Westmoreland category, Page 718
Cops: Penn Township woman charged in hit and run, and then slugging other driver
A Penn Township woman allegedly involved in a hit-and-run accident is accused of punching and threatening to shoot the other driver, who followed her after the initial crash, according to police. Carla L. Smith, 57, was charged Monday by township police with simple assault, harassment, failing to stop and render...
John Sphon named new CEO at Excela as rating agency downgrades bonds
John Sphon, a longtime Excela Health executive, was named CEO of the Westmoreland County hospital and health system Tuesday. Sphon’s appointment followed the announcement five days ago that Moody’s Investors Service had downgraded $63 million in outstanding Excela bonds from A3 to Baa1. In a statement on the downgrade, Moody’s...
Westmoreland officials seeking input on housing, community development needs
Officials from the Westmoreland County Community Development Division are seeking input on housing and community development needs. There will be four sessions over the next month to help determine spending priorities for federal money over the next five years. An online survey is available for people unable to attend a...
Latrobe firefighters leave council meeting without reason for their suspensionsVideo
Firefighters who are under suspension at Latrobe Fire Department’s Goodwill Hose Company No. 1 say they haven’t been told why. “We were suspended without cause, without reason,” Nico Giovannagelo, captain of the Goodwill Hose Company, said of himself and six other firefighters. “We do not know why we were suspended,...
Greensburg approves $7,600 in new business grants
The City of Greensburg will give $7,600 in grants to three new businesses. City Council unanimously approved the grants Monday under a program that provides money to cover “soft costs” like architectural and design fees for commercial endeavors. All three businesses are located at 136 South Pennsylvania Ave., a long-vacant...
Greensburg keeps taxes flat in 2020
Greensburg passed a budget with no tax increase for the 12th year in a row. The $12.8 million budget keeps real estate taxes at 25.05 mills, with a separate one-mill tax supporting the Greensburg Hempfield Area Library. City Council approved the budget unanimously Monday. Council also approved the purchase of...
Derry Township man to serve at least 8 years in jail for drug overdose death
A Derry Township man will serve at least eight years in prison for his role in the overdose death of a friend in early 2017. Eric B. Vogel Jr., 31, pleaded guilty in September to a charge of drug delivery resulting in death in connection with the overdose of 29-year-old...
Pittsburgh Penguins players make annual holiday visit to UPMC Children’s HospitalVideo
The Pittsburgh Penguins made the holidays a little brighter for patients at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh on Monday. Donning Santa hats, the players stopped by several rooms at the hospital to drop off gifts including stuffed penguins, hats and calendars and to spend a little bit of time talking,...
Jeannette man gets 10 years probation for his brother’s overdose death
A Jeannette man will serve 10 years on probation for selling the drugs his younger brother used before he died of an overdose nearly three years ago. Markus McGowan, 32, was facing a potential 10-year prison term but, following testimony from his mother and a family friend, a Westmoreland County...
Salem tattoo shop plans coat, shoe giveawayVideo
Dante Wiley Jr. knows how tough it can get for needy children during the holidays. “I didn’t have much growing up,” said Wiley, a Jeannette resident and general manager/part-owner at BullyInk tattoo parlor in Salem Plaza along Route 22. “I know how it feels. I know what it’s like to...
South Greensburg’s former secretary admits to stealing from elderly father to repay borough
In an attempt to avoid going to jail and repay money he embezzled from South Greensburg accounts, a former borough secretary stole more than $60,000 from his elderly father and then lied about it in court. On Monday, a contrite Dennis Lee Kunkle Jr. stood in a downtown courtroom and...
Former Leechburg police chief jailed again, accused of accessing porn website
A former Leechburg police chief — who was fired and prosecuted for seeking sex from what he thought was an underage girl — used his cellphone while meeting with a probation officer to access a website devoted to fetishes, bondage and sadomasochism, state investigators said in court. In doing so,...
Westmoreland County inmate, girlfriend accused in jailhouse drug smuggling scheme
Fearful that guards would find drugs hidden in his mail, a Westmoreland County Prison inmate asked someone in another jail cell to stash a pile of stamped envelopes — only to have that inmate share his secret with authorities, according to new criminal charges against a Greensburg man and his...
Man arrested in connection with Derry Township woman’s overdose death
An Indiana County man was arrested Monday in connection with a 2017 drug overdose death in Westmoreland County, according to court papers. Shawn Ray Jodon, 30, of Burrell Township, is accused of providing a fatal dose of fentanyl to his cousin Brittany Nicole Adamson, 22. State police said Adamson overdosed...
Cops: 71-year-old Hempfield man admitted sexually assaulting girl
A 71-year-old Hempfield man was ordered held in the Westmoreland County Prison on $25,000 bond after his arrest by state police for allegedly sexually assaulting a girl on multiple occasions over two years. Frank J. Celesnik was charged with aggravated indecent assault, aggravated assault on a child under 13 years...
‘MasterChef Junior Live!’ coming to Greensburg’s Palace Theatre
The “MasterChef Junior Live!” cooking competition is coming to The Palace Theatre on March 20. After a 16-city 2019 debut tour based on the Fox cooking show featuring kids ages 8-13, the extended seven-week tour will kick off March 3 in Rochester, N.Y., and visit 40 U.S. cities. “The stage...
Jeannette revamps junior firefighter program
Isaiah Derry remembers his first fire. The adrenaline started pumping when the Jeannette boy heard the call over his pager. He got to go inside a North Second Street home after flames were extinguished and then help his fellow firefighters clean up. Derry, 14, is one of three teenagers recently...
Elite athlete from Greensburg never thought she’d end up running for her lifeVideo
In the beginning, Cheryl Collins Gatons began running for fun. It was a great way to blow off stress after work. She never imagined she would end up as a two-time qualifier for the Olympic marathon trials, or that years later she would start running for her life. The 52-year-old...
Ligonier Town-Wide Open House focuses on holiday spirit
With apologies to the snowman that couldn’t make it, it really was beginning to look at lot like Christmas in Ligonier on Sunday. Despite a scarcity of the white stuff, the quaint Westmoreland County mountain community nestled in the Laurel Highlands managed to radiate holiday spirit during its Town-Wide Christmas...
30 years in: Pennsylvania’s heritage areas boost tourism, local economiesVideo
Over the past three decades, the Pennsylvania Heritage Area Program has grown to cover every corner of the state — and nearly all of the middle, too. It has also matured to pump billions of tourist dollars into local economies each year. Launched in 1989 after a decade of planning,...
Continuing issues at Jeannette plant highlight gaps in hemp regulation
Former employees at a Jeannette hemp-drying facility said they worked in unsafe conditions, dealing with thousands of pounds of mold-infested crops. Richard Wright said employers denied his request to shut down production long enough to address the problem. “I just don’t want my name associated with making anybody sick,” said...
From Belschnickel to Santa Claus, Westmoreland historians trace Christmas traditionsVideo
It’s hard to see how Belschnickel could have been mistaken for Santa Claus. But back in the days when Western Pennsylvania was the edge of the frontier and colonists were beginning to talk revolution, there’s a good chance children who never heard of Santa were more familiar with the ornery...
Law enforcement motorcycle club steps up to support Westmoreland County foster kids
It took a single afternoon to deliver and disperse about $7,000 worth of Christmas cheer that members of a local motorcycle club spent months collecting. “It’s just so heartwarming that any group would step forward out of the blue… and put so much effort and hard work into making sure...
Trafford holds the line on taxes for 2020
Trafford property owners will not have to pay more in real estate taxes for the operation of the borough’s government in 2020. Trafford Council this week approved a general fund budget of $1.8 million for 2020, a 21% increase from the 2019 budget of $1.51 million. Most of the additional...
Oak Ridge Boys get in the holiday spirit during Palace Theatre show
The Oak Ridge Boys returned to Greensburg for their “Down Home Christmas” show Friday night. The show started with a number of the band’s massive country hits. The Oaks ushered in the season, wrapping up the concert with a slew of holiday classics and new favorites....
