Local category, Page 3028
Quaker Valley boys tennis team rolls into PIAA quarterfinals
The Quaker Valley boys tennis team continues its quest for a state championship Friday as it takes on District 3 runner-up Pequea Valley in the quarterfinals at 12:30 p.m. at the Hershey Racquet Club. The Quakers made quick work of District 6 champion Juniata in a 5-0 first-round victory Tuesday,...
Lane crossover along Saw Mill Run Boulevard expected to last through late June
Starting Friday, motorists using Saw Mill Run Boulevard in Pittsburgh will encounter a traffic crossover that will be in place until late June, PennDOT announced. Northbound traffic along Saw Mill Run, or Route 19, will be crossed over into the southbound lanes just north of the Shaler Street Bridge. A...
Butler Street where water main burst closed until Saturday for paving
A section of Butler Street in Lawrenceville will be closed until Saturday while crews can repave areas impacted by a water main break. Work to fix the 20-inch main between 39th and 42nd streets began shortly after 6 p.m. Tuesday, and water was shut off to homes and businesses along...
Johnstown church commemorates 130th anniversary of deadly flood
Behind the altar of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in downtown Johnstown are engraved the words, “Many waters cannot quench love.” The verse from the Song of Solomon is a perpetual reminder of the Locust Street church’s role in the 1889 Johnstown Flood and its aftermath. “I think that we here...
Shaler Area High School to benefit from ‘rain check’
Shaler Area High School soon will have a rain garden installed on its property thanks to a $6,793 grant awarded to Girty’s Run Watershed Association from the Allegheny County Conservation District’s Conservation, Leadership and Innovation Program. Shaler Area High School partnered with Girty’s Run Watershed Association to develop a conceptual...
Q&A with judicial candidates for Westmoreland Common Pleas Court
Six lawyers are seeking two vacancies this year on the Westmoreland County Court of Common Pleas. Democrats Michael Stewart, Jessica Rafferty and Matt Schimizzi, along with Republicans Wayne McGrew, Kyle Baxter and Justin Walsh are each running in both party primaries on May 21. The top two vote-getters in each...
Six lawyers vying to fill two Westmoreland County judicial seats
Westmoreland County’s Common Pleas Court hasn’t seen a full roster of judges in more than a year. That is expected to change starting in January 2020, after two judges are elected this fall to replace Richard E. McCormick Jr. and Anthony Marsili, who retired. Six lawyers — three Democrats and...
9 seek 5 spots in Norwin School Board race
With two school directors deciding not to seek re-election, the Norwin School Board will have at least two new faces on the board next year. Three incumbents and six challengers are on the May 21 ballot in competition for five open seats. All nine candidates have cross-filed. Directors Robert Perkins, a...
Packsaddle Paddle features Conemaugh River trip, picnic
Those who’d like to try a recreational trip down the Conemaugh River but don’t want to wait for the annual Stony-Kiski-Conemaugh Rivers Sojourn next month may want to sign up for the May 25 Packsaddle Gap Paddle and Picnic. The fifth annual kayaking paddle is scheduled to begin at 9...
Greensburg awards grants to apartment project, spa
Greensburg will pay almost $9,000 in grant money to transform a vacant building into apartments and expand a Maple Street spa. The city will pay $7,500 to City Cribs, a company converting a long-vacant building at 136 S. Pennsylvania Ave. into 10 apartments and a first-floor boutique. The second grant...
Veterans don’t need to pay for help to apply for benefits in Pa.
Westmoreland County’s director of Veterans Affairs is reminding veterans that applying for benefits should never come with a fee. “Veterans’ benefits are something that really aren’t supposed to be monetized,” said Matt Zamosky, one of 200 accredited veteran service officers working in Pennsylvania. Zamosky said the issue of military veterans...
Greater Latrobe School Board eyes 1-mill tax hike
Taxes would go up next year in the Greater Latrobe School District if the school board passes a tentative 2019-20 budget that cleared a first hurdle this week. The board is considering a tax hike to 82.25 mills — one mill higher than this year — to help pay for...
Police: Indiana County nursery worker foils attempted holdup
An employee disarmed a man who attempted to hold up an Indiana County nursery with an unloaded gun that the man stole from a nearby home, state police said. Justin S. Ludwig, 37, of Warren, is charged with robbery, attempted theft and terroristic threats in the confrontation Wednesday afternoon at...
Hunker woman’s attacker found guilty of assault
A Donora man was convicted of assaulting his pregnant girlfriend last year. Following a three-day trial that ended Wednesday, a Westmoreland County jury found Travis Magash, 33, guilty of aggravated assault, strangulation and simple assault for his role in a violent attack against his girlfriend. Danielle Rose Thompson, 25, told...
Hempfield christens new amphitheater
Hempfield is kicking off its Summer Concert Series with the grand opening of its new amphitheater this weekend. Normally filled with kids playing sports and families enjoying the walking trail and pavilions, Hempfield Park will be home to bands, food trucks and lawn chairs. Work on the Hempfield Smail Auto...
Cops: 19-year-old wearing ear buds hit by train in Mt. PleasantVideo
Miranda Cook is lucky to be alive after being hit Thursday afternoon by a slow-moving freight train engine in Mt. Pleasant, authorities said. “She was under the train. It was a matter of inches or it would have been a lot worse,” Mt. Pleasant Patrolman Tim Ferree said of the...
Appeals court upholds decision to let Belle Vernon students attend prom
Eight Belle Vernon Area High School students cited this month for underage drinking can attend the prom Friday night, a state appeals court ruled. The state’s Commonwealth Court issued that order late Thursday afternoon as school district lawyers challenged a county judge’s ruling from earlier this week that halted the...
Sheetz in Bethel Park hosts a tasting of Coffee Hopz beer
Bill Helzlsouer of Dravosburg was the first person to try the new Coffee Hopz on Thursday at the Sheetz on Library Road in Bethel Park. “I really like it,” said Helzlsouer, who has a beer blog, and has written about 472 brews. “It’s crisp, with a nice coffee taste at...
Good weather jump starts multi-million dollar Lower Burrell City Hall project
The sunny skies on Thursday brought out the bulldozers and more to Lower Burrell’s city hall where contractors started work on a new public works building. The work is part of a $3.1 million project including the expansion of the police department, moving the tax office back to city hall...
North Huntingdon OKs Sheetz site plan; awaits request for liquor license
North Huntingdon officials have approved Sheetz Inc.’s plans to expand its store along Route 30 so that it can meet state liquor laws in order to sell alcohol at the site. Township commissioners Brian Blasko, Zachary Haigis, David Herold and Tony Martino voted to approve the site plans to expand...
Former Arnold Treasurer Joseph Puet, city involved in severance dispute
City officials in Arnold were given an $8,491.36 question this week and thus far have only provided an implied answer based on their solicitor’s advice: No. Retired treasurer Joseph Puet wants more than that. “I deserve to receive an answer. There’s been nothing,” Puet, 61, a lifelong resident of Arnold,...
North Huntingdon to appeal zoning board OK of cell phone tower
North Huntingdon is taking its township zoning board to court over its decision to allow a cell phone tower to be built on property bordering Manor borough. Township commissioners this week authorized an appeal to Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court. The zoning board on April 2 granted TowerCo 2013 of...
New Kensington-Arnold teachers union reports ‘setback’ in contract talks
New Kensington-Arnold School District and its teachers union failed to reach an agreement on a new contract during a bargaining session Wednesday night. The two sides can’t even agree on who was involved in the latest negotiations. “No school board members attended the scheduled bargaining session,” New Kensington-Arnold Education Association...
Crime Stoppers offers reward for information on Armani Ford shooting
A reward is being offered to anyone with information about a shooting that killed a former Clairton High School football star in April. At about 6 p.m., April 26, police found Armani Ford, 23, face down in the rear yard of 810 Vankirk Street in Clairton. He was shot in...
Murrysville police anticipate joining multi-agency Community Response Team
Tom Seefeld started a Community Response Team when he was police chief in New Kensington 20 years ago, with the goal of having some officers specially trained for high-risk events such as active shooters or barricaded gunmen and serving drug warrants. Now chief in Murrysville, Seefeld is about to be...
