Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 121
State delays change to Westmoreland’s paratransit system
A proposed state change local officials said could devastate Westmoreland County’s paratransit system for low income and elderly riders has been delayed. Gov. Tom Wolf late last week signed legislation authorizing a six-month study of the plan approved last year giving oversight of the state’s medical assistance transportation program to...
Private Industry Council’s new leader strives to give back to community
Working at the Private Industry Council was the only work Shujuane Martin has known. Fresh out of California University of Pennsylvania where she starred on the basketball court, Martin started her career in 2003 as a caseworker at the tri-county agency based in Hempfield that helps low-income families navigate through...
Judge refuses to have online criticisms of Greensburg dentist practice removed, allows lawsuit to move forward
A Westmoreland County judge Friday refused to grant an injunction that would have forced the removal of online social media posts a local dentist claims are libelous. Common Pleas Judge Chris Scherer, in a four-page opinion, said the injunction request from Three Rivers Dental Group in Greensburg could ultimately have...
Hempfield man wants new trial, claims self-defense strategy was ignored
A Hempfield man serving a 40-year prison sentence for the attempted murder of his girlfriend in 2011 is asking for a new trial. Lawrence Redman, 51, was in court on Thursday for an appeal hearing. He contends his former lawyer ignored his instructions to argue self-defense during his trial. “My...
Hempfield man accused of threatening church leader asks for bond reduction
A Hempfield man jailed on charges that he made threatening, racially explicit telephone calls to a Penn Township church wants a Westmoreland County judge to make it cheaper for him to be released from custody. Mark Eugene Ray, 59, contends the $50,000 bail that is keeping him behind bars should...
Elderly contractor wants charges dropped in Greensburg apartment rehab case
The lawyer for an 85-year-old contractor awaiting trial on charges that he accepted money to rehabilitate a Greensburg building three years ago but did not finish the job said in court on Thursday that the criminal charges should be dismissed. “This is basically a civil dispute. He lost his zoning...
Westmoreland GOP commissioner candidates to keep separate campaigns
The two Republican candidates for Westmoreland County commissioner have not agreed to unify their campaigns but will maintain a dialogue as they take on incumbent Democrats Gina Cerilli and Ted Kopas this fall. Republicans Sean Kertes and Doug Chew met for two hours Tuesday night with county GOP officials. They...
Prosecutors: Charges should stand in alleged attack over Steelers game volume
Westmoreland County prosecutors said that criminal charges should stand against a Youngwood woman because she actively assisted her daughter in a brutal multi-day attack against her elderly grandmother as they fought over the volume of a Steelers’ broadcast. In court documents filed Wednesday, Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Dupilka argued that...
Westmoreland judge defends ruling overturning rape conviction
A Westmoreland County judge Tuesday defended his decision to give a new trial to a Unity man accused of repeatedly raping a teen-aged girl for three years. Common Pleas Court Judge Tim Krieger issued a three-page opinion in which he said evidence presented against Bruce Palmer, 34, during trial last...
Leechburg man pleads guilty to forcing boy to watch sex act
A Leechburg man pleaded guilty Tuesday to one felony offense for forcing a teen-aged boy to watch him and an adult woman have sex two years ago. Mark Leone, 50, formerly of Allegheny Township, was sentenced by Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio to serve up to 23 months...
North Huntingdon woman sues Wendel-Herminie club over charity motorcycle wreck
A North Huntingdon woman who was injured when she was thrown from the back of a motorcycle last summer during a charity event contends a local social club that sponsored the benefit ride was at fault. According to a two-count lawsuit filed in Westmoreland County, Kelly Franz said members of...
Officials OK deal with Cincinnati-based developer for Hempfield industrial park
County officials this week approved the potential sale of 13 acres at the Westmoreland Technology Park II in Hempfield to a Cincinnati-based commercial real estate development and design firm. Acting as the Westmoreland County Industrial Development Corp., county commissioners signed off on the deal to option the property to AI....
Grant will cover Westmoreland, Fayette freight rail line improvements
Westmoreland County received a $1.5 million state grant for the second phase of a $3.9 million project to upgrade its 18-mile freight rail line from Hempfield to Connellsville. The grant will pay for most of the $2.1 million cost to rehabilitate infrastructure , officials said. The railroad company will pay...
Westmoreland tries again for $25 million Laurel Valley connector funding
Westmoreland County officials said Monday they will make another attempt to secure a $25 million federal grant to pay for part of the long-planned Laurel Valley connector. The project at one time called for construction of a new highway linking New Stanton and Arnold Palmer Regional Airport site in Unity....
Westmoreland jail sees highest percentage of new inmates needing drug, alcohol detox
A record percentage of new inmates lodged at the Westmoreland County Prison in May needed detoxification services for drug and alcohol addiction, officials said Monday. Warden John Walton told members of the county prison board that 204 of the 239 new inmates, more than 85%, who were brought into the...
Westmoreland commissioners better funded than GOP challengers, reports show
When it comes to cash available to spend in the months leading up to the November race for Westmoreland County Commissioner, Republicans Sean Kertes and Doug Chew are behind two Democratic incumbents. According to latest finance reports that detail contributions and spending through the May primary, the Republicans’ bank rolls...
Westmoreland judicial candidates spent $750K through spring primary election
The six candidates who ran for two open judicial seats on the Westmoreland County Court of Common Pleas spent more than $750,000 combined through early June. Campaign finance reports filed last week in Harrisburg detailed candidate spending and revealed the growing cost to run for judge in Westmoreland County. Attorney...
Change may be coming for Westmoreland transit authority
Westmoreland County commissioners will vote Monday on a proposal to allow the county transit authority to serve as its own bus operator. Authority board members endorsed the move last week to amend the agency’s charter, a change that officials said could dramatically transform the operation and offer an alternative to...
Duquesne man pleads guilty to drug offenses
A Duquesne man who is the ex-husband of a former Norwin High School teacher convicted of selling heroin to a police informant on Friday himself pleaded guilty to two drug offenses. Marc Anthony Rodnicki, 39, was sentenced to serve two years on probation for two misdemeanor drug counts in connection...
Judge: Confession in Youngwood man’s stabbing death, robbery to be allowed at trial
A confession given to police nearly a week after the stabbing death of Matthew Genard will stand, a Westmoreland County judge has ruled. Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Feliciani said prosecutors can tell jurors about the statement made by Jason Sullenberger, 41, of Youngwood, about his role in Genard’s murder...
New Stanton man appealing sentence in deadly hit-run
A New Stanton man convicted of third-degree murder for the Christmas Eve 2016 death of an East Huntingdon pedestrian wants a new trial. Matthew Ramsay, 31, is appealing his conviction, claiming evidence presented at trial in March was not sufficient to support a guilty finding. “While the commonwealth’s evidence may...
Salem woman serving life says addiction to blame for mother’s violent murder
A Salem woman serving life in prison for bludgeoning her mother to death in 2013 wants her story to serve as an example of the horrors of drug addiction, she told a Westmoreland County judge. In a legal appeal, Sarah Vercauteren, 30, contended she received bad advice when she was...
Records will remain sealed in Unity woman’s disappearance
Search warrants related to the disappearance of a Unity woman will remain sealed for the time being, a Westmoreland County judge ruled Thursday. Prosecutors said public disclosure of documents supporting 15 search warrants obtained last year could interfere with the ongoing investigation into the whereabouts and possible death of Cassandra...
Jeannette man pleads guilty to 30 child porn counts
A Jeannette man will remain on house arrest for the next three months after he pleaded guilty Wednesday to possession of child pornography. But Curtis House, 75, faces a potentially long prison sentence as a result of his plea. “You could spend the rest of your life in jail,” said...
MAWC spent more than $100,000 for tests following Beaver Run Reservoir gas well breach
The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County spent more than $100,000 on air and water quality tests conducted in response to gas well breach in late January at Beaver Run Reservoir, officials said. “We will forward those bills to CNX,” authority manager Michael Kukura said. CNX Resources, which operates the 55...
