Joe Napsha stories, Page 28
Daughter, 2 men arrested in connection with St. Clair woman’s death
The daughter of a St. Clair Township woman whose body was found last week underneath her home with two gunshots in her head has been arrested along with two men in connection with her death, Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office said Sunday. The daughter, Melissa A. Beacom, 49, of New...
Wreaths Across America chapters decorate Westmoreland veterans’ graves
Barbara Keough and her daughter, Denise Keough-Samuels, placed a wreath Saturday at the grave of Barbara’s son, Frank Keough, where he’s buried in a section of Penn Lincoln Memorial Park in North Huntingdon that is dedicated to veterans. “Frankie’s never forgotten. He was just the heart of the family, upbeat...
Tom’s Turkeys donates gift cards to Norwin families in need
Families of Norwin School District students have help putting food on their tables this holiday season thanks to a North Huntingdon nonprofit that donated $5,600 worth of gift cards to a supermarket. Tom’s Turkeys, which raises money to address food insecurity among families in the Norwin area, donated 224 gift...
Breakfast with Santa set for North Huntingdon fire hall
Breakfast with Santa will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Sunday at the Hartford Heights Volunteer Fire Department, 14335 Route 30, North Huntingdon. The cost is $10 for adults and $8 for children ages 5 to 12. Children age 4 and younger will eat for free. Tickets will be...
Norwin area: Irwin council member resigns; police candidates sought and more
Irwin Borough council member resigns For the second time this year, Irwin Borough Council will be looking for someone to replace a council member who is resigning. Councilwoman Leslie Savage resigned from borough council, effective Dec. 14. Savage said she was resigning for personal reasons. Savage was in the midst...
North Huntingdon man pleads guilty to smuggling Hondurans, cocaine into U.S.
A North Huntingdon businessman’s scheme to smuggle Hondurans and cocaine into the country came undone when the U.S. Coast Guard found his yacht floundering in the Gulf of Mexico, the Justice Department said in court documents. Carl “Car” Allison, 47, pleaded guilty in federal court in New Orleans this month...
Retired doctor goes from restoring patients’ health to restoring 240-year-old farmhouse
A North Huntingdon family doctor who recently retired from a career of helping to restore the health of his patients is now working to restore a farmhouse that has been in his family for almost a century. Dr. Daniel Medic hung up his stethoscope at the end of November at...
JetBlue mum on post-merger service at Arnold Palmer airport
Arnold Palmer Regional Airport enters the holiday travel season shrouded in turbulence. The airport is forging ahead with expansion plans despite passenger traffic plummeting this year — all while the lone airline serving the Unity facility is poised to merge with another airline that has failed to commit to retaining...
Display of vintage Irwin buildings was labor of love for borough native
Melvyn Rasel dedicated countless hours and money over four decades to create an homage to his hometown, building small plastic replicas of Irwin landmarks from his childhood in the 1950s as part of an extensive model train layout in his Plum home. His family is now sharing this labor of...
Somerset Trust’s Westmoreland construction bucks industry trend
The new Somerset Trust Co. bank branch in Hempfield that opened in late September is definitely not your father’s or grandfather’s financial institution. It has the traditional tellers, loan officers, conference rooms and vault. But the two-story building fronting East Pittsburgh Street also has a coffee bar where customers can...
Yukon landfill could pay $275,000 to settle pollution claims
Residents living near a hazardous waste landfill in Yukon could share in a tentative $275,000 class-action lawsuit settlement that claims their homes have been impacted by polluted dust and odors from the site since 2014. Payments from the proposed settlement with MAX Environmental Technologies Inc. — to those living in...
Volunteers sought for North Huntingdon trail work
A North Huntingdon group is seeking volunteers to do light maintenance work from 9 a.m. to noon Dec. 9 and from 9 a.m. to noon Jan. 14 on at least two trails at Braddock’s Trail Park in North Huntingdon. The Friends of Norwin Trails plans to clear existing trails and...
Norwin OKs 6.8% state set cap on any possible tax hike
Property owners in the Norwin School District will not see a tax increase for the 2024-2025 school year that is more than the state-permitted maximum of 6.8%. The Norwin School Board this week unanimously adopted a resolution that it would not seek to raise taxes higher than the amount determined...
Norwin area: Holiday house tour, holiday celebration and more
House tour slated in Norwin Seven houses in Irwin and North Huntingdon will be featured on the Norwin Historical Society’s Homes for the Holidays Tour from 3:30 to 8 p.m. Dec. 2. Tickets can be purchased for $25 by credit card at www.norwinhistoricalsociety.org, at the Norwin Public Library, 100 Caruthers...
Westmoreland 250: 10 things to see in North Huntingdon
(Editor’s note: To mark Westmoreland County’s 250th birthday this year, we’ve come up with a list of 250 things — 10 things in 25 communities — that we consider to be important to the makeup of our area. This series will appear each week through December. If you have a...
Irwin plans 2-mill tax hike to fund fire department
Irwin property owners might see a two-mill tax hike in their real estate bill next year under a proposed 2024 budget that increases funding for the volunteer fire department. Council on Wednesday is expected to approve a budget that sets the real estate tax at 28 mills: 23 mills for...
Sewickley Township library supporters hold fundraiser; new building in the works
A Sewickley Township library support group is helping to raise money with an Election Day Soup & Bake Sale for the small library that has been forced to move into temporary facilities. There are plans for a new building in Herminie. “We’ve got volunteers lined to donate more than 100...
Irwin group seeks funds for home cleanup, hoarding disorder treatment
An Irwin-based organization that strives to address blight-related problems is proposing to provide mental health services to those with hoarding disorders. “There’s no formal program (for treating hoarding disorders) in Westmoreland County and this half of the state,” said Matt Williams, founder of the nonprofit Fight the Blight Inc. Williams...
Norwin area briefs
Veterans Day programs planned A retired Navy commander and Manor native who served 35 years in the Navy, will be the keynote speaker at the Veterans Day ceremonies at 11 a.m. Nov. 11 at the J. Howard Snyder Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 781, Billot Avenue, North Huntingdon. Chris Haas...
Irwin at the center of proposed bike, walking trails
Irwin could be the hub of three recreational trails — from the borough’s downtown to the Norwin Public Library as well as trails to the villages of Larimer and Hahntown in North Huntingdon. Dan Korhnak, a co-founder of the nonprofit Friends of Norwin Trails, told Irwin officials Wednesday the organization...
Recycling pumpkins is good for wildlife, environment
The carved and uncarved pumpkins that will be in businesses and homes over Halloween can be put to good use once trick-or-treat is over. Just like glass, plastic, tin, aluminum, paper and cardboard, the old pumpkins can be recycled and put to good use for the environment, the state Department...
Political divide in Norwin separates factions vying for control of school board
Ten candidates — five each on the Republican and Democratic ballots — have formed competing factions in the race for five seats on the Norwin School Board. The board has been divided into two factions for 22 months and voters likely will determine Nov. 7 which slate of candidates will...
Norvelt opens new, spacious fire hall
It was moving day Sunday for the Norvelt Volunteer Fire Department, which transferred its firetrucks and equipment across Mt. Pleasant Road to the firefighters’ new $1 million home with room enough for all of its vehicles. “We outgrew (the old fire hall),” said Norvelt fire Chief Matt Zelenak at the...
Vehicle overturns in New Kensington
A vehicle overtuned along Leishman Avenue in New Kensington early Sunday morning, a Westmoreland County Public Safety supervisor said. There were no reported injuries in the accident, which occurred around 1:50 a.m., the supervisor said. Initial reports said there was entrapment. New Kensington Co. No. 3 responded to the crash....
Snowflakes may fall on Halloween trick-or-treaters
The ghosts and goblins walking around Halloween night to trick-or-treat in Western Pennsylvania could have a coating of white on their costumes. The National Weather Service in Moon is forecasting a slight chance of rain mixed with snow Tuesday night before 11 p.m., then a chance of just snow. The...
