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Those were among the Top 10 local stories of 2011 in Greene County.
The gruesome murder-suicide that took the lives of the Teagarden family was voted to stop story of the year, followed by the plea and sentencing of Jo Phyllis Popielarcheck, who admitted stealing more than $695,000 from the school.
Here is a complete list of the Top 10 stories:
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Dead as the result of a murder-suicide were Kevin Teagarden, 42; his wife, Tammy Teagarden, 40; and their two children, Madison, 8 and Kevin (K.J.) Teagarden Jr., 22 months.
A police investigation and the subsequent autopsies confirmed that Kevin Teagarden shot his wife and two children and then turned the weapon on himself.
The couple were married for more than 20 years but had hit a rough patch in their relationship, according to family and friends.
A neighbor said the family had all been "super-nice" people. As the community tried to make sense of this senseless act, a fund was established by the Carmichaels Free Methodist Church to erect a playground in memory of the two children.
2. The Greene County Career and Technology Center went through several changes in the aftermath of a forensic audit that showed more than $650,000 had been stolen from the school from December 2008 to November 2010.
Jo Phyllis Popielarcheck, 54, GCCTC's former business coordinator, admitted to stealing the money and pleaded guilty to all charges. She was sentenced to more than 6 years in prison and ordered to pay $695,859 in restitution.
The audit by Cypher and Cypher accountants showed that Popielarcheck primarily spent the money on gambling, vacations, home-improvement projects, automobiles and various luxury items such as designer purses.
In April the joint operating committee of Greene County Career and Technology Center accepted the retirement of then-executive director, Jan Quailey, effective June 30. Quailey, who was the director of the center for seven years, was not implicated in the case against Popielarcheck.
3. When Gov. Tom Corbett signed the state's $27.2 billion spending plan in June that included a cut of about $900 million to public schools, Greene County school districts were left scrambling to find ways to balance budgets.
Central Greene School District was forced to make the unpopular decision in August of closing the Perry Elementary School in Mt. Morris after the school board was given two options to bridge the gap created by state funding cuts - slash funding for music and other programs, or close Perry.
By closing the school and busing those students to Waynesburg Elementary School, the district saved money that enabled them to reinstate several teachers who were furloughed by the cuts in state funding.
The board has not decided what to do with the Perry building. Selling could be an option, or the district could convert it to another use, as it did for the former East Franklin School building, which the district rents to Intermediate Unit 1 and other tenants for classrooms and offices.
Other Greene County school districts were forced to furlough multiple teachers and aides, delay the replacement of equipment and other materials, and even eliminate some programs.
4. Two years after Melissa Baker was found dead in her mobile home in Crucible, her estranged husband, Scott Baker of Nemacolin, went on trial last month, charged with strangling and slashing her throat on Nov. 20, 2009.
After 10 days of testimony and more than 45 witnesses, a Greene County jury, deliberating just 21/2 hours, found Baker guilty of first-degree murder, a verdict that carries an automatic sentence of life in prison.
Once the prosecution concluded its case, Baker entered a guilty plea to a general charge of criminal homicide and testified in his own defense, describing arguing with Melissa Nov. 20 at her home, becoming very angry when she threatened to keep him from seeing his young son and then blacking out and discovering when he "came to" that he was on top of her with his forearm around her neck.
Baker, who was diagnosed with varying degrees of mental illness, said he could not remember slashing Melissa's throat and said the killing resulted not from a plan or a plot but rather from a fit of rage.
But it was the testimony of Baker's 14-year-old son, Nathaniel, that convinced the jury Baker had planned to kill his wife and had the capacity to form a specific intent.
5. During the past year, Greene County officials have repeatedly spoken about the need for new housing as more and more people move to the area to work in the natural gas industry.
Greene County Redevelopment Authority completed a study on housing needs and at year's end was planning to hire a full-time director to address the issue.
One proposed housing development, however, didn't go over so well with the community.
In January, The Woda Group LLC of Westerville, Ohio, announced plans to build a 50-home, single-family development for low- and moderate-income residents on 17 acres of land off Powell Lane in Franklin Township.
Neighboring residents rallied in opposition to the project, citing concerns about the potential for decreased property values and increased crime.
The company eventually bowed to pressure and in March halted the project, saying it did so "out of respect for certain elected officials and community leaders."
6. A Greene County waste hauler was arrested in March, accused of illegally dumping millions of gallons of pollutants into streams and mine shafts in six counties in Southwestern Pennsylvania.
R. Allan Shipman, 49, of 432 Renner Creek Road, New Freeport, was charged by the state attorney general's office with 98 criminal counts in connection with the allegations. An additional 77 counts were filed against his company, Allan's Waste Water Service Inc. of Holbrook.
Among other allegations, investigators claim that between 2003 and 2009 Shipman and his company dumped brine water from natural gas drilling, sewage sludge and restaurant grease into streams and mine shafts in Greene, Washington, Fayette, Westmoreland, Allegheny and Lawrence counties.
In September, Shipman waived his right to a preliminary hearing on the charges. He is scheduled to appear in court possibly to enter a plea on Feb. 9.
7. Nancy Horr of Rogersville knows all too well how drug usage has spiked in Greene County. On Jan. 30, her son, Christopher, 21 died of a heroin overdose.
Since that time, Horr has made it her mission in life to bring the epidemic problem of heroin addiction to the forefront.
When Christopher first told her he had an addiction to heroin Horr had no idea how to help him but she tried in several different ways, including calling doctors, admitting her son for treatment and monitoring him as much as she could.
But when she couldn't do anything more for her son she felt compelled to make a difference. She has taken her campaign to the Internet, via a Facebook page, to the media and into the public schools, anywhere she can be heard.
The spike in heroin in Greene County has local law enforcement stymied. The drug is addictive 99 percent of the time with just a one-time usage.
8. Problems with the Carmichaels Municipal Authority first came to light April 8 when the authority, which serves about 1,800 customers in Carmichaels Borough and Cumberland Township, issued a boil water advisory.
The authority issued the advisory after a filter evaluation determined algae might be passing through the treatment plant's filters. State environmental officials were concerned giardia and other parasites could enter the authority's treated water.
After cleaning its plant and lines, the authority lifted the advisory on May 3. However, the cause of problem has remained a concern to some authority customers.
State officials believe the algae problem developed after the authority reduced pre-chlorine treatment to lower the level of trihalomethane in its treated water.
Trihalomethane, which is linked to cancer through prolonged exposure, is formed by a reaction between chlorine, used as a disinfectant in the water treatment process, and organic materials found in raw river water.
The reduction of the pre-chlorine treatment to lower trihalomethane levels is believed to have led to an increase in algae growth in the water.
9. A spirited judicial primary resulted in incumbent Farley Toothman defeating Linda Chambers and Kelly Stepp to win a full, 10-year term on the county bench. Toothman captured both the Republican and Democratic nominations in the spring to assure running unopposed in the fall.
But perhaps it was the race for clerk of courts that generated the most intrigue. Shirley Stockdale had announced her plans to retire after 26 years, opening the field for chief deputy sheriff Robin Ketchem and Stockdale's deputy, Sherry Wise. Ketchem defeated Wise head-to-head-in the Democratic primary by 574 votes, but Wise captured enough Republican write-in votes to have a rematch in the fall.
This time Wise prevailed by 112 votes.
Also, a crowded field in the Democratic primary for county commissioner did not keep incumbents Pam Snyder and Chuck Morris from winning the nominations, and incumbent commissioner Archie Trader and Richard Yeager were nominated in the GOP primary.
The three incumbents came out on top in the general election, keeping the present board of commissioners intact.
10. Several new developments were reported last year regarding the massive fish kill in September 2009 on Dunkard Creek.
In March, Consol Energy Inc. agreed to pay $500,000 to West Virginia for natural resources lost in the West Virginia portion of the creek during the kill.
The company also reached settlements with the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection for discharge violations.
It agreed to pay a $5.5 million civil penalty to settle hundreds of federal Clean Water Act violations at six of its mines in West Virginia during the last four years.
In September, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission also sued the company claiming discharges from Consol's mines in northern West Virginia contributed to the kill.
The complaint alleges high levels of chloride and total dissolved solids discharged from Consol's mines created conditions for the growth of golden algae. A bloom of golden algae is believed to have been the cause of the fish kill.
