Teen, mother held for court in PennWest student’s death
A former information technology contractor with the Peters Township School District has been sentenced to four to eight years in prison for possessing child sexual abuse material. Jason Wayne Ayres, 48, of Chartiers Township, was sentenced Monday by Washington County Judge Traci McDonald followed by Ayres pleading guilty to two felony counts of sexual abuse of children. Ayres was arrested in July 2025 after investigators found that material depicting the sexual abuse of children had been downloaded at Ayres’ home in the 800 block of McClane Farm Road. Ayres admitted to agents that he had downloaded and viewed the material. The conduct for which Ayres was charged did not involve ...
A 75-year-old woman died in a house fire over the weekend in Monongahela. The fire at the home at 502 Warne Ave. Extension was reported to Washington County 911 by a passerby at 10:49 p.m. Saturday. Initially, the home was believed to be vacant, according to a news release issued by the Washington County coroner's office. The state police fire marshal discovered the remains of Linda Pankiewicz while investigating the cause Sunday morning, the coroner said. Two firefighters suffered minor injuries while fighting the fire at the house located off the Cemetery Hill section of Route 88. Both were treated at local hospitals and released. Firefighters remained at the scene for almost five ...
Fans of craft beer, wine, spirits and more flocked to the 10th annual Corks and Kegs festival by the Observer-Reporter at the Hollywood Casino at The Meadows Aug. 28-30. Local vendors, plenty of food trucks, live music, a vintage car show, great weather and more were on deck at the event, ...
Throughout the streets of Carmichaels, people staked out their spots in advance with lawn chairs, prepped food for cookouts on their lawns and brought bags or homemade contraptions to catch candy. Their patience was rewarded throughout the two-hour King Coal Show parade Saturday, which ...
The blue has been ominously spreading west on the map, like an enemy army advancing. The map is the one that the Pennsylvania Department of Health maintains to track the statewide measles outbreak. Each county where there is a reported case is shaded in blue, with counties that have an ...
STATE COLLEGE — Penn State is starting fresh with new coach Matt Campbell who's spent the last few months reassembling a program that crumbled last season. After entering 2025 as College Football Playoff hopefuls, the Nittany Lions went flat to start Big Ten play. Longtime coach James ...
Anthony Brocato and Andrew Czech are called the Bash Brothers by diehard Wild Things fans. Opposing pitchers simply call them terrifying. Brocato and Czech, who have spent the last four months hitting balls over walls, were at it again Tuesday night at EQT Park and this time they had some ...
The last play of the 2025 regular season determined the winner of the AFC North. Then Baltimore and Pittsburgh — the two teams playing in that game — soon entered new eras. Gone are coaches John Harbaugh and Mike Tomlin. The former spent 18 seasons with the Ravens, the latter 19 at the ...
A tariff is a tax imposed on imported goods, and it sits at the center of how nations manage trade, protect industries, and shape economic strategy. At its core, a tariff raises the price of foreign products entering a country. This makes imported goods less competitive compared to domestic ...
It's hard to describe inspiration, but you know it when you see it or feel it. For Grace Reid-Vensel, the inspiration for a way to help her community came from enduring the COVID-19 pandemic. "I was a 16-year-old junior in high school in the wake of the pandemic," Grace remembers. "My ...
