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McAuliffe Heights playground to be removed

The Altoona Area School Board on Monday approved contracting with Benton’s Builders to remove the existing playground and install footers for a new playground at McAuliffe Heights Program at Irving Elementary. The playground unit will be purchased from MRC Recreation, with the total cost of the unit and construction not to exceed $53,000. The cost will be paid from the Parent Teacher Association and principal account. Superintendent Brad Hatch commended McAuliffe Heights Principal Raisa Gray for leading a fundraising initiative for the unit. “She’s done a phenomenal job of ...

Inmate pronounced dead at Bedford County prison

An inmate at the Bedford County Correctional Facility was found unresponsive in his cell Monday and, despite lifesaving measures, was pronounced dead about 12:45 p.m., according to a news release from Warden Joseph Eichenlaub. Eichenlaub identified the inmate as 26-year-old Ellic Bohrer, who was remanded to the facility on Friday after being arraigned on sexual assault charges. In accordance with policy, state police have been notified of Bohrer’s death and will conduct the investigation, the report states.

Trump claims Iran talks will start Monday

CAIRO — U.S. President Donald Trump said new talks to wind down the war in Iran will start Monday, after announcing he is holding off on new massive strikes he had threatened to unleash on the country. The talks will seek to end the conflict and revive stalled cargo traffic through the ...

Region proves a draw for West Chester railroad historian, author

West Chester resident Beth Anne Keates remembers watching CSX train cars with her brothers in the backseat of her family’s car during vacations from Lansdowne to Ocean City. “We would have fun counting the number of boxcars,” she said, mentioning the railroad’s significant ...

Allegheny County second-degree murder cases in ‘land of the unknown’

An estimated 120-plus inmates serving life sentences from Allegheny County are among groups potentially affected by what one prosecutor calls a new “land of the unknown” in Pennsylvania judicial matters involving second-degree murder. The uncertainty referred to by John Adams, Berks County district attorney and spokesperson for the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, follows the state Supreme Court’s declaration earlier this year that sentencing guidelines for those serving mandatory life sentences without parole for second-degree murder are unconstitutional. The court ...