Westmoreland category, Page 412
Tired of tires, scout troop cleans up woods in North Huntingdon
Ryan Zaya has seen too many tires and too much trash strewn on the side of local roads. So, he and his fellow members of Boy Scout Troop 284 in Irwin took action Sunday afternoon. Zaya, 16, an 11th grader at Hempfield Area High School, along with five fellow scouts...
County grant helps Murrysville fund license plate reader cameras on Route 22
Westmoreland County District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli said she views one of her primary responsibilities as doing “anything we can to stop the free flow of drugs through Westmoreland County and beyond.” According to Murrysville police Chief Tom Seefeld, a significant portion of that flow comes through the “Gateway to Westmoreland...
Latrobe-area residents can sign up for free Easter dinner
Free Easter meals are being brought to the Latrobe-area community by a group of individuals focused on helping others. Signups end Tuesday for the Make a Difference group’s initiative. The meals will be prepared for takeout or delivery April 16, the day before Easter, at Grace Bible Church & Academy...
Growth in surveillance technology pits law enforcement against privacy concerns
When Greensburg police charged two men with a downtown shooting outside The Rialto bar, in which a bystander was wounded in late January, video footage helped investigators identify one of the suspects. “Without the surveillance video, that may not have been the outcome,” police Chief Shawn Denning said. “With the...
Greensburg Easter Egg hunt signals return to normal
For 2-year-old Lilly Hiester, the brightly colored eggs and chocolate treats inside were just an appetizer. Dressed in a yellow rain slicker with blue rubber boots, Lilly bounded from puddle to puddle as her parents followed behind just out of range of the water their young daughter playfully kicked up....
Sewickley watershed group seeks leader
The Sewickley Creek Watershed Association is seeking a new leader: an environmentalist who would work for about 20 hours a month for the nonprofit that seeks to conserve and improve the 168-square-mile watershed that stretches from Greensburg south to Lowber. “It really must be someone who cares about the environment,”...
Librarians, parents weigh in on Hempfield’s library book policy as some titles are questioned
What one family decides is a book worth studying may be a material that another family finds offensive. The balancing act school districts play in the process was spotlighted this week when Hempfield Area School Board members heard from district librarians regarding text selection, as officials consider tweaking a policy...
Iconic Scottdale home focus of $2 million restoration
A decade after opening South Broadway Manor in Scottdale as a bed and breakfast, Pat Hill has begun transforming a second iconic home a few blocks away. Abandoned and gap-toothed, with two missing porch pillars, the three-story, 115-year-old limestone mansion called Greystone Manor by its former owner, Richard Campbell, has...
Greensburg Salem High’s Critter Cruise helps kids get to know diverse speciesVideo
An albino axolotl piqued the curiosity of many a fourth-grader Friday as it rested enigmatically in its tank at Greensburg Salem High School. A type of salamander that originated in Mexico, it was among 20 species of amphibians, reptiles, arachnids, insects, birds, fish and mammals displayed for fourth-graders from adjacent...
Central Westmoreland County fire departments dispatched to house fire in Salem
Multiple fire departments responded Friday to a house fire in Salem, according to a dispatcher for Westmoreland County 911. The fire was reported at about 3:30 p.m. along the 100 block of Story Road, the dispatcher said. It took firefighters about 30 minutes to put out the fire. No one...
Vandergrift woman’s trial set to start later this month in homicide of Greensburg man
Jury selection in a 2018 Vandergrift fatal shooting is set to start April 20. Attorneys on Friday set the date for trial to begin for Ashley Croft, 38, of Vandergrift. She is charged with homicide in the death of John Edward Smail, 31, of Greensburg, at her apartment on Oct....
Philly’s Boat House Row brings ‘yacht rock’ to Irwin’s Lamp TheatreVideo
Put on your Sperrys and Ray-Bans and sail away to the smooth sounds of yacht rock. Boat House Row will cruise from Philadelphia to The Lamp Theatre in Irwin for a show at 8 p.m. April 15, celebrating the soft rock that filled the airwaves in the late 1970s and...
Bingo fundraiser returns for Greensburg Hempfield Area Library
After a two-year hiatus because of the pandemic, the Greensburg Hempfield Area Library’s annual bingo fundraiser is set to return next month. The Lucky 7th Annual Bingo Benefit — a fundraiser for Greensburg Hempfield Area Library is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. May 15 at the West Point Fire Hall, 100...
State police accuse former Hempfield woman of abusing infant son
Two days after arresting a 35-year-old Hempfield man on accusations of abusing an infant boy in his care, state police arrested the child’s mother Friday on an identical charge. Danielle R. Thompson, 28, who has no fixed address listed in court documents, was arraigned Friday on a charge of child...
Latrobe banana split fest set to return to 3-day format; pageant contestants sought
Organizers of Latrobe’s Great American Banana Split Celebration plan to return to a three-day format this year as they seek entrants for the annual Banana Split Princess Pageant. “We want to bring back everything we had from 2019,” said Briana Tomack, president of the Greater Latrobe-Laurel Valley Regional Chamber of...
Greensburg’s Palace Theatre adds accessible seating options
More accessible seating has been added at The Palace Theatre in downtown Greensburg. Eight new locations are available at the front of the theater near the stage, along with existing spaces at the back of the theater, to provide additional options to patrons with special seating needs. The new accessible...
Excela raises $30,000 in financial contributions, supplies, to aid relief efforts in Ukraine
Excela Health raised about $30,000 in financial contributions and supplies to aid humanitarian relief efforts in Ukraine, the health system said this week. The two-week fundraising campaign allowed Excela to provide more than $6,000 in basic medical supplies, along with $25,000 in cash raised through various donations. “We are proud...
Summer brews to be featured at Greensburg Craft Beer Week
After five years of providing beer lovers with an opportunity to try the latest local brews, Greensburg Craft Beer Week is undergoing changes. This year, the 10-day event will focus on summer brews, with a move from its normal September time slot to June. In addition, the event will kick...
5 things to do in Westmoreland County: April 8-10
Get your Kix The hard-rock, glam-metal band Kix will take the stage at 8 p.m. Friday at The Lamp Theatre, 222 Main St., Irwin. The band’s 1988 release, “Blow My Fuse,” went platinum, with the power ballad “Don’t Close Your Eyes” peaking at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100....
Hempfield moves forward with borrowing plan for school construction
Hempfield Area School Board members are moving forward with a bond issuance that will cover the costs of a multi-million dollar high school project. The board voted unanimously this week to issue a bond that will not exceed $156 million. Funds will be used to tear the school down to...
Former Westmoreland County commissioner Richard Vidmer dead at 77
Richard “Dick” Vidmer was a fighter, whether it was on the football field as a star quarterback for Hempfield Area High School and the University of Michigan, as a Westmoreland County commissioner from 1985 to 1999, or as one who engaged in an almost 40-year battle — both public and...
Murrysville woman sentenced for role in 2019 shooting
A Murrysville woman was sentenced to time served Thursday in connection with a 2019 shooting. Sandra Lee Cline, 52, pleaded guilty to a conspiracy count. She was one of five people arrested after the August 2019 shooting that injured a Monroeville man. Two counts of aggravated assault were dismissed as...
SUV theft suspect apprehended in Indiana County, back to Greensburg for arraignment, police say
An Indiana County man wanted in Greensburg for stealing a woman’s vehicle as she pumped gas this week was arraigned Thursday on multiple criminal charges and ordered held in the the Westmoreland County Prison after failing to post $25,000 bond. City police Chief Shawn Denning said Darryl L. Higgins, 38,...
Easter egg hunts, meals planned around Westmoreland County
Easter-related events happening around Westmoreland County: Bolivar An Easter egg hunt will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Bolivar Volunteer Fire Company, 516 Market St. The event is open to children up to age 13. For more information, call Heidi Speidel at 724-676-4714. Bradenville A free Easter meal...
Troopers: Hempfield man accused of abusing infant
State police arrested a 35-year-old Hempfield man Wednesday, accusing him of abusing an infant boy in his care last year, according to court documents. Matthew Anson Nathaniel Davis, who lives in Carbon, was arraigned on a charge of child endangerment and ordered held in the county jail on $150,000 bond....
