Rich Cholodofsky stories, Page 50
Water, sewer rates to remain steady as part of new MAWC budget
Water and sewer rates will remain steady as part of a new budget approved by Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County board members. The $110.4 million spending plan for the 2023-24 fiscal year includes $6 million in expense increases that authority officials blame on rising costs to operate the water and...
Hempfield man announces second bid for Westmoreland commissioner
A former retired executive from Hempfield announced this week he will seek election as Westmoreland County commissioner. John Ventre, 65, said he will run in this year’s Republican primary and is targeting first-time incumbent Doug Chew as his chief opponent this spring. Chew and fellow first-term Republican Sean Kertes are...
Mt. Pleasant man not guilty of attempted homicide, convicted of assaulting former girlfriend
A Westmoreland County jury Friday found a Mt. Pleasant man did not intend to kill his former girlfriend when he beat and choked her into unconsciousness and left her in the woods. Charles P. Etling, 41, was convicted of lesser counts of aggravated assault, strangulation and reckless endangerment in connection...
Mt. Pleasant man admits assault, denies attempted murder of girlfriend
Charles Etling told a Westmoreland County jury on Thursday that he was sure he killed his live-in girlfriend in June 2020 when he left her lifeless body in a wooded area near the side of a Mt. Pleasant Township road. “I thought … (she) was deceased. I felt bad just...
Former Franklin Regional board member not guilty of Hempfield political sign thefts
A jury deliberated less than 30 minutes Thursday before finding a former Franklin Regional School Board member not guilty of stealing political signs from Hempfield roadways. Since his arrest nearly two years ago, Gary English, 66, of Murrysville claimed he was simply clearing litter and performing a task — removing...
Trial begins for Murrysville man accused of taking political signs
According to his lawyer, former Franklin Regional School Director Gary English was just picking up litter when he loaded campaign signs into the back of his pickup truck in April 2020. “Twice a year we are all assaulted by these campaign signs that litter our roadways and are prohibited from...
Mt. Pleasant woman describes being left for dead after alleged assault by ex-boyfriend
A Mt. Pleasant Township woman told a jury how she was bloodied, bruised, covered in mud and vegetation and left for dead in the woods in 2020 after she was assaulted by her live-in boyfriend. But she regained consciousness some 12 hours later and crawled to a road to seek...
Youngwood man cuts trial short, pleads guilty to fatal stabbing
Michael Covington Jr. sat on the witness stand Wednesday and told the surviving family members of Matthew Genard that he struggles to deal with his actions from more than five years ago when, police said, he robbed and stabbed his victim at least 22 times in the back. “His life...
Hempfield teen convicted in brother’s slaying paroled from state prison
Ian Bishop, who was 14 when he bludgeoned his 18-year-old brother to death in the family’s Hempfield home in 2002, is out of prison. Bishop, now 35, was paroled Jan. 3, according to records made public by the Pennsylvania Parole Board. He served 21 years in prison. Bishop was prosecuted...
Lawyer says Youngwood murder suspect is not a killer
The lawyer for a man charged with the robbery and fatal stabbing of a man in his Youngwood home more than five years ago told a Westmoreland County jury Tuesday that his client is not a killer. Defense attorney Ken Noga said Michael J. Covington Jr. of Youngwood, now 25,...
Westmoreland doubles plans for broadband upgrade projects
As much as $3 million will be spent this year on four projects aimed at improving high-speed internet access in Westmoreland County, commissioners said. These broadband upgrades come as a followup to a study by the county last year that, according to preliminary results, determined as much as 71% of...
Westmoreland County struggles with public defender staffing shortage
Westmoreland County Chief Public Defender Wayne McGrew has served more as an administrator than a courtroom attorney in recent years, supervising a team of lawyers responsible for representing indigent clients in the criminal and juvenile court systems. But that is expected to change in the coming months as McGrew’s staff...
Greensburg woman gets jail sentence for sale of child’s medication
A Greensburg woman was ordered to serve jail time for selling a family member’s medication and paying a child for urine to help others pass drug tests. Christine M. Meadows, 48, pleaded guilty Monday to charges in four separate cases involving felony drug counts, child endangerment and other offenses as...
New Kensington man receives life prison sentence for Arnold fatal shooting
Shirley Clegg didn’t mince any words for the man who killed her brother. “I hope you never know peace because I will never know peace,” Clegg testified Friday during a sentencing hearing for Mario Gatti. Gatti, 33, of New Kensington was convicted of first-degree murder in October for the January...
Salem man sentenced to prison for sexual assault at Ligonier Township party
A Salem man was ordered Friday to serve up to 44 months in prison for the sexual assault of an 18-year-old woman at an outdoor birthday party more than two years ago in Ligonier Township. Zachary John Saflin, 24, was convicted in October of two counts of aggravated indecent assault,...
Repair costs undetermined for Westmoreland courthouse waterline break
Two weeks after a broken pipe caused water to cascade into four floors at the Westmoreland County Courthouse, officials still are assessing the cost of repairs. Crews worked for nearly 24 hours to fix water damage caused when sub-zero temperatures led to a waterline break the evening of Dec. 25,...
Land bank seeks buyer for blighted former restaurant site in Greensburg
The site of a former downtown Greensburg restaurant that fell into disrepair and was demolished in 2021 is on the market. The Westmoreland County Land Bank is seeking proposals from potential buyers to redevelop the now vacant 5,100 square foot site at 127 S. Pennsylvania Ave. “We try our best...
Judge rejects Mt. Pleasant man’s request to dismiss assault counts
A Westmoreland County judge ruled this week that charges against a Mt. Pleasant man accused of assaulting two police officers can proceed to trial. Evidence presented during a preliminary hearing supports allegations that Joe Paul Biller, 37, attacked and threatened officers as they came to his home to arrest him...
Westmoreland plastics firm to expand to build parts for Amtrak Airo trains
Amtrak’s upgraded passenger trains, expected to be put into service later this decade, will have a Westmoreland County connection. Roechling Industrial Mt. Pleasant, a machine plastics company that has operated in the county since 1981, has been tapped to produce interior ceilings, door motor cases and other projects for the...
New Alexandria man to serve probation for scuffle with Jeannette police
A New Alexandria man who claimed he was a victim of excessive force during an incident last year with Jeannette police was ordered Monday to serve one year on probation. David Vucish, 50, was charged with resisting arrest, obstruction of justice, disorderly conduct and other offenses in connection with an...
Work day extended for Westmoreland’s Park Police leaders; department raises cash for 2nd dog
Top administrators with Westmoreland County’s Park Police will begin working longer days this year. The county’s salary board Monday approved extensions of the work day by an additional 30 minutes this year and another half-hour in 2024 for Park Police Chief Henry Fontana, the department’s two captains, one lieutenant and...
Local pundits call Washington dysfunction ‘a disaster’
The historic five-day effort to elect a new speaker of the House in Washington is likely to have a lasting impact on partisan politics and the ability of Republicans to govern, local pundits say. After five days of voting, including a session late Friday night that continued into early Saturday...
Death penalty sought against father of slain New Kensington child
Westmoreland County prosecutors have filed court documents that indicate they will seek the death penalty against the father of a young boy who was killed last spring in New Kensington. Jean J. Charles, 40, of Brackenridge was charged in September, about four months after the body of his 9-year-old son,...
Sutersville woman pleads guilty to sex offense
A Sutersville woman pleaded guilty to sexual assault and corruption offenses after she was charged with molesting a 13-year-old boy she was helping with schoolwork. Ashley Sherry, 23, was accused of sexually assaulting the teen and using marijuana with the juvenile while working with him on remote school assignments when...
Jeannette man pleads guilty to sexual assault of unconscious woman
A Jeannette man was sentenced Thursday to serve up to eight years in prison for a sexual assault of an unconscious woman. Asa Duane Busato, 23, pleaded guilty to one felony charge of aggravated indecent assault in connection with an incident police said took place at the woman’s Hempfield home...
