Westmoreland category, Page 622
Plans displayed online for bridge replacement over Route 30 in Hempfield
PennDOT is proposing to replace a bridge in Hempfield that dates from the 1960 opening of the Route 30 bypass around Greensburg. Because of social distancing guidelines related to the covid-19 pandemic, plans for the East Pittsburgh Street bridge project won’t be displayed in the usual in-person open house format....
Bushy Run Lions Club hold annual broom sale in new location
The Bushy Run Lions Club will hold its annual broom sale at a new location Sept. 17-19. The sale will take place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the parking lot of Schramm Farm and Orchards Store on Harrison City-Export Road in Penn Township. The club will sell household,...
State grant will help stabilize historic New Florence iron furnace
The Ligonier Valley Historical Society plans to use a state grant to help preserve a 19th-century hot-blast iron furnace in New Florence. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Laurel Hill Furnace produced 750 tons of metal during its first year, 1855, and continued in operation for about a...
Woman injured in 5-vehicle pileup in I-70 in Hempfield
A woman was injured in a five-vehicle crash in a construction zone on Interstate 70 in Hempfield, according to an official with the Hempfield Fire Department. The crash involved two tractor-trailers, a tri-axle truck and two passenger vehicles. It was reported just after 5 p.m., according to Westmoreland County 911....
Greensburg man headed to jail for shooting into neighbors’ homes
A former Greensburg man will serve at least 20 months in jail for firing a rifle into the homes of two neighbors last year. Joshua Dowell Miller, 27, pleaded guilty Wednesday to a felony charge of discharging a firearm into an occupied structure and a misdemeanor reckless endangerment count in...
Iwin police chief resigns; acting chief named
Irwin council named a veteran police officer as the borough’s acting chief after the chief of seven years resigned last month. Chief Roger Pivirotto’s resignation was effective Aug. 20, but he will remain an employee until Dec. 2, Shari Martino, borough manager, said Wednesday. Council accepted Pivirotto’s resignation on Sept....
VP Mike Pence stops in Westmoreland, rallies pro-life voters at Murrysville church
Anti-abortion activists from across the region gathered Wednesday at Cornerstone Ministries in Murrysville as Vice President Mike Pence addressed the kick-off of the Susan B. Anthony List’s campaign to engage pro-life voters in Pennsylvania. The visit to the large, nondenominational church marked Pence’s third appearance with the group. Long a...
Westmoreland provisional ballots discovered after primary won’t be countedVideo
Seven provisional ballots submitted at a Unity poll during the June primary and discovered this summer won’t be counted. Westmoreland County officials rejected those ballots Wednesday after they were formally opened by a reconstituted provisional board. The ballots were found to have been improperly handled at the polls when they...
Jeannette pharmacy enters into price gouging agreement with Pa. attorney general
A Jeannette pharmacy has entered into an agreement with the state Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s office to avoid a potential $13,350 civil penalty and reimburse customers who were overcharged for N-95 masks and hand sanitizer at the start of the pandemic. The attorney general’s office filed the signed assurance compliance...
Jeannette fire chief marks blighted properties to help save lives, procure funding
Red spray paint is appearing on blighted, vacant Jeannette buildings not as an act of vandalism, but as a safety precaution for first responders. The markings — a square containing either an X or a slash mark — alert emergency crews to dangers inside, such as a collapsed floor or...
Delmont Historical Society to host log house cleanup dayVideo
With a host of plans for the log house at Shields Farm, the recently formed Delmont Historical Society will hold a Sept. 19 cleaning day to spruce up the inside and outside. Society member Vicki Walters said the public is welcome to come help clean the house’s interior, as well...
Westmoreland County reports 7 new coronavirus cases
Westmoreland County added seven new covid-19 cases to its total Wednesday, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The newly reported cases bring the county’s total to 1,914 since the first case was reported March 19. There were no new deaths reported, keeping the county’s total at 49, where it’s...
Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival joins list of pandemic-related cancellations
The Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival annually draws about 80,000 visitors to its South Huntingdon “kingdom,” but not this year. Organizers canceled this year’s festival, citing health and safety concerns related to the covid-19 pandemic and state guidelines that limit large gatherings. Featuring games, shows, a horseback joust and vendors that offer...
Delmont modernizes burning ordinance to accommodate backyard fire pits
Delmont council members updated the borough’s burning ordinance to make better accommodations for the fire pits seen in many yards and driveways. After receiving questions from residents about whether the borough regulated small, contained backyard fires, Councilman Bill Marx looked at borough code and discovered it was a bit outdated,...
Police: Derry Township man assaulted woman, tried to set her on fire
A Derry Township man was ordered held in the county jail without bond on charges he assaulted a woman and then attempted to set her on fire during an argument Tuesday. State police charged Paul Staschak, 44, with aggravated assault, harassment, indecent assault, reckless endangerment, simple assault, making terroristic threats...
Jeannette police dog donations could be used for purchase of new vehicle
A significant chunk of money donated to the Jeannette Police Department’s police dog program could be put toward a new vehicle for Officer Jim Phillips and police dog Arees. Phillips made the pitch to city council Tuesday to contribute $30,000 toward the possible purchase as his 2011 Ford Explorer, that...
Debate rises over proposed North Huntingdon backyard chicken rules
After several North Huntingdon residents asked the municipality to permit chickens in residential neighborhoods, township officials appeared split over implementing rules that would allow hens to be raised on parcels less than a quarter acre. During an hour-long public hearing Tuesday, about a dozen residents supporting a proposed ordinance to...
Kentucky poet’s view of home inspires Ligonier gallery exhibition
A chance meeting between a Ligonier resident and a former Kentucky poet laureate led to a new exhibition at the Main Exhibit Gallery in Ligonier. Helen Sitler of Ligonier, retired from the English department of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, attended a book fair in Lexington, Ky., where she met poet...
Norwin, Franklin Regional recognized for Special Olympics
Norwin and Franklin Regional high schools are among nine in Pennsylvania to be nationally recognized as a Special Olympics Unified Champion Banner School for their commitment to inclusion in sports, academics, and extracurricular activities. “Receiving this distinction as a Unified Champion School shows that Norwin has made inclusion a priority...
Novice drummers find their rhythm in Greensburg parkVideo
About 20 people got an outdoor drum lesson Tuesday at an unorthodox “drum circle” in Greensburg’s St. Clair Park. “This isn’t really a drum circle, it’s more of a weird drum line, semicircle kind of thing,” said Matt Mikeska, who led the event. Participants were seated on the park’s bleachers...
New Stanton mayor Ronald Echard, dead at 68, remembered for civic involvement
When visitors and residents in New Stanton admire the town’s new holiday lights this year, in large part, they’ll have Ron Echard to thank. Echard, who most recently served as mayor, is credited as a driving force behind the planned holiday display — along with his wife, Linda, who serves...
Greensburg hears from long list of applicants for vacant council spot
About a dozen people have expessed interest in filling a vacancy on Greensburg City Council. Council will appoint one new member to fill the vacancy left by Cheryl Lennert, who resigned last month. Lennert oversaw the city’s parks & recreation department. The new member will as well, according to Mayor...
Judge declines to lower bond for Monessen woman charged with attempted murder
A Westmoreland County judge on Tuesday rejected a bond request from a Monessen woman awaiting trial for the attempted murder of a neighbor. Tiffany Grogan-Howard, 38, is charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment in connection with a Nov. 25 incident in which police contend she stabbed her...
Jeannette inmate gets more time for trying to smuggle drugs into Westmoreland jail
A Jeannette man will serve up to 23 months in jail for an attempt last year to smuggle drugs into the Westmoreland County Prison. Adam Brandonio, 46, pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy, drug counts and other offenses in connection with an incident police described as a sting operation at a...
Route 22 traffic advisory issued in Murrysville for VP Mike Pence’s visit Wednesday
Murrysville police say travelers on Route 22 should expect minor traffic delays between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Wednesday during Vice President Mike Pence’s visit to Cornerstone Ministries. The vice president is scheduled to land in Air Force Two at 10:30 a.m. at the 171st Air Refueling Wing in Moon...
