Westmoreland category, Page 62
Ligonier Township planning board recommends allowing mid-May opening for Country Market
The Ligonier Township Planning Commission is recommending that township supervisors modify a conditional-use permit, which would allow the popular Ligonier Country Market to open as planned May 17. The supervisors will hear testimony on the matter at a formal hearing set for 7 p.m. Tuesday. The planning board unanimously agreed...
Throngs come out for 1st Greensburg Night Market of the season
The Greensburg Night Market returned for a seventh season Thursday, on a perfect April evening that drew a large crowd to South Pennsylvania Avenue. This season, more than 150 food, beverage, art and craft vendors will participate, stretching across four blocks — between West Otterman and West Fourth streets —...
Westmoreland drug court moves into new era; founding judge honored
Westmoreland County’s drug court has entered a new era. Its two founding judges, who have presided over the program since its inception a decade ago, have now relinquished their roles in the program that has seen 94 graduates. Common Pleas Court Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio announced Thursday the end of her...
PennDOT pipe replacements close roads near Jeannette, West Newton
Replacement of underground pipes is triggering closures of one road on the outskirts of Jeannette and another east of West Newton. Closure of a section of Penn Adamsburg Road in Hempfield, between Gratz Street and Julie Dean Lane, is set to begin Friday, according to PennDOT. State maintenance crews will...
Flowering dogwood tree distribution set in Jeannette
Free flowering dogwood tree saplings will be handed out April 30 in Jeannette. The West Penn Power Green Team has 250 saplings to give away in honor of Earth Day. The saplings, which will have white flowers, will be available from 9 a.m. until noon at the community garden at...
Troopers find 13 pounds of cocaine hidden in SUV after traffic stop on Pa. Turnpike
State police reported finding on Wednesday 13 pounds of suspected cocaine hidden in an SUV while it was traveling on the Pennsylvania Turnpike through Westmoreland County. Troopers estimated the street value of the drugs at $150,000. A trooper who was monitoring westbound traffic in Mt. Pleasant Township around 1 p.m....
Demolition of former SCI Greensburg prison begins
Now that demolition at the former SCI Greensburg prison is getting underway, Hempfield officials are ready to look at the property’s future. Township supervisors could begin discussions this summer on how to reuse the 96-acre site off Route 119 between Greensburg and Youngwood. “We need to start that,” said Supervisor...
Police blame Hempfield Route 30 crash on wrong-way driver
A crash that injured two people Wednesday on Route 30 in Hempfield was the result of a wrong-way driver, said state police Trooper Steve Limani. Troopers are still investigating how the driver got onto the eastbound lanes of the divided highway going west, but think they may have entered at...
Retired attorney, Social Security judge selected to fill vacant Ligonier Township supervisor seat
A retired attorney and former administrative law judge has joined Ligonier Township’s board of supervisors to fill a vacancy through the end of the year. The remaining four supervisors voted 3-1 Tuesday to appoint John Fraser, 69, to a seat vacated by the recent abrupt resignation of D. Scott Matson....
Eastbound Route 30 reopens near Cedar Street exit in Hempfield after 4-vehicle crash
Two people were taken to AHN Forbes Hospital in Monroeville on Wednesday after a four-vehicle crash on Route 30 in Hempfield, according to Mutual Aid spokesperson Shawn Penzera. Their conditions were unclear. Traffic was affected for four hours. The eastbound side of the highway was shut down in the area...
Lawsuit: Greensburg Central Catholic student injured after exposure to toxic fumes, fall
An eighth grade student at Greensburg Central Catholic Junior-Senior High School in Hempfield was injured after being exposed to toxic fumes in the school’s gymnasium, his father said in a lawsuit filed in Westmoreland County court. The lawsuit claims the student was among several children who became sick while attending...
Man pleads guilty to lesser charge in 2022 Jeannette fatal stabbing
A man pleaded guilty Wednesday to a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter in connection with the fatal stabbing of a Jeannette neighbor nearly three years ago. Prosecutors said Antwone Dupree Thurston II, 25, stabbed and slashed 62-year-old William Osselburn 11 times during an altercation on Sept. 26, 2022, outside of...
Ligonier Country Market’s appeal of opening date rule heads to planning board, supervisors
The Ligonier Township planning commission on Thursday will consider an appeal by the Ligonier Country Market that could affect the seasonal venue’s opening date this year. The market is looking to modify a provision of a 2008 township conditional use permit that indicates it can’t open before Memorial Day, which...
ATI strikes labor deal with nearly 1,000 workers
ATI and its employees have reached a six-year labor agreement. The deal was announced Wednesday, about a week after ATI and the United Steelworkers union reached a tentative agreement on wages, working conditions and benefits for nearly 1,000 employees. Many produce specialty alloys at the company’s Harrison, Vandergrift and Latrobe...
Westmoreland happenings: Chicken barbecue, art exhibit, spaghetti dinner, more
Art • The works of photographer and artist Shirleah Kelly will be exhibited April 25 through May 29 at the Greensburg Hempfield Area Library, 237 S. Pennsylvania Ave., Greensburg. An opening reception will be from 5 to 7 p.m. April 25. Details: 724-244-9418. Fundraisers • Dawson Vanderbilt Lions will host...
New York City firm gets initial OK for solar farm on site of former Unity stone quarry
A New York City-based solar farm developer has passed the first hurdle in its plan to develop an array along a rural road in Unity. The township zoning hearing board on Tuesday unanimously approved a special exception that will allow CVE North America to pursue installation of a solar farm...
Charges upheld against Rostraver man accused in rape of unconscious woman
A Westmoreland County judge on Tuesday rejected a defense bid to dismiss charges against a Rostraver man accused of using a date rape drug to sexually assault an unconscious woman in her home last year. Nathaniel Tire Johnston, 34, is charged with rape and other offenses based on allegations made...
Hillandale Farms, giant egg producer, sells for $1.1B
Hillandale Farms, among the nation’s top egg producers with a corporate office in Hempfield, was sold last month for $1.1 billion to a Luxembourg-based company. Hillandale Farms, founded by Orland Bethel in 1958, sold its 20-million chicken operations in late March to Global Eggs, according to news reports. Hillandale Farms...
Westmoreland judge schedules 2 oldest criminal cases for September
A trial date was set Tuesday for the capital murder case against a New Kensington man charged with the beating death of a toddler in 2020. Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Scott Mears ordered the case against Keith Dale Lilly Jr., 36, to begin in September. In doing so he...
Work on Youghiogheny River bridge to restrict traffic on I-70
Motorists on Interstate 70 can expect to encounter daytime lane restrictions in Rostraver and South Huntingdon beginning Wednesday, as work continues on reconstruction of the Route 51 interchange and improvement of an adjoining section of the interstate. Single-lane restrictions for both eastbound and westbound traffic are planned between the Route...
Hempfield Area faces $5.1M budget deficit for 2025-26 school year
Rising charter school payments and growing retirement costs have Hempfield Area school officials exploring how to offset a 2025-26 budget deficit that stands at more than $5 million. District business manager Paul Schott said expenditures for next year are up by nearly $7.3 million over 2024-25. “Without the impact of...
Plans for Greensburg Amtrak station include new doors, restrooms for handicapped access
Amtrak is looking to make improvements to its station at Greensburg beginning in 2026, while upgrades at the Latrobe station are set to get underway this year. The station projects, which include improved features for handicapped accessibility, come as Amtrak is planning to expand its passenger service between Pittsburgh and...
Norwin’s $25M stadium renovation project panned by critics
The Norwin School Board members who voted last week for a $25 million stadium project were ripped Monday by critics who called it unnecessary, too costly in times of economic uncertainty and too much of a tax burden, particularly on senior citizens. “I think you failed in your fiduciary responsibilities...
Hempfield adjusts school start times to consolidate bus runs, address driver shortage
Board members of Hempfield Area School District voted unanimously — although reluctantly in some cases — to shift the start and end times for school next year. “I think this is the better option. But I still feel bad,” school board member Diane Ciabattoni said. The start and end of...
Tiny Donegal Borough will cut council size in 2028, lack of participation cited
Donegal Borough Mayor Keith Deckinger is convinced his tiny town, which serves as the gateway to the Laurel Highlands, has an encouraging future. Its past and present, he said, had been stymied because of a lack of people willing to govern. Deckinger went to court Monday to ask a Westmoreland...
