Westmoreland category, Page 457
5 things to do in Westmoreland County: Sept. 17-19Video
Welcome, fall The annual Scottdale Fall Festival kicks off at 4 p.m. Friday, promising three days of handmade crafts, local and ethnic foods, a parade, a full schedule of live entertainment, a children’s area and more fun. Parade lineup will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Southmoreland elementary and...
Former Westmoreland election head lands Centre County post
Former Westmoreland County Election Director Beth Lechman, who resigned three months before the contentious 2020 general election, has been appointed election director in Centre County. Lechman, who led the Westmoreland elections office for five years, began her new job Monday. Public records show the officials in the county of 165,000...
Word ‘militia’ may have triggered Facebook to freeze Westmoreland Historical Society page
A group whose mission is to preserve and promote Westmoreland County’s historic resources has had its Facebook page shut down, possibly triggered by the non-political use of the word “militia” in reference to local reenactors. Staff at the Westmoreland Historical Society are baffled and frustrated after Facebook accounts for the...
Westmoreland public defender arrested after incident at Seven Springs
A Westmoreland County assistant public defender was arrested Wednesday at Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Somerset County, charged with kicking a state trooper, according to court documents. David E. Mulock, 36, who lives in Murrysville, was arraigned on charges of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, disorderly conduct, public...
New Alexandria man accused in police chase faces more charges
A New Alexandria man who was jailed on $200,000 bond last week after he was charged with resisting arrest while fleeing Ligonier Valley police in a stolen car faces additional charges of theft, firearms and drug possession related to his capture Sept. 9 by state police. Jesse Vaughn Lawson, 27,...
PennDOT pipe replacement will trigger detour in Mt. Pleasant Township
A section of Route 982 in Mt. Pleasant Township will be closed for more than a month while PennDOT replaces a drainage pipe. The closure, which is set to begin at 6 a.m. Monday, will affect the portion of Route 982 from Route 130 south to Tall Pine Road. It...
Opponents urge Greensburg Salem School Board to take stance against mask mandateVideo
Greensburg Salem residents opposed to the state’s school mask mandate repeated their call this week for the school board to defy it. They also questioned the need for a signature from a doctor instead of a parent when a family seeks to have a child exempted from masking inside school...
Unity’s Victory Brinker comes up short in ‘America’s Got Talent’ final voteVideo
She may not have come away with the Vegas contract and the $1 million prize, but Victory Brinker is a winner by any standard. When the votes were counted on the Wednesday’s season finale of NBC’s “America’s Got Talent,” the 9-year-old opera singer from Unity came up short. Magician Dustin...
North Huntingdon OKs new trash hauling contract; boosts rates $25 a quarter
A hike in residential garbage collection rates in North Huntingdon next year that is part of a new deal was almost inevitable, given the “below-market rates” charged by the current hauler, township officials said. The four-year contract commissioners approved Wednesday with Waste Management Inc. will boost residential rates to $77.25...
Loyalhanna man sentenced in connection with raid on suspected meth lab
A Loyalhanna man was ordered to serve up to 23 months in jail after he pleaded guilty to two drug charges. Brian Miller, 52, was arrested in April after the state police raided his home and found chemicals and equipment that investigators said were precursors to manufacture methamphetamine. As part...
Salem man pleads guilty to blackmailing local teens for sex photos
A Salem man pleaded guilty to charges he blackmailed local teens to send naked pictures to him. Dylan James Krupitzer, 20, was charged last year after police said he contacted a 16-year-old girl in 2019 through a social media account and demanded she send him pornographic pictures of herself. Police...
Hempfield Area to open pre-K classroom in elementary school
A pre-kindergarten classroom is scheduled to open at a Hempfield Area elementary school next week, the first of its kind for the district. The classroom will open Sept. 23 at West Hempfield Elementary School, said Kimberlie Rieffannacht, assistant superintendent of elementary education. School board members during this week’s workshop meeting...
Westmoreland news: golf outing, comedy show and Cub Scout recruitment night
Church news • St. James Church, New Alexandria, will show the first season of the movie, “The Chosen,” from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturdays, Sept. 18 through Oct. 9 outside on the church grounds, 306 St. James Lane. Bring a lawn chair. Food will be available. In case of inclement...
Greensburg Art Center show, activities honor member lost to covid-19
The Greensburg Art Center lost a piece of its heart and soul with the death in November of longtime member Cathy Rosensteel. The Greensburg artist is being remembered this week with a retrospective exhibition and activities at the center, 230 Todd School Road, Hempfield. “We miss her as a person,...
Delmont councilman plans to resign after accepting active-duty assignment
Before Delmont Councilman Bill Marx found a calling in government service, he found one in military duty. Marx, a 17-year veteran of the Marine Corps and U.S. Army Reserve CID Agent, announced his intention to resign from council. He has accepted active-duty orders to serve on staff in a military...
Stahlstown Flax Scutching Festival relies on homemade foods, personal touches
In the United States, there’s a festival for everything from bugs to bologna, pickles to peanut butter. So why not a festival for flax? The people of Stahlstown have been celebrating the humble plant since 1907 with the annual Flax Scutching Festival. In fact, some residents grow flax — the...
Motorcyclist seriously injured in Donegal Township crash, troopers say
A Youngwood man was airlifted to a Pittsburgh hospital after being seriously injured Monday in a motorcycle crash along Route 381 in Donegal Township, state police reported. Dennis M. Shoff, 68, injured his hip after he lost control of his 2020 Indian Scout motorcycle about 11:05 a.m., according to a...
‘Faces’ exhibit of Ligonier Valley Korean War veterans opens
The Ligonier Valley Library on Tuesday opened its 2021 Historic Photography Show. The theme this year is “Faces of Ligonier Valley: Veterans of the Korean War Era.” The exhibit features photos of local heroes who served during the war as well as memorabilia related to the war and to the...
Penn Township man pleads guilty to stalking and role in failed jail drug smuggling plot
Tracey Boyle made it perfectly clear she no longer wanted anything to do with her former boyfriend after enduring months of fear and concern over the safety for herself and her children. “No one would logically sign up for you. Your behavior came to be of a child who didn’t...
Arnold Palmer airport offers PreCheck appointments, saw fewer passengers in August
Passengers who want to sign up for the Transportation Security Administration PreCheck program can make an appointment to enroll through Friday at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport, said Gabe Monzo, executive director of the Westmoreland County Airport Authority. Those enrolled in the program can bypass some of the time-consuming steps at...
Greensburg man guilty in rape of unconscious woman
A Greensburg man was convicted of the rape of an unconscious woman and the indecent assault of another in a city apartment three years ago. Westmoreland County Judge Christopher Feliciani on Tuesday found Levi Evans, 24, guilty of four charges in connection with the Jan. 18, 2018, incident. Two women...
Monessen man sentenced to 7 years on drugs, weapons charges
A Monessen man was sentenced Monday to seven years in prison on drug and weapons charges, according to acting U.S. Attorney Stephen Kaufman. Eric T. Emerson, 32, was sentenced after pleading guilty to possession of narcotics and possession of firearms in connection with a March 2019 search warrant served at...
Laurel Highlands ranks 8th in USA Today’s top-10 fall foliage spots
Once again, USA Today readers have confirmed what Western Pennsylvanians have always known — the Laurel Highlands is one of the country’s best places for viewing fall foliage. For the second year in a row, the Laurel Highlands is a Readers’ Choice Winner in the Best Destination for Fall Foliage...
Va. couple wanted for questioning in disappearance of 3-year-old girl arrested in South Greensburg
A couple wanted by Virginia authorities for questioning in connection with the disappearance of a 3-year-old girl was arrested in a South Greensburg motel Sunday for having “two large rocks of methamphetamine” and multiple checks investigators say were stolen in Virginia, according to court documents. However, when state troopers and...
Rate increase expected under proposed North Huntingdon trash hauling contract
North Huntingdon residents could see a jump of about $25 per quarter in their trash bills next year under a new four-year contract expected to be approved by commissioners, and the rates would increase each year through 2025. A change in how garbage is collected is part of the reason...
