Observer-Reporter

06/02/2026

The committee tasked with determining which organizations in Washington County should receive money from Pennsylvania’s opioid settlement trust fund met Monday.

The newly formed committee designed to review which organizations in Washington County should receive money from Pennsylvania’s opioid settlement trust fund recommended six projects while delaying a decision on two others until the next round of funding. The five-person committee met Monday mornin...

06/02/2026

Up next in our My American Story series, after nearly 15 years in Canonsburg, Southwestern Pennsylvania certainly feels like home to California native Jonny Snider.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is one in a monthlong series about the people who live in our community, in celebration of America’s 250th anniversary. Had his wife not wondered what lay east of Pagosa Springs, Jonny Snider might have settled west of the Rocky Mountains. “We pretty much had the whole U.S....

06/01/2026

Several local baseball and softball teams begin their quest at a state championship today.

In the last four years the Carmichaels softball team has suffered plenty of heartbreak in the WPIAL playoffs. Three runner-up finishes and a semifinals loss has left them wanting more and they get one more opportunity to win a title in the state tournament. It’s the last shot for standout seniors:...

06/01/2026

Check out this duckling rescue in South Strabane today! 🦆

06/01/2026

Today, in celebration of America's 250th birthday, we are launching a limited series, "My American Story," telling the stories of the people who call Washington, Greene and Fayette counties home.
Our subjects were selected at random and graciously agreed to be interviewed so we could share their stories with you.
Each day leading up to the Fourth of July, we will profile one of our hometown folks, sharing their challenges, their triumphs and their defeats, and how they came to settle in Southwestern Pennsylvania.
It is that eclectic mix of individuals that makes living here so special.

Pam Perry is, in a way, both city mouse and country mouse. The woman born on the Boomer-Gen X cusp splits her time between her home in Canonsburg and an idyllic getaway home along the water in Rices Landing. “It’s just such a quiet, nice little area. It’s been just such a great escape for […...

05/29/2026

Union defeated Carmichaels for the second year in a row in the WPIAL final and the third time in four years.

CALIFORNIA – Compared to last year, things started much better for Carmichaels in their quest for a WPIAL championship. The Mikes scored two runs in the first three innings, but coach Dave Briggs knew they probably needed more. His instincts were correct. A couple of mistakes opened the door for U...

05/29/2026

A fire at the City Mission in Washington this morning forced the evacuation of the entire campus and its nearly 200 residents, although the blaze was quickly contained, minimizing damage.

A fire at the City Mission in Washington forced the evacuation of the entire campus and its nearly 200 residents Friday morning, although the blaze was contained quickly, minimizing the damage. City firefighters were called to the sprawling shelter on West Beau Street – nearly directly across from...

05/28/2026

Pennsylvania Department of Human Services Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh visited the Smart Home Lab, operated by Arc Human Services, on Wednesday.

Step inside the brick ranch house on Marion Drive and it seems like one of those airy and impeccable abodes that serve as model homes in subdivisions. The furniture is cozy, the television is large and there seems to be nary a speck of dust in sight. The Peters Township dwelling is, however, a littl...

05/28/2026

County and court officials held a special ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday to reopen the Washington County Courthouse's front doors and welcome the public back in through its front entrance for the first time in nearly seven years.

When President Judge Valarie Costanzo was a young prosecutor in the district attorney’s office 30 years ago, she didn’t think much about the doors that swung open every time she walked into the Washington County Courthouse. “Back then, I probably didn’t fully appreciate what those doors repr...

05/27/2026

Washington County commissioner Larry Maggi reconnected with Memori Dooley Dobbs last year. Maggi helped rescue Dobbs when she was six months old from a horrific crash nearly 50 years ago.

When Pennsylvania State Police troopers arrived at a horrific crash in which a car catapulted off of an Interstate 79 overpass in Cecil Township on Memorial Day weekend nearly 50 years ago, they thought no one could have survived. The car had plunged 53 feet onto the old Montour Railroad tracks belo...