Joe Napsha stories, Page 44

There are 17,000 fewer people in Westmoreland County than there were 20 years ago, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Business and cultural shifts have pushed shopping and industrial centers out of downtowns and into what once were open spaces. Today, abandoned homes and structures dot communities throughout the county,...

Norwin School Board won’t be changing its nepotism policy to include asking prospective employees if they are friends with a school official or school board member before they are hired. Director Bob Wayman proposed the revision to avoid questions of impropriety in who the district hires, especially in cases where...

Irwin fills assistant manager’s job Irwin Borough has filled the vacancy created when its assistant manager resigned from her job in early October. Borough council on Oct. 12 promoted Katelind Sartori, the full-time bill and lien supervisor and assistant code enforcement officer, to the assistant manager’s position at a salary...

Manor rec board to hold Halloween party A Halloween party for children will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Oct. 28 at the Manor Community Room, Main Street. The Manor Recreation Board is sponsoring the party and will have refreshments, a costume contest, crafts games and a disc jockey....

A woman who has studied with lacemaking experts in the United States and Europe will present a program on making lace and how it has changed over the centuries at 7 p.m. Oct. 19 at the Bushy Run Battlefield Museum along Route 993 in Penn Township. Marion Warzel of Ligonier...

An Irwin church is taking donations of gently used furniture Saturday to support The Blessing Board, a Shaler-based nonprofit that provides household furnishings to those in need at no cost. The mission team at the First Presbyterian Church of Irwin, 617 Main St., will be accepting donations from 9 to...

It’s not every school that gets a visit by an Army Black Hawk helicopter in conjunction with its homecoming festivities. That was the case at Norwin High School on Friday, when a Pennsylvania Army National Guard Black Hawk choppered into a high school parking lot. “It’s something different for the...

Halloween party slated in Irwin The Irwin Back Alley Halloween Costume Par-tay for those age 21 and older is planned for 6 to 10:30 p.m Oct. 15 in Depot Alley behind the Masonic Hall at 227 Main St., Irwin. Organized by the Irwin Business & Professional Association, partygoers can bring...

A group of fifth grade students at Norwin’s Hillcrest Intermediate School will sell pumpkins at 4 p.m. Friday outside the Advance Auto Parts in the Norwin Hills Shopping Center along Route 30 in North Huntingdon. The effort will raise money for Andrew’s Avengers, which helps to support children and their...

If a farmer falls into a bin with flowing shelled corn, wheat, oats, sunflower seeds or barley, they might sink to their knees and be unable to free themselves in the time it took to read this sentence. In as little as 20 seconds, an adult can be buried in...

The Norwin High School Theatre Company is falling back into its roots of doing plays this autumn season, with three fall one-act plays, from Oct. 13 to Oct. 16 at the Norwin High School auditorium. The theater company will perform “The One Act Play That Goes Wrong,” “21 Chump Street”...

Irwin Borough’s assistant manager has resigned from her job. Stacie Santimyer’s resignation was accepted at a borough council meeting Tuesday, effective immediately. Santimyer was hired in September 2019, after Shari Martino, who had been the assistant manager, was promoted to the manager’s position the previous month. Katelind Sartori is the...

Community leaders are hoping to be flush with cash after they placed their bets on winning a share of $3.75 million in local casino revenue. A portion of the money that gamblers spent having fun at Live! Casino Pittsburgh in Hempfield last year could be used for community upgrades such...

Gemma Koury of Greensburg was looking for a job Sept. 26, checking the various employers who lined the halls of the PA CareerLink office at the Westmoreland County Community College near Youngwood. “I was looking for something in elder care,” said Koury, 32, who had been working in a restaurant...

An Indiana County man was killed early Tuesday morning when the empty dump truck he was driving on Route 119 south of Indiana, Pa., went off the highway and flew through the air before landing on the road below, according to state police at the Indiana station. The victim, Thomas...

Irwin’s police officers will get a 6% raise beginning in January in the first year of a new contract. The borough recently approved a three-year contract with the Irwin Police Officers’ Relief Association. It raises wages by 4% in 2024 and another 4% in 2025, said Shari Martino, borough manager....

The nonprofit Norwin School District Community Foundation hopes to raise $7,500 for student scholarships and programming during its annual Days of Giving campaign, which coincides with Norwin’s homecoming week activities from Oct. 3-9. Some of the money raised will go toward the foundation’s smallest scholarship endowments and the Norwin Alumni...

Irwin church to hold Oktoberfest An Oktoberfest featuring kielbasa, pork, hot dogs, sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, applesauce and dessert will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Oct. 20 at the First United Church of Christ, 400 Main St., Irwin, Those interested in attending must buy tickets prior to the event...

Level Green church to hold fall event Five fall-themed books will be on display to read on the autumn-decorated paths during the Fall StoryWalk from 2 to 4 p.m. Oct. 22 on the front lawn of the Level Green Presbyterian Church, 105 Olive Drive. Participants can follow at their own...

Penn-Trafford CROP walk slated The Penn-Trafford CROP Walk to raise money for area food banks will be held at 2 p.m. Oct. 23 at the Bushy Run Battlefield, Route 993, east of Harrison City. Participants will have several options, such as a 5-K walk and a shorter walk, as well...

Norwin Public Library could lose about 85% of its taxpayer-generated funding if voters in the area it serves decide to cut 1 mill from the special 1.2-mill library tax on real estate. “It will impact the library’s state funding and other funding. It will have a cascade effect,” that likely...

A man was fatally shot multiple times Tuesday night in Pittsburgh’s Arlington neighborhood, police said. The victim, who was shot around 8:15 p.m., was found on the road in the 500 block of Kohne Street, after a caller reporter multiple rounds fired in the area, police said. He was pronounced...

A man was hospitalized after being shot in the leg Tuesday night in Turtle Creek, Allegheny County Police said. The victim, who was not identified, was reported shot around 9:05 p.m. in the 300 block of Clugston Avenue, police said. The man was transported to an area hospital and is...

Pittsburgh police were searching for a 13-year-old girl Tuesday who left her home for classes at Westinghouse Academy, but did not return at the end of the school day. The girl, Kamahra Sanders, was last seen wearing a white shirt, black pants and white shoes, when she left her Carver...

George Lowther started his job as a corrections officer with the Westmoreland County Prison on the first day the facility opened in 1993. Lowther, who rose through ranks over the years to become deputy warden, will be saying goodbye to the jail in Hempfield and his longtime job. The county...