Quincey Reese stories, Page 7

Reflecting on a decade of providing weekend meals and snacks to families at three Hempfield Area elementary schools, the Rev. John Smaligo could not hide his emotion. What started in February 2015 as an effort to support about 40 Hempfield Area students has more than tripled in size. Eleven Greensburg-Hempfield...

Carrie Nelson is proud to help prevent and address abuse, neglect and exploitation of elderly Westmoreland County residents. But when the county Area Agency on Aging lost 75% of its protective services care managers in the summer of 2022, Nelson, as executive director, was put in a difficult position. “We...

Penn-Trafford High School’s upcoming performance of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” has taken senior Isaiah Cordera back to his childhood. Having grown up watching the film, Cordera is excited to bring the character Charlie to the stage during the show’s debut weekend, April 4 to 6. “It’s a really fun...

As the covid-19 pandemic eased and Canon-McMillan School District reopened its doors in August 2021, elementary student Camille Postlewaite told her parents she did not want to return to in-person classes. “That was what she wanted to do, and we’re not big on, ‘Well, you’re going to do it this...

Wayne Walters can still recall the enormous logistical challenge of handing out thousands of paper packets of classwork to Pittsburgh Public Schools students in 2020. The covid-19 pandemic had taken hold in the region. Schools closed buildings, students were left to learn online, and educators scrambled over how best to...

SummerSounds, a free outdoor concert series at Greensburg’s St. Clair Park, will feature several tribute bands and Sudanese pop-funk rock fusion in its lineup this year. The concert series amassed a combined attendance of 28,500 people and drew more than $1 million in economic impact to Greensburg last season, co-founder...

Trafford authors Lori Jakiela and Dave Newman will give a talk on April 3 about the influence of their small towns on their literary works. The married couple live in Trafford, Jakiela’s hometown. Newman grew up in Irwin. They will read excerpts of their work before delivering their talks. A...

The Downtown Greensburg Project will bring back its Vintage Market series for a second season starting Saturday. The market series will take place about once a month until October at a handful of locations throughout the Greensburg area. Each event will feature a variety of vendors selling vintage and handmade...

Former Hempfield Area guidance counselor and high school boys basketball coach Bill Swan will receive about $8,000 while on paid sick and personal days until his retirement goes into effect in June, according to a separation agreement obtained by TribLive. Swan was placed on paid administrative leave from his coaching...

Westmoreland County high school students interested in pursuing a health care or trade school education upon graduation will have another option available to them this summer. Fayette County-based Laurel Technical Institute will launch its first semester of classes at its new Penn Township location in May, with the fall semester...

Hempfield Area school board will see at least two new faces next year, as veteran members Paul Ward and Diane Ciabattoni are opting not to run for reelection. Board President Jerry Radebaugh and Vice President Scott Learn will seek another term, according to Westmoreland County records. The former Westmoreland County...

Westmoreland County Community College professor Stephanie Turin’s job entails more than teaching social work to the next generation of practitioners. Turin came to the Hempfield college after 27 years of working medical social work jobs throughout Westmoreland County. She has worked at the college for 11 years, teaching the bulk...

Greensburg Salem High School social studies teacher Matthew Boe has watched as a fundraiser for children with cancer has become a part of the district’s culture. The district launched its Mini THON in 2015 through a student’s senior project. A Penn State graduate, Boe is well acquainted with the idea...

About 200 high school students gathered Friday at Independence Health System’s Westmoreland Hospital in Greensburg to learn about jobs in the medical field. Students from at least six Westmoreland County school districts — Greensburg Salem, Greensburg Central Catholic, Hempfield Area, Jeannette, Penn-Trafford and the Central Westmoreland Career and Technology Center...

Standing around a machine made of wood, plastic tubes, a spatula and an imitation frying pan, a team of Hempfield Area High School students showed the school board the work that won them first place in a February engineering competition. For nearly two decades, science teacher Tom Harden has sent...

Hempfield Area High School is hosting an Empty Bowl event on April 6 to raise money for the Westmoreland Food Bank. Community members will be able to purchase tickets online or in person. Admission comes with food provided by local businesses and a ceramic bowl attendees can take home. The...

As Hempfield Area administrators consider changes to the high school gifted education program and renovations to the district’s pool, parents and students laid out their concerns to the school board. Three parents and two middle school students spoke during a board meeting Monday night about changes being considered for the...

Trafford Middle School student Asher Stowell will have the best seat in the house for the school’s upcoming musical. Perched atop a wooden set painted to look like a tree, Stowell surveyed his castmates recently as they rehearsed acrobatic moves and shifted brightly-colored props across the middle school’s auditorium stage....

The Greensburg Salem School Board will only livestream its voting meetings, following board action Wednesday night. The board voted 6-3 in favor of reducing its livestreaming to one of its two monthly meetings. Board members Lynn Jobe, Kacey Byrne-Houser and Emily Miller opposed. This is the first time the board...

Seven people have been arrested after a fight broke out in the stands of a basketball game between Meadville and Uniontown high schools on March 7, according to Meadville City Police. The game, held in Meadville, was halted with 3 minutes, 12 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter when a...

Greensburg Salem School Board could reduce its live­streaming capacity for public meetings following a vote by the school board this week. Because of low livestream meeting attendance and difficulties finding staff to operate equipment, the board will decide Wednesday whether to restrict livestreaming to its monthly voting meeting. The motion...

The Mon/Yough Trail Council will host its 11th annual Boston Trail Half Marathon and 5K along the Great Allegheny Passage on April 12. The half marathon run will begin at 9 a.m., followed by the 5K run and walk at 9:15 a.m. Both races will begin at the Boston access...

It’s not uncommon for Sheila Confer to hear that her students at University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg are struggling with their mental health. An assistant professor of interdisciplinary studies and Academic Village director, Confer has noticed an uptick in mental health conversations with her students. It’s particularly the case during...

Visitors to the Greensburg Garden & Civic Center’s St. Patrick’s Day-themed pop-up market Sunday may have been surprised to see a hearse parked in front of the building. The vehicle was attached to a vintage Scotty trailer, where The Coffin Bean & Co. owner Jen Mullins prepared coffee and tea...

A pedestrian in Rostraver was airlifted to a hospital after being hit by a vehicle Saturday night while walking in a roadway, according to Rostraver Township Police. The collision occurred on Route 51 near its intersection with Webster Hollow Road shortly before 10 p.m., police said. The pedestrian was walking...