Local category, Page 2999
‘Luck of the draw’: Plastic balls determine winners of Westmoreland primary races
Two winners in the May 21 primary election were selected Friday through the ancient practice of casting lots. The process, conducted at the Westmoreland County Courthouse, broke a tie in the Norwin Area School Board race between Keith Genicola and Joanna Jordan. On election night, Jordan edged Genicola 1,087 to...
Penn-Trafford student cited for fleeing crash in school parking lot
A Penn-Trafford senior is accused by police with driving a car down a high school walking path, through a grass sports practice field, over a hillside and through a nearby homeowner’s yard in an attempt to flee a crash in a high school parking lot May 23. Chance A. Orr,...
Completing the journey: Trib photographs Hempfield student on first, last days of school
Rebecca Ruble of Hempfield initially was not too happy to see a photo in the Tribune-Review showing her son, Jordan, crying on his first day of first grade. On Friday, though, it was Ruble herself potentially on the verge of tears as Jordan headed off to his final day of...
Pittsburgh company lands $79 million contract for NASA lunar deliveries
NASA on Friday announced a $79.5 million contract with a Pittsburgh-based company to deliver payloads of scientific and high-tech research equipment to the moon in 2021. Astrobotic Technology Inc., founded a decade ago out of Carnegie Mellon University and headquartered at 25th and Liberty in the Strip District, will deliver...
New contract sets foundation for future in West Jefferson Hills
West Jefferson Hills School District and its teachers union entered a new six-year agreement on May 28 that leaders say reflects their vision for the district’s future. The contract, which runs from July 1 to June 30, 2025, clears the way for schedule changes, personalized learning time and the launch...
Missing Ohio teen believed to be in Pittsburgh area
A 16-year-old girl reported missing from Ohio was recently seen in the Pittsburgh area, Allegheny County police said Friday. Mandy M. Constable was last seen around 6:45 p.m. Tuesday leaving her home in Springfield Township, Mahoning County, Ohio, about 60 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, police said. “At this point, they...
Bushy Run 5K race, walk set for July 14
The Bushy Run Battlefield’s scenic trails will be the site of the 15th annual Bushy Run Trail 5K Run & Walk at 8:30 a.m. July 14, which will take participants through the historic battlefield along Route 993 in Penn Township. Participants can pre-register by June 23. The cost is $18...
Judge orders Penn Twp. man released from jail to await trial in 2016 shooting
A Penn Township man who has been in the Westmoreland County Prison for nearly three years accused of firing a rifle shot that pierced a wall and nearly hit a police officer will be released to await his July 11 trial. Common Pleas Judge Tim Krieger granted a motion filed...
McKees Rocks’ Eat’n Park to close after 53 years
There will be a few less smiles in McKees Rocks. Eat’n Park, known for its signature Smiley Cookies, will close its Chartiers Avenue location on June 16 after 53 years. “ We are disappointed we won’t be able to serve the McKees Rocks community for another 50 years, but our...
TJ students bid farewell to school with generation-spanning lip dub
Ten songs. One Video. It’s how all 930 Thomas Jefferson High School students came together to say goodbye to the building that has served as TJ’s home for the past 60 years. On May 24, the entire student body lined the hallways, auditorium, cafeteria and gymnasium to film a lip...
Vandergrift’s Cardinal Maida Academy says goodbye to its last studentsVideo
Vandergrift’s sole Catholic school is closing. The Cardinal Maida Academy, formerly St. Gertrude School when it opened in 1922, held its last day of school on Friday. Low student enrollment led to the closure, formally effective June 30, 2019, according to a news release from Greensburg Diocese spokesman Jerry Zufelt....
Manner of death remains mystery in missing Pittsburgh woman’s case
Blunt force trauma killed an East Liberty woman missing for six months, but investigators are unable to determine what caused that trauma, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. Jessica Young, 35, disappeared Sept. 12, and her body was found almost exactly six months later in Larimer, according to...
Advisers tasked with improving ‘cultural competency’ in West Jefferson Hills
The West Jefferson Hills School District has hired two advisers in attempts to “build cultural competence in the district,” according to the superintendent. School board members on May 28 approved the hiring of Morris Turner and Maurice Lucas as cultural advisers for Pleasant Hills Middle School and Thomas Jefferson High...
Woman moves into ‘dream home’ thanks to $5,000 from Pittsburgh housing fund
Natalie Perko needed help with a down payment and closing costs to afford her dream home in Pittsburgh’s Brighton Heights neighborhood. She found it through the Pittsburgh Housing Opportunity Fund, a $10 million pot of money the city sets aside each year to help low-wage earners afford housing within city...
Grove City man sentenced to 17 years in federal prison for producing child porn
A Grove City man has been sentenced to 17 years and 6 months in federal prison for producing child pornography. Matthew Switzer, 33, coerced a 4-year-old girl to engage in sexually explicit conduct several times to create at least 13 pornographic photos, according to U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady. The...
Police ask for help finding woman connected to Hill District shooting
Pittsburgh police are asking for help identifying a woman they believe is connected to a shooting Monday in the city’s Hill District. The shooting happened just before 11 p.m. on Chauncey Drive, police said. Isaac Harrison, 34, was driven to a hospital by private means where he was pronounced dead...
2 Alle-Kiski seniors awarded $11,000 scholarships to CCAC automotive program
Two Alle-Kiski Valley teens have been awarded $11,000 each in scholarships for taking first place in the Greater Pittsburgh Automobile Dealers Association Foundation and Community College of Allegheny County’s automotive competition. Freeport Area High School senior Leroy Zacherly and Armstrong High School senior Ryan Kuntz attend Lenape Technical School. They...
New Latrobe Banana Split Princess to be picked
Piper Anke is preparing to end her one-year reign as the first Banana Split Princess for Latrobe. Anke, a 13-year-old from Derry who has experience in public speaking, was appointed to the role in a last-minute addition to the 2018 Great American Banana Split Celebration. She’ll conclude her responsibilities Sunday...
Pa. museum gets massive, century-old steam engine running again
A century-old steam engine has been put on display at Pennsylvania’s National Museum of Industrial History after workers got it running again for the first time in nearly four decades. The 115-ton Corliss engine once pumped 8 million gallons of water a day for the York Water Co. in York....
Open house at Kerr Elementary offers last peek of school
Fox Chapel Area School District is giving area residents one last peek inside the halls of Kerr Elementary before demolition of the school which for 90 years has served the community. The building along Kittanning Pike in O’Hara is expected to be dismantled beginning June 12, while construction of a...
Springdale High School women step up for military service after graduation
For the first time in Springdale High School’s history, all of the students headed to the military after graduation are female. The three seniors — Skyleanna Skiles, Deserai Duncan and Leann Brannock — were recognized at the school’s annual military reception and ceremony Thursday. School administrators, along with local veterans,...
Harrison adds 3 more houses to demolition list
Harrison commissioners are targeting three more deteriorated and abandoned houses for demolition. Commissioners started the process to tear down the three houses, all in the township’s Natrona Heights neighborhood. They are at 2602 Monroe St., 1204 Cambridge St. and 1525 Union Ave. The Cambridge Street house is near Allegheny Valley...
Wetlands presentation in Murrysville will focus on bluebirds
In addition to opening a brand-new “destination playground” this summer at Murrysville Community Park, municipal recreation officials will also continue the park’s annual slate of summer nature programming. On June 8 at 10 a.m., Dr. Wilma Light will host a presentation on bluebirds. She is a member of the Bluebird...
Indiana police recover stolen safe from retention pond
Indiana Borough police are seeking a 28-year-old man accused of stealing a safe containing about $5,000 from a local screenprinting business and dumping it into a storm water pond. A felony warrant was issued for Raymond C. Spencer of Indiana, who police said entered S&S Screenprinting through a window on...
Pa. amusement park removes personalized bullet keychains
ALLENTOWN — A Pennsylvania amusement park is no longer selling a bullet cartridge keychain that could be personalized with the buyer’s name. Sarah Keller tells lehighvalley.com she felt a mix of horror and disbelief when her daughter spotted the souvenir for sale in the gift shop at Dorney Park and...
