Norwin boys close out Peters Township tournament with win over Belle Vernon
During the holiday season, local basketball teams play in tournaments hoping to be challenged by different teams in a way that will harden them for the upcoming barrage of section games. Whether that happens or not can depend, but there was no doubt that Norwin and Belle Vernon got their...
Norwin’s Landon Sidun represents WPIAL on top of Powerade podium for 2nd straight year
For the second consecutive season, Norwin junior Landon Sidun carried the WPIAL flag at the 59th annual Powerade Holiday Classic at Canon-McMillan High School. Sidun was the only WPIAL wrestler to reach the finals. Three others — Canon-McMillan freshman Lee Dreshman, Derry junior Mason Horwat and Kiski Area sophomore Mario...
North Huntingdon is closer to adopting solar power ordinance
North Huntingdon officials are moving closer to joining other Westmoreland County municipalities in passing an ordinance to govern solar power installations. The township commissioners met this month to request revisions to a proposed ordinance regulating solar power arrays. Harry Faulk, township manager, said a third draft of the regulations should...
Jeannette boys take care of business against 6A Norwin
Given the fact Jeannette was leading but not in complete control, Jayce Powell felt the need to be vocal in the huddle. He fired up the Jayhawks with his voice, but his game also did a lot of talking. The junior guard scored 11 of his 16 points in the...
Westmoreland athletes of the week: Luca Butera and Torrie Destefano
Luca Butera School: Norwin Class: Senior Sport: Wrestling Claim to fame: Butera won his first tournament Dec. 13 at Penn Manor in Millersville, and he and junior Landon Sidun led the Knights to a team title. He is 12-1 this season and 53-52 in his career. He has six pins...
Passing the torch: Aging VFW honor guards need younger veterans to step upVideo
Military veterans who serve on honor guards for local American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars posts say there is an urgent need to pass the torch to a younger generation. “We’re always asking for young people, but they don’t have the time. We have seven or eight members who...
Ex-North Huntingdon EMS manager files federal sexual harassment lawsuit
A former North Huntingdon EMS/Rescue office manager is alleging in a federal lawsuit that she was subject to a decade of sexual harassment and retaliation by the service’s former executive director. Kelly Pirl, 39, of McKeesport, claims in the six-count suit that Shane Spielvogle, 50, of East McKeesport, subjected her...
‘I will never forgive you:’ Brother testifies at sentencing of Greensburg man for drug overdose
After more than two years, Nicholas Ginter couldn’t hold back his anger any longer. It had been simmering since his older brother, Joseph Ginter, died in July 2023 from a drug overdose. On Thursday, the man who pleaded guilty to providing the fatal dose of drugs — Justin Todaro, 38,...
Charges filed in connection with shooting that injured Irwin man
A man was injured in a shooting late Wednesday that Irwin police believe was an accident, according to court papers. He was shot in the face but is expected to survive, according to borough police and Melanie Jones, spokesperson for the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office. A Greensburg man was...
Trafford historian seeks federal approval for naming Brush Creek tributary
A Trafford historian is seeking federal approval to name a North Huntingdon stream after the German immigrant family that settled along its banks in the 1870s. Andrew Capets, president of the Trafford Historical Society, is awaiting a decision from the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to formally designate the Brush...
Norwin area: Irwin appointments, book sale, auditions planned, more
Irwin resignations, appointments Irwin Borough is expected to vote next month to replace a borough representative on the Western Westmoreland Municipal Authority board. John Slivka submitted his resignation from the municipal authority board at the end of the year. Slivka was elected to a four-year term on Irwin Council last...
North Huntingdon passes 2026 budget with 30% property tax hike
North Huntingdon officials unanimously approved a $15.8 million budget for 2026 that will raise the township’s property taxes by 30%. The 3.5-mill tax hike is split into two parts: 1.5 mills for the general fund and 2 mills for the capital reserve fund for roads and stormwater management projects. For...
North Huntingdon plans to raise administrators’ pay
North Huntingdon is expected to vote Wednesday at the commissioners meeting to raise the pay of most of its department heads by 3%, with two of the newer leaders getting 5% raises. The salaries proposed for 2026 were based on employee evaluations, township Manager Harry Faulk told the commissioners this...
Chipotle eyes Irwin as 1st Pa. site of its new design
A nationwide Mexican food chain is planning to make Irwin the first site in Pennsylvania with an updated interior design for its restaurants. Chipotle Mexican Grill plans to build a restaurant next year at the site of the Denny’s along Route 30, said Bill Zuccarello, construction manager for Chipotle. The...
Eastern Pittsburgh suburban real estate transactions for the week of Dec. 14, 2025
ALLEGHENY COUNTY Churchill Diane Davis sold property at 2525 Greensburg Pike Unit 403 to Leon and Jeanetta Blackston for $230,000. Edgewood Jessica Zhu sold property at 513 Allenby Ave. to Kelsey Brazell for $295,000. Harrison Harrell sold property at 132 Beech St. to Lorna Romero Tangara for $531,115. Jessica George...
Heating costs $6,000 per month during Irwin office construction
Irwin will be paying $12,000 to provide heat this month and in January for the workers converting a former storefront into administrative offices at the borough building on Main Street. Borough council this week agreed to pay Sunbelt Rental of North Huntingdon for a temporary heating furnace at a rate...
Norwin area: Book sale, heating assistance, tree sale, more
Scouts to sell Christmas trees Boy Scout Troop 284 of Irwin will be selling live Christmas trees at the Busy Beaver store parking lot at the Norwin Hills Shopping Center. The tree sale will be from 5-9 p.m. Dec. 12; 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Dec. 13; and from 10 a.m.-6 p.m....
North Huntingdon OKs draft rules on leasing public land
North Huntingdon officials have approved a draft ordinance to govern the leasing of public land. The move is intended to prevent a recurrence of the controversy that surrounded a proposal for a sports complex on the public works facility site. Last month, the commissioners authorized advertising the ordinance, which would...
Eastern Pittsburgh suburban real estate transactions for the week of Dec. 7, 2025
ALLEGHENY COUNTY Forest Hills Kevin Wilhelm sold property at 714 Cascade Road to Rachel Harriet Corn-Hicks for $195,000. Estate of Florence Mae Beatty sold property at 1987 Centurion Drive to Emily Phillips for $64,600. Monroeville RS Holdings 201 LLC sold property at 431 California Ave. to Cerkat Ventures D LLC...
Substitute teacher shortages leave some districts scrambling to avoid ‘vicious cycle’ in schools
During Allegheny Valley School District’s two-month search for a consistent high school biology teacher, Superintendent Patrick Graczyk said other teachers, outside substitutes and even school principals stepped in to keep the science class going. Eventually, the district found a long-term substitute with an emergency biology certification to fill the role...
Norwin student recovers from serious injuries to win martial arts crown
River Pendergrass could be considered the Norwin area’s comeback kid. Less than two years after suffering severe injuries when he was hit by a vehicle, Pendergrass has become a national martial arts champion. Pendergrass was an 11-year-old sixth grader when he was hit by an SUV on Nov. 10, 2023,...
North Huntingdon police Chief Rizzo to retire in January
North Huntingdon’s police chief will be retiring in January. Robert A. Rizzo II, who has served as the township’s police chief since September 2018, will be leaving the force on Jan. 2, said Harry Faulk, township manager. “Chief Rizzo is the gold standard for chiefs in Westmoreland County. He is...
Norwin Holiday House Tour slated
Seven houses in North Huntingdon and Irwin decorated for the holidays will be on display at the Norwin Historical Society’s annual Holiday House Tour from 3:30 to 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets can be purchased at Norwin Public Library at 100 Caruthers Lane, Irwin; the Norwin Chamber of Commerce office at...
South Huntingdon couple charged with child endangerment after North Huntingdon drug stop
Two South Huntingdon residents were behind bars Wednesday after police said they took two children to a drug transaction in North Huntingdon, according to court papers. Gregory Carvallis Jr., 34, and Chelsey Palko, 35, were arrested Tuesday evening after a North Huntingdon officer reported seeing a Ford Bronco tailgating another...
North Huntingdon plans 3.5-mill tax hike
North Huntingdon officials plan to raise real estate taxes by 3.5 mills in 2026 to balance a general fund budget of $15.8 million, a tax increase they said is necessary to fund ongoing operations and projects now that federal covid funds have been exhausted. Without the tax hike, the township would...
