Local category, Page 1594

As cyberattacks continue to burden businesses, schools and medical facilities nationwide, the Hempfield Area School Board is taking proactive steps to protect district technology. Directors unanimously agreed to hire Digital Forensic Solutions to conduct an audit and vulnerability assessment of the district’s technology infrastructure at a cost not to exceed...

Publicize your club meetings, community events and fundraisers for free in The Stroller. Send information at least a week in advance to vndnews@triblive.com. Please include a daytime telephone number. Burtner House Restoration Society Christmas ornaments available Burtner House Restoration Society is selling handcrafted Christmas tree ornaments to celebrate the 200th...

Freeport firefighters plan to replace an aging truck with a new custom model. The volunteer fire department’s 1987 Mack Grumman fire engine failed a pump test this year. Fire Marshal Michael Greiser said maintenance of the 33-year-old truck has become taxing, with parts becoming harder to find. Its open cab...

Two Kiski Area High School seniors were among the competitors in the 40th annual Weld Off on Friday, sponsored by the American Welding Society. Phillip Miller and Nathaniel Potanko, fourth-year students in the welding program at Northern Westmoreland Career and Technology Center in New Kensington, welded for several hours at...

Westmoreland County Prison guards will be required to complete an annual training program designed to deescalate potentially violent situations with inmates. The county’s prison board approved hiring a Delmont-based trainer to a 40-hour session for prison staffers as part of an effort officials hope ultimately will result in fewer dust-ups...

Anyone with experience naming snowplows should try their luck at the first-ever Winterfest in McCandless on Dec. 18. The seasonal celebration starting at 4 p.m. and culminating with a 7 p.m. fireworks display will be at the town hall grounds off Grubbs Road, with Santa and plenty of activities and...

Castle Shannon police are searching for a suspect in a stabbing Friday night at the 7-Eleven/Sunoco convenience store in the 200 block of Mt. Lebanon Boulevard. According to police, a patron pulled a knife and stabbed a store clerk in the arm, inflicting a wound that is not life-threatening. Three...

A shortage of bus drivers has prompted Plum School District officials to warn parents that transportation for their children can no longer be guaranteed. The district sent out an alert about their transportation issues Friday. District chief financial officer Ryan Manzer said they had tried to offset the driver shortage...

A Thiel College fraternity on a 100-mile walk benefiting the Free Care Fund at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh made an overnight stop at a Freeport church Friday. About 30 members of Phi Theta Phi made it more than 50 miles on foot from the Greenville college and through several...

The pancakes at Fawn No. 1 volunteer fire department must be pretty tasty. Santa is scheduled to travel there on Sunday for breakfast. Local children are invited to join him from 10 a.m. to noon for pancakes, sausage and scrambled eggs. The event is a joint project between Fawn No....

Cookies, carriage rides and Mr. Claus were the main attractions in downtown Irwin Friday night during a Christmas Cookie Tour sponsored by the Irwin Business & Professional Association. John and Rebecca Shakoske of neighboring North Huntingdon brought their 9-month-old daughter, Coraline, to experience her first holiday season in the community....

The Adamsburg fire chief wants to acquire a machine to disinfect safety gear to remove chemical residue and other fire-related contaminants that might pose a danger to a firefighter’s health. Instead of having firefighters clean their self-contained breathing apparatus, masks and personal safety gear by hand, Chief Don Thoma said...

A Washington County man serving a life prison sentence for the 2013 murder of his father-in-law in Donegal Township told a Westmoreland County judge his trial lawyer ignored his wishes when he failed to challenge a two-hour police confession and his desire to testify in his own defense. Michael Martin,...

A Sutersville man will serve up to an additional 20 years in prison for the rape and sexual assaults of two children. Ronald E. Styche III, 43, pleaded guilty to three felony counts based on allegations made to two young girls who claimed they sexually assaulted for more than two...

Lower Burrell police charged a man with two felony counts of endangering the welfare of children after police said he was driving drunk with his two daughters in the vehicle early Friday morning. After being taken into custody, the man’s school-age children were turned over to the Westmoreland County Children’s...

Arnold City police arrested a man on felony drug charges after officers searched his vehicle following a traffic stop and found a backpack filled with prescription narcotics, marijuana and other drugs. Jason John Sciubba Jr., 22, of Vine Street in Harrison was charged with four felony counts of the manufacture,...

The battle over covid-19 vaccine mandates has pulled religion into the spotlight as experts say more people than ever claim vaccines conflict with their religious beliefs, an assertion employers must try to evaluate amid a deep vaccination divide. Shane Chesher, 34, of Harrison’s Natrona neighborhood, was among a number of...

Authorities in Pittsburgh are preparing for increased crowds and possible ruckus Saturday as the Pitt Panthers take on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in North Carolina in the ACC Championship. Pittsburgh police officials said they’re expecting large crowds both in Oakland and on East Carson Street in the city’s South...

A Westmoreland County judge issued an arrest warrant Friday for a New Florence man who was acquitted in the 2015 killing of a St. Clair Township police officer. Common Pleas Judge Meagan Bilik- DeFazio signed the paperwork for the arrest of Ray A. Shetler Jr., 37, after he failed to...

A new, mixed-use development will replace a century-old building located at 9101 Perry Highway in McCandless, with the developer hoping to reinvigorate the space. The existing structure will be demolished and redeveloped into McCandless Pointe, a small local retail and services plaza featuring anything from office space, to shops, or...

Kathy Firestone has worked as a librarian for three decades and yet rarely has time to pick up a book. That might change soon. Firestone, of Allegheny Township, is retiring Saturday from her post as executive director at Community Library of Allegheny Valley in Harrison. “I have no plans,” she...

Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life/Or L’Simcha Congregation has been awarded a $6.6 million grant to help rebuild the site of the worst antisemitic attack in U.S. history. Gov. Tom Wolf’s office made the announcement Friday and the money is part of a $54.5 million package to support some 16 community, economic...

Kiya Tomlin grew up watching “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” The crowd drew Tomlin’s attention. “I always marveled at her audience,” said Tomlin, a fashion designer and apparel manufacturer with a studio in Etna. “They were the best dressed. They always had their hair and makeup done. They looked great.” Now,...

These days, you often find Christmas decorations next to Halloween candy in the stores. In May, Better Homes & Gardens magazine made a case for decorating early. Among the reasons: • The decorations evoke feelings of nostalgia, excitement and happiness (harking back to childhood). • They foster feelings of coziness...