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Pennsylvania News Briefs

Z.Baker3 months ago

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Shanksville memorial land-seize sought

Relatives of those who died aboard United Airlines Flight 93 want the Bush administration to seize the land needed for a memorial where the plane crashed in western Pennsylvania during the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The Families of Flight 93 sent a letter earlier this month asking President George W. Bush to empower the Secretary of the Interior to take the land in dispute from a homeowner who had been in negotiations with the National Parks Service, said Patrick White, vice president of the families’ organization.
The group says ground must be broken early next year in Shanksville, Pa., in order for a memorial to be built for the 10th anniversary of the crash in 2011.
Svonavec Inc. owns one of the last large chunks of land needed for the 2,200-acre memorial, including the area where the plane crashed Sept. 11, 2001. Svonavec’s treasurer Mike Svonavec has said the park service has not done enough to negotiate a deal. He did not immediately return a call for comment on Sunday.

Service at church stopped after roof fire
Parishioners gathering for a church service in western Pennsylvania had to be evacuated after a power line sparked a fire on the sanctuary’s roof.
High winds in Murrysville snapped a live electrical wire off a power line, and it landed on the First United Methodist Church.
Parishioner Erin McCullough describes looking into the sanctuary and seeing smoke coming out of a crack in the roof.
The minister is thankful the fire started when it did around 11 a.m. Sunday. Otherwise, Senior Pastor John Seth says no one would have been there to call firefighters.

Cops: Dirty diapers cause burn injuries
A 3-year-old boy left in a dirty diaper for days in a squalid apartment developed caustic second-degree burns and his 4-year-old sister had similar but less severe injuries, police said.
An uncle called authorities after a Christmas Day visit, saying the boy screamed in pain as the uncle picked him up, Greensburg police said.
The boy was being treated at West Penn Hospital’s burn unit. The girl was treated and placed in custody of county child welfare officials.
The father, Jesus Rodriguez, 34, of Greensburg, was charged with aggravated assault, child endangerment and related counts.


Fall of 50 feet kills construction worker
A construction worker is dead after falling about 50 feet while working at a Pittsburgh condominium construction site.
Authorities say 40-year-old Scott Oswald died at Allegheny General Hospital less than an hour after falling from the Keystone Lofts building about 8 a.m. Saturday.

Woman acquitted in fraud probe sues AG
A former home sales title agent cleared of all charges in two fraud prosecutions has filed a $5 million lawsuit against the state attorney general, prosecutors and investigators involved in the case.
Anita Peterson, former owner of title company Mountain Valley Abstract, was acquitted of more than a dozen charges including perjury and falsely testifying before a grand jury. She had been accused of falsifying records to make it appear buyers had enough money to qualify for mortgages.

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