STATE
POTTSTOWN, Pa. — Church officials are asking for help replacing toys collected by Pottstown-area churches for 75 struggling families and stolen from a church basement where they were stored.
Executive Director Alden Lanphear of the Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities says the gifts were wrapped by volunteers and stored at the First Baptist Church for pickup on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
Lanphear says when someone went to check on the gifts, they found they had been unwrapped, the wrappings discarded, "and all the toys were gone, but other things were left behind."
Lanphear says volunteers will not have time to wrap more presents, so those considering donations are urged to give gift cards so the families can buy presents.
PITTSBURGH — The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center says it won't contribute $100 million to a scholarship fund for the city's public school graduates unless it gets a tax break.Mayor Luke Ravenstahl wants City Council to give the health care network a dollar-for-dollar break on money it contributes to the Pittsburgh Promise scholarship program. UPMC is giving $10 million to the program and pledged up to $90 million more in matching donations over the next decade.UPMC is a nonprofit and doesn't pay city or school property taxes. But state lawmakers are considering giving the city power to require "payments in lieu of taxes" from nonprofits.UPMC spokesman Frank Raczkiewicz says the health network doesn't want to make the scholarship donation then get hit with another bill from the city.
PITTSBURGH — West Penn Allegheny Health System is warning 42,000 of its home care and hospice patients that their personal information might have been compromised when a laptop computer was stolen from a home care nurse.West Penn officials say the computer was stolen on Nov. 24 during a home burglary.The nurse's computer had access to personal and clinical information about patients.The Pittsburgh-based health care network is contacting patients.
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. — Westminster College is appointing Richard Dorman to be its 14th president.Dorman is a 54-year-old New York native who is currently vice president for institutional advancement at Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio.Dorman will assume his duties at Westminster in July.
MONROEVILLE — Police say a bomb threat that closed Gateway High School in Monroeville was a hoax.The school was closed and students were sent home after a secretary received a bomb threat Monday morning.No bomb was found by bomb-sniffing dogs and police who searched the campus.The bomb scare remains under investigation by police.
ESPYVILLE, Pa. — A 23-year-old Crawford County man will stand trial on charges he killed his girlfriend's 11-month old son by throwing the boy onto his bed.Eugene Fenton, of Espyville, was ordered to stand trial after a preliminary hearing Monday on charges of criminal homicide, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and child endangerment.Hunter Shoenberger died Oct. 24 at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. Authorities say the boy's mother called paramedics the day before when the boy was having seizures and difficulty breathing.Testimony at Monday's hearing indicated the boy was injured while his mother was working overnight as a nurse's aide on Oct. 22-23.Fenton remains in the county jail.
