1
C ALL 724-439-7533 TO SUBSCRIBE MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2016 84,000 READERS EACH WEEK VOL. 35 NO. 151 $1.00 Monday inside Local Not just for kids Coloring For Adults offers relaxation and creativity. C1 Shape Up Here we go! Week 1 of 2016 Shape-Up Challenge is underway. E1 Obituaries Buttermore, Donald O. Jr., Uniontown Cocciolone, Patty Jo (Cepaitis), Monessen Koziel, John Michael Sr., New Eagle Layman, Lloyd E., Upper Middletown Margie, Richard Andrew, Fayette City Musiolowski, Rose Marie (Rosso), Uniontown Riggin, Clayton T., Lemont Furnace Scheponik, Kenneth S., Charleroi Weasenforth, Clarence, Uniontown Wirbicki, Vincent P . Uniontown See details on C2 Index Community . . C1 Classified. . F1-4 Comics. . . . . . C6 Law & Order . A6 Obituaries . . . C2 Opinion . . . A4-5 Puzzles . . . . . C4 Sports . . . . B1-4 Today High: 45 Low: 33 See C8. www.heraldstandard.com 89 minutes of joy BY DIANA LASKO [email protected] E ighty-nine minutes doesn’t seem like a long amount of time, but it was a lifetime for Daniel John Dice and his parents. Eighty-nine minutes of joy. Eighty-nine minutes of sadness. Eighty-nine minutes of laughter. Eighty-nine minutes of tears. Eighty-nine minutes filled with infinite love. Daniel lived just 89 minutes on this earth, but he gave his family an eternity of memories. “We read to him, prayed with him. We sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to him. We baptized him,” said his mother, Nicole Dice. “He never left our side.” On Nov. 6, 2015, Daniel was born at 8:38 a.m. at the Family Begin- nings Birthing Center of Uniontown Hospital, the son of Bill and Nicole Couple cherishes short time with newborn son KELLY TUNNEY | Herald-Standard Daniel John Dice’s birth card from Uniontown Hospital rests on the dresser of his nursery, with his feeding preference unchecked. Nicole Dice, left, laughs as her husband Bill remembers watching college football with their son Daniel, who was born and died on November 6. Daniel was afflicted with a fatal form of dwarfism that left fluid on his brain and prevented him from fully forming healthy lungs. “We read to him, prayed with him. We sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to him. We baptized him.” KELLY TUNNEY | Herald-Standard Watch related video on our website Dice of Uniontown. By 10:07 a.m., Daniel was gone, succumbing to a fatal form of dwarfism known as thanatophoric dysplasia. The couple, high school sweethearts and married for nearly eight years, was so excited when, after seeking fertility treatment, they discovered in March they were expecting their first child. “Initially everything looked good,” said Nicole. “I started keeping a journal from the beginning of my pregnancy up until today. I keep it for him.” It was during Nicole’s 20-week sonogram at her obstetrician’s office that abnormalities were discovered. “That day they noticed his limbs were short and there was fluid on his brain. We were told this could be a form of dwarfism and the fluid could mean the child may have disabilities,” Nicole said. As a special education teacher herself and Bill BY CHRISTINE HAINES [email protected] BELLE VERNON — Steps are being taken to demolish a dilapidated house in Belle Vernon that officials say is so far gone, they had to evacuate the rental property next door fearing it would be damaged by the collapsing structure. Mayor Gerald Jackson said at the January council meeting this past week that he had been trying to contact the county for financial as- sistance to tear down the dangerous structure, but was unsuccessful. “The borough has a lot of frustration over this piece of property because they had opposed the sale,” said Krisha Dimascio, the borough solicitor. Dimascio said neighbors thought they detected the porch moving at 201 Wood St. last spring and the bor- ough’s engineer verified that the building had indeed shifted. The owner of the property has not responded to letters sent by the borough. Belle Vernon to get county assistance for dangerous building “They helped get us into this problem, we thought they could help us get out of this problem.” — Krisha Dimascio, borough solicitor. At least 28 people killed in snowstorm-related deaths ASSOCIATED PRESS At least 28 people have died as a result of the mammoth snowstorm that pounded the eastern U.S. The deaths oc- curred in car accidents, from carbon monoxide poisoning, and from heart attacks while shoveling snow: Pennsylvania — Authorities in eastern Pennsylvania say a man died of carbon monoxide poi- soning, apparently after his car was buried in snow by a passing plow. David Perrotto, 56, was pronounced dead less than an hour after he was found Saturday night in Muhlenberg Township, ac- cording to John Hollenbach of the Berks County coroner’s office. Hollenbach says Per- rotto was apparently trying to dig out his car. Investigators believe he either was in the car with the motor running to take a break or to try to get out of the space when a snow plow went by and buried the car, blocking the exhaust and preventing him from exiting. Associated Press Passers-by help push a stuck car out of the snow as another motorist tows it out in Richmond, Va., Saturday. A winter storm hit the East Coast, creating a blizzard with brutally high winds, dangerous inland flooding and white-out conditions. HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Long optimistic about U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey winning a second term in Pennsylvania, Republicans now have some- thing to worry about — and it is not necessarily a strong Democratic Party challenger. Rather, a number of top Pennsylvania Republicans are fretting about a divisive Re- publican presidential nominee souring the state’s moderate, swing voters against Toomey — not to mention other Repub- lican candidates on the ballot — and dooming his re-election bid in November. The stakes are tremendous, with Democrats hoping to retake control of the U.S. Senate. “The Democrats cannot win the United States Senate without beating Pat Toomey,” said Rob Gleason, the chairman of Pennsylvania’s Republican Party. But, in a state where Demo- crats hold a four-to-three registration edge over Repub- licans, political analysts and strategists say Toomey cannot win in a presidential election year without attracting support from conservative Democrats or independent voters. And a number of 89, Page A3 Pa. GOP eyes Trump, Cruz effect on Toomey’s chances BUILDING, Page A3 SNOW, Page A7 TOOMEY, Page A7
