SEVEN SPRINGS — State police in Somerset are searching for the thieves who stole $25,481 in copper wire and tools from Seven Springs Mountain Resort on Saturday.

Thieves forced their way into a maintenance complex and made off with 27,110 feet of copper wire, a Husqvarna chain saw, bolt cutters, and 424 copper fittings, troopers said.

They also stole a 1995 Chevy truck belonging to the resort which was later recovered along Fire Tower Road in Donegal Township, Westmoreland County.

Anyone with information on the thefts may contact state police at 445-4104.

Trial scheduled for stabbing suspect

EBENSBURG – A Cambria County jury will begin hearing testimony in the trial of a Johsntown man accused of stabbing another man during a confrontation in March 12.

Lloyd Rasheed McCrae III, 44, of the 900 block of Nathaniel Street, is charged with aggravated assault, simple assault and reckless endangerment.

The victim, Richard Jacobs, received a large cut in the neck in the incident shortly after

2 a.m. March 12 outside 3 Reds Tavern, 614 Horner St., police said.

The trial, in the courtroom of Judge David Tulowitzki, is expected to last three days. 

Wildcat Band to play at inaugural

HOME – The Wildcat Regiment Band of Indiana County has been invited to perform for the inauguration of Governor-elect Tom Corbett on Jan. 18 in Harrisburg.

The band is a re-creation of the regimental band of the 105th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, the Wildcat Regiment. The regiment was formed in 1861 with volunteers from Indiana and surrounding counties, the area known at the time as the Wildcat legislative district.

The 24-member band has performed for historic and civic events throughout the eastern part of the United States. The band has been invited to perform at the governor's residence in Harrisburg as well as before the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. The band also has performed at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, N.Y., and at the Smithsonian Institution and the Kennedy Center in Washington.

Rendell lashes out  on ‘60 Minutes’

HARRISBURG – An interview to be broadcast this weekend shows Gov. Ed Rendell lashing out at a reporter who questioned the effect of legalized slot-machine gambling in Pennsylvania on gambling addicts.

In a CBS news promo spot for Sunday’s “60 Minutes” story, Rendell is seen calling the reporter and producers “simpletons” and “idiots” as he maintains that people will gamble whether it is legal in Pennsylvania or not.

The piece to air Sunday examines how cash-strapped states are increasingly turning to casino gambling to make ends meet. Pennsylvania legalized slot-machine gambling in 2004.

Two waive hearing  on narcotics charges

A Johnstown man and a Windber man will face Cambria County Court action on charges they violated narcotics laws in Johnstown.

Curtis Veasley, 31, of the 400 block of Dorothy Avenue, Johnstown, and Michael Montana Hunter, 32, of the 500 block of Crestview Drive, Windber, each waived his right to a preliminary hearing on Thursday before District Judge Michael Musulin of downtown Johnstown.

Veasley was charged by Johnstown police with possession with intent to deliver crack cocaine, heroin and marijuana when police found the substances in his possession after being called to his residence on Dec. 22.

Hunter, an inmate at the state Community Corrections Center in downtown Johns-town, was charged by Johnstown police with possession intent to deliver heroin.

The criminal complaint said Hunter tried to sneak heroin into the corrections center Dec. 27.

Dad gets probation for leaving kid in car

DOYLESTOWN – A Philadelphia man who left his 15-month-old son alone in a car in a casino parking lot has been sentenced to a year and a half on probation.

Sixty-year-old Donald Waige pleaded guilty Thursday to a single count of child endangerment for leaving the toddler unattended in the parking lot of the Parx Casino in Bensalem.

Prosecutors said Waige left the boy in the car for about an hour while he gambled on June 15. Police said the boy was red-faced and crying when officers responded. Police found Waige inside playing penny slots.