Judge: Dead Indiana County Dentist Can't Divorce
(KDKA) PITTSBURGH A judge refused to issue a posthumous divorce decree to a dentist who was murdered the day before he was to sign the last of his divorce papers. Dr. John Yelenic, 39, was found murdered in his Blairsville home on April 13, a crime that has not been solved. Yelenic and his wife, Michele, separated in 2002 and had agreed to the divorce and a property settlement. Yelenic's attorney, Effie Alexander, asked a judge to issue the divorce decree because he believed the divorce was important to Yelenic. The request was mostly symbolic, because the couple had already decided how to split up their property. Attorneys for Yelenic's wife and his estate agreed not to contest Alexander's request because it was largely a matter of principle that would not affect that property settlement. But Indiana County Judge Carol Hanna ruled Wednesday that Yelenic's marriage ended with his murder, even if all parties agreed to a legal decree stating otherwise.
In marriage, 'you have to want to try'
That's how long Hassel and Elouise Cartwright of York Township have been married. In an age where on average couples stay wedded a little over seven years, the Cartwrights have seen that span more than eight times over.
What's their secret? Elouise, 81, said it's a simple matter of deciding to stay together.
"It seems like young people these days give up too easy on everything," she said. "By the time they reach adulthood, they've had most things handed to them, so they don't know how to deal with any form of challenge or adversity."
She may be right.
According to the U.S. Government's National Center for Health Statistics, the divorce rate in America is above 47 percent. In Pennsylvania, the divorce rate is closer to 54 percent.
The No. 1 reason formally listed on most divorce documents is irreconcilable differences.
In love with the groom, not with the wedding plans
Editor's note: Freelancer and former Pocono Record intern Jessica Serrano Groller was married in June. We'll publish her column documenting the process of getting ready for and finally reaching her wedding day for the next nine Fridays.
Statistics say that Americans spend the most money on two life events: weddings and funerals. On average, each event will cost $20,000 to $30,000. That is a down payment on a house, in my opinion — not what you want for a party bill.
While a funeral brings much-needed closure to family and friends, a wedding marks the joining and the celebration of love. However, to many, marriage has become a commodity. Divorce rates soar in America at approximately 50 percent, and a nation built on a premise of choice is consistently re-choosing.
Divorced parents must report raises
The Supreme Court of Canada sent a warning to divorced parents yesterday that they'd better come clean when their income goes up or they could face sizable retroactive child-support bills.
The Supreme Court stopped short of ordering a duty to disclose salary increases automatically, but the judges signalled that paying parents should do so as a matter of course because children of divorce have a right to a share of an income hike.
"Parents have an obligation to support their children in a manner commensurate with their income and this obligation and the children's right to support exists independently of any statute or court order," Justice Michel Bastarache wrote.
"It's a very significant ruling," Montreal divorce lawyer Andrew Heft said yesterday.
Aguirre's divorce records unsealed
A judge unsealed the divorce records of San Diego City Attorney Michael Aguirre yesterday, a move The San Diego Union-Tribune requested.
The newspaper routinely seeks to open sealed documents regarding public officials, because such records can reveal biographical details, business and investment ties and other information relevant to the official's public service.
Aguirre had charged that the newspaper's counsel had failed to give him and his ex-wife proper notification regarding the effort. But the newspaper's attorney maintains it did nothing out of the ordinary when it came to seeking the 1991 divorce records.
Absent extraordinary circumstances, divorce records cannot be sealed, noted Superior Court Judge William Howatt, who presided.
– Michael Stetz
Panel OKs changing adult store code
VISTA – The Planning Commission yesterday recommended changes to the city's adult business code.
Paul Liberatore: Walker a true blues survivor
Not that long ago, Joe Louis Walker was being hailed as one of the emerging stars of the modern American blues, anointed by no less than B.B. King, who recorded one of Walker's songs and rewarded him with a guitar modeled on his famed Lucille.
In the late '90s, I saw Walker at Sweetwater in Mill Valley at a birthday party for John Lee Hooker, sharing the stage with the guitar god elite: Albert Collins, Robert Cray, Carlos Santana and Ry Cooder.
At the time, Walker was living a comfortable upper middle-class lifestyle in a spacious split-level home in a rock 'n' roll neighborhood in Novato, where his neighbors included Journey's Jonathan Cain and Metallica's James Hetfield. He had a wife and three kids and a rising career with a major label album on Polydor.
The title of that release, "Blues Survivor," turned out to be a bit premature.