., Connellsville
• Sept. 23, noon to 6 p.m., Uniontown Fireman's Social Hall, 50 Dunbar St., Uniontown
• Sept. 30, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Third Presbyterian Church, 425 Union St., Uniontown
Harrisburg
Grant applications
due Oct. 17
State Sen. Richard A. Kasunic is reminding local volunteer fire and ambulance services to submit their 2008-2009 state grant applications by the Oct. 17 deadline.
Kasunic said volunteer fire companies can apply for a grant of up to $15,000 and emergency service providers can apply for a grant of up to $10,000. Grants can be awarded for the following types of projects:
• Construction or renovation of the organization's facility; purchase or repair of necessary fixtures and furnishings
• Purchase or repair of firefighting, ambulance, or rescue equipment
• Debt reduction for facility or equipment improvements
• Training and certification of members
Kasunic, who co-sponsored the original bill that authorized the grant program, said the General Assembly has been reauthorizing the grant program for eight years. The program is funded with $25 million annually.
For additional information on the grant process or to apply online visit the Office of the State Fire Commissioner's Web site at: www.osfc.state.pa.us. Applications can also be mailed to: Office of the State Fire Commissioner, 2605 Interstate Drive, Harrisburg, PA, 17110-9364.
Johnstown
Murtha announces
outreach schedule
Congressman John P. Murtha announced his outreach schedule for September.
• Connellsville City Hall, 110 N. Arch St., 1 to 4 p.m., Sept. 10 and 24
• Uniontown, 20 N. Gallatin Ave., 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sept. 12, 15, 18, 19, 22, 26, and 29
Constituents can consult with a staff member about any problem with a federal agency or program. For immediate assistance, please call 800-289-2642.
Irwin
Single-lane pattern
on Route 30
Single-lane traffic patterns in both directions on Route 30 near the Pennsylvania Turnpike's Irwin interchange will be in effect from 8 p.m. today until 9 a.m. Friday.
Crews are working overnight until daybreak this week to perform concrete repairs on the Turnpike overpass that carries traffic to and from the westbound lanes of Interstate 76.
Friday is the only morning where the single-lane pattern will remain in effect until 9 am. On other days, the timeframe for single-lane patterns on Route 30 (eastbound and westbound) is 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.
West Brownsville
Pit bull to be euthanized
after injuring 3 people
An American Staffordshire pit bull terrier that injured three people Tuesday in West Brownsville has been seized by the Steve Courson Humane Society of Fayette County.
Society official Robert Maute responded at 6:30 p.m. to reports that the 1-year-old male dog had bitten two men allegedly trespassing on the residential Middle Street property of his owner, Robert Martin, who was not home at the time.
The extent of the injuries to the two males was not specified.
"This dog was protecting its property," said society official Theresa Linden.
As Maute and another worker approached the dog, an unidentified woman stepped in front of them and swung a baseball bat at the dog, which then bit the woman's face. The woman and one of the men required medical treatment, Maute said.
Martin had apparently just had the dog neutered. It will now be housed at the county society for 12 days and will then be humanely euthanized, Maute said.
"The owner is devastated," said Maute of Martin, who could not be reached for comment.
