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Annual Becky Sheetz Memorial Golf tournament to be held Thursday

The Altoona Sunrise Rotary Club will host its 31st Annual Becky Sheetz Memorial Golf Tournament on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026, at Park Hills Country Club. Proceeds from the tournament will benefit the Special Olympics of Blair County, The Arc of Blair County and the Rotary Club of Altoona Sunrise Foundation. Registration for this year’s tournament is $100 per golfer, which includes golf and lunch. Golfers have the option of teeing off at 8 a.m. or 1:30 p.m. A variety of awards will be up for grabs, and golfers have the chance to win some great prizes. Becky Sheetz was a strong advocate ...

State museum closed for renovation

The project, estimated to take upwards of 2.5 years to complete, is unlike anything the museum has done before. While it has undergone surface level renovations over the years, this newest plan will make large changes and target its infrastructure. “There hasn’t been anything like this since the museum opened in 1964,” said Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission spokesperson Jay Losiewicz. “We’re bringing the building back up to where it needs to be for 21 century visitors.” Aside from increasing visitor amenities and providing a free first floor exhibit, the museum ...

Tariff relief sought for metal industry

A House Republican lawmaker warns that a federal tariff is hurting a metal industry that Pennsylvania wants to grow. Rep. Mike Armanini, R-Elk, is seeking congressional action to lift the tariff impacting the powder metal industry. Powder metal or metallurgy turns metals like steel and copper into powder. The powder is then heated and pressed through a process called sintering into solid shapes. The components are used in car parts and other equipment. Powder metals firms are concentrated in Pennsylvania’s large rural Northcentral Region. Expanding the powder metal industry is part ...

Saint Marys man arrested for alleged corruption of minors

A Saint Marys man is behind bars with bail denied after allegedly exposing himself to a juvenile female before inappropriately touching a second juvenile female at DelGrosso’s water park. Michael Alan Rairdan, 25, was arraigned Sunday by Magisterial District Judge Benjamin F. Jones on four ...

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.