Joe Napsha stories, Page 129
Irwin tables proposed amusement tax
Irwin Borough officials this week decided to delay any decision on starting an amusement tax. Options for the proposed tax, which has stirred controversy, include a levy of 5 percent or a flat 50 cents on the price of tickets sold at entertainment venues in the borough, such as The...
Discoverer Blog bypasses Latrobe as Pennsylvania’s best small town
Move over Latrobe. The Westmoreland County city that was rated as one of the 50 most charming cities in the nation last month by the Travel Channel was looked over as the best small community in Pennsylvania by an online website. A writer for the Denver-based Discoverer Blog selected New...
Bushy Run to celebrate Charter Day
Complementary guided tours and historical demonstrations will be part of Bushy Run Battlefield’s second annual Charter Day Celebration and Free Museum Day at the Penn Township site from noon to 4 p.m. March 10. The event recognizes Pennsylvania’s 338th birthday, when England’s King Charles II granted a charter to Quaker...
North Huntingdon planners recommend approval of church office
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church’s plans to build a one-story office building on its North Huntingdon land cleared one hurdle Monday when the township planning commission recommended approval of the project, as long as the church meets certain conditions. The recommendation to the North Huntingdon commissioners that it approve the...
Indiana Township woman to testify at Senate hearing about lowering prescription drug prices
An Indiana Township woman who suffers from multiple chronic conditions is scheduled to testify Wednesday before a Senate hearing in Washington, D.C., about how she deals with the high cost of prescription medications she needs. Barbara Cisek of Rural Ridge, who suffered a stroke and deals with diabetes and migraine...
Unity man gets top ROTC honors at Virginia Military InstituteVideo
Two severe injuries on both knees derailed Alec Hoopes’ football career with the Greater Latrobe Wildcats and dashed any hopes of playing in college. But it set him on a path that led him to be named the nation’s top-ranked senior ROTC cadet. The hard work and dedication that continued...
North Huntingdon T-Shirt shop provides guide to fish fries
Just how popular are Lenten fish fries in Western Pennsylvania? Popular enough that many Westmoreland County fire departments and Catholic churches sell fish and meatless delicacies on Fridays over the next six weeks. And for a second year, a North Huntingdon print shop has created a customized T-shirt with its...
South Greensburg man loved dancing
Frank J. Rossi of South Greensburg enjoyed ballroom dancing so much, and was so good at it, that he was an instructor at an Arthur Murray dance studio in the 1950s in Pittsburgh. “He loved to dance. He was still dancing up until the last few years,” said his son,...
Level Green multiphasic blood test slated
A multiphasic blood screening test to check a person’s levels of cholesterol, hemoglobin, triglycerides, prostate-specific antigen, as well as thyroid function, will be conducted from 7 to 10 a.m. March 23 at the Level Green Community Building. 123 Murrysville Road in Penn Township. The blood screening also will test levels...
Empty Bowl fundraisers feeds hungry
Serenity Struble of McCandless was having a good time Sunday afternoon, one of a few hundred people who patronized the Empty Bowl luncheon that benefits the needy and hungry served by the Westmoreland County Food Bank. “It is really a great thing for a great cause … ’cause it is...
Snow causes a rash of mostly minor accidents across the region
The winter storm that swept across large portions of the country wasn’t as bad locally as was feared, but it was enough to make roads slippery Sunday evening and contributed to several crashes across the region: • Route 28 southbound at the Route 8 off-ramp in Etna was closed because...
Vehicle hits Springdale veterinary hospital
A pick-up truck crashed into the River Valley Veterinary Hospital at 1046 Pittsburgh St., Springdale, on Saturday night. The crash destroyed the front doors of the business but, according to social media reports, no animals are housed in the hospital overnight. Springdale Police Chief George Polnar could not be reached...
Fire destroys small building on Murrysville farm
Fire destroyed a small out building and killed the chickens inside it on a Murrysville farm early Sunday morning, a Sardis fire department spokesman said. The fire, which was reported at 5:46 a.m., occurred at a farm at 4320 Fairview Lane, said Sardis Deputy Fire Chief Joey Paiano. No one...
Fire causes $45,000 in damage to Mt. Pleasant Twp. plastics business
A Mt. Pleasant Township plastics company sustained about $45,000 in damage Saturday night in a fire that destroyed an addition to the structure, a fire official said. The fire at C-K Composites LLC of 361 Bridgeport St., destroyed a wooden structure adjacent to the concrete block building, said Mt. Pleasant...
Norwin library to host Women of Ireland Cultural Program
Some famous and not-so-famous Irish foremothers will be discussed during the Women of Ireland Cultural Program at 6 p.m. March 14 at the Norwin Public Library, Caruthers Lane, Irwin. Donna Jordan of North Huntingdon, who has conducted extensive research into her family’s heritage in Scotland and Ireland, will presented the...
Derry Twp. man loses $2,200 to credit card fraud
An elderly Derry Township man was defrauded of $2,198 from Dec. 3 through Feb. 22 when a woman is suspected of using his credit card to buy pre-paid Visa cards at the Latrobe Shop ‘n Save and Giant Eagle supermarkets nine times, state police at Greensburg said. The woman had...
Plum School District warns parents of internet ‘Momo Challenge’
A social media challenge that is either a new form of cyber bullying or simply a hoax has prompted the Plum Borough School District to issue a warning about the “Momo Challenge,” which encourages students to commit dangerous and potentially violent acts. The Momo Challenge uses text messages or social...
Officials search for cause of fire that killed a Charleroi man
A 62-year-old Charleroi man who used oxygen tanks to aid his breathing was killed early Saturday morning in a fire, a fire official said. A Charleroi firefighter found James Harbaugh unresponsive lying in the backyard of his two-story house at 118 R. Fallowfield Ave., fire Chief Robert Whiten said. The...
Man identified in fatal Derry Twp. crash
A 77-year-old Blairsville man was killed Friday afternoon in a head-on collision along Route 217 in Derry Township, state police at Greensburg said. Robert L. Cochran of Indiana Avenue was killed when his southbound sport-utility vehicle was hit by a northbound vehicle as it approached the area of Curnow Drive...
GOP confident about electionsVideo
Buoyed by voter registration figures that give Republicans a slight edge over Democrats in Westmoreland County, GOP officials are confident that a strong turnout will bode well for the party this year. “We should see a higher turnout than in 2015. There’s a lot of people on the ballot, and...
Annual Race for Grace gearing up at Norwin
The 12th annual Race for Grace, which has raised more than $1 million for the fight against childhood brain cancer, will be held April 6 at Norwin High School. The event is in honor of Grace Ekis of North Huntingdon. She died in 2008 at age 5 from a terminal...
One injury reported when vehicle crashes into Murrysville home
One person reportedly was injured Wednesday afternoon when a vehicle left a Murrysville road and slammed into the foundation of a house, pushing into its basement. The accident occurred at about 2:30 p.m in the 3800 block of Meadowbrook Road, south of Route 22, a Westmoreland County 911 dispatcher said....
Unemployment rate drop leaves employers scrambling for workersVideo
In the not too distant past, Pace Analytical Services LLC did not have to scramble to find lab technicians for its analytical laboratory in Hempfield. But, with Westmoreland County’s unemployment rate down to 4.5 percent in December and the number of jobless at 8,300, those times have changed. “I never...
North Irwin man had love for his community
Louis A. Simon of North Irwin was a community-minded person who served his town’s fire department, the borough’s zoning commission, picked up litter around town and helped to preserve a local pond. “He would walk around town and clean up the litter he saw in his daily walks. He rebuilt...
North Huntingdon seeks residents to fill posts
North Huntingdon is seeking residents who want to serve on volunteer township boards and commissions. The township recently advertised for those interested in serving on two township-affiliated agencies involved in sewage treatment: the North Huntingdon Township Municipal Authority and the Western Westmoreland Municipal Authority. Members of both authorities are appointed...
