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lawrence county

June 14, 2017

Bernstine, Solomon Bill Would Prepare PA Students to Enter Workforce

HARRISBURG – In a bipartisan effort to prepare Pennsylvania’s youth for the 21st century workforce, state Reps. Aaron Bernstine (R-Beaver/Butler/Lawrence) and Jared Solomon (D-Philadelphia) introduced legislation which would allow high school students to obtain real-world work experience while still in school. House Bill 1522 would establish a pilot grant program which would encourage schools and local businesses to collaborate to provide work-based learning opportunities for high school students. “As we work to prepare students for the 21st century workforce, this legislation would allow job creators to help transform our education system. When I came to Harrisburg, I wanted to develop…

June 13, 2017

Missing Woman’s Body Found in Neshannock Township

According to several sources, a body found in Neshannock Township has been identified as a missing Butler County woman. After being reported missing since Thursday of last week, the body of 26-year-old Melissa “Missy” Barto was found along Old Pulaski Road by a farmer, around 7 p.m. Monday night. The body of the young mother had been burnt, and state police officer Lt. Eric Hermick described the scene as “horrific.” Prior to discovering the body, state police arrested Barto’s 21-year-old boyfriend, Ishemer D. Ramsey, on Sunday with charges of committing homicide after pulling him over in Connoquenessing Township. When police pulled…

June 9, 2017

The New Castle Playhouse Presents Fool for Love

The New Castle Playhouse presents Sam Shepard’s adult play, Fool for Love. Opening night is tonight at 7:30 and complimentary wine and cheese will be served to opening night ticket holders. More information on the official flyer below:

June 8, 2017

New Castle Man Accused of Housing Missing 13-Year-Old

According to the criminal complaint, Travis Wade Betker of New Castle will be facing a felony charge of interfering with custody of children, and misdemeanor charges of corruption of minors, obstructing administration of law or other governmental function, and disorderly conduct, following an incident that happened on May 1, 2017. Betker allowed a 13 year-old female to stay at his residence after he had knowledge that she was reported to the police as a missing person. On April 30 around 7:45a.m., officers took a report of a missing/runaway teen who had left the residence during the night. The reporting parent…

June 7, 2017

Youth Development Center in Shenango Sold to Islamic Consulting Firm

After laying abandoned for several years, the 145-acre state-owned property housing the former Youth Development Center in Shenango Township has been sold to a Newark, New Jersey based Islamic consulting firm called HIRA. Out of three total bids on the property, HIRA was the highest and now the public is curious to know what the potential business plans on doing with the space. HIRA’s official website – which contains many grammatical errors throughout – does not provide much information about the firm other than their main goal is to “offer services to the Islamic Schools who are not getting the…

June 6, 2017

Real Estate Transactions for May 2017

Ellport Borough 401 Mahoney Ave; Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to Andrew and Jordan Snedeker for $46,403.06. 227 Grim Ave; Cynthia and Jerry Coxson to Lynn and Erwin Campbell for $35,000.   Ellwood City 3 Fountain Ave; Heraeus Electro Nite Co LLC to WEA VI Limited Partnership for $2,476,000. 78 Pittsburgh Circle; Patricia Kuhn and Agnes Ficher EST to Margaret Myers and Robert A Van De Geijn for $64,000. 636 Orchard Ave; Allison and Lois Justice to Jesse Boots for $57,000. 610 7th St; Jean Clyde to Cody Zakovich for $43,900. 1203 Center Ave; Matthew and Alexis Lamenza to…

June 6, 2017

Vogel Applauds Bipartisan Passage of Historic Pension Reform

Today (June 5) the Senate approved legislation reforming Pennsylvania’s two largest public pension systems, the Public School Employees’ Retirement System (PSERS)  and the State Employees’ Retirement System (SERS). Senator Elder Vogel Jr. (R-47) praised the bipartisan passage of this historic reform which both limits future taxpayer liabilities while also still providing a competitive retirement benefit for school and state employees. “For years, school boards and fiscal watchdogs throughout Pennsylvania have been sounding the alarm about the unchecked growth of the state pension systems. In fact, the exponential growth of pension obligations is the #1 reason cited by school boards for…

May 24, 2017

Lawrence County Commissioners to Vote on Allocation Among 9 Local Municipalities

With nearly $600,000 in funding requests but with only slightly above $100,000 in available funds for 2017, the Lawrence County Commissioners will be voting on where $84,500 will be allocated among nine municipalities in Lawrence County. Due to the counties responsibility to maintain only 27 bridges and no roads, the county commonly has an excess of revenue funded by Pennsylvania’s gasoline tax. They often use the excess for distribution among the local municipalities for liquid fuel-eligible projects. Although commissioners agreed to give money to each community that made a request, none of the municipalities received the full amount requested. Ellwood…

May 24, 2017

Windy Ridge Dairy to Host 6th Annual Milk Fest

Windy Ridge Dairy Farm is hosting their 6th annual Milk Fest on June 3. The public is invited to have some fun on the farm – hay rides, farm tours, kids games, milk chugging, good food and ice cream will all be part of the festivities.   The schedule of events is as following: 10a.m. hayrides & farm tours begin 11a.m. kids games begin and run until 4p.m. 11:30a.m. 12 and under quart chug must be signed up by 11a.m. and only first 15 get to chug 12:30p.m. free giant ice cream sundae 1p.m. half gallon chug must be signed…

May 23, 2017

New Castle Playhouse Auditions for The Cemetery Club

The New Castle Playhouse is holding auditions for several roles in the dramatic comedy, The Cemetery Club. Audition dates are approaching rapidly with the first date on June 4 and the second on June 7. Show dates will be in August. Official flyer with additional information provided: