‘The course of true love never did run smooth’
Donora appointed a borough police officer as acting police chief. At Thursday's meeting, council unanimously named Patrolman Mark Shemansky to the position for a 90-day trial. If he is deemed a good fit, council will vote to make it a permanent position, according to Michael Thornton, borough administrator. Former police Chief Neal Rands retired in December after 35 years with the Donora Police Department. Rands is now a member of council. Council also unanimously approved the reopened 2026 budget. The budget was reopened as a council with four new members wanted a chance to review and consider making changes to the spending plan, including creating a street commissioner position, ...
Efforts to protect children from developing lifelong food allergies will be reviewed at a Senate Majority Police Committee public hearing at 2 p.m. Feb. 17 at the Arc of Washington County, 111 W. Pike St., Canonsburg. Sen. Camera Bartolotta invited the committee, chaired by Sen. Dave Argall, to learn more about the impacts of allergies on families and the latest guidance to prevent them. Bartolotta has introduced legislation requiring health insurance plans to provide coverage for dietary supplements proven to prevent more than 80% of peanut and egg allergies. Panelists will include medical professionals and local patient advocates. The hearing will be streamed live on the ...
Federal, state, county and most municipal offices are closed Monday in observance of Presidents Day. Most banks and financial markets will also be closed, and there will be no mail delivery. The Observer-Reporter will not publish a print edition Monday.
As Canonsburg searches for a new borough manager, finance director Jennifer Foster will handle the position on an interim basis. Council accepted the resignation of Angela Senay, the previous borough manager, at Monday’s meeting, and also approved the motion to have Foster handle the task for now. “Council members will be discussing the next steps for the position soon,” said Eric Chandler, council president. Senay, who resigned Jan. 30, was appointed borough manager in September, replacing Billie Bilko, who died in July.
Columbia Gas’s Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is offering crisis grants to assist income-eligible households without heat or in danger of being without heat. Grants ranging from $25 to $1,000 are available for emergency situations such as a broken furnace that needs to be repaired or replaced, or a potential service termination. LIHEAP, a federally funded program administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, also provides cash grants ranging from $200 to $1,000 based on household size, income and fuel type to assist in paying winter heating bills. The income eligibility limit for the 2025-26 program is 150% of the federal income guidelines. This ...
The suspect in a Uniontown homicide was taken into custody Friday morning in Baltimore. Police had been searching for Braedon Dickinson, 18, of Connellsville since Feb. 5, when he allegedly fatally shot Lemaur Thompson. Fayette County District Attorney Mike Aubele declined to specify why ...
After elected officials spent much of the new year crafting a new budget, South Strabane Township will ultimately adopt the original 2026 spending plan approved in December. The township’s board of supervisors held a special meeting Wednesday evening for the purpose of adopting the revised spending plan, but at the outset solicitor Dennis Makel explained that it had not been properly available for public view. “The whole budget was not available, either online or here at the office. Based upon the second class township code ... It’s my position that the whole budget had to be available for review; it wasn’t. So I recommend no action be taken on that today,” Makel ...
By Dave Bates Contributing writer Recently, I’ve been hearing some back and forth about the deer harvest in Pennsylvania. Farmers calling for an increase in the number of deer taken per season because of crop damage are one end of the spectrum. Insurance companies, as well as timber ...
IMPERIAL – Vitt Emerich stood at the foul line by herself as a stunned silence fell upon the West Allegheny gymnasium. With the score tied, Emerich tried a desperation three as time was expiring in the fourth quarter and was fouled. The game was in her hands, Emerich did her best to ...
Peters Township’s late-season surge continues. Sophomore guard Taylor McCullough scored 17 points, including seven in the fourth quarter, as Peters Township’s girls basketball team won at Section 1 champion Plum 56-46 in a WPIAL Class 5A playoff game Friday night. It was the fifth ...
I am only 18 months away from turning 80, and truthfully, the way things are going, if seven more of my classmates pass away, I could end up being the valedictorian of my high school class. One thing I’ve consistently observed in life is the ongoing display of consistency that humankind ...
With record cold gripping much of North America this winter, many who find themselves with an abundance of fireplace ashes are wondering whether they can use them in the garden. Wood ashes from burned untreated wood can be beneficial for your plants — but with a few caveats. Ashes contain ...
