Westmoreland category, Page 518
Fire destroys landmark Murrysville restaurant
Spaghetti & Steakhouse, a landmark on Route 22 in Murrysville for more than 50 years, was destroyed Sunday in an early morning fire. The restaurant that has fed generations of local families and survived the pandemic was a total loss. A dispatcher for Westmoreland 911 said a caller reported the...
Help wanted: Western Pa. businesses hurting from lack of worker interest to fill open jobs
Dino’s Sports Lounge is in the same boat as so many other employers — competing to attract workers in a market made all the harder by covid-19 and an extra $300 a week in benefits being pocketed by eligible jobless workers. “I can’t get people to apply,” said Dino DeCario,...
Is extra $300 in federal unemployment assistance stopping people from applying for jobs?
With about 56,000 people in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties reporting they are without a job, businesses still find themselves scrambling to fill vacancies. One reason cited for the challenge is the extra $300 a week in federal Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Assistance that people have collected since the end of December....
Hempfield opens long-awaited dog park
Hempfield Township is going to the dogs — literally. The Hempfield Parks and Recreation Department cut the ribbon on its first dog park on Saturday. The long-awaited facility got high marks from dog owners who showed up for an inaugural run. It includes two fenced-in off-leash runs for dogs 35...
Greensburg honors Hometown Heroes in ceremony that marks the reawakening of civic lifeVideo
Civic life in Greensburg inched open Saturday morning as local officials and families from across the region gathered at St. Clair Park on a sunny, maskless May morning to honor 66 Hometown Heroes featured on banners throughout Greensburg and Southwest Greensburg. The ceremony that featured music by the Westmoreland Symphony...
Mural project in New Kensington meant to inspire community, invite participation
Organizers of Murals on a Mission were expecting as many as 100 people to turn out Saturday for the first of several events promoting the painting of six murals in New Kensington over the next few months. Held at the Voodoo Brewing Co. on Fifth Avenue, Saturday’s event offered a...
Murrysville sidewalk artists ‘Chalk the Walk’ to benefit Community Park
A “Chalk the Walk” fundraiser was held at Murrysville Community Park on Saturday. For $10, people could reserve a 4-foot square space along the walking trail to create their chalk masterpieces. Proceeds from the event benefited the Murrysville Parks and Recreation Foundation’s trail painting project at the park....
Allegheny County surpasses 100,000 covid-19 cases, half-million residents fully vaccinated
Allegheny has become the second county in Pennsylvania to surpass 100,000 cases of coronavirus. In its covid-19 report released Saturday, the Allegheny County Health Department reported 186 new cases of the virus. That brings the county’s total since the pandemic began to 100,039. Only Philadelphia, with 146,238 cases, has more....
Franklin Regional life-skills students use mobile kiosk to take entrepreneurship on the road
Teachers in the Franklin Regional School District are slowly but surely creating a small army of entrepreneurs and skilled workers through programs funded by the nonprofit Franklin Regional Panther Foundation. The foundation’s first $12,000 grant in 2017 helped establish the FR Panther Shop, where life-skills students in the Work Exploration...
Unity awards $2M in contracts for paving, roof replacement, storm sewer project
Supervisors in Unity are tapping the township’s first-ever bond issue to finance replacing the municipal building roof, storm sewer improvements and a massive paving program that will include more than 80 roads. At their May meeting, the supervisors awarded a $121,700 contract to TRS Roofing of Williamsburg, the sole bidder,...
A ‘Tony’ for Tony: County detective honored for commitment to Westmoreland drug court
For months as the coronavirus pandemic raged, Westmoreland County drug court participants quarantined at home and away from the much-needed counsel and treatment for their addictions. That’s where Tony Marcocci, a detective with the county District Attorney’s Office, stepped up, according to the two judges who oversee the special court...
Norwin turnout strong for covid vaccineVideo
After having lived in a dormitory at Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a roommate who contracted covid this past school year, Norwin graduate Jade Taylor did not hesitate to get a covid vaccine Friday afternoon at Norwin High School. “I have a lot of family members who are younger and...
Masks no longer required for vaccinated staff, visitors at Westmoreland courthouse
Westmoreland officials on Friday said anyone who is fully vaccinated against coronavirus will no longer be required to wear masks at the courthouse and in most other government buildings. “We are all looking forward to getting back to normal,” county Commissioner Gina Cerilli Thrasher said. According to a memo released...
Jury seated in Pirates pitcher’s sexual assault trial, testimony to begin Monday
Testimony in the sexual assault trial of former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Felipe Vazquez will begin Monday morning in a Westmoreland County courtroom. Twelve jurors and two alternates were seated Friday for what is expected to be a three-day trial after Vazquez was accused of having sexual relations with a 13-year...
Westmoreland elections office to open over weekend for mail-in ballots
Westmoreland County’s Election Bureau will be open this weekend to distribute ballots to voters who requested but not received their mail-in and absentee ballots for Tuesday’s primary election. The courthouse office will operate from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday to reissue ballots, said Election Bureau Director JoAnn Sebastiani....
West Newton man accused of assaulting, restraining ex-girlfriend
A 57-year-old West Newton man was arrested Friday on accusations of assaulting and choking his ex-girlfriend and burning her arm with cigarettes while holding her against her will, according to court documents. Fred R. Gambrill was arraigned on multiple charges of aggravated assault, simple assault, strangulation and unlawful restraint filed...
Delmont man high on meth while hiding in Export bushes and talking to himself, police say
A Delmont man is being held without bail in the county jail on a misdemeanor trespassing charge after state police said he was high on methamphetamine while acting erratically outside an Export home, according to court papers. Richard Skylar Pfeil, 25, was arrested Thursday along Jackson Avenue. He is charged...
Greensburg Salem considers holding tax line, restoring elementary band for 2021-22
Greensburg Salem School District is looking to restore some staff positions under a proposed 2021-22 budget that would not raise real estate taxes. The board will consider the tentative $47 million budget at its May 19 meeting. Business manager J. R. Dzurica said this week that the budget will allow...
Search for possible pipe bomb at Youngwood Shop ‘n Save turns up empty
A man carrying a firearm was taken into custody and a bomb squad was called to investigate after the Youngwood Shop ‘n Save and neighboring businesses were evacuated Friday. Crews responded to the Youngwood Commons shopping plaza around 10:30 a.m., according to Youngwood Fire Chief Lloyd Crago. State troopers detained...
Unity votes to resume recreational partnership with Latrobe, Greater Latrobe School DistrictVideo
Unity is rejoining a regional recreation organization after several years of operating programs separately. The township supervisors on Thursday passed a resolution to form a joint recreation commission with participants in the existing Latrobe-GLSD Parks and Recreation. Those other participants that will welcome Unity back into the fold include Greater...
Eat it or toss it? What those food expiration dates really mean
You pull an item out of the refrigerator, freezer or pantry and see it’s past the date on the package. “Should I eat this or not?” “Those dates are there for a reason,” said Martin Bucknavage, senior food safety extension associate for Penn State University in the college of agriculture...
Hempfield man honored with Pittsburgh Technical College Richard S. Caliguiri AwardVideo
Matthew Stoltz was determined to finish his bachelor’s degree this year, even if it meant completing assignments from his hospital bed. Stoltz, who was studying applied business management at Pittsburgh Technical College, was diagnosed with leukemia on May 4, 2020. The diagnosis caused the 31-year-old Hempfield resident to spend most...
5 things to do in Westmoreland County this weekend: May 14-16
Escape to the country (market) Ligonier Country Market opens for the season on Saturday, with hours from 8 a.m.-noon at the market grounds at the west end of the borough. The popular community-based farmers market features dozens of vendors whose wares reflect the “Make-It, Bake-It, Grow-It” theme. All items for...
Protect PT will appeal fracking decision to Pa. Supreme Court
Environmental group Protect PT is expected to make its case to state’s highest court next week, arguing that zoning board decisions allowing additional gas well fracking in Penn Township should be overturned. The hearing is set for 10 a.m. May 19, and will be streamed live at ProtectPT.org. Protect PT...
Newcomers seek seats on Jeannette school board, as 2 incumbents wage write-in efforts
Two candidates will appear on the ballot for Jeannette City School Board during Tuesday’s primary while two others are hoping to keep their seats on the board via write-in votes. Newcomer Felesha Beecher, 31, and incumbent Tim Mortimore, 52, are seeking two of four open seats on the board. Both...
