Westmoreland category, Page 719
Border Patrol nabs Mexican man convicted of sex offense in Indiana County
A Mexican man deported four years ago after he pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a minor in Indiana County, was arrested this week for attempting to illegally enter the country along a desolate section of the Arizona border, the U.S. Border Patrol said. The suspect, Romualdo Gregorio Felipe, 48, was...
Greater Latrobe chooses DMJ Transportation to bus students
Greater Latrobe students who take the bus next school year will be transported by a new carrier, one that will save the district about $1 million. The Greater Latrobe School Board voted 7-0 Thursday to switch to DMJ Transportation Inc. of Mt. Pleasant Township, beginning July 1. Over the life...
River City Brass slated for holiday concert at Greater Latrobe
River City Brass will join forces with student musicians for a holiday concert Dec. 13 at Greater Latrobe Senior High School. Greater Latrobe band and choral students will perform along with members of the Pittsburgh brass band at 7 p.m. in the high school auditorium for the Home for the...
Westmoreland County cashier resigns after being charged with bringing drugs into courthouseVideo
Westmoreland County’s Park Police typically arrest a person or two every month for bringing illegal drugs in to the downtown Greensburg courthouse. A recent arrest was the first time in recent memory that a county employee was the person who was charged, Chief Henry Fontana said Friday. “Everybody is subject...
Former Palace Theatre owner still loves Greensburg’s grand dameVideo
Judy Marinelli couldn’t help getting a little emotional at Thursday night’s show at The Palace Theatre in downtown Greensburg. Nostalgia was already in the air, as Cornell Gunter’s Coasters, the Drifters and the Platters performed favorites from the 1950s and ’60s. Marinelli’s thoughts invariably turned to her late husband, Carl....
Ambulance service closing worries rural Westmoreland County communitiesVideo
A rural ambulance company abruptly closed this week, catching many residents in northeastern Westmoreland County by surprise and leaving some on edge. Connellsville-based Fayette EMS operated the Laurel Valley Ambulance Service station in New Florence since 2007. It closed Monday, with the door now padlocked and posted with “No Trespassing”...
Westmoreland Museum plans benefit brunch for the food bank
A holiday brunch featuring a spiked hot chocolate bar is planned Dec. 15 at The Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg. Presented in partnership with the Westmoreland County Food Bank, the event will provide information on the food bank’s mission to end hunger in the region. Following the meal,...
Grant money to help Hempfield school studentsVideo
The Hempfield Area School District was awarded a $5,000 grant to help with two programs that assist underserved children. Presented by the DMJ Transportation, funds will go toward the district’s Food 2 Go 4 Kids program and West Hempfield Middle School’s caring closet. Food 2 Go 4 Kids, a backpack...
Police locate pickup truck involved in Southwest Greensburg hit-and-runVideo
A paper grocery bag containing smashed vehicle parts and an anonymous tip helped Southwest Greensburg police on Friday find a pickup truck they believe was involved in a hit-and-run that injured a man this week. A state trooper who specializes in crash reconstruction determined from the “puzzle pieces” that investigators...
5 things to do in Westmoreland: Dec. 6-8Video
This week might be the best one of the holiday season. We’ve digested the Thanksgiving turkey and gotten the madness of Black Friday behind us. And all around us the parties are starting, the house tours are opening and the music is swelling. Nativities from round the globe The First...
Mad Scientist Beer celebrates grand opening in north Greensburg
Greensburg has a new beer distributor. Mad Scientist Beer, located at 990 N. Main St., followed a recent soft opening with an official grand opening Thursday. It’s located in the Route 66 Plaza, next to the Shop ’n Save. Greensburg has other beer distributors, but none on the north side...
Greensburg serial rapist loses appeal of 100-year prison sentence
A Greensburg man in prison for raping a teen-aged boy lost a legal appeal claiming his potential century-long sentence was excessive. Kenneth Richie, 64, pleaded guilty in 2013 to nine counts, including rape, in connection with sexual assaults against a 15-year-old boy in April 2011. Greensburg police said Richie developed...
Wood-fired pizzeria, bar coming to downtown GreensburgVideo
In a room filled with rubble, covered in graffiti and infested with pigeons, Chris Martin envisions a lively downtown Greensburg restaurant, with a wood-fired grill cooking made-to-order pizzas and a bar serving craft drinks. If renovations go according to plan, dŌ Wood-Fired will open its second location at 39 N....
Appeal denied for Donora man found guilty of assaulting pregnant girlfriend
A Westmoreland County judge on Thursday denied the appeal of a Donora man convicted earlier this year in a brutal assault against his pregnant girlfriend. In a 23-page opinion, Common Pleas Court Judge Rita Hathaway ruled there was no basis for the appeal filed by Travis Magash, who was convicted...
Latrobe firefighters suspended, mayor says
Several members of Latrobe Fire Department’s Goodwill Hose Company No. 1 have been suspended, Mayor Rosie Wolford said Thursday afternoon. Wolford did not reveal the reason for the suspensions or specify the number of firefighters involved. Reversing recent media reports, she said the company’s operations are no longer suspended. The...
Woman sentenced in Greensburg torture slaying pleads for clemency
The Greensburg woman who testified against her roommates in connection with the 2010 torture slaying of a mentally disabled friend has applied for clemency, saying she wants to rejoin society. Amber Meidinger, 29, filed paperwork last month with the state’s Board of Pardons, seeking early termination of her 40- to...
Man injured in Southwest Greensburg hit-and-run; police seeking help
A man was injured Tuesday night in what Southwest Greensburg police believe may have been a hit-and-run. The man was found lying unresponsive near the intersection of Sidney and Westminster streets. He is being treated at an Allegheny County hospital. Police are asking the public to be on the lookout...
Feds join city, state in investigating Jeannette hemp-drying business
The U.S. Department of Labor is investigating a controversial hemp-drying facility in Jeannette after employees complained they hadn’t been paid for weeks. “We are aware of the situation and are looking into it,” a department spokesperson said when asked about the situation at Patriot Shield Pennsylvania, located in a warehouse...
Police seek woman who allegedly stole wallet, bought computer in Hempfield
State police in Greensburg are trying to identify a woman who reportedly stole the wallet out of an elderly woman’s purse, drove to a Hempfield store and used a stolen credit card to buy more than $1,000 worth of computer equipment. A 71-year-old woman was eating at Panera Bread in...
Indiana County bridges named for 14th Quartermaster reservist, astronaut candidate
A bridge that connects Westmoreland and Indiana counties has been renamed in honor of a local Army reservist who was killed in an Iraqi missile attack during Operation Desert Storm. Gov. Tom Wolf last week signed legislation designating the Route 56 bridge over the Conemaugh River as the Specialist Beverly...
Greensburg church hosts holiday tea to raise money to feed the needy
The aroma of garlic bread greeted lunch guests inside a Greensburg church social hall. They arrived just before noon Wednesday, peeled off their winter coats and grabbed a glass of water or cup of coffee. For some, the steaming plate of rigatoni may have been the only meal they would...
Delmont council to take a closer look at future of Shields Farm cabin
Before spending more money on the Shields Farm cabin on East Pittsburgh Street, Delmont officials want to decide what exactly the cabin’s future will be. “It’s open one weekend a year,” said Councilman Bill Marx, who recently met with officials from the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, which deeded the...
Hempfield’s Fruits & Roots serves up cold-pressed juices, smoothiesVideo
Tracey Bryant was a stay-at-home mom for 22 years before a change in her diet prompted an entrepreneurial endeavor. “I wanted something for myself, my own thing,” says Bryant, 52, of Unity. And after watching documentaries, including “Forks Over Knives” and “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead,” she says, a seed...
Penn Township tattoo parlor will host Toys for Tots fundraiser
When Justin Schultz opened his first tattoo shop in downtown Jeannette in 2012, a Toys for Tots representative stopped by right around this time of year to drop off a donation box. “I thought, ‘It’s such a little box,’ so we had the idea to do an annual fundraiser and...
Unity planning commission OKs mobile home park expansion
More mobile homes could soon arrive along Marguerite Lake Road in Unity. The township planning commission approved 51 additional lots at Hillside Estates mobile home park. UMH Properties of Morgantown, W. Va., plans to add the lots in three phases on a 21-acre section of the development just north of...
