Quincey Reese stories, Page 3

Commissioners moved forward a rezoning plan Penn Township has eyed in recent years to diversify the municipality’s tax base. The areas for the proposed changes were identified in a 2023 economic development study. The first phase of the rezoning, which the township has worked through in recent months, is in...

Hempfield Area junior Jacob Shepler didn’t have much time to react when he saw a vehicle poised to run over his sister’s friend at the Evergreen Drive-In. The 17-year-old went with his gut reaction. “I just jumped in front of it,” the Hempfield resident said, “and I started waving my...

Former mental health counselor Stephen Kuniak is no stranger to parents who are concerned that their child plays too many hours of video games. Much to the surprise of most parents, Kuniak, a professor and Greensburg resident, believes video games can actually foster positive mental health among children — if...

After a 43-year career in highway construction, Hempfield resident Bob Miner Jr. wants to give back to the skilled trades industry and his lifelong home, Westmoreland County. Miner, 70, started the Robert Miner Family Foundation in 2023 alongside his wife and daughter after selling his company, Donegal Construction. The foundation...

As an engineering manager for QAI Aerospace, Ashley Sieber isn’t short on stories from flight paramedics whose aircraft receive services from the White Oak-based aviation company. Cystic fibrosis — a genetic disease that impacts the lungs, pancreas and other organs — is sometimes a part of those stories. That’s why...

After 14 years of declining enrollment, Westmoreland County Community College may be starting to reverse the trend. As of the first day of classes, enrollment is up nearly 1.9%, or 42 students, compared to the first day of the 2024-25 academic year. And that doesn’t account for students taking late-start...

After nearly a quarter-century in operation, the Penn-Trafford Area Recreation Commission will close its doors. The nonprofit’s five governing bodies — Penn Township, Penn Borough, Penn-Trafford School District, Manor and Trafford — voted in recent weeks to dissolve the organization, with Penn Township commissioners casting the final approval last week....

Firefighters in Southwestern Pennsylvania will have more training options available to them upon the expansion of a burn building at Westmoreland County Community College’s Public Safety Training Center in South Huntingdon. The center — nestled in between corn fields, the Youghiogheny River and industrial buildings in the rural township —...

Mt. Lebanon was the highest-ranked Pittsburgh-area school in a U.S. News and World Report listing of the country’s best public high schools. The list, released last week, assessed more than 24,000 public high schools across the country. The majority of the schools, 18,000, were ranked on several performance-related factors: college...

The brightly colored posters, comfortable seats and hands-on science experiments present in Kaylyn Wojnarowski’s Gateway classroom might not exist if the first grade teacher relied solely on the district’s budget for supplies. Wojnarowski welcomed students back to her classroom at Cleveland Steward Jr. Elementary on Thursday — the start of...

Five years after Hempfield Area School District approved a feasibility study for a renovation of its 1956 high school, the district is starting to nail down what the refurbished building will look like. Architect Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates laid out visions for the project in October, and the school board...

Superintendent Tammy Andreyko started her tenure at Quaker Valley in August 2018 meeting with district officials to discuss the possibility of building a new high school. Seven years later, dirt has yet to be moved on the 150-acre property the district purchased in May 2017 to replace its nearly century-old...

The Penn Township Commissioners gave the go-ahead to start drafting a “no parking” ordinance for some roads throughout the municipality. Commissioners discussed expanding the parking ordinance to select roads about a year and a half ago but revisited the topic after township staff noticed potential parking complications on Rowe Road....

Four months out from Toys for Pittsburgh Tikes’ busiest time of year, the nonprofit is seeking donations to purchase a new warehouse space. Toys for Pittsburgh Tikes was launched 12 years ago by Javid Shojaie, the owner of 37-year-old Monroeville business Jaden’s Catering. The operation has grown from generating about...

As Pennsylvania’s budget impasse approaches the two-month mark, Derry Area School District is missing out on vital state funding just days out from the start of the academic year. More than half — 55% — of the district’s $43 million budget is supported by state funding, said Business Manager Scott...

Walking through Sandra Jackson’s childhood home is akin to walking through an art museum. The Perrysville Avenue property in Pittsburgh’s North Side holds the artwork of Jackson’s father, Charles Jackson, who devoted nearly six decades of his life to documenting the city through paintings. A selection of his work —...

Penn Township officials might prohibit street parking on a road after emergency services ran into complications when responding to a house fire last week. Fire and EMS services extinguished flames that erupted Aug. 4 near the rear deck of a home along Timber Ridge Court in Penn Township. The home...

Hempfield Area School District is looking to add another layer of oversight to the curriculum at its five elementary schools. The school board will vote next week on assigning one chairperson per K-5 grade level. Each chairperson would help ensure continuity in learning at the district’s Fort Allen, West Point,...

Greensburg Salem students and families attending the annual Back to School Bash next week will be able to meet the district’s first assistant superintendent and support the student-run Mini-THON fundraiser. The Back to School Bash is slated for 5 to 7 p.m. Monday at Offutt Field, 109 Laird St. in...

Greensburg Salem is revamping its online learning program in the hopes of bringing its 185 cyber charter students into the district. Western Pennsylvania’s school districts have cited cyber charter tuition expenses as a pain point in their budgets for years, and the issue has caught the attention of state legislators....

Jeannette resident Jim Bosco knew when he was in college he wanted to open a restaurant someday. That’s why his partner was shocked when Bosco, 55, decided to turn over the Greensburg building that housed his Major Stokes restaurant to neighboring Stone Bridge Brewing Co. after seven years in business....

The Penn-Trafford Area Recreation Commission could dissolve after 24 years following votes by the nonprofit’s governing bodies. Founded in 2001, the commission organized a variety of recreational events for community members of all ages, including sports leagues, a summer playground program, an annual 5K at Bushy Run Battlefield, art activities...

Trooper Tristan Fay had no idea what to expect when she arrived at the State Police Academy in Hershey. Now, seven years into her law enforcement career, Fay wishes she had access to the introductory training programs state police offer today — Camp Cadet for middle school students, Hill Impact...

Greensburg Salem aims to have a working fire alarm system at its Nicely Elementary School before students return to its halls Aug. 26. The school’s fire alarm stopped working in mid-April when a power surge — prompted by nearby line replacement work by West Penn Power — damaged the alarm...

First responders in local communities will participate in the National Night Out events this week and next. The National Night Out campaign, launched in Philadelphia in 1984, focuses on fostering positive relationships between residents and first responders — including firefighters and police officers. The movement has spread throughout the country,...