Renatta Signorini stories, Page 113
Real ID issuance resumes in Pa.; deadline next yearVideo
After being on hold for six months, PennDOT is once again issuing Real IDs. State officials first began issuing the cards in March 2019 but temporarily halted them this spring as Driver License Centers were closed throughout the state in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic....
Jeannette thrift store opening in new spot after previous location is sold
The St. Vincent de Paul thrift store in Jeannette appears to have found a new home. The store, which was forced to close its Clay Avenue location in December, will be setting up shop at the intersection of North First Street and Harrison Avenue. President Marilyn Lander said she hopes...
2 more charged in North Huntingdon daylight break-in, assault
Two more people were charged this week in connection with a daylight break-in and attack at a North Huntingdon home. Quaise M. Rhodes-Wilson, 21, of Wilkinsburg, and Martell Crosby, 25, of Jeannette, are charged with burglary, aggravated assault, terroristic threats and related offenses. Rhodes-Wilson is being held in the Westmoreland...
Westmoreland County Prison inmates get free weekly phone call
Inmates at the Westmoreland County Prison can have free weekly chats with loved ones thanks to a new program instituted by Global Tel-Link Corp., the jail’s communication provider. Everyone incarcerated there will get one free 5-minute phone call weekly. Warden John Walton said the program started Monday. Inmates can use...
Jeannette man charged with animal cruelty
A Jeannette man accused of shooting at his neighbor last year was charged Monday with animal cruelty after a dog fight led police to discover several pit bulls that had no water and were infected with parasites, according to court papers. Dale A. Shaw, 64, is charged with aggravated cruelty...
Nearly $81M for eviction relief coming to Pennsylvania
Editor’s note: This story was updated to reflect that $81 million is coming to Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania is set to receive nearly $81 million in federal funding aimed at eviction relief, according to officials with U.S. Sen. Bob Casey. Pittsburgh will get about $3 million, Allegheny County is set to receive...
2 more facing charges in Hempfield neighborhood dispute over football
Two more people were charged Friday in connection with the alleged theft of a football after it landed in a neighboring Hempfield yard during a family reunion. Catherine A. Martino, 90, is accused of kicking a state trooper in the ankles while Sharon Martino, 63, is charged with obstruction, theft...
Speed, cellphone use believed to have played role in fatal Rostraver crash, deputy coroner says
A West Newton man was killed in a head-on crash Sunday in Rostraver, according to the Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office. Allen Lee Roberts, 26, was pronounced dead at the scene of the two-vehicle crash on Route 201, also known as Rostraver Road. It was reported around 4:30 p.m. Roberts was...
Pa. state police open academy doors to demonstrate use-of-force training
The quick decisions state police must make when confronting a potential threat are tough enough. Now, subtract time and add stress. It’s an equation that has no clear answer when a situation escalates and a trooper decides he or she must use some level of force to get someone to...
19th anniversary of 9/11 marked at Flight 93 memorial with visits by Trump, BidenVideo
It was quiet. A line of geese honked overhead as United Flight 93 Capt. Jason Dahl’s name was read. A police horse neighed in the distance as passenger Colleen Fraser was remembered. The silence was noticeable throughout the 19th annual remembrance ceremony for the 40 passengers and crewmembers on the...
Remembering Flight 93: ‘Their momentous deeds will outlive us all’Video
Calling the 40 people who died on Flight 93 on Sept. 11, 2001, “intrepid heroes,” President Donald Trump marked the 19th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks at the national memorial to that flight in Somerset County. “On that September morning when America was under attack, the battle turned to the...
Jeannette council OKs new K-9 vehicle, seeks additional donations for program
A new police SUV for Jeannette’s K-9 funded solely by donations is closer to fruition, but the city still is short about $7,000. Council on Thursday approved the $47,611 purchase of a 2020 Ford Interceptor for Sgt. James Phillips and police dog Arees and accepted $41,000 in donations for it....
Jeannette, former employee reach agreement in overpaid retirement deal
Jeannette council approved a $12,000 settlement agreement with its former community development director Thursday after she was overpaid for accrued leave upon her retirement last year. Solicitor Tim Witt said the city found out in the spring that Diana Reitz was given more money than she was entitled to through...
Jeannette fire chief marks blighted properties to help save lives, procure funding
Red spray paint is appearing on blighted, vacant Jeannette buildings not as an act of vandalism, but as a safety precaution for first responders. The markings — a square containing either an X or a slash mark — alert emergency crews to dangers inside, such as a collapsed floor or...
Jeannette police dog donations could be used for purchase of new vehicle
A significant chunk of money donated to the Jeannette Police Department’s police dog program could be put toward a new vehicle for Officer Jim Phillips and police dog Arees. Phillips made the pitch to city council Tuesday to contribute $30,000 toward the possible purchase as his 2011 Ford Explorer, that...
Flight 93 memorial service to be closed to public; park to reopen afterward
Friday’s remembrance ceremony at Flight 93 National Memorial will be closed to the public, the National Park Service announced Wednesday. The annual ceremony, which is abbreviated this year because of the coronavirus pandemic, will be livestreamed at nps.gov/flni by EarthCam. The Somerset County memorial will be open to the public...
Hempfield man jailed after shot fired during struggle over gun
A Hempfield man accused of wielding a shotgun that fired during a struggle with a woman over the weapon is being held in the Westmoreland County Prison without bond. Jared Wesley Wallak, 29, was arrested Friday on charges of aggravated assault, discharge of a firearm into an occupied structure, terroristic...
Neighborhood dispute over football in yard leads to Hempfield man’s arrest, police say
A backyard family reunion Sunday in Hempfield turned sour when state police said neighbors refused to return a football to children at the party after it was thrown on their property. The situation escalated from a neighborhood dispute to an alleged assault when Joseph Martino, 60, fought with state troopers...
Pittsburgh police seek information about confrontations between protesters, public from weekend
Pittsburgh police are seeking more information about confrontations between protesters and the public Saturday as they investigate videos that have surfaced on social media. But a protester said Monday the videos don’t properly capture tensions on both sides of the demonstrations that began Downtown. Spokeswoman Cara Cruz said authorities are...
State police looking for Saltsburg man who they say had stamp bags marked ‘covid-19’
State police are looking for a Saltsburg man who they say had cash and 677 stamp bags, some of which were marked “covid-19,” in a safe found during an Indiana traffic stop. Monty Gene Smith, 36, was charged on Friday with drug and related offenses after troopers pulled him over...
Engine 6 roars back into Jeannette, restoring a tie to the city’s firefighting historyVideo
When Jeannette fire Chief Bill Frye and Mark Scalzitti were junior firemen, they would jump on the back of a 1965 Mack fire engine to respond to calls. Too young to drive it at the time, both have fond memories of getting suited up in the fire station and riding...
Witness’ credibility left up to judge to decide in Bolivar man’s murder appeal
A defense attorney for a Bolivar man serving 30 years in prison for the 2011 murder of his newborn daughter wants a judge to decide the credibility of a witness who recently came forward with potentially exculpatory evidence. If jurors in Clayton Mibroda’s 2013 trial had heard from the new...
Loyalhanna woman sentenced to house arrest, probation in $127K theft from Greensburg electric firm
A Loyalhanna Township woman was sentenced Friday to seven years of probation for taking nearly $127,000 from her former employer. Deborah L. Baker, 53, told Judge Christopher Feliciani that the money went to support her husband’s painkiller addiction. “This money was being siphoned off solely for his habit,” attorney Dennis...
Defense seeks court’s help to get ballistics evidence in Loyalhanna murder case
Attorneys for an Indiana County man on death row for murdering three family members sought the court’s help on Friday to get firearm evidence to their ballistics expert. Attorney Brian Aston said he needs a court order to get evidence from the clerk of courts, state police and possibly the...
Black Lives Matter protest, march in Greensburg planned for Thursday evening
A protest planned for Thursday evening in Greensburg sent local police into short-notice preparation mode in the morning after learning about it through social media. The event is billed as a Black Lives Matter protest that will start at 6 p.m. at the Westmoreland County courthouse, followed by a three-block...
