Westmoreland category, Page 375
Ex-Aquinas Academy teacher claims he was fired over same-sex relationship
A former teacher at Aquinas Academy in Greensburg claimed in a federal lawsuit Wednesday he was fired from his job last year because he is in a same-sex relationship. Kenneth Ference of Unity alleged in his lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Greensburg that Maureen Marsteller, the diocese’s superintendent...
Hempfield lawmaker’s bill targets Pitt, Penn State funding
Tuition funding for Pennsylvania students could be turned on its head in the coming years. On Wednesday, State Rep. Eric Nelson, R-Hempfield, introduced a bill that aims to redirect funds from Pitt, Penn State and Temple University to in-state students at all universities, private colleges, community colleges and technical schools...
Timeline details events surrounding Victor Steban’s crime spree, double homicide
Victor Steban of North Huntingdon on Wednesday admitted to killing a Penn Township couple in May 2021 after shooting at several area homes as part of what investigators say was a retaliation crime spree. The following is a timeline of events. Monday, May 15 • Multiple fire departments respond to...
Irwin: $800,000 needed for major road repairs for housing authority project
Irwin officials were told this week it could cost about $800,000 — money the borough does not have — to repair a section of a road connecting the site of a proposed senior citizen housing project with Route 30. Gibson-Thomas Engineering of Latrobe, the borough’s engineer, prepared the estimate for...
Out & About: Westmoreland Hospital Auxiliary hosts scholarship luncheon
Members of the Excela Westmoreland Hospital Auxiliary welcomed guests to lunch on Wednesday at the Greensburg Country Club. Seated around tables decorated with gerbera daisies, attendees opted for a meal of chicken Romano, chicken salad or vegetable lasagna. But the event was not just an opportunity to enjoy a good...
North Huntingdon man pleads guilty to killing Penn Township couple
The man who was brazen enough to gun down their brother and his girlfriend last year refused to even make eye contact with Seth and Zack Erdeljac as they sat in court for his sentencing Wednesday. “Evil does exist in this world, and it is sitting here in the courtroom...
Excela, Butler health systems announce merger, creating region’s 3rd hospital giant
A third Southwestern Pennsylvania health care conglomerate is in the works, as Excela Health and Butler Health System on Wednesday announced an intent to merge. “We believe strongly that our new partnership will extend our intellectual and financial capital,” John Sphon, Excela Health chief executive officer, said in a prepared...
Westmoreland happenings: Strawberry festivals, rummage sale and hat luncheon
Submissions from nonprofit organizations for Briefly Speaking can be emailed to cpinto-smith@triblive.com or mailed to Briefly Speaking, 210 Wood St., Tarentum, Pa. 15084. Include a complete address and daytime phone number. Submissions are due at least two weeks before the event. Each announcement is printed once; there is no fee....
New Stanton charity event will benefit Jamie’s Dream Team wish program
When Jamie Ward was in the hospital as a child, she made a point to give gifts brought by family and friends to other patients. Today, she continues this practice through a nonprofit called Jamie’s Dream Team. Ward, 34, of Trafford, was diagnosed with a rare condition called VATER syndrome...
Photo challenge focuses on busy bees and other Pennsylvania pollinators
Like bees to blossoms, photographers who like to focus on details of the natural world were drawn in large numbers to last year’s inaugural Pollinator Photo Challenge. Presented by Laughlintown’s Penguin Court nature preserve and the Westmoreland Pollinator Partners, the photo contest that is centered on images of bees, butterflies...
Natalie Carbone Mangini was trailblazing scientist, restaurateur
Natalie Carbone Mangini spent her life as a trailblazer, continually opening new doors for women in science while wearing the hats of mother and restaurateur. In 93 years, Mangini shattered the glass ceiling when she became the first woman scientist employed at the Westinghouse Bettis Atomic Power Division, raised four...
Write-in candidate wins Democratic primary to run for 55th District state House seat
A retired corporate executive has won the Democratic primary to run for the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives seat in the 55th District. Westmoreland County elections officials Tuesday issued a precertification of results from the May primary that included more than 600 write-in votes for Scott Gauss of Murrysville in...
Greensburg woman resentenced for 2010 torture killing of mentally disabled victim
The youngest member of a group of six Greensburg roommates convicted for the 2010 torture slaying of a mentally disabled woman will be eligible for parole at the age of 78 under a new sentence imposed Tuesday. Angela Marinucci, now 29, was resentenced to a term of 60 years to...
TSA catches 2 guns at Pittsburgh International over holiday weekend, 1 carried by employee
An employee at Pittsburgh International Airport is charged with carrying a firearm without a license after security officials found him with a loaded handgun, according to Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein. Court records identified the man as Damien Wright, of Wellsville, Ohio. Farbstein said he is an airplane cabin...
GoFundMe established for 12-year-old struck while riding hoverboard in South Huntingdon
Family and friends of a 12-year-old girl who was critically injured Saturday when she was pinned beneath a pickup while riding a hoverboard in South Huntingdon continue to wish for her recovery and have set up a GoFundMe account to defray expenses. Peyton Benner, a sixth grader at Yough Middle...
Man accused of leading police on 120 mph pursuit on Route 22 before crashing in Salem
A Baltimore man is accused of leading state troopers on a 5-mile pursuit through a construction zone on Route 22 Sunday at speeds of 120 mph before crashing his car over a guardrail at the Route 66 interchange in Salem, according to court records. Steven T. Randall, 42, is charged...
Monessen superintendent charged with indecent exposure, open lewdness
The superintendent for the Monessen School District was charged with indecent exposure and open lewdness after police say she was discovered in a state of undress with a man in the parking lot of a county-owned apartment complex. Charleroi Regional Police were called to the Nathan Goff Jr. Apartments on...
Trafford resident takes on local West Nile virus monitoring
Mosquito season has arrived in Westmoreland County and, just in time, so has a new staffer to oversee monitoring of those insects for the West Nile virus they can spread. Christina Edwards-McCune of Trafford came on board May 9 as the new West Nile virus program technician for the Hempfield-based...
Greensburg man charged with rape, sexually assaulting 2 girls in 1990s
A 64-year-old Greensburg man was arrested by state police Friday after he was accused of raping and repeatedly sexually assaulting a girl over five years in the 1990s and sexually assaulting another girl during the same time period, according to court records. Morton W. Thomson Jr., 64, was arraigned on...
MacPherson named new chief of staff for Westmoreland Commissioner Chew
Westmoreland County Commissioner Doug Chew’s chief of staff Heather Cordial is leaving her post for a position with the state Department of Environmental Protection. Chew announced on Sunday that Cordial will be replaced by Bob MacPherson of Sewickley. “Heather always had a smile in the commissioners’ suite, and she’ll be...
SupperMarket food, music nights set for Lincoln Highway Experience
The Lincoln Highway SupperMarket is set to return June 1 to the grounds of the Lincoln Highway Experience in Unity. Now in its ninth year, the outdoor food and music festival will be held each Wednesday through Aug. 24, weather permitting, on the museum grounds at 3435 Route 30 East....
Tarentum Manager Michael Nestico excited for new post in Murrysville, proud of work in borough
Outgoing Tarentum Borough Manager Michael Nestico is eager to rebuild ties with Westmoreland County when he assumes the position of top administrator in Murrysville next month. A resident of Jeannette, Nestico worked as an attorney and municipal manager there before taking the reins in Tarentum five years ago. “I’m looking...
What’s That: The concrete remains of an old lumber mill in GreensburgVideo
Behind Offutt Field in Greensburg, a walk along South Urania Avenue offers an unencumbered view of the football game, along a long stretch of unusually thick concrete that runs for several hundred feet along the road. As it approaches what is now MB Bride, the concrete wall is broken up...
Gold Star Mothers honored during Trafford Memorial Day program
Trafford resident Christine Fike marked Memorial Day by laying roses at the base of a hometown monument that is dedicated to Gold Star mothers. Fike is one of those mothers who has lost a child killed while serving in the U.S. armed forces. Her 38-year-old son, Sgt. First Class Robert...
Educator joins West Overton staff as whiskey distiller
The real potency of the whiskey being produced at West Overton Village is its ability to capture in barrels and bottles the history of the rural community’s 19th century industrial transformation. So it seems natural those in charge of the East Huntingdon museum complex turned to a home-brewing enthusiast with...
