The news that impacted our communities in 2019 | New Today – Uniontown Herald Standard

The past year has been one of tragedy and triumph in Fayette, Greene, Washington and Westmoreland counties. As we prepare to turn the page on 2019, and begin a new year, here are the top stories that have impacted our communities:

Prison project moves forward

Strides have been made to get a new Fayette County Prison ready for construction at the site of the former Army Reserve Center on Route 21.

Commissioners selected R.L. Kimball of Ebensburg as the architectural firm for the project in July, noting they offered a cost-effective proposal that involves refurbishing two buildings in front of the former reserve center. That move will save the county $2 million, commissioners said.

According to the general budgets summary of debt services, a tentative $40 million USDA loan for the new prison comes with a 3% interest rate to be paid off in 35 years.

The project, along with the state-mandated purchase of new voting machines, prompted commissioners to raise taxes by 1.25 mills in 2020.

Commissioner Vincent Vicites said earlier this month that the prison project is something that must be done, citing federal lawsuits alleging poor conditions at the 131-year-old prison.

The current prison has been the subject of different lawsuits including one from attorneys at the American Civil Liberties Union. The suits were filed on behalf of former inmates who claimed they were forced to live in inhumane conditions.

Vicites noted specific concerns that the suits could result in a judge forcing the county to construct a new prison, and potentially dictating the specifics of a new facility.

Its estimated that the prison will take nine to 12 months to design and 18 to 24 months to build.

Hospital partnership ends

2019 brought the end of the partnership between Uniontown Hospital and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and the closure of the hospitals birthing center.

Fayette Physician Network, the joint operation between Uniontown Hospital and UPMC, had provided physician services that included multiple primary care offices, surgical services, woman services, cardiology, emergency care, neurology, pediatrics, anesthesia and intensivist services.

Uniontown Hospital announced in January that it was exploring a relationship with West Virginia University Medicine that both sides said would strengthen combined health care services, but hospital CEO Steve Handy said the relationship would not be a full joint venture as the hospital had had with UPMC. That left the hospital on the hook for physician staffing, a costly endeavor that prompted it to consolidate primary and specialty care, and closure of the birthing center and inpatient pediatric department.

On July 1, Fayette Physician Network ceased to exist. Replacing the Family Beginnings Birthing Center, which had delivered around 800 babies yearly, was a regional care model in which Uniontown Hospital refers area patients needing obstetrical care to regional facilities.

WVU Medicine took over staffing the hospitals inpatient emergency department and hospitalist physician services.

The hospital consolidated specialty care offices, opening a new care clinic on the third floor of the Annex building on the hospitals campus that includes surgical and cardiology services.

Uniontown Hospital closed primary care offices in Redstone Township, Masontown and Smithfield. Remaining open are primary care offices in South Union Township and Connellsville.

Recreational marijuana discussed

Discussions about legalizing adult use of recreational marijuana across Pennsylvania was a story throughout the year.

In March, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman brought his statewide listening tour to Fayette County at Penn State Fayettes Swimmer Hall. The majority of the crowd seemed to favor legalization, with only a few undecided.

Greene and Westmoreland county residents were split on whether to legalize pot for adults, while Washington County residents spoke in support of doing so.

Fetterman visited all of the states counties to solicit input. He crafted a report from the visits that revealed most Pennsylvanians support changes to marijuana laws, and Gov. Tom Wolf urged legislators to seriously debate and consider legalization of adult-use recreational marijuana.

The report also called for the decriminalizing of non-violent and small cannabis-related offenses, and putting a law into place that would expunge convictions of such crimes.

In October, Wolf announced he would speed up the pardon process for those convicted of possessing small amounts of marijuana.

With Fetterman by his side, Wolf said he is committed to giving people second chances after they have been convicted of misdemeanor marijuana possession and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Its the right time to do this, Wolf said.

Water concerns

In May, members of the Belle Vernon Municipal Authority notified a Rostraver Township landfill it would no longer accept fracking waste for discharge into the Monongahela River, claiming it was laden with harmful chemicals that could hurt residents.

According to an analysis conducted around that time by Environmental Service Laboratories, Inc., samples of the landfill leachate revealed the authority had been receiving leachate that included high levels of ammonia and volatile organic compounds such as magnesium, barium and phenols chemicals commonly found in shale gas drilling and fracking waste.

The authoritys concerns prompted legal action from Fayette County District Attorney Rich Bower and Washington County District Attorney Eugene Vittone.

The men said in May water quality for those who live in their respective counties as well as Westmoreland Allegheny counties were at risk and secured a temporary injunction to halt wastewater leachate.

In August, the Belle Vernon Municipal Authority and Westmoreland Sanitary Landfill entered into a 12-month consent order.

The order bars the landfill from discharging any effluent containing contaminated chemicals into the Monongahela River, with the landfill also barred from sending or passing through wastewater, contaminants, leachate and any other substances to the authority.

A spokeswoman for the landfill maintained that they had zero citations or violations for our leachate quality from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

Sex abuse bills signed into law

In November, Gov. Tom Wolf signed three bills to strengthen protections for victims of sexual assault.

The measures were all crafted in response to the grand jury report released last year by the office of Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro that detailed widespread sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests within the commonwealth over several decades.

The first bill abolished the states criminal statute of limitations on childhood sexual abuse, and extended the time victims to have to bring suit against abusers. The bill also extends civil and criminal statutes for abuse victims ages 18 to 24. A second bill increased penalties for mandated reporters who fail to report child abuse.

The final bill exempts conversations with law enforcement from non-disclosure agreements.

A fourth bill would amend the state constitution and create a two-year window for victims of sexual abuse to file suit on claims that are already beyond the statute of limitations.

That bill must pass two consecutive legislative sessions before it goes onto the ballot for voters to weigh in on the amendment.

Last week, the Associated Press reported that Pennsylvanias Roman Catholic dioceses have paid nearly $84 million to 564 victims of sexual abuse.

Ex funeral director pleads guilty

In October, a former Fayette County funeral director pleaded guilty to over 100 charges related to the theft of nearly $600,000 from clients who pre-paid for funerals.

Stephen E. Kezmarsky III, 52, sat only feet away from seven of the nearly 20 victims who arrived in a Fayette County courtroom for his plea to the theft-related charges.

Over the course of several years, police said, Kezmarsky stole from clients who paid in advance for funerals at the former Kezmarsky Funeral Home in Uniontown.

Earlier this year, Kezmarsky was also found to have the unidentified cremated remains of 21 people in a storage locker, and faced dozens more charges. While many of those counts were dismissed, several of the charges, including theft, tampering with records and obstructing the administration of law were waived to common pleas court.

Kezmarskys general guilty plea was one of the final steps in resolving the charges, which were filed after a joint investigation by local and state authorities.

A judge will decide Kezmarskys sentence on Jan. 13. His defense attorney has said he intended to address those from whom he stole money. Victims in the cases will also have a chance to offer impact statements, either through testimony or through having statements read to the judge.

Homicide rate drops

After increasing sharply since 2016, homicide rates dropped to 0 in 2019.

In 2018, 14 deaths were ruled homicides by the Fayette County coroner. Homicides occurred at an average of about three per year between 2009 and 2015, then increased to nine in 2016. Eleven homicides were reported in 2017, according to data from the coroners office.

The 2018 rate included two cases in which caregivers were charged with neglecting a care dependent person. In both of those cases, the homicide charge was withdrawn.

Coroners classify cause and manner of death as natural, accidental, suicide, undetermined, pending or homicide. A homicide classification does not necessarily constitute a crime.

None of the years homicide rates include deaths resulting from vehicle crashes.

The 2018 data included a mass shooting that left four people dead, plus the shooter. Timothy OBrien Smith was spurred by jealousy when he gunned down his ex-girlfriend and three others at Eds Car Wash in Melcroft, investigators said. The 28-year-old turned the gun on himself and died in a Pittsburgh hospital. Chelsie Lou Cline, 25, her brother Seth William Cline, 21, Cortney Sue Snyder, 23, and William Scott Porterfield, 27, died on the scene.

About half of the homicide deaths in 2018 stemmed from domestic violence, including the Melcroft car wash mass shooting. In two open criminal homicide cases, women allegedly carried out the lethal abuse.

Eight children die in tragic accidents

2019 was a year of extreme tragedy for six families who lost a child. Eight Fayette County children were killed in accidental deaths last year, including a fire, three car accidents and two drownings.

On Jan. 8, RyLeigh Weasenforth, 7, and her 5-year-old brother, Gunner Weasenforth were sleeping in their bedroom when their South Union Township home caught fire, trapping them in their bedroom. Their family members and firefighters attempted to save them, but could not get to them through a wall of flames to reach them.

Three children drowned in two separate drownings within five weeks. On July 17, brothers Hunter and Hayden Smith fell into an above-ground pool on Whiteman Avenue. Hunter had recently turned 3, and Hayden would have turned 2 in October. On Aug. 22, 2-year-old Paisley Mae Guziak fell into a pool at a house along Coolspring Street in Hopwood.

Three other children died in car accidents. On March 3, 17-year-old West Leisenring Volunteer Firefighter Shawn Coleman died in a two-vehicle collision on Route 40 near the Brownsville Drive-In. On April 25, 11-year-old Hayden M. Field, a sixth grade student at Connellsville Area Middle School, died in a car accident on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Mount Pleasant Township, Westmoreland County. He was with his dad, Harvey Denny Field, for Take Your Child to Work Day.

On June 18, 4-year-old Hunter Bradee was killed on Route 21 in German Township when a tri-axle dump truck crossed into the opposing lane of traffic and hit the pickup truck he was in. Also killed were his aunt and grandfather. The dump truck driver, William James Burnsworth, 46, was allegedly under the influence of multiple drugs and faces criminal charges.

School district tax hikes

Four of the six public school districts in Fayette County raised property taxes in 2019.

Laurel Highlands School District adopted a $53.5 million budget for the 2019-20 fiscal year and a property tax increase of 0.8526 mills, increasing the districts millage rate will increase from 17.468 mills to 18.3206 mills in a move that school board members said was necessary to avoid furloughs or athletic program cuts amid shelved consolidation talks in the district.

Uniontown Area School District adopted a $46.9 million operating budget with a 0.48-mill tax increase, and Superintendent Charles Machesky said the second tax increase in as many years could be one of more to come with the district facing rising operating costs.

Brownsville Area School District raised its tax millage 0.2113 mills to 18.5627 for Fayette County and 0.479 mills to 11.8517 for Washington County, the districts fifth straight budget containing a tax increase for one of the two counties.

Frazier School District increased its tax rate for the seventh consecutive year, a 3.3% hike from 18.7149 mills to 19.3324 mills the maximum allowed under the state Act 1 index. District business manager Kevin Mildren said the move would give the district flexibility in its fund balance millage. rising 6.0024 mills or 45% since 2012.

Neither Connellsville Area nor Albert Gallatin Area school districts raised taxes; however, AG officials cut expenditures and made a series of personnel moves, including furloughing 10 employees, that saved the district $1.39 million in salaries and benefits in the 2019-20 budget.

CASD faces second accusation

Players for the Connellsville Area High School boys soccer team found themselves accused of using racial slurs during a game with Taylor Allderdice, and CASD players alleged Allderdice players used homophobic slurs during the September match.

The WPIAL convened a hearing, but rather than punish the schools, the WPIALs board used the opportunity to educate and heal, requiring both schools to implement anti-discrimination, diversity and sensitivity trainings for members of both squads and their coaches.

The decision came at the request of both schools.

Both schools expressed a sincere desire to work together in eradicating the sort of unacceptable behavior their student-athletes are accused of engaging in, stated the WPIALs ruling.

CASD Superintendent Joseph Bradley vigorously defended the athletes and the schools reputation.

CASD has been adamant throughout this process that our students were not found to have engaged in the alleged inappropriate conduct throughout the game, and are confident that everyone in the hearing was able to draw similar conclusions. Based on the statements from the PIAA-certified officials, the site management, and during testimony provided by both schools at the hearing, both schools demonstrated that nothing was witnessed, heard, nor reported during the course of the game, Bradley said.

In 2018, Connellsville Area players and fans were accused of making racially insensitive comments during a boys soccer match against Penn Hills.

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The news that impacted our communities in 2019 | New Today - Uniontown Herald Standard