Westmoreland category, Page 707
Hempfield man charged with raping 2 girls he met via social mediaVideo
A 20-year-old Hempfield man was arrested Thursday on accusations that he raped two girls, ages 11 and 13, whom he met through a social media app. “They are trying to put me in jail for a long time for something I did not know. They were lying about their ages,”...
Rabbit ‘king’ from West Newton presided at Pa. Farm Show
As he wrapped up his week at the 2020 Pennsylvania Farm Show, Zach Farlow found himself on Thursday at AngoraPalooza. The event, one of many he’s attended this week as 2019 king of the Pennsylvania State Rabbit Breeders Association, featured Angora rabbits and scarves made from Angora rabbit wool. “I...
Board appointment prompts Westmoreland commissioners’ first dust-up
Westmoreland County Commissioners Sean Kertes and Gina Cerilli on Thursday appointed a new member to the county’s housing authority board of directors, a move that resulted in the first disagreement among the county leaders. Commissioner Doug Chew voted against the appointment of former Monessen District Judge Joseph Dalfonso to serve...
Westmoreland sheriff doesn’t want investigation into office mess
Westmoreland County Sheriff James Albert said he doesn’t want an investigation into who trashed his offices in the courthouse. “Let’s not prolong this. I want to stay positive and move forward,” Albert said Thursday after the offices were cleaned. Three deputies and two maintenance workers, Albert said, spent two full...
Dog rescued in South Greensburg mobile-home fireVideo
Firefighters rescued a dog in a fire that destroyed a mobile home Thursday in South Greensburg. The fire was reported at 12:10 p.m. in a mobile home that is located in an alley behind the 1500 block of Broad Street. “The doors were locked when we got here, so we...
Hempfield woman accused of tossing hot coffee on cop now charged with assaulting prison guardVideo
A Hempfield woman currently in the Westmoreland County Prison on charges that she threw a cup of hot coffee on a state trooper is now accused of spitting on a prison guard. Sonya R. Connors, 52, is accused of becoming “combative and verbally abusive” with a female prison guard on...
Irwin officials making plans for splash park
Area youngsters could have a place to frolic and beat the summer heat: a splash park at Irwin Park. Council on Wednesday authorized the park and recreation committee to research and develop plans for a splash park at the municipal park off of Pennsylvania Avenue. An estimated cost of the...
Hempfield buys 2 new fire trucks
Two new fire trucks were recently added to Hempfield Fire Department’s fleet of vehicles. Older trucks at fire stations in Adamsburg and Bovard were replaced by Sutphen SL75 Mid-Mount Aerial Ladder trucks, which can fight fires in residential, commercial and industrial buildings. The trucks, which cost $860,000 each, bring an...
Greensburg residents ‘adopt’ nearly 350 fire hydrants
There are almost 350 fire hydrants in Greensburg, and they all have been “adopted” after a six-year campaign, according to Greensburg Volunteer Fire Department President Rick Steele. The department launched the “Adopt-A-Hydrant” program in 2014, asking residents to contribute to the cost of high-visibility markers, which stick up above hydrants...
East Huntingdon landscaper fined $74,290 over allegedly failing to pay Mexican workers overtime, back wages
An East Huntingdon landscaping company has paid nearly $75,000 in back wages and fines to settle allegations that it committed labor violations involving a foreign worker program, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Silvis Group, located on Schultz Road, signed a consent agreement with the Labor Department on June...
Unity woman gets probation in animal cruelty case
A Unity woman was ordered Wednesday to serve a year on probation for animal cruelty after leaving her pets alone in filthy conditions after she was evicted from her Cook Township home. Patricia Canton, 52, was permitted to enroll in the Accelerated Rehabilitation Disposition program for first-time, nonviolent offenders. The...
Police investigating South Greensburg residential burglary
South Greensburg police are investigating a burglary at a home on Tuesday. Investigators said someone broke the glass on a door to get inside a home in the 1600 block of Pine Street sometime between 9 a.m. and 10 p.m. No one was home at the time. An undetermined amount...
Central Michigan professor named dean at Seton Hill’s School of Business
Seton Hill University has named Debasish Chakraborty, a professor of economics at Central Michigan University, as dean of the Greensburg university’s School of Business. University President Mary C. Finger announced Chakraborty’s appointment Wednesday and said he will begin his tenure on March 16. Chakraborty’s appointment comes as Paul Mahady, former...
WCCC plans preview of international culinary competition
Chefs with local ties who will be competing in the upcoming International Culinary Exhibition will preview their competition table display during a Jan. 18 Olympic Culinary Preview Party at the Westmoreland County Community College Youngwood campus. The event, set for 5-8 p.m. in the Student Achievement Center, also will feature...
Westmoreland Cleanways eyes move to larger Unity recycling center
Westmoreland Cleanways and Recycling in 2019 collected more than 2 million pounds of televisions and other electronics along with 6,000 tires. This year, the Unity Township-based nonprofit should be able to handle an even larger volume. A planned move to a new drop-off recycling center near Pleasant Unity will increase...
Ligonier Township committee to consider plan for reopening Ligonier Beach
The shuttered Ligonier Beach could open to the public once more this summer, but visitors shouldn’t plan on bringing their swim trunks just yet. Ligonier Township in November bought the landmark swimming pool and restaurant along Route 30 just east of Ligonier from Sherry and Steven Kozar, for $230,000. This...
Monessen mayor attends 1st meeting in nearly 2 years, fires clerk and solicitor
After a 20-month absence from city meetings, first-term Monessen Mayor Matt Shorraw returned to local government Monday night armed with a majority of council votes and an unannounced agenda that angered some members of the public as well as the council members who have essentially run the city since spring...
Lack of passenger seat belts on bus a concern in deadly Pa. Turnpike crash
The lack of safety belts in a passenger bus involved in a deadly crash Sunday on the Pennsylvania Turnpike could be a critical factor as civil liability issues unfold, a transportation lawyer said. Three people — the bus driver and two passengers — died when they were ejected from the...
North Huntingdon man accused of assaulting daughter gets probation
A North Huntingdon man was ordered this week to serve one year of probation for an assault against his 11-year-old daughter. Samuel Farrier, 46, following a two-day jury trial in October, was found guilty of one misdemeanor count of simple assault in connection with an altercation with his children and...
Trial delayed for Greensburg man charged in Vandergrift woman’s death
The trial for a Greensburg man charged with the beating and strangulation death of a Vandergrift woman two years ago will begin in April. Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Tim Krieger on Tuesday granted a defense request to delay the trial for Walter W. Cable by two months. The...
$1.2 million Norwin pool project to more forward
Norwin is eyeing a Zelienople firm to serve as construction manager for an estimated $1.2 million project to repair and modernize the high school swimming pool. The board is scheduled to vote on hiring The Foreman Group at its Jan. 13 meeting. The Foreman Group and two other firms were...
Greensburg man sentenced for Hempfield police chase
A Greensburg man pleaded guilty Tuesday to aggravated assault of a police officer following a car chase last year. William J. Binnall, 39, was trying to avoid arrest after police stopped his vehicle near Locust Valley Drive in Hempfield on May 22 because of an expired registration. Police said Binnall,...
Former Penn Township man sentenced on child porn charges
A former Penn Township man will serve at least nine months in jail after he pleaded guilty Tuesday to possession of child pornography. Prosecutors said 22 images of child pornography were found on computers owned by Raymond Patrick Younger, 40, now of Blacklick, Indiana County. The images were of children,...
March 17 special election set to fill Justin Walsh’s former state House seat
A special election will be held March 17 to fill the remaining term of former state Rep. Justin Walsh, and it could require Westmoreland County to borrow money to pay for the early balloting, officials said. Walsh, a Republican, resigned at the end of December after serving a year of...
Greensburg pavilion reservations starting soon, will be cheaper for some
It’s almost time to sign up for pavilion rentals in Greensburg, and some people living near the city will see a discount compared to years past. As always, rentals are cheaper for residents. But, this year, officials expanded the definition to mean anyone living within the Greensburg Salem School District,...
