Western PA Local News category, Page 1854
Greensburg Salem postpones meeting after audience members defy mask requirement
The Greensburg Salem School Board meeting this week ended before it began. The board postponed its voting meeting until Sept. 15 after several people attending Wednesday refused to don required masks. Board President Ron Mellinger Jr. told the crowd of about 40 gathered in the middle school auditorium that the...
Judges’ vote sends Unity’s Victory Brinker to ‘America’s Got Talent’ finalVideo
After Victory Brinker’s performance in Tuesday’s semifinal round of “America’s Got Talent,” judge Simon Cowell told the 9-year-old from Unity, “Not only are you talented, you’re fearless.” Nerves of steel served her well Wednesday, as the young opera singer found herself in the middle of the voting pack and in...
Hearing for demoted Highlands principal called off as sides try to settle
A hearing for a Highlands School District principal challenging her demotion to classroom teacher did not continue Wednesday as planned. After a nearly an hour delay, hearing officer Paul Giuffre said the public proceeding for Samantha Perlik was suspended because the sides would be working toward a possible resolution. They...
Fourth Pittsburgh police ‘blitz’ on abandoned vehicles results in 12 tows
The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police completed its fourth “blitz” to remove abandoned vehicles from city streets in the Brookline, Beechview, Elliot and Sheraden neighborhoods, the department announced Wednesday. Motorcycle units and abandoned vehicle officers addressed 43 complaints on Tuesday. Of the 43 vehicles, a dozen were towed away while the...
Wounded man walks into hospital as Pittsburgh police investigate Larimer shooting
A man walked into a Pittsburgh hospital with a gunshot wound Wednesday, police said. According to Pittsburgh Public Safety, police and medics responded to a shooting around 1:40 p.m. at Auburn and Lowell streets in the city’s Larimer neighborhood. Officers found evidence a shooting had happened, but no victims. Police...
Teachers rely on Flight 93 Memorial, personal experiences to teach about 9/11
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Former Shanksville area students recall 9/11 20 years laterVideo
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The day the school shook: 20 years later, former Shanksville area students recall 9/11Video
The morning of Sept. 11, 2001, started out like any other for those in the Shanksville-Stonycreek School District. The yellow building in Stonycreek Township bustled with the start of a new school year as elementary and high school students went about their lessons in the combined building, completed art projects...
Teachers rely on Flight 93 Memorial, personal experiences to teach about 9/11
For those who were alive on Sept. 11, 2001, the memories are often vivid. Many remember where they were when the first plane hit the World Trade Center. Most remember watching the news, learning of the attacks as they happened. But today’s students weren’t alive to witness the events as...
Health director: Children 12 and under made up 12% of Allegheny County’s covid cases last month
Covid-19 cases among children too young to be vaccinated continued to rise last month in Allegheny County, officials said Wednesday. Doctors have long feared a rise in pediatric covid cases in conjunction with the start of school. That prompted the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American...
Health director: Children 12 and under made up 12% of Allegheny County’s covid cases last month
Covid-19 cases among children too young to be vaccinated continued to rise last month in Allegheny County, officials said Wednesday. Doctors have long feared a rise in pediatric covid cases in conjunction with the start of school. That prompted the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American...
Mission of Mercy free dental clinic returns with vaccine requirement
After canceling the event in 2020 because of the covid-19 pandemic, Mission of Mercy Pittsburgh has announced the return of its annual free dental clinic. The clinic is scheduled for Oct. 22 and 23 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. However, with an anticipated surge this year due to...
Mission of Mercy free dental clinic returns with vaccine requirement
After cancelling the summer 2020 event for covid-19 precautions, Mission of Mercy Pittsburgh has announced the return of its annual free dental clinic. The clinic is scheduled for Oct. 22 and 23 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. However, with an anticipated surge this year due to last year’s...
Another gun caught at Pittsburgh International Airport checkpoint
For the second straight day, a passenger was caught trying to bring a loaded gun onto a flight at Pittsburgh International Airport, officials said. Early Wednesday, officials say Transportation Security Administration officers stopped a traveler with a loaded .40-caliber handgun with six bullets in his carry-on bag. The man, a...
Beaver County man pleads to misdemeanor count in Capitol riot case
A Beaver County man charged with participating in the Capitol riot in January pleaded guilty Wednesday to a single misdemeanor. Russell James Peterson, of Rochester, will be sentenced Dec. 1 by U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson on one count of parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. The...
Long-awaited memorial ceremony held for American Legion members who died during covid pandemic
After being delayed twice, the Plum American Legion Post 980 was finally able to hold its Memorial Dedication Service to honor the member veterans who died within the past two years. It was a chance to recognize the veterans who died during the pandemic but might not have received a...
Jeannette man seeks to withdraw rape plea 7 years later
A former Jeannette man serving decades behind bars for three different crimes wants to withdraw a guilty plea he entered more than seven years ago to charges that he raped a woman and held her captive for a week. Derrick Cobbs, 45, now claims the plea he entered was not...
Greensburg YMCA sued over attorney’s death in sauna
The family of a Greensburg attorney who died last year after remaining overnight in the sauna of the Greensburg YMCA is suing the organization and its former executive director, claiming negligence. The two-count wrongful death lawsuit filed in Westmoreland County Court by Colleen Robinson and her four sons claims her...
Dump truck causes 4-vehicle, chain reaction crash on Tarentum Bridge, police say
No one was hurt in a four-vehicle, chain-reaction crash on the New Kensington side of the Tarentum bridge Wednesday morning, said New Kensington police Chief Bob Deringer. The crash was reported shortly after 7:30 a.m. Authorities remained at the scene until about 8:45 a.m. Deringer said the crash happened in...
Revamped 10.7 Marina brings easy river access to locals and tourists in Verona
When the husband-and-wife team of Ray Applebee and Kelly Jane Walker took over the 10.7 Marina in Verona, along with Applebee’s parents Pat and Ed in February of 2020, they knew they were taking on a reclamation project. Although development has looked a little bit different in lieu of the...
Lines form early in Greensburg for postal service jobsVideo
With all the recent talk about employers having trouble finding employees, Lenore Thomas, officer in charge of the Greensburg Post Office, admitted to being a bit surprised Wednesday when a line of applicants began forming for a postal service job fair well before the 11 a.m. start time. As the...
Highmark grows insurance rolls by 355K with newly inked acquisition of Gateway Health
Pennsylvania regulators have approved Highmark Health’s deal to become the sole owner of Gateway Health, instantly expanding Highmark’s insurance rolls by more than 350,000 members. “This acquisition will help us further our mission and better serve current and future Medicaid and Medicare members across Pennsylvania,” Deborah Rice-Johnson, president of Highmark...
Richland Township receives $20,000 donation to enhance dek hockey rink in memory of former township supervisor
A special donation was recently made to Richland Township in memory of a former township supervisor. The family of Bart Miller gave a $20,000 donation to the township made possible by community members, friends and family. A dedication ceremony was held Sept. 4 to reveal a plaque in honor of...
Voices of Westmoreland, volunteers encourage Reschenthaler to support ‘Build Back Better’ agendaVideo
Soaring income inequality. A lack of home care workers statewide. Green-industry jobs that can keep young families in the area. Those were just a few of the reasons a group of about a dozen people, including representatives from nonprofit Voice of Westmoreland, held a protest outside U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler’s...
Oaks Theater to host Pittsburgh comedian Aaron Kleiber for ‘one-of-a-kind’ comedy party
Popular Pittsburgh comedian Aaron Kleiber is joining forces with one of the area’s classic venues when he hosts a comedy party Sept. 18 at the Oaks Theater in Oakmont. The local comedy star brings numerous accolades, such as being named “Best Local Comedian” by multiple area publications, including “Pittsburgh Magazine.”...
