Joe Napsha stories, Page 34

With a decision looming on what Sewickley Township should do with its closed recreation center in Herminie, Republicans will have a choice between an incumbent supervisor and a challenger in the May 16 primary. Mark Petros, 59, chairman of the supervisors, will face Jon Turik, 57, of Herminie, the owner...

Faced with a projected $4.4 million deficit for the next school year, the majority of the Norwin School Board members showed no inclination this week to raise real estate taxes. The alternative includes reducing teaching positions and cutting four all-day kindergarten classes to save about $2.1 million for the 2023-2024...

After 21 years as children’s librarian at Norwin Public Library, Barbara McKee is moving on. “It’s been a wonderful career here. This is the beginning of a new chapter,” said McKee, a Norwin High School graduate. She’s leaving May 15 to become the assistant librarian at the Penn State Fayette...

Norwin High School math teacher Angela Knipple doesn’t shy away from mental or physical challenges, and likes to run long distances, so it seems only fitting that she combined the two and took on the legendary Boston Marathon. Not only did Knipple finish the rainy Boston Marathon on April 17,...

The Ligonier Valley Police Department headquarters was raided this week by federal Department of Homeland Security agents, but local officials said they were kept in the dark as to the purpose of the raid or if anything was seized. Dan Resenic, chairman of the Ligonier Township supervisors, said he was...

The Pittsburgh Steelers are not only looking for great football players who can help them win, but for “responsible, mature, motivated workers with excellent people skills and verbal communication skills” to work at the team’s training camp this summer at Saint Vincent College near Latrobe. Those who want to work...

With four incumbents not seeking reelection, the control of the divided Norwin School Board will be up for grabs this year, beginning with the May 16 primary. Nine of the 10 candidates are seeking the nominations on both the Democratic and Republican slates in the primary, with one candidate just...

Westmoreland Heritage Trail Community Festival The annual Westmoreland Heritage Trail Community Festival will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 3 in Trafford, and this year will include a poker run. In addition to basket raffles, a DJ, fishing for kids, food vendors, ice cream, face-painting and more,...

P-T football team to help with car wash Members of the Penn-Trafford football team will raise money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s Pittsburgh chapter by washing cars from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 13 at Energy Swing Windows, 1760 Golden Mile Highway, Monroeville. Any donations for the car...

A house was heavily damaged by fire Thursday morning in Hempfield. Crews were called to the home on the 1000 block of Middletown Road about 9:50 a.m., county emergency officials said. The owner, Paul Scott Smith, said he was working in the backyard when he saw heavy smoke coming from...

More than two-thirds of West Penn Power Co.’s employees at its Greensburg headquarters likely will be reassigned to other offices in the utility’s service area in the next few years as the company reevaluates its use of the building, a company spokeswoman said Wednesday. Many began working remotely since the...

An Irwin woman is accused of attempting to bring a loaded handgun in her carry-on bag early Wednesday at Pittsburgh International Airport, the Transportation Security Administration said. The woman, who wasn’t identified, was stopped by an officer who had spotted the gun in the checkpoint X-ray machine, the TSA said....

Some Norwin School Board members ripped a budget proposal Monday that would cut nine teaching positions, scrap plans to fill five proposed ones and eliminate two administrative jobs in the 2023-24 school year to help balance the 2023-24 budget without raising property taxes. “We’re hurting the reason we are up...

The Westmoreland County Housing Authority will soon be able to gauge interest from seniors who want to live in the 50-unit apartment building set to open in Irwin next year. Senior citizens age 62 and older will have the opportunity to learn about living in Grand View Senior Residences, a...

North Huntingdon has hired a consulting engineer to develop a master plan of recommended improvements to the township’s 127-acre Oak Hollow Park. KU Resources Inc. of Duquesne was directed to develop a site plan to outline what would be appropriate development for what township leaders consider the community’s flagship park....

Dog owners may soon be able to walk their pets around Indian Lake Park in North Huntingdon year-round, if the township commissioners lift the limits on pet owners exercising their pooches in the park just between November and February. Township commissioners paved the way to eliminate rules that prohibited leashed...

The importance of school-based training for a career in the trades was hammered home to state education officials Friday during a tour of the Central Westmoreland Career and Technology Center in New Stanton, where they saw students of today preparing for jobs in the workforce a few years from now....

Pittsburgh police said Thursday they are seeking the public’s assistance in finding a 16-year-old girl who has been missing for two months. The department’s special victims unit detectives said they are seeking Haley Eadie, who ran away from school on Feb. 27. Eadie may be on the North Side, West...

Church to bless bikes, hold car cruise St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish at 200 Leger Road, North Huntingdon, will hold its annual Blessing of the Bikes and Car Cruise on June 25. Food trucks, raffles, prizes and a Best of Show award will be part of the car cruise that...

Angela Long hopes to become a teacher one day, perhaps at her alma mater. The 18-year-old senior at Hempfield Area High School plans to study early childhood education at the University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg. She’ll do so without tuition debt. Long was one of two Westmoreland County high school students awarded...

A former head of North Huntingdon’s emergency management operations has been tapped to lead Mutual Aid Ambulance Service Inc., Westmoreland County’s largest ambulance service. Gene Komondor of North Huntingdon, who was the township’s emergency management coordinator from 2007 to October 2020 and had operated an ambulance service, started his new...

An architectural firm has been hired by Irwin to design plans for the borough building and possible renovations to the 112-year-old structure on Main Street. Ulery Architecture LLC of Unity was hired to create the architectural plans for the borough building at 424 Main St., because Irwin does not have...

Norwin School District officials are looking to cut costs to close a projected $8 million deficit in its 2023-2024 budget. The school board adopted a preliminary budget that projects revenues for the upcoming school year at about $81 million, but with $89 million in proposed expenditures. The board approved the...

Food drive slated A Penn Township staffing agency is conducting a snack food drive until May 5 for a North Huntingdon non-profit that helps make birthday wishes come true for children of families in need or who are homeless. Express Employment Professionals at 4012 Route 130, Harrison City, is collecting...

Comedy show fundraiser slated The “Comedy for a Cause” event to benefit the Myasthenia Gravis Association of Western Pennsylvania will be held at 7 p.m. April 29 at Elements, 3000 Commerce Loop, North Huntingdon. It will include comedians Teresa Logan and Phil Hughes, who will be providing the entertainment. The...