Westmoreland category, Page 696
Mt. Pleasant Township man sentenced to probation in funeral donation theft
A Mt. Pleasant Township man was sentenced to two years of probation Thursday for taking $1,530 in donations meant for funeral expenses for his late girlfriend. Shawn M. Smartnick, 34, pleaded guilty to a theft count and was ordered to pay restitution. “I am guilty, I didn’t pay it back,”...
Preliminary NTSB report released in deadly Turnpike crashVideo
The National Transportation Safety Board released its preliminary report about a deadly tour bus crash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, but the investigation has a long way to go. The report adds little new information about what caused the bus to lose control when driving around a curve in Westmoreland County....
Suspect in Greensburg convenience store robbery apprehended
A Greensburg man accused of a convenience store robbery was arrested Wednesday, according to police. Tywone McClain Jr., 21, was arrested in Duquesne in connection with the robbery at Sheetz on Harvey Avenue, said Greensburg Police Detective Sgt. John Swank. McClain was arraigned Wednesday afternoon and lodged in the Westmoreland...
Route 22 in Salem reopened after fuel spill
Eastbound lanes of Route 22 in Salem Township have reopened after a multi-vehicle crash with a fuel spill. The wreck involved a tractor trailer and at least one vehicle between Salem Drive and Crabtree Shieldsburg Road, according to the PennDOT website. BREAKING NEWS: Eastbound Lanes on Rt 22 BLOCKED at...
Cops: New York man was using stolen identification from second area man
A suspect accused of stealing a man’s identity to buy $4,000 worth of computers, gift cards and video games was arraigned Wednesday for a similar crime. Vaughn L. Lawhorn, 46, of Brooklyn, N.Y., is charged with four counts of access device fraud and theft and two counts of identity theft...
2 Hempfield seniors awarded full tuition to Saint Vincent CollegeVideo
Two Hempfield Area High School seniors will received full rides to Saint Vincent College. Brennen Novotney and Jacob Rzempoluch won the Unity Township college’s 39th annual Wimmer Scholarship Competition, which awards students with four-year, full-tuition scholarships. Christina Andrae, associate director of admission at the college, presented the scholarships to Novotney...
Saltsburg man guilty of selling fatal batch of fentanyl-laced heroin
A Westmoreland County jury on Wednesday convicted the Indiana County man prosecutors said sold fentanyl-laced heroin that killed a 38-year-old mother in December 2016. After more than five hours of deliberations jurors found Dylan Blair, 23, of Saltsburg guilty of a felony count of drug delivery resulting in death and...
Local officials say paying for state police would be tough pill to swallow
Gov. Tom Wolf wants to charge Pennsylvania communities a fee for state police coverage, regardless of whether the municipality has its own police force, according to his 2020-21 state budget proposal. Under the proposal, Hempfield and Unity townships would pay $76 per resident, according to state data. Neither township has...
Design work delayed for Greensburg garage destroyed by fire
Replacing Greensburg’s public works garage will take a bit longer than expected as officials continue to assess the damage from the October fire that destroyed the building and much of the equipment inside. City council had planned to begin the search for an architect to design a replacement garage next...
Dozens drawn to Latrobe Art Center to meet and greet city copsVideo
More than 50 people stopped at the Latrobe Art Center Wednesday morning for the Latrobe Police Department’s inaugural community outreach event dubbed “Coffee and Cocoa with a Cop.” Police Chief John Sleasman was pleased by the turnout, noting the event was meant to provide citizens a chance to become familiar...
Cops: Almost $27K in silver bars and jewelry stolen from North Huntingdon home
A McKeesport man is accused of breaking into a relative’s home in North Huntingdon several times since 2018 and stealing a dozen 100-ounce silver bars stored in a bedroom closet, and $5,000 worth of jewelry. Cody J. Killcrece, 25, was arraigned before District Judge Wayne Gongaware Jan. 28 on charges...
Greensburg considers eliminating compliance bond for construction projects
Greensburg City Council is considering a measure that would eliminate a hefty up-front cost for construction projects. City code requires developers to pay a compliance bond before beginning a project. The size of the bond is three times the project’s permit fee, which varies based on the scope of the...
Penn Township man ordered to stand trial on charges of stalking ex-girlfriendVideo
A North Huntingdon woman testified Wednesday that for four months after she ended a relationship with a boyfriend last year, he harassed and threatened her with repeated telephone and text messages and showed up at her home at all hours. The victim told District Judge Wayne Gongaware at a preliminary...
Jeannette company sues Patriot Shield, landlord over hemp odor
A Jeannette packaging company is seeking thousands of dollars in damages after its items were contaminated while being stored in the same warehouse as a hemp drying facility, according to a lawsuit filed in Westmoreland County court. FC Meyer Packaging claims odor from the hemp facility permeated its storage space...
Top 10 unique and local gifts for your Valentine
By now, you’ve probably noticed all of the bouquets of fresh, red roses and giant, stuffed teddy bears lining the store shelves. And that can only mean one thing. Valentine’s Day is almost here. Fortunately, you’re not just stuck choosing a gift for your sweetie from this cliché crop of...
Cupid’s 5K in Latrobe a loving benefit for adults with special needsVideo
Staying fit is important to Stephen Johnson of Jeannette, who relies on a local nonprofit to take him to the gym for regular workouts. New Jersey-based Community Options, which has a branch office in Hempfield, also takes Johnson to medical appointments, to his job helping with housekeeping tasks at a...
Westmoreland Republican viewers take heart from State of the Union address
In the finale of his third State of the Union address this week, President Trump said his administration is making the nation “greater than ever before,” and about a dozen people attending a watch party in North Huntingdon organized by the Westmoreland County chapter of Young Republicans agreed. Among the...
Greensburg jeweler plays with art every dayVideo
A tiny air hammer hums while Greensburg jeweler Brian Nicklaus sits at his work bench inside the Pawn and Jewelry Exchange along East Pittsburgh Street, playing with his art. What started as a hobby in middle school became a job in high school and a business in college. “The Duquesne...
Former state cop from New Derry convicted of false statements in gun buyback attempt
A former state police officer from New Derry was convicted Tuesday of falsifying official documents when he attempted to buy back his service weapons. Prosecutors said Chad Corbett, 40, misrepresented his criminal record on March 6, 2018, when he tried to take back ownership of his guns at the Army-Navy...
Trial witness ties dealer to drugs prosecutors say killed Derry woman
Tyler Klapchar told a Westmoreland County jury Tuesday he watched his friend’s mother hand money to his drug dealer on Christmas Eve 2016. “It was very apparent. She gave him money and he gave her something. I definitely saw a hand-to-hand transaction,” Klapchar testified during the second day of the...
Cook Township property protected by conservation easement
For 16 years, Michael Blehar and Beth Evans have had their very own cabin in the woods in Cook Township. The vacation cabin is on property — part woodland, part open field — that fronts Fourmile Run and has been a haven for the family for years. “When the opportunity...
Former Jeannette hemp plant employees receive inaccurate tax documents
About three months after employees at a Jeannette hemp processing facility found out they wouldn’t receive paychecks they were owed, they still haven’t been paid — and several say they have received inaccurate tax documents that further muddle an already confusing situation. Tammy McCann of Greensburg said she received her...
New lingerie store coming to Westmoreland Mall
After myriad closures at Westmoreland Mall, a new store is set to open. Aerie, a lingerie and intimate apparel store, will open this spring in the former PacSun location, according to a sign posted outside the store. PacSun, an Anaheim, Calif.-based clothing store catering to teens and young adults, closed...
Police: 1-year-old was in Rostraver motel room when mother overdosed
A Monongahela woman is accused of child endangerment after police said she overdosed in a Rostraver motel with her 1-year-old son in the room. Emily Ann Stout, 24, was found unresponsive at 7:30 a.m. Saturday at the Relax Inn on Finley Road, according to court papers. Township police said Stout’s...
Rita’s Italian Ice in Hempfield will not reopen, owners looking for new location
When Brian Meador closed the doors of his Rita’s Italian Ice restaurant in Hempfield at the end of last season, he didn’t know it was permanent. “It was very sudden,” said Meador, who owns the restaurant with his wife, Susan. “It was something we didn’t anticipate.” The Hempfield Rita’s location...
