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Miami Herald
23-07-2025
- Health
- Miami Herald
‘Role model' college athlete collapses and dies at half-marathon, PA officials say
A collegiate athlete approaching her final year of college died after she collapsed during a half-marathon race, Pennsylvania school officials say. Thiel College said Toby Atwood was running the Presque Isle Half Marathon in Erie on July 20 when she collapsed for unknown reasons. She was taken to a hospital, where she died, Erie News Now reported. Race organizers confirmed the runner's death in a July 22 post on Facebook. Those close to her said running half marathons were among her favorite favorite activities. Doctors revealed to Atwood's family that she had a heart arrhythmia, according to the Leader Times. Atwood was an incoming senior at Thiel College, where she was a member of the school's tennis team. She was named co-captain during the 2024 season, which she participated in as the program's No. 1 singles player. The program said in a Facebook post it would be playing the upcoming season 'with heavy hearts, but with her love to carry us through.' The 21-year-old from from Kittanning, Pennsylvania, was also a 4.0 student and the president of the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority on her campus. 'Toby truly left her mark while she was with us,' her sorority said. 'She was seen as a leader, role model and mentor. She was strong, resilient, and never afraid to speak her mind.' According to a GoFundMe, Atwood's presence 'could light up an entire room.' She was known for her positivity and 'genuine enthusiasm for life.' 'Toby excelled in everything she loved — wrestling, tennis, running — and poured her heart into all of it,' loved ones said. 'It is both a sorrowful and heartwarming truth that she passed away doing something she was so passionate about. She was one of the most hardworking, resilient, and kind individuals one could ever meet.' Thiel College is in Greenville, about an 80-mile drive northwest from Pittsburgh.
Daily Mirror
23-04-2025
- Daily Mirror
Funeral home with 'twisted' owner and 'bloated bodies left to rot'
Families have said they're 'traumatised' after discovering the treatment of their loved ones, with one body that was set to be cremated found swollen and 'unrecognisable' weeks later Organising a funeral for a loved one can be one of the most difficult moments of a person's life, balancing grief with exhausting admin and heartbreaking decisions. The only thing that could make the experience worse is a traumatic experience at the funeral home, from plans falling through or - in shocking cases - bodies being mistreated or not given the respect they deserve. This is what some traumatised families are going through today, with horrifying allegations emerging around one central funeral business whose owner has been called a 'sick, twisted man'. The company is now set to be investigated by local authorities, according to a Facebook post from owner Frank Savory II, who also said that his funeral home, Savory & Sons Funeral Home in Kansas City, Missouri, has ceased taking on new cases until the review is complete. While Savory also added that he 'extends heartfelt sympathies' towards families suffering, this isn't enough for many. In the comment section, one enraged local called Savory a 'sick twisted man,' with another proclaiming: 'Your character and dignity have been exposed and honestly you can't come back from this.' Many commenters also referred directly to recent cases emerging from the funeral home, some of which have left families at a loss for what to do next. In one such case, a woman called Princess Evans had her funeral on March 28, and was supposed to be cremated after. Shockingly, the woman's family allegedly saw her body through a glass door at Savory & Sons Funeral home on April 17, uncovered and decomposing weeks after she was laid to rest. According to Erie News Now, both Evans' family and a local crematorium confirmed that they'd moved the body, picking up her remains from the funeral home after making the harrowing discovery. The family also spoke out to Fox 4 Kansas City, with Princess' aunt Cherie Kidd describing how the process felt 'rushed' and the family 'didn't have time to grieve. Princess' cousin Marquita Blaylock added that their experiences were 'traumatising.' In more harrowing claims, Blaylock added: 'We personally had to wipe blood from her mouth just to, just to clear it up.' Kidd also described: 'These bodies were in there with trash. Trash all around them. This is insane.' According to the cousin and aunt, the bodies were so badly kept and swollen that they had to look for distinct markers to identify Princess. 'You couldn't even recognise her. You had to look at her hands or her tattoo to realise who she was, Blaylock said, as Kidd called for Savory to be jailed or sued. Princess Evans' family isn't the only one to complain about their experiences with Savory and Sons. Shawn Pearson also spoke to Erie News, claiming that the funeral home hadn't delivered the services promised and paid for. When Pearson's mum Marilyn Ashley died, he and his wife took out $5,200 (around £3,900) from their retirement fund to go towards the funeral, on top of $1,000 contributed by his aunt - which Savory vowed to return but hasn't. In horrifying claims, Savory is said not to have delivered the flowers for Ashley, and arrived at the funeral two hours late. Pearson said that the funeral itself was not held at the cemetery they'd requested, and the casket broke while in transit. Now, he's allegedly being stopped from viewing his mum's body and has very troubling fears. 'My main concern is I really don't know if she's really in that casket because he wouldn't let me see her,' Pearson admitted.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Erie Dem mayoral candidates Schember, Devlin, Woeger to face off in TV debate
The Democratic candidates for Erie Mayor — incumbent Joe Schember and challengers Daria Devlin and Sheila Woeger — have agreed to take part in a televised debate next week. The closed debate will take place on April 16 at 1 p.m. at the WQLN studios, 8425 Peach St. Cindy Spizarny, WQLN's president and CEO, said the debate, a WQLN collaboration with Erie News Now, will be closed to the public. It will be broadcast on WQLN, WICU and WSEE at a later date. The debate moderators will be Lisa Adams and Mike Ruzzi from Erie News Now. Schember, who was first elected in 2017, is seeking a third four-year term. Devlin is a current Erie School board member and the director of social impact for Hamot Health Foundation. Woeger is a retired substitute teacher. The three are seeking the Democratic nomination for mayor in the May 20 municipal primary. The Democratic nominee will be a huge favorite in the Nov. 4 municipal election because of the city's more than 2-1 Democratic voter registration edge. Republican Matthew S. Thomas is also in the race, and local public transit advocate Julie Minich has announced she plans to run for mayor as an independent in November. No Republican has been elected mayor of Erie since Charles Williamson in 1961. Contact Kevin Flowers at kflowers@ Follow him on X at @ETNflowers. This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Democrats vying for Erie mayor to face off in televised debate
