Local category, Page 842

Westmoreland County will pay $90,000 to the deputy director of the county’s shuttered juvenile detention center to end a federal discrimination lawsuit. Commissioners Sean Kertes and Doug Chew voted to authorize the settlement with Nicole Kamer, who claimed she was passed over for the top job at the Hempfield facility...

A felony charge filed against an Arnold woman accused of shooting her dog to death in June has been dropped. Arnold police charged Susan Mullenax, 49, of Alcoa Drive on June 11 with a felony count of aggravated cruelty to animals. She was detained for a day in the Westmoreland...

A gathering to celebrate the life of one of the six people who died in last week’s house explosion in Plum will be held Sunday afternoon. Family and friends of Kevin Sebunia, 55, will gather from 1 to 8 p.m. at Larry Mills Park to share photos, stories and messages...

Officials at Peoples Natural Gas Co. on Thursday would not say whether they had received reports of natural gas odors in Plum’s Rustic Ridge neighborhood in the days before a fatal house explosion. “It wouldn’t be appropriate for us to share any information on that front, because this is all...

Shaler police said the man they found dead Thursday morning in the Allegheny River was a missing township resident suffering from dementia. Mark Massimiani, 60, was found in the river near the 31st Street Bridge by a rowing group, Shaler police Chief J. Sean Frank said. Massimiani, who was last...

Paul Oravitz insisted his friend should come. He had called Andy Zarroli, a neighbor and friend, the night before a St. Patrick’s Day beer crawl that Oravitz and others in their Rustic Ridge neighborhood were attending. Oravitz asked Zarroli if he was coming. “I said, ‘No, I don’t want to...

Norvelt Volunteer Fire Department’s Parking Lot Bash and Car Cruise is set to return for its fourth consecutive year — offering a day of food, prizes, music and more. Located in the parking lot of the VFD at 2325 Mt. Pleasant Road in Mt. Pleasant Township, the event will run...

Stating that he is “extremely concerned” after a house blew up in Plum over the weekend, killing six people and causing catastrophic damage, Gov. Josh Shapiro has broadened the probe into the disaster by ordering the state Department of Environmental Protection to launch an investigation. The governor’s directive was issued...

The chow line at the Westmoreland County Courthouse is expected to reopen this fall. Commissioners on Thursday approved a contract with the owners of Caffe Barista in Greensburg to operate the cafeteria space on the Upper Park level of the courthouse that since 2016 has been a Subway restaurant. Subway...

Girls Volleyball Boosters car wash The Fox Chapel Girls Volleyball Boosters will host a fundraiser car wash on Saturday, Aug. 26 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Jiffy Lube, 201 Freeport Road in Aspinwall. Donations will be accepted. Proceeds from the event will benefit the varsity and junior varsity girls volleyball...

Thanks to a bunch of shrink wrap and grocery bags, Export has a new bench near Giuseppe’s Pizzeria on Kennedy Avenue. It was created through the use of local recycled plastics, part of Rotary International’s “End Plastic Soup” initiative, which aims to keep plastic out of the world’s oceans. The...

A Pine woman who served as treasurer for the organization overseeing the historic Fort Pitt Block House is accused of embezzling more than half of the $500,000 the nonprofit organization had in its coffers to preserve Pittsburgh’s oldest building. An Allegheny County Police detective on Thursday charged Rebecca Catherine Stein,...

Souvlaki, soutzoukakia, or spanakopita may be hard to say, but certainly are good to eat. These and other traditional Greek foods will be at the 2023 Taste of Greece Festival at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox church in McCandless, Aug. 31 to Sept. 3. The annual Greek food festival is open...

Roscoe James knows the value of a good, cold cup of lemonade. The 7-year-old Delmont resident hosted a lemonade stand the weekend of July 28-30, raising more than $200 which he donated to the Delmont Food Pantry. The miniature pantry is a box open the community at the borough’s Rose...

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Email news briefs and event information to pvarine@triblive.com. Rotary Oktoberfest set for Sept. 30 The Murrysville-Export Rotary will host its annual Oktoberfest celebration from 4-8 p.m. Sept. 30. The cost is $10 for adults, and includes a $2 food/drink coupon. Families and children are welcome. Proceeds will benefit local Rotary...

State police have released the names of two drivers killed in a Butler County head-on crash Wednesday morning. Hayden Ernest, 19, was driving northbound on Oneida Valley Road in Oakland Township around 6:15 a.m. when he crossed into oncoming traffic and crashed head-on into a car driven by Jacqueline Rock,...

Monroeville resident Enysah Roberts is all about giving back, and she plans to study subjects that will help her continue to do so. “I’m really interested in medicine and science and just helping people out, and I feel like medicine is the best way to do that,” she said. “I...

Double bill Two exhibits debut Friday at the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art at Ligonier Valley, off Route 711 south of the borough. “An Appreciation for the Familiar” features works by artist J.D. Titzel of Greenville, Mercer County. Titzel paints in watercolor and oil and also does graphite drawings. He...

With the handrails of the home-side grandstand at the Norwin Knights Stadium starting to detach from the structure and concrete and masonry showing signs of deterioration, a study will help school officials determine whether repairs or replacement are needed. The Norwin School Board this week approved the proposal from DRAW...

Students at Burrell School District’s Huston Middle School won’t be learning in air-conditioned classrooms any time soon. The school board Tuesday rejected bids to install air conditioning at the school. That’s because bids for the work, which was projected to cost about $1.2 million, came in at around $1.6 million....

Westmoreland County Community College nursing students receiving registered-nurse degrees can pursue a bachelor’s degree at Seton Hill University, as part of a newly announced partnership. The transfer agreement will allow students a chance to pre-plan their admissions and transfer options for a more seamless transition to Seton Hill’s bachelor’s degree...

A truck that hit a Pennsylvania Turnpike overpass bridge Thursday morning on Route 30 caused no structural damage to the span near the Irwin interchange, according to turnpike spokesperson Renee Vid Colburn. “We have a contractor that is working on the bridge and making a minor repair to it,” Colburn...