Renatta Signorini stories, Page 34
Judge bans Derry woman from owning pets for 7 years after caged dog dies of dehydration
A Derry Borough woman is forbidden from having any pets during her seven-year probation term for allowing a dog to die of dehydration in her basement. Judge Christopher Feliciani said Destiny F. Witherspoon, 27, left the dog, named Dallas, alone locked in a cage while she dropped off two other...
Man’s ear partially detached when he is struck, run over by utility van
State police said a man was seriously injured Saturday after a Jeannette woman hit him with a utility van, according to court papers. Amanda M. Knerien, 34, called 911 and then drove the man to AHN Hempfield Hospital where she left him, authorities said. The man had head and face...
Man arrested at North Huntingdon motel gets prison sentence
A man convicted of illegally having a gun and drugs when he was found at a North Huntingdon motel with a runaway teenage girl was sentenced Tuesday to four to 10 years in a state prison. Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio ordered Robert Easley, 42, no hometown available, spend an additional year...
Woman pleads guilty to killing pedestrian in New Florence
An Indiana County woman was sentenced Tuesday to three to 10 years in a state prison for hitting and killing a pedestrian in New Florence. Melissa Ann Anderson, 53, of East Wheatfield, pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges of accidents involving death, driving under the influence and reckless driving in the...
Michigan man who fled Vandergrift police receives probation
A Michigan man who fled from Vandergrift police upon being found asleep behind the wheel after wrecking into a parked vehicle will spend the next year on probation. Stanley Francis Molette, 37, entered a general plea Tuesday to six counts against him, including resisting arrest and driving under the influence....
Last call: Pagano’s in New Stanton closes doors, items up for auction
When Rhonda Davis began working as a cook at Pagano’s Restaurant & Lounge in 1980, she was missing a relevant skill. “I started here, I didn’t know how to cook anything,” she said. She learned as time went on, eventually turning out batches of Sicilian pasta sauce and homemade raviolis,...
Ohio man charged with trespass, stalking at Murrysville home
An Ohio man described in court papers as an obsessed fan is accused of traveling across state lines to the Murrysville home of two rock musicians. Anthony A. Carpenter, 42, was arrested Tuesday by municipal police after he was seen outside the home in doorbell video footage, according to court...
Greensburg man arrested in connection with infant son’s 2023 death
A Southwest Greensburg man was arrested Tuesday in connection with his son’s July death at a Mt. Pleasant Township home. State police said Jason F. Ludwig, 38, concealed the 8-month-old boy’s death after apparently falling asleep with the child on a couch. The boy was identified in court papers as...
North Huntingdon man charged after police find inappropriate photographs on his cellphone
A North Huntingdon man is free on $25,000 bail after authorities said he instructed a 7-year-old girl to take an inappropriate photo of herself on his cell phone while they were at a Bible study. Allegheny County Police said they are are trying to identify several other girls who were...
Jeannette Redevelopment Authority plans series of flea markets
Five monthly flea markets are being planned by the Jeannette Redevelopment Authority as a fundraiser to cover costs related to property transfers, said acting chairperson and organizer Jo Miller. Sellers, food trucks and vendors will pay the authority a fee to participate in the events. Miller said money raised may...
Greensburg police: Scam calls ask for cryptocurrency to resolve a warrant
Greensburg police are warning residents of a scam this week in which a caller impersonated a local officer and requested cryptocurrency to resolve a warrant, according to Detective Sgt. Justin Scalzo. The caller told a woman she needed to pay $1,400. The call came from what appeared to be a...
Memorial service honors police in Westmoreland who’ve died in the line of duty
They never knew him, but Ernest C. Johnson’s sacrifice weighed heavily on the minds of four of his granddaughters Thursday. The women grew up hearing stories about the Arnold police sergeant and the scar his April 2, 1953, line-of-duty death left on their family. All four were born after his...
Housing authority may expand parking with purchase of vacant Jeannette school property
A tentative agreement is in the works for the Westmoreland County Housing Authority to buy long-vacant property from Jeannette City School District for $28,000. Authority director Mike Washowich said he hopes the property can help expand parking for nearby Jeannette Manor residents and caregivers. But officials plan to examine the...
Security film to be installed on windows at Jeannette high school building
Security film will be added to windows and glass in several areas at Jeannette Junior/Senior High School after state police did a vulnerability and risk assessment at the building, according to school district Superintendent Matt Jones. The film will be added to glass in the front vestibule and areas near...
Westmoreland City Post Office reopens
The Westmoreland City Post Office reopened Wednesday morning, nine days after an SUV crashed into the building. Postal customers were asked to use the office in Manor during the temporary closure. The SUV crashed into the Walnut Street building May 6. No one was hurt. A postal service spokesman did...
Pittsburgh man pleads guilty to attack on IUP officer
A Pittsburgh man pleaded guilty Tuesday in connection with an attack on an Indiana University of Pennsylvania police officer who was investigating a false report about a robbery, according to Indiana County District Attorney Robert F. Manzi Jr. Cameron Raubaugh, 20, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and false reports. State...
Greensburg man admits to going on nude walks at Twin Lakes Park, police say
A man who described himself as a nudist showed up at the Westmoreland County Park Police station on Hempfield’s Donohoe Road last month wearing only socks, sneakers and a ball cap, according to court papers. Turns out, police said they had been looking for a man who reportedly had been...
Jeannette schools taxes likely to remain steady
There will not be a millage increase for the 2024-25 school year for Jeannette City School District property taxpayers, but one could be on the horizon. Superintendent Matt Jones asked school directors to start thinking about raising property taxes for the 2025-26 school year. The value of properties in Jeannette...
West Newton Bridge rehab among projects eyed with $300M in funding
The West Newton Bridge is among a list of projects that could be brought to life with $300 million in road, transit and bridge improvement funds that Westmoreland County is slated to receive as part of regional infrastructure work. The metal truss bridge, built in 1909, carries about 6,500 vehicles...
Lower Burrell man accused of shooting Mogie’s owner not competent, lawyers say
A Lower Burrell man accused of fatally shooting restaurant owner David “Mogie” Magill is not mentally competent to help attorneys prepare for his homicide trial, according to a petition filed in Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court. Attorney Daniel Joseph wrote in the petition that he and co-counsel Duke George have...
First responders with PTSD would be eligible for workers comp under Pa. proposal
Life as a first responder can mean witnessing things that are hard to process. It can be different for each responder, said Shawn Penzera, director of special operations at Greensburg-based Mutual Aid EMS. Calls involving children or multiple fatalities are typically harder. But maybe an EMT recently experienced the death...
Jeannette looks to crack down on ‘very egregious’ crosswalk violations near Elliott Group
Jeannette police are looking for ways to continue enforcement near Elliott Group after officers saw drivers commit 18 violations near crosswalks in a four-hour period Thursday, according to police Chief Derek Manley. Officers watched traffic near crosswalks on Claridge-Elliott Road during morning and afternoon shift changes at the facility. They...
Concert, food truck event in Jeannette kicks off May 23
A popular event combining music and food trucks in downtown Jeannette is set to kick off May 23. That’s when the first event will begin at 6 p.m. at the Elliott Group Amphitheater at Clay Avenue and South Fifth Street, with crowds spilling out into the surrounding blocks. Every other...
Steelers’ Cameron Heyward appears on Seth Meyers’ show, jokes about his brother Connor
Steelers veteran Cameron Heyward got in some good-natured, national television-sized digs Thursday against his little brother and teammate Connor Heyward during an appearance on “Late Night With Seth Meyers.” While the elder Heyward and Meyers discussed their families getting dinner together, Meyers said about Connor Heyward: “He also seems, I...
Jeannette residents, officials hear report on plans to demolish former Fort Pitt Brewery
The impending demolition of the former Fort Pitt Brewery in West Jeannette will be bittersweet for Colleen Ott. She’s wistful because of memories she has of hitting tennis balls off a wall at the complex decades ago with her siblings. But she’s also happy because she and her husband, Chris,...
