Penn-Trafford Star category, Page 65
Penn Township man accused of assaulting teenager during food delivery
An 83-year-old Penn Township man was accused this week of sexually assaulting a teenage girl who made a food delivery to his home earlier this month. Clifford B. Wareham was charged Tuesday by township police with harassment and indecent assault in connection with the Dec. 21 incident that occurred at...
Penn-Trafford students nominated for National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences awardVideo
Last spring, two groups of Penn-Trafford High School video production students tied for first place in the National Academy of Television Arts & Science regional competition. Now, one of those groups will compete for a national NATAS Student Production Award. Junior Emily Coles and 2020 graduate Madison Pleins’ news segment,...
About 50% of Westmoreland County covid cases, deaths have come in December
Westmoreland County reported the most new coronavirus cases in about two weeks Tuesday. There were 466 new cases reported, the most since 542 cases were announced Dec. 15. Tuesday’s new cases bring the county’s total to 18,855. In December, there have been 9,594 cases reported, which account for about 51%...
Eastern area real estate transactions for the week of Dec. 27
Churchill Norene K D’Amico Ficery sold property at 306 Surrey Place to Julian Toker for $299,000. Edgewood Estate of Eugene Stern sold property at 520 Locust St. to Lawrence Connelly III and Carla Rosemarino for $266,849. Forest Hills Anna Geanous sold property at 245 Avenue B to Peachpit LLC for...
Checkpoint shields installed to boost covid-19 protection at Arnold Palmer airport
Acrylic shields are in place at the security checkpoint at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport as an added measure to help prevent the spread of covid-19. Installed the week of Dec. 18, the shields are meant to provide enhanced protection for passengers boarding Spirit Airlines flights and Transportation Security Administration officers...
Manor World War II veteran survived little-known Christmas Eve disaster off French coast
Carl Monk, like many World War II veterans, didn’t talk much about his experiences serving with the Army in Europe. He had a small shrapnel scar on his left elbow, received as his infantry unit fought in France in early 1945, and a brief tale of surviving a German submarine...
Covid numbers tallied for Penn-Trafford area
The state Department of Health reports there have been 1,242 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the Penn-Trafford area since the start of the pandemic in March. The department on Monday released data on confirmed cases of the virus in the six Penn-Trafford area ZIP codes, showing an increase of 175...
Postal Service struggles with record demands as Christmas draws near
First it was the election and questions about whether the Post Office could be relied upon to deliver millions of mail-in ballots. Now, barely six weeks later, an unprecedented uptick in packages from online shoppers and staff shortages exacerbated by a rash of covid-19 outbreaks are combining to strain the...
Pine-Richland’s Cole Spencer tabbed state’s Class 5A Player of the Year
Postseason honors continue to roll in for Pine-Richland’s Cole Spencer. After leading the Rams to WPIAL and PIAA championships this fall, the senior quarterback was named the state’s Class 5A Player of the Year on Wednesday in a vote by Pennsylvania football writers. The Trib HSSN Football Player of the...
Westmoreland County issues final covid-relief grants
More than $615,000 in covid relief grants were handed out Tuesday to local volunteer fire departments and emergency medical service units as Westmoreland County exhausted its share of federal stimulus money to help struggling businesses, nonprofits and municipalities amid the ongoing pandemic. Commissioners awarded 24 volunteer fire departments and 10...
Westmoreland food bank benefits from annual United Way fundraiserVideo
Rather than mapping out the most efficient route through the East Pittsburgh Street Shop ’n Save in Greensburg on Monday evening, Renee Sasanko spent her time deciding on a nonprofit organization that would benefit from a $750 donation. The United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania’s annual fundraiser, which normally sends one...
No raises in new year for Westmoreland elected officials
Westmoreland County’s elected officials will not get raises in 2021. Annual cost-of-living raises earned by county commissioners and row officers since 1995 have been determined by changes to the consumer price index calculated by the U.S. Department of Labor for Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. For 2021, that index...
Westmoreland County coronavirus rate five times higher than ‘substantial’ threshold
Westmoreland County’s coronavirus incidence rate — a statistic that tracks the spread of the virus through the population — has more than tripled in the last month. It was 516.5 for the most recently measured 7-day period, which ended Thursday, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health data. That’s down...
Jeannette community comes together to help girl who lost her momVideo
When 9-year-old Trinity Koshinsky’s mom died unexpectedly this month at their Jeannette home, two Jeannette police officers who responded to the scene knew they had to help Trinity have a happy Christmas. On Sunday, those officers led the way in their cruisers, lights flashing, so Santa Claus could make a...
Eastern area real estate transactions for the week of Dec. 20
Churchill Arlene Siegel sold property at 120 Thornberry Drive to Paul Rutherford and James Reese for $195,000. Delmont Sharon McGinnis sold property at 1114 Volek Court to Jack and Barbara Lyman for $335,000. Edgewood Dino DeFlavio sold property at 619 Greendale Ave. to Vane Investments Ltd. for $225,000. Michelle Gil...
Westmoreland County Sheriff won’t enforce Gov. Wolf’s new covid-19 orders
Add Westmoreland County Sheriff James Albert to the list of law enforcement officers vowing not enforce Gov. Tom Wolf’s temporary covid restrictions. Last weekend, Wolf suspended all indoor dining, closed entertainment venues, limited indoor gatherings to 10 people and outdoor gatherings to 50 and restricted all other in-person businesses to...
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Greensburg smashes fundraising goal, netting $233,950
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Greensburg hoped its online Guardian Angel Appeal fundraising campaign would raise about $50,000. Donors smashed that goal, then kept giving. The campaign raised $233,950. “There’s no way I could express how amazed I am at the success of the campaign, not because of any...
Trafford man accused of attacking 3 people
A Trafford man is accused by police of attacking three people on Third Street in the borough Thursday morning, according to court papers. Alfred H. Tournay III, 53, is charged with aggravated assault, burglary, criminal mischief, terroristic threats, disorderly conduct and harassment. Police were called to Third Street at 7...
Penn-Trafford elementary closed after 2 new virus cases
Sunrise Elementary School in the Penn-Trafford School District is closed after two more people in the building tested positive for the coronavirus. That brings the total active case count to three within 14 days, according Superintendent Matt Harris. The school was notified Friday morning of the new cases, Harris said...
Leechburg native Msgr. Larry Kulick named new bishop of Diocese of GreensburgVideo
Catholics in the Greensburg Diocese are celebrating an early Christmas gift from Rome: the appointment of one of their own, Msgr. Larry J. Kulick, as bishop-elect. Pope Francis announced the appointment of Kulick, a Leechburg native, as the sixth bishop of the diocese early Friday. The appointment of the 54-year-old...
Covid-relief grants available to Westmoreland emergency medical services
Twenty-one nonprofit emergency medical service departments are in line to receive $15,000 covid-relief grants as part of a new round of awards unveiled Thursday by Westmoreland County commissioners. Officials said nearly $400,000 remaining from grants earmarked for nonprofit agencies will be used to fund the program. “We are under a...
Gov. Wolf grants 5th extension to renew firearms carry permits
Gov. Tom Wolf’s decision to grant a fifth consecutive extension to renew firearms carry permits through March 31 couldn’t have been more timely, according to Westmoreland County Sheriff James Albert. The previous extension was set to expire Dec. 31 and Albert said his two deputies assigned the “appointment only” permit...
Several Penn-Trafford schools move to remote instruction leading up to Christmas
Penn-Trafford High School officials will close the building on Friday, after being notified of four positive covid-19 cases on top of four that were already reported within the past 14 days. “The district will follow the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Pennsylvania Department of Education recommendations,” Superintendent Matthew Harris...
Westmoreland commissioners approve budget with no tax hike
The coronavirus has been good for Westmoreland County’s bottom line. Commissioners on Thursday unanimously approved a $339.7 million budget for 2021 that does not raise property taxes in part because federal covid relief money held back to pay for personnel and other expenses related to the ongoing pandemic. Property taxes...
Pandemic drives Pittsburgh region’s food insecurity to new heights, reshapes assistance efforts
Food insecurity is an ongoing problem in the Pittsburgh region, made much worse by the covid-19 pandemic. Area food banks have responded by redoubling their efforts while facing new challenges. With pandemic restrictions putting many American breadwinners out of work or reducing their hours, food banks this year have been...
