Westmoreland category, Page 135
Joanne Mertz, founding force behind Greensburg-area disaster unit and Mutual Aid EMS, dies at 93
When Joanne Mertz planned disaster drills for Greensburg firefighters, she didn’t have to look far for help to play victims. “Us as kids, we would be the patients,” said her daughter Sandy Young. Young and her siblings would run around and act hysterical, at their mother’s request, to help the...
Pair of Army nonagenarians honored to serve as parade marshals for Latrobe’s July 4 bash
Celebrating the nation’s birthday in Latrobe started long before the Fourth of July parade stepped off Thursday. Chairs were set up along Ligonier Street hours in advance. Crowds decked out in red, white and blue started gathering on the hot and humid morning, one child asking his father how long...
18-year-old man dies when tree falls on him in North Huntingdon
An 18-year-old man was killed Thursday when a tree fell on him in North Huntingdon, according to Westmoreland County Coroner Tim Carson. The incident occurred about 11:30 a.m. on Winchester Road, near the Trafford Sportsman’s Club. According to a statement from North Huntingdon police Chief Robert Rizzo, the man and...
Here are 5 things to do in Westmoreland County this weekend: July 5-7
Had enough fireworks yet? Make the most of your post-Fourth weekend with these events around the county: Arts and heritage festival Running all weekend, the 50th year of the Westmoreland Arts and Heritage Festival will feature activities for everyone. Held at Twin Lakes Park, east of Greensburg, the festival will...
Latrobe to honor veterans with concert at close of 4th celebration
Latrobe’s celebration of the nation’s birth will come to a close Friday with an appreciation of the men and women who have devoted themselves to protecting their country. The community’s two-day observance of the patriotic holiday will have a fitting finale, with a Warriors Rock concert honoring and benefiting military...
Murrysville swears in new police chief, captain
Murrysville has a new police chief and a new police captain. Former Capt. Tom Kusinsky was sworn in Monday to replace retiring Chief Tom Seefeld, and Dave Coleman was promoted replace Kusinsky as the department’s police captain. Seefeld retired after a career spanning more than four decades and multiple police...
North Huntingdon switching public alert system
An upgraded emergency alert system will provide more notifications to North Huntingdon residents, but it will cost the township nearly twice as much as it’s paying for the old platform. The township is shifting from the Nixle alert system to the Everbridge Inc. platform, as of July 15, said Jonathan...
Derry Borough man receives 2 years’ probation for threats, ethnic intimidation at Latrobe bar
A Derry Borough man who authorities said pointed a gun at two men and directed a racial slur at them told a Westmoreland County judge Wednesday that he made a great mistake. “It’s been quite a burden on my soul,” said Charles Noel, 68. Noel will spend two years on...
Damage to Westmoreland covered bridge minor; oversized trucks cause for concernVideo
Westmoreland County crews promptly repaired cosmetic damage caused this week when a flatbed trailer struck the entrance of the Bells Mills Bridge in South Huntingdon. Still, concerns remain about the ongoing problem of oversized vehicles squeezing through and damaging the historic wooden covered bridge, the last such span in the...
Greensburg, Southwest Greensburg honor 43 in latest Hometown Hero banner ceremony
Although he didn’t talk about it much, Charles Galbraith was proud of the two years he served in the Army. Galbraith is one of 43 veterans, first responders and local officials who were honored Saturday evening at St. Clair Park with Hometown Hero banners in Greensburg and Southwest Greensburg. Galbraith...
Bail for Ligonier Township man who was focus of April police standoff set at $150,000
A Westmoreland County judge on Wednesday set bail at $150,000 for a Ligonier Township man who has been behind bars in connection with a domestic dispute and hourslong police standoff in April. Thomas U. Crary, 47, had been held without bail since his arrest. In seeking bail to be set,...
Learn about the coyote lifestyle at Murrysville Community Park
Coyotes are not out there hunting for your tiny dog, Pennsylvania wildlife experts say. But they are opportunistic predators, and smaller canines are similar enough to the rabbits, squirrels and other small game that coyotes regularly hunt. A Pennsylvania State Game Warden and local wildlife expert will be on hand...
Westmoreland Arts and Heritage Festival marks half-century
At Seton Hill College in 1974, the first Westmoreland Arts and Heritage Festival had around 20 booths. Fifty years later, the festival will pack 380 booths across 8 acres at Twin Lakes Park east of Greensburg. “We continue to grow and continue to get recognition locally and nationally,” executive director...
A traveling replica of George Washington’s headquarters on display at Fort Ligonier this weekend
A traveling replica of George Washington’s headquarters and sleeping tent is on display at Fort Ligonier through Sunday. The large linen tent is filled with reproductions of period artifacts and equipment. Presented by Philadelphia’s Museum of the American Revolution, the exhibit includes costumed interpreters who assembled a replica of another...
Mt. Pleasant borough manager gets 27% pay raise; council fires part-time cop
Mt. Pleasant Borough Manager Sharon Lesko’s duties have expanded once again, following her promotion from assistant borough manager shortly after the May 4, 2023, death of Jeff Landy. Her salary’s growing, too, after council this week approved a contract that gives her a 27% pay raise, from $55,000 to $70,000...
‘I think … we’re through the surprises,’ overseer of Westmoreland Register of Wills Office says
Work evaluating stacks of files reportedly found in the former chief deputy’s office at the embattled Westmoreland County Register of Wills Office continues while an office retiree is back on the job to help train staff members. Attorney Jim Antoniono, who has been appointed conservator to oversee the office, said...
New Florence mosquito tests positive for virus similar to West Nile
A mosquito sample taken in New Florence has tested positive for a rare disease that first cropped up in Colorado in 1961 and has been known to cause severe conditions including infection of the brain and spinal cord. There haven’t been any reported cases of the Jamestown Canyon virus being...
Drug case proceeds against suspect in fatal Export shooting
A man who police say was involved in a deadly shooting last month in Export waived his right to a preliminary hearing on drug charges Tuesday, sending that case to Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court. Matthew A. Miller, 32, of Export has yet to be charged in connection with the...
Westmoreland happenings: Blood drive, free admission, more
Church news • Greensburg Church of the Brethren will host a night of fun and fellowship for individuals and groups with developmental disabilities from 5 to 7 p.m. Mondays at the church, 554 Stanton St., Southwest Greensburg. Dinner is included. Participants must be accompanied by a family member or caregiver....
When George Washington was a general, what was his tent like? Find out at Fort Ligonier
A traveling replica of George Washington’s headquarters and sleeping tent will be featured at Fort Ligonier fort Friday through Sunday. The large linen tent is filled with reproductions of period artifacts and equipment. Presented by Philadelphia’s Museum of the American Revolution, the exhibit includes costumed interpreters who will assemble a...
As solar farms begin to blossom in region, some townships look to adopt regulations
Ella Lenhart has a bird’s-eye view of what might be the largest solar panel farm in Westmoreland County: hundreds of panels spread across an enclosed area of a 134-acre parcel in Cook Township. It’s a sight Lenhart does not find all that pleasing. “I had a really nice view until...
Spirit to cut back on Palmer Regional flights to Orlando
Spirit Airlines plans to eliminate daily flights from Arnold Palmer Regional Airport to Orlando in August and September, the Florida-based airline said Monday. Spirit will fly only four days a week — Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday — from the Unity airport to the Orlando MCO airport during those two...
Cleanup of Bushy Run Battlefield tornado damage could take months, officials say
Standing at the head of one of Bushy Run Battlefield’s wooded trails on Monday, it’s hard to tell that a footpath through the trees ever existed. Downed trees, branches, leaves and debris completely block the way, leaving clearings where there once was forest and thickets where paths were once passable....
Long-troubled Shuman to reopen Tuesday under new management
Three years after the troubled Shuman Juvenile Detention Center was shut down and its license revoked, the facility will reopen Tuesday on the same site in Pittsburgh but under new management, giving Allegheny County a dedicated place to keep troubled youths for the first time since 2021. Highland Detention at...
Connellsville man accused in road rage incident in South Greensburg
WPA 7/2A Connellsville man is accused of causing $2,680 in damage to another motorist’s vehicle during a road rage incident last month in South Greensburg. Borough police said Michael James Gravely, 36, directed racial slurs at the other driver while both were stopped at a red light on Route 119...
