Thiel to have TV news

Thiel to have TV news
GREENVILLE, Pa. -- Thiel College's Communication Studies Department will launch the college's first television news program Thursday on a local cable channel. TCTV News will air at 7 p.m. on Channel 9 of Time Warner Cable.
It will be a program of campus and regional community interest as well as a hands-on learning experience for students, said Dr. Lance A. Masters, Thiel president and chief executive officer.
The show will be produced entirely by Thiel students and will initially be run by students in a broadcast journalism course as a class project. It will eventually become its own student-run entity, said Kim Young, project adviser and adjunct communication studies professor.
The plan is to make it a weekly half-hour news program featuring news and sports.
Fairs get grants
MERCER, Pa. -- The Mercer County Grange Fair and the Jefferson Township Fair are on the receiving end of a pair of state Department of Agriculture grants. Sen. Bob Robbins of Greenville, R-50th, said the Grange Fair is getting $6,678 to cover the cost of upgrading a track, driveway, public address system and parking lot lighting. Jefferson Township is getting $3,650 to pay for cementing the floor of a fair building.
Ramps to open
CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- New ramps providing a direct connection from the Pennsylvania Turnpike to Interstate 79 will open to traffic between 10 and 11 p.m. tonight. The new ramps will allow motorists access on the turnpike to both north and south lanes of Interstate 79 and Pa. Route 19 using the Cranberry Connector. Access from Interstate 79 to the turnpike, using the connector, will not be available until a later date. In addition, travelers will begin to use the eastbound lanes on the new Cranberry Connector bridges over the Pennsylvania Turnpike, Route 19 and Interstate 79. Drivers should be prepared for changing traffic conditions and patterns.
Turnpike closed
EVERETT, Pa. (AP) -- The Pennsylvania Turnpike was closed for more than nine hours Tuesday as crews cleaned up after a stubborn truck fire.
State police closed down the turnpike between Breezewood and New Stanton after a truck they had moved to the side of the toll road caught fire around 11 a.m.
The fire gave off magnesium fumes because metal shavings being hauled by the truck were burning, police said. Because magnesium fires can't be fought with water, road crews were summoned to bring large amounts of sand in to be dumped on the flames.
Hazardous materials crews were also at the scene. No injuries were immediately reported in the accident or the fire that occurred later.
Traffic was being detoured through Cumberland, Md., until about 9 p.m., when the fire was extinguished.
Shot in leg
SHARON, Pa. -- Police said Charles Richards, 19, of Mesabi Street showed up at the Sharon Regional Health System emergency center saying he had been shot near his home in the 200 block. Richards was admitted to the hospital around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday with a gunshot wound of his left calf. Police said he told conflicting stories of how and where he was wounded, and they aren't sure the shooting even occurred in Sharon.
Bank robbery
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- City police reported a bank robbery at First Commonwealth Bank on North Liberty Street at 2:46 p.m. Monday. Details of the robbery were not being released by police. They said the Federal Bureau of Investigation has taken over the investigation. An FBI spokesman could not be reached this morning.
Fire hydrant testing
LEETONIA -- Random testing of fire hydrants will take place throughout the village Tuesday. Residents should be prepared for low water pressure and discolored water, Village Administrator Gary Phillips said. The testing could take up to two days to complete and residents could experience discolored water for two to three days, he said. The testing is part of the Insurance Services Office program to determine fire insurance rates for residents, he said.