Renatta Signorini stories, Page 96
West Newton postal clerk gets special send-off at funeral
This postal route didn’t have a mailbox or package to deliver. Instead, the mail truck, with black bows fluttering from their perches on the side mirrors, turned into the West Newton Cemetery on Saturday, leading a funeral procession of those mourning Edmund Minkus, a longtime employee of the West Newton...
Excela Health limiting visitors at its 3 emergency departments
Excela Health is asking visitors to the emergency departments at its three hospitals to stay in their vehicles until their loved one is discharged. Visitors to the emergency departments will be limited effective immediately. Hospital systems around the country have made similar restrictions in recent weeks and months. Exceptions will...
2 arrested in turnpike drug bust in Mt. Pleasant Township
Two men are behind bars after state police said they were transporting 3 kilograms of cocaine on the Pennsylvania Turnpike Tuesday, according to court papers. Denny Reyes Rosario, 32, of New York City, and Aneudy Bladimir Cuello Santana, 28, of Norwalk, Conn., are charged with drug offenses. They are being...
Jeannette OKs purchase of new $48K police SUV
Jeannette Police will be getting a new vehicle for their fleet. City council last week authorized spending about $48,000 for a 2021 Dodge Durango and necessary equipment to outfit the SUV for police use. Police Chief Donald Johnston Jr. said the move is much needed because of increasing mileage on...
Jeannette hires property maintenance officer
A part-time property maintenance officer will be on the job starting next week in Jeannette. City council on Tuesday hired Vincent Pascarella of New Stanton at a rate of $17.50 per hour. City clerk Nathan Bish said Pascarella, who has 35 years of law enforcement experience, will work 20 to...
Westmoreland jail inmate accused of spitting in guard’s face
A man incarcerated at the Westmoreland County Prison was arraigned Tuesday on charges he spit in the face of a female corrections officer, according to court papers. William Thornhill, 31, formerly of Glassport, is charged with aggravated assault, aggravated harassment by prisoner and simple assault. Westmoreland County detectives said Thornhill...
Longtime Hempfield family business goes up in flamesVideo
A Hempfield family business started in 1949 by Greensburg’s longtime fire chief went up in flames early Tuesday. John Hutchinson, whose father and uncle now run Hutchinson & Gunter, said two sections of the building at the corner of Grove and Russell streets appear to be OK, but a third...
DEA warns of flood of fake, potentially lethal prescription pills
The Drug Enforcement Administration on Monday warned of an increase in fake prescription pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine in an effort to raise public awareness of the tablets’ lethality and availability. Westmoreland County Detective Tony Marcocci said law enforcement officials locally have been seeing a rise in fake pills created...
2 jailed in Loyalhanna drug bust
Two men are behind bars after a weekend drug bust at a Loyalhanna home. Donald Wayne Baker, 41, of Saltsburg, and Michael James Buchinsky, 28, of Loyalhanna, are facing drug charges. State police said they arrived at Buchinsky’s Noel Drive home at 10:15 p.m. Saturday to serve a bench warrant...
Hempfield senator set to speak at Pennsylvania March for Life
State Sen. Kim Ward, a Hempfield Republican, is set to speak during the 2021 Pennsylvania March for Life Monday in Harrisburg. The event will be the state’s first official March for Life during which participants plan to rally at the state Capitol building to bring attention to protections for unborn...
Unity man accused in rape of girl, 12
A Unity man is accused by police of raping a 12-year-old girl in Derry Borough two years ago, according to court papers. Christopher A. Simoncini, 35, is charged with rape of a child, statutory sexual assault, indecent assault and related offenses. Borough police said in a criminal complaint that they...
Firefighters extinguish mobile home blaze in Derry Township
Firefighters extinguished a blaze Friday morning in Derry Township, according to Bradenville Assistant Fire Chief Nick Piantine. The abandoned mobile home at Longview Trailer Park off of Pittsburgh Street was engulfed in flames, he said. No one was hurt and the structure was completely destroyed. The blaze at the park...
Monessen man pleads guilty to receiving package with cocaine hidden in designer boots
A Monessen man pleaded guilty Thursday to a conspiracy charge in connection with a package delivered to his home that federal authorities said contained cocaine hidden in designer boots, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman. Devon White, 48, is free on a $10,000 unsecured bond. Federal authorities said...
Westmoreland Food Bank partners with DoorDash for deliveries to senior citizensVideo
The boxes of food can be heavy or maybe transportation is an issue. Whatever the roadblock standing in the way of a senior citizen being able to pick up items from the Westmoreland County Food Bank, there’s now an answer — delivery. A partnership with online food ordering and delivery...
Resident escapes burning home in Murrysville
A resident was able to escape a burning Murrysville home Thursday morning, according to White Valley Fire Chief John Bohinc. The blaze on Sinan Drive, a rural road near Murrysville Community Park, was reported around 9 a.m. Bohinc said there were flames through the roof in the rear corner of...
Nevada man sentenced to federal prison for traveling to West Mifflin to have sex with teen
A Nevada man was sentenced Tuesday to 6 1/2 years in a federal prison for traveling to Southwestern Pennsylvania in 2019 in an attempt to have sex with a 15-year-old West Mifflin girl. Renad Bautista, 32, of North Las Vegas, was ordered to spend 10 years on supervised release after...
Algae bloom dissipates in Twin Lakes Park
Signs warning visitors about a harmful algae bloom at the lower lake in Twin Lakes Park are expected to be taken down this week as the conditions dissipate, according to Westmoreland County Bureau of Parks and Recreation director Brandon Simpson. He said the signs were put up a couple weeks...
Ligonier Township man accused of assaulting officer investigating domestic dispute
A Ligonier Township man is accused by police of assaulting an officer who was investigating a domestic violence report, according to court papers. Jonathan O. Hillen, 33, is charged with assault of a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest. Ligonier Valley police were called to his Route 30 home Tuesday...
Va. authorities believe missing 3-year-old girl died in care of couple arrested in South Greensburg
Virginia authorities investigating the disappearance of a 3-year-old girl believe she died while in the care of a couple police arrested in South Greensburg this month. Augusta County Sheriff Donald L. Smith said the determination came after a Monday search of a Virginia home where the couple lived. Investigators were...
Attorneys hoping for bond in case of homeless man charged with Murrysville arson
The merits of Pennsylvania’s cash bond system — along with apparent work restrictions for some Westmoreland County Prison inmates — came under scrutiny in court Tuesday during a hearing for a man accused of torching a landmark Murrysville restaurant. Assistant District Attorney Leo Ciaramitaro and public defender Tamara Mahady agreed...
‘Yough n’ Roll’ trail ride, community day planned along Great Allegheny Passage
The all-volunteer Mon/Yough Trail Council plans to celebrate its 30th anniversary with events Saturday along the Great Allegheny Passage. Volunteer event coordinator Ken Medved said a family-friendly bicycle ride “Yough n’ Roll” and Community Appreciation Day will kick off at the Boston access of the trail. The ride, a fundraiser...
Man dies in motorcycle crash in Ligonier Township
A Forest Hills man was killed in a motorcycle crash Friday night in Ligonier Township, according to the Westmoreland County coroner. Adam R. Kocher, 45, was driving a Ducati motorcycle west on Route 30 at 9:15 p.m. when investigators said he lost control around a bend in the highway and...
Excela Health Frick Hospital in Mt. Pleasant sets up tent outdoors for minor cases as patient volume increases
A tent has been erected near the emergency department at Excela Health Frick Hospital in Mt. Pleasant to help treat patients with minor issues as the overall number of patients increases, according to Chief Medical Officer Carol Fox. Hospital officials also have enacted several less visible protocols in an effort...
2 flown from Hempfield crash
Two people were flown by medical helicopter Thursday morning to a hospital after a one-vehicle crash in Hempfield, according to a Westmoreland 911 dispatcher. The crash was reported just before 11 a.m. on Route 130 in the area of Slate Run Road and West Point Drive. The vehicle went over...
Plum woman gets prison for $195K embezzlement from Murrysville family business
A Plum woman was sentenced to two years in a federal prison for embezzling $195,000 from a Murrysville family business. Victoria Mazur, 54, was ordered to spend three years on probation after the prison term on a wire fraud charge. She pleaded guilty in November 2019. Mazur worked as the...
