Briefs: Woman who fled child welfare with son apprehended
A woman who ran from a child welfare worker with her sick infant was located early Friday in Tarentum.
Someone called police shortly before midnight Thursday and said they saw Jamie Nesta, 39, and her then 4-day-old son, Elijah, earlier and overheard the South Side woman say she was heading to Tarentum. The caller gave police a possible location, and authorities responded.
Elijah, who was born with jaundice, was transported to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, Oakland, where he was listed in good condition yesterday.
Nesta was carrying her son as she ran away from a child welfare worker in Shadyside around noon Thursday. The worker had an emergency custody authorization order to take the child. As Nesta ran, she dropped the special medical blanket the baby needs to prevent possible brain damage because of the jaundice.
No information was available on any charges Nesta might be facing.
CityNorth ShoreFootball fans urged to donate toys at game
The annual Steelers/U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots Drive will be Sunday at Heinz Field, North Shore, when the Steelers play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Uniformed Marines will have a vehicle on Art Rooney Avenue for the collection, along with collection bins at each gate from 1 p.m. until 15 minutes after the 4:15 p.m. kickoff. Fans are encouraged to bring a new, unwrapped toy to help needy children in the area have a merrier Christmas. Toys are especially needed for boys and girls 3 and younger and 7 to 12. It is requested that no "weapon" toys be included.
DowntownToys for Tots drive to be held in T station
The Port Authority of Allegheny County and Lite Rock 92.9 FM, WLTJ, in cooperation with the U.S. Marine Corps, are sponsoring a Toys for Tots toy drive from 5 to 9 a.m. Friday at the Steel Plaza T station, Downtown.
New, unwrapped toys and cash donations are being sought.
Gary Love and Beth Bershok, of the Lite Rock 92.9 FM morning team, will broadcast live from the station's mezzanine. People who donate will be offered free coffee and pastries and a chance to enter a raffle.
SouthBridgevilleWoman gets probation over benefit checks
A Bridgeville woman will serve five years on probation for cashing $108,057 worth of federal Black Lung benefit checks that mistakenly were sent to her for more than 20 years.
Mildred Webb, 59, pleaded guilty in September to one count of converting government money.
Prosecutors asked that Webb serve some prison time, but Chief U.S. District Judge Donetta Ambrose sentenced Webb on Friday to 10 months of home confinement as part of her probation.
The Black Lung checks were intended for Webb's mother, whose coal miner husband died in 1983, prosecutors said. The Social Security Administration, unaware that Webb's mother died in 1977, began sending checks to Webb, who they thought was the surviving widow of a coal miner.
Webb said in court Friday she was ashamed and regretted her actions.
RegionWashington CountyDoctor pleads guilty to groping his patients
A doctor who previously lived in Washington County pleaded guilty to groping female patients during exams.
William Frost Jr., 61, pleaded guilty this week in Washington County Court to two counts of indecent assault. He was sentenced to probation for two years and must surrender his medical license.
Prosecutors said he was accused of groping five women, but they dropped charges covering three of the women, with their approval, so long as Frost would receive the sentence he did.
Frost still owns a home in Eighty Four, but lives in Hilton Head, S.C., where he will serve his probation.
Butler CountyGas station ordered to empty storage tanks
A Butler County gas station has been ordered to empty its underground tanks after it was accused of consistently failing to follow state rules regarding the management of those tanks, state Department of Environmental Protection said Friday.
A 2003 DEP inspection of Gehm's Little Village in Clearfield found that the gas station's three 4,000-gallon underground tanks did not have several precautionary measures in place to prevent a gasoline leak and accused workers of not performing monthly checks to detect leaks.
Subsequent inspections found that many of the requirements still have not been met, so the DEP ordered the tanks emptied. No leaks -- which could contaminate the soil and groundwater -- were detected.
Venango CountyWoman told to repay former employer $3M
A woman who used to work at the Parker/Hunter brokerage office in Oil City must repay $3 million to her former employer, a judge ruled.
Kristal Clark, of Sandycreek Township, has not been charged with a crime, but federal investigators and Parker/Hunter have accused her of defrauding investors.
She is accused of spending clients' money on a posh house, which includes an indoor basketball court, pool and barns, and on horses, cars and family vacations. Federal officials have indicated they plan to charge her and said the investigation is continuing.
Clark was ordered to repay the money to Parker/Hunter after she failed to respond to a civil suit company officials filed in Venango County Court.
A listed number for Clark could not immediately be located.
Blair CountySheetz denied papers on tainted tomatoes
Sheetz Inc. cannot have Pennsylvania Health Department documents relating to salmonella-tainted tomatoes sold at its convenience stores two years ago, a Blair County judge ruled.
While many cases have been settled, some lawsuits against Sheetz and Coronet Foods of West Virginia, which supplied the tainted tomatoes, remain.
Sheetz officials wanted documents detailing the state investigation into the source of the outbreak, which they said were important to Sheetz and other defendants.
But the health department said the records are not public under the Pennsylvania right-to-know law and that the information is confidential.
Blair County Judge Jolene Kopriva agreed. He ruled that even if the records were public, confidential health records can not be released.
Somerset CountyMan pleads guilty in shooting of 5-year-old
A Conemaugh Township man pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment for firing a gun at a chipmunk and accidentally wounding a 5-year-old boy who was playing in a soccer tournament nearby.
Lawrence Lampel Jr., 38, also pleaded guilty to simple assault and four game law violations this week. He faces a sentence of as long as 7.5 years in prison and more than $20,000 in fines and could have his hunting privileges suspended for as long as 11 years when he is sentenced Feb. 12.
Somerset County District Attorney Jerry Spangler said Lampel was visiting his mother June 24 when he fired a semiautomatic pistol three times at a chipmunk. One bullet struck the shoulder of Jason Masiello, who has since recovered.
The boy was playing on a field downhill and below a line of trees from Lampel, Spangler said.
Huntingdon CountyMan seeks to withdraw guilty plea to killings
A man is seeking to withdraw his guilty plea to two counts of second-degree murder even though he could face trial on two first-degree murder charges and a possible death penalty if convicted.
Stephen F. Baker, Jr., 30, of Kistler, pleaded guilty in September and was sentenced to two concurrent life sentences in the slayings of Tirelle Dixon, 21, of Philadelphia, and Jessica Wills, 20, of Dysart, in Huntingdon County, in December 2004.
Baker now says his defense attorneys were ineffective in crafting that plea, so a judge this week told Baker's new attorney to file a motion requesting permission to withdraw the guilty plea. Huntingdon County Judge Stewart Kurtz warned Baker, however, that he could face first-degree murder charges and the death penalty if his request is granted.
"I can live with that," Baker said.
Erie CountyCollege starts program to assist sophomores
Mercyhurst College in Erie has a new program to ensure sophomores don't get lost in the shuffle after their freshman year.
The program is designed to boost student retention rates by helping students deal with issues they typically face in the second year of study. Issues include career planning and the transition from dorm to apartment living with responsibilities such as cooking and budgeting.
The school already had a program, Fresh Start, to make sure that freshmen are prepared for the rigors of college life. The program for sophomores includes help on writing a resume and an apartment-warming kit that includes recipes for students who are doing more of their cooking.
Officials appeal ruling on dispatchers
Erie officials have appealed an arbitrator's ruling that ordered six laid-off fire dispatchers back to work.
The dispatchers were laid off amid plans to merge police and fire dispatch services to save money. The firefighters' union said the city violated its contract by not negotiating the layoffs.
"Given its impact on the city's budget, we felt at least the court should take a look at it," said Gerald Villella, a city attorney. The appeal was filed last week.
To win a reversal, city officials must prove the arbitrator made a legal error or exceeded his authority.
For now, the dispatchers are back to work, and city officials say they are owed $280,000 in back pay. Their return also will add $342,000 to next year's budget.
Bishop bans use of 'Urinetown' name
A Catholic high school in Erie must try to sell tickets to its upcoming school musical without referring to its title -- "Urinetown: The Musical" -- because the local bishop objects to it.
Erie Bishop Donald W. Trautman does not object to the show itself and received no complaints about it. Instead, the bishop was worried about the title being linked with Cathedral Preparatory School, said Monsignor Tom McSweeney, diocesan spokesman.
But altering the show's name would violate its copyright. So the play's producer and director, the Rev. Michael DeMartinis, said he must try to sell tickets to the show -- which runs Thursday through Dec. 10 -- without using the title on tickets, posters or programs.
The Tony Award-winning musical is about a place where private toilets are outlawed because of a drought, and people must use pay toilets.
