Top 24 stories on social media of 2022
As the COVID-19 pandemic continued, but often faded into the background throughout 2022, there were a number of other stories that captured the eye of our readers.
In reviewing the top-viewed stories by our digital audience, we saw that our readers were captivated by stories surrounding crime, local sports, crashes, fires and our community.
Here is a roundup of the top 24 stories from 2022:
A Butler man was accused of shooting three people in the area of the Rural King parking lot at the Clearview Mall following an altercation Tuesday night, January 18.
Film crews working on “The Pale Blue Eye,” a Netflix thriller starring Christian Bale, returned to the northern Butler County area the week of Jan. 27 to shoot scenes at Moraine State Park and the Portersville area.
Reaching over 3 million people on social media and becoming the top Butler Eagle post for the year, a video sent to Butler Eagle employee and Ukrainian native Lyudmyla Martin shows a young mother recording a Russian military jet flying over her apartment complex in Kharkiv, Ukraine.
As employees of XPER, the former Ibis Tek, settled into their roles the morning of Feb. 4, they received a letter notifying them they no longer had jobs. The letter told employees of the Middlesex Township-based company the layoffs were effective the same day. The company cited “unforeseen circumstances” leading to the layoffs.
The state Liquor Control Board announced March 1 that all Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores and licensee service centers were instructed to remove Russian-made products from shelves as a show of solidarity and support for the people of Ukraine.
Emergency crews responded to a vehicle found in the Oneida Valley Reservoir at 4:21 a.m. Thursday, March 31, in Oakland Township. Firefighters at the scene said they found an SUV mostly submerged in the water. Members of Butler County Water Rescue Team 300 entered the water and used equipment to tear open the driver’s side door. They found no one inside. He was later located.
Kings Family Restaurants in Butler Township and New Castle permanently closed Sunday, April 3, following the settlement of a landlord-tenant dispute. The 20 to 25 employees who worked at each restaurant were offered transfers to the 12 remaining Kings Restaurants, according to Kelly Operations Group of North Versailles, which bought the Kings chain in 2015.
A line of tractors stretched along West Jefferson Road on Sunday afternoon, April 24, resembling a less visually stunning — but perhaps equally noisy — parade to celebrate the life of Harold W. Foertsch Sr., who died March 22.
On a spring Friday morning April 29, Art King of Harvest Valley Farms in Middlesex Township went down to feed his chickens as he would on any other day. But instead of a pen full of hungry birds, King found a ghastly sight. All 39 of his chickens were dead. King suspected a small carnivorous mammal called a fisher might have been the culprit, and hoped to warn his neighbors about the dangers of animal attacks on livestock.
At a school board meeting Tuesday night, May 10, board members and staff discussed a potential plan to relocate or replace the 10-year-old district sign ahead of future road construction projects. Mark Gross, Mars Area superintendent, said the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation offered the district $90,000 to relocate the sign, as it sits too close to the upcoming Route 228 expansion work.
Altmeyer’s Bed, Bath and Home closed its store in Point Plaza in Butler Township, ending its connection to the county that began in the 1950s. The store’s space in the plaza was leased to another business, and no other suitable locations in the plaza were available, said Robert Altmeyer, company president.
A sweet-smelling and well-respected downtown Butler business changed hands this year. Ed Bloom said while operating Bortmas, The Butler Florist had been an honor for the last 42 years, the 75- to 80-hour workweeks had to come to an end.
Elizabeth “Betty” Butler, 93, entered one of her watercolor paintings in the Big Butler Fair during 2022, her first time entering the competition. She was rewarded for her entry — a painting of purple flowers — with a blue ribbon, a prize she never expected for her outing.
The second annual Bikes & BBQ at the Butler Farm Show grounds offered something for every motorcycle enthusiast, many of whom rode some distance to attend. In addition to several barbecue booths — each claiming to have the best brisket in Butler — several vendors set up at the event. New Castle Harley-Davidson not only sold clothing and biker accessories but had on hand a stationary bike prospective riders could try out.
Eric Finch, 20, a senior safety major at Slippery Rock University, won the “Forged in Fire” competition that aired Wednesday night, Aug. 17, on the History Channel. Finch, the son of Jeff and Rebecca Finch, won $10,000 and the title of “Forged in Fire Champion” after defeating fellow blademaster Greg McClure of Utah in creating a machete, in keeping with the episode’s Western theme.
As Kylie Burke led her pig around the Butler Farm Show arena, tears filled her eyes when the bids started coming in well over market value. In the end, her 275-pound swine sold for $42 per pound, breaking the record of $41 per pound. Two bidders combined their offers of $21 per pound to help Burke attain this feat.
Two people were killed in vehicle crash involving a motorcycle and a car Friday, Sept. 10, around 4 p.m. near the intersection of Branchton Road and Route 8 in Slippery Rock Township were identified Saturday. Butler County Coroner William Young III identified one victim as Gary L. Redmond of Franklin, the driver of the motorcycle. He was dead at the scene. Also, Mercer County Coroner John Libonati, said Jeannie Marie Summers, 51, of Slippery Rock, who was riding on the motorcycle, died as a result of blunt force trauma sustained from the accident.
The wheels are in motion for a new light and intersection upgrade at Route 8 and Airport Road. Township supervisors on Tuesday, Sept. 13, approved advertising for bids for engineering firms to design a safer intersection. The intersection has been the site of several traffic accidents — some involving fatalities or serious injuries.
Butler’s varsity football team was granted its request for permanent injunction through the Butler County Court of Common Pleas and was permitted to participate in the District 10 playoffs. The court ruling handed down Friday afternoon, Oct. 28, states: “The conduct of the PIAA amounts to arbitrary and capricious discrimination against the Butler Area School District.” The ruling enabled Butler to be eligible for the 2023 playoffs as well.
Exchange student, Alessandra was visiting Knoch from Florence, Italy, and living with a host family, the Ducksteins, along with another student visiting from Spain, Andrea. Butler County has a few options that allow people to host students from around the world in their homes. Alessandra and Andrea are visiting through International Cultural Exchange Services (ICES), coordinated in the region by Kathryn Smail, who is also a support teacher at Northwest Elementary School.
Had Floyd Mahan not shared his whimsical idea in the 1960s, the annual Butler Farm Show would be devoid of the sight of grinning children, teens and adults pedaling around the pond on paddleboats. Mahan, 95, of Middlesex Township, died on Friday, Nov. 25, but left behind a nautical legacy that will continue to delight visitors to the farm show indefinitely.
Down six in the opening set of the PIAA Class 2A girls volleyball final, then tied with momentum gone in the middle of the next, Freeport needed to respond. Their answer was that of a champion. The Yellowjackets continued forward and won the state crown in three sets against York Catholic at Cumberland Valley High School Saturday afternoon, Nov. 19, — the scores being 25-21, 25-15, and 25-18.
The footage of the 3rd Street house fire in late December caught reader attention. A tenant of the duplex at 563 Third St. in Butler accidentally started a grease fire in his kitchen while cooking, which spread to the rest of the unit and ended up damaging the entire structure.
A famous musician and former Slippery Rock University student doled out drinks for a good cause alongside Butler-famous officials Monday night, Dec. 5. Donnie Iris participated in a guest-bartending gig for the Feed My Sheep Food Cupboard in Slippery Rock, alongside Jondavid Longo, mayor of Slippery Rock, Jordan Grady, president of the Butler County Chamber of Commerce, and Ian Grady, basketball coach at SRU.
