Continuation of COVID-19 pandemic leads top stories list of 2021
Dana Stainbrook, a retired nurse from Washington Health System, prepares COVID-19 vaccines during a March mass vaccination clinic at WHS’ Washington Crown Center Mall location.
Morgan Berardi, paramedic at EMS Southwest, waits as Washington Health System nurse Marsha Knapik prepares her Pfizer COVID-19 booster shot in October.
Dylan Sullivan, right, owner of Sullivan Brothers Coffee Company, with longtime employee Brittany Trotz, at a table in the coffee shop. Behind them on the wall are original paintings by local artist Holly Reagan. Sullivan is among the business owners who have struggled to find employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Harry Funk/The Almanac
Individuals who oppose universal masking gather outside Peters Township High School prior to an August special school board meeting.
The master bedroom in Stephen Vanzin’s Mount Pleasant Township home was destroyed after a tornado ripped the roof off his home.
A tornado carried the roof of Stephen Vanzin’s home in Mt. Pleasant Township away from the house.
Jon Andreassi/Observer-Reporter
Insulation from Stephen Vanzin’s home in Mt. Pleasant Township was spread across a wide area.
Jon Andreassi/Observer-Reporter
Two sheds by Stephen Vanzin’s pool in Mt. Pleasant Township were destroyed by Thursday’s tornado.
A large tree snapped at the intersection of Sienna and Springdale roads in Venetia during October's weather event, which caused damage to several homes in Peters Township. This was one of many big trees felled by weather related to a tornado that touched down in the area, according to the National Weather Service.
Jon Andreassi/Observer-Reporter
Debris was strewn about at Cecchetti Farm at 292 Willow Road in Hopewell Township.
Jon Andreassi/Observer-Reporter
Bees crawl over a hive at Swope’s Berries & Bees farm in Hopewell Township after a tornado leveled the business in October.
This group of California University of Pennsylvania students discussed their school's merger with Clarion and Edinboro universities over an October breakfast at the Natali Student Center. They are, from left, Luca Sciulli, Miranda Yauger, Alivia Yauger and John Barnes.
Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter
Washington County voters overwhelmingly chose “no” on the ballot question regarding a county government study commission in November’s election.
Friends and colleagues gathered at Washington County Courthouse to honor former Washington County District Attorney Gene Vittone. The crowd, led by Pittsburgh police, marched from the courthouse to Immaculate Conception Church for the burial before interment at Monongahela Cemetery.
Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter
Washington County Clerk of Courts Brenda Davis speaks during a Washington County commissioners meeting in June.
Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter
Washington County Register of Wills James Roman is shown speaking during a commissioners meeting in June 2021.
The American flag, secured between a North Strabane Township and Washington fire truck, flies above South Main Street in honor of former Washington County District Attorney Gene Vittone ahead of a processional from Washington County Courthouse to Immaculate Conception Church.
Washington County Commissioner Nick Sherman takes a slice of the ceremonial ribbon used to open the Southern Beltway.
Mike Jones/Observer-Reporter/
The 13-mile Southern Beltway toll road will open to traffic on Oct. 15. A five-mile section of the highway will be open to pedestrians and bicyclists during a special community day Oct. 9, including this section near the McDonald/Midway interchange.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission hosted a Community Day event that provided people the opportunity to walk or bike a five-mile portion of the Southern Beltway.
Courtesy of Alan Collins Jr.
Alan Collins Jr., center, lost his father, Alan Collins Sr., left, and his son, Alan Brown Sr. within 36 hours of each other. Both died from COVID-19.
1. COVID-19 pandemic wears on
The COVID-19 pandemic has been going on for almost two years now, and in 2021, one of the most challenging periods in recent history continued to impact Washington County – and the state, the country, and the world.
Local hospitals, pharmacies, physician offices, and clinics administered vaccinations, and provided other therapeutic tools like monoclonal antibodies to help fight coronavirus, and – unlike in 2020 – there were instances of life achieving something resembling normalcy.
Following a drop in COVID-19 cases in the spring, the highly contagious delta variant sparked surges starting in August, and contributed to skyrocketing coronavirus infections in the fall and early winter, when cases in the county reached last year’s peak of daily average cases.
Loved ones and friends have mourned the deaths of 497 people in Washington County as of Dec. 22, and the Pennsylvania Department of Health had reported 33,375 COVID-19 cases in the county.
In Greene County, 77 deaths have been reported, and 6,169 cases were recorded through Dec. 20.
Earlier in the year, cases trended downward, but as 2021 comes to a close, local hospitals have grappled with a surge of infected patients filling up hospitals due to the delta variant, and due to a shortage of hospital staff.
“We’ve seen almost two years of stress and strain on the system and staffing,” said Dr. John Six, Chief Medical Officer of Washington Health System.
Doctors continue to urge residents to get vaccinated and follow other safety protocols.
“Continue to do all of the things we’ve been doing for the last 20 months or so – get vaccinated, wear masks, and social distance,” said Dr. John Six, chief medical officer of Washington Health System.
Since the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine were made available in December 2020, approximately 58% of Washington County residents have gotten fully vaccinated.
The start of the 2021-22 school year saw local school districts – which submitted COVID-19 safety plans to the state Department of Education – continue with in-person classes, with many offering remote learning options.
Parents became hotly divided over a face mask mandate imposed by Gov. Tom Wolf before school began in August, tussling over whether or not their children should be required to wear them. The mandate was overturned in early December, and a majority of county school districts made mask-wearing optional.
2. Washington County row office issues
Controversy enveloped the Washington County Courthouse in 2021 as row offices feuded with the president judge and county commissioners.
The relationships between many in county government began to sour after an annual county audit of Register of Wills James Roman’s office found various clerical problems in 2020 following sweeping staffing changes. President Judge John DiSalle threatened to hold Roman in contempt at one point after several adoption and guardianship filings were not up to date from his Orphans Court office. Roman also was charged with possessing a handgun while inside the courthouse, but he was acquitted of the summary offense because the district magistrate ruled that he did not “knowingly” bring the weapon into the courthouse when sheriff’s deputies saw it inside his bag on the X-ray scanner after he went through security.
But the biggest battles have been between DiSalle and Clerk of Courts Brenda Davis, who waived many of her duties that forced filings to be stored in other departments of the courthouse. The commissioners through the county’s salary board transferred six employees out of the clerk’s office into other parts of the courthouse as duties shifted to various departments. DiSalle threatened to hold Davis in contempt if she did not cooperate with the transfer of duties from her collections department to Adult Probation.
But it all came to a head Nov. 24 when she refused DiSalle’s court order requiring the transfer of juvenile case files from her office to Juvenile Probation after she waived those duties, but then asked for them to be restored. Sheriff’s deputies briefly handcuffed her when they say she blocked them from executing the court order, while she claims they assaulted her. She was permitted to leave the courthouse that day to receive medical care after complaining of a back injury.
Davis is still facing a contempt hearing, although the state’s Commonwealth Court has temporarily halted it while reviewing her appeal of DiSalle’s orders. A date has not been set for when the court will make a determination on her appeal.
3. Fall tornadoes wreak havoc across Washington County
When a pair of tornados touched down in Washington County in October, they left a trail of property destruction in their wake.
The more devastating of the two ripped through Hopewell and Mount Pleasant townships the evening of Oct. 21. The EF-2 tornado destroyed the home of Mount Pleasant Township Fire Chief Adam Lohr on Willow Avenue, as well as the barn and bee farm at the neighboring Swope’s Berries & Bees.
The tornado caused extensive damage at Lowry Farm on Dairy Road in Mount Pleasant Township before it destroyed the home of the Vanzin family at Vanzin Lane.
No injuries were reported, but Stephen Vanzin recalled the following day that he went to his garage to start up a generator and barely made it out before it was destroyed by the tornado.
“My son saved his life,” said Doris Vanzin, Stephen’s wife. “Yelling at him, ‘Get out! Let’s go, now!'”
The tornado reached wind speeds of 130 mph, and traveled 15 miles from the West Virginia border to just north of Houston.
An EF-1 tornado also went through Peters Township that night. It ripped the shingles and siding off homes in the area of Springdale Road and Sunrise Lane. There were also reports of trees landing on homes in North Strabane Township.
4. Cal U. merger completed
A consolidation of California University of Pennsylvania with Edinboro and Clarion universities was approved as a means of keeping the three campuses open.
The merger takes effect in the 2022-23 school year.
Since the colleges faced rising costs and declining enrollments, the state System of Higher Education’s board of governors voted unanimously to approve the plan that integrates the three schools, as well as the merger of Bloomsburg, Lock Haven and Mansfield universities.
The state system was under a directive from the Legislature to redesign the 14 state-owned universities. California University would have to eliminate programs without the integration.
In September, a new name for the colleges was approved. Effective July 1, 2022, California University of Pennsylvania will be known as Pennsylvania Western University-California.
Students at Cal U. seemed to have mixed emotions about the name change and the merger.
“I think it was kind of silly because Edinboro and Clarion are very close geographically,” said junior John Barnes of McMurray. “We’re about two hours away from them. Why are we lumped with those schools? It doesn’t really make sense.”
Students at California, Clarion and Edinboro selected the woodmark design for the new integrated university, Pennsylvania Western University, its three sister campuses – PennWest California, PennWest Clarion and PennWest Edinboro – and the PennWest Global Online division.
The new name and accreditation for the combined campuses still has to be approved by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
5. Government Study Commission rejected
Voters in Washington County overwhelmingly rejected a ballot referendum in the November election that would have created a commission to study the county’s form of government.
The initiative was spearheaded by commissioners Diana Irey Vaughan and Larry Maggi, who voted in late July to approve an ordinance to allow voters to decide whether potential changes should be researched and discussed. But fellow Commissioner Nick Sherman voted against the ordinance placing the question on the ballot, which was an omen of things to come as the Washington County Republican Party campaigned against it in the fall.
If created, 11 people from the community would have sat on the panel for months and held hearings before deciding whether to present potential options to the public for review. Any proposal would then have had to be approved by voters at a future election, or the panel could have suggested no changes at all.
In the end, the question failed by a 70-to-30 margin with Republicans, Democrats and independents alike voting down the initiative. It’s unlikely the issue will be revisited any time again in the near future.
6. Washington County District Attorney dies
After nearly a decade as Washington County’s district attorney, Gene Vittone died Aug. 21 at the age of 61.
Vittone had been battling lung cancer. He insisted on continuing his duties even after his diagnosis last year.
Vittone lived a life of service. He worked as a paramedic through law school, and would later help run Washington Ambulance and Chair Service.
He came into office after winning the 2011 race against Democratic candidate Dave DiCarlo by fewer than 100 votes. Vittone died in the middle of his third term.
Through his tenure as district attorney, Vittone faced the opioid crisis head on by helping form the Opioid Overdose Coalition and made it a priority to prosecute dealers who sold deadly drugs.
Vittone had a longstanding friendship with President Judge John DiSalle, going back to when they were in the fourth grade.
“He’s a dedicated public servant, he always has been. Dedicated to helping people,” DiSalle said following his death.
7. Southern Beltway completed
“This day has been decades in the making.”
That’s what state Department of Transportation Secretary Yassmin Gramian said in October when the long-in-the-works Southern Beltway finally opened.
How long has it been in the works? The Southern Beltway was being talked about back when Gerald Ford was still a contemporary political figure, polyester was the height of fashion and the Bee Gees were regulars in the Top 10. But the $900 million toll road finally opened after seven years of construction. The groundwork was laid in the years before, including the purchase of properties in Washington County to make way for the highway.
The 13-mile section of the Southern Beltway between U.S. Route 22 and Interstate 79 now takes drivers more directly to and from Pittsburgh International Airport from Southpointe and from areas south of downtown Pittsburgh. Officials also believe it will serve as a catalyst for business development in northern Washington County, and ease congestion on Interstate 79, the Parkway West and State Route 50.
According to state Rep. Jason Ortitay, the Cecil Republican in whose district the Southern Beltway is located, “This was a very tough project. We always knew that. I think it shows we can get serious things done here.”
8. Greene County Judge resigns
Farley Toothman left the bench as president judge in Greene County on Jan. 3, although his fate has effectively been sealed for months after he was accused of judicial misconduct.
The state Judicial Conduct Board filed the complaint in May 2020 accusing him of misconduct in five situations, prompting Toothman to take a leave of absence a few months later before eventually announcing his resignation.
Earlier this year, evidence and testimony were presented about his conduct, and the nine-member state Court of Judicial Discipline ruled in July that he violated judicial conduct rules in 10 of the 21 counts.
Since then, he has been waiting to hear what punishment he’ll face. A sanctions hearing was held before the panel Dec. 10, although it was not known when he would learn his fate.
Waynesburg attorney Jeff Grimes won election to replace Toothman and will take his seat on the bench in January.
9. Area residents involved in insurrection
Of the more than 700 people who have been charged with participating in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, several of them came from Western Pennsylvania.
Dale “DJ” Shalvey, formerly of Bentleyville, and his wife, Tara Stottlmeyer, formerly of Charleroi, are charged with entering the Senate floor, while Shalvey is also accused of taking documents and letters from desks.
Philip “Flip” Vogel, and his fiancée, Debra Maimone, both formerly of Washington County, are accused of kicking in a door to an office inside the Capitol and stealing gas masks typically reserved for lawmakers.
Jorden Mink of South Fayette was accused of using a baseball bat to bash in a window at the Capitol and pulling chairs out to help protesters enter the building.
Peter Schwartz, a convicted felon from Kentucky living in Uniontown, was allegedly seen on video showering pepper spray on a D.C. Metro police officer as rioters overwhelmed police.
Kenneth Grayson of Bridgeville was accused of live-streaming himself inside the Capitol after leading a group to the rally and also boasted of beating people with a flagpole at a previous protest.
All are awaiting trial on various charges.
10. Local restaurateur loses father, son to COVID-19
Shortly after his father, Alan George Collins Sr., passed away, Alan Collins Jr. received a call that his son was being rushed to the emergency room with complications from coronavirus.
Collins Sr., 72, and Alan David Brown Sr., 35, died within 36 hours of one another. Both deaths were caused by COVID-19.
“I didn’t even get a chance to grieve for my father, and then my son dies, and now I’m making two funeral arrangements,” Collins Jr. told the Observer-Reporter in October.
Collins Jr.’s loss brings home the tragedy of the global pandemic. The owner of Al’ an Ruben’s restaurant in Washington took every precaution: He closed Al’ an Ruben’s before the government-mandated shutdown, he reopened with a mask requirement, he got his vaccine.
So did his father. Brown Sr. was not vaccinated, but Collins Jr. said his son was considering the vaccine.
The deaths of his father and his son, both respected members of their Pittsburgh communities, highlights how little is known about the virus. Collins Jr.’s loss is a tragic reminder to remain diligent in social distancing and mask-wearing, a sobering plea to get vaccinated – and a gentle nudge to tell those you love just how much.
Editor’s Note: The No. 2 item about the county row offices inadvertently omitted the word “not” regarding charges against James Roman for bringing a handgun into the Washington County Courthouse. Roman was acquitted of a summary offense because he did not “knowingly” bring a handgun through security. This story has been updated.