Western PA Local News category, Page 3087
Mt. Pleasant Area’s Rumbaugh Elementary School to close
Lloyd F. Rumbaugh Elementary School, which has educated Mt. Pleasant Area students for about 60 years, will shut its doors for good at the end of the school year. Operational efficiency as well as academic opportunity were the driving factors in the decision to close Rumbaugh and reconfigure the elementary...
Greensburg votes to dissolve Historic and Architectural Review Board
Greensburg City Council has begun the process to dissolve the Historic and Architectural Review Board, an organization that served as gatekeeper for most commercial development in the city. Council unanimously voted on the motion Monday. The ordinance to make it official will likely be introduced at June’s council meeting, and...
Michael Gray will remain as Latrobe’s city manager
Michael Gray became Latrobe’s city manager on Monday, after holding down the position on an interim basis since March 25. Council voted unanimously to keep Gray in the new role, setting aside plans to search for additional candidates from outside the city staff. “We had talked about doing a search,”...
Diocese of Greensburg priest removed pending sex abuse investigation
A Diocese of Greensburg priest has been placed on leave as law enforcement investigates an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor, the diocese said. Officials said they received the allegation Monday against the Rev. Andrew M. Kawecki. He served as pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Everson and St....
Verona’s Verner Elementary principal retiring, replacement selected
Verner Elementary School in Verona will have a new principal next school year. Mary Ann Plance is calling it a career after five years in the district and 35 years overall in education. Her official retirement date is July 1. The new principal will be current district special education director...
Slain Freeport woman had PFA against ex-boyfriend, faced threats
Shortly after Mary Jo Kornick kicked Nicholas Domek III out of their Freeport apartment, Domek told a neighbor that Kornick “was going to get hers.” That neighbor, Donna Dreyer, told the Tribune-Review on Monday she never expected him to do anything drastic. “I just thought it was going to blow...
Westmoreland County Democratic judicial candidates outspend Republican opponents
The six candidates seeking two judicial vacancies on the Westmoreland County Court of Common Pleas combined to spend more than a half-million dollars during this spring’s campaign season, most of which came from their own family accounts. According to campaign finance reports filed in Harrisburg, three Democratic candidates, attorneys Michael...
Stranger storms into Apollo home, grabs knife, police say
A woman charged into an Apollo home during a Mother’s Day dinner and grabbed a knife before an occupant wrested it away, police said. Eric Cheierici, 41, a chef from North Apollo, and his 62-year-old father had just made a spaghetti dinner for Cheierici’s 87-year-old grandmother in her Apollo house...
Vandergrift woman arrested with drugs in stolen car, police say
A Vandergrift woman suspected of burglarizing a Parks Township home was arrested over the weekend after police said they found her with drugs in a stolen car in Harrison. Harrison police said they found several stamp bags of heroin on Heather Stefanik, 24, after they were called to Walnut Street...
2 Harrison commissioners face challengers in Democratic primary
Two of three Harrison commissioners whose terms expire this year are seeking re-election, and both face challengers in the Democratic primary. In the township’s 1st Ward, the May 21 primary features a rematch between incumbent Commissioner Charles Dizard and former commissioner William Mitchell Sr. In the 3rd Ward, Eric Bengel...
Here’s where Franklin Regional school board candidates stand on the issues
As the primary election nears, 13 candidates are jockeying for general-election ballot spots in the Franklin Regional school board race. Below are Q&A responses and biographical information for each candidate. RICHARD ARNOLD • Age: 74 • Education: Bachelor’s degree from Slippery Rock University; master’s degree from West Virginia University; doctorate...
Police: Woman ran stop sign before 2-car crash in Frazer
One person was taken to a Pittsburgh hospital in connection with a two-vehicle crash early Monday afternoon at Murray Hill and Riddle Run roads in Frazer. Frazer police Chief Terry Kuhns said a woman traveling on Riddle Run ran a stop sign about 1:40 p.m. and her vehicle crashed into...
Pittsburgh region’s rainfall above average in 2019, but behind 2018 pace
If it seems to have been wet for a solid week, it wasn’t your imagination. The Pittsburgh area saw rain for six consecutive days, with about an inch of rain recorded at Pittsburgh International Airport from Thursday through Monday, according to the National Weather Service Pittsburgh office in Moon. The...
Congressman Lamb learns about issues affecting medical supply companies
U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb received a crash course in issues affecting medical supply companies and people who need equipment they provide during a meeting Monday at Tarentum-based Blackburn’s. The 83-year-old medical supply company hosted Lamb for a roundtable discussion with company executives, University of Pittsburgh researchers and other industry professionals....
USDA funds available to communities trying solve stormwater runoff problems
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is offering grants to small, rural communities to help them deal with stormwater runoff problems. USDA announced on Monday the latest round of grants awarded through its Water & Waste Disposal Loan & Grant Program. Rural communities, water districts and other eligible entities can use...
Plea deals get Hempfield man time served in assault, DUI cases
A Hempfield man charged in two separate cases alleging rape and strangulation of a woman on Monday pleaded guilty to a lesser assault charge. Harold Franks, 36, was sentenced to serve the 251 days he has spent in jail. He was immediately paroled after pleading guilty to one count of...
13th person this year caught with gun by Pittsburgh airport security
A Crawford County man tried to take a loaded handgun through security Sunday at Pittsburgh International Airport, security officials said. It is the fourth firearm found in carry-on luggage at the airport in the last three weeks, according to the Transportation Safety Administration. Security agents stopped the Cochranton man after...
New mural shares Monroeville Mall memories through 50 years
The Monroeville Mall became one of the country’s largest shopping centers of its time 50 years ago. Staff, elected officials and residents gathered Monday to celebrate, reminisce and tout the mall’s successes over the years. A mural that included photos of the mall under construction in 1968, the old ice...
Seton Hill honors Steele Eckenrode for community service
A 22 year-old Mt. Lebanon man has been named Seton Hill University’s 2019 winner of the school’s Presidential Award for Service. Seton Hill University President Mary C. Finger presented the award to Steele Eckenrode, a senior Business Administration – Entrepreneurial Studies major, during Honors Convocation on Friday. The award recognizes...
Monessen men get probation for shooting after evidence problems thwart retrial
Two men implicated in a nonfatal shooting nearly two years ago in Monessen were sentenced to probation. Joseph “Jo Jo” Heath III, 29, of Monessen, pleaded guilty to lesser misdemeanor charges of simple assault, reckless endangerment and making terroristic threats in connection with the June 25, 2017, shooting of Timothy...
Open Streets Sharpsburg anticipates record crowd
Organizers of Open Streets Sharpsburg expect this year’s festival to draw record-setting attendance and have opened North Canal Street to accommodate spillover. The street fair, set for 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 1, will occupy Main Street from Sixth to Station streets and will expand to North Canal with...
Pittsburgh will waive fines, pay towing cost for cars towed before marathon
Pittsburgh took blame Monday for a towing fiasco that erupted in the hours before last week’s marathon and announced it would waive parking fines and pay towing costs for any vehicle removed from the route between 11 p.m. and midnight the night before the race. Mayor Bill Peduto met with...
Military banners still available in most Fox Chapel area municipalities
Military banners that celebrate local servicemen and women still are available in time for display by Memorial Day in most Lower Valley communities. Blawnox is the exception. “Ours are sold out,” secretary Kathy Ulanowicz said. “Blawnox would be happy to participate again if the program is made available next year.”...
China trade deal could reverse relief at gas pump
Gas prices have come down a bit in Pittsburgh in the past week, although they’re still higher than they were both a month and a year ago. Prices in the Pittsburgh region are down 2.1 cents per gallon to an average of $3.12, according to GasBuddy’s survey of 731 stations....
Allegheny Health Network opens cancer center in Beaver County
Allegheny Health Network officially opened its new cancer center with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday in Beaver County. AHN Cancer Institute – Beaver is located in Center Township and provides clinical and support services, including radiation oncology capabilities, medical oncology and infusion therapy, nutritional counseling, social services and access to cancer...
