Westmoreland category, Page 41
New Latrobe city manager hired, $120K starting salary set
Greensburg resident Susan Trout is set to take on a familiar role in a new community after Latrobe council voted unanimously this week to hire her as its new city manager. Mayor Eric Bartels said Trout’s long experience in municipal government, including a past stint as Greensburg’s city administrator, made...
Traffic to begin using partially completed interchange revamp at Route 51, I-70
Traffic that crosses over Interstate 70 on Route 51 will switch to a new pattern beginning Tuesday morning, as PennDOT partially opens the new diverging diamond interchange under construction there in Rostraver. Route 51 traffic will continue to flow in a single lane each northbound and southbound, but those lanes...
Westmoreland prison inmate misses hearing after refusing to remove yarmulke, attorney claims
A Mt. Pleasant Township man accused of trying to kill his mother missed a court hearing Monday because he refused to remove his yarmulke, his attorney said. Defense attorney Tim Andrews said Westmoreland County Prison officials would not take his client, Kort Noel Eckman, on the 3-mile car trip from...
Judge says Scottdale man’s role in 2023 shootout was ‘major stupidity’
A Scottdale man was ordered to serve seven years of probation for his role in a 2023 shootout with a juvenile in a dispute that arose out of an alleged deal for drug-laced candy. Joseph A. Greep Jr., 21, pleaded guilty in April to lesser charges after prosecutors agreed to...
Work begins to revamp Ligonier Valley baseball field; high school fitness addition approved
Work is underway on a revamp and improvement of the Ligonier Valley High School baseball field as the district prepares for a fitness center addition to the school. The orientation of the field will be turned by about 90 degrees, bringing home plate closer to the high school building, according...
Police: Greensburg man was drinking before crash that injured passenger, causing severe head injury
A Greensburg man is accused by police of being intoxicated during a vehicle crash in Unity last year that seriously hurt his passenger, according to court papers. John Charles Wallish IV, 21, was charged last week with aggravated assault by vehicle while driving under the influence, reckless endangerment and related...
Greensburg Salem students help decorate CD Warehouse’s vinyl section
Mike Casper always has some vinyl records lying around. “We get a lot of vinyl donated, and a lot of times people will bring things in they don’t have the (record) sleeves for anymore and we can’t do much with those,” said Casper, an employee at CD Warehouse in Hempfield....
Fire-damaged vacant building in Jeannette back in city’s hands
The fate of a fire-damaged building on Clay Avenue in Jeannette is back in the hands of taxpayers. Council on Thursday unanimously approved rescinding the transfer of the property after a sale apparently fell through. In January 2024, council approved transferring 416-418 Clay Ave. to the Jeannette Redevelopment Authority and...
Making Strides: Westmoreland horse show blends competition with compassion
Jillian Masciantonio spent most of the weekend multitasking. She handed out ribbons to winning horse handlers in a show arena at the Westmoreland Fairgrounds under a blazing July sun. She listened for her name on a radio in between taking questions from a reporter to make sure the Summer Showcase...
Westmoreland happenings: Golf ball drop, blood drive, parish festival, more
Fundraisers • Community Revitalization of West Newton will sponsor a golf ball drop at 8 p.m. Saturday, July 19, in Vine Street Park. Three hundred balls will be dropped from a bucket truck and the closest to the bull’s-eye will receive half of the take. Winner need not be present....
AI opens new worlds for the blind
When Chris Donahue opens the door to let his dog out, he is unable to see where the animal runs. The Brighton Heights resident is blind, but he can find his dog outside via the Ray-Ban AI (artificial intelligence) Glasses he’s wearing. “Meta, I am blind,” says Donahue, 48. “Do...
Golden lamp returns to top of Lamp Theatre marqueeVideo
The lamp above The Lamp Theatre marquee in downtown Irwin was returned to its rightful place Saturday morning after a lengthy refurbishing. “It was all coming apart. The finish was coming off of it,” said Mike Brady, an Irwin public works employee who took on the task of giving new...
Detours to begin during work on culvert in Ligonier Township, Sutersville rail crossing
Traffic detours will begin Monday in Sutersville and Tuesday in Ligonier Township as crews in the respective municipalities work on railroad crossing maintenance and replacement of a culvert. Beginning at 6 a.m. Monday and continuing through late Friday, First Street in Sutersville will be closed between First and Third avenues...
Ohio woman charged in Murrysville bank fraud scheme
An Ohio woman police believe is part of an organized crime group is accused of involvement in a check cashing scheme in Murrysville, according to authorities. State police released surveillance photos of the suspect last month, seeking help identifying her in connection with the theft of $5,400 in a fraud...
Jeannette police to patrol highrise
City police will begin patrolling Jeannette Manor after council approved an agreement with the Westmoreland County Housing Authority. Jeannette Police Chief Derek Manley said he thinks the move will boost relationships with residents and deter crime. “I feel that it’s a big benefit for the department and the residents both,”...
Researchers zero in on site where George Washington had brush with friendly fire, unveil artifacts
Four years of digging for artifacts in the Ligonier area have shed new light on a little-known “friendly fire” incident in George Washington’s military career and have put what turned out to be a pivotal episode in the French and Indian War on firmer ground. “We found it. I’m confident...
Dick’s Diner in Murrysville to be featured as 1 of ‘America’s Best Restaurants’
Jim Fox III remembers sitting down to a table at Dick’s Diner as a child with his father, even though his dad was the founder of the popular Fox’s Pizza chain. The family recognized the appeal of a small-town diner like Dick’s. Today, Fox owns the restaurant, which will be...
A general’s defeat: Anniversary will be observed in North Braddock
At the eastern edge of Westmoreland County’s Route 30 corridor lies one of the state’s best example of a colonial fort — Fort Ligonier, the site of the October 1758 battle where British and Colonial forces repulsed an attack by French and Native Americans. But it may not have been...
Monessen man appeals life prison term for rape, child murders
A judge abused his discretion by reimposing a life prison sentence for a Monessen man convicted of raping of a young mother and murdering her children in 1973, his attorney claims in court papers. Defense attorney Mark Shire argued in an appeal filed Friday that his client, John Veltre Jr.,...
Struggling Strawpump station to receive half its fire tax fund allocation from township
North Huntingdon has given the Strawpump Volunteer Fire Department an incentive to continue work to regain its place in the community. That would mean an acceptable fire insurance rating that would allow it to reclaim its service territory. The township would help the effort by agreeing to provide one-half of...
Derry’s Fulton House gets a ‘new’ floor that’s older than the building itself
Visitors who step inside Derry Township’s restored 1817 Fulton House will be walking on a piece of history that is old, but also new. When the floor of the former inn’s rear room started to deteriorate, the Derry Area Historical Society that is headquartered there was able to replace it...
Safe to splash? State parks, watershed associations monitor rivers for E. coli contamination
When it rains, it pours E. coli. That’s what water quality testers across Western Pennsylvania might tell you right now. Every week during the summer months, volunteers and employees monitor the region’s public waterways for E. coli, which can flow into lakes and streams from agricultural and sewer systems overwhelmed...
Judge halts demolition of Homer City plant over contract dispute
Demolition at the site of a planned $10 billion project with a 4.5-gigawatt natural gas-fired plant near Homer City that would power a data processing center has been halted. Frontier Industrial Corp. of Buffalo, N.Y., was granted a preliminary injunction by Allegheny County Judge Philip A. Ignelzi. It prevents Homer...
Time’s up for lengthy public comments at Westmoreland commissioners meetings
The Westmoreland County commissioners have no time for excessive talk. Responding to what they said was a growing level of belligerency in political speech, the county commissioners, before the start of Thursday’s public meeting, announced a heightened enforcement of time constraints placed on public comments. Commissioners Chairman Sean Kertes told...
Westmoreland County OKs settlement of racial discrimination lawsuit
The Westmoreland County commissioners have approved a $12,000 payout to settle a lawsuit filed by a former jail guard who claimed she was improperly fired after she raised allegations of racial discrimination. According to the lawsuit filed in 2019, Bonita Hughey of Jeannette contended she was fired from her job...
