PITTSBURGH
The recent heavy snowfalls continue to cause problems for structures in the area.
Two children were injured in separate incidents Thursday. An 8-year-old boy was hurt when an awning collapsed on Neville Island and a 14-year-old girl was trapped in a similar collapse in Clairton. Both were treated at hospitals and released.
Five University of Pittsburgh students were displaced after a ceiling collapse. In Gibsonia, the Windwood Health and Sports Club had to be evacuated Thursday night after a worker heard the roof groaning. The canopy over the pumps at a gas station in the Shadyside neighborhood also collapsed Thursday. No injuries were reported.
The Allegheny County Health Department said a bacterial illness is causing an outbreak of diarrhea. The health department said it has confirmed 60 cases of shigellosis since October.A 1996 outbreak caused nearly 600 cases, but the 60 recorded in recent months is far more than the 20 or so cases typically seen each year.The bacteria can be spread person to person, through contaminated food or by failing to wash one's hands after changing diapers or using the toilet. Symptoms, including cramps and fever, can last a week.
A Roman Catholic priest under investigation for allegedly fondling a teen girl nearly four decades ago was reassigned from his position as a parish priest and high school chaplain.Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh officials said the Rev. Alvin Adams will transfer to a convent next month. Adams has been on leave since March while the diocese investigated allegations he fondled a 16-year-old girl in the 1970s. Two other alleged victims came forward later. Bishop David Zubik said a diocesan review board found one of the allegations credible, prompting the transfer. Adams has denied the allegations. His attorney, Paul Titus, said the diocese is putting public relations considerations ahead of justice.No civil or criminal charges have been filed.
PITTSBURGH — A former professor charged with drunken driving three times in eight days in 2008 pleaded guilty in those cases — and a fourth that happened in November.Jeffrey Hunker, 53, was charged with DUI on Thanksgiving after city police said he smashed into a parked car in the Shadyside neighborhood. Police said he pulled away when an officer approached but eventually stopped in a parking lot.Hunker was a Carnegie Mellon University professor in 2008 when police arrested him on DUI charges on Aug. 17, 19 and 24. He is no longer affiliated with the university.Hunker previously served as computer security director in the Clinton administration.