Dan Sleva stories

Ever since she was a young child, Kari Ann Leventopoulos has wanted to help feed the hungry. “She always enjoyed picking out and carrying the food to put in the box at church at St. Regis,” her mother Becky Leventopoulos said. “It was kind of her thing.” The interest grew...

When the Penn Township Ambulance service started a half century ago, resources were tight. There wasn’t an office for the first two volunteers or a garage for the ambulance. “In the winter weather, someone had to get out there and start (the ambulance) to make sure the battery made it...

Davie Huddleston wasn’t looking for an electric vehicle. He loves his gas-powered Nissan Murano convertible. But his two daughters kept insisting, and he finally bought one. “They should sell electric vehicles,” he said of his daughters. “It was constant. And they had a point for my every objection. But it...

After three years of working straight out of college and navigating the worst of a pandemic, Alex McCafferty felt it was time to walk away. Well, to hike away, at least, and pursue a dream in the process. He took a break from work and after his girlfriend, Amy Bowser,...

The Shell Pipeline Co. and a contractor will pay $670,000 for violations that released chemicals into local waterways, including the Ohio River. The state Department of Environmental Protection, Shell and its contractor, Minnesota Limited, agreed to the settlement. The DEP said in a release that 67 inspections showed repeated violations...

If you can easily explain away the psychic feelings that Kari Danser experiences at a scene, she won’t get angry. In fact, looking for any other explanation for phenomena is the first thing the Penn Township woman does when she visits a site. “Not everything is paranormal. Debunking is the...

Runners are relaying a baton in support of emergency first responders. The Great American Relay is heading through Westmoreland County on Monday, and Amanda Sage is putting down her flute to carry the baton from Irwin to Adamsburg. “My family is military, and I feel drawn to that cause. I...

A touch of pink is coming to local hospitals and football games for Breast Cancer Awareness month. Excela Frick, Excela Latrobe and Excela Westmoreland Hospitals will be lit up pink throughout October to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer treatments. “All three front facades will be flooded with pink,...

In-person gambling bounced back at the 16 casinos across the state as slots and table game revenue reached a record high $3.3 billion in the last fiscal year according to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board annual report. That tops the previous record of $3.2 billion for fiscal year 2018-19. Retail...

The Andrew Logan Beck EMS & Fire Scholarship Fund that was formed shortly after the 23-year-old Mt. Pleasant firefighter’s sudden death in January has awarded Nic Blahovec $1,000 toward his tuition in his paramedic program. “I am grateful for winning the scholarship,” Blahovec said. “It is an outstanding idea due...

Ligonier Country Market was judged to be the best farmers market in the state, according to the results of an online competition. The market was the top choice in Pennsylvania of voters in the 2022 America’s Farmers Market Celebration, a collaboration of the American Farmland Trust (AFT) and the Farmers...

Dogs and cats were rescued from a home that caught fire in Mt. Pleasant Township Wednesday morning. No people were home at 6802 Low St. but there were pets in the house as smoke billowed from the upstairs windows, according to Hecla Volunteer Fire Department firefighters and neighbors at the...

A 62-year-old Jeannette man was stabbed to death Monday night in a fight with a Penn Hills man, police said. Police were responding to a call about an altercation about 9:45 p.m. on South Sixth Street in Jeannette when they found William Osselburn bleeding from wounds to his neck, left...

A Harrison City man squashed the competition at a pumpkin festival in Ohio. Erik Gunstrom’s 2,405-pound entry won first place in the 58th annual Barnesville, Ohio, Pumpkin Festival on Wednesday, beating the next runner-up by more than 40 pounds. Last year’s winner at that festival was 2,195 pounds. Gunstrom, an...

Schools are back in session for in-person learning, but in some cases, students are simply not showing up. And these are not just kids ditching a class or two. Millions of students are now being classified by the U.S. Department of Education as chronically absent after missing 10% or more...

The 40,000-square-foot warehouse of the Westmoreland County Food Bank was transformed into a banquet hall open to the public Thursday night to celebrate the organization’s 40th anniversary. “It is an incredible accomplishment of the community as a whole,” said Lauren Hill, the food bank’s director of development. “These are great...

When Melville Petrosky first entered the coffee shop in the former Collections by Marty building in Scottdale a few years ago to see a friend’s artwork on display, he had to leave. Not because he didn’t like the space, but because he loved it. “I always wanted a coffee shop,”...

With all the change on campus, a couple of words stayed the same for fans heading to Adamson Stadium in California on Thursday. “Go Vulcans!” The university’s diplomas, logos and colors may be changing, and eventually the signage around campus will catch up, but the California Vulcans defeating the Fighting...

When an emergency call is received by dispatchers, it is treated like all others — with responders on high alert. Fully equipped with firearms, police rush to the scene. When they arrive, officers quickly assess the situation. This time in Rostraver, like the 32 times before it since January, it...

If you want a free covid test sent to your door, you’d better hurry. The popular website run by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that uses the Postal Service to deliver rapid tests to U.S. addresses at no cost will stop taking orders on Friday. The White...