Westmoreland category, Page 530
Grants help grow community gardens across Western Pa.Video
A community garden can bring together residents who never met, and its bounty can help feed the growers and others through donations. That’s why several community garden organizers throughout Western Pennsylvania were so happy to receive grant funding or in-kind donations to get their gardens started. “We got some help...
Covid cases continue slow increase as over 40% of Pa. has at least 1 vaccine dose
For the fifth straight day, Pennsylvania has posted a new daily covid case number above 5,000 — something it has not done since mid-January. The state’s seven-day case average rose to 4,949, with a total of 34,642 cases during that seven-day span. The last time the state’s seven-day case average...
Life during covid: Former Westmoreland public defender makes career move in midst of pandemicVideo
Editor’s note: This is an occasional series examining how the coronavirus pandemic has affected the lives of members of our community. Attorney Chris Haidze doesn’t regret for a minute his decision to make a major career move in the middle of the covid-19 pandemic to become Westmoreland County special courts...
Turnpike officials install first solar microgrid on Hempfield bypass property
A microgrid consisting of more than 3,200 solar panels is under construction at a Pennsylvania Turnpike maintenance facility in Hempfield. Located at 241 AKH Maintenance Lane along the Amos K. Hutchinson Bypass, the facility is the only turnpike campus that will use solar panels for power. “The turnpike is looking...
Belle Vernon collectibles business gets ‘Remixxd’ as it expandsVideo
People will collect just about anything. Just ask Don Spagnolo, owner of an an online collectibles marketplace based in Belle Vernon. Last year, he bought fixtures from a bar that was going out of business, and the beer tap handles turned into a surprisingly hot seller. “They’ve been in such...
Suspect arrested in fatal Jeannette shooting
A Jeannette man was arrested on a homicide charge Friday in connection with the fatal shooting of a city man this week. Stuart Ali, 45, surrendered to authorities, police Chief Shannon Binda said. Ali was arraigned Friday night and jailed without bail. Ali also is facing a weapons violation. Binda...
Greensburg man convicted of Indiana County fire bombing
A Greensburg man accused of trying to burn down an Indiana County home last May by throwing “Molotov cocktails” at it was convicted this week in a non-jury trial, according to court records. Derrick John Weber, 21, was found guilty by Indiana County Judge William J. Martin of attempted arson...
Proposal to open Arnold Palmer airport restaurant lease triggers social media furor
A plan to open the restaurant lease at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport for competitive proposals has drawn a social media backlash. With county commissioners publicly urging the move this week, the Westmoreland County Airport Authority is preparing a request for proposals to lease the terminal space — once an agreement...
Defendant claims another man fired gun in 2018 Arnold shooting
Nicholas Haynes told a jury Friday afternoon he was only in Arnold three years ago to beat up a man and was surprised his companion pulled out a gun and fired three shots, seriously wounding the former friend. “We wasn’t down there to kill Malcolm or shoot him. That wasn’t...
Southmoreland school board member dons paper bag in protest of mask policyVideo
A retired school psychologist and veteran member of the Southmoreland School Board is gaining notoriety after she attended a meeting Thursday with a paper bag pulled over her head. A video recording of the meeting on YouTube shows Catherine Fike sitting at one the end of the meeting table with...
Westmoreland Transit rider numbers inch upward, authority to hire more drivers
Public transportation ridership numbers still are a long way from pre-pandemic levels, but they are showing a slight rebound that has Westmoreland County Transit Authority officials hopeful better times are ahead. “We’ve had a little bit of an increase,” Executive Director Alan Blahovec said at the authority’s monthly business meeting....
Drugs, cash seized after police chase in North Huntingdon
A Clairton man was arrested Thursday after police said he ran from a traffic stop on Route 30 in North Huntingdon and threw a bag of drugs as he fled, according to court papers. Anthony Martin Jamison, 32, being held without bond in the Westmoreland County Prison. Township officers were...
Westmoreland County commissioners split over court raises
Raises for secretaries and law clerks working for Westmoreland County’s 11 Common Pleas Court judges were approved Thursday in a split vote of the county’s salary board. By a 3-2 vote, the board, which includes all three county commissioners and Controller Jeff Balzer, narrowly signed off on the plan to...
Greensburg Salem secondary students will head back to school after 2-day covid closure
Greensburg Salem middle and high school students are set to return to their classrooms Monday after the schools stepped back to full remote instruction on Thursday and Friday because of covid-19 cases. Because Westmoreland County returned to a substantial level of covid transmission, local schools must track the number of...
Irwin woman charged with biting trooper, trying to push drugs down station drain
An Irwin woman is behind bars after, state police say, she bit a trooper during a drunken-driving arrest and attempted to push drugs down a drain while being processed at the station, according to court papers. Crystal D. Weimer, 43, is charged with aggravated assault, driving under the influence, resisting...
2 Westmoreland farms protected by state conservation program
Two Westmoreland County farms were among the 26 protected by the state in recent purchases of permanent conservation easements in return for owners selling the “development value” of their property. The farms involved in raising crops and livestock were protected under the state’s Farmland Preservation Program from future residential, commercial...
Pennsylvania sees rising covid cases, deaths, hospitalizations
Pennsylvania on Friday reported 5,650 new cases of covid-19, raising the seven-day average to 4,916, the highest average since early February. There have been 1,098,502 cases recorded since the pandemic began, according to data from the state Department of Health. The state added 56 new covid-related deaths, the second most...
Westmoreland Symphony season finale stars piano virtuoso Maxim LandoVideo
There’s a special energy on stage when piano virtuoso Maxim Lando sits in with the Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra. “He’s a talented young musician and a great complement to our orchestra,” said WSO Executive Director Endy Reindl. “He’s a delight and a fun person to be around, just a ball of...
5 things to do in Westmoreland County this weekend: April 16-18, 2021
Music and munchies Live music and food trucks are on tap this weekend at All Saints Brewing Co., 1602 Route 119, Greensburg. The acoustic duo Two Man Martian kicks the music off at 6:30 p.m. Friday. The Earth, Wheel and Fire mobile wood-fired pizza kitchen will have pies including its...
North Huntingdon: Details needed on township’s $3M share of pandemic relief money
North Huntingdon should get about $3 million from the latest $1.9 trillion covid relief bill that Congress approved last month, though specifics on how the township can spend the money have yet to be outlined. “There’s a lot of bullet points” saying what the American Rescue Plan money can be...
Jeannette-based cemetery company sold to Pittsburgh investment firm
A Pittsburgh private equity firm purchased a Jeannette-based company that is one of the largest privately owned gravesite operators in the nation, with 26 memorial parks, including four in Westmoreland County and another in Washington County. Stonewood Capital Management said this week an unnamed affiliate purchased CMS East Inc. on...
‘History, character and charm’: Hempfield home inspired by work at Penguin Court mansionVideo
The new owners of the Italian Provencal-style house at 729 Harvey Ave. in Hempfield will find plenty of reminders of the home’s past. Above the living room fireplace are carved the initials of the original occupants, building contractor Anson T. Zambano and his wife, the former Emma Seeno. Zambano built...
Hempfield Area temporarily closes middle school because of covid-19 cases
A Hempfield Area middle school is closed today due to positive covid-19 cases, according to district officials. Students at West Hempfield Middle School are attending classes remotely after the district was informed that two students contracted the virus and were at school while infectious, according to a letter from Superintendent...
Detective testifies accused Arnold shooter wrote letters to coerce and intimidate witnesses
The man on trial for the attempted homicide of a man in Arnold three years ago unsuccessfully tried to bribe his accuser into blaming another person for the shooting, a detective testified Thursday. Westmoreland County Detective James Williams also told a Westmoreland County jury that Nicholas Haynes tried to convince...
Westmoreland commissioners say $140 million borrowing plan will put off future tax hike
Westmoreland commissioners said a plan to borrow about $140 million this year to bolster the county’s pension fund could prevent a future property tax increase. Commissioners on Thursday signed off on the preliminary work to hire financial advisers, lawyers and underwriters who will finalize the plan that officials said will...
