Westmoreland category, Page 650
Franklin Regional school board set to vote on 2.54-mill tax hike next week
There have been some tweaks to Franklin Regional’s proposed final 2020-21 budget but, for taxpayers, it remains largely the same. Despite expenditure reductions related to special education funding, fewer commissions on tax collections and no change in insurance premiums, which were expected to rise, the $61.31 million budget stands with...
Arnold Palmer airport sees rise in bookings, hopes to beef up September runway work
Officials at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport are hoping to work on runway improvements — widening and strengthening — simultaneously in September, if funding is approved in time. Meanwhile, Westmoreland County Airport Authority Executive Director Gabe Monzo said Tuesday he’s pleased with how travel at the airport in Unity is taking...
Kennametal to cut global workforce 10% by end of year
Facing a weakness in its industrial markets caused by the covid-19 pandemic, Kennametal Inc. said Tuesday it is accelerating its plans to permanently cut about 10% of its salaried workforce, a reduction on a global scale it expects to substantially complete by the end of the year. Kennametal, an industrial...
State officials: Westmoreland adds 6 new covid cases, no new deaths
Westmoreland County on Tuesday reported six new covid-19 cases, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases to 467, according to Pennsylvania health officials. No new deaths from the virus were reported in Westmoreland. State officials continued to report 38 deaths, while county coroner Kenneth Bacha reports 33 deaths as of...
Jeannette police seek New Kensington man suspected in assault and robbery
Jeannette police have an arrest warrant for a 23-year-old man accused of assaulting and robbing a woman of about $2,000 early Monday. Dezmin Tre Lamar Edmonds, whose last known address was in New Kensington, is charged with robbery through inflicting serious bodily injury, simple assault, theft and receiving stolen property...
Derry man arrested after handgun found in bag at Arnold Palmer airport
A Derry man was arrested after being caught with a 9 mm handgun in a carry-on bag Sunday at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport. Westmoreland County Park Police charged Brandon Edward Emeigh, 31, with prohibited possession of a firearm and carrying a firearm without a permit. He faces a preliminary hearing...
Penn-Trafford staff, parents create memorial to 2nd-grade teacher Greg KeeferVideo
When second-grade teacher Greg Keefer walked into the cafeteria at Harrison Park Elementary School, fellow educator Beth Miller described the scene as “complete chaos.” “Kids would be jumping up to high-five him, and he loved every minute of it,” Miller said. Keefer’s popularity among students made it all the more...
Jeannette City school board expected to hold line on taxes
Jeannette City School District board members are expected to vote on a 2020-21 budget this month that contains no property tax increase. Business manager Paul Sroka said he recommended a 1-mill tax increase, but was directed by board members to prepare a spending plan that didn’t include it. About $139,000...
Westmoreland Symphony creating online Hat Luncheon gallery
With its annual Hat Luncheon on hold due to the covid-19 pandemic, the Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra is inviting supporters to share their favorite fancy headgear via Hats at Home. “Since we cannot be together in person this year, we invite you to join in the #wsohats fun online,” the symphony...
Briefly Speaking – Jun. 9, 2020
Fundraiser The Westmoreland County Community College Scholarship Golf Classic is set for Aug. 24 at the Greensburg Country Club. The event will raise money for the Student Emergency Assistance Fund to support academic success in the wake of covid-19. Rain date will be Aug. 31. For more information, email foundation...
17 temporarily laid off at Elliott Group’s Rostraver location
Seventeen workers at Elliott Group’s Rostraver center were temporarily laid off in light of the coronavirus pandemic’s impacts on the oil and gas industry, according to a company spokeswoman. The employees work at a center that does unit packaging and manufacturing of auxiliary systems for oil and gas industry clients,...
Westmoreland County man dies following motorcycle crash in Somerset last month
A Westmoreland County man died following a motorcycle crash last month in Somerset County. William Riley, 77, of Mt. Pleasant died Sunday at the Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown, according to Cambria County Coroner Jeff Lees. On May 24, Riley was driving along Edie Road in Jefferson Township, Somerset...
Housing authority to pay Latrobe police for extra coverage at apartments, townhouses
Latrobe police will begin extra patrols at Westmoreland County Housing Authority facilities in the city this week through an agreement with the authority. Under the agreement, approved Monday by city council, the authority will tap grant funding to pay for the extra coverage at two high-rise buildings on Jefferson Street...
Norwin OKs tax hike by 5-4 vote
Norwin School District property owners will see a 2.9% increase in real estates taxes after the board board Monday narrowly approved the spending plan for the district. By a 5-4 vote, the board OK’d a $76.93 million budget that will increase property taxes in North Huntingdon, North Irwin and Irwin...
Greensburg man gets house arrest, probation in child porn case
A Greensburg man will serve seven years on probation for possession of child pornography police said he solicited from young girls last year. Joshua Bittner, 21, pleaded guilty to eight felony counts in connection with an investigation in which two girls, ages 10 and 11, told police that a 12-year-old...
House arrest for Ligonier woman who stole jewelry from clients
Claudia Narcisi told a Westmoreland County judge on Monday she wasn’t sure what troubled her the most, the loss of irreplaceable family heirlooms or that she initially blamed another person before she learned a year later that the woman she hired to paint rooms in her Hempfield home had absconded...
Overdoses continue to drop in Westmoreland, but traffic deaths jump 50%
Westmoreland County Coroner Ken Bacha’s 2019 annual report released Monday showed an expected decline in drug overdose deaths for the second consecutive year, but it also disclosed a dramatic 50% increase in traffic fatalities. The local traffic deaths, which jumped from from 18 in 2018 to to 27 in 2019,...
West Newton police, street department closed after officer tests positive for covid-19Video
The West Newton police and street departments are shut down and employees are in quarantine after a part-time officer tested positive last week for covid-19. Mayor Mary Popovich said Monday officials don’t believe there is a widespread outbreak of the virus in West Newton but borough officials decided to close...
Pitt-Greensburg art show welcomes artists of all skill levels
Amateur and professional artists are invited to submit work for the fourth annual Art Show @ Pitt-Greensburg, taking place Sept. 25-Oct. 8 in conjunction with the 2020 Blue & Gold Celebration at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg. The exhibit will be available for viewing during normal operating hours at...
Police: Unity man arrested after threatening woman with hatchet
A Unity man was arrested on multiple assault charges after allegedly threatening his girlfriend with a hatchet Saturday, state police said. Joshua L. Poole, 39, was arrested on charges of aggravated assault, simple assault, terroristic threats and harassment after the 5:15 p.m. incident on the 300 block of Allegheny Avenue....
State officials: 2 more coronavirus cases in Westmoreland, no new deaths
Westmoreland County on Monday reported two new covid-19 cases, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases to 461, according to Pennsylvania health officials. No new deaths from the virus were reported. State officials continued to report 38 deaths in Westmoreland, while county coroner Kenneth Bacha reports 32 deaths as of...
New indictment filed against Unity man linked to disappearance of Cassandra Gross
A Unity man linked to the disappearance of Cassandra Gross has been indicted on charges of having a sawed-off rifle in Potter County nearly two years ago. The serial number on the .22-caliber rifle had been removed and the firearm was not registered to Thomas George Stanko, 49, according to...
Contractor: All but 4 Sloan Elementary classrooms will be ready for 2020-21 school year
Construction officials for Franklin Regional’s Sloan Elementary project anticipate that all but four classrooms will be ready in time for the start of the 2020-21 school year. “The majority of the classrooms will be completed, with the exception of the additional kindergarten classrooms on the far right side of the...
1 injured in crash on Route 22 in Derry Township
A person was flown to the hospital after a two-vehicle crash on Route 22 in Derry Township Monday, according to Westmoreland 911. The crash between a car and a tri-axle truck happened around 6:15 a.m, according to 911. A medical helicopter used the nearby Jonnet Flea Market as a landing...
Westmoreland government offices reopen Monday
Most Westmoreland County government offices reopen to the public today. Many restrictions enacted in late March to help control the coronavirus pandemic will be lifted to allow more government functions to operate as normal while still adhering to safety guidelines such as social distancing among staff and courthouse visitors. “Our...
