May 2, 2025 3 min read

Jeers: Nonprofits rely on donations, so when someone steals those funds it can be a devastating loss. When it’s someone charged with safeguarding donations, that loss is even worse. On Wednesday, Antoinette Hodge was sentenced to 31 months to 10 years for stealing $112,000 from Youghiogheny Western Baptist Association, a group of churches with locations in Fayette and Greene counties. Hodge had chaired the board of trustees. In the case of the Fayette County Blind Association, former executive director Eric Dolfi stole nearly $50,000. At Dolfi’s sentencing on April 14, former treasurer Lawrence Kiefer said the organization received about $1,500 in monthly donations. Now, it’s “lucky to receive $300 a month.” Both nonprofits have reevaluated how they deal with donations. Hopefully that will bolster confidence and encourage donors to once again contribute.

Cheers: While those cases may give donors pause, there seems to be no one skittish about helping the Community Circle Food Pantry in downtown Washington. The day after pantry officials issued a plea for donations, the community showed up in a big way. Donors dropped off nonperishable foods, and director Melanie Wolfe said she fielded calls from people who wanted to make donations. Wolfe said she was “overwhelmed” at the support. The need for help at all food pantries throughout the region is likely to continue growing as prices rise. “It’s getting rough,” acknowledged Wolfe. Last month, Community Circle served 800 families, including 20 new ones.

Cheers: The 4,200 customers who are serviced by East Dunkard Water Authority in Greene County are likely heaving a sigh of relief. Pennsylvania American Water Co. finalized the $5 million purchase of the beleaguered authority earlier this week. The sale came after PAWC took receivership of EDWA following a dayslong outage in October 2023, and years of concerns about water quality. PAWC has already invested $2 million to upgrade the plant and water pipelines in the system, and have done repairs on the lines. Over the next few years, officials plan to make $16 million in upgrades. But, said PAWC President Justin Ladner, “Perhaps one of the biggest things is building trust.”

Jeers: The Southeastern Greene School Board missed the mark Monday when they voted on a five-year contract for Superintendent Rich Pekar, but did not discuss his salary publicly. Garrett Neese, editor of the Greene County Messenger, asked for the salary, but was told it wouldn’t be disclosed until the district solicitor reviewed the contract. A vote, then, is putting the cart before the horse. The time for the solicitor to review the contract was before the vote. After all, what if something needed to be changed? As Melissa Melewsky, media law attorney for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association said, “(If) you don’t have any details about what’s being voted on, you can’t give meaningful public comment.” While Pekar has revealed his salary – $125,000 for the 2025-2026 school year, with an additional $2,500 raise each year – that doesn’t excuse the way the matter was handled. When it comes to how taxpayer money is being spent, more information is always better than less.