Westmoreland category, Page 671
Franklin Regional board votes to restart Sloan construction project
The Franklin Regional School District will restart the Sloan “elementary campus” project later this month despite concerns by four of its nine school board members. “There’s really no certainty when a good time to move forward is,” said board member Gary English. “I think we should err on the side...
Pitt-Greensburg seeks input for planned New Kensington mural
Community members are being invited to share their ideas for a mural planned for the side of the Walt’s Deli building in New Kensington. The mural is a project of the Community Arts and Reintegration Project (CARP), administered by the Center For Applied Research at the University of Pittsburgh at...
Charges filed in fatal Greensburg fentanyl overdose
Two Greensburg women are accused by police of drug delivery resulting in death in connection with a February fatal overdose, according to court papers. Jamie Lynn Dickant, 34, is accused of supplying a fatal dose that killed Justine Baker, 32, on Feb. 11, city police said. Baker’s spouse, Mary Elizabeth...
15 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Westmoreland County
Two more people died from the coronavirus in Westmoreland County, bringing the current death toll to 15, officials reported Tuesday. The majority of the county’s fatalities are linked to senior living communities, said Coroner Ken Bacha. The two most recent deaths occurred at hospitals, but were people who had been...
Latrobe OKs new stormwater fee, but delays collection
Latrobe property owners will be asked to pay a new stormwater management fee, but not just yet. City council this week voted to create a new department to take charge of state-mandated stormwater management efforts, including reducing the flow of sediments into Loyalhanna Creek. It also established an annual supporting...
Arnold Palmer runway widening begins, despite rain
Rainy weather didn’t stop contractors from starting work Monday on a project that will give pilots a bigger target when they land at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport. General contractor Golden Triangle Construction began stockpiling stone that will be used this year as it widens the runway from 100 feet to...
Pennsylvania bill would ensure full pay for first responders stricken with coronavirus
State Rep. Eric Nelson this week proposed an amendment to state law that will ensure police and firefighters continue to be paid should they have to miss work because of the coronavirus. Nelson, R-Hempfield, said the proposed legislation will expand the state’s Heart and Lung Act that requires certain emergency...
YWCA Westmoreland names longtime employee as interim director
YWCA Westmoreland County appointed a familiar face as its new interim executive director. Gina McGrath has been with the organization since 1998, previously serving as technology instructor, IT director, and senior program director. She replaces Cindy Leonard, who recently departed the organization after working as executive director since 2018. “Both...
North Huntingdon woman accused of intentionally coughing on McDonald’s worker
A 47-year-old North Huntingdon woman who allegedly coughed on a McDonald’s worker and told the person “I hope you get covid-19” has been charged with assault, state police said. Sharon K. Powell is charged with disorderly conduct, harassment, reckless endangerment and simple assault in connection with the alleged incident at...
Another covid-19 death in Westmoreland County; total now 13
Officials on Monday reported the 13th coronavirus-related death in Westmoreland County. Coroner Ken Bacha said the latest death was yet another person connected with a local nursing home as all but one of the county’s fatalities have been linked to senior living communities. State health officials on Monday continued to...
Cops: Man jailed after assaulting girlfriend twice in Youngwood apartment
A 32-year-old man was ordered held in the Westmoreland County Prison on $10,000 bond on charges of harassing and physically assaulting a Youngwood woman twice in seven hours Sunday and early Monday, state police said. Nicholas A. Cole of Latrobe was arrested on multiple criminal charges of harassment and simple...
Adapting: Coronavirus restrictions keeping beloved Excela volunteer from his roundsVideo
Editor’s note: Adapting is a regular series spotlighting the ways the coronavirus pandemic is changing the everyday lives of people in Western Pennsylvania. “Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone?” The line to Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi” resonates these days...
Power mostly restored in Westmoreland County; about 500 remain without service
Electricity has been restored to most of the 1,600 homes that lost power in Westmoreland County Monday, according the West Penn Power. Crews are still working to restore utilities at 518 properties. In Allegheny County, the number of homes affected by strong winds and morning storms was far less, with...
Coronavirus clamps down on real estate business
Zach Kocian of Southwest Greensburg might be one of the less lucky homeowners in Western Pennsylvania who is trying to sell his home this spring. Kocian, a behavior specialist at a private school, put the Stanton Street house he bought three years ago up for sale with the hopes of...
Murrysville chiropractor looks into ways small businesses can cross-promote each other
Mandy Zimmerman of Murrysville has closed her business, Sports Performance and Spine, amid the coronavirus epidemic. That’s left her with plenty of time to think about ways struggling small-business owners can help support one another, as well as generate customers. “I went to the Olive Merchant store and bought a...
Greensburg Salem middle school students 3D print face shields for first responders
Kristy DiPasquale’s Greensburg kitchen has become more of an assembly line than a place for cooking over the past two weeks. DiPasquale, 40, is helping her 14-year-old son, Adam, build face shields with the 3D printer he received for Christmas. The shields will be donated to first responders to help...
Westmoreland County coroner reports another covid-19-related death, bringing total toll to 12
The Westmoreland County coroner’s office reported one new coronavirus-related death late Saturday night, bringing the countywide total to 12. The coroner’s website was reporting 12 covid-19 deaths as of 11 p.m. Saturday. It was reporting 11 deaths on Saturday morning, the same as it had Friday. The state health department...
Dispatcher: 2 people hurt in Derry Township crash
Two people were taken to a hospital after they were hurt in a crash Sunday afternoon in Derry Township, according to a Westmoreland 911 dispatcher. Crews responded to Industrial Boulevard shortly after noon and two people had to be extricated from the vehicle, which was on its side, the dispatcher...
They endured heartbreaking tragedy. Now they’re using their past to cope with the pandemic.
Hope. … On the darkest days, it can be elusive. In the throes of this global health crisis, it is a word spoken by many. · There is hope for a vaccine, hope for a return to normalcy and hope for those sickened by the disease that began a world...
Easter Bunny brings joy to Trafford neighborhoodVideo
Genevieve Delsignore waited excitedly in the driveway of her Hillcrest Drive home, ready to show off her blue and pink dress to the Easter Bunny leading a parade of firefighters and Trafford Elementary School teachers through the neighborhood. “I’m excited to see the Easter Bunny, because I like when he...
Pandemic isolation adds another hurdle for those in drug recovery
Samantha Woollen is staying active in her recovery by talking on the phone with her counselor and participating in virtual Narcotics Anonymous meetings. But she knows others may not be able to do the same. “I know some people that don’t have phones … and they really need the help,”...
State reports 1 new covid-19 death in Westmoreland, bringing total to 6; coroner reports 11 deaths
One new coronavirus-related death was reported in Westmoreland County on Friday, according to state health officials. The state reported 16 new county cases, which is a 2.8% increase, bringing the respective totals to 218 confirmed cases and six deaths. Coroner Kenneth Bacha is critical of the state’s recording system, saying...
Dr. Louis Falo talks Southwest Greensburg, Pitt coronavirus vaccine and Dr. Anthony Fauci
He learned teamwork on the football field at Greensburg Central Catholic High School more than 40 years ago. Like three classmates on that 1977 team, Louis Falo went on to medical school. Today, the Southwest Greensburg native and researcher at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine leads an elite...
Derry Area grad among USS Roosevelt sailors in quarantine
Rachel Beck got good news early this week: She is among at least 3,170 Navy personnel assigned to the USS Theodore Roosevelt who have tested negative for coronavirus infection. Beck, 24, who is a 2017 Derry Area High School graduate, was evacuated from the aircraft carrier to a house in...
Cornerstone Network spreads message of hope amid pandemic from ‘spiritual front lines’Video
A broadcast tower stretches up from atop a hill in Wall, streaming what producers at Cornerstone Network hope is a guiding message to those navigating the unfamiliar reality created by the coronavirus. The network, which has broadcast several programs from its location tucked between Pitcairn and North Versailles since 1979,...
