Authorities in Mercer County are investigating a Sunday shooting. An 18-year-old male from Girard Ohio, was wounded in the Hermitage incident and drove himself to a Sheetz store in search of help. He was last reported to be hospitalized in stable condition. No suspects have been identified.
Sentencing has been scheduled for a former Lawrence County educator who had an inappropriate relationship with a student. Olivia Ortiz was a teacher at Wilmington Area High School when her husband reported the relationship to the school principal last year. Ortiz later pleaded guilty to charges including sexual contact with a student and unlawful contact with a minor. Sentencing has been scheduled for July 6th.
A Butler Memorial Hospital nurse is accused of stealing pain medication that was intended to be administered to her patients. The state attorney general’s office filed charges against Deborah Shook yesterday. A criminal complaint accuses Shook of filing false reports by claiming she provided drugs to patients that were later found at her work station. It also shows that a drug test required by Butler Health found fentanyl and an opiate painkiller called hydromorphone in her system.
State police are trying to find those who are responsible for leaving a dead dog along a Beaver County roadway. Officials say the animal was found inside a black garbage bag in the eight-hundred block of Cannelton Road in Darlington Township. Investigators describe the dog as mostly white in color, adding that it appears to have been dead for some time. Anyone who has information related to the incident is asked to call PSP.
According to this week’s Triple-A East Central Gas Price Report the average price of gas in Western Pennsylvania is down two cents this week to 3.77 a gallon. Motorists in New Castle are paying 3.64 while the average price in Sharon is 3.72. The price for oil has dropped nearly $20 per barrel recently to the upper $60s, which has resulted in gas prices trending lower. The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline has fallen eight cents since last week to hit $3.53. Today’s national average is six cents less than a month ago and 78 cents lower than a year ago.
Attorneys for the family of a man who died following an encounter last year with an off-duty police officer say they’ve reached terms of a settlement. Kenneth Vinyard was attempting to render aid to a shooting victim in a Monaca Walmart parking lot last year when the lawyer for his estate says he was pushed out of the way by Center Township officer John Hawk. Vinyard hit his head and later died. His estate had been suing Center Township and the officer but yesterday announced a settlement of 950-thousand dollars.
The results of a new United Way report show that there are over a million Pennsylvania families who face poverty conditions but don’t meet federal poverty levels. They’re called ALICE households, which means they’re “Asset Limited, Income Constrained and Employed,” and can’t afford basic needs like housing, childcare and food. The United Way says they’ll use the data to help educate legislators and community leaders about the financial hardships the working poor experience and ways they can be helped.
A former teacher has let state lawmakers know about what he calls the dire circumstances of some former state educators. Retired art teacher Thomas Curry says the average monthly pension benefit of 847-dollars hasn’t changed since 2002. Lawmakers from a joint session of the House and Senate Democratic policy committees have met to talk about possible increases in the state education budget. Advocates say the committees need to approve at least a cost-of-living increase for public retirees and tie future adjustments to the consumer price index.