WICU12

PennDOT workers spent today inspecting plows and other vehicles, preparing for the first snowstorm of the season. Preparations were already done in October, but managers say it's always good to double check all the equipment. And that is what they did today on what they call...

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The Thanksgiving holiday is usually the busiest travel time of the entire year. And AAA says more travelers will be on the road nationally, and in our area next week. The auto club says overall 500,000 more Americans will be on the road over the holiday period. The projected...

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Volunteers at the Erie City Mission spent today preparing more than 1,000 Thanksgiving food baskets. They will be given away on Monday. School and church groups donated a number of items including turkeys, potatoes, vegetables, and rolls. The baskets will be given away first...

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Hamot and Shriners share a long history and Hamot is excited and ready to become the new home for the Shriner's In-Patient Care Unit this May.  Shriners patients who require an overnight stay, will now also become registered Hamot patients.  Shriner's doctors wi...

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18 year old Ariell Dalton looks like any other well adjusted young lady in the prime of life.  When she was 4 years old in 1995, she was repeatedly raped by her mothers boyfriend, Jerry Eugene Butcher, 45 years old from Conneaut, Ohio.

" I told my aunt&nbs...

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A jury has reached a verdict in the murder trial of Michael Wright.
Guilty, that's the verdict that the jury reached just around 11:30 Friday morning, in the murder trial of a Pittsburgh man, charged with killing an Erie man, last summer.
The jury found 32 year old...

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Two more kids have been charged in 2 convenience store robberies.
A total of 6 teenagers have now been charged, in armed robberies at both the Country Fair on Old French Road, and the Circle K at 26th and Cherry.
Police say they held up the stores by threatening th...

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   The Department of Veterans Affairs is starting a new effort, to help vets returning from duty.
   They're now screening returning service members, for a reintegration program.
   It's been set-up to help those having a...

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All week long, Gannon University is hosting Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week.  CLICK FOR VIDEO  On Thursday, Students and volunteers set up a  makeshift "Box City", to help crea...

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Erie County has received over $44 million in federal stimulus dollars so far.  But local municipalities say they are not getting much of it. CLICK FOR VIDEO

At a hearing held Thursday on...

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We now know more about the impact of state budget cuts on Presque Isle. CLICK FOR VIDEO  A top official from Harrisburg today told the Presque Isle Advisory Committee that the park's budget will be cut 12%...

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The numbers are in, and volunteers collected a record amount of trash during the annual Lake Erie Coastal Cleanup day in September. The DEP today said 1200 volunteers collected nearly 20,000 pounds of trash. They worked on Presque Isle beaches, and 14 other locations. The mo...

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All this week, we're taking a closer look at the problem of  Meth, in Northwest Pennsylvania.
We showed you a new software program, called The Meth Hunter.
It's supposed to cut Meth manufacturing in our area by about 60 percent.
One local law enforcement...

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There have been rumors for over a month that the Shriners In-Patient Care Unit was in jeopardy.  It's now been confirmed that Shriners is partnering with Hamot.  And come this spring, Hamot will be the new home for the Shriner's In-Patient Care Unit.

One of the biggest supporters of Presque Isle over the years was honored today. Park employees joined friends and family of the late Don Guerrein to unveil a memorial trail panel in his honor outside the Stull Center. Don was the founder of the Presque Isle Partnership. Also...

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A jury is now deliberating the fate of Michael Wright.
Wright, from Pittsburgh, allegedly shot and killed an Erie man last summer.
Opening statements and testimony started Tuesday, in the trial of 32 year old Michael Wright.
Wright is accused of killing 31 yea...

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Police in Ohio are on the lookout for a convicted child sex offender.
He's identified as 45 year old Gerald Eugene Butcher, of Conneaut, Ohio.
The Ashtabula Sheriff's Office is asking for help, finding him.
He failed to appear for sentencing. Last week, he wa...

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Erie Police this morning are still looking for a suspect after a reported stabbing on the city's east-side. It happened about 10:30 last night, at Jesters Pour House, a tavern, on 11th and Parade. Reports from the scene indicate, two women started arguing when o...

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Our 9th Annual Second Harvest Food Bank Food Drive began early in front of WICU studios.  CLICK FOR VIDEO  People giving us food, everything from turkeys to canned goods - people literally j...

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Meth is one of the most dangerous and addictive illegal drugs.
All this week, in a special series of reports, we're take a closer look at the local fight against meth manufacturing.
A new program, called The Meth Hunter, is targeting pill shoppers, in an effort to...

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The Flagship Niagara is now without a captain, after the latest round of state budget cuts. And that could jeopardize next year's sailing schedule. Captain Wesley Heerssen and 3 other full time crew members have been laid off. That is on top of 3 other layoffs in July. The F...

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The longtime chairman of the Erie Regional Airport Authority has resigned, leaving his post about 6 weeks earlier than expected. Erie businessman Lou Porreco had served on the authority for 28 years, during two separate time periods. He was due to be replaced at the end of t...

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Erie City Council today took a big step toward banning drivers from using hand-held cell phones. Although statewide restrictions now being debated would supersede the local law. Council today asked city lawyers to write an ordinance making it against the law for drivers to t...

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A reward fund has been set up to help find the suspect who vandalized the grave of a Crawford County soldier killed in Iraq. As we reported last week, vandals spray painted the tombstone of Army Corporal Timothy Lauer at Cochranton Cemetery. Fortunately relatives were able t...

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Erie County Firefighters alongside their engines making a statement in front of the courthouse late Tuesday.  CLICK FOR VIDEO  Upset about budget cuts to the Franklin Township fire trainin...

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   November of 2008.   Nearly 200 employees are laid off from the Corry area's largest employer, Erie Plastics.  CLICK FOR VIDEO  For the past year, the small town ha...

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All this week, we're taking a close look at the Meth problem in the area.  CLICK FOR VIDEO  A new software program aims to cut Meth manufacturing in our area, by more than 50 percent.

...

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What a difference a year makes. CLICK FOR VIDEO

A year ago, Erie was digging out from another snow storm.  But on Tuesday, once again, it was warm and sunny.

Last year at...

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State budget cuts will have an impact at Erie's top tourist attraction, Presque Isle State Park. CLICK FOR VIDEO  Officials in Harrisburg this afternoon told park managers there will be less money next y...

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Methamphetamine, it's one of the most dangerous and addictive illegal drugs.
And according to investigators, Meth use and manufacturing are both a problem in our area.
This week on 12News at 5:00, we take a closer look at Meth, and new tools that law enforcement ar...

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   Local hospitals are now seeing a decrease in the amount of cases of the H-1-N-1 virus.
   But, health officials are still recommending that you get the vaccine if you haven't already.

   "The disease is still very muc...

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The Erie Port Authority is continuing its efforts to make the Cruise Ship Terminal what is was designed to be..a cruise ship terminal.  CLICK FOR VIDEO  But the economy and other factors have m...

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Two large vacant commercial buildings in Summit Township won't be empty much longer. In fact, renovations are already underway. The two buildings that used to house the Erie Sports Store and the Wild Cards restaurant stand side by side near the Tinseltown move complex off Ro...

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Erie Mayor Joe Sinnott is still putting the finishing touches on his 2010 budget proposal, and he said it's been a difficult challenge. Sinnott won't provide any details until he presents the plan to Erie City Council the day before Thanksgiving. But today he said the planni...

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Erie County Executive, Mark DiVecchio's proposed budget, included 10 job cuts.  But County Councilman, Phil Fatica, confirms additional jobs will be lost, "it's safe to say there's about 20 jobs that are in the balance here."

What also came out...

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The Meadville community is helping to put smiles on soldier's faces, this holiday season.  Specialist Fred Mays says receiving a Christmas package from home, while serving overseas, is such a nice surprise, "makes you feel great.  Makes you feel like Christ...

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The family of a Crawford County soldier killed in the Iraq War is trying to cope with vandalism done to his tombstone at Cochranton Cemetery. CLICK FOR VIDEO  The vandalism was discovered on Veterans Day....

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A Crawford county man, charged in connection with a meth lab operation, has pleaded guilty.
24 year old Shane Shreffler, plead guilty to two counts of manufacturing a controlled substance.
One of the charges stem from last December.
He was arrested, after agen...

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A new movie premieres tomorrow on the big green screen at Presque Isle's Tom Ridge Environmental Center. The large format film is titled, "Mummies-Secrets of the Pharaohs." It follows scientists and researchers as they piece together clues about Egyptian mummies. W...

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Wednesday was supposed to be an ordinary day for Patricia Nye. CLICK FOR VIDEO

Around noon, in broad daylight, she rode her motorized wheelchair to a store, two blocks away from her East 23...

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An all-weather eight lane track, an artificial turf field for football, soccer and lacrosse is already taking shape.  CLICK FOR VIDEO Father Scott Jaybo, Headmaster at Cathedral Prep, says "...

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