Joe Napsha stories, Page 21
State reaches agreement on UPMC acquisition of Washington Hospital
UPMC has moved a step closer to buying Washington Hospital by reaching an agreement with the state Attorney General that is designed to ensure patients with health insurance other than the UPMC Health Plan will have the opportunity to have in-network benefits to the hospital’s services. The voluntary compliance agreement...
Judge: No dismissal of case of Greensburg woman accused of drugging girl
A Greensburg woman accused of giving an 8-year-old girl a dose of fentanyl in October 2022 lost her bid Thursday to have the case dismissed. Westmoreland County Judge Christopher Feliciani said questions regarding the mental competency of Skye C. Naggy at the time of the incident could be raised during...
Fayette woman accused of chaining daughter to bed, denying access to water
A Fayette County woman is accused of chaining her mentally handicapped daughter to a bed in her home with no mattress to sleep on for five days without giving her any water. Marylou DeWitt, 53, of Stauffer Street, Upper Tyrone, is accused by state police at Belle Vernon of inflicting...
Woman loses bid to drop charges in ex-lover’s suicide
A South Greensburg woman facing criminal charges in the 2021 death of her estranged boyfriend lost a bid to have the case against her dismissed. Westmoreland County Judge Scott O. Mears told attorneys for Mandie R. Reusch, 35, that he did not have the authority dismiss the charges as requested...
Norwin superintendent hired as assistant superintendent in Carlynton School District
As Norwin continues its search for a new superintendent, the district’s top administrator has landed a new job at Carlynton School District south of Pittsburgh. Norwin Superintendent Jeff Taylor was hired as Carlynton’s assistant superintendent, effective July 1. The Carlynton School Board unanimously approved Taylor’s hiring at its May 21...
Scottdale mayor: Humble servant with ‘heart of gold’ honored for service
Charles King kept bankers’ hours for more than 50 years at Scottdale Bank & Trust Co. Now retired, King, 82, has been mayor of the borough of about 4,300 residents for 13 years and he’s willing to lend a helping hand no matter what time it is. “When a disaster...
Family sues Norwin over alleged disability rights violation, claims defamation by school director
A North Huntingdon family filed a federal lawsuit this week against Norwin School District, claiming their civil rights were violated. Melissa Karabin; her husband, Matthew Karabin; and children, Samantha and Joseph Karabin, filed the 12-count lawsuit Thursday in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh, seeking a jury trial and unspecified damages....
Norwin area: Library to hold summer reading program
Library to hold summer reading program The summer reading program at the Norwin Public Library at Caruthers Lane in Irwin will open on June 10 with an art demonstration by local artist Bob Weaver and an opportunity for children to show their creativity with creating sidewalk art. The program will...
Norwin board grapples with covering $7.8M deficit
Even with a 6.8% property tax increase, Norwin School District will have to use $4.8 million of its reserves to balance a proposed $91 million budget for the 2024-2025 school year. If it foregoes the tax hike, the district would deplete its reserves from $9.7 million to $1.9 million to...
North Huntingdon seeks new rules for backyard chickens
North Huntingdon officials may have put the battle over backyard chickens behind them after setting in motion more stringent requirements for raising poultry in a neighborhood. The township commissioners last week authorized advertising an ordinance that would require property owners to have at least 1 acre of land if they...
Norwin grad combines career, travel, nomadic lifestyle
A North Huntingdon native has found that she can feel at home anywhere in the world, even when she’s thousands of miles away from the hills and rivers of Western Pennsylvania. Kayla Ihrig has used her husband’s native Netherlands as a base for the past five years while branching out...
2 suffer minor injuries when Ligonier Valley bus hits car
Two girls sustained minor injuries Friday afternoon when a Ligonier Valley school bus collided with the rear of their car along Route 711 north of Ligonier, police said. None of the 26 students on the school bus were hurt as a result of the accident that occurred about 3:10 p.m....
Norwin trails group seeks seeks regional committee
A Norwin area group that is promoting the creation of a network of hiking and biking trails in that area wants to form a regional transportation committee to work toward that goal. The nonprofit Friends of Norwin Trails has asked officials in Irwin, North Irwin and North Huntingdon to appoint...
Irwin church to hold Community Meal
The Holy Trinity Lutheran Church at 502 Main St., Irwin, is offering residents nourishment in a hot meal, fellowship and a sense of community at its Community Meal program at 6 p.m. May 20 in the church’s Fellowship Hall. The doors will be open at 5 p.m. for the church’s...
Pittsburgh Riverhounds, developers plan $30M sports complex in North Huntingdon
The Pittsburgh Riverhounds soccer club is working with two North Huntingdon business partners in planning a $30 million sports complex on township-owned property off Route 30, they announced Thursday. Five outdoor fields and a multi-purpose indoor facility will be built over the next six years at the 42-acre parcel. The...
Work to begin on preparing site for Palmer airport terminal expansion
A former airplane hangar at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport near Latrobe is scheduled to be razed at the end of the month, paving the way for the long-awaited terminal expansion project to begin, the authority’s engineer said. The demolition will take about a month, setting up the work on a...
‘A lot more than usual’: 11 sets of twins in Norwin’s class of 2024
Norwin High School senior Julia Walko remembers the time her track coach, Brian Fleckenstein, penciled in her sister to run in a relay in a track meet. “Coach Fleckenstein entered Jenna by mistake,” said Julia Walko. It’s not that Julia was upset at being bumped by her sister, the problem...
Norwin area: Elks donates to Autism Society; AARP to host card party and more
Norwin Elks donates to Autism Society Those who participated in the Norwin Elks’ Autism Car Cruise helped a good cause because the Elks was able to donate $5,000 from the proceeds of the car cruise to the Autism Society of America Westmoreland County Chapter, said Gary Ed of North Huntingdon,...
North Huntington police say Duquesne man tried to sell 970 stamp bags of heroin/fentanyl
A 30-year-old Duquesne man is accused of having 970 stamp bags of suspected heroin and fentanyl that he allegedly intended to sell in North Huntingdon, township police said. However, the buyer was an undercover police officer, authorities said. The suspect, Larnell D. “Rock” Jones III, of Seward Street, was arrested...
EPA to Yukon landfill operator: fix violations or face $73,000-a-day fine
Federal environmental regulators have given a Yukon landfill operator a series of deadlines to fix problems in how it treats hazardous materials and stores the treated waste on its property or possibly face a $73,000-a-day fine. MAX Environmental Technologies Inc. of Pittsburgh will be able to continue treating hazardous waste...
Fishermen’s delight for derby: Sunny day and lots of fish at Mammoth Park
It was a family affair Sunday for Jason and Heather Newhouse of Youngstown, who brought their two children and niece to Mammoth Park Lake in Mt. Pleasant Township for the Westmoreland County-sponsored fishing derby. Jason Newhouse, 10-year-old twins Sophia and Caleb, along with his niece, Adyson Vought, 11, of Latrobe,...
Southern Armstrong police seek man who fled police stop
Southern Armstrong police are looking for a man who fled a police stop in Gilpin Township, Saturday night, police said. The motorist, Robert Sipe, fled from his vehicle and ran into a wooded area behind the Portage Inn when police stopped it in the area of Route 66 and Johnetta...
Fire damages vacant buildings in Monessen
Fire damaged two vacant buildings in Monessen early Sunday morning. The fire was reported at 3:30 a.m. on Rostraver Street, a Westmoreland County Public Safety supervisor said. Monessen firefighters were assisted by fire departments from neighboring communities, the supervisor said. Additional details were not available Sunday morning....
University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg grads ready to move on after covid-impacted college
Brianna Bicker of Delmont recalled how strange it was for students starting at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg campus in fall 2020, where they didn’t eat their meals in the dining room, had few people attend class in person and couldn’t gather in large groups because of the covid-19...
Ohio man accused of stashing guns, ammo inside luggage at Pittsburgh airport
A Youngstown, Ohio man prohibited from having a gun was jailed Friday night for allegedly hiding three handguns, three boxes of ammunition and multiple ammo magazines inside a briefcase at the Pittsburgh International Airport, Allegheny County Police said. The briefcase that belonged to Luis Rojas Cay, 26, was stashed inside...
