Western PA Local News category, Page 2327
Norwin reopening plan criticized
With five of Norwin’s schools already having been closed because of coronavirus cases, district plans to fully reopen classrooms to in-person instruction next month came under fire during Monday’s school board meeting. District officials plan to fully reopen schools beginning Nov. 4 — a move that is being implemented “mostly...
Highlands parents asked to complete survey on children’s schooling model
Parents of students in the Highlands School District are being asked to fill out a survey if they want to change how their children attend school. The district is conducting the survey as it nears the end of the first nine week grading period. Surveys are due by Friday. At...
Connellsville’s Harold Betters, known as ‘Mr. Trombone,’ dies at 92
Known as “Mr. Trombone,” Western Pennsylvania native Harold Betters succeeded on the world stage, but he always called Connellsville home. It was in Connellsville where Betters died peacefully Sunday, surrounded by family, according to his daughter. He was 92. Betters, well known for his command of the trombone, was for...
Deer Lakes confirms covid-19 case at middle school
A staff member at Deer Lakes Middle School has tested positive for covid-19, according to Superintendent Janell Logue-Belden. The district was notified of the case on Monday, Logue-Belden said in a letter sent to families. The letter did not identify the infected individual other than to say it is a...
Gisele Fetterman grateful for support after enduring racial slurs while shopping
Gisele Fetterman, wife of Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor, said Monday she is grateful for the support she has received after a stranger verbally attacked her at a grocery store near her home. “Everyone from the governor (Tom Wolf) to our attorney general (Josh Shapiro) to our senator (Bob Casey), they are...
Derry Area closes schools until next week because of covid-19 cases
Derry Area schools will be closed through Friday because five district workers tested positive for covid-19, the district said Monday. Superintendent Eric P. Curry said all school activities, including sports, will be canceled through Sunday and schools will reopen for in-person classes Monday. Anyone who had close contact — those...
Norwin area coronavirus cases jump almost 22% in past week
The North Huntingdon-Irwin-North Irwin area saw a 21.9% jump in coronavirus cases in the past week, mirroring the increase in Norwin schools and Westmoreland County. The Norwin area, which has a population of about 35,000, has had 356 confirmed cases of coronavirus since the pandemic hit the region in March,...
Vandergrift to show movie in the park Oct. 17
Vandergrift will host a movie night in Kennedy Park on Saturday, Oct. 17. The field will open around 5:30 p.m. for viewers. The plan was initially discussed at the council’s September meeting. Councilman John Uskuraitis said he pitched the idea “to give the community something to look forward to” amid...
Pittsburgh-area Italians gather on Columbus Day to fight for Schenley Park statueVideo
Flo Spagnolo sat in a lawn chair facing the Christopher Columbus statue in Schenley Park on Monday. It was Columbus Day. The controversial statue was obscured, wrapped from top to bottom in plastic and tape. “I have been here since the beginning when the statue was placed here,” said Spagnolo,...
Covid-19 numbers tallied for Penn-Trafford area
The most recent state data show fewer than 250 people in the Penn-Trafford Star’s coverage area have had confirmed cases of coronavirus since the start of the international pandemic in March, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The health department on Monday released data showing 242 confirmed cases of...
Covid-19 numbers tallied for Murrysville-Delmont-Export area
The most recent state data show less than 160 people in the Murrysville Star’s coverage area have had confirmed cases of coronavirus since the start of the international pandemic in March, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The health department on Monday released data showing there were 159 confirmed...
Metzgar Elementary closed amid 5 coronavirus cases at 2 Greensburg Salem schools
James H. Metzgar Elementary School in Salem is closed through Friday, after three students tested positive for the coronavirus. They are among five positive cases among Greensburg Salem students that occurred over 14 days and were announced late last week in a letter to parents posted online by Superintendent Gary...
Staff member at Allegheny Valley School District’s Acmetonia Elementary tests positive for covid-19
The Allegheny Valley School District was notified Friday that a staff member at Acmetonia Elementary School has tested positive for covid-19. The last date of possible exposure at the school was last Tuesday. “We were made aware by the staff member that they tested positive on Friday,” superintendent Patrick M....
USDA extends waivers for free school meals
Schoolchildren across the United States can continue receiving free school meals through the end of the academic year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “As our nation recovers and reopens, we want to ensure that children continue to receive the nutritious breakfasts and lunches they count on during the...
3 Hempfield Area High students positive for coronavirus; school, athletics shut down
Hempfield Area High School is closed Tuesday through Friday after three students tested positive for the coronavirus. School administrators were notified of the positive cases over the weekend, according to a letter to parents from Superintendent Tammy Wolicki, posted Sunday on the district website. During the five-day closure, all students...
Police issue arrest warrant, file charges in fatal shooting at Monroeville Mall
Allegheny County Police have issued a warrant for the arrest of a man believed to have shot and killed a 20-year-old at the Monroeville Mall. Lawrence Mark Murphy, who police believe is from the Braddock area, is believed to have shot Saheed Gayle, 20, in the torso just outside the...
Derry Municipal Authority customers under boil water notice
All Derry Borough Municipal Authority customers are being asked to boil their water before drinking it until further notice as a precaution after a water main break was reported Sunday night. Authority manager Amy Forsha said the 8:30 p.m. break at the intersection of East Second Avenue and South Chestnut...
Westmoreland County sets another record with 90 new cases Monday, 2 deaths
Westmoreland County had 90 more covid-19 cases added in the past 24 hours Monday, with another 52 cases reported on Sunday, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The new numbers are another record set for the county of nearly 349,000 residents. Over the past two days, Westmoreland County had...
Preregister for next Westmoreland Cleanways hazardous waste collection
Westmoreland Cleanways and Recycling Center officials are suggesting county residents begin preparing early for the next household hazardous waste collection Oct. 24. Ellen Keefe, executive director of the nonprofit environmental organization, said the collection will be its first at the new recycling facility that opened in May at 355 Pleasant...
Crack’d Egg in Brentwood files for bankruptcy
The Brentwood restaurant that made news last month for continuing to operate despite a health department order requiring it to close has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The process will allow the Crack’d Egg to reorganize its debt while continuing to operate. According to the voluntary petition filed Friday in...
Hockey referee plans to keep officiating after attack at New Kensington arena
When Mario de Leon returned home from refereeing an adult league hockey game Oct. 2, his wife saw the cut on his nose and wanted to know what had happened. He decided not to tell her, but then a court summons showed up. A Buffalo Township man accused of attacking...
Apple Hill Playhouse rummage sales to offer decades of costumes, props, antiques
Decades’ worth of memories will be up for sale beginning Saturday at Apple Hill Playhouse in Delmont. Props, costumes, antiques, furniture, appliances, tools, building materials and other items collected over the years will be available during rummage sales from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and Oct. 24-25. Owner Pat...
Pittsburgh’s Original Oyster House celebrates 150th anniversaryVideo
The Oyster House in Pittsburgh’s Market Square today celebrates 150 years in business. “I believe we have made it this far because we are unapologetically ourselves” said owner Jen Grippo, who took over the business after her father, Louis Grippo Sr., died in May 2017. “We do a few things...
Loyalhanna Watershed art auction features online bidding, in-person viewing
Loyalhanna Watershed Association is going online with its 36th annual art auction, a major fundraiser for the organization based near Ligonier. The benefit event, slated Saturday through Oct. 24, features 24 nationally known and local artists. In recent years, it has drawn close to 200 people to the Latrobe Country...
2 charged with drug, gun violations after suspicious activity reported in Jeannette
Two men are being held in the Westmoreland County Prison after Jeannette police said they were found Friday with a stolen gun and marijuana in a parking lot along Magee Avenue. Dwayne Chyrece Gripper of Jamaica, N.Y., and Jorrell Royale Stancil of East Stroudsburg are charged with weapons violations and...
