Westmoreland category, Page 713
Transit authority on track to start running Westmoreland bus service in January
Staff at the Westmoreland County Transit Authority has grown by more than 600% over the last month as the agency continues to gear up for its takeover of bus and paratransit services on Jan. 2. What was once primarily an administrative organization with 18 employees, the authority has transitioned to...
Staycation: Hikers, hunters, campers can enjoy wild times at Forbes State ForestVideo
Forbes State Forest provides some of the best spots for enjoying the Laurel Highlands’ wild flora, fauna and scenery. Boasting plenty of highlights for visitors, the forest covers roughly 60,000 acres spread across more than a dozen tracts of land in Westmoreland, Fayette and Somerset counties. Forbes State Forest annually...
Vo-tech schools serving Westmoreland, A-K Valley districts get nearly $82K in grants
Three vo-tech schools that serve 11 school districts in Westmoreland County and the Alle-Kiski Valley have received close to $82,000 in grants from the state Education Department. Lenape Technical School received $40,675, Eastern Westmoreland Career and Technology Center received $49,999, and Northern Westmoreland Career and Technology Center received $16,930. The...
Irwin native pushed for early prosecution of child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein
Fallout from the teen sex trafficking scandal of the late Jeffrey Epstein, a wealthy financier and convicted pedophile who hanged himself in a New York City jail cell, continues to plow a path of destruction. Manhattan jail guards face federal criminal charges related to Epstein’s death and an alleged subsequent...
Jeannette school closet helps students in need
Rather than being filled with desks, chairs and books, a second-floor room at Jeannette McKee Elementary School has shelves of pants, racks of shirts and skirts, boxes of new tennis shoes, hats, gloves and some toiletries. The former classroom was converted this year into the Jeannette McKee School Closet, where...
Super Saturday brings holiday shoppers out in droves at Westmoreland Mall
The last Saturday before Christmas, typically the biggest shopping day of the year, was expected to attract nearly 148 million consumers online and at brick-and-mortar stores this year. The National Retail Federation projected that increase over last year’s Super Saturday turnout of about 134 million because of this year’s abbreviated...
Hempfield man suffers burns in fire that destroyed garage
A Hempfield man suffered minor burns to his hands while attempting to remove equipment from his burning garage Saturday morning, firefighters said. The block building, which contained woodworking equipment, was a total loss, according to Midway-St. Clair Fire Chief Rich Kepple. A township fire investigator will look into the cause...
Theft of payroll documents left 1,800 Excela employees’ data at risk
A stolen briefcase containing payroll documents from an Excela Health employee this fall left the personal data of 1,800 workers at risk, hospital system officials confirmed. Authorities said they were notified around 6 a.m. Oct. 8 of the theft of a briefcase from an unlocked car parked outside a home...
Unity Township road reopens after car crash
A car crash closed Union Cemetery Road in Unity Township Friday night, according to a Westmoreland 911 dispatcher. The road, which closed between McCullough Road and Auction Barn Road before 10 p.m., was reopened before 12 a.m. One person was freed from a vehicle and was in the care of...
Officials: Driver flees after crashing into Hempfield parts storeVideo
A driver fled the scene after crashing into an AutoZone along Route 30 on Friday evening, according to a Westmoreland 911 dispatcher. Officers responded shortly before 5:45 p.m. to the parts store, at 6499 Route 30 in Hempfield, where they found a white pickup that had crashed into the corner...
New Ken-Arnold student left on W.L. Roenigk bus, 2nd pupil in 10 days
A New Kensington-Arnold School District special needs student was left alone on a W.L. Roenigk school bus at the Clairview School in Greensburg on Friday, school and bus company officials said. The driver was immediately fired, a Roenigk official said. It was the second time in 10 days that a...
1st trial in 2017 Youngwood homicide to begin in March
The first of what could be four trials for defendants accused in the 2017 stabbing death of a Youngwood man is scheduled to begin March 9. First up will be Jason Sullenberger, 42, of Youngwood. He is charged with first-degree murder and other offenses in connection with the death of...
Hempfield considers new fire detection systems for township-owned buildings
On the heels of a fire that ravaged the Greensburg public works building and destroyed several thousands of dollars in equipment and vehicles, Hempfield is looking to protect more than $5 million in assets with new fire detection systems. While supervisors have not made a final decision on what to...
Latrobe Area Hospital Aid Society continues to fill in the gaps in health careVideo
A community came together and persevered when the wives of doctors and civic leaders joined to form the Latrobe Area Hospital Aid Society in 1907. More than 100 years later, in an era marked by the demise of such organizations in communities large and small, the group’s leaders came together...
Clerk accused of stealing money from Greensburg convenience store
A former employee at a Greensburg service station was accused by city police this week of stealing money from the cash register on three consecutive days she worked in November. Taylor M. Hurt, 21, is charged with theft and receiving stolen property in connection with the thefts that occurred Nov....
Police: North Versailles man hid drugs in mouth, buttocks
When police arrested a North Versailles man in Manor on Thursday after an apparent drug deal, they found the suspect had drugs hidden in his mouth and clenched between his buttocks, according to court papers. Damian Igles, 22, is charged with drug offenses, criminal use of a communication facility and...
Slopes at Laurel Mountain Ski Resort open SaturdayVideo
Even Mother Nature chipped in to hail Saturday’s opening of Laurel Mountain Ski Resort in Ligonier Township by dropping more than 6 inches of snow this week atop the Laurel Ridge in Westmoreland County. “We’re definitely ready to go. We have a few crews there (Friday) morning working on some...
Jeannette charity looks for miracle to keep St. Vincent de Paul thrift store running
Volunteers at the St. Vincent de Paul store in Jeannette are hoping for a Christmas miracle. The thrift store is being forced to close after the three-story Clay Avenue building where it is housed is being sold. Volunteers said the prospective owner, who they didn’t identify, has other plans for...
5 things to do in Westmoreland this weekend: Dec. 20-22Video
And just like that, the last weekend before Christmas is upon us. There may or may not be a flurry of snowflakes, but a flurry of fun awaits. Music, train displays and movies will help calm any seasonal stress, and keep the kiddos from bouncing off the walls — maybe....
Yough student earns national title at Florida dog-diving championshipVideo
It was 25 degrees in Mt. Pleasant Township on Thursday, but that didn’t stop a German short-haired pointer from going muzzle and paw first into a pool to retrieve one of his favorite toys. Caesar was at Rustic Lodge Diving Dogs, and thankfully inside the organization’s heated training center on...
North Huntingdon budget: No tax hike for 2020
North Huntingdon property owners will not pay more in real estate taxes to operate township government in 2020. With little fanfare or discussion, the North Huntingdon commissioners on Wednesday passed a $14.7 million general fund budget that keeps taxes at 11.3 mills. The revenue generated by 9.3 mills will be...
North Huntingdon businessman Tony Corsa named to Norwin School BoardVideo
A North Huntingdon businessman was elected Thursday to the Norwin School Board from among a field of 18 candidates. Tony Corsa, 42, won the support of seven of the eight board members during the second vote to fill the vacancy created by the Dec. 2 resignation of Barbara Viola. Corsa...
Latrobe man gets house arrest after pleading guilty to animal cruelty involving 17 animals
A Latrobe man will serve three months of house arrest and two years on probation after he pleaded guilty Thursday to a felony charge of animal cruelty. According to court records, Andrew T. Pevarnik, 44, was charged in September after humane officers found 17 dead animals in a Derry Township...
Traffic snarled by 3-vehicle crash on Route 30 near Hempfield Plaza
One lane of traffic on Route 30 near Hempfield Plaza was blocked Thursday afternoon as emergency crews responded to a three-vehicle crash. A Westmoreland County emergency dispatcher said at least one person suffered minor injuries. The dispatcher said eastbound traffic was reduced to one lane as a result of the...
Westmoreland County agrees to $45K settlement with Delmont woman for injuries
A Delmont woman will be paid $45,000 for injuries she claims to have sustained in a fall at Twin Lakes Park while attending the Westmoreland Arts and Heritage Festival nearly six years ago. According to the lawsuit filed against Westmoreland County in 2016, Juliana Artascos said she was injured after...
