Westmoreland category, Page 529
Acting Westmoreland Clerk of Court jumps out to strong lead in GOP primary
Westmoreland County’s Acting Clerk of Courts Megan Loughner held a wide lead in Tuesday’s Republican primary to run for a full four-year term to run the office to oversee the county’s criminal court records. With 288 of the 307 precincts reporting, Loughner, 36, of Unity, had 65% of the votes...
Jobe leads both party races for Greensburg Salem School Board
Incumbent Lynn Jobe appears to have won a tight eight-way race for four Greensburg Salem School Board nominations on both party ballots, with all of the precincts reporting. Jobe received 1,513 Democratic votes, followed by 1,478 for Sara Deegan, 1,282 for incumbent Lynna Thomas, 960 for Autumn Jevicky, 831 for...
Mylant leads Murphy in GOP balloting for Unity supervisor
Republican voters appeared to favor incumbent John Mylant over challenger Doug Murphy in Tuesday’s primary battle for Unity supervisor. Mylant had about 64% of the vote, with all precincts reporting. He had received 1,929 votes to 1,071 for Murphy, according to unofficial returns. Mylant, 58, is completing his second six-year...
PennDOT plans road closures in Youngwood, Rostraver
Road restrictions and closures are to begin Wednesday in Youngwood and Thursday in Rostraver, according to PennDOT officials. Beginning at 4 a.m. Wednesday and continuing through May 26, crews will pave Route 119 northbound (Third Street) and southbound (Fourth Street), in Youngwood, between Hillis Street and the New Stanton line....
Franklin Regional eyes more-traditional commencement following relaxation of covid restrictions
For Franklin Regional Senior High School Principal Ron Suvak, the past 365 days mean he’s just a year older. “But our kids only get to be kids one time,” he said. “There are certain things endemic to the high school experience that we weren’t able to recreate last year.” That...
Hempfield Area teachers get 6-year contract, almost 2% annual raises
After more than a year of negotiations that were upended because of the covid-19 pandemic, Hempfield Area School District teachers reached a contract agreement with the district. School board members on Monday ratified the contract, giving union members an average raise of 1.8% per year over the course of the...
Find out how Latrobe shaped Fred Rogers
Lessons from everybody’s favorite neighbor will return to the forefront with “Won’t You Be My Neighbor, Again?,” a new community programming series based on the life and legacy of Fred Rogers. Saint Vincent College, the college’s Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children’s Media and Latrobe Art Center are...
Hempfield Area passes preliminary budget with no tax increase
Hempfield Area School District officials avoided a projected $1.2 million deficit in the 2021-22 budget, passing a preliminary budget that does not include a tax hike. School board members on Monday unanimously approved a preliminary budget that includes $98.8 million in revenues and $99.5 million in expenditures. Money will be...
River Art Works seeks artists, volunteers for Ligonier summer paint-outs
Professional artists and volunteers are needed for a monthly series of summer paint-outs planned in Ligonier by River Art Works. The first of the second-Saturday sessions will be held from 10:30 a.m.-4 p.m. June 12 at Ligonier Diamond Park. Other dates are July 10, Aug. 14 and Sept. 11. Interested...
Investigator testifies Pirates pitcher Vazquez knew Scottdale girl was ‘too young’
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Felipe Vazquez, during a police interrogation at his Strip District apartment in September 2019, initially claimed he knew his teen accuser was young and told investigators her age was why he refused to communicate with her over the previous two years. Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Michael Thompson,...
‘Technical error’ omits discussion of judge’s recusal from Commonwealth Court livestreamVideo
During oral arguments last week before the state’s Commonwealth Court, attorney John Smith, representing the Murrysville Watch Committee and its appeal challenging Murrysville’s unconventional gas drilling ordinance, requested that Judge J. Andrew Crompton recuse himself. Moments afterward, the livestream feed of the public court proceeding cut to a hold screen,...
Allegheny County covid case average lowest since Halloween
Both the state and Allegheny County on Tuesday saw covid-19 statistics drop to levels not seen since the fall. Locally and at the commonwealth level, case averages are back to where they were late last year. Cases Allegheny County saw its seven-day average of covid-19 cases drop to lows not...
Murrysville man charged with arson in restaurant fire
A Murrysville man was arrested Tuesday on arson charges in connection with a weekend fire that destroyed a landmark restaurant along Route 22. Murrysville police Chief Tom Seefeld said Brian Paul Lucas, 43, confessed to starting the fire at Spaghetti & Steakhouse and Hot Rod Lounge early Saturday after authorities...
North Huntingdon man charged with double homicide in Penn Township killingsVideo
A North Huntingdon man is accused of killing a Penn Township man at his home as well as his girlfriend as she tried to escape early Monday, fulfilling what police say was “a grudge reconciliation weekend.” Before District Judge Helen Kistler on Tuesday night, Victor Steban, 53, of North Thompson...
Belle Vernon area teen accused by troopers in 2020 brick-throwing incident on I-70
A 16-year-old is charged in Westmoreland County juvenile court in connection with a brick-throwing incident along Interstate 70 in North Belle Vernon last year, state police said. Trooper Brian McKee said evidence against the teen from the Belle Vernon area culminated with charges of criminal mischief, propulsion of missiles and...
Weekly spread of covid in Norwin area less than 1% again, as of May 18, 2021
For the second consecutive week, there was a less than 1% increase in the weekly rate of transmission of coronavirus for residents in the North Huntingdon-North Irwin-Irwin area, the smallest percentage increase since October, according to the state Department of Health. There were 24 additional confirmed cases of covid from...
Evidence suppressed in federal gun case against suspect in Unity woman’s disappearance
A 2018 search at a Potter County cabin was illegal, a federal judge has ruled, suppressing evidence against Thomas George Stanko in a weapons case. U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann ruled that federal authorities didn’t have a valid reason to believe that a gun would be found at the cabin....
Jeannette police dog vehicle funded solely by donations hits the streets
A new police dog patrol unit is on the streets of Jeannette after incredible support from the community helped handler Sgt. Jim Phillips keep a promise he made years ago. The entire cost of the 2020 Ford Explorer Interceptor — $47,611 — was funded solely by donations to the department’s...
Sparse voter turnout for Pennsylvania primary election; votes start being countedVideo
Voter turnout for Pennsylvania’s primary Tuesday was sparse compared to November’s election, but officials say it was bolstered by mail-in voting and statewide ballot questions drawing out third-party voters. Results are slowing coming in for Allegheny County and Westmoreland County races. In Allegheny County, voters requested 124,813 mail-in ballots —...
Former WCCC accountant pleads guilty to theft from school
A former accountant at Westmoreland County Community College was ordered to serve five years of probation for the theft of more than $54,000 from the school’s student government account. Shirley Ferrenberg, 60, of Unity, pleaded guilty Monday to one felony theft count in connection with the funds police say were...
No injuries as truck crashes into ditch on Route 366 in Washington Township
No one was injured Monday afternoon when a tractor-trailer cab ran off Route 366 and landed in a ditch in Washington Township. The crash was reported shortly after 2:45 p.m., according to a Westmoreland County 911 supervisor. The truck, which was not hauling a load, broke through a guardrail and...
Police charge man they say wore only underwear while breaking into South Huntingdon homes
A West Newton man is behind bars after state police accused him of wearing only underwear and breaking into two South Huntingdon homes Saturday, according to court papers. Stephen Levi Wilson, 25, is charged with burglary, criminal trespass, theft, disorderly conduct and related offenses. Police say he broke into a...
Greensburg Salem looks to draw on fund balance to cover 2021-22 revenue gap
A $1 million operating surplus forecast for Greensburg Salem at the end of the current fiscal year is expected to help the school district avoid a tax increase for 2021-22. But it won’t be enough to avoid dipping into the fund balance to cover next year’s expenses, according to a...
Coronavirus vaccines for homebound individuals underway in WestmorelandVideo
It was as if a higher power had something to do with getting a coronavirus vaccine into Greg McNaughton’s New Alexandria home on Monday. “Ave Maria” played on the television in McNaughton’s room while his left arm was injected with the vaccine by Lorenzo Garino, director of operations with Mutual...
Mt. Pleasant motorcyclist arrested with drugs, gun after going 85 mph in a 35 mph zone, police say
A Mt. Pleasant Borough man told investigators he was on drugs during a short police chase in New Stanton Saturday that ended when he crashed his motorcycle, according to court papers. Troopers said they seized a loaded gun and drugs from Joshua Scott Lucot, 24. He was being held at...
