Westmoreland category, Page 490
Idlewild and Soak Zone welcomes back Daniel Tiger show, extends hours on 2 days
Idlewild and Soak Zone is extending park operating hours on remaining Fridays and Saturdays in July while welcoming the return of live shows for kids and families. The family-oriented park in Ligonier Township announced Thursday it will remain open an extra hour, until 8 p.m., on Fridays and Saturdays for...
Greensburg doctor pleads guilty to taking kickbacks over fentanyl spray
A Greensburg doctor pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to taking kickbacks, health care fraud and conspiring to distribute controlled substances. Thomas Whitten, 71, will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge William S. Stickman IV on Dec. 7. According to prosecutors, Whitten received kickbacks from Arizona-based Insys Therapeutics from May...
Air Supply brings love songs to The Palace TheatreVideo
There’s a common thread running through “Lost in Love,” “Making Love Out of Nothing at All” and “All Out of Love.” “Our songs are about love and romance,” said Russell Hitchcock, lead vocalist for the duo Air Supply in his Australian accent. “There is a fascination with our songs because...
State police seeking information on missing Ruffs Dale woman
State police in Belle Vernon are seeking information on a missing 73-year-old East Huntingdon woman who was last seen Tuesday. Trooper Robert Broadwater reported on social media that authorities are seeking Myrna Z. Montalvo, 73, of Ruffs Dale, who relatives say is endangered because she has a medical history of...
Murrysville authorizes emergency work on collapsing storm sewer at Heritage Estates
Murrysville officials will contract emergency repairs to a storm sewer line that is collapsing in the Villas at Heritage Estates, the second time they encountered the issue in the housing plan off Sardis Road. “The work is beyond the ability of public works,” Chief Administrator Jim Morrison said. “The engineer...
Only 11% of emergency rent money distributed in Westmoreland County
About 11% of nearly $13 million in emergency rental and utility bill funds has been disbursed to Westmoreland County residents who experienced hardship because of the coronavirus pandemic. Dan Carney, executive director of Union Mission of Latrobe, said about $1.5 million was directed to 270 applicants over the past three...
North Huntingdon approves ending contract with trash hauler; new bids to be sought
North Huntingdon officials approved ending the township’s contract with its trash hauler at the end of the year. Township commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday on the separation agreement with County Hauling LLC of Rostraver. The contract had been a four-year agreement set to expire in 2024. The township now will advertise...
3 inmates charged with falsely accusing Westmoreland jail guard of threatening sex assault
Police said three men made false claims that a guard at the Westmoreland County Prison threatened to sexually assault one of them in March, according to court paperwork. Westmoreland County detectives this week charged Joshua James Robison, 25, of Irwin; Nicholas John Grindle, 34, of Jeannette; and Paul Andrew Pierce,...
Unity latest community to weigh shared-road access for ATVs
Motorists in Unity might soon share the road with all-terrain vehicles, if township supervisors give their approval. Jim Yokopenic, who lives on Bruno Road, has asked the township to allow ATV use on his road and three others nearby, in the vicinity of the village of Marguerite — Pond, Coke...
25-year-old bicyclist killed in Murrysville crash
A 25-year-old bicyclist was killed and three companions from a church group in Ohio were injured Thursday after they were struck by a car along Route 22 in Murrysville, police said. The crash occurred about 4 a.m. along Route 22 eastbound, east of Harrison City Road, Chief Thomas P. Seefeld...
Penn Township begins road paving project
Penn Township’s road paving project is slated wrap up by the end of July. The project will consist of six days of milling and paving if all goes according to plan, Township Secretary/Manager Mary Perez said at this week’s commissioners meeting. The contractor, Tresco Paving Corporation, is operating under a...
North Huntingdon OKs alcohol by permit in parks
Beer and wine can flow at gatherings in North Huntingdon parks if someone rents a pavilion, shows proof of liability insurance and obtains a permit. Township commissioners voted 5-2 Wednesday to approve a policy that creates a permit and criteria for alcohol use by anyone at least 21 years old...
Motorcycle ride in Washington Township man’s memory will raise money to help scleroderma sufferers
In less than two years, Kody Churma went from a healthy young man to one who was unable to hold a fishing pole, and couldn’t draw because he wasn’t able to hold onto a pencil. Kody died from complications related to scleroderma, an autoimmune disease that attacks skin tissue and...
Murrysville council hears proposal on gas-interconnect for fracking well
A subsidiary of the company building the first unconventional gas well in Murrysville gave municipal council members a look Wednesday at its proposal for an interconnect site that will transfer natural gas to a nearby transmission line. Officials from Hyperion Midstream, a subsidiary of Canonsburg-based Olympus Energy, want to build...
Greensburg MB Bride’s ‘Hug-A-Hero’ event gives wedding gowns to those in the military
Jenn Mason often felt like a single parent and often feared for her husband Michael Mason’s life when he went overseas. “As a wife and mother with a military husband, there were tough and scary times,” said Jenn Mason, store manager at MB Bride & Special Occasion wedding boutique in...
Jeannette shooting victim’s mother calls for DA to reopen caseVideo
Taunja Williamson doesn’t understand why the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office does not bring charges in the 2019 shooting death of her son, Mariell McGowan. McGowan, 29, of Jeannette was fatally shot Oct. 28, 2019, on Cuyler Avenue, just a few doors down from his mother’s home and a block...
3 transported to hospital following Turnpike crash
Three people were taken by ambulance following a crash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike Wednesday afternoon in Penn Township, according to a Westmoreland 911 dispatcher. Crews responded to mile marker 61 around 3:15 p.m. for reports of the crash, where vehicles went off the roadway and into a ravine, the dispatcher...
Suspected drug mule found guilty in Westmoreland heroin trafficking scheme
A woman who prosecutors said served as a drug mule for a heroin trafficking organization in Westmoreland County that was conceived of as a way to pay a convicted drug dealer’s legal expenses was herself convicted Wednesday. A jury deliberated about two hours before finding Sade Franklin, 34, formerly of...
Neighbors help troopers locate Hempfield break-in suspect
Residents in the rural Hempfield village of Hannastown helped direct state police to a man accused of forcing his way into a home Tuesday and initially refusing to leave before running away moments before officers arrived. Blake R. Quakenbush, 26, of Latrobe was arrested on charges of burglary, criminal trespass,...
Store security tape, red paint lead troopers to charge woman in Salem hit-and-run
Surveillance tapes from a convenience store and red paint on a car grille helped state police identify a woman they say was involved in a hit-and-run accident last month, according to court documents. Tamara J. Stoken, 46, of Irwin, was charged this week with careless driving, fleeing the scene of...
Diocese of Greensburg to put $20M in pledged donations toward tuition assistanceVideo
The Catholic Diocese of Greensburg said Wednesday that pledged donations totaling about $20 million will help it provide tuition assistance to students in diocesan schools over the next five years, and contractors are doing about $300,000 in capital improvements at no cost to the diocese. During an announcement at Mary...
No tax money at issue in case of Latrobe councilman charged with theft of fire department funds
Taxpayer money is not at issue in a criminal case against a Latrobe councilman and another man who were arrested by police in connection with thefts from a city fire department, according to Latrobe Mayor Rosie Wolford. “None of the allegations … comes from the funds that the city provided...
Westmoreland news includes concerts, art exhibits and reunions
Art • The Greensburg Art Center will participate in a free dual exhibition with the Westmoreland Museum of American Art that is being presented by the Pittsburgh Watercolor Society. An exhibit will be held July 23 to Sept. 20 at the Rowe Gallery of the Greensburg Art Center. A free...
After $100K in damages, Hempfield Area to charge students insurance on borrowed computers
Hempfield Area School District officials want students to be more careful with their school-issued Chromebooks. After shelling out a whopping $107,000 in repair costs last school year, the district announced families will have to pay for a damage insurance policy this year to be able to take one of the...
2 Greensburg sites share Pittsburgh Watercolor Society’s 75th anniversary show
In selecting works for Pittsburgh Watercolor Society’s “75th + 1” exhibition, juror Barbara Jones said she “tried to pick a broad range of techniques. What I’m always attracted to with watercolor is the technique and the layering and how the artist uses that to sort of finesse it and create...
