Joe Napsha stories, Page 125
North Huntingdon approves policy limiting employees’ cellphone use while driving
North Huntingdon employees driving on township business have to pull off the highway and stop their vehicle if they want to make or take a call or text on their cellphone. Township commissioners recently approved the policy on a 3-2 vote with commissioners Brian Blasko, Darryl Bertani and Zachary Haigis...
Norwin student to build butterfly garden
With the monarch butterfly losing its habitat, a Norwin High School student wants to create a butterfly garden at the high school for the insects as they migrate from Mexico. “This could be a safe place for them,” junior Emily Jumba told Norwin School Board recently. She hopes to create...
Federal judge dismisses UPMC suit in Highmark split
The state attorney general won a round in federal court Wednesday in his ongoing battle to modify the soon-to-expire consent decree that gives numerous Highmark Inc. clients access to UPMC without paying higher out-of-network fees. U.S. Judge John E. Jones granted Attorney General Joshua Shapiro’s motion to dismiss UPMC’s complaint...
West Penn Power spending $43 million to trim, remove trees along power lines
West Penn Power plans to spend $43 million this year to trim and remove trees that could pose problems for power lines in an effort to minimize outages across its 24-county service area. Six contractors for the Greensburg-based utility company have trimmed more than 600 circuit miles of electric lines...
North Huntingdon, Penn Township police to collect unwanted meds
Residents can get rid of old or unwanted prescription drugs at collection points set up Saturday by the North Huntingdon and Penn Township police departments as part of the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. North Huntingdon police will have a collection bin at the police station at the Town...
Pennsylvania is tops in craft beer production, brewers group says
Pennsylvania is ranked No. 1 in the country in one craft beer category — production. The state’s 354 breweries produced more than 3.7 million barrels of craft beer last year, more than in any other state in the nation, according to statistics compiled by the Colorado-based Brewers Association, a national...
Norwin music program 1 of 6 honored in Westmoreland
Norwin’s music program has joined 623 school music programs across the United States, as well as five others in Westmoreland County, to be designated as one of the 2019 Best Communities for Music Education. Norwin has a robust musical program with more than 20 musical ensembles involved in more than...
Penn Township commissioner resigns; replacement sought
Penn Township is seeking a replacement for Commissioner Grant Pence, who recently resigned from the board. Pence’s resignation was accepted at the April 17 meeting. Pence, who could not be reached for comment, has more than two years remaining on the four-year term he won in November 2017. Pence represented...
Benefit concert to help Irwin girl fighting cancer
A benefit concert and raffle for the families of a 3-year-old Irwin girl battling leukemia and a 13-year-old Liberty Borough boy being treated for cancer is planned for April 27. Conrad’s Concert 8 will be held 7 p.m. to midnight at Zander’s Sports Bar/Palmieri’s Restaurant, 951 Old Frankstown Road, Plum....
North Huntingdon sues developer, zoning board in billboards dispute
North Huntingdon Township has sued its own zoning hearing board and a Greensburg developer, seeking to overturn the board’s decision granting a permit to place a billboard along Route 30, just east of the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s Irwin interchange. In a suit filed in Westmoreland County, the township wants a judge...
Redstone Highlands offers nursing, HVAC scholarships to Pitt-Greensburg, WCCC
Students who want to pursue a nursing career this fall semester can apply for one of three scholarships worth a total of $96,800 to attend either the University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg or Westmoreland County Community College. Redstone Highlands, which offers a variety of living options for senior citizens at facilities in...
Norwin to install speed bumps at elementary schools
In an attempt to slow down motorists driving around three of its elementary schools, Norwin will spend $6,200 to install eight speed bumps at those schools this summer. The school board on April 15 awarded Brant’s Asphalt LLC of Hempfield the contract to install four speed bumps at Stewartsville Elementary...
Bench dedicated to late Trafford supporter, restaurant owner
When Renee Cappetta died last July, Trafford not only lost the person who owned and operated the popular Parente’s Ristorante, but the borough lost a big booster. “She did so much for the town. She did all the light-up nights and did the festivals. She gave so much for town,...
State offers Penn Township $1.4 million to control flooding
Penn Township has a $1.45 million loan offer on the table to reduce flooding in the Harrison Park and Hyland Road areas. Officials have yet to decide if they want it. Township leaders have roughly six months to decide whether they want to accept the loan, township manager Alex Graziani...
North Huntingdon promotes 5 police officers
The North Huntingdon Police Department has two new lieutenants and three new sergeants. Sgts. Gregory Arendas and Jay McCurdy were promoted to the rank of lieutenant by the township commissioners Wednesday. Officers Nicholas Dreistadt, William Kauffman and Justin Wardman were promoted to sergeant. Arendas and McCurdy were the only two...
Fishing derby set for Mammoth Park
Those who love fishing and competing against other anglers can participate in the free fishing derby planned for Mammoth Park Lake, off Route 982, Mt. Pleasant Township, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 28. Registration will be conducted at Pavilion 12 at the park. All those who enter the...
Bushy Run Battlefield hosts market, Wilderness Day events
A variety of vendors will sell their wares at the open air Bushy Run Market, which is planned this spring and summer for the Bushy Run Battlefield along Route 993 in Penn Township. The Bushy Run Battlefield Heritage Society Inc. is sponsoring the market, which will operate the first Saturday...
Irwin reaches deal with prospective Cafe Supreme owner on $11,100 garbage bill
Robert Juliano moved a step closer to owning the Cafe Supreme restaurant in Irwin after reaching a tentative agreement with Irwin Borough to pay more than $11,000 in delinquent garbage bills that had piled up from the restaurant’s previous owner. Last week, Juliano proposed to Irwin council he would pay...
Norwin discusses possible tax hike, doesn’t expect layoffs
Norwin School District property owners may pay 3% more in real estate taxes for the 2019-2020 school, the most the school district can raise taxes without getting approval from the state education department or district voters. In discussing the proposed budget for the upcoming school year, Norwin anticipates raising real...
North Huntingdon woman saw Pittsburgh’s transformation from `Smoky City’
Lois June Drexler grew up on Mt. Washington in the 1930s and 1940s, when Pittsburgh was known as the “Smoky City.” The steel mills were belching out smoke on both sides of the Monongahela River — the South Side and Hazelwood — and homes like the one young Lois Bressler...
North Huntingdon to tell workers to park it, then text, talk
North Huntingdon wants to ban its employees from texting and making or taking calls on personal and municipal cellphones while driving township vehicles. “People on cellphones is a major accident waiting to happen … literally,” said Jeff Silka, township manager. The proposed policy is expected to be voted on at...
Norwin OKs new stadium turf, despite opposition
Norwin officials have agreed to spend more than half a million dollars on artificial turf at two high school fields, a move opponents wanted to delay until the cost of swimming pool repairs is known. The Norwin School Board on Monday awarded a $587,174 contract to Shaw Sports Turf to...
Norwin picks North Hills administrator as new superintendent
The new leader of Norwin schools is a North Hills assistant superintendent with extensive experience as a curriculum coordinator who in the interview process touted his collaborative leadership style and vision that Norwin needs as the district continues to grow. School board members on Monday unanimously selected Jeffrey Taylor, who...
Norwin distinguished alumni to include county commissioner
A Westmoreland County commissioner, a minister, a nursing professor, a local businessman and past and present school administrators will be recognized next month as distinguished alumni of Norwin High School. The six honorees are: Commissioner Ted Kopas, Westmoreland County Community College nursing professor Rebecca Gediminskas, Norwin assistant superintendent Tim Kotch,...
Turkeytown Road bridge to be replaced; road closed for a month
A section of Turkeytown Road in South Huntingdon will be closed beginning Monday to allow the state to make emergency repairs, resulting in a detour that will last about a month, PennDOT’s Uniontown office said. PennDOT will replace the existing bridge with a new 48-inch cross pipe to carry Hunter’s...
