Westmoreland category, Page 249
Greensburg legal services office merges with regional organization
Laurel Legal Services in Greensburg is now known as Summit Legal Aid after merging operations with Southwestern Pennsylvania Legal Aid in Washington. The organizations have the same mission, to provide individuals with limited resources free community legal services in family, housing, financial security and domestic violence matters. As Summit Legal...
Penn Township planning ahead for Pa. Turnpike interchange
Penn Township will request $20 million through a state grant program to put toward future capital projects, including the upcoming Pennsylvania Turnpike interchange on Route 130. “We know that the turnpike interchange is coming,” township secretary/manager Mary Perez said. “In anticipation of any type of capital need or perhaps a...
Popular summer day camp at Hempfield challenged with finding staff
Hempfield’s summer day camp has expanded in popularity, but it is struggling to field enough staff to keep up with demand. “We’re providing a service that is in great need,” Parks and Recreation Director Marissa Haynes said at a township supervisors meeting this week. “We are maxed out everyday, and...
Greensburg mom shares family moment at veteran memorial
Greensburg mom Adina North shared a snapshot of a heartfelt family moment at St. Bartholomew Catholic Church in Crabtree. She and her family attended a funeral for their relative, John Barchiesi, 88, of Crabtree, at the church earlier in July. North and her kids were standing outside when she reminded...
Ligonier Valley police justified in fatal shooting of man with machete, DA says
Police were justified in their fatal shooting of a man armed with a machete in a July 2 domestic incident in Ligonier Township, Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole W. Ziccarelli said Friday. Westmoreland County detectives said Robbie Thomas Saunders, 59, aggressively approached two Ligonier Valley Police Department officers and was...
Police: Trafford man arrested during ‘ride-out’ at Pittsburgh airport
A Trafford man who was wanted on a warrant was arrested early Friday after a stolen license plate was discovered in his vehicle at Pittsburgh International Airport, Allegheny County police said. Dashawn Evans, 41, was charged with receiving stolen property and multiple traffic citations after police arrived at the airport...
Trafford man arrested at Pittsburgh airport in car stolen out of Altoona
Dozens of “high-end performance vehicles” trekked to Pittsburgh International Airport to race in the dead of night Thursday — and police said they apprehended a Westmoreland County man driving a stolen car. Allegheny County police said officers saw a number of cars gathering at the airport’s public arrivals curb around...
Police: Hempfield woman stole money while working at Citizens Bank
A Hempfield woman was arrested Friday on police accusations that she stole $3,300 from a bank where she worked, according to court papers. Rachel A. Bates, 25, is free on $10,000 unsecured bail on felony charges of theft and receiving stolen property. An investigator from Citizens Bank contacted Westmoreland County...
Salem barn destroyed by fire following lightning strikeVideo
Ed Immel was getting ready for bed on Thursday night when a loud clap nearly shook him out from under the covers. “I thought it was just thunder,” he said. A few minutes later, he saw a dull orange glow out the window and knew that his barn was on...
‘Changed man’ gets probation for police standoff and parking lot attack
On Thursday, nearly two years after he barricaded himself in his Hempfield home and tried to kill himself, George Gardner claimed he was a new man. Gardner pleaded guilty Thursday to charges that stemmed from two separate incidents in 2021 in which authorities said he shot at his wife and...
South Greensburg man pleads guilty to recording sex with teen
A South Greensburg man pleaded guilty Thursday to charges that he recorded video of sexual encounters with a teenage girl. Police said Nicholas James Rossi, 27, had a seven month sexual relationship with a then 17-year-old girl in 2021 and 2022 in which he recorded their sex acts. Rossi pleaded...
Hempfield closes on former state prison property, bulks up security
Hempfield officially received a full box of keys to the former SCI Greensburg state prison facility after closing on the property last week. “There are a lot of keys to a prison, I found out,” township manager Aaron Siko joked at a meeting this week. The township supervisors announced the...
North Huntingdon moves step closer to residential rental registry
Landlords renting homes and apartments in North Huntingdon will have to register their buildings and tenants and pay a fee, if township commissioners approve a proposed ordinance. Commissioners on Wednesday authorized the township solicitor to write an ordinance requiring the registration of residential rental properties, despite concerns by some landlords...
Greensburg police officer pleads guilty in 2022 assault case, resigned from force
Editor’s note: Former Greensburg Kenneth Burke pleaded guilty Friday to an amended misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct and summary harassment. The charges to which he pleaded guilty were incorrect in the original version of this story. A suspended Greensburg police officer has been forced to resign after pleading guilty Friday...
Independence Health announces 4 members of leadership team
Independence Health System officially has a new leadership team, composed of four longtime department heads from the system’s component parts of Butler Health System and Excela Health. On Thursday, Independence introduced Dr. Carol Fox as chief medical officer; Dr. David Rottinghaus as president of Physician and Provider Network; Karen Allen...
Murrysville man will sing national anthem at PNC Park
Joe Hnath of Murrysville is making his mother proud at a pretty rapid rate these days. Hnath, 24, is on the autism spectrum and was diagnosed at age 2 with Asperger’s Syndrome. His mother, Lisa, is a volunteer education advocate with the nonprofit East Suburban Citizen Advocacy, which is dedicated...
Police try to ID suspect in East Huntingdon quick-change scam
State police are looking for a man who they said turned a water bottle purchase into a $1,000 theft at the East Huntingdon Walmart in a quick-change scam. Troopers released a surveillance image of the suspect on Thursday. They said he scammed the cashier on July 10 out of $1,000...
Local author, illustrator to host children’s book signing in Murrysville
Murrysville author Nina Damato and Kiski Area graduate and artist Rebecca Ehalt Svetina will host a book signing to mark the release of their new children’s book on July 22. “The Extraordinarily Ordinary Kittens,” released in mid-June, tells the story of Damato’s two adopted blind cats, Bocelli and Louise Braille,...
5 things to do in Westmoreland County this weekend: July 21-23
Sunset soiree Experience Fort Ligonier at twilight with a sunset tour from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday at the historical site at routes 30 and 711 in Ligonier. Guests will enjoy a guided tour of the fort’s museum and a wine, cheese and dessert reception on the education center patio....
Murrysville crash shears utility pole on School Road
School Road in Murrysville remained closed late Thursday morning after a car sheared a utility pole just south of Nob Hill Road. Murrysville police said the call came in about 9:30 a.m. and noted the male driver was not hurt when his car left the road, struck a utility pole...
Murrysville moves injection well ordinance forward for possible vote next month
Murrysville leaders will likely vote on an ordinance to regulate fracking injection wells at next month’s council session. Injection wells accept the wastewater, brine and byproducts of unconventional drilling operations, releasing the fluid into porous underground rock formations. Similar to the fracking ordinance Murrysville put in place several years ago,...
Kecksburg UFO Festival returns with out-of-this-world activities
Many Pennsylvania towns have summer festivals that serve as a community gathering and homecoming for native sons and daughters. None of them is quite like Kecksburg’s. The tiny Mt. Pleasant Township village will have its 18th annual celebration — the Kecksburg UFO Festival — Friday, Saturday and Sunday. There will...
MAWC buys Westmoreland Fayette sewer authority
Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County board members Wednesday approved a $17.5 million deal to purchase a small sewer system that serves Scottdale, a part of East Huntingdon as well as two communities in Fayette County. MAWC will pay $2.25 million in cash for the Westmoreland Fayette Municipal Sewage Authority and...
3 dogs die in Monessen house fire
Three dogs died in a house fire Wednesday afternoon in Monessen, authorities said. No people were in the home on Summit Avenue during the fire, and no other homes were damaged because of how far back the home is on the property, Monessen fire Chief Delmar Hepple said. “There was...
Bank forecloses on Jeannette EMS building as state health department plans talks with agency
A bank wants to take possession of the Jeannette EMS station to cover a $340,000 debt. KeyBank filed the mortgage foreclosure action Wednesday in Westmoreland County court claiming the ambulance station on South Sixth Street defaulted on repayments of a $275,000 line of credit issued in 2008. The agency used...
