Westmoreland category, Page 433
Able the disabled: Personal trainers don’t see physical limitations as limiting
At first sight, wheelchairs, crutches and leg braces might not be associated with exercising. But seeing what the people who use those devices can do might change one’s perspective. They lift weights, skate on sleds and shoot a hockey puck 60 mph. They pound tires with a sledgehammer and drive...
5 things to do in Westmoreland County: Dec. 10-12
Mac attack If you’re a Fleetwood Mac fan, you need to get yourself to the Lamp Theatre this weekend. Tusk, the band billing itself as “The Number One Tribute to Fleetwood Mac,” will play shows at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the downtown Irwin venue. Tusk promises note-for-note renditions...
Jury in fatal overdose case finds Export man not guilty of most serious charge, guilty of lesser charges
A Westmoreland County jury on Thursday said an Export man was not guilty of causing the death of a co-worker who died in 2018 from an overdose of heroin and fentanyl. Jurors deliberated more than six hours before it returned a mixed verdict in which it acquitted Kelly Ryan Frank...
Two charged with helping fugitive elude police in St. Clair Township
Two people have been charged with concealing and hindering the apprehension of fugitive Ray A. Shetler Jr., who was arrested late Tuesday after a struggle with sheriff’s deputies and state police when they discovered him hiding in a St. Clair Township mobile home, according to court documents. Shetler, 37, who...
Some Export landlords unhappy with rental license fee proposal
Several Export rental property owners — including two with seats on borough council — have taken issue with a proposal to charge a $200 annual rental licensing fee as part of the 2022 budget. Mayor Joe Zaccagnini, who owns several rental properties in Export, proposed the fee last month in...
PennDOT: Route 981 improvement project fully funded with injection of $30M
PennDOT has designated an additional $30 million for the Laurel Valley Transportation Improvement Project, completing the funding needed to construct Route 981 corridor upgrades and realignment between Norvelt in Mt. Pleasant Township and Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity. Announcement of the funding this week follows a Nov. 12 groundbreaking...
Diocese of Greensburg cookbook shares recipes for food, faith, life
In baking, the results are best when the cook sticks to the recipe. The same thing can be said of life, according to Bishop Larry Kulick of the Diocese of Greensburg. “I always say (life is) like baking a cake,” he writes in the preface to a new diocesan cookbook....
Man charged with burglaries of Greensburg medical offices
Greensburg police arrested a Jeannette man Wednesday, accusing him of breaking into Excela Health offices last weekend to steal a laptop computer and several petty items, according to court documents. Travis A. Gibson, 37, kicked open the doors to three offices inside 562 Shearer St. late Saturday, according to patrolman...
Fire marshal investigating cause of South Huntingdon house fire
A state police fire marshal will attempt to determine the cause of a fire that destroyed a two-story wood frame home in South Huntingdon Thursday, according to fire officials. A dozen fire departments from southwestern Westmoreland County and northern Fayette County responded to the blaze on the 100 block of...
Greensburg Salem pledges to stay within maximum 3.9-mill tax hike for 2022-23
A reorganized Greensburg Salem School Board has agreed to hold any potential tax increase it may consider next year to the a 3.9-mill maximum allowed by the state without special dispensation. The pledge doesn’t mean, however, that real estate taxes will be increased for the 2022-23 school year, district officials...
1 flown by medical helicopter from Derry Township crash
A man was flown Thursday morning by a medical helicopter to a Pittsburgh hospital from the scene of a head-on crash in Derry Township, according to Bradenville Assistant Fire Chief Nick Piantine. The crash was reported on Route 217 at 6:45 a.m. just outside of Derry Borough near Chef Dato’s...
2 killed in Fayette crash, including New Stanton man
Two people, including a New Stanton man, were killed in a two-vehicle crash Wednesday morning in Fayette County that state police attributed to wintry weather conditions. Troopers said a Ford Ranger being driven at 7 a.m. by Stanley A. Ohler, 26, of Connellsville, was traveling north on Route 119 in...
Art, crafts, music draw visitors to Lincoln Highway museum’s holiday open house
Ed Behen had long wanted to visit the transportation-themed Lincoln Highway Experience museum along Route 30 in Unity Township. “My history teacher always talked about the Lincoln Highway when I was in high school in 1975,” said Behen, who moved to the township two decades later. He seized on the...
Penn-Trafford football team getting send-off before it leaves for PIAA championship game
Penn-Trafford School District is planning a send-off parade for the football team Friday morning. The Warriors are playing in their first PIAA Class 5A championship game at 7 p.m. Friday against Imhotep Charter at Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey. It is called “Off to Hershey the Warrior Way.” The students and...
Wecht testifies fentanyl caused Export man’s death in trial of coworker accused of supplying drug
Closing arguments are expected to begin Thursday morning in the trial of an Export man accused of selling the drugs used in the 2018 fatal overdose of a coworker. Westmoreland County prosecutors contend Kelly Ryan Frank sold the drugs that killed 29-year-old Keith Robert Alexander, who was found dead by...
Former Steelers great Dick Hoak gets surprise birthday party in Hempfield
Turning 82 isn’t exactly a milestone birthday. But for the friends of former Steelers and Penn State great and Jeannette native Dick Hoak, any excuse to give him a party is a good one. Fans of Hoak know him as a former Pro Bowl running back and the longest tenured...
Popular Schramm farm market closing in Harrison City
Schramm Farms & Orchards in Harrison City — with its popular pumpkin patch, maze and fruits and vegetables for sale in its market — is closing at the end of the month after 40 years in business, the owner said Wednesday. “Everybody gets to retire. I’ve been working 8½ days...
Jeannette looks to lease dash and body cameras for police department
Jeannette police could be getting another measure of protection — dash and body cameras. Police Chief Donald Johnston Jr. said having video evidence of arrests or incidents could help bolster criminal cases as well as deter potentially violent encounters with the public. “When you’re not able to provide that footage,...
Jeannette to use some federal American Rescue Plan money to buy new radios for firefighters
Jeannette firefighters are getting an upgrade to their radio systems with the help of American Rescue Plan funding. Fire Chief Bill Frye said he plans to purchase 23 new portable radios, a mobile radio for in a fire truck and a new radio repeater as well as upgrade the fire...
Jeannette officials debate how to spend $900K allocation from American Rescue Plan
A measure that would create a process for Jeannette businesses to apply for a portion of the city’s American Rescue Plan funding could be voted on during council’s Thursday meeting. Councilwoman Robin Mozley requested the item be placed on the agenda after officials heard from a business owner inquiring about...
Export officials: Sewage surcharge to remain in place for now
An $8 surcharge on Export sewage customers was only supposed to be in place for a year. Yet, when it came up for a vote in May, council members voted to keep it in place. With bills totaling more than $50,000 coming in related to its ongoing long-term flood control...
Fill the Ambulance event in Hempfield will accept Toys for Tots donations
Lorenzo Garino isn’t sure how many toys will fit in an ambulance, but he’s going to find out this weekend. Mutual Aid Ambulance Service is partnering with Z&M Harley-Davidson in Hempfield for a Fill the Ambulance event benefiting Toys for Tots. Garino, Mutual Aid’s director of operations, said the Greensburg-based...
Greater Latrobe School Board eyes tax appeal settlements, $6K revenue boost
Greater Latrobe School District expects to increase its annual revenue by more than $6,000 by resolving tax squabbles over four properties. At its regular Dec. 14 meeting, the school board will consider settling the four tax appeals, each resulting in a revenue gain for the district. “While they’re not windfalls,...
Fugitive in custody after fight with deputies, troopers in rural Westmoreland County
A New Florence man acquitted in the 2015 killing of a St. Clair Township police officer was taken into custody late Tuesday in rural Westmoreland County after fighting with county sheriff’s deputies and state troopers, authorities said. Ray A. Shetler Jr., 37, was taken into custody at a mobile home...
CNX chief calls for change in Pa.’s gas impact fees
The head of one of Pennsylvania’s largest natural gas producers had sharp words Tuesday regarding state impact fees and claimed the industry has been “villified” by opponents. Nick DeIuliis, chief executive of CNX Resources Corp. of Cecil, called for a revamp of the impact fee levied on natural gas producers,...
