Westmoreland category, Page 390
Norwin School Board approves policy that guides teaching of controversial issues
Norwin School Board on Monday approved guidelines for instructing students on controversial issues, including race relations, by employing what the district termed a balanced approach to presenting those issues, without inserting opinions or indoctrinating students to a particular viewpoint. The initiative to develop a policy on teaching controversial issues such...
Unity couple’s retrial delayed over dispute with lawyer
A retrial of a Unity couple convicted in 2018 was delayed after one of the defense lawyers withdrew from the case. Jury selection was to begin Monday in the case against Bruce Palmer, 37, and wife, Marie Ann Farabaugh Palmer, 43, whose convictions were later overturned. Prosecutors claim Bruce Palmer...
Derry Township man pleads guilty in 2018 crash that injured motorcyclist
A Derry Township man pleaded guilty Monday to being under the influence of marijuana and causing a crash that severely injured a motorcyclist more than three years ago. Orrin W. Burbank, 42, was charged last summer with aggravated assault with a vehicle and driving under the influence in connection with...
Jury seated in retrial of Allegheny Township man accused of multiple rapes
A Westmoreland County jury was seated Monday to hear evidence in the retrial of an Allegheny Township man accused of the rape and sexual assault of six women. Prosecutors claim Eric Wright, 50, was a serial rapist who committed crimes for nearly two decades. Originally charged with more than 50...
Woman accused by police of DUI in 3-vehicle crash that injured 7 in North Huntingdon
A North Versailles woman was arrested Monday by North Huntingdon police on multiple charges of DUI and aggravated assault by vehicle for causing a March 8 crash on Route 30 that sent seven people to the hospital, according to court documents. Police allege the driver of a 2017 silver Chevrolet...
Hempfield officials want to hear from residents in survey
Hempfield officials are seeking public input as they work to update their 16-year-old comprehensive plan. Township leaders have opened an online survey asking residents what issues they think are most important, what type of development they would like to see, what they think is the quality of life compared to...
Mt. Pleasant man jailed on $250K bond after accused by troopers of firing handgun at car
State police arrested a 25-year-old Mt. Pleasant man on accusations of firing a handgun at a car that drove past a friend’s home over the weekend, according to court documents. Joshua Scott Lucot was ordered held in the county prison on $250,000 bond after the incident at 2 a.m. Saturday...
Greensburg forum to discuss mental health, substance abuse issues
The crisis in mental health and substance abuse during the pandemic will be discussed by several speakers at a program planned from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday at the Greensburg YWCA, 424 N. Main St. Representatives from the Blackburn Center in Greensburg, MedMark Treatment Centers, Sage’s Army of Hempfield, Westmoreland...
Man arrested in 2021 Donegal Township wreck that injured 4
State police arrested a Jeannette man who they said was driving without a valid license at the time of a 2021 Donegal Township crash that seriously injured three others, according to court papers. Shane R. Mowry, 36, is charged with accidents involving death or injury and several summary vehicle citations,...
Wildlife observation blind to open at Murrysville nature reserve on Earth Day
The Westmoreland Conservancy will celebrate Earth Day on April 22 by officially opening a newly constructed wildlife observation blind along an accessible trail in the Moroisini Reserve off Ringertown Road in Murrysville. “We don’t want to leave anybody out. Accessibility — that’s a goal we really embrace,” said Shelly Tichy,...
Westmoreland drug task force director says animal sedative finding its way into region’s illicit drug supply
Local officials are concerned that an animal sedative that can cause skin and soft-tissue infections is increasingly being found in drugs in Philadelphia. Tim Phillips, director of the Westmoreland County Drug Overdose Task Force, said xylazine may already be mixed into stamp bags that are sold around Southwestern Pennsylvania. “I...
Hempfield Area freshmen would shift to middle school during construction project, under proposal
Ninth grade students in the Hempfield Area School District could move to a middle school building during the 2023-24 school year as district officials prepare for a multimillion-dollar high school construction project. The proposed plan, which would involve the restructuring of the district’s middle schools, works to limit the number...
North Huntingdon officials oppose senior project county housing authority wants to build in Irwin
With apologies to English novelist Charles Dickens’ “Tale of Two Cities,” it was both the best and worst of times last week for Westmoreland County Housing Authority’s plans to build a 50-unit senior apartment in Irwin, with an access road through North Huntingdon. The good time for the four-story Grand...
Hempfield man accused of stealing $200,000 from motor sports business
A Hempfield man is accused of taking about $200,000 from a Rostraver motor sports business in which he owned a stake, according to Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV. Edward Zdobinski, 49, of Arona Road is accused by Rostraver police of taking about $200,000 from Triple A Motor Sports, 857 Route 51,...
Delivery vehicle overturns on Hempfield road after colliding with car
A Chick-fil-A delivery vehicle ended up on its side Saturday afternoon on Roseytown Road in Hempfield after colliding with another vehicle, emergency responders said. The driver, a woman who was not identified, had to be freed from the vehicle, which overturned at the western entrance of the railroad tunnel near...
New North Huntingdon manager brings varied experience
An experienced city manager from West Virginia with Pittsburgh area roots will serve as North Huntingdon’s next township manager. Harry Faulk, city manager for Clarksburg, W.Va., will start his new role May 2. He will earn $106,000 a year, with a six-month severance agreement. Township commissiners voted unanimously to hire...
Apple Hill Players planning risque, romantic romp on Trafford stage
“Don’t Dress for Dinner” is a complicated play, but the Apple Hill Players don’t want audiences to think too deeply about it. The theater troupe will stage the madcap farce, replete with romantic hi-jinks and mistaken identities, from April 22-30 in the Trafford Performing Arts Center. “I think audiences have...
Penn-Trafford students headed to Dallas for international robotics competition
Penn-Trafford High School students will soon go head-to-head against high-schoolers from across the globe in an international robotics competition. In May, VEX Robotics will host its annual world championship in Dallas. Two of Penn-Trafford’s five robotics teams qualified for the event. The students will spend a week in the Lone...
Greensburg Salem School District projects no tax increase in preliminary 2022-2023 budget
Greensburg Salem school officials are planning to keep taxes steady as part of the district’s preliminary 2022-23 budget. While the board won’t adopt a final budget until June, business manager Joan Wehner said initial indications are expenditures and revenues each will increase to about $48.7 million, up from $48.1 million...
Group seeks racial equality at Greensburg Salem, decries school director’s Facebook post
A newly organized community group in Greensburg Salem School District says it wants to work with the school board to combat racism and racial bias and negative effects of such on students. Several members of CORES (Communities Organizing for Racial Equality in the Schools) additionally aired related concerns at Wednesday’s...
CBS to air investigation into safari death of Greensburg-area dentist’s wife
CBS this weekend will air an investigation into the death of Bianca Finizio Rudolph, the wife of former Greensburg-area dentist Lawrence Rudolph. “Death on Safari” will broadcast on “48 Hours” at 10 p.m. Saturday. It also can be streamed on Paramount+. Bianca Rudolph died of a gunshot wound during an...
Greensburg man who portrays Jesus Christ in ‘Way of the Cross’ reflects on 2 decades of the drama
More than two decades ago, a Greensburg pastor asked Rick Zabrosky if he’d participate in the city’s Passion of Christ drama that had taken place for several years. Zabrosky agreed to a small role: Barabbas, the murderer whom the crowd asked Pontius Pilate to free instead of Jesus Christ. The...
PennDOT plan to replace Fourth Street Bridge in North Irwin posted online
A virtual plan display for the proposed replacement of the Fourth Street Bridge in North Irwin is available online for area residents to view, PennDOT said. The bridge, located west of the intersection of Route 993 and Main Street, has been closed for several years because of deteriorating conditions, project...
North Huntingdon slide repairs, Penn Township pipe replacement set to detour traffic
Traffic detours are set to begin Monday for PennDOT projects in North Huntingdon and Penn townships. Crews are set to resume slide repairs in North Huntingdon. That work is expected to close a section of Guffey/Turner Valley Road, between Volk and Guffey roads, for up to 10 weeks. The marked...
Westmoreland Symphony to wrap 53rd season with ‘Beethoven’s Brilliance’
The Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra will conclude its 53rd season with “a brilliant, energetic, and touching musical document from the grand tradition established by Mozart and Haydn,” according to Artistic Director Daniel Meyer. The piece is Ludwig van Beethoven’s Mass in C, which will conclude “Beethoven’s Brilliance,” set for 7:30 p.m....
