[naviga:h3]New reporter hired at Butler Eagle[/naviga:h3]

Amanda Spadaro is a new reporter for the Butler Eagle.

She will focus on education plus other issues.

A native of Washington, Pa., she is a 2015 graduate of Allegheny College with a degree in biology and a minor in English.

Spadaro, 22, worked at the college’s student newspaper and became its editor in chief. She also was the paper’s business manager.

She was a member of Phi Beta Kappa at the college.

She recently worked as a reporter at the Meadville Tribune.

[naviga:h3]Chamber elects board members[/naviga:h3]

WEXFORD — The Pittsburgh North Regional Chamber has elected seven directors to its board.

Four new members and three incumbent members will be on the chamber board for the 2016 fiscal year.

Incumbents re-elected are Steve Diffenderfer of NexTier Bank; Lisa Hunt of USX Federal Credit Union, and Todd Harris of Liberty Insurance Agency.

New board members are Tracy Armstrong of North Pittsburgh Greeting Co., Ryan Breen of Breen Law Firm, Gregg Hill of Dollar Bank, and Al Marschke of Ambit Energy.

[naviga:h3]Health system says quality of care high[/naviga:h3]

The quality of care in the Butler Health System is high, according to the system’s vice president of quality and safety.

Dr. Thomas McGill said that patients in the system have a 48 percent less chance of dying than patients at the average hospital in the state. Last year, the figure was 40 percent.

“This is what I’m most proud of,” McGill said.

The system’s care quality was discussed Thursday night at the annual public meeting of the BHS trustees.

More than 74 percent of breast cancer diagnoses at the system are caught at stages zero or one when the cancer is easily treatable. For melanoma, 89 percent of cases are diagnosed at stages zero or one.

For lung cancer, more cases are diagnosed at stages three and four, but McGill said the system is working on finding more cases earlier.

“We’re doing the right things for cancer,” McGill said.

The system is below the national average for hospital-acquired infections, McGill said, and it is improving on reducing the number of patient falls.

[naviga:h3]Seneca’s DiTullio named to board[/naviga:h3]

JACKSON TWP — Eric DiTullio, Seneca Valley School Board president, has been appointed to the Midwestern Intermediate Unit IV (MIU4) board of directors.

DiTullio replaces Robert Hill, a now-retired Seneca Valley board member. His term runs until April 2016.

MIU4 serves the 27 school districts in Butler, Lawrence and Mercer counties.

It provides programs and services requested by school districts and implements programs mandated by the state and the federal governments.

[naviga:h3]U.S. economy adds 211K jobs[/naviga:h3]

WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy generated another month of solid hiring in November, making it highly likely that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates from record lows this month.

The Labor Department said Friday that employers added 211,000 jobs, led by big gains in construction and retail. And the government revised up its estimated job growth for September and October by a combined 35,000. The unemployment rate remained a low 5 percent for a second straight month.

Employers have now added an average 213,000 jobs a month over the past six months.

The hiring indicates that consumer spending is powering the economy even as weak growth overseas and low oil prices squeeze manufacturers.

[naviga:h3]Losses trimmed despite sales drop[/naviga:h3]

CHICAGO — The parent of struggling retailers Sears and Kmart reported third-quarter 2015 results on Thursday.

Sears’ loss narrowed to $454 million from $548 million a year ago.

The Chicago-area company lost $4.26 per share, compared with $5.15 per share. At the same time, sales continued their downward slide, dropping more than 19 percent to $5.7 billion from $7.2 billion at the same time last year. Sears’ third-quarter sales just beat Wall Street’s bet of $5.5 billion.