Western PA Local News category, Page 1210
Local state police report no fatal crashes, 65 DUIs during New Year’s weekend
State police in Southwestern Pennsylvania saw no fatal crashes, but put 65 DUIs and 63 nonfatal crashes on the books during New Year’s weekend 2022-23. There were two fatal crashes elsewhere in the commonwealth. DUI arrests and nonfatal crashes across the state increased over the 2021-22 holiday. The numbers reflect...
6 arrested on crack cocaine, heroin charges in McKeesport
Authorities seized more than $147,000 worth of cocaine, as well as crack cocaine, heroin and three guns last week during a drug raid that netted seven people allegedly involved in a major drug trafficking ring in McKeesport, as well as illegal gambling in McKeesport, the state attorney general said. Curtis...
Woman fatally stabbed in South Side Slopes identified
A Pittsburgh woman was found dead Thursday evening with multiple stab wounds in South Side Slopes. Tarae C. Washington, 47, was found inside her Arlington Avenue residence Thursday, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner. Public Safety spokeswoman Cara Cruz said officers were dispatched shortly before 7 p.m. to the...
Hundreds gather in Brackenridge to honor Chief Justin McIntire
A squadron of Pittsburgh police motorcycles roared down Morgan Street in Brackenridge just before 7 p.m. Thursday to lead a procession for fallen borough police Chief Justin McIntire. Rounding the corner onto First Avenue, their sirens wailed to greet a crowd of about 1,000 people who converged at Brackenridge Memorial...
Brackenridge names officer-in-charge; Steele releases $75k in state money for police department
As a crowd gathered blocks from the Brackenridge municipal office Thursday to honor slain police Chief Justin McIntire, council met briefly to name an officer-in-charge of the small department. Members appointed Sgt. Mike Duffy to head the three-member force. Duffy did not attend the meeting. It was not clear when...
Official fund set up for family of slain Brackenridge police chief
An official fund to benefit the family of Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire has been set up by the Fraternal Order of Police. Lodge No. 39 of the FOP represents Brackenridge police officers, among others in the Alle-Kiski Valley. To donate, checks can be made out to Fraternal Order of...
Police say gunman fired at man, then held Eat ‘n Park employees hostage in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh police said they arrested a man who fired at least three gunshots at another man in a parking lot along Banksville Road on Thursday afternoon before holding two Eat ‘n Park employees and a restaurant manager hostage. A man told police that an unknown man fired the gunshots at...
Brighton Heights man with schizophrenia gets prison term for killing neighbor
In November 2019, Laron Smith was forbidden by airline officials from taking his connecting flight from Chicago to Arizona because of his erratic behavior. Airline employees called Smith’s father in Arizona, as well as his mother in Pittsburgh, and said he’d been acting strangely. Smith, now 26, believed then that...
Highmark Health Plan names president
Tom Doran has been named Highmark Health Plan president, taking the reins of the country’s fourth-largest Blue Cross Blue Shield affiliate with about 6.8 million members. Doran is not new to the Pittsburgh-headquartered health insurer. Most recently, he served as the health plan’s chief operating officer when former health plan...
Memorial Park Church in McCandless offers money management course
Beginning Jan. 18, Memorial Park Church will offer Financial Peace University, a class that teaches people how to handle money God’s way, not the world’s way, and live a life of freedom and generosity. The first session will be conducted in Westminster Hall at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 18. It will...
2 injured, 5 cars struck after shooting along McKnight Road in Ross
One motorist was hospitalized and another injured after a shooting Thursday afternoon caused a two-hour closure of McKnight Road in Ross. Ross Detective Sgt. Brian Kohlhepp initially said there was an exchange of gunfire just after 2 p.m. along the busy North Hills corridor McKnight Road, near the intersection with...
Sarver VFC treasurer faces felony charges after $150K is stolen from fire company
Editor’s note: This story was update Saturday, Jan. 7 to include a statement from the fire company. State police accused the treasurer of the Sarver Volunteer Fire Company in Buffalo Township of stealing nearly $150,000 over a seven-year period by making unauthorized cash withdrawals from ATMs. William Richard George, 66,...
Stolen Youngwood catering company van crashed in New Stanton
A Southwest Greensburg man who state police said stole a van of a Youngwood business, crashed it in New Stanton and then led troopers on a foot chase Wednesday appeared to be under the influence of methamphetamine, according to court papers. Police said when they first looked in the van...
New York Bee Gees bring ‘Saturday Night Fever’ to The PalaceVideo
The Bee Gees rode the disco wave of the late 1970s, with hits like “Stayin’ Alive,” “You Should Be Dancing” and “Night Fever.” But there’s more to the catalog of the three Australian Gibb brothers than those catchy, danceable tunes. The New York Bee Gees tribute band will plumb the...
Derry Area Middle School briefly evacuated after heating unit overheats
Students at Derry Area Middle School were briefly evacuated from their classrooms Thursday after an overheated part of the school’s heating system started smoking, spurring fears the building was on fire. Firefighters were called shortly before 11 a.m. “We ventilated (the classroom) and checked the ceiling to make sure no...
Solar push for business, nonprofits in McCandless
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the name of Sharon Grace Pillar. Big tax breaks await businesses and nonprofits in McCandless that go solar, and they can get help with the process through nonprofit Pennsylvania Solar Center. An online informational webinar is scheduled for Jan. 13, from...
Murrysville area: Cornhole tournament, comedy night, more
Email news briefs and event listings to pvarine@triblive.com. Cooper sworn in as state rep Jill Cooper of Murrysville was sworn in Jan. 3 as the 55th District state representative. Cooper grew up in neighboring Plum, graduated from Grove City College and worked as vice president of sales and marketing for...
Pa. gas drilling report criticizes industry for failing to report abandoned gas wells
The Department of Environmental Protection rebuked the conventional oil and gas drilling industry for not complying with state regulations, saying that operators with 11 or more wells failing to report key data “seems to be an industry-wide rule rather than the exception.” “Over the past five years, DEP’s OOGM (Office...
Deer Lakes Middle School wins national award
Deer Lakes Middle School has been named one of the state’s “Schools to Watch,” which is a statewide recognition that is part of a larger national program. The school was one of three schools in the state to be recognized by the Pennsylvania Don Eichhorn Schools: Schools to Watch Program...
Damar Hamlin’s toy drive prompts donations topping $7 million
A toy drone. A Hot Wheels track. A Mickey Mouse car. To Sierra Giesy’s three sons, these are fun items. To their mom, they represent so much more. The McKees Rocks mother of Alec, 12; Liam, 6; and Nolan, 4, watched her children choose the items with the help of...
Damaged eye removed from cat abandoned at Greensburg apartment complex last spring
A cat had an eye surgically removed after Greensburg police said a woman left it behind when she moved out of a city apartment in May, according to a criminal complaint. Shelly Ann Kemerer, 52, of Jeannette, was arrested Tuesday on animal cruelty charges. Police were notified June 3 after...
Police arrest Derry man after purse-snatching incident in Scottdale
A Derry man is accused of stealing a purse from a woman in Scottdale Wednesday before police apprehended him after a foot pursuit, according to investigators. Jason M. Thomas, 33, was being held at the Westmoreland County Prison on $50,000 bail on charges of robbery, theft, receiving stolen property and...
Westmoreland targets 2024 for shelter construction
Construction of a new shelter expected to increase the county’s ability to care for and assist the homeless could begin in 2024, Westmoreland County officials said Wednesday. Officials outlined the plan to seek proposals for private providers to acquire land and build what could be a 12-unit shelter that would...
Woman escapes house fire in village of Claridge in Penn Township
A historic home in Claridge was destroyed Thursday morning in a fire and a woman who lived there escaped with minor injuries, according to first responders. Claridge Fire Chief Ron Supancic Jr. said he believed the blaze started on the first floor. Part of the second floor collapsed. “When we...
Feliciani elected president judge in Westmoreland County
Common Pleas Judge Christopher Feliciani on Wednesday was elected as Westmoreland County’s 30th president judge. The county’s 11 judges unanimously elected Feliciani to serve as the lead administrator in charge of the civil, criminal and family court divisions. “It’s humbling,” Feliciani said. “I am honored to have the support of...
