Westmoreland 250: 10 things to see in Rostraver
(Editor’s note: To mark Westmoreland County’s 250th birthday this year, we’ve come up with a list of 250 things — 10 things in 25 communities — that we consider to be important to the makeup of our area. This series will appear each week through December. If you have a...
Yough Helping Hands Foundation holds Thanksgiving meal distribution
The Yough Helping Hands Foundation held its annual Thanksgiving meal distribution at Yough Senior High School near Herminie on Tuesday, providing about 100 ready-to-heat traditional dinners from Rodney’s Restaurant accompanied by locally made pies and cookies. This is the third year that the foundation — an independent charity dedicated to...
Car crashes into Knoxville home and catches fire, displacing residents
A man was taken to an area hospital after his car crashed into a Knoxville home and caught fire around 8:20 p.m. Tuesday, Pittsburgh police said. Firefighters pulled him out of the car, and he was listed in stable condition. No one was injured inside the home, located in the...
1 dead in South Bend Township crash
One person died in a head-on crash at the intersection of Route 156 and West Lebanon Road in South Bend, according to Armstrong County Coroner Brian Myers. Myers said in an email that the person had not been publicly identified Tuesday night because their family had not been notified. They...
Gateway students participate in 1 Million Book Giveaway
Gateway High School students joined more than 30,000 high school students nationwide in an effort to give 1 million books to underserved youth in their local communities as part of Chick-fil-A Leader Academy, a national high school leadership program. Students took part in a Chick-fil-A Leader Academy Kickoff Experience featuring...
Malfunctioning machine causes minor fire at Arbco Industries in Murrysville, no one hurt
Fire crews responded early Tuesday evening when a malfunctioning machine caused a fire at Arbco Industries in Murrysville. The machine, which is used to make hard plastic wheels, failed and caught an oil pit on fire, according to White Valley Volunteer Fire Department Chief John Bohinc. First responders put the...
Western Pa. lawmakers call for increased service at locks and dams on Allegheny River
Western Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation is lobbying for increased maintenance and, in some cases, increased service levels for locks and dams on the Allegheny River. U.S. Reps. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Peters, Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Centre County, and U.S. Sens. Bob Casey, D-Scranton, and John Fetterman, D-Braddock, sent a letter Monday to the...
Federal judge: Mail-in ballots missing handwritten date must still be counted
Mail-in ballots submitted on time but missing a handwritten date must be counted by county elections offices, a federal judge said on Tuesday. To do otherwise would violate the federal Civil Rights Act, said U.S. District Judge Susan Paradise Baxter. Her decision followed a lawsuit filed last year against all...
Monroeville business spreads holiday joy for Gateway families
In this season of giving, the employees of Premier Automation LLC in Monroeville have come together to make an impact on families in Gateway School District. The Premier Automation team donated 23 food baskets, each containing everything needed to prepare a wholesome Thanksgiving dinner. Employees donated all the canned goods,...
Pittsburgh seeks volunteer snow-shovelers to help keep sidewalks clear in winter
Pittsburgh is looking for volunteers to help seniors and residents with disabilities keep their sidewalks clear of snow and ice over the winter. The city said there typically aren’t enough volunteers to meet demand for the annual Snow Angels program. Last year, 419 volunteers signed up to shovel sidewalks, while...
UPMC reports $177M loss so far this year
Health care giant UPMC reported an operating loss of $177 million during the first nine months of the year, attributing the decrease to rising labor costs and supply markets, increases in medical claims as more patients accessed care, pharmaceutical expenses and legal settlements. The loss during the period that ended...
Live Nativity presented at Bradford Woods church
The Bradford Woods Community Church will present its 40th annual Live Nativity on Sunday, Dec. 10 from 7-8 p.m. The event is free, and there will be cookies and hot chocolate between three showings. This year, the event will feature only children playing all roles. The Live Nativity has been...
Hosack, McKnight elementary schools in the North Allegheny School District conduct food drive
Hosack and McKnight elementary school students conducted a food drive Oct. 30-Nov. 15 and challenged students and their families to bring in at least 75 items to be donated to Freestore 15106. The number ‘75’ was chosen to honor the 75th anniversary of the North Allegheny School District, which is...
2 Ligonier Township roads closed by downed trees have reopened
Sections of two roads in Ligonier Township that were closed to traffic Tuesday after trees fell on utility wires have reopened, according to PennDOT. The closures were in place on Nature Run Road, between Hall Road and Kissell Springs Road, and on Linn Run Road/Darlington-Rector Road, between Byers Lane and...
Oakmont Council to host hearing on proposed brewery
Oakmont Borough Council will be hosting a public hearing on Dec. 18 to discuss the conditional use of the proposed site for Local Remedy Brewing. If approved, the microbrewery will take the previous site of the Oakmont Bakery on Allegheny Avenue. According to borough solicitor Kate Diersen, conditional use is...
No tax increase in Oakmont proposed budget
Oakmont’s proposed 2024 budget calls for no tax raises. The budget includes over $5.4 million in expenditures with about $5.1 million in revenue. according to information presented at council’s Nov. 20 meeting. The proposal calls for the borough’s real estate tax rate to stay at 3.73 mills, with residents owning...
Bomb threat prompts Leechburg schools to go on ‘soft lockdown’
Leechburg Area School District buildings went under a “soft lockdown” Tuesday morning after a bomb threat was made against the district, officials said. Leechburg police Chief Jason Schaeffer said his department was dispatched at 9:04 a.m. for reports of a bomb at one of the district’s schools. Borough police, state...
Housing Authority moves on $450K sewer project in Sewickley Township
The Westmoreland County Housing Authority is moving ahead with a $450,000 project to tap into public sewage lines for a small community in Sewickley Township. Executive director Michael Washowich said the authority plans to close a small sewage treatment plant it owns at the Shaner Heights complex and connect sewage...
More than 150 people attend Diwali open house in McCandless
More than 150 people attended a celebration of Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, at an open house Nov. 13 hosted by Rep. Arvind Venkat, D-McCandless, at his McCandless office. Venkat was born in India and is Pennsylvania’s first state representative of Indian American background. He immigrated to the United...
Tarentum Council upping donations to town’s 3 volunteer fire departments
Tarentum Council is ramping up donations to its three fire departments, acknowledging the struggle volunteers face with decreased public aid. Direct contributions for each department will increase by $4,500 to $17,000 each for Eureka Fire-Rescue, Highland Hose and Summit Hose. Council approved the amounts in its preliminary $16.4 million budget,...
Dorseyville Middle School students present ‘Frozen Jr.’
The magical land of Arendelle came to life on the stage of Dorseyville Middle School Nov. 16-18 with its production of ‘Frozen Jr.’ The show featured songs from the Disney film, “Frozen”and followed the adventures of Princess Anna and her sister Elsa on their journey through danger that reinforced the...
‘All for it,’ Steelers fans praise Matt Canada firing
Steelers Nation was elated by Tuesday morning’s news that the struggling team fired offensive coordinator Matt Canada. “I don’t think he should have had the job in the first place,” said Billy Raught, 58, of Lower Burrell. “He wasn’t qualified.” Raught said he thinks the Steelers are worthy of a...
What local stores are open and closed on Thanksgiving?
There’s no panic quite like the one a holiday host feels when realizing they left a crucial ingredient off the Thanksgiving shopping list. If an emergency cranberry sauce run needs to happen, we’ve published a list of national chain store holiday hours, and here are a handful of local options:...
73 cats rescued from North Huntingdon home were living in misery, New Kensington rescue president says
The 73 cats rescued from a North Huntingdon home in 2020 were living in a state of misery, according to Becky Morrow, medical director and president of Frankie’s Friends. Rescuers found the remains of nine cats on the Leger Road property and they were able to save 65 of the...
Attorneys say there’s no basis to remove ‘forgotten’ notebook in Springdale injunction case
Attorneys representing the Springdale residents seeking to stop an implosion of the boiler house at the former Springdale power plant question why the property owner’s legal counsel wants to prohibit photographs taken during a site visit as evidence to be considered in the hearing. Attorney John Kane, who represents the...
