Joe Napsha stories, Page 132
Chili, wings cookoff fundraiser set for Irwin
A few good chefs are needed to make chili, wings and baked goods to be sold at the ninth annual Chili Cookoff & Wing Thing in Irwin on March 7. The event is held to raise money to provide backpacks full of nutritious food for a group of Norwin elementary...
Pittsburgh area jobless rate remains at 4.2 percent
The Pittsburgh region’s unemployment rate remained at 4.2 percent in December, a drop of .7 percent from a year ago as the region added 9,600 nonfarm jobs compared to December 2017. Among the seven counties in the Pittsburgh region, Allegheny County’s jobless rate held steady at 4.2 percent, while Westmoreland...
Irwin fielding calls to buy Rite Aid building
The building housing the soon-to-close Rite Aid store in downtown Irwin has attracted a few potential buyers at the same time a business organization is pleading with the company to keep the store open. Irwin Borough Manager Valerie Morton said Monday she has fielded calls for Rite Aid from interested...
Western Pennsylvania’s craft beer market grows with the flowVideo
John Titus and Tim Molinari are taking the plunge into the competitive world of craft beer brewing, after toiling for months to open their New Crescent Brewing Co. taproom in a converted storefront in downtown Irwin. Although craft brewers dot Route 30 in North Huntingdon and others are planned for...
Trafford centenarian was driver to rich and famous
Milan “Jemo” Drakulic Sr. of Trafford got to drive famous people as the head chauffeur for the former Westinghouse Electric Corp. when its headquarters were in downtown Pittsburgh. “He was the youngest of about six chauffeurs for Westinghouse and then became its head chauffeur around 1965,” said his daughter, Maryanne...
Rivertowne liquor licenses sold at bankruptcy auction
A Monroeville real estate owner bought the closed Rivertowne Pub & Grille’s restaurant liquor license in North Huntingdon and the tavern’s inventory of equipment and supplies for $107,500 in a bankruptcy court auction in Pittsburgh Thursday. Sheldon Klasfeld of Monroeville Properties LLC, which rents houses, purchased the license and inventory...
North Huntingdon store top Sheetz site for fundraiser for needy children
The Sheetz Inc. convenience store at Ronda Court in North Huntingdon will offer free coffee and fountain drinks Thursday as a reward for customers and employees raising more money for a charitable fundraising initiative in December than any of its 583 other stores in Pennsylvania and five other states. The...
Norwin plans kindergarten registration
Norwin School District will begin registering children Feb. 5 for 2019-2020 kindergarten classes, using an online system called Registration Gateway. Parents wishing to register their child should visit the district website, www.norwinsd.org, and select the “Registration” link to access the system and complete all necessary pre-registration forms. Children must live...
Norwin seeks nominees for distinguished alum honors
The Norwin Alumni & Friends Association is seeking nominations by Feb. 1 for the Distinguished Alumni Award to be presented at the third annual Knight of Distinguished Alumni Recognition Dinner on May 23 at the Stratigos Banquet Center, North Huntingdon. To be eligible for the award a person must have...
Car hits Derry Township house
A car hit a house on Smith Street in Derry Township Tuesday night, the Westmoreland County Department of Public Safety said. Firefighters from Bradenville responded to the report of the crash at 10:55 p.m. There was no information available on whether there were any injuries. An ambulance was dispatched to...
Greater Latrobe limits any tax hike to 2.36 mills
Greater Latrobe School District will not increase real estate taxes for the 2019-2020 school year more than 2.36 mills, and very likely it will be less than that, a school official said Tuesday. Daniel Watson, Greater Latrobe’s business administrator, said Tuesday he does not anticipate the school district will raise...
Norwin superintendent, asst. superintendent take retirement incentives
Norwin’s superintendent and one of its assistant superintendents will get incentives to retire one year early, under deals the Norwin School Board approved Monday. Superintendent William Kerr will receive an early retirement incentive of $56,353, while Timothy Kotch Sr., assistant superintendent for secondary education, will receive benefits equal to $76,871....
Norwin advertises for new superintendent
The Norwin School Board has launched a search for an experienced superintendent to replace William Kerr, who is retiring June 30. The school district seeks someone who has a doctorate in education, administration or related field, as well as five years of central office experience, according to an advertisement placed...
Irwin Builders Supply site sold, auction set
An auction is set for Jan. 26 to sell a variety of home building products at the last remaining vestige of Irwin Builders Supply Corp., which was sold last month to a Hempfield-based supplier of aggregate and building products. Wendell H. Stone Co. of Connellsville, part of Hempfield-based Stone &...
Norwin faces possible $1 million budget deficit
Norwin school officials are facing a possible $1 million deficit when they tackle the 2019-20 budget this spring, even if taxes are raised about 2.4 mills, the maximum the state will allow. The school board is expected to consider a resolution Monday that will put a cap on any real...
Storm shopping: Blame it on meteorologist, tradition and need to control the ‘uncontrollable’
Whenever meteorologists start the drumbeat of a pending snowstorm, and particularly significant snowfall, panic buying at area grocery stores typically sets in. “The more they talk about it (storm), the busier it gets. They panic. People get worried,” said Diana Espey, a manager at Naser Foods in Pleasant Unity. Espey...
North Huntingdon woman loved to sing
Helen Medic loved to sing, whether it was classical music, operas or church hymns. Her voice was so good that she was selected as the soloist at Duquesne High School for her graduating class of 1941, said her daughter, Joyce Yovetich of North Huntingdon. “She was always singing. She would...
North Huntingdon police response team trains at Norwin schools
The North Huntingdon Police Department emergency response team is conducting training and walk-through drills at all seven of Norwin School District’s buildings. Police issued an alert at about 3 p.m. Thursday to inform residents of the training and that there is not a need for alarm when seeing police at...
Unity bank robbed, state police search for suspect
State police at Greensburg are searching for a man who robbed the First National Bank on Route 30, east of the Route 981 intersection, in Unity on Thursday. The man entered the bank just before 11 a.m. and gave a teller a threatening note that demanded money, police said. He...
Irwin OKs lawsuits to enforce rental ordinance
Irwin officials plan to crack down on landlords who are not complying with the borough’s tenant registry and inspection ordinance enacted last year. Borough council has authorized borough solicitor Zachary Kansler to file lawsuits against property owners to enforce the local rule requiring the inspection of rental units for a...
North Huntingdon to hire 4 cops to replace retirees
North Huntingdon is looking to hire four police officers, a move that will cost about $227,100 in salaries to replace several officers who retired in the past two years. The hirings will return North Huntingdon’s police force to its full complement of 30 officers, said Jeffrey Silka, township manager. He...
Judge says Norwin school board member chosen without influence
A letter sent by a current Norwin school board member to the Westmoreland County judges did not influence their choice to fill a vacant seat on the panel, the president judge said Tuesday. President Judge Rita Hathaway said the nine judges did not consider the letter sent by a school...
2019 Songwriters Hall class: Missy, Cat Stevens, John Prine
NEW YORK — Missy Elliott is making history as the first female rapper inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, whose 2019 class also includes legendary British singer Cat Stevens and country-folk icon John Prine. The organization announced the new group of inductees Saturday. Other inductees include Tom T. Hall,...
North Huntingdon sky diving gold medalist champions sport for family, othersVideo
Some might say Randy Persi is fearless for making parachuting his passion and hobby. Others might consider him a little crazy for tempting fate almost 2,000 times by diving out of planes. But, all of them can call the North Huntingdon man a champion, as the 51-year-old father of two...
Rite Aid to close Irwin store in February
Rite Aid will close its pharmacy and store on Main Street in Irwin early next month, a decision made after an evaluation of its business, the Camp Hill-based pharmacy chain said. Rite Aid’s last day of normal operations in Irwin is expected to be Feb. 4, at which time the...
