Joe Napsha stories, Page 78

Norwin High School will be closed Wednesday because of a sixth positive covid case at the high school within a 14-day rolling period. The closure will allow contract tracing to be completed and for sanitizing the building, the district said Tuesday afternoon. The school was closed upon the recommendation of...

The seven-county Pittsburgh region added 9,000 jobs in March, but the economy still has 76,500 fewer jobs than a year ago, just before the pandemic took hold, according to state labor data released Tuesday. The Pittsburgh region — Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties — saw the...

Parts of a 2,472-acre piece of game lands in eastern Westmoreland County likely will be sprayed sometime between the middle-to-the-end of next week to prevent the infestation of leaf-eating gypsy moths, which damage trees and impact wildlife habitat, the state said Monday. The Pennsylvania Game Commission is targeting blocks of...

For the first time in three weeks, the number of newly reported covid cases fell week over week in the North Huntingdon, Irwin and North Irwin areas covered by four ZIP codes, according to state Department of Health data released Monday. There were 48 new covid cases from April 19...

The former Penn-Irwin Motel property along Route 30 in Irwin is a step closer to a transformation after officials approved plans for the site, although much of the hillside will be removed before construction can begin. Irwin Borough approved development plans submitted by Colony Development Co. of North Huntingdon for...

The Norwin High School Theatre Company’s production of “The Little Mermaid” is not going under the sea, but it will be heading outside. The musical will be performed under the lights in the Norwin Knights Stadium at 8 p.m. May 6-9. Performance of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” was canceled last...

Motorists in downtown Irwin will see new parking meters in the near future, and a rate increase. The borough was to receive an order of 200 refurbished digital meters Friday from Take A Powder Inc. of Paterson, N.J., said Stacie Santimyer, assistant borough manager. Council on April 14 approved buying...

With the increase in controversial and sometimes deadly encounters between law enforcement and citizens across the country, more local police departments in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties are looking to outfit officers with body cameras — but they are scrambling to pay for them. “There’s no question that law enforcement needs...

A Hempfield woman who volunteers in a leadership role with the Westmoreland County Young Marines won a national award for her efforts, a year after her daughter won a Young Marines award for her exemplary service. Sheila Myers, who has logged more than 1,000 community service hours in the past...

Commuters using the Monongahela Incline to ride up and down Mt. Washington in Pittsburgh will have to take another route next week when the incline shuts down for three days for an inspection, Port Authority Transit said Thursday. An incline shuttle bus will provide service to and from Mt. Washington...

Firefighters from several Mon Valley departments were battling a blaze that had engulfed a house in Monessen late Thursday night, according to dispatches from Westmoreland County 911. Monessen units that reached the scene of the fire at a three-story wooden-frame house on McKee Avenue said there was heavy smoke coming...

Irwin event to promote Norwin’s musical Businesses in Irwin will join in an “Under the Sea Day” from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 1 as a promotion for the Norwin High School Theatre Co.’s performance of “Little Mermaid” from May 6 through 9 at the high school stadium. Those...

Charges filed with North Huntingdon District Judge Wayne Gongaware. All individuals have the right to a preliminary hearing and are innocent until proven guilty before a judge in Westmoreland County Court . • Cody J. Monro, 19, of Trafford, by North Huntingdon police with possession of marijuana. • Kayley R....

Charges filed with Penn Township District Judge Helen Kistler. All individuals have the right to a preliminary hearing and are innocent until proven guilty before a judge in the Westmoreland County Court of Common Pleas. • Christopher D. Moses, 41, of Irwin, by Penn Township police with two counts of...

Fifty-one years after the founding of Earth Day, with the first on April 22, 1970, the manmade pollution and resulting problems created by global warming and climate change remain the biggest threat to the planet, environmental scientists say. “Certainly, the biggest concern is climate change, because it has so many...

Women’s group plans blood drive The Community Women’s Club of Level Green will host a blood drive from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. May 8 in the Lion’s Community Building, 123 Murrysville Road, Level Green. Vitalant will conduct the drive, which will include testing for covid antibodies. All donors must...

Three regional health care systems have until Friday afternoon to submit another bid to provide sports medicine and school physician services for Norwin’s athletes for the next five school years. The school board on Monday postponed awarding a contract to Allegheny Health Network of Pittsburgh to allow AHN, UPMC and...

Norwin property owners will not pay more in real estate taxes for the 2021-2022 school year under a proposed $80.2 million budget that taps into the district’s fund balance to cover about a $2.6 million gap between projected revenues and expenditures. The proposed budget approved Monday does not cut programs...

The slight uptick in the number of newly reported coronavirus cases continued for the third consecutive week in the four ZIP codes covering most of the Irwin, North Huntingdon and North Irwin areas, according to state Department of Health data released Monday. The number of reported covid cases rose by...

Greensburg wants the California owner of a three-story brick building in the downtown business district to raze the structure or the city will do it. The building’s roof has fallen in and the structure is “at immediate risk of collapse,” according to a legal notice tacked to the front of...

With so many homeowners opting for a “staycation” last year because of the coronavirus pandemic and pools being closed for the same reason, pool installers and suppliers in the region say they are swimming in business — with hardly any easing up in demand from last year. “We’re getting leads...

A Greensburg man accused of trying to burn down an Indiana County home last May by throwing “Molotov cocktails” at it was convicted this week in a non-jury trial, according to court records. Derrick John Weber, 21, was found guilty by Indiana County Judge William J. Martin of attempted arson...

Two Westmoreland County farms were among the 26 protected by the state in recent purchases of permanent conservation easements in return for owners selling the “development value” of their property. The farms involved in raising crops and livestock were protected under the state’s Farmland Preservation Program from future residential, commercial...

Duquesne Light Co. wants to raise the electric bills for residential customers by 7.7%, an increase that would cost users another $7.73 a month on average, or about $92 a year, the Pittsburgh-based company said. The request was filed Friday with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. If approved, which is...