Page 6 - Matt Plummer News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

ifredregill@altoonamirror.com A 65-year-old man was killed Thursday when a vehicle hit him on Pleasant Valley Boulevard. The vehicle fled the scene, Altoona police reported. The victim was identified as Lynn James Jury of Altoona, Blair County Coroner Patty Ross told WTAJ. He died from blunt force trauma. Logan Township police said in a news release the incident occurred near the 3300 block of boulevard — in the area of the Pleasant Valley Shopping Center — about 11 p.m. Altoona police assisted Logan Township at the scene, and the Pennsylvania State Police Crash Reconstruction unit is wo...

Valcin During two drug busts earlier this week, Altoona police seized nearly 10,000 packets of heroin with a combined street value of $170,000, an Altoona Police Department spokesman said. Altoona police Sgt. Matt Plummer said Friday that Altoona police learned about a large shipment of illegal substances headed for Blair County on April 17. Acting on information from confidential sources, police raided a location Sunday, where they discovered about $8,700 in cash and 74 bricks of suspected heroin, or about 3,700 individual packets, valued at about $70,000, Plummer said. On Monday, Altoona...

ifredregill@altoonamirror.com Blair County law enforcement agencies reported increased drug activity during the coronavirus pandemic, but in some cases, social distancing restrictions hampered their efforts. “There were two issues that arose from the pandemic,” said Blair County District Attorney Pete Weeks. “We’ve seen more substance abuse, because of the stay-at-home orders and the circumstances brought on by decisions made during the (COVID-19) pandemic.” The second issue law enforcement encountered was fewer impediments to drug traffickers moving through the community as lockdo...

bkibler@altoonamirror.com Altoona Police Chief Janice Freehling, the first woman to head the city department, is retiring, effective March 1, the 20th anniversary of her appointment as chief. “I selected that date some time ago,” said Freehling, 67, who joined the force 44 years ago. “If anybody has earned her retirement, it’s her,” City Manager Ken Decker said. Freehling was “proactive at keeping people safe” and “cared very much for her officers,” Councilman Dave Butterbaugh said. She put those officers “in position to succeed,” Butterbaugh said. He added that she work...

ifredregill@altoonamirror.com Taking a break from the festivities Thursday, Jaycub Willey holds his 11-month-old son, Oliver, while Willey’s fiancee, Blake Yohn, cradles the family’s newest addition, Baylie. Photo by Ike Fredregill In the wee hours of Dec. 17, about a foot of still-falling snow coated the ground outside Katrina Townsend’s Fourth Avenue home. Despite the snowstorm and travel warnings from authorities across the state, Townsend’s husband, Luke, diligently cleared a path to the family’s car — knowing at any moment they might need to leave post-haste. Inside, T...