Westmoreland category, Page 499
Natural gas price drop means less money for towns
Pennsylvania will distribute about $46 million less in natural gas impact fees this year to the state’s counties and municipalities because of the drop in natural gas prices in 2020. That’s bad news, especially for rural townships in Marcellus shale-rich regions of Southwestern Pennsylvania already coping with pandemic-related income losses....
Patient flown by medical helicopter following Hempfield crash
At least one patient was transported by medical helicopter from the scene of a single-vehicle crash Monday afternoon in Hempfield. Emergency officials responded to the intersection of Baltzer Meyer Pike and Hurst Road just before 4 p.m. for a report of a car that had gone off the roadway with...
Ligonier approves resolution to support anti-gerrymandering bill
Ligonier officials joined more than 362 municipalities and 24 counties across the state, signing onto resolutions asking the General Assembly to pass a bill outlawing gerrymandering. The small borough in Eastern Westmoreland County last week joined only two other Westmoreland municipalities—North Huntingdon and Trafford— that have gone on record in...
Music festival set for Irwin on Thursday
Several bands and singers will perform live on the streets and in taverns in Irwin Thursday during the Music in the Streets event. Judi Figel & Dave Crisci will perform from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Lamp Theatre Courtyard, 222 Main St. Kevin McManus & The Bone Forum...
Grant will help preserve historical aspects of downtown Greensburg
A new grant will help preserve historical aspects of downtown Greensburg. Awarded to the Redevelopment Authority of the County of Westmoreland, the $23,375 Keystone Historic Preservation Grant will be used to reevaluate the Greensburg Historic District, redefine the districtwide facade design guidelines and conduct an individual building condition assessment at...
Penn Township negotiating with turnpike commission in advance of bridge removal
Penn Township commissioners will vote this week on drafting an agreement with the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission as the Harvison Road bridge will be demolished in preparation for a $30 million widening project of the toll road. Township secretary, manager and director of finance Mary Perez said the commission determined it...
$3M Pennsylvania Lottery scratch-off ticket winner is furloughed Indiana County steelworkerVideo
Two weeks after winning $3 million on a scratch-off Pennsylvania Lottery ticket at a Giant Eagle in Ligonier, Randy Lytle, a furloughed steelworker, still can’t believe his lottery luck. Lytle, 30, of Robinson, Indiana County, won the top prize on a Monopoly 100X scratch-off May 31. He said Monday during...
Stage Right’s campers will be singing, dancing and playing harmonicas this summer
You’re never too young to start making music with Stage Right School for the Performing Arts in Greensburg. Among five summer camp offerings is a harmonica camp for families with children ages 6 months to 4 years. The camp is part of Stage Right’s Music Together Program, an immersive music...
Mammoth Park’s Giant Slide set to reopen
The Giant Slide at Mammoth Park is set to reopen Tuesday with additional safety measures. The Mt. Pleasant Township complex featuring two 100-foot slides was temporarily closed in August after a few users reported injuries. It was shut down to allow time for safety inspections and county officials to investigate...
Search of car stopped in Jeannette leads to additional drug charges
A man arrested in Jeannette last month after police seized 40 stamp bags of heroin stuffed in his underwear is facing additional charges after police say they found two more bricks of heroin in the car he was riding in, according to court papers. Nicholas J. Travis, 36, of Indiana,...
Out & About: SAMA-Ligonier Valley party grooves to Woodstock themeVideo
If you had fallen asleep in 1969 and woke up Saturday at the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art at Ligonier Valley, you wouldn’t have felt out of place. It was like the Age of Aquarius all over again for the annual Garden Party, held under sunny skies on the lush...
Pandemic wreaks havoc on school food service, transportation budgets
As school leaders across the region debated the best way to keep students safe during the covid-19 pandemic, budgets for food and transportation services largely went bust as both districts and outside companies were left with fewer bodies queuing through cafeteria lines or riding buses. With schools bringing students back...
Westmoreland County launches clean energy program for property development
Westmoreland County commissioners have created a program that officials said will help private businesses and industrial building owners borrow money to pay for energy conservation programs. The Countywide Property Assessed Clean Energy Program, launched by the state in 2018, allows the county to act as a middle man for private...
‘More than just getting a meal’: W. Pa. food banks, groups still see more people in need
As restrictions in place during the coronavirus pandemic have lifted and life for many begins to phase into something that resembles normalcy, others remain in need. It will take 12 to 18 months for people to fully recover from the set-backs presented during the pandemic, estimated Charlese Hayden McKinney, director...
Out & About: ‘Happiness’ on menu of Westmoreland Symphony Hat LuncheonVideo
It was an interlude of “Hats and Happiness” on Saturday at the Greensburg Country Club, as the Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra presented its 19th annual Hat Luncheon. Guests gathered on the veranda prior to moving into the ballroom, sipping champagne and mimosas and admiring each other’s colorful frocks and fanciful chapeaus....
Murrysville Export Democratic Club presents first Biden-Harris Community Service ScholarshipsVideo
Community service is important enough to U.S. Reps. Mike Doyle and Conor Lamb that it brought the two Democrats into solidly Republican territory in Murrysville on Saturday afternoon. “Hey, Conor, is this your district?” Doyle, D-Forest Hills, joked during the Murrysville Export Democratic Club’s first Biden-Harris Community Scholarship presentation, held...
Pennsylvania wants kids to get agriculture experience, farmers see technology as future
As the summer growing season gets underway, the agricultural industry continues its perennial mission of looking for a new crop of young people to enter the workforce. “Pennsylvania has long faced a looming agricultural workforce shortage, at one point estimating a deficit of 75,000 workers as farmers retire and new,...
Greensburg Salem grad’s robotic farmhand keeps cattle fedVideo
If Brad Carr has his way, the time-consuming chore of feeding farm animals will be a thing of the past. For his recent senior project, the 2021 Greensburg Salem High School graduate created and programmed a prototype robot to automatically handle that task twice a day at his grandparents’ Lone...
Greensburg beautification project planned downtown
South Pennsylvania Avenue in Greensburg continues to be the site of a lot of investment. A beautification project in the heart of the center city business community is planned to get underway and could serve as a catalyst for similar efforts around town, said Ashley Kertes, executive director of the...
Juneteenth ‘Unity in the Community’ event planned in Greensburg
It may not be a federal holiday yet, but a coalition of Westmoreland County organizations will mark Juneteenth with a celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation with a rally next week. The event, dubbed “Unity in the Community,” will be held from 2-5 p.m. Friday at St. Clair Park in Greensburg....
Shoe drive fundraiser planned at Latrobe hospital, Excela Square at LatrobeVideo
The Latrobe Area Hospital Aid Society had to switch gears like many nonprofit organizations after months of interruptions to fundraising during the coronavirus pandemic. President Jan Mills said volunteers are hoping to cash in on unwanted shoes as people clear out closets and go back to the workplace after months...
Pennsylvania hosts state’s 1st national mountain rescue conference at Seven Springs
The national Mountain Rescue Association spring conference, in its 61st year, is making its first appearance in Pennsylvania this weekend — only its third venture east of the Mississippi River. Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Somerset County welcomed about 200 guests from across the country and world for the three-day...
Last call for Hempfield’s Midway-St. Clair Social Club
It’s last call for the The Midway-St. Clair Social Club in Hempfield, which has been serving members for about 77 years. The club’s last night of operation is Saturday, said Barry Elder, president of the Midway-St. Clair Volunteer Fire Department. Owned by the department, the shuttering of the club on...
Latrobe Little League gets replacement shed, field upgrade with help from Pittsburgh Pirates, othersVideo
Latrobe Little League players are fully equipped for this season’s games, thanks to some major league help. League officials welcomed representatives of Pirates Charities to Latrobe’s Legion Keener Park ballfield Friday to unveil a new equipment storage building and additional improvements. The work was made possible with the donation of...
Half-century and counting for Westmoreland County’s longest tenured employeeVideo
Barb Jollie is in a class by herself. Working as a dependency hearing officer for Westmoreland County’s family court division, Jollie has been the one constant in the government over the past half-century. She was honored this week by commissioners for reaching a milestone, 50 years of employment with the...
