O-R Weekend Recap: 5 things you need to know for Monday
Did you have a good weekend? In case you might have missed some of the bigger news stories in the Southwestern Pennsylvania area, we compiled five of the most read stories from the Observer-Reporter’s website for you to get caught up on what’s going on in the area.
The stepbrother of Scott Taneyhill, a Canton Township man who was murdered Monday,./ was later found dead at his home of an apparent suicide. Police said there was evidence linking the man to the homicide.
Chartiers Township police found the body of Randall M. Phillips near a shed outside his residence at 550 Pike St. in Meadow Lands later Monday. Police said Phillips’ face was painted and he was next to a military-style rifle. Police also said handwritten notes were found in the home.
State police were not available for comment Friday and released no further information on Taneyhill’s killing. Officials have not yet ruled the case a murder-suicide.
For more details, click here to read Scott Beveridge’s story.
A former cafeteria worker is criticizing Canon-McMillan School District’s lunch debt policy as punishing and embarrassing for students. Stacy Yannazzo Koltiska went to Facebook to lambast the district for its policy to give students in kindergarten through sixth grade sandwich lunches instead of a hot lunch if their food accounts are overcharged by more than $25.
The post went viral and was shared at least 1,700 times Friday. In the post, she explained that she quit her job at Wylandville Elementary School Thursday because she had to “take a first grade boy’s chicken and give him a cheese sandwich.”
For more information, click here to read David Singer’s story.
The public was barred from attending a policy committee meeting held Thursday afternoon by Central Greene School District. A reporter who attempted to attend the meeting at the district’s administrative offices in Waynesburg was told the meeting was closed because “it wasn’t advertised.”
According to Melissa Melewsky, media law counsel for Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association in Harrisburg, meetings such as these should be open to the public as provided for in the state’s Sunshine Act.
For more details about the meeting, click here to read Katie Anderson’s report.
David Singer interviewed several people who are a part of the “sandwich generation” caregivers, meaning adults who are caring for both their own children and their elderly parents. About four in 10 adults in the United States care for a child or adult that has significant health issues and the number of caregivers increased by 10 percent from 2010 to 2013, and they average between 30 and 64 years old.
Click here to read the whole story and learn more.
The trial of a state trooper charged with simple assault in an Oct. 25 domestic violence incident at his North Strabane Township home ended in a hung jury.
A Washington County jury of five men and seven women deciding the case voted Thursday afternoon before Judge Gary Gilman. Nine jurors cast not-guilty votes on a single charge of simple assault, while three wanted to convict Christopher Campbell, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, who was sworn in as a state trooper in 2008.
For the full details on the case, click here to read Gideon Bradshaw’s story.
Now, you’re all caught up on the biggest news stories from the weekend. We’ll be back on Friday to catch you up on everything that happens throughout the week!