Jeff Himler stories, Page 8

A retiree whose work experience includes examining building plans and completing code reviews is now a new member of Latrobe’s city council. Council members voted unanimously this week to appoint Lenor Rivera to serve on the panel through December 2027. She will complete the term of William Yuhaniak, who cited...

Jase Wiarda occasionally calls a company with a pressure washer to give his rubber duck a bath. “It’s a weird phone call to make,” he said. “People think it’s a prank.” That is, until they realize their services are being sought to clean the “World’s Largest Rubber Duck” — a...

Route 30 eastbound reopened near the Route 119 interchange after a crash early Thursday evening shut it down for hours. The 5:30 p.m. wreck involved multiple vehicles, according to a Westmoreland County 911 dispatcher. Southwest Greensburg firefighters reported in a social media post that the crash involved a tri-axle truck...

Temperatures soaring into the 90s drove plenty of people to the Derry Community Pool on Sunday — but it proved to be too many for the limited number of lifeguards available, prompting an unexpected premature closure of the facility in mid-afternoon. Normally, the pool, owned by Derry Borough, is open...

Single-lane restrictions will be in effect beginning Monday on a stretch of Interstate 70 in Rostraver and South Huntingdon townships and during several weekends, beginning this weekend, on a segment of the interstate in North Belle Vernon and Rostraver. PennDOT said concrete pavement work will trigger overnight restrictions from 7...

Work to replace the leaking roof at Greater Latrobe Junior High will begin this summer and is expected to wrap up during the summer of 2026. The school board this week awarded the roof contract to Island Contracting, which submitted a low base bid of about $6.2 million. That’s about...

Royal Canadian Air Force Capt. Marc-André Plante has taken his CT-114 jet through more than 50 practice runs of the demanding mirror pass maneuver. On Friday, he and eight fellow Snowbirds pilots were scheduled to complete another dry run of that pattern and other elements of the aerobatic demonstration they’ll...

Thousands of people are expected to travel to Arnold Palmer Regional Airport this weekend to view the air show hosted annually at the Unity site. That means motorists should expect traffic to be heavier than usual on routes 30 and 981 in the vicinity of the airport. Traffic tends to...

Area residents who recall swimming at the former Ligonier Beach resort shouldn’t expect to return to take a dip in the now-shuttered Ligonier Township pool, but township consultants have suggested visitors might someday descend into the drained basin of the expansive pool to engage in activities such as climbing a...

Derry Area School Board is looking to appoint an eligible resident to a vacant seat on the panel after a board member’s resignation. The board also is planning to hire a new secondary-level administrator following the recent departure of the high school principal for a position at another district. The...

A block-long Latrobe street bordered by parking lots for the town’s hospital is among a dozen streets that are slated for improvement in an upcoming city paving project. Derry Construction was awarded the $367,343 contract for the project — including extensive work on Taft Street. which intersects with Second Avenue...

Greater Latrobe School Board on Tuesday approved a 1-mill property tax increase to help raise local revenue for a final 2025-26 district budget of $68 million. District business administrator Dan Watson had recommended a 2-mill hike to help Greater Latrobe prepare for future capital projects as it deals with school...

Greater Latrobe School District is looking to eliminate elementary Spanish instruction in its proposed 2025-26 budget as most school board members want to limit any potential tax increase to less than 2 mills. The board is expected at its meeting Tuesday to vote on finalizing a budget with $68.4 million...

PennDOT is planning the following work on roads in Westmoreland County during the week beginning Monday, weather permitting: • Paving will take place on Route 380 in Washington and Bell townships and on Stone Church Road in Hempfield Township. • Patching will take place on Route 30 in Ligonier and...

Dr. Carol Fox can recall a time when patient records existed only on paper. And when a woman who delivered a newborn through a C-section might be in the hospital for the better part of a week. After a 38-year medical career, Fox will retire as chief medical officer of...

Westmoreland Glass has become known for the decorative milk glass pieces it produced during its nine-decade run in the Hempfield community of Grapeville. Those who attend the Westmoreland Glass Collectors Club show and sale Friday and Saturday just outside Youngwood can expect to find a wider variety of vintage wares...

About a dozen Latrobe public works and clerical employees have settled a new 2½-year union contract with the city that includes annual pay increases. City council approved the labor agreement at its meeting this week, after the contract received a 10-0 vote of support from members of Local 83 of...

Latrobe’s administrative team, already in transition with the recent departure of former City Manager Terry Carcella, has another unexpected twist to navigate with the resignation of Finance Director Timothy Pisula. On board for only about three months in the newly designated position at Latrobe, Pisula has told city officials he’s...

A section of Route 217 in Derry Township will be closed to traffic beginning Monday while work is underway to rehabilitate a bridge that carries the road over McGee Run. The closure, between Ankney Road and Hillside Road/Old Route 217, is expected to continue through July 3, depending on weather....

Here are some of the latest news items from this morning, Friday, June 6: TSA agent accused of theft at Pittsburgh airport A Transportation Security Administration agent is accused of stealing money from a passenger during a screening process Wednesday afternoon at Pittsburgh International Airport. Allegheny County Police said the...

Eligible residents of Ligonier Valley School District have until June 25 to apply to Westmoreland County Court to be considered for appointment to a vacant seat on the school board. The court set that deadline for receiving resumes and letters of recommendation from those who are interested in filling a...

Primanti Bros. has permanently closed its restaurant location along Penn Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Garfield neighborhood. A notice of the closure was seen posted on the door of the eatery Wednesday, according to TribLive news partner WTAE. The location first opened in 2017, at the site of the former Verde restaurant....

Pennsylvania State Police say homemade fireworks and improvised explosive devices caused a house explosion that injured two people Wednesday afternoon in Butler County, one critically. The explosion was reported shortly before 1:30 p.m. in Muddy Creek Township. Police said a 48-year-old man, whom they described as a suspect in the...

The body of a missing man was found Wednesday night in a McKeesport creek. He was identified as Jeffrey Mckenzie, 60, of McKeesport, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. Mckenzie was found in Long Run Creek near the 400 block of Long Run Road, according to Allegheny County...

The Allegheny County Health Department is investigating elevated sulfur levels in coke oven gas reported over several hours from Monday evening into Tuesday morning at U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works. Health Department officials said a report they received from U.S. Steel indicated one of the facility’s control rooms, which normally...