Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 112
Deer hunters like starting rifle season on SaturdayVideo
Michael “MadDog” Maddy said Saturday’s early start to the 2019 deer hunting season was, well, unusual. “There was nobody out there until about 9 a.m.,” Maddy said. For hunters such as Maddy, Saturday marked the first time since 1963 that rifle season for hunters in Pennsylvania started on the Saturday...
Westmoreland election officials draw lots, break ties to decide local racesVideo
Luck was not on the side of Penn Borough Councilman Edgar Grant. Grant was the only candidate who attended the casting of lots at the Westmoreland County Courthouse on Friday to break ties among candidates in a handful of municipal races. Four candidates each received three write-in votes for three...
Westmoreland County opts out of federal settlement against drugmakers, distributors
Westmoreland County wants no part of a tentative multibillion-dollar settlement to resolve opioid cases filed by thousands of local governments across the country. Instead, it will focus on its own legal action against opioid manufacturers and distributors now pending in an eastern Pennsylvania court. Commissioners on Friday formally opted out...
Contract extension helps Westmoreland County gear up to take over bus service next yearVideo
The Westmoreland County Transit Authority and the union that represents bus drivers and maintenance workers this week agreed to a three-month extension of a labor contract to allow the agency to complete the hiring of about 150 employees needed for the takeover of commuter bus and paratransit services starting Jan....
Westmoreland commissioners grapple with 2020 county budget shortfall
Westmoreland County commissioners have not ruled out a property tax increase for 2020. Commissioners unveiled a preliminary budget that continues to spend more money than the county takes in from tax revenue, fees and state and federal allocations. As it stands, the county’s surplus fund would be nearly drained to...
Greensburg, Pittsburgh hospitals sued over baby’s death
A Youngwood couple sued two local hospitals and medical personnel, claiming doctors and nurses failed to properly identify and treat a prenatal condition blamed for their son’s death in late 2017. In a 20-count wrongful death lawsuit, Joanie and Samuel Adams contend an ultrasound performed at UPMC Magee Womens Hospital...
Westmoreland judge rejects Hyde Park man’s appeal of sexual assault conviction
A Westmoreland County judge ruled the evidence presented against a Hyde Park man at his June sexual assault trial was sufficient to support the guilty verdicts rendered by jurors. In a 16-page opinion issued Wednesday, Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio rejected the appeal by Larry Lee Redmond. Redmond, 40, was convicted of...
Candidates tied in 10 Westmoreland elections
Westmoreland County elections officials will meet Friday at noon to break ties in 10 local municipal elections. Elections Bureau Director Beth Lechman said multiple candidates in the Nov. 6 election finished with identical vote totals for council seats in Arona, Hyde Park, Laurel Mountain, North Irwin, Penn and Sutersville along...
Transportation projects for Western Pa. prioritized
Planners have identified 123 road, bridge and transportation improvements needed in southwestern Pennsylvania, and said a list of priority projects — including a handful in Westmoreland County — will be adopted by next summer. The Southwest Pennsylvania Commission, or SPC, and PennDOT on Wednesday afternoon outlined proposals that could be...
Almost $3 million in upgrades expected for Westmoreland County’s 911 system
Westmoreland County commissioners are expected this week to approve more than $2.7 million in upgrades to the 911 emergency dispatch system. Public Safety Director Roland Mertz said Tuesday that plans call for replacement of aging computer-aided dispatch equipment and installation of a new transmission tower to provide better radio service...
First graduate of Westmoreland County’s Veterans Court says he’ll return as a mentor
Ryan Skuta was home about a year after his third tour of duty, a four-month stint as a freelance infantryman fighting with the Kurds against ISIS in 2016, when he was arrested in Jeannette and charged with drunk driving. On Tuesday, Skuta, 33, of Irwin, became the first graduate of...
Westmoreland County union workers reject proposed new contract
Members of Westmoreland County’s largest bargaining unit rejected the terms of a new labor contract for more than 600 government workers. The county’s existing four-year contract with the Service Employees International Union Local 668 and SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania expires at the end of December. Negotiations on a new labor pact...
Former Jeannette doctor sentenced to house arrest for patient overdose deaths
A North Huntingdon doctor will serve two years on house arrest and five years on probation for over-prescribing drugs used by two patients who died of overdoses. Dr. Michel Toret, 73, of Jeannette, told a Westmoreland County judge that the practice of medicine has changed during his four decades as...
Political signs waning in mid-November
From Labor Day through early November, most busy roadsides and intersections are awash in political campaign signs. The small placards emblazoned with a candidate’s name appear by the thousands as office seekers fight for name recognition and public awareness of their campaign efforts for the hundreds of political offices up...
Man sentenced to at least 12 years in prison for child rape incident in Arnold
A Washington, D.C., man was sentenced Friday to serve up to 34 years in prison for the rape and sexual assault of an Arnold teenager. Following a jury trial in August, Delonte Haynes, 28, was convicted of four charges, among them rape of a child and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse,...
Hempfield man pleads guilty but mentally ill in elderly father’s beating deathVideo
A Hempfield man pleaded guilty but mentally ill on Friday for the murder of his elderly father last December. Douglas F. Novak, 41, told a Westmoreland County judge he has suffered from mental illness for more than two decades. After a five-month stay in treatment facility following his arrest, he...
Youngwood man jailed since 2017 released
A Youngwood man, jailed since his arrest two years ago on charges that he assaulted a woman in her home, was released on nominal bond Thursday. Charles Agger Jr., 53, was arrested in November 2017 and charged with felony counts of aggravated assault, strangulation and burglary after police said climbed...
Waterline under Kiski River near Apollo to be replaced
The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County has approved a $1.76 million project to install a new waterline under the Kiski River. Officials said about 1.5 miles of pipe will be installed, including an 800-foot section of 20-inch, fused PVC material. It will run below the river bed to service customers...
Water line under Kiski River near Apollo to be replaced
Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County board members on Wednesday approved a $1.76 million project to install a new water line under the Kiski River. Officials said about 1.5 miles of pipe will be installed, including an 800-foot section of 20-inch fused PVC material, that will run below the bed of...
Hearings on sex charges, extradition set for suspended Pirates pitcher Felipe Vazquez
A Westmoreland County judge will hear evidence next week to determine whether suspended Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Felipe Vazquez can be extradited to Florida to answer sexual assault charges. Later that same day, Vazquez is scheduled to appear before East Huntingdon Magisterial District Judge Charles Moore for a preliminary hearing...
Westmoreland could add special election for state House seat to April’s primary ballot
A special election to replace state Rep. Justin Walsh should be held in conjunction with the upcoming presidential primary in April, Westmoreland County’s top election official said. “It’s much easier to do it at the same time as the primary. It’s just adding another race to the ballot,” said Beth...
Westmoreland courts holding $80,000 owed to crime victims
Nearly $80,000 owed to about 250 crime victims is being held by Westmoreland County, according to Clerk of Courts Bryan Kline. The cash represents court-ordered restitution payments to victims who moved and have not updated their home addresses with the county, he said. Money can be held for a year,...
Jeannette man sentenced to up to 7 years for drug possession
A Jeannette man will serve up to seven years in prison after he pleaded guilty Tuesday to drug offenses following a traffic stop in North Huntingdon and Sewickley townships last year. Harold Louis Shields IV, 37, formerly of Pittsburgh, was arrested after a March 16, 2018, incident in which police...
Westmoreland election results show GOP strength, impact of straight party voting
Republicans Sean Kertes and Doug Chew cruised to victory last week to secure a new GOP majority on the Westmoreland County Board of Commissioners and, in doing so, finished more than 5,000 votes ahead of two better-financed Democratic incumbents. Political observers said the Republican wins for commissioner and four other...
Greensburg woman convicted in torture death to get another psych evaluation
Nearly a decade after Angela Marinucci and five other Greensburg roommates were arrested and charged with the torture slaying of a mentally challenged woman, Westmoreland County taxpayers continue to pay their legal bills. Common Pleas Court Judge Rita Hathaway this week approved the payment of another $1,150 to a private...
