Norwin Star category, Page 101
Westmoreland County hands out grants to Excela, nonprofitsVideo
Excela Health received a $5 million grant from Westmoreland County Thursday to help the hospital chain recover revenue lost during the coronavirus pandemic. County commissioners also awarded 77 nonprofit agencies grants totalling nearly $1.2 million to help pay for expenses related to the pandemic. Commissioners conceded the surprise grant to...
Westmoreland commissioner claims county pay raises result of political threat
Westmoreland Commissioner Gina Cerilli on Thursday accused her Republican colleagues of buckling under a threat from the county controller when they granted a series of raises to his staff of auditors. “They should be ashamed,” Cerilli said about a reorganization of the auditing department that included $130,000 in raises handed...
UPS hiring 840 seasonal workers in New Stanton, Pittsburgh
United Parcel Service Inc. plans to hold a job fair Friday — in-person and virtual — as it looks to hire about 840 seasonal workers at its processing and shipping facilities in New Stanton and on Pittsburgh’s North Shore, the company said. The package shipping company is looking to hire...
North Huntingdon nursing home posts highest covid-19 cases among private operators in Westmoreland County
A North Huntingdon nursing home appears to have the highest number of coronavirus cases among privately-owned long-term care facilities in Westmoreland County, according to state data. Transitions Healthcare on Barnes Lake Road has reported 91 covid-19 cases among patients and 47 infected staff members since the pandemic reached the region...
Norwin police blotter, week of Oct. 26
Charges filed • Justin A. Schillinger, 43, of North Huntingdon, by township police with providing false identification to law enforcement, possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia after a traffic stop on Route 30. He was detained on a warrant from Butler County. Charges with North Huntingdon District Judge...
Norwin area happenings through Nov. 24
Veterans Day changes made at Post 781 The coronavirus pandemic and restrictions on large gatherings forced changes to the annual Veterans Day celebration at the J. Howard Snyder Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 781, 100 Billott Ave., North Huntingdon. Instead of a large gathering inside the VFW post, Commander Kory...
Westmoreland elections officials: ‘Number of residents’ have not received mail-in, absentee ballots
While nearly 50,000 mail-in ballots from Westmoreland voters have been returned to the county’s Election Bureau, a number of residents have not received the mail-in or absentee ballot they requested. County officials said as of Wednesday, 71,852 of 74,648 ballots had been delivered to the U.S. Postal Service to be...
Norwin area happenings Oct. 29-Nov. 4
St. Stephen’s to sell Pierogi St. Stephen’s Byzantine Catholic Church, 90 Bethel Road, North Huntingdon, will sell potato cheese and lekvar pierogi for $10 a dozen on Nov. 6, beginning at 10 a.m. in the church hall. Masks and social distancing will be required. Irwin seeks crossing guard Irwin is...
Coronavirus surge forces Westmoreland schools to decide on in-person, fully remote learning
Under guidelines from the state departments of education and health, school districts in counties with a “substantial” rate of community coronavirus spread are advised to revert to fully remote classes. The decision, however, rests with school districts. The county on Friday marked a second week of “substantial” coronavirus transmission levels...
Alien invaders welcome at North Huntingdon homeVideo
It might be time to break out the tin foil hats — an alien invasion is taking place in North Huntingdon. Three silver aliens with glowing green eyes stand at the ready, two holding toy guns, in a neighborhood along Dianthus Street, their spaceship glowing red, white and blue. It’s...
Norwin area sees 60% jump in covid-19 numbers in past week
The Norwin area, which has a population of about 35,000, has had 584 confirmed cases of coronavirus since the pandemic hit the region in March, up from 356 cases on Oct. 12, according to state Department of Health data released Monday. The rise in cases in the Norwin area —...
Coronavirus changes North Huntingdon VFW post’s Veterans Day celebration
Like so many other aspects of life, the coronavirus pandemic and restrictions on large gatherings forced changes in the annual Veterans Day celebration at the J. Howard Snyder Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 781 in North Huntingdon. Instead of a large gathering inside the VFW post, Commander Kory Bulloch said...
Norwin postpones school reopening, closes middle school
Faced with more coronavirus cases at school and in the community, Norwin School District officials said Monday the middle school will close for at least two days this week and the full reopening of its schools will be postponed from Nov. 4 until at least Nov. 18. Two positive cases...
Westmoreland Prison Board moves ahead in search for new wardenVideo
The Westmoreland County Prison Board will accept applications through Friday for a new warden to succeed John Walton, who announced last month he was resigning and retiring. Walton, 61, of Mt. Pleasant Township, submitted his resignation Sept. 28, claiming it was the result of “a public character assassination and campaign...
Norwin seeks volunteers for input in a master facilities plan
Norwin is seeking volunteers from the North Huntingdon-Irwin area who want to serve on a new facilities action committee that will review the state of the school district’s buildings and grounds. Superintendent Jeff Taylor said Monday the school district has not set a target number for the volunteers on the...
North Huntingdon names new emergency management coordinator
A retired North Huntingdon police officer is the municipality’s new emergency management agency coordinator. Township commissioners unanimously appointed Robert Dippolito on Oct. 21 to the post, succeeding Gene Komondor, who resigned in September after serving 13 years in the role. Dippolito, who retired in May 2019 after serving 29 years...
Norwin notebook: Krevokuch earns walk-on offer from Pitt
Norwin senior tight end and defensive end Tanner Krevokuch has been in contact with Pitt coach Tim Salem of late and the conversation sparked greater interest. After sending some highlights, Krevokuch (6-foot-4, 220 pounds) received a preferred walk-on opportunity with the Panthers. Central Michigan had offered him last year, but...
Norwin golfers relish 1st trip to WPIAL championship
As Sal Cerilli walked up the 18th fairway on the Gold course at Cedarbrook, he felt a sense of finality kick in. The Norwin senior, while enjoying the sights and sounds of the Knights’ maiden trip to the WPIAL Class AAA boys golf championship, knew this was the end of...
Eastern area real estate transactions for the week of Oct. 25
Churchill Mario Berges sold property at 3418 Ridgewood Drive to Lucas and Jessicah Lahitou for $368,000. Delmont Vincent Benaquista sold property at 578 Monticello Drive to Joen and Jennifer Vasquez for $210,000. Forest Hills Umberto Liberati sold property at 318 Ave. A to Winfred Gyambiby for $90,000. Estate of Oriente...
WPIAL Class 6A roundup: No. 3 Central Catholic rolls past Baldwin
Adam Obrin threw for 211 yards and two touchdowns as No. 3 Central Catholic earned a 49-6 victory over Baldwin (2-3, 1-3) in Class 6A Conference play Friday night. Eddy Tillman ran for 89 yards and two touchdowns for the Vikings (4-2, 4-2), who led at halftime, 35-0. The Vikings...
North Huntingdon residents seek demolition of smelly ‘cat house’
Residents living near the odor-emanating North Huntingdon house where some 70 cats had to be rescued want the township to tear it down now, not years from now. “The place stinks,” is how James “Rick” Keenan described the neighboring house at 820 Leger Road, where Matthew Jacobs previously lived with...
Police: North Huntingdon cat hoarder said animals took over his house
Police said a North Huntingdon man told them he stopped staying at his township home because cats had overrun it. In September, authorities rescued 73 cats from the property on Leger Road and removed 11 that died. Since being surrendered to Frankie’s Friends in New Kensington, another 22 cats died...
Westmoreland County schools could face difficult closure decisions as coronavirus risk remains high
Westmoreland County school districts face difficult choices as the county’s coronavirus transmission risk is expected to remain “substantial” for at least another week when the state updates its three-tiered Early Warning Monitoring System. Leaders will need to weigh student safety and legal liability as they decide whether to close schools...
Westmoreland County: Almost 70,000 mail-in ballots approved
The Ohio company processing mail-in ballots for Westmoreland County has sent more than 64,000 to the post office and is up-to-date with its processing, a county election official said Thursday. Midwest Direct of Cleveland, which prints and mails the ballots, handled 64,604 ballots as of Tuesday, with an additional 3,800...
North Huntingdon police get 4-year contract extension
North Huntingdon police officers agreed to a wage freeze next year followed by pay raises of 2% in 2022, 2.5% in 2023 and 3% in 2024 under a four-year contract extension reached with the township. Township commissioners on Wednesday unanimously approved the contract that township Manager Jeff Silka called a...
