Local category, Page 2186
Hempfield to continue with remote learning through holidays
Students in the Hempfield Area School District will continue with remote learning until after the holidays. According to a letter posted on the district’s Facebook page, schools will reopen Jan. 4, following the Christmas break. The decision to keep schools closed came days after school board members reaffirmed that students...
Freeport Area School District to remain fully remote until January
Students at Freeport Area School District won’t return to in-person instruction until at least Monday, Jan. 11, the school board said Thursday. The district had previously decided to limit the amount of time students spent in the classroom around the holidays after a surge of covid-19 cases left more than...
AHN donors may have been exposed to data breach, officials say
Donors to Allegheny Health Network might have had their personal information exposed during a ransomware attack earlier this year on an IT company used by hundreds of hospitals, universities and other nonprofits, officials said Friday. Blackbaud, a global tech company, provides cloud computing services to a slew of institutions including...
Supreme Court sets date for state response in Mike Kelly election suit. Is it a day late?Video
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito late Thursday set a deadline for Pennsylvania officials to respond to a request to throw out the state’s mail-in voting results — or possibly the entire election. But the date set — Dec. 9 — is the day after the “safe harbor” deadline, the...
Tarentum proposes several large projects, no tax increase in 2021 budget
Tarentum has identified nearly $500,000 worth of large projects in its 2021 preliminary budget, but the budget does not include a property tax increase. The proposed $8.8 million spending plan is up by about $468,000, or 5.6%, from the $8.3 million budget for this year. The property tax rate would...
Gilpin tree farm offers personal touch to help make Christmas a little brighterVideo
A rural family-owned and operated Christmas tree farm in Gilpin has served the Alle-Kiski Valley for more than 80 years. Habe’s Nursery co-owners and husband-and-wife team John and Janie Sterosky work overtime during December, making hundreds of homemade pine custom wreaths, grave blankets and kissing balls. “We make our own...
Shaler Area extends online learning model through Jan. 4
Shaler Area students will continue virtual learning a bit longer than expected. Superintendent Sean Aiken alerted families on Friday that the district will extend its remote learning model at least through the beginning of January. Officials had planned to resume in-person instruction the week of Dec. 14 but because of...
Irwin’s annual Festival of Trees altered because of covid restrictions
Irwin’s annual Festival of Trees, with the stores featuring decorated trees, will be yet another event that will be altered because of the pandemic covid-19 restrictions. To allow for social distancing, there will be a self-guided walking tour around downtown Irwin spread over six days. The event starts Dec. 4...
Mt. Pleasant Area School District will keep remote learning through end of semester
Students in the Mt. Pleasant Area School District will continue with remote learning until the end of the semester. According to a letter posted on the district’s website by Superintendent Timothy Gabauer, it will last until Jan. 21. The decision came as covid-19 cases continue to rise across Westmoreland County....
Greensburg plans inventory of blighted city properties
There are more than 6,000 parcels of land in the City of Greensburg, and Westmoreland County employees soon will examine all of them to figure out which are blighted. The city received a $10,000 grant from the Realtors Association of Westmoreland, Indiana and Mon Valley to partner with the county...
Crabtree race organizers run with ‘Ugly Christmas Sweater’ theme
Things are expected to get ugly Dec. 12 in the village of Crabtree. But that’s just fine with Julie Watkins and Kathy Kuhns. They’re organizing the second annual St. Bartholomew Church Ugly Christmas Sweater 5K and 2-Mile Walk for 11 a.m. that day. About 150 participants came from as far...
Gateway School Board elects new president, vice president
The Gateway School Board of Directors elected a new board president and vice president during its Dec. 1 reorganizational meeting. Brian Goppman will serve as the board’s president. He replaces Mary Beth Cirucci, who held the position for two years. Valerie Warning will serve as vice president, replacing Rick McIntyre....
New covid cases force 2 Westmoreland County courthouse offices to close
Two Westmoreland County Courthouse offices were shut down Friday as the coronavirus continues to surge. The Register of Wills Office, which processes estate documents and marriage licenses, was closed on the courthouse’s third floor along with the Public Defender’s Office on the fourth floor after staffers tested positive for the...
Etna approves non-discrimination ordinance to protect from bias in housing, jobs
Just after being elected to Etna council in 2019, Jessica Semler introduced an anti-discrimination ordinance to support marginalized residents. “I ran for council as an openly queer woman because representation matters,” Semler said. The ordinance prohibits bias based on race, sexual orientation, family status, age and other identifiers. It follows...
Drive-thru Holiday Light Festival in Penn Hills spreads cheerVideo
Children young and old marveled at the light display in the parking lot of the Penn Hills municipal building Dec. 3 — from their cars. The traditional Holiday Light Festival was redesigned this year to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Typically, about 100 families show up to usher...
West Jefferson school board keeps status quo on president, vice president roles
The West Jefferson Hills School Board retained its president and vice president, each beginning their fifth consecutive year in the respective roles. Brian Fernandes will continue on as president of the nine-member board. Suzanne Downer will serve as first vice president. Each member was first elected in December 2015. Fernandes...
WOW Outlets property for sale in Hempfield for $2.5 million
After about 30 years under the ownership of the Maskowitz family, WOW Outlets in Hempfield is for sale. The building, which houses World of Values and Central Westmoreland Habitat for Humanity, among others, has been on the market for about a year, said owner Barry Maskowitz. He noted that the...
Preliminary Pittsburgh Public Schools budget won’t hike taxes; $32 million deficit projected
Pittsburgh Public Schools doesn’t intend to increase taxes to support its 2021 budget. But the $668.5 million spending plan includes a $32 million deficit that needs to be addressed, Superintendent Anthony Hamlet said in a statement. “We recognize the need to take steps to increase our revenue to the extent...
Westmoreland County sets record (again) for new covid-19 cases
Westmoreland County set another high for new covid-19 cases Friday, marking a second straight day a record was set. There were 412 new cases reported Friday, following Thursday’s 400 case count. In the past two days, the county has recorded more covid cases (812) than it did in its first...
Eastern Westmoreland Career and Technology Center to begin remote instruction
Students at Eastern Westmoreland Career and Technology Center will move to full-time remote instruction on Monday as Westmoreland County has experienced several weeks with a “substantial” level of covid-19 transmission and cases have been on the rise. Full remote instruction also is underway or imminent at the three school districts...
Allegheny County reports most new covid-19 deaths in a single day
Allegheny County saw a new high Friday for covid-19 deaths. There were 26 deaths reported, according to the county Health Department. This comes a day after a previous high (20) for coronavirus-related deaths were reported Thursday. Ages of new deaths are 50 and older, with two people in their 50s,...
Sewickley woman makes pandemic masks for charity
A Sewickley woman has used her sewing talents to keep people safe and raise more than $12,000 for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Baden. It all started in March when covid-19 cases reached pandemic proportions and a friend asked Cheryl Redmond to make masks for area nurses. “It’s really...
3 hospitalized, 45 displaced after fire at Greene County apartment building
Three people were taken to hospitals and 45 were displaced after a fire early Friday at an apartment building in Greene County. The fire at Parkview Knoll Apartments, off of Ceylon Road in Cumberland Township south of Carmichaels, was reported around 2:30 a.m. It was brought under control around 4...
Letter to the editor: If ‘squaw’ is such a slur, why even say it?
If squaw really is a slur, it is shocking that the proponents of banning it are so willing to utter the word. Fox Chapel resident Elizabeth Peel was quoted during a Nov. 16 meeting using the word squaw, then reprimanding the Borough Council by saying, “hen someone tells you something...
Authorities vow to continue searching for missing Jefferson Hills teen
Authorities are continuing to search for a missing 15-year-old Jefferson Hills boy, according to the Elizabeth Borough Police Department. Elizabeth Borough police and firefighters, Jefferson Hills police and other assisting police, fire and ambulance agencies “will not stop looking for Jeno Moretti,” Elizabeth Borough police said on their Facebook page...
