Westmoreland category, Page 407
Norwin board pulls plug on CNN 10
The Norwin School Board pulled the plug Monday on daily broadcasts of CNN 10 to middle school students, and the television will be shut off in the classrooms unless students, teachers or administrators want them to watch the broadcast or videos pertaining to topics such as Veterans Day or the...
Child endangerment trial begins for father accused of leaving kids alone on cold Greensburg street
A Westmoreland County jury will begin hearing evidence Tuesday in the case against a man charged with allowing his three young children to wander the streets of Greensburg alone on a cold Valentine’s Day two years ago. Prosecutors contend Antonio Partlow, 33, and his wife, of Charleroi, were asleep shortly...
Commonwealth Court denies Murrysville Watch Committee’s appeal of fracking ordinance
Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court this week denied the Murrysville Watch Committee’s appeal of its failed challenge to Murrysville’s fracking ordinance. Initially filed as a challenge to the Murrysville Zoning Hearing Board, which upheld the ordinance on unconventional gas well drilling, appeals at the county (2020) and now state level (2021) have...
Dog or coyote? DNA test confirms species of animal that escaped from Westmoreland rehab center
One question has been answered about the animal that was undergoing tests to determine if was a coyote or a dog. DNA testing confirmed it is 100% a coyote, said Morgan Barron, wildlife rehabilitator. But another question remains: Where is it? The coyote escaped in late January from Barron’s Mt....
Hempfield man accused of jumping in and out of traffic on Route 136
A Hempfield man is free on bail after state police said he jumped in and out of traffic Friday and fought with troopers, according to court papers. Kenneth Wayne Barron II, 22, is charged with resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, obstruction of highways and public drunkenness. Police said they were called...
New $1.7 million Greensburg public works building could be finished in March
A new public works building in Greensburg is almost complete, more than two years after the old one was destroyed in a fire. Tom Bell, director of public works, said officials could move into the building on South Urania Avenue in March, with final inspections expected in the next two...
PennDOT set to replace poor-rated Mt. Pleasant Township bridge, posts plans online
PennDOT is planning to replace a bridge in Mt. Pleasant Township that is among more than 140 state-inspected spans in Westmoreland County rated in poor condition. The project on Ankney Hill Road is slated for construction from the spring of 2023 through the following fall, according to a virtual plans...
Power of love: Couples navigate pandemic challenges to find that special someone
The covid-19 pandemic has affected so many of life’s memorable moments and even impacted everyday events, from schooling to dining out to visiting family members. One thing it hasn’t overpowered is love. “Dating and marrying during the pandemic was and has been an extremely unique experience. Looking back, it all...
Westmoreland Online Academy eyeing expansionVideo
Leaders from three area school districts want to take advantage of the success of the Westmoreland Online Academy by expanding the program to middle and high school students. The online academy — a collaboration between Hempfield Area, Franklin Regional and Norwin school districts — was created in response to the...
Westmoreland County to boost program to help jail inmates re-enter society
Westmoreland County court officials expected a program launched in early 2020 to assist jail inmates to reintegrate into society to be off and by running now. After two years of restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, officials are looking to kick-start the effort to help convicted criminals acclimate back into...
Donetta Ambrose, legal trailblazer, retires from U.S. District Court after 28 years
For a time in the mid-1970s, Donetta Ambrose was the only woman practicing law in Westmoreland County. Then in 1981, she became the first woman to be elected as a Westmoreland County Court of Common Pleas judge. Later, after former President Bill Clinton appointed Ambrose to be a federal judge...
Greensburg Night Market plans expansionVideo
The Greensburg Night Market is getting bigger this year, both in size and in the number of vendors who set up shop during the event. This year, the market will stretch three city blocks, running along South Pennsylvania Avenue from West Otterman to West Third streets. The event usually takes...
Idlewild images, history to be featured at Latrobe society meeting
The history of Idlewild Park will be featured this week during the annual membership meeting of the Latrobe Area Historical Society. Local author Jennifer Sopko will share photos and information she has collected about the popular Ligonier Township amusement park during a meeting at 10 a.m. Feb. 19 at the...
Police arrest 2nd suspect in Greensburg shooting
The second of two men wanted in connection with a Jan. 30 shooting in Greensburg was arrested Friday afternoon, according to police. Stevin “Twogunz” S. German, 27, of Allison, near Uniontown, was charged with aggravated assault and reckless endangerment after allegedly engaging in a shootout with Evan R. Curley, 24,...
Work begins on comprehensive plan for Greensburg’s parks and recreation department
Greensburg’s parks and recreation department will soon have a comprehensive plan to help guide various aspects like programs and renovations over the next several years. Work on the Parks, Recreation and Open Space Plan began in December, said Lydia Kinkaid, the city’s recreation program manager. The document will be able...
Gifts to foundation fuel stadium, STEM upgrades at Derry Area School District
Donors are needed to help the Derry Area School District Foundation keep driving forward with projects to enhance athletics, academics and agricultural and arts programs for students. That’s the goal of the foundation’s Four A’s Initiative, a Trojan’s Spear Alumni Association effort. The initiative has raised $450,000 in charitable contributions...
Fire destroys Mt. Pleasant retreat center’s maintenance building but no lodging affected, no one hurt
While no one was hurt, the loss of the Laurelville Retreat Center’s maintenance building in a large fire early Saturday morning took out the resort’s main base of operations, according to its director. Firefighters from multiple companies responded to Laurelville Retreat Center along Mennonite Camp Road in Mt. Pleasant for...
‘A shining, positive light’: Friends, family remember Southmoreland coach Ron Frederick
The last football game that Rob Frederick watched his brother Ron coach wasn’t a Southmoreland game. Instead, it was a youth football league game in which Ron’s son, Colin, played. Rob said he was “captivated” watching Ron coach Colin. There was more pep in the proud father’s step that game....
Hempfield man pleads guilty to assault of ex-girlfriend at Unity hotel
A Hempfield man was ordered to serve up to 23 months in prison for a violent assault of a former girlfriend last year in a Unity hotel. Jule A. Mascherma, 34, pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated assault, simple assault and terroristic threats in connection with an incident last March...
Pitt is firing 9 staffers for failing to comply with covid vaccine mandate
The University of Pittsburgh has confirmed it is firing nine staff members for failing to comply with the university’s covid-19 vaccine mandate. “We are in the process of terminating the nine staff members who have not come into compliance,” university spokesman David Seldin said Friday. “Three faculty members continue to...
Mt. Pleasant man accused of assaulting officers serving warrant
A Mt. Pleasant man was arrested after police accused him of threatening to stab two borough patrolmen while they were serving a mental health warrant, and spitting on one of them as he was taken into custody. Joe P. Biller, 36, was arrested on multiple charges after the incident about...
Troopers asking public’s help identifying man accused of passing counterfeit bills
State police in Westmoreland County are asking the public’s help to identify suspects who have been passing multiple counterfeit bills in the region. On Friday, troopers from the Kiski station released photographs of a man who is accused of using counterfeit $50s and $20s on multiple occasions last month to...
Hempfield man accused of sexually assaulting girl daily for 6 years
A Hempfield man was arrested Friday on state police accusations that he sexually assaulted a girl for six years starting when she was 9, according to court papers. Ted Donald Brown III, 42, is facing 50 charges, including rape of a child, statutory sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault and corruption...
Man jailed in North Huntingdon drug bust
A Wilkins man is being held without bail after North Huntingdon police said he was involved in a November drug deal, according to court papers. Kenneth R. Rhodes Jr., 31, was arrested Thursday on charges of possession with intent to deliver, criminal use of a communication facility, witness retaliation and...
Export lowers fee, inspection requirements in landlord licensing ordinance
Export officials ended 2021 by tightening up the borough’s ordinances regarding rental properties, particularly instituting a $100 annual license that landlords must acquire along with mandatory inspections. Initially proposed as a $200 annual fee in the 2022 budget, council ultimately settled on a version that cut the fee price in...
