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12/11/2025

Save the Date for the 15th Annual Uncork the Alleghenies, coming to the Blair County Convention Center on Saturday, March 14th! Get your tickets online today at FOX8tv.com!

12/11/2025

One woman is dead after a house fire in Johnstown today.

This is the third, fatal fire in the city over the last two months.

First responders say the incidents happening so close to each other is taking a toll on fire crews.

Officials are also sending a message to the public.

Brock Owens has that and more of the details on today's fire.

The fire broke out at this home along Wilson Street in the West End of Johnstown at about 11:30 Wednesday Morning according to fire officials.

They say one woman was found dead but one other person and several animals were able to escape.

Johnstown Fire Chief Jim McCann says the blaze was coming out of windows and had spread to the attic by the time crews arrived.

Cambria County Coroner Keff Lees says a woman in her 50s was found dead in a second floor bedroom.

I did see several cats that appeared to still be alive being taken from the home by fire crews on scene.

This is the third fatal fire in just over a month in Johnstown.

The cause of this fire is being investigated by State Police Fire Marshals Johnstown Fire Department and the Coroner's Office but Lees did say that all three of the fires were at least highly suspicious of smoking ci******es
being involved.

Officials say these incidents happening so close together is taking a physical and mental toll on the city's fire fighters.

But Lees says there's nothing more fire crews can do because in some of these incidents the victim is dead by the time the call comes in.

They're asking the p***c to be vigilant and take steps to avoid more fatal fires.

"They're doing everything in their power to save lives, save property day after day. But the residents got to do their part as well. Common sense, don't smoke in a residence, don't smoke especially if you're on oxygen, if you
have oxygen cylinders in your residence or in your vehicle."

"After all these fires I'm talking about smoke detectors and smoke detectors and the importance or having the smoke detectors in place. That's your first line of defense."

12/11/2025

“If the city did not put an ad in the newspaper, allowing 20 days for public inspection of your budget, well, how do you pass a budget?”

That’s what Resident John Debartola said Wednesday night at what was meant to be Johnstown’s final City Council meeting of the year.

But after hearing from the city solicitor, that’s no longer the case.

Johnstown City Council fully intended to pass their 2026 budget Wednesday night, with several weeks to spare before the New Year deadline. However, after two residents pointed out advertising concerns, City Council is now forced to come back for a special meeting on New Year’s Eve.

With Wednesday intended to be the final meeting for the year, many council members and Mayor Frank Janakovic said heartfelt goodbyes to one another, as only two current council members will stay in their positions next year.

However, they’ll all be returning to their seats later this month to vote on the city’s 2026 budget. Two residents, John Debartola and Charlene Stanton, spoke ahead of the meeting, pointing out that the budget must be publicly advertised at City Hall for at least 10 days, and a public notification of the budget’s planned adoption has to be put out 20 days before it is voted on. Solicitor Aimee Willett confirmed neither of those notifications happened.

That put City Council with just 2 days to choose from to come back for a special meeting to vote on the budget: December 30th or 31st.

Councilman Taylor Clark spoke out during the meeting about the decision.

“This is my first time doing this, and for people that have never gone through this before, or for people in the public who have gone through this 1000 times, the opportunity needs to be had and I don’t believe the right channels and the right alleys were actually went down,”

Council voted to hold its special meeting on December 31st at 5pm.

Today! David Andora tells us about his company Tru-Tone Lights, and The Bellefronte Victorian Christmas is happening thi...
12/11/2025

Today! David Andora tells us about his company Tru-Tone Lights, and The Bellefronte Victorian Christmas is happening this weekend! Catch it all at 9AM and 10:35PM on Fox 8 News Now!

PSA for Stuckey Automotive:The 5th Annual Stuckey Automotive Food Bank Challenge, which began October 27th to benefit th...
12/10/2025

PSA for Stuckey Automotive:

The 5th Annual Stuckey Automotive Food Bank Challenge, which began October 27th to benefit the St. Vincent de Paul’s Food for Families Soup Kitchen, will conclude Friday, December 12th when representatives from participating dealerships gather at the Soup Kitchen in Altoona to officially count non-perishable food items collected by each dealership and announce the winning team.

12/10/2025

Camtran services in Westmont Borough for 2026 are up in the air.

After officials say Borough Council voted last month to reduce funding the service in the full amount Camtran asked for.

Baylee Wojcik heard from Westmont Officials, Camtran leaders, and concerned riders, and tells us what they're saying at a Borough Meeting tonight.

Westmont Borough Council approved its budget for 2026 Tuesday Night which includes reduced funding for the Cambria County Transit Authority.

Officials are assuring riders that bus services will not be cut in the Borough.

However, Camtran officials say if they don’t receive enough funding, that may not be the case.

In November, the Cambria County Transit Authority asked for over $13,000 from Westmont Borough Council to continue its services in the borough in 2026, but council voted to contribute only $5000.

"Transportation is a good service that every province has, but it's our job to look at every line item and take it apart a little bit."

"When we when we look at cutting expenses, we cut them as close to the bone as we possibly can."

Tuesday Night, dozens of concerned community members gathered at the Westmont Borough Council Meeting after Camtran posted a call to action on Facebook, encouraging residents to attend and saying that Borough Council’s vote will
lead to reduced bus service in Westmont.

According to the post, the organization would lose $67,000 from the State if the amount they’re asking for isn’t fully paid on the local level.

Several people spoke out, including Camtran bus drivers, local business owners, and riders who depend on the services.

"We haul a lot of people, senior citizens, people who don't have vehicles who rely on us to get them to where they need to be. So, cutting service up here would be huge, huge to these people."

"Is reducing our share by $8,400 worth losing $67,000 in state funding and the service ability due to that? With that, I respectfully ask the council to reconsider your reduction."

12/10/2025

The Bedford County Commissioners are now responding to a civil lawsuit filed against them Yesterday, By the District Attorney's Office.

he lawsuit, Which says the commissioners reversed a hiring in the District Attorney's Office Now leaving them short staffed.

Brock Owens is hearing from both sides today And has the latest.

Bedford County Commissioners are responding to a lawsuit filed against them by the District Attorney's Office by saying they're on a hiring freeze and are only taking in new jail and 911 employees right now.

But the DA says they're dealing with low staff and an Assistant District Attorney should also be a high priority for the county.

Bedford County Commissioner say budget struggles continue to be an issue because of of the State Budget Impasse even after it was resolved last month.

They say in November additional steps were taken for the rest of the year looking to save money.

"The County Commissioners announced a spending and hiring freeze in November of 2025. This freeze is currently set to end at the end of December 2025.

The District Attorney Ashlan Clark says the position should already be in the county's budget because it was a spot that was filled until September.

She also says the hiring freeze shouldn't have been an issue.

"This employee was hired prior to that hiring freeze. We were notified after the fact. So that's a concern."

The lawsuit says the hiring reversal hurts both the prospective employee who is now an unemployed single mother of four after resigning from her former job But also the DA's office.

"We are at a huge disadvantage being down an attorney in the office. That cuts our case load, a 33 percent change in our case load."

Also, At Tuesday's Commissioner's Meeting there were seven new hires approved.

Today! Amy Bradley from the Cambria County Chamber of Commerce, and Pianist Dr. Henry Davis and Rev. Rodney Hatfield for...
12/10/2025

Today! Amy Bradley from the Cambria County Chamber of Commerce, and Pianist Dr. Henry Davis and Rev. Rodney Hatfield for the Hope of The World Christmas Concert at Peniel Praise Community Church in Johnstown! Catch it all today at 9AM and 10:35PM on Fox 8 News Now!

12/09/2025

A former 911 Coordinator in Somerset County is pleading guilty to sexually abusing children.

This comes in the middle of his ongoing trial that began last week.

Brock Owens has been following the trial and has more on the guilty plea.

Bradley Lavan was expected to spend much of this week here in the Somerset County Courthouse continuing his trial which began last week.

But on Monday Morning Lavan pleaded guilty to every charge against him.

Investigators say he victimized five children from four families from January 2021 to January 2023 at his Somerset Borough Home.

During last week's testimony witnesses including Lavan's Ex Wife, mothers of the victims, and the children themselves spoke about the opportunity Lavan had to sexually abuse the children and describing what Lavan made them do.

Authorities say the victims ranged in ages from two to six years old at the time of the abuse.

"Certainly we wanted this plea to happen a lot sooner, prior to a jury being enpaneled and an extensive amount of testimony being offered, but he did plead guilty on all counts. There was no plea offer made, there were no charges
dropped, and there was not going to be an acceptance of a no contest plea. He had to admit guilt to all counts."

That includes more than 30 Felony counts.

First Assistant District Attorney Tom Leiden who is set to become the District Attorney in January says he hopes this sends a message that the Da's office will aggressively prosecute cases and also hopes justice is served for the
victims and their families.

"I hope this brings some amount of healing to them. Unfortunately, this is going to be a lifetime scar on those victims. All we can do is bring them what the court determines to be justice and we're glad to have done that
little bit for them. But our prayers go out to them in the future."

12/09/2025

Two men are behind bars in Blair County after a Weekend Shooting at an Altoona Apartment Building.

Police say on Saturday Jaice Lindsey and Garrett Miles assaulted a man during an argument at the City Hall Commons.

Officials say that during the altercation the man was shot in his lower torso and the bullet was later found lodged in his spine.

Both men are charged with several offenses, including felonies for aggravated assault.

They are being housed in the Blair County Prison.

Today! Kris Schaale joins to talk her new book “Summer of Meteors”, and Robert Forcey from Vision Together tells us abou...
12/09/2025

Today! Kris Schaale joins to talk her new book “Summer of Meteors”, and Robert Forcey from Vision Together tells us about their mission to revitalize Johnstown! Catch it all today at 9AM and 10:35PM on Fox 8 News Now!

Today! Kristine Irwin tells us about her mother’s final children’s book “Rocky’s Road to Ice Cream”. Plus, we learn more...
12/08/2025

Today! Kristine Irwin tells us about her mother’s final children’s book “Rocky’s Road to Ice Cream”. Plus, we learn more about the trails in Cambria county! Catch it all at 9AM and 10:35PM on Fox 8 News Now!

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