Pittsburg, PA
Pittsburgh-area farmer and employee sentenced for using banned pesticide to kill migratory birds
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A Beaver County farmer and his employee who were found guilty of using a banned pesticide to kill migratory birds were sentenced to probation, fines and community service.
A federal judge convicted 52-year-old Robert Yost of New Galilee and his employee 27-year-old Jacob Reese of Enon Valley in January after a bench trial in 2022. Both were sentenced to a year of probation. Yost received a $21,000 fine and 100 hours of community service while Reese was sentenced to a $5,500 fine and 50 hours of community service.
Prosecutors said evidence presented at trial showed Yost, who operates Yost Farms in Beaver County, told Reese to spread whole kernel corn coated in the pesticide carbofuran in a soybean field. The corn attracted protected migratory birds that were killed a short ways away from where they ate the pesticide-laced kernels, prosecutors said.
Carbofuran is a registered restricted-use pesticide after the Environmental Protection Agency concluded it generally caused unreasonable adverse effects on humans and the environment and that the risks of using it were unacceptable.
Authorities blame Yost and Reese for the deaths of approximately 17 Canada geese, 10 red-winged blackbirds and one mallard duck.
While handing down the sentences, prosecutors said the judge noted that Yost and Reese’s crimes were serious, created a risk to the environment and harmed the public’s trust in the source of their food. The community service is a way to “redeem the public’s trust in safe and ethical farming,” the court said.
Pittsburg, PA
About 5 pounds of bees removed from Acrisure Stadium scaffolding ahead of Morgan Wallen concerts
Acrisure Stadium is buzzing with excitement ahead of the back-to-back Morgan Wallen concerts. Except it’s not the fans generating all the excitement — it’s about 5 pounds of honeybees.
The Fine Family Apiary in Monongahela said it was contacted on Wednesday about a swarm of bees clustered on the stage scaffolding. The apiary put the swarm in a “nuc box” and took them home before moving the bees into full-size equipment.
Owner Al Fine estimates the swarm weighed about 4 to 5 pounds and consisted of 12,000 to 15,000 bees. All said, it took less than two hours to get the job done.
Why do bees swarm?
Swarming is how honeybees propagate, Fine explained. According to Penn State Extension, during swarming, the queen and about half the workers leave their home to establish a new nest. The bees will form a temporary cluster, hanging out while scouts search the surrounding area for a more permanent home in hollow spaces like tree cavities or, occasionally, the walls of a home.
Swarms can stick around for several hours or days until they’re ready to move, Penn State Extension says. Meanwhile, the colony left behind is temporarily without a leader until a new queen is established.
With the swarm at Acrisure Stadium removed, Morgan Wallen’s show is ready to go on. The country music megastar will bring his I’m The Problem Tour to Pittsburgh on June 5 and June 6, along with multiple acts like Brooks & Dunn and Ella Langley.
On Sept. 17, multi-platinum country music star Luke Bryan will bring his Farm Tour to 1846 Farms near Latrobe.
Westmoreland County is no stranger to large outdoor concerts. Some may remember the Rolling Rock Town Fair in the early 2000s, while others may recall Luke Bryan’s stop at a farm in South Huntingdon Township just two years ago. Now the country music superstar is returning to the area.
The Unity Township farm’s general manager, Aleisha Stas, gave KDKA a tour of the family farm, which dates back to before the Civil War. She says Bryan’s team first reached out after finding the farm on social media, but she says at first, she and her family thought it was too good to be true.
“This was around April Fools, so we thought it was an April Fools prank,” Stas said. “My whole family, we were like, there’s no way this is about to happen. But this has been incredible.”
Stas says Bryan’s team is handling everything logistically from parking and bathrooms to deciding exactly where the concert will be staged.
“If we have it on this side of the property, we can hold 12,000 people,” Stas said. “And if we have it on (the other side) of the property, it can be up to 20,000. But we have not determined that yet.”
Many of those decisions will be made as September gets closer. In the meantime, however, the farm is holding off on planting in certain fields until the final concert location is selected.
And while hosting thousands of people may sound a little intimidating, Stas says her family is excited to welcome fans to the farm for what they hope will be a memorable night.
“Obviously, we’ve never had this many people here before, so it will be a new thing for all of us, but we are not worried,” said Stas. “Luke Bryan’s team are experts with this, and I think it will go great.”
Tickets for this concert are currently on sale, and they will run you about $77 per person, plus tax for general admission.
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