Westmoreland category, Page 651
Academic Excellence Scholarship for Foster Youth presented to Idelia Robinson-Confer of Greensburg
Greensburg’s Idelia Robinson-Confer has been in foster care since she turned 13. Now 20, one constant over the past seven years from changes she has endured in homes, families and schools has been Florence “Flo” Jenkins, a Greensburg resident who served as her Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA). Jenkins nominated...
Westmoreland County reports 9 new coronavirus cases
Westmoreland County has nine new covid-19 cases and no additional deaths, the Pennsylvania Department of Health reported Friday. The countywide case total is now 587, with 38 deaths, according to the department. There have been no reported coronavirus deaths in Westmoreland County since May 18. More than 16,000 county residents...
Man accused of firing 9 shots inside Jeannette apartment
A Jeannette man is being held in the Westmoreland County Prison after, police say, he fired nine shots inside his apartment, according to court papers. Jason Matthew Thomas, 31, is charged with discharge of a firearm into an occupied structure, reckless endangerment and drug and drug paraphernalia possession. City police...
Unity man sentenced to up to 10 years in 2 fatal drug overdoses
A Unity man was sentenced Friday to five to 10 years in prison for supplying drugs in two 2017 fatal overdoses. Jesse Joseph Hudspath, 28, pleaded guilty in January to two counts of drug delivery resulting in death, conspiracy, criminal use of a communication device and three other drug-related offenses....
The Westmoreland plans online talk with 2 African American artists
Artists Renée Stout and Alisha B. Wormsley will discuss their artistic practices during a special “In Conversation” planned for July 15 by The Westmoreland Museum of American Art. Time for the livestream event is 7-8 p.m. Stout’s assemblage, “The Colonel’s Cabinet,” is part of the “African American Art in the...
Annual float day is Saturday on Jacobs Creek in Scottdale
Jacobs Creek Watershed Association will host its annual Lazy River Family Friendly Float Day on Saturday at Garfield Park in Scottdale. Registration begins at 11:30 a.m. Float hours are 12:30-4 p.m. Participants are invited to bring their own rafts, canoes, kayaks, tubes or anything else that floats, or rent a...
Free service APPRISE helps older adults understand insurance options
Understanding Medicare, Medicaid, Medigap and other supplemental insurance options for older adults can be a confusing and frustrating process. There’s a lot of information to sift through, and it’s not always easy to find answers to questions that arise. What few people are aware of, however, is that Pennsylvanians don’t...
Building at Jeannette Industrial Park to be renovated with $657K state grant
A $657,000 project to renovate an unoccupied building at Jeannette Industrial Park was approved Thursday by the Westmoreland County Industrial Development Corp. TBI Contracting of McKeesport was awarded the contract, according to an announcement. Workers will install energy-efficient interior lighting, add insulation, replace the floor and doors, add a women’s...
Norwin class of 2020 celebrates commencement
The Norwin High School class of 2020 marked graduation Friday at the school’s football field....
Westmoreland County moving its tax delinquent property sale to WCCC campus
Westmoreland County is moving its annual tax sale off site. Commissioners on Thursday approved relocating the sale to the auditorium in Science Hall on the campus of Westmoreland County Community College, a move officials said is needed to account for social distancing required in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The...
Lawyer for suspended Pirates pitcher Felipe Vazquez says evidence of child sex assault should be thrown out
The lawyer for suspended Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Felipe Vazquez said evidence collected by police during an investigation into sexual assault allegations were the product of an illegal search and should be barred from use by prosecutors in an upcoming trial. Vazquez, 28, has been in jail since September, when he...
Westmoreland Cleanways suspends electronics recycling
Westmoreland Cleanways temporarily is halting drop-off of electronics at its Pleasant Unity recycling center because of a covid-19-related shutdown of a company that processes the items. Executive Director Ellen Keefe said Thursday that Westmoreland Cleanways learned the out-of-state electronics processor shut down because of a suspected covid-19 infection. She stressed...
Westmoreland County pays $50K to settle lawsuit, want row officers to start footing legal bills
Westmoreland County commissioners have had enough of paying out large sums of money to settle lawsuits filed against other elected officials. “We’re sending a letter to all of our row officers and elected officials telling them we want to hold them accountable,” said Commissioner Sean Kertes. Those comments came Thursday...
Norwin graduation falls within state guidelines, district says
When Norwin High School conducts its commencement ceremonies for almost 400 seniors Friday night, there likely will be more than 250 people — graduates and guests — gathered at Knights Stadium for each of the two sessions. Although Westmoreland County is in the green phase of the state’s covid-19 restrictions...
Butterflies available for Greensburg Garden Center release
Greensburg Garden Center will hold its popular butterfly release on Aug. 8. This year’s event will include two separate release sessions, to accommodate social distancing concerns. Release times will be 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. in the Lefevre Butterfly Garden behind the center’s headquarters at 951 Old Salem Road. A...
Ligonier Valley School District approves fall back-to-school plans
The Ligonier Valley School District approved plans Monday for a series of virtual Family Town Hall Sessions that will begin Monday, June 29. Sessions will explain options for students and families for the 2020-21 school year reopening, discuss health and safety concerns and allow for questions to be raised. The...
Westmoreland County has 15 new coronavirus cases
Westmoreland County has 15 new covid-19 cases and no additional deaths, the Pennsylvania Department of Health reported Thursday. The countywide case total is now 578, with 38 deaths, according to the department. There have been no reported coronavirus deaths in Westmoreland County since May 18. It was the fourth day...
Former Saint Vincent College president elected archabbot of Benedictine community
The Rev. Martin de Porres Bartel, a former president of Saint Vincent College, was elected the 12th archabbot of Saint Vincent Archabbey, a community of Benedictine monks that founded the college in 1846. Bartel, 64, succeeds Archabbot Douglas R. Nowicki, who resigned upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75...
Work on rail crossing will trigger Sewickley Township detour
A section of Lowber Road in Sewickley Township will be closed beginning Monday for maintenance of a railroad crossing, according to PennDOT. The closure, near the intersection of Sutersville Road, will begin at 8:30 a.m. and is expected to continue through 3:30 p.m. Wednesday as a CSX crew works at...
‘Beautiful ride’: Irwin family, friends celebrate adoption of two brothersVideo
The anticipation was getting to be too much for 6-year-old Ryan Salany. “Mommy, how many minutes?” he asked again. Minutes turned into seconds and soon enough his long-awaited adoption hearing had arrived. At his adoptive parents’ Irwin dining room table, Ryan and his 2-year-old brother, Caleb, officially became new members...
Food banks still operating in ’emergency mode,’ seeing increased demand in Western Pa.
While mile-long lines of cars outside the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank are not the norm these days, the need to provide food to struggling families in Southwestern Pennsylvania remains. “We’ve been in response mode to the crisis for the last three months, and we continue to see a higher...
Grant helps Greensburg nonprofit continue ‘Feeding the Spirit’ through summer
Members from the nonprofit group Feeding the Spirit are used to sitting down with nearly 100 people each week for their annual free meal at Otterbein United Methodist Church in Greensburg. Since the covid-19 pandemic began, that hasn’t been an option — but it didn’t stop the nonprofit’s members, who...
Trafford councilman criticized for transphobic joke about state health secretary
A Trafford councilman is under fire for making a comment he deemed a joke about Pennsylvania Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine’s gender on Gov. Tom Wolf’s Facebook page. Wolf on his Facebook page Sunday wished a happy Father’s Day to all Pennsylvania dads. Zack Cole, a Republican councilman who chairs...
Penn Hills man gets life in prison for 2017 Jeannette murder
An Allegheny County man was sentenced Wednesday to serve life in prison without parole for a 2017 fatal shooting in Jeannette. Darrelle Tolbert-McGhee, 31, of Penn Hills, was convicted in January of first-degree murder for the April 13, 2017, daylight shooting of Michael Wilson on Clay Avenue. Police said Wilson,...
November ballot to feature plenty of contested races for Westmoreland County voters
November’s general election in Westmoreland County will likely look much different than the relative calm of this month’s primary as a slate of incumbent lawmakers finally will face challenges. The county’s elections board on Wednesday precertified primary results. Barring any unexpected protests, they become official July 1. No write-in candidates...
