2 veteran Hempfield Area school board members decide not to seek reelection
Hempfield Area school board will see at least two new faces next year, as veteran members Paul Ward and Diane Ciabattoni are opting not to run for reelection. Board President Jerry Radebaugh and Vice President Scott Learn will seek another term, according to Westmoreland County records. The former Westmoreland County...
Murrysville church will host ‘Orange Heart’ ceremony for Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange
Jerry Deible of Murrysville can remember standing on the ground at a Vietnam firebase in the early 1970s, staring up at a massive C-130 airplane passing overhead. He craned his head back and snapped a photo of the plane as liquid streamed down from tanks strapped to its sides. The...
Uncle Charley’s quiet exit from Parks Township leaves behind 1 man and a cache of sausage-making machines
Uncle Charley’s Sausage once had about 60 employees at its Parks Township processing, packing and shipping facility. Now, it has one — an affable, mustached maintenance supervisor named Randy Braden. A veteran of the food manufacturing business, he came on about 2½ years ago after the soup cannery in Pittsburgh’s...
‘She really cares’: Westmoreland County Community College professor honored with award
Westmoreland County Community College professor Stephanie Turin’s job entails more than teaching social work to the next generation of practitioners. Turin came to the Hempfield college after 27 years of working medical social work jobs throughout Westmoreland County. She has worked at the college for 11 years, teaching the bulk...
Pandemic led to radical, lasting changes in health care industry
When covid-19 struck, Natalya Rodriguez, fresh out of nursing school, watched as a flood of overwhelmed colleagues abandoned the health care field. Nothing had prepared nurses in the U.S. for a pandemic — or the death and fear it brought. The National Council of State Boards of Nursing estimated 100,000...
3 candidates vie for state House in Mon Valley special election race
A special election in the Mon Valley will determine control of the state House. The chamber has been gridlocked, with 101 Democrats and 101 Republicans, since the January death of state Rep. Matt Gergely, D-McKeesport. Gergely had represented the 35th Legislative District for just under two years. Looking to fill...
Some protest Musk’s DOGE efforts while others celebrate them outside North Hills Tesla dealer
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has too much power as he advises President Donald Trump and spearheads efforts to slash the size of the federal government through his DOGE Service, Isaac Elias said Saturday. It’s the reason Elias, 43, of Baden in Beaver County, helped organize a series of protests outside...
Fayette County man killed when car strikes pole, catches fire
A Fayette County man was killed in a crash early Saturday in Redstone Township, state police said. Kristopher Michael John, 31, of Republic, was pronounced dead at the scene of the single-vehicle wreck on Route 166, according to county Coroner Dr. Bob Baker. Police said John was driving south at...
Homer City plant’s implosion marks ‘downfall of coal’ as plans for natural gas plant remain on track
Six and a half out of seven structures came toppling down Saturday morning as crews imploded four smokestacks and three cooling towers of the shuttered Homer City power plant in Indiana County. The structures at the former coal-fired plant fell to the ground in succession beginning at 7:30 a.m., but...
Tarentum church opens pantry to combat ‘hygiene poverty’
Plenty of churches and pantries across the Alle-Kiski Valley offer closets where people can pick up free coats, pants and shirts. The Rev. Felicia Brock, pastor at First Baptist Church of Tarentum, is taking it a step further. “When we were thinking about what we can do to help the...
The Stroller, March 22, 2025: Events in the Alle-Kiski Valley
Publicize your non-profit’s community events, fundraisers and club meetings for free in The Stroller. Send information at least two weeks in advance to vndnews@triblive.com or The Stroller, 210 Wood St., Tarentum PA 15084. Please include a daytime telephone number. Follow the Stroller on X at @VNDStroller. Tickets on sale for...
Legal experts weigh whether Trump has triggered constitutional crisis
President Donald Trump has long sought to flex the power of the presidency. Now that he is, some scholars say, Trump’s vision of a muscular executive branch has forced the nation into a constitutional crisis — or at least brought it to the brink of one. Erwin Chemerinsky, a leading...
Greensburg Salem, Hempfield Area rally around ‘common goal’ through Mini THON fundraisers
Greensburg Salem High School social studies teacher Matthew Boe has watched as a fundraiser for children with cancer has become a part of the district’s culture. The district launched its Mini THON in 2015 through a student’s senior project. A Penn State graduate, Boe is well acquainted with the idea...
Teen gets at least 4 years in state prison for shooting near Westinghouse Academy
A Clairton man who was just 16 at the time he shot four people near Westinghouse Academy in Homewood will serve four to nine years in state prison. James Pritchard, now 18, pleaded guilty on Thursday to four counts of aggravated assault and was sentenced by Allegheny County Common Pleas...
Ross takes first steps in what could be big changes to township’s fire services
After an extensive study recommended changes last year, Ross is taking the first steps in what likely will result in a yearslong revamp of the township’s fire services. During a meeting earlier this year, the township commissioners tasked Robb Consulting, a Central Pennsylvania public safety consulting firm, with finding a...
Despite looming ‘fiscal cliff,’ Westmoreland Transit isn’t eyeing cuts, director says
Those riding Westmoreland County’s transit system are not in danger of massive service cuts like the ones facing those who rely on Pittsburgh Regional Transit, county transportation officials said this week. “We are not there. I don’t think we’re at that point yet,” said Alan Blahovec, executive director of the...
Walgreens in McCandless set to close May 1
A Walgreens pharmacy location is set to close its doors in McCandless come May. The location at 30 Pine Creek Road will shutter May 1 after 18 years at the site. The closure comes after the pharmacy chain announced last year it would shut down 1,200 of its locations over...
ACLU demands University of Pittsburgh lift suspension of student group supporting Palestine
A letter from the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania on behalf of the University of Pittsburgh’s Students for Justice in Palestine called for the immediate revocation of the chapter’s interim suspension. The letter, addressed to Pitt Chancellor Joan Gabel, stated that the university violated SJP’s First Amendment rights by...
Gun found in vehicle on North Allegheny School District campus
A gun was found Friday afternoon in a North Allegheny School District employee’s vehicle, the district said in an email to parents. McCandless police alerted the district’s police of the situation about 1:16 p.m. Neither police nor the district said how they learned there was a gun in the vehicle....
Judge sets bond in New Kensington attempted murder case
A Westmoreland County judge on Friday set a $500,000 straight cash bond for a former Ohio man charged in connection with an alleged shooting two years ago in New Kensington. Iven Cashua Miller Jr., 37, who was previously identified as being from Cleveland and now lists a New Kensington address,...
High school students flock to career day at Westmoreland Hospital
About 200 high school students gathered Friday at Independence Health System’s Westmoreland Hospital in Greensburg to learn about jobs in the medical field. Students from at least six Westmoreland County school districts — Greensburg Salem, Greensburg Central Catholic, Hempfield Area, Jeannette, Penn-Trafford and the Central Westmoreland Career and Technology Center...
Allegheny County DA launches investigation of Pittsburgh Mills owner Namdar Realty
Already facing a civil lawsuit over the condition of its roads at Pittsburgh Mills in Frazer, owner Namdar Realty Group now could face criminal charges. The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office confirmed Friday it has executed a search warrant aimed at Namdar and opened a criminal investigation. “We can confirm...
‘They kept fighting’: Robert Morris fans proud of hoops team after loss to Alabama
Watching Robert Morris play in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament on Friday kept Kassidy Mislan and her friends on the edge of their seats at a campus gathering. The Colonials took the lead over the heavily-favored Alabama Crimson Tide with just a little bit over 7 minutes remaining in the...
3 former WPIAL standouts sign with Pittsburgh Riveters
Less than two months out from the start of their inaugural season, the Pittsburgh Riveters added three more players, including two with Westmoreland County roots, to bring the pre-professional team’s roster to 21. Pittsburgh will play in the USL W League with its opener set for May 16 against the...
School board hopeful bounced from ballot; more candidate challenges on tap
A Republican candidate seeking a spot on the Penn-Trafford School Board was removed Friday from the primary ballot, and a decision on another candidate vying for a seat on the Franklin Regional School board was deferred. Additional court hearings are scheduled for Monday on challenges of three Jeannette and one...
