Westmoreland category, Page 736
Alex Hribal’s appeal rejected in Franklin Regional rampage
A Pennsylvania appeals court on Wednesday upheld the 60-year prison sentence for Alex Hribal, the Murrysville teen convicted of wounding of 20 teens and a security guard during a 2014 knife rampage at Franklin Regional High School. A three-judge panel rejected the appeal from Hribal, 22, who claimed the sentencing...
Penn woman accused of baseball bat assault in Jeannette
A 32-year-old woman was arrested Tuesday inside a public housing complex in Jeannette where police say she fled after assaulting a woman with a baseball bat. Heather L. Kunkle of Penn was charged by city police with aggravated assault, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, defiant trespass, flight to...
Youngwood man accused of assaulting, threatening relative over use of car
State police arrested a Youngwood man Tuesday for assault and intimidation of a witness after he allegedly got into an argument with a relative about the use of a car. Alexander L. Soroka, 37, was arraigned before night court District Judge Denise Thiel for harassment, intimation of a witness and...
Unity zoning panel OKs small cell antennae in Whitney, HostetterVideo
Six small cellular antennae soon could be rising above the Unity villages of Hostetter and Whitney. The township zoning hearing board this week approved the devices meant to improve service for Verizon wireless customers. Chairman Matt Cavalier, Timothy Thomas, Dorothy Zello and Judge Jim Kelley granted a special exception allowing...
Cops: Woman who crashed into Greensburg Chinese restaurant was DUI
A 47-year-old Greensburg woman who smashed through the front of a Chinese restaurant over the weekend was driving under the influence and did not have a driver’s license, city police said. Eileen Marie Morreo is charged with DUI, reckless endangerment and reckless driving following the crash into Szechuan Garden at...
Volunteers pull about 300 tires from Yough River
Sixty-five volunteers pulled about 300 tires from a 4-mile stretch of the Youghiogheny River on Sunday, according to Westmoreland Cleanways director Ellen Keefe. But there is still more work to do. “We are definitely planning to do this next year,” she said. “This will become an annual event it looks...
Franklin Regional officials praise expanded student-assistance program
Franklin Regional support services Director Jennifer DiFulvio began seeing what she called a “pretty significant need” in student referrals across the district’s buildings in 2015. DiFulvio said counselors were “doing a large amount of work, meeting with students and connecting them with resources. We saw the need for some additional...
Greensburg man to introduce new organ at 150th celebration of Connellsville church
A Greensburg man will debut a new organ at a Connellsville church next month as part of the parish’s 150th anniversary celebration. J. Christopher Pardini, director of music and liturgy at Blessed Sacrament Cathedral in Greensburg and cathedral organist for the Diocese of Greensburg, will perform a recital on the...
Ex-Derry mayor, accused of brandishing gun near children, seeks to have charges reduced
The lawyer for Derry borough’s former mayor, accused of brandishing a loaded gun near children, said felony aggravated assault charges filed in the case should be dismissed. In a hearing Tuesday, defense attorney Tim Andrews argued Kevin Gross merely pointed a weapon as he attempted to intervene in a physical...
Ex-South Greensburg secretary will plead guilty to stealing from father, attorney says
South Greensburg’s former secretary, convicted last year of stealing more than $155,000 from the borough, will plead guilty next month to charges that he stole from his elderly father and lied about it to a county judge, his attorney said. During a hearing Tuesday, Assistant Public Defender Chris Haidze said...
Postal Service to honor Arnold Palmer with ‘Forever’ stamp
Golfing legend Arnold Palmer next year will share another distinction with fellow iconic Latrobe native Fred Rogers. The U.S. Postal Service announced Tuesday it will issue a stamp next year honoring Palmer. A stamp recognizing Rogers, beloved host of the children’s television program “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” was issued in 2018....
Madison man sentenced to jail for drunken police chase that damaged cruiser
A Madison man pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges in connection to a high-speed police chase. Police said Brian Allen Smith, 48, appeared suspicious when he was spotted Jan. 12 in Sewickley sitting in a black Honda, which he drove away after refusing to speak with a state state trooper who...
Bolivar man gets prison time for sex assault
A Bolivar man will serve up to 20 years behind bars for the sexual assault of a young girl. Bradley Grant Sarver, 47, was sentenced Tuesday to a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 to 20 years in prison for an assault prosecutors said took place Christmas Day 2013. A 12-year-old...
Greensburg Bishop Malesic to visit pope in November
Greensburg Bishop Edward C. Malesic will make his first “ad limina” visit to the Vatican next month, the Catholic Accent reported. The bishop’s visit, in which he will report to Pope Francis on the status of the Diocese of Greensburg, comes at a time of declining priestly vocations, a shrinking...
Planned emergency drills at Jeannette schools canceled after ‘potential threat’
An emergency drill planned Wednesday in the Jeannette City School District was canceled after secondary school students were dismissed early Tuesday because of a potential threat, according to Superintendent Matt Jones. A new date for the drill will be announced soon, Jones said in a letter to parents. The critical...
Police: Ohio man planning bank robbery used threats to Norwin, Jeannette schools as diversion
An Ohio man wearing an elaborate mask to make him appear decades older slipped a note across a North Huntingdon restaurant counter Tuesday morning that warned of “an active shooter threat and multiple bombs” at Norwin and Jeannette high schools, authorities reported. The ruse by Luke J. Dell, 35, of...
Gas service restored in Hempfield
An issue that caused about 400 Peoples Gas customers in Hempfield to lose service was corrected Tuesday morning, according to the utility. Crews started going door-to-door to make safety checks and relight appliances, the utility said in a message on its website posted at 10:15 a.m. Spokesman Barry Kukovich said...
Jeannette schools to hold emergency drills on Wednesday
Jeannette schools will be the scene of critical incident drills Wednesday in which a combined evacuation and lockdown scenario will test the reactions of school officials and first responders. The school district, city police, fire department and Jeannette Emergency Medical Services will conduct the drill at 9:10 a.m. at the...
New voting machines on display at Westmoreland County CourthouseVideo
Westmoreland County voters this week have a chance to see new touch-screen computers that will be used to cast ballots next spring. Demonstrations of the new units will be held daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Wednesday in the lobby at the downtown Greensburg courthouse. County commissioners this...
Cops: Delmont man claiming to be attacked by woman with hammer arrested for rape, assault
After rushing to assist a Delmont man who claimed to have been attacked by a woman wielding a hammer, police ended up arresting him on charges of rape and assault. Joseph P. Swisher, 49, is being held in the Westmoreland County Prison without bail. He is charged with rape, aggravated...
Cops: Couple attempted to smuggle drugs into Westmoreland Prison inside greeting card
An Armstrong County woman was arrested last week for attempting to smuggle prescription painkillers inside a greeting card she mailed to her boyfriend, who was being held in the Westmoreland County Prison. Erica M. Vucho, 31, of Apollo, was arraigned on a felony conspiracy charge for illegally sending contraband to...
Daughtry powers into Greensburg for Palace Theatre show
With five studio albums, Chris Daughtry has parlayed a fourth-place finish on season five of “American Idol” into a quite the successful career leading the band Daughtry. The band took center stage in Greensburg’s Palace Theatre Sunday evening. His chart-topping first two albums, a 2006 self-titled debut and a 2008...
Salem culinary arts student has passion for local food
Kelly Gillis was 8 when she watched an older girl in her 4-H program demonstrate cooking skills to a group of young spectators. “My eyes just lit up like crazy; it was my defining moment,” said Gillis, 17. It inspired a passion for cooking that’s persisted to this day. She’s...
Ligonier Township ride, ‘ghost bike,’ honor cycle crash victim and stress road safetyVideo
A “ghost bike” placed in front of a tree on Route 30 in Ligonier Township will stand as a temporary memorial to a Hempfield man killed Oct. 1 when his bicycle was struck by a car at the site as he was riding up Laurel Mountain. Friends and family of...
Conservative author Dinesh D’Souza will be guest of honor at North Huntingdon event
Conservative best-selling author, filmmaker and provocateur Dinesh D’Souza will be in North Huntingdon this week as the guest of honor at a dinner hosted by the 1776 Freedom’s Calling Committee, a Smithton-based political action group. Tickets for Thursday’s event at Antonelli Event Center start at $200. D’Souza, 58, has been...
