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CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. — The rain that fell all day Wednesday is a challenge for crews as they get ready to make sure local and state roads don’t freeze over.

“The change in precipitation is a great challenge for us,” said Kelley Maurer, Cranberry Township Public Works Director. “If we know there’s a big storm coming, we know how to manage it, but this one will be a little different.”

The difference here is that crews cannot pre-treat the roads because of the rain that’s been falling all day. It would simply just wash away with the rain, and not prevent any ice from forming.

So, crews in Cranberry spent the day getting all of their trucks ready. Channel 11 got an up-close look at the trucks filled with fresh salt and brine, ready to tackle this next round of winter weather.

“Tonight, we can see when that temperature is, probably around 9:30. We’ll bring the crews out probably an hour ahead of time, so they are already out there actively putting down the salt. If we wait till that icing happens, we’re too late,” Maurer said.

PennDOT is ready for the wintry mix of weather as well.

“We keep a very close eye on the weather, the temperatures, to see when does rain stop, and when does snow start, and when do these temperatures really start to drop, like it looks like they will be doing over the overnight hours,” said Christina Gibbs with PennDOT District 10.

PennDOT has 45 plow trucks and 82 crew members for Butler County. For the whole of District 10, which includes Armstrong, Butler, Clarion, Indiana and Jefferson counties — PennDOT has 166 plow trucks for more than 7,000 snow-lane miles to treat.

“It’s a lot of roadway to cover, especially in a mixed bag kind of storm that we’re getting so that is why we encourage folks to not travel if you don’t need to,” Gibbs said.

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A Mega Millions lottery ticket worth $4 million was sold in Butler County.

The Pennsylvania Lottery says a store in Butler County sold a ticket that won $4 million in Friday's drawing. The ticket matched all five white balls drawn, 6-13-34-43-52, but not the yellow Mega Ball 4.

The Gordon's Mini Mart on Rochester Road in Cranberry Township wins a $10,000 bonus for selling the winning ticket.

More than 10,000 Mega Millions tickets sold in Pennsylvania also won prizes in the Jan. 2 drawing. The Pennsylvania Lottery is encouraging players to check every ticket every time.

The lottery says winners aren't known until prizes are claimed and tickets are validated. Mega Millions winners have one year from the drawing date to claim prizes. Winning tickets should immediately be signed on the back, the Pennsylvania Lottery says.

The Mega Millions jackpot rolled to an estimated annuity value of $180 million, or $81.9 million cash, for the next drawing on Tuesday, Jan. 6. The game is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

It's the latest ticket to win big in the Pittsburgh area.

Last month, a jackpot-winning Cash 5 with Quick Cash ticket worth $770,000 was sold at a Giant Eagle in Shaler Township. In November, a Match 6 Lotto ticket bought at the Shop 'N Go Deli in West Elizabeth won $760,000. Days before that, a Cash 5 with Quick Cash ticket sold at the Uni-Mart in Moon Township won $870,000.

In:

CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. —

Heavy snowfall, blanketed roads, and cold temperatures rounded out 2025 in the Pittsburgh area on Wednesday.

“Terrible. Absolutely terrible,” said Cranberry resident Carlos Manuel when asked how the roads were.

Live Drive 4 captured deteriorating conditions on the evening of December 31^st shortly after the snow started falling.

The roads got progressively worse as we travelled north through Wexford on Perry Highway into Cranberry Township.

“Chaos, just people trying to get to where they’re going as safely and slowly as possible,” said Manuel. “I haven’t seen too many people speeding.”

The slush and snow on the main roads made it difficult to see the road and markings. The side roads were even worse.

“I feel like you shouldn’t be out unless it’s an emergency,” said Evan Huber in Cranberry.

The weather may have forced people to slow down, but it didn’t stop some from finding a way to their New Year’s Eve festivities.

“I didn’t call off tonight because I wanted to be here. It’s going to be a party tonight,” said Philip Atwell, an employee at Cenci’s Pizzeria & Bar.

Atwell and his coworker Carlee Griffith were ready to ring in 2026 with a celebration at the establishment.

“We’re going to have a DJ from 10-2,” Griffith said.

Robby Folwell, of Pittsburgh, was initially going to travel to Mercer County to be with family; however, those plans changed due to the weather.

“It did impact it a little bit for me, yeah,” Folwell said.

He instead hit the hill behind Cenci’s with a pan, turned sled.

Published by Jeremy. Last Updated on December 15, 2025.

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There are many reasons to love the holiday season in Pittsburgh, and perhaps one of the most amazing ones is your ability to see many beautiful Christmas lights all over the region.

From the holiday displays downtown, to the many drive-thru light shows, and more, there really is no shortage of impressive Christmas lights in Pittsburgh. So in this one, we wanted to curate all the best places where you can see holiday lights and decorations in the region!

Note: Many of the experiences below are drive-thru light displays such that you can enjoy the holiday lights and decorations from the comfort of your own car. However, we felt we would be doing you a disservice if we didn't mention a few other light viewing opportunities that take place outside of your car as well!

The Pittsburgh Guidebook is Now Available

Our first book, The Pittsburgh Guidebook: 175 Things to Do in Pittsburgh, is on sale now!

Grab a print copy from online retailers Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Bookshop.org. Digital downloads and local distribution information can be found on our book's website.

Pittsburgh Zoo Wild Illuminations

If you were a fan of the Asian Lantern Festival at the Pittsburgh Zoo and want more lanterns but with a holiday twist, Wild Illuminations is for you! Take a night-time walk through the zoo with themed lanterns for the holidays (like Santa, elves, giant candy canes, and more), plus Antarctic and Arctic animals, winter inspired Asian designs, and so much more.

The Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium is located at 7370 Baker St in Pittsburgh. Tickets should be purchased online and advanced for set timeslots. Due to their limited volume, expect these to sell out far in advance for prime hours.

Clinton Christmas Light-Up

The one-mile drive-thru Clinton Christmas Light-Up display has been an annual tradition for western PA since 1993. This one features an array of holiday lights (both static and moving), painted wooden characters, inflatable decorations, and decorated Christmas trees from local sponsors and as memorials to loved ones. While this one is not terribly advanced as far as displays are concerned, it makes up for it in volume as well as ample lights adorning the trees of the park providing a neat depth-of-field you do not necessarily get in other shows nearby.

While a drive through this one can be short (ours was just 15-minutes), if you visit on an off-peak night the workers may let you drive through multiple times to see the lights and get your fill. Couple that with the fact that this one was just $10 in our last visit (the cheapest of any paid drive-thru in this list) with proceeds going to charity, and you can see why many people flock to Clinton, PA for this show!

The Clinton Christmas Light-Up drive-through is located at 600 Clinton Park Drive in Imperial, PA (GPS address), and runs from late November to early January. This event is cash only.

Dazzling Nights at the Pittsburgh Botanic Garden

In 2022, the Pittsburgh Botanic Garden introduced their Dazzling Nights walk-through holiday experience (returning for another year this season!). This one converts 65 acres of the garden into a beautifully curated light show, often synchronized to music, and with some stellar designs you just won't see anywhere else.

While this one comes at a significant premium over just about any other option on this list, for a walk-through light experience it is really hard to beat this one, too!

Dazzling Nights takes place at the Pittsburgh Botanic Garden at 799 Pinkerton Run Rd in Collier Township, PA. Timed entry tickets should be purchased in advance.

The owner of a Cranberry mechanic shop is headed to trial on four cases brought against him in the last two weeks.

Keith Smith, the owner of Oilology, was brought to court Friday morning from the Butler County Jail, where he’s been since he was arrested on November 21.

That arrest came after a man said his car was never fixed after months of excuses from Smith, only to learn his car had been given to another customer as a loaner while her car was in the shop.

Channel 11’s Andrew Havranek was the only television news reporter in the courtroom and asked Smith about those allegations.

Havranek: “Did you know what you were doing was wrong?”

Smith: “Absolutely not.”

The car’s owner found out his car had been given to another customer as a loaner after he got a bill from the Pennsylvania Turnpike. In court on Friday, police said a woman was driving the car to and from Somerset for four weeks.

The victim said there were an additional 5,000 miles put on his car while it was at Oilology.

Havranek: “Did you loan out other customers’ vehicles to customers who had cars in your shop?”

Smith: “No comment.”

The woman who said she was loaned that car also filed charges against Smith this week. She said she took her car there in July, and after months of having it, Smith didn’t make any of the needed repairs. That’s when Smith loaned her another customer’s car.

Another woman had the same complaints about work not being done in a timely manner and filed charges this week in a third case.

Court documents show a fourth case where a family purchased a car from Smith, who promised repairs to pass inspection and emissions, but never made the repairs. Now, that family is out thousands of additional dollars. Channel 11’s Andrew Havranek spoke to her on Wednesday. She asked to remain anonymous.

“Oh my god, it’s absolutely frustrating,” she said. “He doesn’t answer my texts, doesn’t answer phone calls, and when he does, it’s ‘Oh I’m working on it,’ or ‘Oh I have COVID’ or ‘Oh I’ve got this,’ I mean, it was excuse after excuse.”

The judge is allowing Smith out on bond. He won’t be released from jail until after a hearing on December 19 for violating his probation for a conviction on similar charges going back to 2023.

The judge said Smith will have to wear a monitor and is not allowed to conduct any business, and he’s not allowed on the property.

A sign on the door shows Oilology is closing. The landlord tells Channel 11 he is selling the property to Meijer, a new grocery store moving into Cranberry.

Police said they are continuing to work through more complaints that are being filed against Smith. The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office said it also has one complaint filed with it.

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