Published: January 15, 2009 11:39 pm      

In brief: Fire destroys Elder Twp. home

An Elder Township family is homeless after a fire Thursday morning destroyed their two-story home in the 100 block of Beaver Street, two miles north of Patton.

Gerald and Darlene Flick escaped safely, said Patton fire Chief Pat Woods.

Preliminary indications show that a malfunctioning heating system caused the fire, Woods said.

It was too early Thursday to determine a dollar estimate of the damage.

The family is staying nearby with relatives, Woods said.

The Red Cross was notified of the fire.

The Sheetz store in Patton sent hot coffee to the scene to help keep firefighters warm. It was about 8 degrees at the time of the fire.

Also responding to the 8 a.m. alarm were firefighters from Hastings, Hope, Ashville and Carrolltown.

Man waives hearing in abuse case

A Prospect man will face Cambria County Court action on charges he assisted his girlfriend in abusing the woman’s 18-year-old mentally disabled brother.

Christopher Shoopman, 25, of the 300 block of Gray Avenue, waived his right to a preliminary hearing Thursday before District Judge Michael Musulin.

At the proceeding, Shoopman was told that he would be released from jail on unsecured bail when he enters a pretrial services program.

Johnstown police said Shoopman and Dawn Michelle Schrock, 19, also of the 300 block of Gray Avenue, would punish Schrock’s brother if he talked back or played his music too loudly.

They would lock him in a closet, strike him and force him to do push-ups and sit-ups, police said.

Schrock, also charged in the incident, waived her case to court last month along with a charge that she endangered the welfare of her child by having unsanitary living conditions.

Vandal breaks pizza-shop window

SOMERSET – State police are looking for whomever threw a cinder block through a plate glass window at Papa John’s Pizza, 1456 N. Center Ave. in Somerset Township.

The incident took place between 10 p.m. Wednesday and 6:30 a.m. Thursday.

Damage was estimated at $400.

Cold prompts change for Incline

The Johnstown Inclined Plane will change its winter hours beginning today due to the extreme cold.

The incline will be opened from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Thursday.

Regular winter hours will resume Jan. 23.

Normal hours are from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

Web safety program canceled

Due to inclement weather, Attorney General Tom Corbett’s presentation on Internet safety scheduled for tonight at St. Andrew School, 1621 Ferndale Ave., has been canceled.

School plans financial aid night Bishop Carroll Catholic High School in Ebensburg will hold an open house/financial aid information night from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday for interested students and parents.

Representatives from St. Francis University and Mount Aloysius College will provide information on the articulation agreement that guarantees scholarships for Bishop Carroll graduates.

The alumni association will hold drawings for two $250 tuition scholarships to Bishop Carroll.