West Nile virus in Pa.

West Nile virus in Pa.
MERCER, Pa. -- The first sign of West Nile virus in Mercer County was found in a sample of mosquitoes collected in Pine Township, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
The mosquito pool tested positive Thursday. It was one of 117 mosquito pools tested so far this year.
Residents are reminded to remove all standing water. Standing water serves as a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Mosquitoes can transmit West Nile virus to humans and birds.
Salem emergency levy
SALEM -- Voters will be asked in the November general election to adopt a 7.85-mill new emergency levy to aid the city school district's struggling financial situation.
The school board agreed recently to put the five-year measure on the ballot.
The levy would raise about $2.3 million annually and help the district avoid going into the red, officials say.
Zoning appeals board
SALEM -- The city zoning appeals board meets at 7 tonight to consider requests for two zoning code variances.
A rear-yard variance is being sought by Habitat for Humanity to build a house at 808 E. Fourth St.
A front setback variance is sought by Loudon Ford, 100 Continental Drive, to construct a sign.
The board meets at city hall, 231 S. Broadway Ave.
Attempted robbery
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- A man wearing a mask identical to the one in the movie "Scream" apparently wasn't scary enough.
Shenango police said the man attempted to rob the Red Apple Quick Fill on Butler Road, but the clerk refused to hand over the cash. He ran off heading east at about 11 p.m. Saturday.
Police described him as dark-skinned and wearing a green army jacket, black hood, dark pants and the mask.
Controlled burn sought
BRADFORD, Pa. (AP) -- Allegheny National Forest officials want to conduct a controlled burn to promote growth of oak trees.
The last controlled burn was in 1999, but it wasn't that successful, said Peter To, a forest project representative.
If given approval to conduct another burn, officials will try to build on what they learned in the last fire, To said. Officials are also basing plans on a successful burn in West Virginia involving similar tree stands.
Plans call for burns on 78 acres in five sections of the forest. About 39 acres would actually be burned to remove competing understory vegetation such as striped maple and birch. The burned areas would be monitored over the next five years.
If approved, the burn could be done sometime next spring.
Historical-cemetery event
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- More than three dozen people, some braving corsets, gathered at the city's historical Homewood Cemetery to mark its 125th anniversary.
About 40 members of the Victorian Gibson Girls and Gentlemen, dressed in Victorian garb, prayed and sang hymns as part of a re-enactment of the ceremony that opened the cemetery in 1878.
"It squeezes your organs," said 16-year-old Kelly Ylosvar of New Kensington, who squeezed into a corset for the celebration.
The 210-acre Homewood Cemetery is a historical landmark and is the final resting place for many of the city's most notable families, including the Mellons, Fricks, Benedums, Baums and Heinzes.
Jazz pianist Erroll Garner, best-known as the composer of "Misty," Pittsburgh Pirates legendary third baseman Harold "Pie" Traynor and candy bar king D.L. Clark are also buried in the cemetery.
State police aviation unit
MARTINSBURG, Pa. (AP) -- State police will soon be making sorties out of another western Pennsylvania airport.
The state police have selected the Altoona-Blair County Airport, about 80 miles east of Pittsburgh, for its seventh Aviation Patrol Unit, which searches for missing children, hunters, fugitives and marijuana farms.
"There was a hole in their coverage. [State police] response in our area came out of Latrobe or other areas," said Charles E. Pillar Jr., manager of the airport.
Since the late 1960s, state police have used helicopters for surveillance, searching for fugitives and lost people and checking on traffic accidents.
The state police also have aviation units in Berks, Luzerne, Lycoming, Venango, Westmoreland and York counties.