Westmoreland category, Page 624
Westmoreland County adds 13 new covid-19 cases
Westmoreland County added 13 new covid-19 cases Thursday, according to the state Department of Health. Twelve of the new coronavirus cases are confirmed and one is probable. The county’s coronavirus case total is now 1,586. Of those cases, 1,542 are confirmed and 44 probable. Westmoreland County coronavirus by dayInfogram No...
Temporary changes made to Hempfield’s administration office
Hempfield’s central administration office is receiving help in the weeks leading up to the first day of school. Gregory Saraceni, an assistant principal at Hempfield Area High School, will temporarily provide support to the central administration office, Superintendent Tammy Wolicki said. Board members voted this week to approve the changes,...
Location of time capsule buried in a North Huntingdon school courtyard remains a mysteryVideo
The location of a time capsule buried 31 years ago in a former Norwin elementary school courtyard remains as much a mystery today as the contents sealed inside it, despite a couple of hours of digging into the solid earth and using a metal detector to try to find it....
Sewage treatment plant in Avonmore to get $3.3 million upgrade
The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County board on Wednesday approved the financing for construction of an upgraded sewer plant in Avonmore. The $3.3 million project will upgrade the 50-year-old plant that services more than 400 sewer customers in the borough. The work will be paid for by a $1.85 million...
Unity family appeals backyard chicken violation, want birds classified as petsVideo
Kristin Kuhns and her husband, Jeff, say the chickens they keep in their Unity backyard provide their family with companionship as well as eggs, and they want township officials to ease up on regulation of the birds. After a neighbor in the Lawson Heights neighborhood complained about the Kuhnses’ 20...
Students moving back to Seton Hill University for face-to-face classes
Slowly but surely students began moving in at Seton Hill University on Wednesday for what the school hopes will be a largely traditional semester — despite a global pandemic that has prompted many of the nation’s college campuses to remain largely shuttered. Unlike some local universities that have transitioned to...
Volunteers sought for spruce-up Saturday at Trafford restaurant
The Trafford Business Association is asking volunteers to lend a hand Saturday morning with a beautification project at a local restaurant that is in transition. Association President Larry George plans to cut and install cedar boards to put a new face on a chain link fence fronting an unused section...
New Westmoreland GOP head wants to expand on party’s success
The new chairman of Westmoreland County’s Republican Committee said he wants to keep the momentum that, for the last decade, propelled election day victories and voter registration surges that turned the local GOP from an afterthought to political dominance. “It wasn’t that long ago we were the group on the...
Giant slides at Mammoth Park to remain closed 2 more weeks
The Giant Slide at Mammoth Park in Mt. Pleasant will remain closed for at least two more weeks as Westmoreland County officials await safety reports from two independent investigators. Public Works Director Greg McCloskey reaffirmed Wednesday that officials believe the matching 100-foot metal slides are safe. Four of the five...
Mt. Pleasant man jailed on $250K bond after police seize heroin, meth, cash
A major area heroin dealer, who investigators said typically conducted business out of his car throughout central and southern Westmoreland County, on Tuesday decided to sell four bricks of the drug from his Mt. Pleasant home. That proved to be a mistake. Borough police and agents from state Attorney General’s...
Police identify suspects in I-70 brick throwing probe
State police in Belle Vernon said they have “identified suspects” in two brick throwing incidents last month along Interstate 70 that caused a minor injury to one truck driver near the North Belle Vernon interchange. On July 7, state police reported bricks were thrown at two eastbound tractor-trailers. One driver...
Lamp Theatre remains dark as 3 workers cut
Hurt by the cancellation of shows since mid-March because of the covid-19 shutdowns, coupled with a public as hesitant about mingling in crowds as performers were cautious about traveling, The Lamp Theatre in Irwin has furloughed its three employees. With revenue slowed to a trickle, The Lamp Theatre decided it...
Westmoreland County adds 18 new coronavirus cases
Westmoreland County added 18 coronavirus cases on Wednesday, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The new cases — all confirmed — bring the county’s total to 1,573 cases. There were 260 new tests reported, for a daily positivity rate of 6.92%. Overall, the county’s positivity rate since the outbreak...
Delmont will update, modernize its burning ordinanceVideo
If you want to have a fire in a Delmont driveway fire pit on Friday, technically you had to notify the fire department in writing by Monday. “I was looking at it and I thought, ‘This is nuts. Who does this?’” Councilman Bill Marx said. With that in mind, Delmont...
Western Pa. leaders working to exceed census response rates from 2010
Fewer people have responded to the 2020 census across Western Pennsylvania than in 2010, new data shows. According to the Pennsylvania State Data Center, several area counties, including Allegheny and Westmoreland, are about 5 percentage points behind self-response rates recorded in 2010. That means fewer people so far have responded...
Neighbors pleased with youth group’s efforts at fighting blight in Jeannette
For years, Paul and Paula Hassinger were met with blight the moment they took a step outside their West Jeannette front door. Now, the abandoned houses across 12th Street looks much better after a Murrysville church group ripped out some overgrown weeds and brush last month, but the Hassingers still...
Westmoreland Symphony will livestream upcoming season concerts
The Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra will return to the stage of The Palace Theatre for its 2021 season, with one significant difference from past years. The seats in the historic Greensburg theater will be empty and, instead, patrons will be viewing concerts in their homes via livestream presented in partnership with...
Township makes truck payment on behalf of East Huntingdon’s cash-strapped fire department
East Huntingdon Fire Chief Brian Kite knew $61,000 was a lot of money to request from the township. But the department’s $61,000 annual fire truck payment was looming. With several months worth of canceled fundraisers and a firemen’s club ordered closed by the state, the money was going to otherwise...
Westmoreland community events: Aug. 12
Sale Fairview Church of God rummage sale is set for Saturday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. The church is located on Route 982, between Laurelville and Kecksburg in Mt. Pleasant Township. Meeting Post-pandemic life will be the topic for the next meeting for the Socrates Café at the Delmont Public Library....
Delmont-Salem Rotary proposes service project at Delmont parklet
In 1907, the first-ever Rotary Club project was the construction of a single-stall men’s restroom in Chicago. Some 113 years later, the Delmont-Salem Rotary Club is looking to the past for its 2021 service project: proposing to build a restroom at Delmont’s Rose Wigfield Parklet. Incoming club president Harold Hicks...
Mt. Pleasant PTO hoping to buy $40,000 in air-conditioning units for elementary buildings
Almost every child wants to look cool when they go back to school. In Mt. Pleasant Area School District, parent-teacher organization members want children to feel cool as well. The group hopes district officials will allow them to buy about $40,000 worth of portable air-conditioning units for its elementary schools,...
Norwin grads digging up the past
A group of Norwin High School graduates who attended the former Hartford Heights Elementary School plan on Wednesday to hunt for, and hopefully dig up, a time capsule they buried on school grounds when they were students there in the late 1980s. Keri Holton of North Huntingdon said they are...
Lawyer: Jury trial only way to settle case involving contested Greensburg traffic stop
The lawyer for a Pittsburgh man awaiting trial in Westmoreland County on drug charges that he says resulted from an illegal traffic stop two years ago in Greensburg said he has no choice but to ask a jury to resolve the case. Christopher Batch, 31, was charged in November 2018...
Hempfield approves reopening plans with phasesVideo
After months of work, Hempfield leaders approved a health and safety plan that will welcome students back through a blended approach. On Monday, board members unanimously approved the plan, which will bring back students in a phased approach starting Aug. 27. An initial phase has students following a staggered schedule...
Hempfield woman arraigned, charges pending against 2 others in North Huntingdon assault, home invasion
North Huntingdon police identified three of five people allegedly involved in a daylight home invasion and assault Saturday afternoon. Arianna R. Matrone, 18, of Hempfield, was arraigned Tuesday on charges of burglary, criminal mischief, criminal trespass, simple assault, harassment and terroristic threats filed by township police in connection with the...
