IN BRIEF
GIBSONIA — Barbara Burford has been promoted to director of hospice at St. Barnabas Medical Center.
She will be responsible for overseeing the medical center's hospice program.
A graduate of Sewickley Valley School of Nursing, Burford has been at St. Barnabas since 1994 as a registered nurse. She has held numerous positions there, most recently as director of Nursing at Valencia Woods at St. Barnabas for the past seven years.
Burford and her husband, Chris, live in Adams Township. They are the parents of two daughters, Amanda, 21, and Madison, 8.
The Pennsylvania Bar Association presented three County Bar Recognition Awards to the Butler County Bar Association during the 44th annual Seminar of the Conference of County Bar Leaders Friday in Lancaster.It was recognized for its "Get Help Now, Pennsylvania" help desk to provide free legal and financial help to individuals hurt by the recession; its annual Red Mass in the Catholic Church for legal officials; and its sponsorship of the Charles E. Dillon Memorial Cup, which promotes camaraderie among bar members,The county association is one of 26 bar associations honored this year for sponsoring projects that improve the legal profession, justice system or community.
WASHINGTON — Sales of previously occupied homes took a large drop for the second straight month in January, falling to the lowest level since summer. It was another sign the housing market's recovery is faltering.The National Association of Realtors said sales fell 7.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.05 million from a downwardly revised pace of 5.44 million in December.The results, the weakest since June, were far worse than forecast.Sales declined throughout the country, falling the most — nearly 11 percent — in the Northeast. Sales fell by about 7 percent in the South and Midwest and by about 5 percent in the West.The main question hanging over the housing market is whether interest rates will rise, and by how much. The Federal Reserve's $1.25 trillion program to push down mortgage rates is scheduled to expire on March 31.
