Westmoreland category, Page 314
Westmoreland elected officials to receive record raises
Westmoreland County elected officials are getting huge raises in 2023. Commissioners, along with row officers and judges, will receive 7.8% higher wages next year under an existing pay structure put in place more than two decades ago to ensure the county’s election officials receive annual cost of living increases. Raises...
Out & About: CASA of Westmoreland gala honors volunteer of the year
Some people with a heart for helping children in difficult situations were recognized at the CASA of Westmoreland annual gala, held Dec. 3 at The Club at Blackthorne in Penn Township. The Court Appointed Special Advocates are specially trained community volunteers appointed by family court judges to provide support to...
Jeannette-area Wreaths Across America chapter expands to honor 1,800 veteransVideo
When Halle Copeman arrived at the Wreaths Across America event last year, she was running behind; there was only one headstone left where she could place a wreath. “I walked up, and it was my best friend’s grandmother,” Copeman of North Huntingdon said. “I got chills.” Copeman returned this year...
Vehicle hits porch of one property, goes sideways into a neighbor’s garage in Derry Township
No one was injured when a vehicle struck the porch and sidewalk of one property, before hitting the garage of another late Friday night, fire officials said. Bradenville Fire Chief Mark Piantine said an unidentified driver left Route 217 near its intersection with Route 30 shortly before 11:15 a.m. Friday....
Greensburg fourth graders get face time with ‘cool’ and ‘cute’ critters
Spiders, snakes, lizards and a llama were among more than two dozen exotic animals that were a highlight of Friday’s school day for a group of fourth graders. The students from Nicely Elementary in Greensburg judged some of the animals they encountered next door at Greensburg Salem High School to...
Greensburg’s Spring Avenue Park, city playgrounds targeted for upgrades next year
Greensburg’s 2023 agenda includes renovations to several city recreational facilities, among them Spring Avenue Park and some neighborhood playgrounds. Tapping several grant sources, the city hopes to seek bids in the spring for the proposed $535,000 park makeover in the 5th Ward. “We’re going to put a lot of money...
Teachers see tech center preparing students for a career
Greensburg Salem High School senior Allyssa Mattes wants to go to a technical school and work in a machine shop after graduation. Mattes was among those who told about 15 teachers from several school districts about the career-preparation programs at Central Westmoreland Career and Technology Center this week. As the...
Seton Hill lands grant to recruit, assist underrepresented students in science fields
Seton Hill University plans to recruit more than a dozen science majors while providing them with financial and academic support. The university in Greensburg will provide scholarships to 15 high-achieving students from the Pittsburgh region who are economically disadvantaged and are part of groups — including women and minorities —...
Stowe woman accused of bilking $13K in Westmoreland rental assistance cash for properties she doesn’t own
An Allegheny County woman is accused of stealing $13,000 in emergency rental assistance after police said she claimed to be the landlord of two properties in Murrysville and Export, according to court papers. Janice L. Koranteng, 57, of Stowe was arraigned this week on charges of theft, forgery, identity theft...
Turtle Creek man to serve 40-year prison sentence for sex trafficking of teen
A Turtle Creek man will serve at least 20 years in prison for the sex trafficking of a New Kensington teenager. Davon Allen Fuqua, 36, pleaded guilty in September to four felony offenses including the trafficking of minors, statutory sexual assault of a juvenile, promotion of prostitution of a minor...
Youngwood drug dealer sentenced to 8-year prison term
A Youngwood man acquitted last month of rape charges was ordered Friday to serve up to eight years in prison for a related simple assault of an 18-year-old woman and and for the possession of illegal drug offenses. Brandon Giron, 23, told a Westmoreland County judge he was ready to...
Injuries reported in Route 819 car crash
At least one person was injured in a car crash Friday evening on Route 819. The crash happened just after 7 p.m. in East Huntingdon in the area of the Route 119 exit ramp, according to a Westmoreland County dispatcher. State police out of Uniontown are handling the incident, the...
Bond set for Jeannette man charged in Rialto stabbing
A Westmoreland County judge ruled a Jeannette man charged with attempted homicide during a stabbing in front of the Rialto Bar and Bistro last month in downtown Greensburg can be released from jail as he awaits trial. Common Pleas Judge Christopher Feliciani set a $250,000 straight cash bond for Anthony...
Irwin man among 3 suspects nabbed in West Mifflin drug bust
An Irwin man was among three people jailed in Allegheny County this week after drugs, guns and cash were found during a raid in West Mifflin, West Mifflin police said. Police said the illegal items confiscated were heroin, cocaine, pure fentanyl and fentanyl pills, marijuana, as well as four handguns,...
Police: Homeless man took drugs into Latrobe library
A homeless man faces charges after, police say, he took drugs and hypodermic needles into Latrobe’s Adams Memorial Library. According to police, Alexander Kimmick, 24, locked himself in the library bathroom with the drug paraphernalia on Monday. Library staff told Kimmick to leave to no avail. Kimmick continued to refuse...
Police charge Blairsville man in connection with Latrobe burglary, theft
A Blairsville man faces charges after police say he burglarized a Latrobe home and stole a laptop from it. Thursday morning, a man told police that someone entered his Spring Street home and stole his MacBook, backpack and several other items. Using security cameras, Latrobe police found that Vincent Skillings,...
Vote totals from recounted precincts certified in Westmoreland County
The Westmoreland County Election Board this week issued a final certification of results from five voting precincts subjected to a court-ordered recount. Voters from precincts in Salem, Hempfield, Loyalhanna, Lower Burrell and Ligonier Borough petitioned the courts to recount votes cast as part of the Nov. 8 general election for...
Proposed 2023 Penn Township budget focuses on capital projects
Penn Township commissioners will vote on a proposed 2023 budget Dec. 21 that includes a host of capital improvement construction projects. The $10.3 million spending plan does not raise any taxes or cut any services, according to township finance director Colleen Gain. Most notable in the budget, Gain said, are...
Westmoreland commissioners agree to settle 2 federal lawsuits
Westmoreland commissioners on Thursday approved payments totaling $45,000 to settle two federal lawsuits. One case involved a whistleblower lawsuit brought in 2017 by a deputy sheriff who claimed the department’s drug-sniffing dog was removed from his care as retaliation for speaking with state investigators probing suspected election law violations by...
Texas truck driver granted bail in Hempfield hit-and-run case
A Texas man was granted bail Thursday after spending two weeks behind bars in connection with a Hempfield hit and run that left a man seriously injured. District Judge Joseph DeMarchis set $100,000 bail for Quantae Beavers, 25, of Dallas. DeMarchis previously denied bail after Beavers’ Nov. 30 arrest in...
5 things to do in Westmoreland County this weekend: Dec. 16-18
Christmas classics Westmoreland Performing Arts will stage these holiday shows on Friday in Science Hall Theater at Westmoreland County Community College, 145 Pavilion Lane, Hempfield: • “A Christmas Carol,” 6 p.m. WPA’s Home and Cyber School Theatre Troupe will present an adaptation of the Charles Dickens’ classic through a series...
Corporate exec pleads guilty to forging fake divorce papers to keep up affair
A North Huntingdon corporate executive pleaded guilty Thursday to forging a judge’s name on a fake court record as part of a plot police said was designed to convince his lover to continue an extramarital affair. Dennis George Durmis Jr., 50, was ordered to pay a $1,500 fine and perform...
Westmoreland Mall seeing strong holiday turnout
It seems as if — at least this holiday season — what was old is new again at Westmoreland Mall. On a December afternoon, the mall is buzzing with happy shoppers, hungry food court patrons and cheerful Christmas tunes. Children wave to their parents from the Christmas train, a kiosk...
Greensburg OKs budget with no tax hike, expands role and salary of rec superintendent
Greensburg Council this week finalized a 2023 city budget of about $13 million without increasing taxes. City property owners will continue to pay real estate taxes totaling 27.05 mills. That amount includes 1 mill each to help support the Greensburg Hempfield Area Library and to cover public safety expenses that...
Holiday carols, characters featured at Hutchinson Elementary Light-Up
More than 250 vehicles lined up Thursday evening for a spin around Amos K. Hutchinson Elementary during the school’s second annual Light-Up Night. In addition to festive lights and inflatable figures, visitors to the Southwest Greensburg school were greeted by holiday characters, Christmas music performed by school and community groups...
