Westmoreland category, Page 614
Norwin postpones school reopening, closes middle school
Faced with more coronavirus cases at school and in the community, Norwin School District officials said Monday the middle school will close for at least two days this week and the full reopening of its schools will be postponed from Nov. 4 until at least Nov. 18. Two positive cases...
Democrats still hold the edge, but Pennsylvania voter registration gains favor GOPVideo
Mary Ann Hegan is part of a voter migration she never anticipated. The 72-year-old retiree from Laughlintown is among more than 486,000 Pennsylvania Democrats who have switched their registration to Republican since 2008. Moving the other way, Tim Gunter, 49, of Philipsburg is among 291,324 Republicans in the state to...
Hempfield Area School District reports more cases of coronavirus
The Hempfield Area School District reported several new coronavirus cases Monday. One teacher each at Harrold Middle, Hempfield Area High and Maxwell Elementary schools, along with a student at West Hempfield Elementary and three teachers with Hempfield Area Cyber Academy, reported positive tests over the weekend and on Monday, said...
Westmoreland Prison Board moves ahead in search for new wardenVideo
The Westmoreland County Prison Board will accept applications through Friday for a new warden to succeed John Walton, who announced last month he was resigning and retiring. Walton, 61, of Mt. Pleasant Township, submitted his resignation Sept. 28, claiming it was the result of “a public character assassination and campaign...
Dairy Queen owner honored with Greater Latrobe chamber’s annual community service award
The coronavirus pandemic and the new world of social distancing it created haven’t frozen out drive-in customers seeking ice cream treats at the Dairy Queen in Unity. Unlike many other eating establishments that focused on dine-in service, “we were fortunate to be able to run our business,” said owner Dean...
Westmoreland warden says quarantined prison cell block may reopen this week
A unit at the Westmoreland County Prison that has been under quarantine since multiple inmates and staff members in early October tested positive for the coronavirus could reopen this week, according to jail officials. “We’re awaiting results of tests taken Friday, and we fully expect that unit to reopen this...
Greensburg police try to identify suspect who fired multiple gunshotsVideo
Greensburg police are asking the public’s help in an ongoing investigation into a report late Friday of a man shooting multiple rounds from a firearm. The incident occurred at 10:38 p.m. in the area of Grove Street and Spring Avenue, police said Monday in a Facebook post. No one was...
Westmoreland adds 125 covid cases over past 2 days, 3 new deaths
There were 125 new cases of covid-19 in Westmoreland County over the past two days, according to a report Monday from the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Health officials said another three people have died of the coronavirus — two reported Sunday, one on Monday. It’s the 12th consecutive day that...
Dozens of items seized from Washington Township home likely stolen, police say
When Washington Township Police Chief Scott Slagle went on the hunt for a 30-ton log splitter that had been reported stolen, he was surprised to find it this month sitting in the driveway of a Spring Hill Road home. Now, investigators are trying to figure out the origin of dozens...
Holiday gifts, fine art available at Greensburg Art Center sale
Take it from a member artist — Greensburg Art Center’s annual holiday show and sale is worth a visit. “It’s the best one we’ve ever had,” says Tom Niggel of Greensburg. “The Art of GIFTing” opened Saturday with an informal reception and runs through Dec. 21 at the center, 230...
Norwin seeks volunteers for input in a master facilities plan
Norwin is seeking volunteers from the North Huntingdon-Irwin area who want to serve on a new facilities action committee that will review the state of the school district’s buildings and grounds. Superintendent Jeff Taylor said Monday the school district has not set a target number for the volunteers on the...
North Huntingdon names new emergency management coordinator
A retired North Huntingdon police officer is the municipality’s new emergency management agency coordinator. Township commissioners unanimously appointed Robert Dippolito on Oct. 21 to the post, succeeding Gene Komondor, who resigned in September after serving 13 years in the role. Dippolito, who retired in May 2019 after serving 29 years...
Yough moves to virtual learning for all students
Students in Yough School District will move to all-virtual classes Wednesday, scuttling plans announced last week to close one of the school buildings for five days after a staff member tested positive for the coronavirus. All students will have Tuesday off and will start virtual learning on Wednesday as a...
Trick-or-treat during a pandemic: ‘We don’t have the power to stop Halloween’
It didn’t take long for the first trickle of school-related coronavirus cases this fall to turn into a steady drip that has seen multiple school buildings close. State health officials said earlier this week that the fall surge they had anticipated had arrived. Many communities, however, are going ahead with...
Manor man has spent decades working on ‘collection of collections’
Some people have collections. Larry Bard of Manor might better described as someone with a collection of collections. From milk bottles and coffee tins to Bugs Bunny and ‘ALF’ memorabilia, Bard and his wife, Verdine, have filled their home — and a separate building, and basically just about any available...
Westmoreland County probes cause for duplicate ballots
Westmoreland County elections officials said Saturday an investigation is underway to determine why some voters received duplicate ballots in the mail for the Nov. 3 election. Elections Bureau Director JoAnn Sebastiani said officials started receiving reports this week that some voters received more than one ballot. They do not believe...
Crowds line up in Westmoreland County to recycle hazardous materialsVideo
Pat O’Neill didn’t even know how long he had old paint cans and other hazardous materials stored in his garage, but he was glad to finally dispose of those items Saturday morning. “I just wanted to get rid of this stuff properly, get it out of my garage,” O’Neill said...
Westmoreland County reports 72 new coronavirus cases, 1 death
The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Saturday reported 72 new cases of coronavirus in Westmoreland County. Saturday’s addition puts the seven-day average at 80 cases; the county reported 64 cases on Friday. One additional death was reported, increasing the death toll to 81. This has been the deadliest reporting week...
Westmoreland Museum of American Art to celebrate season with Winter Lights night
The Westmoreland Museum of American Art will once again kick off the holiday season with its second annual Winter Lights Illumination Night. The museum will be decked out with a light display, which will run nightly from Nov. 13 to Feb. 13. Tickets to the Illumination Night event cost $12...
Former Derry Twp. man sentenced up to 15 years in prison for child sex offenses
An Indiana County man was sentenced in Westmoreland County Court to 7½ to 15 years in prison for sexually assaulting an underage girl over two years. Jason E. Matty, 48, of Blacklick and formerly of Derry Township was sentenced Thursday by Judge Christopher Feliciani after pleading guilty to involuntary deviate...
Westmoreland officials: Lax health precautions likely contributor to coronavirus surge
Westmoreland County officials cannot attribute an ongoing surge in coronavirus cases to any specific activity, but some suggest a major factor could be people being lax in following recommended health guidelines to mitigate the pandemic. On Friday, the county recorded 64 new cases of the disease — after adding 133...
Rematch pits Davanzo against Prah in race for state House 58th District
Voters in the state House 58th District have seen this race before — seven months ago, to be exact, when Republican Eric Davanzo and Democrat Robert Prah Jr. vied to serve out the remaining time of a vacant term. Davanzo, 44, of South Huntingdon won by less than 1,000 votes...
Greensburg seeks public opinion for Spring Avenue Park redesign
Greensburg had to cancel its plans for a renovation kickoff party in Spring Avenue Park, but city officials hope residents will still share their opinions about the park’s future online. The original plan was to host a gathering in the park Saturday afternoon with games, activities and surveys to get...
State police seize 2 kilos of fentanyl on turnpike near New Stanton, charge 2 N.Y. men
Two New York men are in federal custody after state troopers this week allegedly found more than two kilos of fentanyl stashed in a secret compartment of an SUV on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Westmoreland County. Federal magistrate Patricia Dodge on Wednesday found that there was probable cause for Juan...
Westmoreland County coronavirus transmission remains ‘substantial’ for 2nd week
Westmoreland County ended the week with a “substantial” level of coronavirus cases, which means local school officials will have to decide whether to follow state recommendations to switch to virtual learning for all students. Data released Friday by the state Department of Health lists about 124 cases of the virus...
