Regional category, Page 207

For Shannen Stolkovich, participating in the Westmoreland Interscholastic Reading Competition is more than just an opportunity to show her competitive side. The event, which includes students from districts across the region, also is a way for the 16-year-old junior at Greensburg Salem High School to touch on a childhood passion...

An 86-mile stretch of the Pennsylvania Turnpike will be closed in both directions late Saturday night into early Sunday morning, because of construction. Between 11 p.m. Saturday and 6 a.m. Sunday, construction crews will be working to remove the Country Ridge Road bridge, which carries traffic over the turnpike in...

Editor’s note: This is part of an occasional series examining how the coronavirus pandemic has affected the lives of members of our community. Donna LaMonaca is no stranger to helping others. A little less than a year ago, as the covid-19 pandemic ramped up across the world, the Windber resident...

JOHNSTOWN — Unbeknownst to anyone at the time, the Tuesday, March 17, 1936, edition of The Johnstown Tribune foreshadowed a historic tragedy in the city. One headline stated: “Heavy rainfall again threatens ‘record’ floods” in Pennsylvania. But that International News Service article, which did not even specifically mention Johnstown, was...

Saturday is the first day of spring — also known as the vernal equinox. Here are five questions answered to help you understand the science of the season. What’s an equinox? For two moments every year the sun passes directly above the equator — once in March and once in...

A person was struck and killed by a train traveling near Route 837 and Jones Lane in Carroll Township, Washington County, on Friday afternoon. The Washington County Coroner’s Office said the victim was struck shortly before 4 p.m. along the Norfolk Southern Railway tracks that run between Route 837 and...

Police say a Butler County man became so enraged when his pregnant girlfriend could not find him a cigarette that he choked and beat the woman, causing her to miscarry and ultimately killing the child. Damien Large, 19, was charged earlier this week with the Christmas Day assault on the...

As Pennsylvania officials work to roll back the number of covid-19 vaccine providers in an effort to streamline the process, several businesses across the region have learned they are slated to no longer receive first doses. Efforts to curtail the number of providers began in February, when Acting Secretary of...

News of updated student social distancing guidelines was met with enthusiasm Friday at Burrell School District, where Superintendent Shannon Wagner said about 70% of students have chosen in-person learning throughout the school year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines will allow schools to relax social distancing measures in...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice said Friday that 20 coronavirus deaths went unreported, on top of the 165 deaths he announced last week that were previously not publicized. The Republican governor vowed a “complete investigation, all the way down, to pinpoint exactly where the shortcomings are.” Those...

Two more Pittsburgh-based universities — Carlow and Point Park — plan to return to full in-person operations this fall. Friday’s announcements, the most recent in a series at local universities, came as the U.S. Department of Education announced an expanded list of areas new federal stimulus money can underwrite. Those...

Local religious leaders remembered the victims of the covid-19 pandemic with a virtual memorial service one year after the first coronavirus-related death in Pennsylvania. The Tree of Life congregation on Thursday evening hosted the online event, which they called “Covid-19 One Year Later: A Service of Remembrance, Healing and Renewal.”...

An 88-year-old Indiana County man who became disoriented and wandered away from his parked vehicle early Thursday was located by a team of searchers, according to state police. Trooper Clifford Greenfield said the man was found laying on the ground after two hours and was taken to an area medical...

A sign seeking job applicants hangs in the window of Anchor Inn in Harrison. It’s been there for about six months. That sign has garnered only two applicants, owner Joe Kolek said Thursday. “Everybody’s got ‘help wanted’ signs,” Kolek said. “I think everybody is in the same boat trying to...

More than 5,000 appointments for the covid-19 vaccine will be available next week through two area Mainline Pharmacy Group locations. Bushy Run Pharmacy, in Penn Township, and Blairsville Pharmacy, in Indiana County, have appointments available for those who qualify in phase 1A of the state’s vaccination plan. This phase includes...

What’s your musical pleasure? Country or classical, sacred or show tunes? There’s something on tap for every ear, along with an array of art exhibitions and other entertainment happenings. The details are here, in this week’s Big List. Art • What a drag: The Westmoreland Museum of American Art will...

Google is about to make its large footprint in Bakery Square even larger. Thursday morning, the company announced plans to expand its Bakery Square campus by adding three new floors this year, bringing its total footprint in the building to 320,000 square feet. Google said it will be taking the...

PNC will close three more bank branches in the Pittsburgh area in June. The branches that will close June 11 are in McCandless, Oakdale and Ambridge. Each will be consolidated with another location, bank spokeswoman Marcey Zwiebel said. The closings are driven by changes in the way customers are doing...

Five hundred people got their first dose of the Moderna vaccine at the launch of a drive-thru clinic Wednesday at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry. The hospital system is partnering with the Pittsburgh Penguins to continue a covid-19 community vaccination event series. On Monday, the two teamed up...

Indiana University of Pennsylvania Wednesday joined a growing chorus of universities announcing plans for in-person commencement this spring Officials said plans call for as many as six ceremonies May 7 and 8 for May and August 2021 graduates. Plans include a ceremony for graduates receiving master’s and doctoral degrees on...

The former president and CEO for the credit union at International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union No. 712 in Beaver was charged in federal court this week with embezzling more than $2 million. Stacey Shaw, of Industry, is charged by criminal information with embezzlement and willful failure to file...

An Indiana County man was indicted by a federal grand jury on Tuesday — months after police said he shot at a woman who had a protection from abuse order against him. Todd Matthew Jaksoh, 33, of Indiana, was indicted on one count of illegally possessing a weapon while subject...