Joe Napsha stories

The Norwin Art League has more than 100 pieces of artwork on display at its its 49th Annual Art Exhibition from noon to 5 p.m. Fridayat the social hall of the First Presbyterian Church of Irwin, 617 Main St., Irwin. The art exhibit features oils, watercolor, acrylic, drawings, mixed media,...

In the basement of the library at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus a few miles north of Uniontown, sits one of the largest collection of artifacts of the region’s bituminous coal and coke-producing industries. The fate of the 48-year-old Coal and Coke Heritage Center and its 8,000 artifacts and...

Passengers flying on bankrupt Spirit Airlines out of Arnold Palmer Regional Airport near Latrobe will lose the twice-weekly service to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in November but will gain two flights a week to Orlando, the airport’s chief officer said. The cutting and adding of service from Arnold Palmer Regional by...

Tips on taking care of your pets will be offered during a pet care program at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 1 at the Norwin Public Library, Caruthers Lane, Irwin. Representatives from St. Francis Animal Hospital in North Huntingdon will provide pet lovers with information on what to do during an emergency,...

A proposal to replace the 4-foot-by-8-foot message board on the “Irwin Inc. 1864” welcome sign with a new electronic version sparked a heated debate among Irwin Council members, with one member calling the proposed sign a “total eyesore.” At a recent council meeting, Councilman Tyler Baum was the sole dissenter...

An ex-Pennsylvania governor and former U.S. District Court judge Wednesday warned against politicians’ increasing verbal attacks against the independent judiciary, which they say have threatened democracy and led to threats on the lives of judges. “This is the closest we’ve come to a constitutional crisis,” said former Gov. Tom Corbett,...

A Scottdale day care center worker is accused of shoving a 4-year-old girl to the ground and allowing another child to hit the girl as a disciplinary measure, according to Scottdale police. Krista Ondish, 58, of Madison is accused by Scottdale police of assaulting the child Sept. 5 at the...

Teamwork helped avert a tragedy last month at a Penn Township house fire. Firefighters and paramedics worked together to get a young girl out of the burning building to safety, the Harrison City fire chief said Friday. “It was teamwork. There were so many people who played an integral role,”...

Greater Latrobe High School senior Anderson Schafer peered into the viewing panels of a small colorimeter Friday. The device measures the iron content in a test tube of clear water, first collected from an abandoned mine and then cleaned as it passed through seven settling ponds at a treatment system...

Sewickley Township Public Library unveiled plans Wednesday for a new facility next to the H.W. Good Elementary School near Herminie — a $1.9 million project that will give the library a home of its own. “It’s been a dream of the board and director for many years. We’ve been talking...

State environmental regulators were peppered with questions from Indiana-area residents Wednesday concerned about the air pollution that will be emitted from a proposed 4.5-gigawatt, natural gas-fired power plant outside Homer City and the potential for impacting their health. “We don’t feel they took any shortcuts on evaluating the (air pollution)...

The Norwin Art League’s studio in downtown Irwin has undergone a significant transformation, offering a completely refurbished space for artists to learn and create. The recent renovations, which began in June, included a full overhaul of the facility. To create a more open and natural environment, the league removed old...

North Huntingdon is considering a new set of rules for anyone who wants to lease township-owned land. The township commissioners are expected to vote Wednesday to advertise a new ordinance that aims to prevent the kind of controversy that arose last year when officials considered leasing land for a $30...

State environmental regulators say they intend to approve an air quality plan for a proposed natural gas-fired power plant near Homer City, despite concerns from an environmental group that the facility would become the largest air polluter in Pennsylvania. The Department of Environmental Protection said the air quality plan submitted...

A North Huntingdon resident’s attempt to get Norwin School District to spend money on retrieving deleted school board meeting videos has been denied. Bill Bojalad, board president, said last week there is no support among board members to hire a data recovery company to try to find the videos that...

Irwin borough officials have approved a plan for the fire department committee to develop a new fire safety inspection program. The committee will work in collaboration with the Irwin fire department and community stakeholders. The borough council voted unanimously to approve the initiative, which will be spearheaded by council members...

The 80th anniversary of the end of World War II will be commemorated at The Lamp Theatre in Irwin on Sept. 21 with newsreels from World War II, Jeeps such as the ones used during the war, historical artifacts and military displays. The free GI Canteen for a Day program...

Norwin officials are expected to get an update this week on the plan to demolish the high school stadium, with work set to begin in November. This is part of a $25 million renovation project that is scheduled to be completed in June 2027. Superintendent Natalie McCracken said a meeting...

Irwin’s fire department wants borough officials to consider giving their stamp of approval to developing a fire safety inspection program. It’s an initiative that will improve safety in town and give the fire department a better rating, leading to lower insurance premiums, the fire chief said. Irwin Council is expected...

Irwin Borough officials are finding the cost of converting a former storefront into administrative offices is running about $75,000 more than the $1.1 million in contracts initially awarded. Contractors began working on the conversion of the former Rosendahl’s Appliance Center storefront at 424 Main St. early this summer. The project...

Boaters who want to keep the Youghiogheny River clean of discarded tires and other trash from Cedar Creek Park in Rostraver to West Newton can paddle down the river on Saturday and join in removing the unsightly mess. The Mountain Watershed Association, an environmental organization based in Melcroft, is sponsoring...

Four raptors are expected to be at the Norwin Public Library on Thursday as part of a program on their importance to the ecosystem. Talon Talk will be presented by Nature’s Educators of Florence, Colo., at 6 p.m. at the library, 100 Caruthers Lane, Irwin. Members of the nonprofit wildlife...

The state will pump almost $12 million into an abandoned mine subsidence program in North Belle Vernon beginning next week. A slurry mixture of grout will be injected under about 140 homes in the neighborhood, which lies atop an old coal vein and the voids that were caused by mining...

The question of whether a three-megawatt solar power array should be built on farmland about a mile from Ligonier Valley High School goes to the Ligonier Township supervisors now that a planning panel Thursday recommended its approval. The Ligonier Township Planning Commission recommended that the supervisors approve Chicago-based SunVest Solar...

A magnifying glass donated by the Twilight Foundation will help Grandma Moose as she types up information to spread the word about the bus trips she organizes. Her real name is Virgie Smith and she lives in North Irwin. Since 1980, she’s billed herself as Grandma Moose and she organizes...