Quincey Reese stories, Page 7

Penn Middle School student Felice Hutchison has learned there is more to the movie-turned-musical “Mean Girls” than the title may imply. Hutchison is one of dozens of Penn Middle students who have rehearsed since November for their performance of “Mean Girls Jr.,” slated for April 25 to 27 in the...

A Pittsburgh man who police say attacked his girlfriend with a hot iron, burning her over about 60% of her body, was arrested Thursday morning. Burton L. Byrd, 55, of Pittsburgh’s Perry South neighborhood, is charged with various crimes including aggravated assault, kidnapping, intimidation of witnesses or victims and unlawful...

Surprised by this week’s rise in temperatures? According to the National Weather Service’s Pittsburgh office in Moon, there is some validity to that reaction. Temperatures are forecast to reach into the low 80s on Thursday, with a 30% chance of going above 82 degrees, said meteorologist Liana Lupo. Late April...

Gov. Josh Shapiro recounted the arson attack that burned through his Harrisburg home earlier this month, penning a guest essay published Wednesday in the New York Times. A state trooper alerted Shapiro and his wife, Lori, of the fire just after 2 a.m. April 13. They escaped without injury from...

A kindergarten student was injured Tuesday afternoon after being hit by a school bus, McKeesport Area School District officials said. Police and emergency services were dispatched to the corner of Soles and Stewart streets in McKeesport around 3:45 p.m., Superintendent Don MacFann wrote in a statement posted on the district’s...

An East Deer man was arrested Monday by the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office and was charged with multiple counts of animal cruelty and neglect, according to court papers. A deputy from the sheriff’s office discovered three dogs while executing an eviction order around 10:30 a.m. April 17 at the residence...

Here are some of the latest news items for this morning, Tuesday, April 22: Teen found shot in East Liberty A teenage boy was shot in the head early Tuesday morning in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood, according to Pittsburgh Public Safety. Police were dispatched to the intersection of North Euclid...

Derry Township firefighters have taken a step toward cancer prevention, purchasing a washing machine to better clean their gear. The $30,000 gear washer was installed last week at Derry Township Volunteer Fire Department No. 1 in Bradenville. It will help the station’s 38 firefighters clean their self-contained breathing apparatus devices...

The Greensburg Night Market returns for a seventh season this week, expecting once again to draw thousands of people to browse vendor tents and enjoy live music along South Pennsylvania Avenue. The Night Market was launched by Jessica Hickey, owner of the Downtown Greensburg Project, in 2019 — featuring just...

Red high heels will hit the pavement in downtown Greensburg next week as the community gathers for the Blackburn Center’s 14th annual Walk a Mile in Her Shoes. The event, slated for April 26, is part of an international movement launched in 2001 that raises awareness of gender-based violence. Though...

Greensburg residents stopping in the city’s downtown businesses this month may start to notice a pattern: vibrant hand-painted wooden chairs displayed in the storefronts. The trend is no coincidence. Seventeen Greensburg Salem High School art students spent about a month decorating chairs to be put up for auction in advance...

Students and parents flocked to Trafford Elementary School April 5 to celebrate completion of a new $255,000 playground. The former playground was about two decades old when it was torn down in 2023 due to safety concerns. District officials said the stairs and decking of the playground presented a tripping...

Franklin Regional High School hosted its second annual Mini-THON on Wednesday, raising more than $33,000 to support pediatric cancer patients and their families. The fundraising culminated in a four-hour celebration where students and teachers participated in games and activities. The school organized a Mini-THON Club last school year, inviting students...

Hempfield Area School District’s students might get home earlier next academic year. The school board will vote next week on whether to make an adjustment to the district’s arrival and dismissal schedule. The adjustment would place the high school and middle school students on the same schedule — shifting the...

Renovation projects. Teacher recruitment and retention. Student performance. Open communication with the community. These are the priorities for the five candidates running for four open spots on the Hempfield Area School Board this year. Two candidates are incumbents — Jerry Radebaugh and Scott Learn. The newcomers are Cory Thoma, Lindsay...

Christina Gongaware Noga knows her late sister would be proud that money raised in her memory is helping combat food insecurity at Greensburg Salem’s Hutchinson Elementary. Gongaware Noga launched the Ashley Gongaware Kertes Fund last year on behalf of her sister, who died unexpectedly at age 36 in March 2023....

Hempfield’s High Park Volunteer Fire Department is coming out of retirement and merging with the West Point station on the opposite side of the township. Westmoreland County Orphan’s Court approved the merger this week, according to court documents. The joint station will be operate under West Point’s name and location...

A smile still comes to Alex Murray’s face when he recalls the words his Beaver County high school art teacher told him two days out from summer vacation. Murray spent four weeks creating a face mask inspired by characters from book-turned-film “Pan’s Labyrinth” — a task his teacher once told...

Seton Hill student Nora Ozimek knew in high school she wanted to pursue a career in science. But even Ozimek, a junior studying biology and chemistry, admits that reading through research papers and journal articles is not her favorite task. The aspiring research and development scientist was one of a...

The Penn Township commissioners will vote next week on hiring a recreation director to replace its former volunteer recreation board. The commissioners voted in December to advertise the recreation director position with a salary between $45,000 and $65,000 depending on qualifications, said township Secretary/Manager Mary Perez. She said four people...

Penn-Trafford sophomore Abby Rayman and her team of fundraisers generated more than $18,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, exceeding the $10,000 goal she set in February. A national nonprofit with a branch in Pittsburgh’s South Side, the society supports advocacy, families facing cancer diagnoses and research for a cure....

Penn-Trafford High School student Annabelle Aquino grew up playing sports with her brothers, Joey and AJ, in the sprawling backyard of her family’s Harrison City home. “My mom always wanted us to go outside,” said Aquino, 17, a junior. “All my neighbors are guys, so we just played sports all...

A former Indiana Township resident was sentenced Wednesday to two decades in prison for receiving material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, according to federal prosecutors in Pittsburgh. Cam John Zmenkowski, 28, persuaded a minor to send him nude and sexually explicit images and videos from August to September...

Which unmet constitutional standard did James Madison and Thomas Jefferson cite in their arguments against establishing a national bank? If your answer to that query was not the “Necessary and Proper Clause,” you may not have performed well against the 18 middle school students who competed in the Civics Bee...

Penn Township resident Bill Bray plans to spend the bulk of his free time this year walking through cemeteries. An Army veteran who served from 1984 to 1993, Bray is looking for volunteers to help him survey all 291 of Westmoreland County’s cemeteries to document every military grave. The county...