Western PA Local News category, Page 2696
Foundation grant will provide academic coaches for Pittsburgh Promise studentsVideo
The Richard King Mellon Foundation will provide grants totaling $3.9 million to hire and train academic coaches for underachieving students at three Pittsburgh high schools, Community College of Allegheny County and Carlow University, officials announced Wednesday. Saleem Ghubril, executive director of the Pittsburgh Promise college scholarship program, said the organization...
Kiski manager resigns; supervisors unsure if she’ll be replaced
The Kiski Township manager’s position is in limbo. Supervisors Wednesday afternoon accepted the resignation of Donna Piper, hired as the township’s first manager on Sept. 24, 2018. Supervisors Chairman Mike Bash said he didn’t know how the position will be filled. Piper had been paid $75,000 per year. The manager’s...
West Jefferson school board plans to renew assistant superintendent contracts
A majority of West Jefferson Hills School Board members agreed they plan to renew the contracts of the district’s two assistant superintendents. Board members at their Jan. 28 meeting voted 7-0 with two abstentions to confirm their intent to keep Matthew Patterson as assistant superintendent for elementary education and Scott Milburn...
Trooper: Paranormal investigator’s report of voice coming from Fayette cemetery unfounded
A paranormal investigator’s claim of hearing a female voice coming from “beneath a pile of dirt” in a Fayette County cemetery Wednesday was unfounded, state police said. Trooper Johnathon M. Mosier reported he was dispatched to rural Evergreen Cemetery on Morgantown Road in Springhill Township just before 10 a.m. by...
Editor to discuss book on women in the Holocaust
The editor of a new book about women and the Holocaust will discuss the publication at Seton Hill University in Greensburg. The program is set for 5 p.m. Feb. 4 in the JoAnne Woodyard Boyle Health Sciences Center, Room 167. Carol Rittner, a member of the Religious Sisters of Mercy,...
Route 51 Elizabeth Bridge closure Thursday in Allegheny County
A late morning rush hour closure of the Route 51 Elizabeth Bridge will occur Thursday, PennDOT said in a release. A short-term closure of approximately 45 minutes will begin at 9 a.m. to allow for cable replacement work. Traffic will be detoured in both directions during each replacement. Detours will...
Derry woman charged with animal neglect receives probation sentence
A Derry Borough woman will serve one-year probation for her role in the mistreatment of dozens of animals found living in poor conditions last year on her sister’s property. Prosecutors said as many as 14 horses, eight dogs, a donkey and dozens of cats and kittens were found emaciated, in...
Missing man found dead in Pittsburgh parking garage
A man reported missing in Pittsburgh last week was found dead Tuesday, authorities said. Mark Hall, 47, was reported missing Jan. 27, four days after he was last seen in the city’s West End. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office reported that Hall was pronounced dead about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday...
State awards Arnold $1.8M loan for sewer reconstruction
Arnold is getting a state loan of about $1.8 million to make improvements to its sewer system, Gov. Tom Wolf’s office announced Wednesday. The 20-year loan has a 1% interest rate for the first five years that rises to 1.743% for the remaining 15 years. The combined sewer system in...
Hempfield man accused of assaulting children, ages 8 and 10
A Hempfield man is being held without bond in the Westmoreland County Prison for allegedly assaulting two children he was watching last weekend. Treson L. Smith, 25, was arraigned on two counts each of endangering the welfare of children, harassment and simple assault and a single count of strangulation. State...
West Carson Street lane restrictions set for Thursday in Pittsburgh
Expect single-lane restrictions on West Carson Street (Route 837) in Pittsburgh on Thursday. PennDOT said there will be lane restrictions from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. between the West End Bridge and the Smithfield Street Bridge as crews install cameras in the area. Crews from Power Contracting will conduct the...
‘Value-added’ products a boon to small farms
For smaller farms in Southwestern Pennsylvania, growing commodity crops may not be enough to keep them afloat. The grain farmer may have to learn how to mill flour. The fruit farmer may have to learn how to produce jam. The dairy farmer may have to learn how to make cheese....
Pittsburgh adoptee to compete in Animal Planet’s ‘Puppy Bowl XVI’Video
An adoptee from Animal Friends in Ohio Township has once again reached the pinnacle of puppy professional athletics: a spot on the roster for Animal Planet’s “Puppy Bowl XVI,” which will air at 3 p.m. on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 2. Kenny was one of a litter of puppies transferred...
5 bartenders charged alongside owner of illegal Homewood speakeasy
The secret to Club Secrets was a couple $20 bills. Twenty dollars would get you onto the first floor of the illegal Homewood speakeasy busted this week by state liquor control agents. For $40, you could go to the second floor of the Kelly Street establishment. The secret, however, is...
Westmoreland told to release ‘daily entry and exit time records’ for Register of Wills
Westmoreland County was ordered this week to release “electronic swipe card daily entry and exit time records” for Register of Wills Sherry Magretti Hamilton under a decision by the state Office of Open Records. The decision reversed the county’s Dec. 20 denial of a request under the state’s Right-to-Know Law...
Former Leechburg police chief Michael Diebold faces additional criminal chargesVideo
Additional criminal charges were filed this week against Michael Diebold, a former Leechburg police chief, alleging he did not comply with registration requirements for convicted sex offenders. State police charged Diebold, 42, in Armstrong County with a felony offense in connection with allegations he used the social media site FetLife.com...
Allegheny County flu death toll reaches 5, Health Department confirms
Two more Allegheny County residents have died from flu complications, bringing this flu season’s county death toll to five, according to the county’s Health Department. The latest deaths were people in their 30s who had underlying medical conditions, according to the Allegheny County Health Department. All of those who have...
$1M instant lottery ticket sold at Harrison supermarket
A regular customer of Community Supermarket in Harrison won $1 million on a $20 scratch-off lottery ticket. “I was thinking, ‘Please don’t cry because I’m going to cry with you,’ ” said office clerk Niki Dickey, who talked with the woman when she brought her winning ticket back to the...
New Kensington-Arnold School Board approves preliminary budget with 8% tax hike
The new president of the New Kensington-Arnold School Board says they have no choice but to raise property taxes, but the board’s past president says it should consider cutting staff instead. “Education will not be sacrificed,” said board President John Cope, who was elected in November. “Isn’t that why the...
Trout in the Classroom program going swimmingly in HempfieldVideo
Proudly displayed fish artwork isn’t all that students at West Hempfield Elementary School have to show off. First through fifth graders are raising almost 200 rainbow trout through the Pennsylvania Trout in the Classroom program. The local curriculum was implemented by art teacher Matt Clark as a way to incorporate...
Police: Arnold man had gun, drugs near child that he held when arrested
An Arnold man accused of selling heroin and cocaine is also accused of keeping a handgun in a child’s bedroom , police said. Elbert Lewis Thompson II, 30, of Leishman Avenue was arrested Monday after allegedly pushing a police officer on a porch, fleeing upstairs, and coming out holding a...
Inspector General charges 45 with welfare fraud
The state caught 45 suspected welfare fraudsters in December, who allegedly scammed the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and other programs out of more than $240,000, according to the Office of the State Inspector General. The office charged 35 people with felonies, the remaining 10 with misdemeanors. Three residents of Allegheny...
Westmoreland Intermediate Unit seeks donations for backpacks for homeless children
The Westmoreland Intermediate Unit is seeking donations to fill 1,000 backpacks for homeless children in Westmoreland County and across the state. The backpacks will be assembled during the Pennsylvania Association of Intermediate Units statewide conference to be held locally in May. The Westmoreland unit is hosting the conference at Seven...
Greensburg Police Department seeks new officer
The City of Greensburg Police Department is looking for a new officer. The department is accepting applications for candidates to replace patrolman Peter Sandberg, who retired in October after 21 years on the force. It’s getting harder to find qualified candidates, Chief Chad Zucco said. “The problem that we have...
Western Pa. native, country singer Matt Westin keeps racking up international accolades
Country singer Matt Westin has fans in Singapore, Australia, South Africa, the U.K., Italy and Spain. In 2018, he was named the International Music and Entertainment Association’s Male Country Artist of the Year. His album “Legacy” has drawn favorable reviews around the world and placed singles on international charts. He’s...
