Westmoreland category, Page 503
Unity’s return to regional rec board will reduce costs for Latrobe, other members
Latrobe will recognize a cost savings after welcoming neighboring Unity back as a partner in a regional recreation organization. City council this week approved an intergovernmental cooperation agreement that reinstates Unity as a member of the Latrobe-GLSD Parks and Recreation organization after an absence of six years. Township supervisors signed...
Lawsuit: Greater Latrobe wrestling team members were retaliated against and left unprotected by district
The mother of an eighth-grade wrestler filed a federal lawsuit Monday against Greater Latrobe Area School District, alleging it failed to protect her son after he was questioned about witnessing hazing and misconduct among the team and coaches. According to the lawsuit, the boy — identified only by initials —and...
In-person visits set to resume at Westmoreland prison as inmate vaccinations begin
In-person visits with inmates at the Westmoreland County Prison will resume in June as officials ease restrictions enacted last year during the coronavirus pandemic. Inmates have been limited to video visits with friends and family as the coronavirus surged through the community and inside the Hempfield lockup. Warden Bryan Kline...
Monessen mayor’s Sunshine Act lawsuit targets city’s redevelopment authority
After being the target of three lawsuits related to potential Sunshine Act violations at a January 2020 council meeting, Monessen Mayor Matt Shorraw has sued the men involved in two of those lawsuits — including one who was a political opponent in last week’s primary election — claiming they are...
Pa. to resume job search requirement for unemployment benefits
Beginning July 18, Pennsylvania’s unemployed workers again will have to prove they applied for two jobs per week to continue to receive jobless benefits, a state labor official said Monday. Unemployed workers also must register for job search services with the PA CareerLink offices. The requirements were suspended last year...
Help wanted: Westmoreland County seeks applicants for vacant jobs
Westmoreland County has the “help wanted” sign out to fill jobs in several departments but, as has been the case in the private sector, there isn’t enough community interest to fill vacant positions. It has been so much of a challenge to fill the roster of guards at the county...
Pennsylvania inches near Gov. Wolf’s 70% vaccination target for lifting mask mandate
Gov. Tom Wolf’s goal of having 70% of adult Pennsylvanians fully vaccinated against covid-19 may well be within reach in a month’s time. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Pennsylvania is just a half a percentage point shy of hitting 70% of adults with at...
Man ordered to jail on $250K bond after police standoff in Mt. Pleasant
State police said a Mt. Pleasant man told troopers he snorted cocaine and drank “five beers” prior to his arrest Monday on charges of shooting toward three municipal police officers responding to his house for a report of a home invasion, according to court records. Richard W. Teeters, 49, was...
Colonial reenactor brings new life to Bushy Run Battlefield museumVideo
A Pittsburgh man with a lifetime passion for history has taken a job at a pivotal battlefield in the region’s colonial history. “My hope is that people will come back to the Bushy Run. We want people to experience this, to come into this building (museum) who had never been...
Jeannette mom awaits justice for slain sonVideo
Taunja Williamson heard the gunshots. She knew immediately something was wrong with someone she loved. She rushed out her Jeannette door and went left toward the chaos. “There was a girl who said, ‘It’s City,’ ” Williamson recalled. Instantly, her world changed. City was the nickname of her son, Mariell...
Vote count shows 22 of grassroots group’s 26 candidates won fall ballot spots
A progressive grassroots organizing group that fielded 26 candidates in municipal and school board races in five counties, including Westmoreland, is celebrating putting 22 candidates on the fall ballot. It may seem small, coming at the end of a low-participation primary that featured thousands of ballot openings in municipalities and...
Derry Area youth league reclaiming field near New Alexandria for softball, baseball gamesVideo
On a recent Sunday, young ball players were trying out the batting cages at Latimer Field while their younger siblings placed small orange flags to mark gopher holes to be filled in the outfield. Restoration of the neglected youth baseball and softball complex got underway April 30 just outside New...
Derry Area parents organize Hollywood-themed prom for students following school prom’s cancellationVideo
Derry Area High School students walked across their very own red carpet Saturday night into a Hollywood-themed prom planned by parents after Derry’s prom was canceled. “We (were) happy to do it,” said Linette Copelli, one of about 20 parent organizers. “Those kids have stepped up and shown a strength...
Seton Hill holds graduation ceremonies for 2020, 2021 graduates
Seton Hill University held its spring commencement at the McKenna Center on Saturday. Graduation was livestreamed through the university’s website. Programs for the events and names of student who earned degrees were also posted online. They celebrated the success of the 2020 and 2021 class during the in-person commencement. Ceremonies...
Renowned preservationist remembered at Fort Ligonier ceremonyVideo
A historic restorationist who labored for decades creating historic reproductions at Fort Ligonier was remembered Saturday as a man who contributed to the good of his community. Charles A. Fagan III, a Fort Ligonier trustee emeritus, described his friend, the late Bradford E. “Brad” Mooney, 76, of Worthington, as a...
As covid cases decline, only 1 Pa. county reports more than 100 cases
New covid case numbers continue to decline in Pennsylvania, as well as in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties. On Saturday, only one county in the state reported triple-digit cases. Cases The state reported 1,658 additional covid cases Saturday, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, only one...
Greensburg family honors legacy of ‘Grand Lady’ historic homeVideo
When Nathan and Kathy Anderson went house hunting, they weren’t just looking for a place big enough to raise their five daughters — they also wanted a place with a story of its own to tell. They found it at 106 Oakland Ave. in Greensburg, a stately brick home built...
Washington Township man accused of leading police on 115 mph chase, drug possession
A Washington Township man was jailed after police say he led them on a several-mile chase that reached 115 miles per hour. James D. Higgins, 40, was arrested in the garage of his home after the 2:27 a.m. Wednesday chase along routes 66 and 366, according to court documents filed...
Fire destroys Mt. Pleasant Township house
A Mt. Pleasant Township house was destroyed by fire late Friday night. The fire at the house at 274 Freeman Falls Road started in the garage and spread from the breezeway into the house, Kecksburg fire Chief Adam Krozel said. The fire then spread into the roof area, the chief...
Somerset County man charged with DUI in 2019 Ligonier Township crash that killed bicyclist
Eighteen months after a bicyclist from Hempfield was struck and killed by a car atop Laurel Mountain summit on Route 30, Ligonier Valley police arrested the car’s driver on charges of homicide by vehicle and being under the influence of multiple prescription pills, according to court records. Adam W. Ulrich,...
Latrobe man convicted of sexual assault; jury says not guilty of rape
A Westmoreland County jury on Thursday convicted a Latrobe man of sexual assault but not rape. Prosecutors said Hunter Jones Hoyle, 22, assaulted a 20-year-old woman after she fell asleep in a friend’s room in the early morning hours of Jan. 1, 2020, following a party at a home on...
Westmoreland poll workers awarded big raises
Civic duty hasn’t quite been the lure Westmoreland elections officials had hoped to attract people to work the polls on Election Day, so county commissioners will offer more cash as an incentive. Commissioners, acting as the elections board, on Friday issued massive raises to reward those who worked at the...
Hempfield’s St. Emma Monastery continues food-fair tradition started during pandemicVideo
The Benedictine nuns of St. Emma Monastery in Hempfield may technically be cloistered, but by May 2020, they were just as anxious as everyone else to get back outside. With covid-19 case counts rising and falling, they needed a way to safely provide social distancing — so they settled on...
Covid cases rise slightly in Pennsylvania as hospitalizations drop
Pennsylvania recorded a slight rise in covid-19 cases while the number of people hospitalized with the illness continued its steady drop. The state on Friday added 1,823 cases, the most in the past six days, according to data from the state Department of Health. Those cases helped raise the seven-day...
Murrysville to evaluate permanent fixes for Logan’s Ferry, Heather Highlands bridges
Murrysville officials would like to build on a 2018 study of the Logan’s Ferry bridge intersection and begin evaluating permanent fixes for there and the Heather Highlands bridge. “We have a major problem with several bridges,” Jim Morrison, chief administrator, told council this week. “They’re required to be inspected annually....
