Norwin Star category, Page 95
Postal Service struggles with record demands as Christmas draws near
First it was the election and questions about whether the Post Office could be relied upon to deliver millions of mail-in ballots. Now, barely six weeks later, an unprecedented uptick in packages from online shoppers and staff shortages exacerbated by a rash of covid-19 outbreaks are combining to strain the...
North Huntingdon auto dealership spreads Christmas joy with boxes of foodVideo
Like millions of other Americans, it’s been a terrible year for Michelle Davis of Monroeville. She lost her job months ago as a food delivery person for InstaCart when the economy plunged and covid spread across the region. Her father died last week in New York of a non-covid-related illness,...
Westmoreland County issues final covid-relief grants
More than $615,000 in covid relief grants were handed out Tuesday to local volunteer fire departments and emergency medical service units as Westmoreland County exhausted its share of federal stimulus money to help struggling businesses, nonprofits and municipalities amid the ongoing pandemic. Commissioners awarded 24 volunteer fire departments and 10...
Westmoreland commissioners rescind covid grant to Salem gym, allow North Huntingdon to keep money
Westmoreland County commissioners on Tuesday rescinded a nearly $5,000 grant awarded last week to a Salem gym after it refused to accept a provision that requires recipients to pledge to adhere to state covid guidelines. Officials said representatives of Matshark Fitness, which operates as Wallace Training Systems, declined to sign...
Westmoreland food bank benefits from annual United Way fundraiserVideo
Rather than mapping out the most efficient route through the East Pittsburgh Street Shop ’n Save in Greensburg on Monday evening, Renee Sasanko spent her time deciding on a nonprofit organization that would benefit from a $750 donation. The United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania’s annual fundraiser, which normally sends one...
Norwin-area covid cases increase, but at slower pace
The number of new confirmed coronavirus cases in the Norwin area ending the week of Dec. 21 trended below the previous week , the first time since the Thanksgiving holiday , according to the state Department of Health. The number of new covid-19 cases last week increased by 229 to...
No raises in new year for Westmoreland elected officials
Westmoreland County’s elected officials will not get raises in 2021. Annual cost-of-living raises earned by county commissioners and row officers since 1995 have been determined by changes to the consumer price index calculated by the U.S. Department of Labor for Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. For 2021, that index...
Westmoreland County coronavirus rate five times higher than ‘substantial’ threshold
Westmoreland County’s coronavirus incidence rate — a statistic that tracks the spread of the virus through the population — has more than tripled in the last month. It was 516.5 for the most recently measured 7-day period, which ended Thursday, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health data. That’s down...
Eastern area real estate transactions for the week of Dec. 20
Churchill Arlene Siegel sold property at 120 Thornberry Drive to Paul Rutherford and James Reese for $195,000. Delmont Sharon McGinnis sold property at 1114 Volek Court to Jack and Barbara Lyman for $335,000. Edgewood Dino DeFlavio sold property at 619 Greendale Ave. to Vane Investments Ltd. for $225,000. Michelle Gil...
North Irwin, Irwin reach deal on police coverage
North Irwin’s 900 residents will continue to receive police protection from the Irwin Police Department under a new three-year deal that the two adjoining boroughs recently approved. North Irwin will pay slightly more for police coverage in 2021 — $2,450 — than in 2020 — $2,333 — under the contract...
Editorial: North Huntingdon hurts its residents by defying state covid mandates
Pennsylvania municipalities have a lot of responsibility. They are where the rubber meets the governmental road. They plow the streets. They keep the buildings safe and the parks welcoming. They provide dozens of small services residents might never even realize exist and yet would be sorely missed if they disappeared....
Westmoreland County Sheriff won’t enforce Gov. Wolf’s new covid-19 orders
Add Westmoreland County Sheriff James Albert to the list of law enforcement officers vowing not enforce Gov. Tom Wolf’s temporary covid restrictions. Last weekend, Wolf suspended all indoor dining, closed entertainment venues, limited indoor gatherings to 10 people and outdoor gatherings to 50 and restricted all other in-person businesses to...
Norwin covid cases continues to rise; near 100 post-Thanksgiving
The number of covid cases among Norwin’s students and staff continued to rise this week with an additional six cases reported on Friday. The raised the number of cases reported to 31 this week — and pushing the post-Thanksgiving surge close to 100. The school district said in a statement...
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Greensburg smashes fundraising goal, netting $233,950
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Greensburg hoped its online Guardian Angel Appeal fundraising campaign would raise about $50,000. Donors smashed that goal, then kept giving. The campaign raised $233,950. “There’s no way I could express how amazed I am at the success of the campaign, not because of any...
Leechburg native Msgr. Larry Kulick named new bishop of Diocese of GreensburgVideo
Catholics in the Greensburg Diocese are celebrating an early Christmas gift from Rome: the appointment of one of their own, Msgr. Larry J. Kulick, as bishop-elect. Pope Francis announced the appointment of Kulick, a Leechburg native, as the sixth bishop of the diocese early Friday. The appointment of the 54-year-old...
Covid-relief grants available to Westmoreland emergency medical services
Twenty-one nonprofit emergency medical service departments are in line to receive $15,000 covid-relief grants as part of a new round of awards unveiled Thursday by Westmoreland County commissioners. Officials said nearly $400,000 remaining from grants earmarked for nonprofit agencies will be used to fund the program. “We are under a...
Mt. Oliver man wanted in connection with North Huntingdon woman’s fatal shooting
Police are seeking a Mt. Oliver man wanted in connection with the Dec. 5 shooting death of a North Huntingdon woman. An arrest warrant has been obtained for Jerrel Marquis Ingram, 32, of Mt. Oliver. Allegheny County detectives said 22-year-old Madison Gilroy of North Huntingdon died of injuries sustained during...
Gov. Wolf grants 5th extension to renew firearms carry permits
Gov. Tom Wolf’s decision to grant a fifth consecutive extension to renew firearms carry permits through March 31 couldn’t have been more timely, according to Westmoreland County Sheriff James Albert. The previous extension was set to expire Dec. 31 and Albert said his two deputies assigned the “appointment only” permit...
Westmoreland commissioners approve budget with no tax hike
The coronavirus has been good for Westmoreland County’s bottom line. Commissioners on Thursday unanimously approved a $339.7 million budget for 2021 that does not raise property taxes in part because federal covid relief money held back to pay for personnel and other expenses related to the ongoing pandemic. Property taxes...
Pandemic drives Pittsburgh region’s food insecurity to new heights, reshapes assistance efforts
Food insecurity is an ongoing problem in the Pittsburgh region, made much worse by the covid-19 pandemic. Area food banks have responded by redoubling their efforts while facing new challenges. With pandemic restrictions putting many American breadwinners out of work or reducing their hours, food banks this year have been...
County considers pulling $30K grant from North Huntingdon for defying state public health mandates
North Huntingdon could lose its $30,000 grant for covid-related expenses because township officials are thumbing their noses at state public health mandates designed to mitigate the spread of coronavirus. County Commissioner Doug Chew said Wednesday during an online forum that the county is bound by contract to distribute federal CARES...
North Huntingdon holds line on property taxes for 2021
North Huntingdon property owners will not have to pay more in real estate taxes in 2021. The commissioners on Wednesday approved setting the tax rate at 11.55 mills for the $14.7 million general fund budget. Commissioner Jason Atwood was the lone opposition to setting the tax rate at 11.55 mills;...
Westmoreland County to settle lawsuit against Recorder of Deeds
Westmoreland County commissioners are expected to settle a federal lawsuit filed earlier this year by a former employee claiming she was fired by new Republican Recorder of Deeds Frank Schiefer after he took office in January. The $27,500 settlement includes no admission of wrongdoing, officials said Wednesday. The lawsuit was...
Westmoreland covid hospitalizations up but Excela officials say they can handle it
The number of patients hospitalized in Westmoreland County because of the coronavirus jumped 27% in the last few days — from 131 patients on Saturday to 166 on Wednesday, according to state data. That’s a 55% increase from Nov. 30, when the county reported its first triple-digit patient count. Excela...
Norwin adds 8 more covid cases; nears 200
Norwin School District added eight more cases to its covid count among students on Tuesday as the rising number of cases among students and staff is closing in on 200 since classes began in late August. In this latest round of covid announcements, five Stewartsville Elementary School students tested positive...
