the almanac D E C E M B E R 28, 2025
SOUTH HILLS COMMUNITY NEWS
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DOUBLE THE FUN
Peters Twp. sues Washington Co. coroner over autopsy records By Mike Jones
mjones@observer-reporter.com
For many twins, having a built-in companion eased the transition into high school. “My favorite memory was the first day of freshman year together,” Lily Simons said. “We were starting something new and big together and were both nervous. I think that moment brought us closer. Stay by each other – having a twin will be the best gift.” Several twins have teamed up on the athletic field as well. Caden and Nolan Sarkett and Ella and John Unice represent the Panthers in track and cross country. “We became veterans of the sport and are both highly successful athletes,” Caden said. “Being the No. 1 and No. 2 runners for a while felt like twin power.” Others embraced their differences as a way to grow. “I balance being known as a twin pair while also being myself at school by having different classes and playing different sports,” said Ella Schlecker. “Having different interests and hobbies from my twin really helps me be my own person.” As they reflect on their shared journey, the twins offered advice for younger twins approaching the high school experience.
Peters Township officials are suing the Washington County coroner’s office over its refusal to turn over autopsy reports and other records to the municipality’s police department, which they claim is hampering the investigation into a baby’s death earlier this year. John Smith, who serves as Peters Township’s solicitor, filed the lawsuit Dec. 1 asking a judge for an injunction that would require Coroner Timothy Warco to readily provide autopsy and toxicology reports to the police department without charging a $700 fee that has been his practice in recent months. In the filing, the police department claims its investigators have been unable to review Warco’s findings after a baby died in the township in August, although it’s not known if the coroner has ruled on a cause or manner of death. Warco has previously stated that he needed police reports to help reach a conclusion. Law enforcement officials in the county have said that the coroner is not designated a criminal justice agency, and therefore has no right to review crime scene investigative materials from police departments through the Criminal History Records Information Act. “The District Attorney, not the Coroner, is charged and entrusted with applying legal principles to deaths in order to determine whether criminal charges should be filed,” the lawsuit states. The lawsuit stems from a similar attempt by Peters Township to intervene after Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh filed a motion in criminal court last month asking a judge to compel Warco’s office to hand over autopsy reports to his office and police departments investigating suspicious deaths. President Judge Valarie Costanzo denied those motions and told the parties that it was a civil matter, prompting Smith to file the lawsuit earlier this month. The district attorney’s detectives and police officers from Washington, Canonsburg and state police were granted search warrants Nov. 5 for Warco’s row office to seize autopsy and other records investigating five deaths in Washington County. Warco had refused to release them until a $700 payment was made or because he had not concluded a manner of death in some
SEE TWIN PAGE A2
SEE AUTOPSY PAGE A2
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Upper St. Clair High School has 16 sets of twins in its senior class. Pictured are, top row, Finnegan and Noah Baird, Gianna and Nico D'Orazio, Lucy and Samuel Dowds, Holt and Mika Eberhardt, Mia and Nico Galardini; middle row, Anand and Devesh Jani, Jacob and Olivia Leggat, Ethan and Isaac Lin, Aina and Airi Nagata, James and John Paradise, and bottom row, Carson and Cooper Rackley, Adriana and Andrea Rodriguez, Caden and Nolan Sarkett, Ella and Hannah Schlecker, Eleanor and Lillian Simons and Ella and John Unice.
Upper St. Clair celebrates Twin Day with 16 pairs Celebrated each year on Dec. 18, National Twin Day recognizes the unique connection shared by twins. For 32 Upper St. Clair High School seniors, the date holds a special meaning. The Class of 2026 includes 16 sets of twins – making this year’s senior class truly one of a kind. The senior twins include Finnegan and Noah Baird, Gianna and Nico D'Orazio, Lucy and Samuel Dowds, Holt and Mika Eberhardt, Mia and Nico Galardin, Anand and Devesh Jani, Jacob and Olivia Leggat, Ethan and Isaac Lin, Aina and Airi Nagata, James and John Paradise, Carson and Cooper Rackley, Adriana and Andrea Rodriguez, Caden and Nolan Sarkett, Ella and Hannah Schlecker, Eleanor and Lillian Simons, and Ella and John Unice. “It’s pretty remarkable,” Brooke Tarcson, head of student activities, said. “You can walk through the halls and almost always spot at least one set of twins. It’s been a fun part of this class’ identity.” With 16 sets of twins among 299 seniors, roughly one in every 10 members of the Class of 2026 is a twin. “We’ve had years with multiple twins before,” Tarcson said. “But this might be a record.” Many of the twins shared how meaningful it has been to experience school side-by-side.
“Looking back on it, I am very grateful to have a sibling in school at the same time as me to share experiences, motivate each other, and someone always there to talk to,” Sam Dowds said. At the same time, the twins appreciate opportunities to develop their own identities. “We take part in different extracurriculars and have different interests that allow us to express ourselves separately,” Gianna D’Orazio said. “We support each other and get along very well. We do crossover in some activities and have a lot of the same friends, but those experiences have only made my high school experience more enjoyable.” One of Gianna’s favorite memories is spending Friday nights under the lights with her twin, Nico. “The way USC’s community and culture come together on Fridays is truly something special,” she said. “It was so cool to share the experience with Nico as he played football and I cheered him on as a member of the dance team.” This year’s homecoming made that connection even more meaningful: Gianna was crowned Homecoming Queen, and Nico recorded two interceptions to help lead the Panthers to a 50-14 victory over South Fayette.
Kecksburg UFO incident 60 years ago put Westmoreland County community on the map By Brad Hundt
bhundt@observer-reporter.com
It was the time of year when children would look to the heavens to see if they could spot Rudolph’s red nose or their parents would sing about a star shining in the east beyond them far. But as the sun was disappearing over the horizon on Dec. 9, 1965, a Thursday, people across several states were getting a different kind of celestial light show, this one entirely out of the ordinary and most decidedly not Santa Claus taking the reindeer out for a practice run. Residents of the Detroit area and its Canadian neighbor, Windsor, Ont., described seeing a light streaking fast across the dusky firmament about 4:45 p.m. that day. People in the Cleveland area also saw something and a wooded area near suburban Elyria, Ohio, apparently caught fire as a result of the mysterious object. A sonic boom was heard in Pittsburgh and then residents of Kecksburg, an unincorporated community in Westmoreland County’s Mount Pleasant Township, said they
LOCATION B.P. pickleball players save teammate’s life PAGE A4 What’s happening, B3
The front page of the Washington Observer, the day after a fireball streaked across the sky in the region.
heard a thud. Kecksburg “became a hub of activity last night when a fireball reportedly struck that area,” the next day’s Uniontown Morning Herald reported on its front page. Whatever roared out of the sky was sufficient to headline the next morning’s Washington Observer, edging aside news from Vietnam, the Soviet Union and the American space program. “Brilliant Fireball Cause of Fires in Ohio, Pennsylvania” the headline at the top of the page read. Roadblocks went up in Kecksburg after the thump in the woods was heard, and firefighters, officers from the Pennsylvania State Police and members of the U.S. Army’s 662nd Radar Unit from Pittsburgh scoured a 15-square-mile area for seven hours. The result? “We found no fire and no marks,” according to Capt. Joseph Dussin of the Greensburg state police post. Geiger counters were used to measure potential radiation, but nothing was detected. SEE UFO PAGE A2
SPORTS 2025: year of the comeback PAGE B1
Classifieds, B4
SIGHTS & SOUNDS ‘Clue’ comes to the Benedum PAGE B3 Real estate transactions, A5