Quincey Reese stories, Page 32
Weekend turnpike closure set in New Stanton, Breezewood
The Pennsylvania Turnpike will be closed between the New Stanton and Breezewood interchanges this weekend to clear a tractor-trailer crash that occurred Monday night. According to a report from the Pennsylvania State Police, the tractor-trailer crashed near mile marker 103.5 westbound in Somerset County. The report states that the vehicle...
Digital divide hurts pocketbooks of Pa. residents, roundtable participants say
The digital divide leads to lost opportunities for people in underserved broadband areas, officials said Thursday as they discussed how to spend $1.16 billion expected from the federal government to help solve the problem. “People have been talking about the digital divide for decades,” said Evan Feinman, director of the...
Blind Norwin High School student portrays Rafiki in ‘The Lion King Jr.’
An avid “Lion King” fan, Angelina Angelcyk was thrilled when she was selected to play Rafiki the baboon in the Geyer Performing Arts Center’s production of “The Lion King Jr.” Angelcyk, a rising senior at Norwin High School, has listened to the movie countless times on VHS tape and attended...
North Belle Vernon hosts music performances
North Belle Vernon’s Community Bank Park will offer free performances by barbershop and polka music groups in the third week of July. The Belle Vernon Public Library will host 3Rivers4, a barbershop-style acapella harmony group, at 6:30 p.m. on July 20. The group will perform a variety of selections, including...
Protect PT seeks support for proposed gas well ordinance
Protect PT, an environmental nonprofit located in Penn Township, will host a meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday to gather support for a proposed ordinance regarding gas well drilling and development practices. In the proposal, the nonprofit requests that the township: • allow a 2,500-foot buffer between new well pads and...
Westmoreland County Food Bank sees increased demand
The need for emergency food assistance has skyrocketed in Westmoreland County. CEO Jennifer Miller said prior to the pandemic, the Westmoreland County Food Bank received about two calls per month for emergency assistance. Now, the organization is seeing about three to five calls a day from people in immediate need...
Trafford Legion Riders host 2nd fundraiser for Amanda’s Heart Foundation
Local motorcyclists will hit the roads Saturday for a fundraiser to support individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The fundraiser, sponsored by American Legion Riders Trafford Post 331, will benefit Amanda’s Heart Foundation, a nonprofit organization that was started by Wall resident Linda Ooten and her daughter, Amanda — a...
Idlewild tightens summer hours: Park to close every Wednesday for the rest of the season
Idlewild and SoakZone in Ligonier Township will be closed on Wednesdays for the rest of the summer. The amusement park’s online calendar indicates closures every Wednesday through July and August. The park did not respond to requests for comment left Thursday afternoon. Kennywood Park in West Mifflin will be closed...
Powerball jackpot rises to $590 million
The Powerball jackpot has increased to $590 million for this Saturday’s drawing. It has a cash value of $304.8 million. The jackpot rose from $557 million after no one matched all six numbers during Wednesday’s drawing. The last Powerball jackpot was won by an Auburn, Wash., resident on March 3...
‘Full circle’: Westmoreland gym owners make a difference in their hometowns
Zach Snyder has been an athlete all of his life. From wrestling at Connellsville Area High School to pursuing NCAA competition at Penn State University, Snyder, of Bullskin, always has valued athletics. But it was not until he was working for a physical therapy clinic and taking over a gym’s...
Penn Township Fall Festival planning committee aims to ‘bring the community together’
For Michael Ginsburg, the annual fall festival is the one time a year every corner of Penn Township comes together. Ginsburg, a 43-year resident of Level Green, was a township commissioner when the idea for a fall festival was born in 2005. Following the success of the township’s 150th birthday...
Penn-Trafford students earn scholarship money in esports tournament, expand club
Penn-Trafford High School has expanded further into the esports scene. Penn-Trafford began participating in competitions in the spring 2020 after launching its Esports Club. This summer, students had the opportunity to play for scholarship money. From July 15 to 17, Penn-Trafford Esports Club coordinator and history teacher John Carlisle took...
‘We want to fill this program’: Seton Hill to launch varsity esports program this fall
Seton Hill track and field athlete Logan Lindenmuth will become a multi-sport athlete this fall. With the Greensburg university adapting its unofficial gaming club into a varsity program in the coming academic year, Lindenmuth — a rising junior studying computer science — will be among the first official esports players...
Trafford’s Junior Council Person program seeks to grow student, community understanding of local government
There’s more to local government than meets the eye. Trafford Borough Council president Kris Cardiff wants to expand the community’s understanding of daily borough operation, and he plans to start with youths. Cardiff, of Trafford, began designing Trafford’s Junior Council in late 2019 after coming across similar programs developed within...
Penn Township awards bids for Harrison Park stormwater, road paving projects
Penn Township commissioners awarded bids for upcoming road projects at a meeting July 20. A stormwater project for the Harrison Park neighborhood, primarily on Dolly Avenue, will be completed by contractor Curry & Kepple at a base bid amount of about $1.59 million. The township secured a $2.2 million loan...
Penn-Trafford student aims to encourage interest in STEM through makerspace
Markers, scissors, cutting boards and desks line what was once an empty corner in Penn Area Library. Adorned with a decal reading “STEM,” the corner is home to the library’s newest addition — a makerspace created by a Penn-Trafford High School student. Natalie Goldsworthy of Harrison City is a rising...
Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh permits cup during Holy Communion, but parish reactions split
Churches within the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh now are permitted to make their own call when it comes to offering sacramental wine at Holy Communion. Bishop David Zubik announced June 24 the diocese will allow each parish’s pastor to assess whether the Communion chalice should be reimplemented during Mass. The...
Dog missing from Trafford family found dead in Braddock
One day after an Armstrong County woman was charged with theft after police say she failed to return a dog she was pet sitting for a Trafford family, the animal was found dead near railroad tracks in Braddock. Eva Hodgdon, owner of the 1-year-old German shepherd named Nani Nyx, said...
‘Everything water’: Jacobs Creek Watershed Association hosts 5th Headwaters Party
To Denise Wilkins, the Jacobs Creek Watershed Association is all about “everything water.” First assembled in the 1960s and reformed as a nonprofit organization in the late 1990s, the JCWA stewards 177 miles of streams from the Laurel Highlands to the Youghiogheny River. Wilkins soon will enter her third year...
Woman arrested, charged with theft of Trafford family’s dog
The Armstrong County woman whom police were seeking in connection with a stolen dog case in Trafford has been found, but the German shepherd named Nani Nyx is still missing. Molly Bureau, 29, of Cadogan was arrested Monday and remains in the Westmoreland County Prison charged with two counts of...
Armstrong County woman accused of stealing Trafford family’s dog
An Armstrong County woman is accused of stealing a Trafford family’s dog. Molly Bureau, of Cadogan, is charged with two counts of theft in a criminal complaint filed by Trafford police. Eva Hodgdon told police that Bureau never returned her 1-year-old black German shepherd — named Nani Nyx — after...
Greensburg Sunoco sells $1 million scratch-off
A Greensburg Sunoco store will receive a $5,000 bonus for selling a $1 million scratch-off Pennsylvania Lottery ticket. The $1 million Cash Corner$ scratch-off was sold at the station on 311 W. Otterman St., according to the lottery. Store owner Sunny Patel said the winner has not come forward. He...
Live! Casino Pittsburgh unveils new $2.5 million venue
Although The Venue Live! was just unveiled at Live! Casino Pittsburgh Thursday morning, it has already hosted its first event. Sean Sullivan, general manager of the casino, said the Hempfield venue was used for a diversity coalition dinner, and parties already are booking the space. “Last night, I came in...
From boxed brownies to ‘double stuffed’ cookies: Irwin resident opens cookie shop in Penn Township
Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, Sara Sherbondy’s baking never ventured beyond boxed brownies. While scrolling through her Instagram feed in March 2020, however, Sherbondy noticed a culinary trend that intrigued her: deluxe cookies. This interest kick-started a period of research and expansion of her baking skills. Before she knew it,...
Penn Township discusses line painting, road sealing projects
The Penn Township Board of Commissioners discussed line painting and shot-and-chip projects at Wednesday’s caucus meeting. Township secretary/manager Mary Perez said the 2022 line painting project includes only one road that is not normally repainted each year, Baughman Road. “These are the typical roads that need done every year to...
