Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 120
Westmoreland commissioners set 2nd public hearing on plan to reduce flooding
Westmoreland County Commissioners will hold a second public hearing Monday ahead of an expected vote on an updated plan designed to reduce flooding. Officials are seeking comments about the new Integrated Water Resources Plan compiled by the Westmoreland County Conservation District and county planners. The public hearing will begin at...
Westmoreland Clerk of Courts Bryan Kline reappointed to state association board
Westmoreland County Clerk of Courts Bryan Kline has been reappointed to serve as an executive board member for the Pennsylvania State Association of Prothonotaries and Clerk of Courts Association. The association, formed in 1928, serves as a coalition of state-elected officials who oversee court-related filing offices. “I am honored that...
Scottdale man found guilty in Youngwood Mother’s Day crash that injured family
Victoria Schuler and her husband, William, were finally able to smile on Thursday, more than three years after they and their two young children were severely injured in a vehicle crash in Youngwood. “We’re glad for it,” Victoria Schuler said minutes after Matthew Murphy, 27, was found guilty of all...
Trafford man pleads guilty to assaulting pregnant girlfriend
A Trafford man was released from prison late Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in connection with a physical confrontation earlier this year with his pregnant girlfriend. Nigel Christopher Hogan, 29, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of simple assault and in a related case one charge...
Jury: Ligonier psychologist Monsour not guilty of molestation claims
A Ligonier psychologist was found not guilty Wednesday of charges that he molested a young girl. Dr. Roy C. Monsour, 65, declined to comment as he left the courtroom after his acquittal. A jury of six men and six women deliberated just more than an hour before finding Monsour not...
Trooper: No attempt to brake before violent Youngwood crash
A state police investigator testified Wednesday that a pickup truck slammed into the back of a small car carrying a Scottdale family and shot their car into a concrete barrier at speeds over 66 mph. Trooper Bradley Poole told jurors there was no evidence that Matthew Murphy used the brakes...
Yough School District wants more property taxes from Tenaska Westmoreland power plant
The Yough School District wants more tax revenue from the newly built Tenaska Westmoreland Generating Station in South Huntingdon. Yough officials have filed an appeal in Common Pleas Court challenging the $1.9 million assessment used by county officials to determine the property taxes paid to the school, Westmoreland County and...
Parents detail family injuries during trial of Mother’s Day 2016 wreck in Youngwood
William Schuler remembers the sounds of a helicopter as it flew him to a Pittsburgh hospital three years ago following a Mother’s Day crash on Route 119 in Youngwood in which he, his wife and two young children were seriously injured. He told jurors Tuesday — the first day of...
Lawyer for Ligonier psychologist denies he molested girl
The lawyer for a Ligonier psychologist told Westmoreland County jurors on Tuesday that the prevalence of sexual assault allegations around the country has become too much and in some cases cannot be properly defended. “In today’s world, if they say it happened, it happened. It could happen to any of...
Westmoreland receives grant to rehab blighted homes
Westmoreland County got a $100,000 state grant to rehabilitate blighted homes and to install modifications to assist disabled residents. The Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement Fund grant will provide money to the county Redevelopment Authority and Lank Bank accessible housing program for low- and moderate-income residents. Officials said previous...
Jury selection concludes in Scottdale man’s assault trial in connection with May 2016 accident
Jury selection ended Monday for the trial of a Scottdale man accused of injuring a young family of four three years ago in a Mother’s Day car wreck near Youngwood. Matthew Murphy, 27, is charged with 13 counts, including three felony offenses of aggravated assault by vehicle, in connection with...
Trial to start for Ligonier Twp. doctor accused of child sexual assault
Testimony is expected to begin Tuesday in the sexual assault trial of a Ligonier Township doctor charged with having improper contact with a teen. Prosecutors contend Dr. Roy C. Monsour, 65, had repeated sexual contact with the teen between 2009-14. Jury selection was completed Monday for the trial before Westmoreland...
Everybody who lived in Mt. Pleasant Borough knew Bill Gratzinger
There wasn’t a resident in Mt. Pleasant Borough who Bill Gratzinger didn’t know. Through his jobs as the town’s police chief and also as the head of the local volunteer fire department, Gratzinger made sure his neighbors were safe and protected. They were jobs he took seriously long after he...
Bethany United Methodist Church thanks police, firefighters with fundraising mealVideo
It’s been more than 50 years since the Latrobe Fire Department Good Friend’s Hose Company No. 5 served as a temporary home to the Bethany United Methodist Church during a long-ago renovation. But members still recall the advice from firefighters. “They told us that if the fire whistle went off,...
2 shot in Northview Heights section of Pittsburgh
A man and woman were wounded Sunday morning in a shooting in the Northview Heights section of Pittsburgh. Police officials said officers responded to reports of shots fired on the 800 block of Mt. Pleasant Road shortly before 2 a.m. Officers found a woman shot multiple times in the lower...
Infant girl found dead in East Huntingdon under ‘suspicious’ circumstances
State police are investigating the “suspicious” death of an infant girl Saturday night at an East Huntingdon housing complex. Officials said police responded to a housing complex at Gurley Drive and found an unresponsive child. She was pronounced dead at the scene. State police spokesman Steve Limani said the infant...
Brownstown Road in North Huntingdon reopened
Brownstown Road in North Huntingdon was reopened Saturday afternoon. The roadway had been shut down for two days as cleanup crews worked to repair damage caused from a tree felled during Thursday’s heavy rains. Township officials said a portion of the road was closed off to traffic near the municipal...
Ligonier Wiffle Ball tourney raises thousands for diabetes research
Joe Ladisic knew he had to be in Ligonier on Saturday to pay tribute to his wife, Rachael, who died in May after a lifetime battle with Type 1 diabetes. With his wife’s name emblazoned on his chest, Ladisic, 35, of Greensburg threw the first pitch in a fundraising effort...
Former Hempfield veterinarian seeking ARD in records copying case
A Penn Township woman charged with stealing records from a Hempfield veterinarian clinic will ask to be enrolled in a prison diversion program next month. In court documents filed Wednesday, the lawyer for Katherine Marraccini, 26, said she will seek admission to the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program for first-time, nonviolent...
Youngwood mom blames daughter in assault of grandma during Steelers game
A Youngwood mother seeking to have her criminal charges dismissed has blamed her teenage daughter for the brutal attack of her grandmother as they watched a Pittsburgh Steelers preseason game on TV two years ago. In court documents filed this week, the lawyer for Delores Amorino, 42, said his client’s...
Repairs begin on crumbling section of Westmoreland courthouse parking garage
Emergency work to repair crumbling ceiling concrete above the upper parking level of the Westmoreland County Courthouse started this week. County commissioners are expected to approve a nearly $70,000 contract later this week to pay for the construction work to install and fortify support beams needed to fix damage in...
Wolf secures voting machine funding; Westmoreland won’t use new system until 2020
Westmoreland County officials said Tuesday’s announcement from Gov. Tom Wolf about securing state funding for the purchase of new voting systems throughout Pennsylvania will not impact a revised timeline here. “The only thing that may change is they (county commissioners) may pick a machine to purchase this year but it...
Westmoreland commissioners expected to approve settlement with county jail visitor
Westmoreland County commissioners are expected to approve a $7,500 payment to settle a complaint from a woman who said she was injured last year while visiting an inmate at the county jail. Solicitor Melissa Guiddy said Tuesday the county received a notice of an intent to file a lawsuit earlier...
Motorist sues North Huntingdon, PennDOT, claiming road conditions caused accident
The survivor of a fatal North Huntingdon traffic accident last year is suing the township and PennDOT. Robert E. Leonard Jr. of Trafford claims in a lawsuit filed last week in Westmoreland County that injuries he sustained in the April 20, 2018, crash on Route 993 could have been avoided...
Westmoreland delays election machine purchase
Westmoreland County officials said Monday the planned purchase of new voting equipment this summer will likely be delayed after state lawmakers and Gov. Tom Wolf failed to agree on funding for election system upgrades throughout Pennsylvania. “We were on track to make a decision this summer, but we’re on hold...
