Westmoreland category, Page 708
Cops: Hempfield woman threw hot coffee on trooper at Youngwood restaurant
A Hempfield woman is in the county prison because she threw a cup of hot coffee on a state trooper, according to police. Sonya R. Connors, 52, was arraigned before District Judge Tony Bompiani on charges of aggravated assault, disorderly conduct, harassment, resisting arrest, retail theft and simple assault after...
Trash hauling changes hit North Huntingdon residents
North Huntingdon residents whose garbage collection was delayed after a new hauler was hired can take their garbage to a Dumpster at the township’s public works building off Route 30, officials said. The township’s trash hauler, Westmoreland Sanitary Landfill LLC/County Hauling Corp. of Rostraver, placed the Dumpster at the public...
Packages in Pa. Turnpike crash remain on delivery route
UPS packages that were being hauled by tractor-trailers involved in the fatal Pennsylvania Turnpike crash will reach their intended destinations if they were not damaged, a company spokesman said Tuesday. “If a package is damaged, we contact the shipper for replacement or reimbursement of that delivery,” said Matthew O’Connor, senior...
Mayor: Grant documentation concerns triggered Latrobe fire company suspensionsVideo
Seven members of Latrobe Volunteer Fire Department’s Goodwill Hose Company 1, who were suspended in December, reportedly have been reinstated. But members of the company still had questions this week for city officials, who told them that the fire department — not Latrobe Council — needs to solve its internal...
Police: Uniontown man accused in baby’s death charged with injuring another child
A Uniontown man accused in the 2019 death of an East Huntingdon baby was charged Tuesday in connection with injuries to his 14-month-old son, according to court papers. Derrick A. Bass, 29, was watching the boy in Monessen in October 2018 when police said the child was hurt. Bass is...
Funeral services announced for Rostraver West Newton paramedic killed on I-70
A Rostraver West Newton Emergency Services paramedic supervisor who was struck and killed by a tractor-trailer along Interstate 70will be laid to rest Friday in Monongahela Cemetery. Funeral arrangements were announced for Matthew C. Smelser, 43, of Carroll Township, by Marshall Marra Funeral Home, 216 Chess St., Monongahela, where visitation...
Latrobe man hurt in vehicle-pedestrian crash
A Latrobe man was hospitalized Sunday after police said he was hit by a vehicle. Steven Fleischer, 62, was hurt at the intersection of Main Street and Truman Avenue just after 6 p.m., said Beth Straka, community service officer. He was taken to Excela Health Latrobe Hospital and transported by...
Contractor reports $4,800 theft at Hempfield job site
An electrical contractor working at a Hempfield plant reported that $4,800 worth of tools and copper wire were stolen from its job site, state police from Greensburg said. J.W. Peters Co. of Bethel Park reported the tools and wire were stolen from the General Carbide Corp. plant on Garden Drive...
Historical society receives $10K gift to help relocate military monumentVideo
The Export Historical Society has a good jump on relocating Export’s veteran monument, thanks to a $10,000 gift from former borough resident Gary Wuslich. “He noticed that the memorial was a little bit hard to see or recognize unless you knew where it was,” said borough councilwoman and historical society...
Norwin to cap tax hike at 3.4%
Property owners in the Norwin School District will not see their school taxes increase more than 3.4% — the maximum allowed without state or voter approval. The Norwin School Board unanimously voted at its meeting this week to limit any tax hike to the state maximum, which is about 2.8...
Unity OKs 3% wage hike, seeks emergency coordinator
Unity Township supervisors approved a 3% wage hike for most township workers and are searching for a new emergency management coordinator. At their reorganization meeting this week, the supervisors approved the pay increase for two non-union employees. That hike matches the raise recently approved for 23 union members who work...
Jeannette woman gets 15 to 30 years in prison for boyfriend’s death
A Jeannette woman convicted last year in the fatal bludgeoning of her teen-aged boyfriend insisted in court on Monday she did not intend for him to die. Crystal Belle, 40, said during her sentencing hearing she cared deeply for her 19-year-old boyfriend, Khalil Parker, even as she used the wooden...
New Westmoreland County commissioners say they’ll reopen the county’s budgetVideo
Westmoreland County commissioners Monday afternoon elected Republican Sean Kertes to serve as the new board chairman. Kertes, 33, of Greensburg, and Commissioner Doug Chew formed a new Republican majority on the board, which for the previous four years had been controlled by Democrats. The board’s lone returning member, Commissioner Gina...
$1 million New Year’s Millionaire Raffle ticket sold in Salem
Someone who shopped at a Salem convenience store wanted to be a millionaire, apparently. Now they are, according to the Pennsylvania Lottery. A winning $1 million New Year’s Millionaire Raffle ticket was sold at the GetGo store on State Route 22. The ticket matched one of four numbers picked in...
2 Pennsylvanians among the 5 people killed in Pennsylvania Turnpike crash
Two of the five people killed in Sunday’s deadly Pennsylvania Turnpike crash in Westmoreland County were from Pennsylvania. Dennis Kehler, 48, of Lebanon, a driver for UPS for 28 years, leaves behind his wife, Kathleen, a daughter and two stepchildren. “He was one of the most generous men I’ve ever...
Rostraver West Newton paramedic killed on I-70 remembered as dedicated, compassionateVideo
A 14-year-old Matthew Smelser showed up three decades ago for a youth emergency medical explorer program in Connellsville. Greg Cominsky, a longtime area paramedic, knew right away that he was destined for a career helping people. “Oh, Matt took an immediate interest in it. He was so eager, so dedicated...
New Westmoreland County sheriff finds offices trashed
Newly installed Westmoreland County Sheriff James Albert found a surprise when he arrived at work Monday morning. Stacks of boxes filled with old arrest warrants blocked the door to his administrative suite of offices, trash was strewn on floors and desks, and the former sheriff’s dirty uniforms were piled beneath...
Borings for bridge project slated on Route 906 in Rostraver
Motorists may encounter changing traffic patterns in the Rostraver community of Webster beginning this week, while boring is under way on a section of Route 906. According to PennDOT, workers will be completing geotechnical borings between Mechanics and Kline streets to prepare for a bridge replacement. The work is expected...
PennDOT to close I-70 West Newton ramp for 8 months
Motorists using the westbound on and off ramps of the West Newton/Mt. Pleasant exit on Interstate 70 will have to detour several miles and for several months beginning Jan. 15, PennDOT said. The westbound ramps will be closed starting at 8 a.m. Jan. 15 until about August for ramp reconstruction...
Police: 4 hurt when Jeannette man hits them with pickup while drunk
Four people were hospitalized after state police said a Jeannette man hit them with a pickup truck early Saturday. Dominic Giovanni Bellone, 20, was drunk when he hit two men and two women in Derry Township and fled, according to court papers. He is being held at the Westmoreland County...
Gov. Wolf orders state flags at half-staff to honor Rostraver West Newton paramedic killed Sunday
Gov. Tom Wolf ordered the commonwealth flag to be flown at half-staff Monday to honor Matthew Smelser, the Rostraver West Newton Emergency Services paramedic who was killed Sunday while responding to a crash on Interstate 70. Smelser, a 44-year-old paramedic supervisor from Charleroi, died when he was struck by a...
Police: Bus driver, 2 others ejected after hitting center barrier in deadly Turnpike crash
The driver of a tour bus involved in a deadly Pennsylvania Turnpike crash Sunday was ejected from the vehicle, as were two passengers, after it struck the center barrier at 3:30 a.m., state police said. Shuang Qing Feng, 58, of Flushing, N.Y., was driving west in the left lane when...
Westmoreland courthouse reopens after bomb threat
A bomb threat closed the Westmoreland County courthouse for nearly three hours Monday, the first day for new administration in the commissioner’s office and sheriff’s department. The Greensburg courthouse was evacuated after a threat was received shortly after 9 a.m., Sheriff Jim Albert said. Explosive-sniffing dogs from police agencies in...
Gordmans conversion begins, hiring events planned
Area Peebles stores, including those in Belle Vernon, Mt. Pleasant, Ellwood City, Allegheny Township, New Castle and Somerset, will hold hiring events this week as the locations transform into Gordmans stores. The stores will open under the new name on Feb. 18, the company says. The apparel and home décor...
Pa. Turnpike tragedy: 5 dead in ‘horrific incident’ that could take weeks to investigateVideo
A deadly Pennsylvania Turnpike crash involving a tour bus and multiple tractor-trailers early Sunday left the vehicles so entangled that it took first responders hours to reach the dead and shut down the major thoroughfare for nearly 15 hours, authorities said. Five people died in what Pennsylvania State Police called...
