Penn-Trafford Star category, Page 74

No additional staffers or residents of Westmoreland Manor have tested positive for coronavirus since last month, so in-person visitation at the county-owned nursing home in Hempfield could begin in two weeks, officials said Monday. In-person outdoor visits were suspended in late July, the same week they started, when officials learned...

A 10-year-old Westmoreland County girl who went to play at friend’s home in Manor told police hours later a relative of the friend exposed himself to her, borough police allege. After subsequent interviews with a child welfare specialist and police, Penn Township police were notified the girl said similar incidents...

The deputy director of Westmoreland County’s tax department was hired Monday as the new head of the county’s elections bureau. JoAnn Sebastiani, 62, of Hempfield will take over the office that will be under the microscope this fall as county officials gear up for what is expected to be the...

Is mid-August too early for pumpkin spice flavors to make their annual appearance? Not according to Dunkin’ and Starbucks. Fall products from Dunkin’ will be on the menu beginning Wednesday, their earliest-ever rollout. The Starbucks pumpkin spice latte will return Aug. 25, according to Business Insider. Are people craving cooler...

Churchill Katelyn Butler sold property at 2331 Forest Drive to Benjamin Wise and Kathryn Straatmann for $102,000. Delmont David Huczko sold property at 524 Athena Drive to Scott and Jessica Gordon for $228,500. Joseph Sesti sold property at 319 E. Pittsburgh St. to Robert Cole II and Kerri Rae Cole...

A Penn-Trafford School District staff member has tested positive for covid-19, district officials announced Friday. The staff member had been in close contact with other staffers, district Superintendent Matthew Harris said in a notice posted on the district website. “As soon as we became aware of the positive case, we...

Ten artists have been chosen to create original work for the Diversity Billboard Art Project created by the Westmoreland Diversity Coalition in partnership with The Westmoreland Museum of American Art. Their commissions will be inspired by the theme “Make Our Differences Our Strengths” to convey how diversity and inclusion can...

The former Sears wing at Westmoreland Mall once again is coming to life as facilities that cater to the now-under-construction casino at the mall open up shop. A recruitment center is set to open Aug. 24 in the former Barbara Ann’s Country Furnishings store, which moved upstairs, said Tom Meinert,...

Two state agencies issued warnings about contact tracing scams amid the coronavirus pandemic. According to the Pennsylvania departments of Health and Aging, scams include a caller asking for Social Security numbers or payment for services. Contact tracing is used to identify people who have come in close contact with someone...

Westmoreland County, as well as Fayette and Washington counties, face an uphill battle when it comes to recruiting poll workers for the presidential election this fall, researchers found. A study produced by Boston-­based bipartisan nonprofit The Voter Protection Corps and Carnegie Mellon University found the counties were among 15 across...

The Trafford Business Association is asking volunteers to lend a hand Saturday morning with a beautification project at a local restaurant that is in transition. Association President Larry George plans to cut and install cedar boards to put a new face on a chain link fence fronting an unused section...

The new chairman of Westmoreland County’s Republican Committee said he wants to keep the momentum that, for the last decade, propelled election day victories and voter registration surges that turned the local GOP from an afterthought to political dominance. “It wasn’t that long ago we were the group on the...

Fewer people have responded to the 2020 census across Western Pennsylvania than in 2010, new data shows. According to the Pennsylvania State Data Center, several area counties, including Allegheny and Westmoreland, are about 5 percentage points behind self-response rates recorded in 2010. That means fewer people so far have responded...

The Westmoreland County Airport Authority is moving ahead with interior and exterior improvements at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport, at a cost of about $5.8 million. The authority this week awarded contracts for expanding the passenger holding room and for continuing widening and strengthening of the runway at the Unity airport....

Seven local colleges and trade schools were awarded more than $900,000 in federal grants to help underwrite public health and safety plans for reopening shuttered campuses. The grants that flowed through the state are part of a $28 million pool of federal CARES Act money state officials set aside to...

Edgewood Jeremiah Lott sold property at 124 Dewey St. to Gretchen Snell Zelinsky for $245,000. Thomas Vandyke Schmaus sold property at 109 Ivy St. to Cory Francis Hayes and Alexa Donner for $183,000. Forest Hills MO Rentals Inc. sold property at 530 Atlantic Ave. to Erich Raymond Hulse for $78,500....

Bushy Run failed to hold an early lead and dropped a 6-3 decision to Bedford in the Region 7 American Baseball League Tournament at Hollidaysburg. The Westmoreland County American League Baseball playoff champion took an early 2-1 lead when Bret Andreani had an RBI single and Tommy Kuzinsky was hit...

From Aug. 14 to Oct. 21, Walmart Supercenters across the country are offering 320 free, socially distanced drive-in movies in 160 store parking lots, shown in partnership with the Tribeca Film Festival. All locations in the Pittsburgh area are sold out, including Walmart stores in North Huntingdon and West Mifflin....

Penn State Master Gardeners of Westmoreland County’s 2nd annual Monarch Migration Celebration has gone virtual, with seven weeks of activities to help children and their families learn more about monarch butterflies. The original celebration, held last September, was a single-day live event that drew about 150 participants. Organizers were hoping...

Westmoreland commissioners said Thursday that $10 million in grants for local small businesses and nonprofits hurt by the coronavirus pandemic won’t be awarded until the end of August. The county received 500 grant applications by last week’s deadline. While officials originally suggested that money could begin to flow as early...

Westmoreland County received a $3.4 million reimbursement from the state, which covers about 60% of the costs of new elections equipment purchased over the past year. That money, according to state guidelines, cannot be used to cover costs associated with the November presidential election, officials said. “It will have to...

The public has its first chance to tour the new dealer school at Westmoreland Mall this weekend, which is slated to produce employees for the casino under construction at the Hempfield facility. From 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, those interested in the school can speak with experienced table game dealers...

A safety measure added at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport this week will rid the air of any harmful bacteria or viruses to keep employees and travelers healthy, said Gabe Monzo, executive director of the Westmoreland County Airport Authority. An ultraviolet light system was installed in the Unity airport’s HVAC unit...

Applications for a 2021 Champions in Action award are being accepted by Citizens Bank, Trib Total Media and Pittsburgh Cares until Aug. 21. The program is seeking nonprofit applicants for work done related to covid-19 relief. “Applications will be accepted … from nonprofit organizations focused on solving post-pandemic social needs...