Joe Napsha stories, Page 105

A chef, school nurse, Pittsburgh area sportscaster, physician, historian, veteran, volunteer with several community organizations and former high school principal are among a dozen Penn-Trafford graduates to be inducted into the school’s inaugural hall of fame class. The Penn-Trafford High School Alumni Hall of Fame recognizes alumni and school associates...

Plans to build a $2.3 billion electric battery assembly plant near General Motors Corp.’s shuttered automobile plant in Lordstown, Ohio, will be reviewed during a March 12 public hearing in Lordstown, which is about 75 miles from Pittsburgh. General Motors is applying for approval on behalf of GigaPower LLC of...

Westmoreland County’s deep coal mining history will be explored during a March 14 program at the Westmoreland History Education Center at Historic Hanna’s Town on Forbes Trail Road in Hempfield. Marion Piccolomini, a native of Cardale, Fayette County and author of “Southwestern Pennsylvania’s Coal Region,” will speak about the area’s...

Pittsburgh, which has prided itself for generations as having hard-working people who toiled in steel mills, factories, coal mines and manual labor jobs, apparently has softened over the years, based on a study conducted by WalletHub, a personal finance website. The workers of the onetime Steel City were “outworked” by...

Rachael Johnston of Unity had a loving heart, taking care of children in her work and babysitting relatives and loving pets — both cats and dogs. “I knew her as a very gentle, loving person. She got along very well with kids and pets,” said her uncle, Herman Lagally of...

Nancy Vucina loved to sew clothing and make rosary beads for Catholic missionaries. “She made hundreds of rosaries for charity” using a kit containing beads, wire and pliers, said her daughter, Anna Stufft of Ligonier. Mrs. Vucina would go to Saint Vincent College and give the nuns her homemade lye...

Tim Hewitt’s hopes of trekking some 1,300 miles through the Alaskan wilderness were smashed last week by deep snow that slowed his progress, making every step in his snowshoes difficult and deep snow that obliterated any traces of a trail. Hewitt, a Latrobe attorney, said on Feb. 24 from his...

Norwin will close public access to its campuses on school days to improve student safety, the district announced. Only people with legitimate school business will be admitted to buildings and recreational facilities. The public will be prohibited from using the track or other recreation facilities from 7 a.m. to 4:30...

All the commuters who drive across the Liberty Bridge and wait in rush hour traffic over the Monongahela River, and those traveling the Andy Warhol Bridge over the Allegheny River, can say they have been on one of the most outstanding bridges in the country. Both Pittsburgh bridges were among...

Motorists traveling Interstate 70 between Yukon and Madison — exits 53 and 54 — will have to drive through lane-restricted areas next week, PennDOT said. There will be a single lane of travel in both directions while crews demolish the median barrier and install a temporary barrier. Work from 10...

The Westmoreland County home of Pittsburgh Pirates legend Bill Mazeroski and his wife will go to the highest bidder, with the sale coming less than three months after memorabilia from his Hall of Fame career and other household items attracted hundreds of people to a New Year’s Day auction. Bids...

Francis Yandrick was a man who served his country and community, fighting in the Army during World War II and serving on Ligonier Borough Council. “He really did love the town of Ligonier,” said his granddaughter, Natalie Headley of Baltimore. Francis X. Yandrick of Ligonier died Friday, Feb. 14, 2020,...

A group of surveyors from Pennsylvania and Maryland starting this year plan to create a new record of what might be America’s most famous border: the Mason-Dixon Line. Members of both states’ surveyor societies will help survey the 196-mile border stretching from Delaware to the southeastern tip of Fayette County,...

Latrobe labor attorney Tim Hewitt is at it again, putting his body through yet another outrageously long journey through the Alaska wilderness in the middle of winter. He set the record for running the famed Iditarod Trail Invitational, billed as the “world’s longest winter ultra-marathon,” having covered more than 1,000...

“A Night at the Speakeasy” will be the theme of The Lamp Theatre’s March 20 fundraiser that will take patrons back to the Roaring ’20s and the days of Prohibition. Patrons are encouraged to wear a cocktail dress, formal wear and 1920s-themed clothing to the gala that will be held...

Those who love cupcakes can eat them for a good cause at the Norwin Lions Cubcake Wars at the Norwin High School cafeteria, 251 McMahon Drive, North Huntingdon, from 1 to 4 p.m. March 29. Money from the eighth annual fundraiser will be used for the Norwin Lions and its...

Sage’s Army, a nonprofit fighting drug addiction, will hold a free family reinforcement/recovery session on Feb. 27. The event will take place from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the group’s headquarters, 216 Fourth St., Irwin. The sessions are designed to provide information and guidance for family members who deal with...

For the second consecutive year, Norwin’s Sheridan Terrace Elementary School is a Title I Distinguished School. Sheridan Terrace won the designation for the 2018-19 and the 2019-20 school years, according to the state Department of Education’s federal programs division. It was one of 94 schools to receive the award for...

Norwin plans to launch a program next school year to give iPads to students, starting in fifth grade and continuing over four years, so that all students from fifth through 12th grades will study on computer tablets that eventually will replace textbooks. The multi-year One to World program giving Apple...

Irwin Borough hired a part-time code enforcement officer. Joseph Volpe of Penn Hills was hired by borough council last week to work 20 hours a week, at a rate of $15 an hour, said council President Rick Burdelski. Volpe will be responsible for enforcing the borough’s Quality of Life ordinance...