Quincey Reese stories, Page 25
Mt. Pleasant, Yough host fundraisers for family of late referee
Referee Mike Roebuck was the kind of person a coach wants their athletes to be around, said Mt. Pleasant Area High School basketball coach Annie Malkowiak. Roebuck, 45, of New Stanton was officiating a junior varsity basketball game between Mt. Pleasant and Yough when he collapsed and later died at...
Greensburg-Hempfield Area Library hosts first vendor show, highlights local art, food
Jamie Keys likes to hang out in downtown Greensburg with friend and fellow art therapy student Olivia Andazola. The two second-year Seton Hill graduate students walked less than 10 minutes from their Greensburg apartment to participate in The Greensburg-Hempfield Area Library’s first vendor show. Keys brought original prints and trading...
‘I want them to express themselves’: Level Green parent launches Lego club
Keith Harmon estimates he has more than 200 pounds of Lego bricks in his Penn Township home. “There’s not a lot of room to move,” Harmon joked. “I have Lego stuff pretty much anywhere you can imagine.” Harmon, parent to a first grade student at Level Green Elementary, started a...
Logan Elementary benefits 100 students with gift drive, aims to continue support
The annual gift drive at Logan Elementary School in North Versailles helped bring a happy holiday to about 100 of the school’s students. The students received a backpack holding a wrapped gift, a hoodie and an essential item, such as clothing or hygiene products. The backpacks were left on students’...
‘A completely different world’: Virtual reality arcade opens in Westmoreland Mall
When Dan Roble first put on a virtual reality headset in 2016, his reaction was not what he had hoped. “It made me sick (after) the first 15 minutes or so,” said Roble, 35, of Latrobe. But the technology has improved significantly over the past eight years to prevent users...
Playstation, wallet stolen after home invasion in Lincoln Lemington
Seven people broke into a home Monday afternoon in Pittsburgh’s Lincoln Lemington neighborhood and stole some of the resident’s belongings. Two men were in the home in the 1500 block of Oakdene Street when a woman approached the residents and asked to use a phone charger before six men kicked...
Former Greensburg Salem, Saint Vincent educator to showcase paintings at Greensburg library
Al Sanfilippo has always been interested in art. But it wasn’t until his retirement from a 50-year career in education that he started exploring his artistic ability at the Greensburg Art Center in Hempfield. About nine years later, Sanfilippo’s artwork is on display until mid-March at the Greensburg-Hempfield Area Library...
New Greensburg Central Catholic principal aims to ‘be a part of moving it into the future’
For Theresa Szmed, the past month has been all about listening. Szmed was hired as principal for Greensburg Central Catholic Junior-Senior High School in November and took the reins in January, with assistance from interim Principal Sharyn Zalno. “It’s been a fantastic adventure, and it’s been overall positive,” said Szmed,...
‘Non-stop sitcom with incredible music’: Split Stage Productions brings ‘Urinetown’ to Lamp Theatre
Split Stage Productions’ latest performance doesn’t take itself too seriously, said director Rob Jessup. The theater company, which opened in 2013, will perform the musical “Urinetown” Friday and Saturday and Feb. 8-10 at The Lamp Theatre in Irwin. The 16-person cast will tell the story of a post-apocalyptic world experiencing...
Building empathy, understanding: Pitt Greensburg reading initiative sparks community discussion
When Sheila Confer finished reading “Rising Out of Hatred” by Eli Saslow, she wanted everyone to experience the book. Confer, an instructor for Pitt’s Greensburg campus, gathered about 400 students and 100 community members to read the book in 2022 through a program dubbed Westmoreland Reads. Saslow, a writer for...
Irwin natives open Trafford brewery as gathering place for community
Brothers Chris, Nick and Mike Juricich have shared an appreciation for craft beer for as long as they can remember. The Irwin natives will set their passion into motion today with the opening of their latest entrepreneurial venture, Wye Beer Co., located on Forbes Road in Trafford. “Craft beer is...
Westmoreland Intermediate Unit honors 2 educators with awards
After working as a shipper for Age Craft Manufacturing in Greensburg for seven years, Don Sabolcik sought to become a paraeducator. Sabolcik, of Delmont, was inspired to change career paths after the Clairview School in Hempfield provided early intervention services to his son, J.W. This is Sabolcik’s third year as...
‘It gives them the confidence to go beyond’: Stage Right aims to welcome students of all backgrounds with grant
Stage Right in Greensburg distributes $30,000 in scholarships and financial aid to its students each year. About a third of a $175,000 grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation in Pittsburgh will help the nonprofit theater company continue supporting students of all socioeconomic backgrounds, Executive Director Anastasia Robinson said. Stage...
Manor police officer accused of impersonating UPMC police, stealing credit cards, key from employee
A Manor Borough police officer is accused of breaking into a UPMC building, impersonating a UPMC police officer and taking credit cards and a key from an employee’s office. Justin R. Hall, 39, of Washington Township, was observed on security camera footage entering the UPMC Baum/Ross Building in Pittsburgh’s Oakland...
Manor police officer accused of impersonating UPMC police, stealing credit cards, key from employee
A Manor Borough police officer is accused of breaking into a UPMC building, impersonating a UPMC police officer and taking credit cards and a key from an employee’s office. Justin R. Hall, 39, of Washington Township, Westmoreland County, was observed on security camera footage entering the UPMC Baum/Ross Building, located...
Pittsburgh contractor accused of stealing more than $270,000 from couple
A Pittsburgh contractor arrested Tuesday is accused of stealing more than $270,000 from a couple who hired him to design a home more than three years ago. Page F. Thomas, 55, was hired in September 2020 by Douglas and Traci Borsch to design a home in Pittsburgh, according to a...
Western Pa. resident loses more than $1 million in widespread money laundering scheme, 2 men sentenced
Two California residents have been ordered to pay nearly $4.5 million combined in restitution as part of their federal sentences connected to an international money laundering scheme that impacted some Western Pennsylvania residents. Thien Phuc Tran, 34, and Ton Huynh Bui, 30, of Santa Ana, scammed people across the country,...
Hempfield’s High Park firefighters have to decide from 3 options, chief says
After responding to one of 53 emergency calls in the last quarter of 2023, members of the High Park Volunteer Fire Department in Hempfield have a month to decide their fate. The fire department can go under township management, merge with a neighboring station or dissolve, fire Chief Anthony Kovacic...
Hempfield moves Weatherwood Community Park, municipal complex projects forward
The first phase of its Weatherwood Community Park construction project is set to get underway in Hempfield. Officials will vote Monday to advertise the construction bid for the first phase of the park project, which will be completed in tandem with a new municipal complex. “We’re always trying to look...
‘We want to bring everybody in’: Hempfield aims to bring fire stations under township management
Hempfield will meet with its 11 fire departments to discuss having all of them being managed by the township. North Hempfield Fire Department became Hempfield’s first “nonchartered station” — managed entirely by the township — in 2021. That means all of its expenses are paid by the township. The township...
Penn-Trafford unites general, special education students through bocce
Penn-Trafford High School is one of the latest Western Pennsylvania schools to start an interscholastic sports team that purposely fills its roster with students who have intellectual disabilities and ones who don’t. Penn-Trafford’s new bocce team is part of the Special Olympics’ 13-year-old Unified Champion Schools program, which uses sports...
‘Up and running’: Penn-Trafford creates 1st security camera policy, installs new devices
After purchasing more than 400 security cameras and seven door access systems in the fall, the Penn-Trafford School District has a policy to guide the use of its new technology. The school board voted this month to approve the district’s first security camera policy. “We really didn’t have a policy,...
‘A pretty overwhelming feeling’: Greensburg Salem, Slippery Rock grad completes ‘Triple Crown of Hiking’
Greensburg native Jared Frith witnessed plenty of breathtaking sunsets and sunrises from the tops of mountains while hiking more than 8,000 miles from June 2021 to November. But Frith found much greater value in the low moments of his journey — shivering in rain-drenched clothes for days during a tropical...
Greensburg bridal store showcases ‘Bridgerton’-themed wedding dress collection
Bishop sleeves, tiered layers and florals are making a comeback in bridal dresses. MB Bride in Greensburg is showcasing Allure Bridals’ new wedding dress line themed after the hit Netflix show “Bridgerton” — a series based on Julia Quinn’s novels about eight siblings in London high society in the early...
Greensburg Art Center to showcase members’ work, teach window screen painting
The Greensburg Art Center will host its annual member artwork showcase and teach a Cafe Art class on a unique painting method. About 100 people are submitting about 200 pieces of art to the free showcase — including photography, pottery, sculptures and painting. The event will run from Jan. 20...
