Norwin Star category, Page 110
Recruitment center for new Hempfield casino to open late August
The former Sears wing at Westmoreland Mall once again is coming to life as facilities that cater to the now-under-construction casino at the mall open up shop. A recruitment center is set to open Aug. 24 in the former Barbara Ann’s Country Furnishings store, which moved upstairs, said Tom Meinert,...
Gov. Wolf stands behind fall sports shutdown but says ‘I’m just one person’Video
Gov. Tom Wolf said he’s unlikely to change his recommendation to delay youth sports, no matter what the PIAA says, but described his role as “one person that has an opinion.” Wolf, speaking Thursday at a news conference, said he hadn’t read the letter PIAA administrators sent him earlier in...
Norwin expected to name Michael Burrell new director of athletics, activities
The Norwin school board could hire Michael Burrell Jr. as the district’s next director of athletics and activities at its meeting Monday. Burrell was the recommended candidate on a list of new hires on the agenda for the board’s planning meeting this week. He would replace Brandon Rapp, who was...
Battle over backyard chickens resumes in North Huntingdon
North Huntingdon officials this week once again clashed over how to regulate backyard chickens in a prelude to a future public hearing on a proposed ordinance that will set parameters on how hens can be raised in a residential neighborhood. Commissioners on Thursday expressed conflicting opinions on what they wanted...
State departments warn of scams related to contact tracing
Two state agencies issued warnings about contact tracing scams amid the coronavirus pandemic. According to the Pennsylvania departments of Health and Aging, scams include a caller asking for Social Security numbers or payment for services. Contact tracing is used to identify people who have come in close contact with someone...
Poll worker needs ranked critical in Washington, Westmoreland, Fayette counties
Westmoreland County, as well as Fayette and Washington counties, face an uphill battle when it comes to recruiting poll workers for the presidential election this fall, researchers found. A study produced by Boston-based bipartisan nonprofit The Voter Protection Corps and Carnegie Mellon University found the counties were among 15 across...
Location of time capsule buried in a North Huntingdon school courtyard remains a mysteryVideo
The location of a time capsule buried 31 years ago in a former Norwin elementary school courtyard remains as much a mystery today as the contents sealed inside it, despite a couple of hours of digging into the solid earth and using a metal detector to try to find it....
Norwin grad Jack Salopek in holding pattern at Western Michigan after MAC postpones season
Jack Salopek has been enamored with Division I football for years. It’s driven him to work extra hours, grind in the offseason and always perform at a high level. He has completed the most challenging part of earning a scholarship at the next level. But the former Norwin star quarterback...
New Westmoreland GOP head wants to expand on party’s success
The new chairman of Westmoreland County’s Republican Committee said he wants to keep the momentum that, for the last decade, propelled election day victories and voter registration surges that turned the local GOP from an afterthought to political dominance. “It wasn’t that long ago we were the group on the...
Lamp Theatre remains dark as 3 workers cut
Hurt by the cancellation of shows since mid-March because of the covid-19 shutdowns, coupled with a public as hesitant about mingling in crowds as performers were cautious about traveling, The Lamp Theatre in Irwin has furloughed its three employees. With revenue slowed to a trickle, The Lamp Theatre decided it...
Western Pa. leaders working to exceed census response rates from 2010
Fewer people have responded to the 2020 census across Western Pennsylvania than in 2010, new data shows. According to the Pennsylvania State Data Center, several area counties, including Allegheny and Westmoreland, are about 5 percentage points behind self-response rates recorded in 2010. That means fewer people so far have responded...
Norwin grads digging up the past
A group of Norwin High School graduates who attended the former Hartford Heights Elementary School plan on Wednesday to hunt for, and hopefully dig up, a time capsule they buried on school grounds when they were students there in the late 1980s. Keri Holton of North Huntingdon said they are...
Hempfield woman arraigned, charges pending against 2 others in North Huntingdon assault, home invasion
North Huntingdon police identified three of five people allegedly involved in a daylight home invasion and assault Saturday afternoon. Arianna R. Matrone, 18, of Hempfield, was arraigned Tuesday on charges of burglary, criminal mischief, criminal trespass, simple assault, harassment and terroristic threats filed by township police in connection with the...
Authority OKs $5.8M in contracts for Arnold Palmer airport terminal, runway expansions
The Westmoreland County Airport Authority is moving ahead with interior and exterior improvements at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport, at a cost of about $5.8 million. The authority this week awarded contracts for expanding the passenger holding room and for continuing widening and strengthening of the runway at the Unity airport....
Western Pa. colleges awarded federal funds to underwrite reopening costs
Seven local colleges and trade schools were awarded more than $900,000 in federal grants to help underwrite public health and safety plans for reopening shuttered campuses. The grants that flowed through the state are part of a $28 million pool of federal CARES Act money state officials set aside to...
Norwin library reopens amid covid-19 restrictions
Like all good library patrons, the Norwin Public Library used its “quiet” voice when it reopened last month after being closed since mid-March because of the governor’s orders to shut down in order to help prevent the spread of covid-19. The library on Caruthers Lane, Irwin, had a “soft” reopening...
Norwin protesters: put students in class 5 days a weekVideo
The message about 60 Norwin students and parents sent to school officials as they gathered outside the administration building Monday was loud and clear: Let students attend school five days a week and scrap plans to offer three days of online instruction. “I don’t think our district is actually listening...
North Huntingdon man paroled for string of burglaries
A North Huntingdon man on Monday was ordered to serve up to two years in jail for burglaries at two businesses, including a car parts store where he worked. Stephen Michael Wray, 41, was paroled after given credit for time he served since his arrest in July 2019 for break-ins...
Eastern area real estate transactions, Aug. 10
Edgewood Jeremiah Lott sold property at 124 Dewey St. to Gretchen Snell Zelinsky for $245,000. Thomas Vandyke Schmaus sold property at 109 Ivy St. to Cory Francis Hayes and Alexa Donner for $183,000. Forest Hills MO Rentals Inc. sold property at 530 Atlantic Ave. to Erich Raymond Hulse for $78,500....
Dealership donation aids Norwin Meals on WheelsVideo
Norwin Meals on Wheels shut down for about six weeks this spring because of the pandemic, but money from a North Huntingdon auto dealership’s charitable program helps the organization continue to provide nutritious meals to area residents. The donation of close to $24,000 from Kenny Ross Subaru will be used...
Civilian marksmanship program promotes gun safety, produces skilled shootersVideo
On a cool Sunday morning, the sun is burning the fog off Skellytown Road in North Huntingdon, and the dull crack of distant gunfire is the only thing interrupting the chatter of birds. The shooting is coming from the White Oak Rod & Gun Club, where a small group gathered...
Tickets for Walmart Drive-in movie experience sold out in Pittsburgh area
From Aug. 14 to Oct. 21, Walmart Supercenters across the country are offering 320 free, socially distanced drive-in movies in 160 store parking lots, shown in partnership with the Tribeca Film Festival. All locations in the Pittsburgh area are sold out, including Walmart stores in North Huntingdon and West Mifflin....
Westmoreland master gardeners take Monarch Migration Celebration online
Penn State Master Gardeners of Westmoreland County’s 2nd annual Monarch Migration Celebration has gone virtual, with seven weeks of activities to help children and their families learn more about monarch butterflies. The original celebration, held last September, was a single-day live event that drew about 150 participants. Organizers were hoping...
PIAA delays fall sports for 2 weeks to talk with Gov. Wolf, state legislature
The PIAA heard “thousands of voices,” so it’s trying to save fall sports. The board voted Friday to delay the start of fall sports for two weeks — until Aug. 24 — giving the PIAA executive staff time to talk further with Gov. Tom Wolf, his administration, state legislators and...
Irwin rolls to Western Pa. Summer Baseball League championship
When the spring high school sports season was canceled, the Norwin Knights thought they missed out on a chance to contend for a WPIAL baseball championship. Nothing that happened in the Western Pennsylvania Summer Baseball League playoffs could have possibly changed their minds. Irwin, with a roster full of Norwin...
