Westmoreland category, Page 492
Island-hopping theme inspires Ligonier Valley art campersVideo
Rita Haldeman’s young students are using sticks, stones, lots of paint, and even more imagination, to explore cultures and art forms from across the globe. In her 20th year teaching art camps at the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art’s Ligonier Valley location, the Jeannette artist decided to take this summer’s...
Ligonier Valley Historical Society holds living history weekend at Compass InnVideo
History lovers who braved intermittent rain showers Saturday afternoon were transported back to the 1800s as the Ligonier Valley Historical Society presented its second living history weekend this year. The event was held at the Compass Inn Museum in Laughlintown. It featured members of Ship’s Company, a Maryland-based maritime reenactment...
Western Pa. among nationwide areas seeing dangerous rise in opioid epidemic
Throughout the height of the covid-19 pandemic, it seemed as if the opioid epidemic had come to a sudden halt — largely because coronavirus headlines dominated newsstands, television broadcasts and everyday conversation. The latest overdose death figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, however, convey a starkly opposite...
Westmoreland places ‘leveraged bet on market’ to shore up county pension debt
Westmoreland County’s largest ever bond issue, which will put taxpayers on the hook for $173.6 million, won’t lay water or sewer lines, pave roads, fix aging bridges or set a single steel beam. Instead, debt on the $126.48 million in bonds to be paid by taxpayers over the next 20...
Westmoreland road work to affect traffic on routes 30, 119 beginning Monday
Motorists will encounter a detour and lane restrictions in Youngwood and additional restrictions on Route 30 in Hempfield beginning Monday, as work proceeds on PennDOT road projects. In Youngwood, beginning at 6 a.m. Monday, a section of Depot Street, between northbound Route 119 (Third Street) and South Second Street, will...
Pitt faculty unionization vote slated, Pitt says
The University of Pittsburgh’s faculty members will be able to vote starting next month on whether they want the United Steelworkers to represent them in contract negotiations. The Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board decided the secret-ballot vote for about 3,000 employees will be conducted from Aug. 27 to Oct. 12, the...
Latrobe nonprofit plans week-long virtual auction, wellness series
Latrobe-based nonprofit Laurel Faith in Action is inviting area residents to take a break from the heat outside to join in a virtual Fun in the Sun online auction. Set for Monday through July 23, the fundraising event includes about 50 items up for bid. Participants also can check out...
Norwin promotes covid vaccine clinics
Norwin students 12 and older and school district residents will be able to get a free covid vaccine before school starts Sept. 8 by making an appointment at Excela Square at Norwin Medical Commons in North Huntingdon. To be fully vaccinated, two doses of the Pfizer shot will be administered...
Raises approved for much-needed Go Westmoreland bus drivers
Go Westmoreland paratransit bus drivers are getting raises. Westmoreland County Transit Authority board members this week approved 4.6% raises for nonunion drivers with the agency’s shared-ride program which provides subsidized door-to-door trips in small buses to seniors, disabled and low-income riders. Driver pay will increase to $15 per hour starting...
Westmoreland increases signing bonuses for Manor nurses
Westmoreland County is upping the ante to hire nurses. With nearly three dozen openings at Westmoreland Manor, the county-owned nursing home in Hempfield, officials said increased signing bonuses will be paid to new hires during the final five months of this year. They will receive up to $6,000 in addition...
Irwin cops take turn as baristas
The owner of a boutique bakery in Irwin and borough police participated in a fundraiser with a caffeinated kick on Thursday. Caroline Lewis, owner of the Cheesecake Caffe on Main Street, sponsored a cleverly-named “Lattes With Law Enforcement” three-hour event, where officers donned aprons over their police uniforms to make...
Latrobe police say neighbors’ complaints led to drug arrests
Multiple complaints this month over an influx of pedestrian and vehicle traffic at a Latrobe home resulted in the arrests of a couple Thursday by city police on charges of trafficking cocaine and heroin and possession of drug paraphernalia. William E. Schall, 34, and Bobbi Rae Ragazzini, 26, who live...
Norwin GOP fills vacancy on school board ticket
Norwin area Republican committee members selected a replacement for the candidate who withdrew from the GOP ticket for the school board election in November, snubbing the school board president who also sought the nomination. Shawna Ilagan of North Huntingdon beat fellow Republicans Dorey Stabile McCarron and Norwin School Board president...
Former Excela nurse accused of stealing pain pills from patients
A former nurse at Excela Health Westmoreland hospital in Greensburg was arrested this week by the state Attorney General’s office on accusations of stealing prescription painkillers from patients over a five-month period in 2020, according to court papers. Joel M. Gazal, 34, of North Versailles, was arraigned on two counts...
9-year-old ‘America’s Got Talent’ opera singer from Unity honored by Westmoreland commissionersVideo
Unity’s Victory Brinker might have been on a bigger stage last week when she wowed the judges during her appearance on “America’s Got Talent.” But her smile was nearly as wide this week during an appearance at the Westmoreland County Courthouse when she was honored for her performance, which pushed...
Greensburg church members walk streets to pray for city’s needsVideo
At LifeSpring Christian Church in downtown Greensburg, Pastor Dale Adams and his congregation are on a journey to develop deeper prayer lives — and to bless the city in the process. The journey is not just spiritual, it’s also physical. Since May, they’ve taken to the streets of their neighborhoods...
Excela Health plans coronavirus vaccine clinic in Greensburg
Excela Health is having a coronavirus vaccine clinic July 31 for anyone 12 and older at a Greensburg church. The Pfizer vaccine will be available by appointment from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Greater Parkview Church, located at 103 Westminster Ave. Second doses for those attending the clinic will...
5 things to do in Westmoreland County: July 16-18
A good laugh Latrobe Elks will offer its first-ever comedy show at 8 p.m. Friday at the Elks golf club, off Route 981 in Derry Township. “Sips N Giggles Comedy Night” will feature Pittsburgh-based comedians Mike Travers and Derrick Knopsnyder, who have been performing their show across the country since...
Construction complete at Elliott’s new facility in Jeannette
The property that once served as a source of pride for Jeannette is ready to return to those roots. Construction at Elliott Group’s $60 million cryogenic pump test stand has been completed, returning the parcel once used by Jeannette Glass in the city’s downtown area to an industrial use. Spokeswoman...
Mt. Pleasant massage parlor owner facing deportation seeks withdrawal of human trafficking plea
A former Mt. Pleasant massage parlor owner who served more than a year in jail for human trafficking told a Westmoreland County judge Thursday she did not understand English well enough to plead guilty in late 2019. Hui Xu, 46, testifying through a translator, claimed she did not fully comprehend...
Westmoreland commissioners said mistakes led to election bureau director firing
Westmoreland commissioners on Thursday said the recent firing of the county’s election bureau director was necessary in response to a series of errors that plagued the May primary. Speaking publicly for the first time about the decision to oust JoAnn Sebastiani, commissioners said the county conducted “administrative inquires” that initially...
Westmoreland controller blasts commissioner for failure to meet campaign pledge
Westmoreland Commissioner Doug Chew on Thursday defended his decision to withhold a promised donation to fund the county’s drug court program. During his campaign for county commissioner in 2019, Chew, a first-term Republican, pledged to donate 60% of his salary to help fund drug court. After questioned by county Controller...
Apple’n Arts organizers discuss 2021 festival options with Delmont council
Apple’n Arts Festival organizers will present a scaled-down version of the annual fall event after being asked by Delmont council members to offer a proposal for 2021. “We haven’t yet sent out applications for vendors,” organizing committee member Brandy Walters said. “What we’re hearing is that a lot of craft...
Suicide prevention resource center opens in IrwinVideo
A resource center has opened in Irwin to provide support and suicide prevention information to those in emotional distress who may be contemplating suicide or have been impacted by it. Come, Talk Inc., a nonprofit resource center inside the Norwin Chamber of Commerce offices at 321 Main St., is “for...
Guffey Road in North Huntingdon to close for slide repairs
A section of Guffey Road in North Huntingdon road will be closed beginning July 19 to allow crews to repair a slide, PennDOT said. Guffey Road, which is Route 3049, will be closed until Aug. 31 between Route 3047, known as Turner Valley Road, and Mickanin Road, PennDOT said. A...
