Westmoreland category, Page 74
Theft case against Latrobe attorney is postponed
A Westmoreland County judge Monday delayed a trial for a Latrobe attorney accused of bilking a jailed client. Acting on a defense request, Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio approved the two-month postponement of the theft case filed against attorney John Allen Roth. The defense said the delay was to await a prosecution...
Murrysville elevates in-house staff to community development director
Murrysville Council has named municipal engineer technician Emily Mallisee as the new director for community development. “She’s been with us in an engineering role, but she’s been handling some things on the development side,” Murrysville Chief Administrator Michael Nestico said. “As you know, we haven’t had a community development director...
Scottdale heart transplant patient: Recovering ‘each day, one day at a time’
Thirteen-year-old Marshall Fee of Scottdale is the rare person who will celebrate a birthday twice in one year. While his regular birthday is in October, his second commemorates the day he received a new heart — which has given him hope for a full life. Fee, who had suffered from...
Greensburg Salem School Board weighs restricting livestream service to monthly voting meetings
Greensburg Salem School Board could reduce its livestreaming capacity for public meetings following a vote by the school board this week. Because of low livestream meeting attendance and difficulties finding staff to operate equipment, the board will decide Wednesday whether to restrict livestreaming to its monthly voting meeting. The motion...
Greensburg eyeing 26 new golf carts for Mt. Odin course
Greensburg is looking to add some new golf carts to its Mt. Odin Golf Course fleet. City council is set to vote Monday on financing for the $170,000 needed to buy 26 golf carts that will replace aging ones. “We have some that are from the 1990s,” Mayor Robb Bell...
Westmoreland happenings: Irish history program, senior citizen news, more
Church News • Greensburg Church of the Brethren hosts a night of fun and fellowship for individuals and groups with developmental disabilities from 5 to 7 p.m. Mondays at the church, 554 Stanton St., Southwest Greensburg. Dinner is included. Participants must be accompanied by a family member or caregiver. Donations...
‘We had so many plans’: Hempfield man mourns wife, a school van driver, after fatal crash
Harry Davis wasn’t surprised to hear others speak about his wife’s kindness after she was killed Friday morning. “It doesn’t surprise me,” Davis said. “From being around her, I know how she is with other people and (how she) wanted to help people.” Rene Davis, 60, of Hempfield was killed...
Westmoreland commissioners approve new labor deal, suspend work rules for nonunion staff
Westmoreland commissioners last week ratified a new labor deal for the county’s largest municipal police force and issued the temporary halt of a hiring policy that officials claim has skewed hiring and pay scales throughout the government. The commissioners approved a five-year contract with the Park Police Association of Westmoreland...
Pitt-Greensburg charity basketball game benefits the Welcome Home Shelter
Pitt-Greensburg students may have won the competition against faculty and staff on the gym floor, but a local homeless shelter was the ultimate victor when it received a donation of $1,250 from the school’s annual Charity Basketball Game. The event, now in its 18th year, was organized by the Student...
5 years after covid struck, Pennsylvanians assess the pandemic’s impact
Five years ago this month, Pennsylvania’s chief executive scrambled to manage a global health crisis for which no one in the world was prepared. As leader of the nation’s fifth most-populous state, then-Gov. Tom Wolf found himself winging it like everyone else. He had no playbook for covid-19. “It looked...
Forum covers the ‘roses and thorns’ of Hempfield firefighting
Creating an “inviting environment” was the theme at Hempfield Township’s second annual fire forum Saturday morning. The first forum took place last year to smooth over concerns, answer uncertainties about the state of the fire department and clarify the “nonchartered” process, where a fire station goes under the direct management...
Greensburg Salem raises money for student activities with ‘Mr. GS’ competition
Greensburg Salem held its Seventh annual “Mr. GS” competition Friday evening, raising money for student activities at the high school. Audience members paid for tickets to choose who they wanted to win the event. Nine seniors competed in various events: Cooper Dann, Logan Dunkerley, Wesley Heverly, Logan Lewis, Ethan Miller,...
Projectiles launched, zombie art composed at annual Shaler Area STEAM competition
Teams from 16 schools applied their knowledge and creativity in a series of challenges Friday during an annual STEAM competition hosted by Shaler Area High School. The competition, which began several years ago with just six schools, features a daylong sequence of science, technology, engineering, art and math trials in...
Jeannette man’s murder convictions, life sentences vacated over debunked fire science
A former Jeannette man serving three life prison sentences for the first-degree murders of his wife and two young children in 1993 is entitled to a new trial, a Westmoreland County judge ruled Friday. Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Feliciani vacated the convictions and sentences of James Young, 57, who...
Police seek owners of collectible coins recovered during shoplifting, gun theft, drug arrest in Unity
State police arrested a Cook Township man Friday on a shoplifting charge and found him in possession of a gun they say was stolen and 63 collectible coins they believe could be linked to a local theft. Police said they found the coins and a silver bar in 26-year-old Alexander...
Local groups take financial worries out of prom season
Hidden behind the glitz and glam of dresses, suits, pictures, flowers and all things that makes prom night magical is the realization of how quickly the expenses can add up. For the students and families worried about the cost as prom season approaches, there are groups in the area that...
Officials say flights to Fort Lauderdale to resume from Arnold Palmer Regional Airport
Direct flights from Arnold Palmer Regional Airport to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., will resume in May, the Westmoreland County Airport Authority announced Friday. Spirit Airlines will initially operate two weekly flights to the south Florida city, a move officials said will return profitability and jobs to Westmoreland County’s lone commuter airport....
Hempfield woman driving school bus van dies after tractor-trailer strikes 2 vehicles; Greensburg Salem student driver injured
Rene Davis was remembered Friday for the dedication and care she demonstrated as a school bus driver serving the Greensburg Salem School District. Davis, 60, of Hempfield was killed Friday morning when her school bus van was struck by a tractor-trailer that ran through a red light on Route 22...
Chief: North Huntingdon fire department working to improve insurance ratings, community confidence
After being slapped with the worst possible fire insurance score in July, the Strawpump fire department in North Huntingdon has added members and continues to respond to calls as it works to regain an acceptable rating, the department’s new chief said. Township commissioners in November approved a plan from the...
Safer schools: Pa. program has intercepted over 120 weapons in schools before they could be used
Thirty-five weapons were intercepted before they could be used to commit acts of violence in Pennsylvania schools last school year, as officials credited the anonymous safety reporting system Safe2Say Something for preventing catastrophes. Since the program’s inception six years ago, at least 123 weapons — including guns and knives —...
Here are 5 things to do in Westmoreland this weekend: March 7-9
Ready to spring forward? Even if this weekend is an hour shorter than last weekend, you can still have just as much fun with these events. ‘Alice in Wonderland’ Fall down the rabbit hole and join Keystone Contemporary Ballet on the adventure of a lifetime with “Alice in Wonderland” this...
Greensburg teen’s Eagle Scout project revitalizes gazebo at Unity’s St. Xavier preserve
A gazebo at the St. Xavier Nature Preserve in Unity no longer has a roof covered in moss and filled with gaping holes. That’s thanks to the work of Greensburg teen Ty Schlesman, who gathered materials and recruited helpers to renovate the structure as his Eagle Scout project. The gazebo...
Western Pa. wood carver recalls special gifts he made for President Carter and first lady Rosalyn
It’s not every day that a person gets to give a work of art to a former U.S. president and first lady who also were fellow trout anglers, but that is what happened to a member of the Forbes Trail Chapter of Trout Unlimited. With the death of 100-year-old former...
Jury finds Greensburg man guilty of child rape
A Westmoreland County jury on Thursday convicted a Greensburg man of the sexual assault of a young child. James A. Swanson, 48, was found guilty of two felony offenses, rape and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, in connection with allegations of improper conduct with a 3-year-old boy in 2019 and 2020....
Longtime Westmoreland transit board chairman Frank Tosto Jr. passed over for reappointment
Republican Westmoreland County commissioners on Thursday replaced longtime Westmoreland County Transit Authority board member Frank Tosto Jr., saying it was time for change on the board that oversees public transportation. “Nobody is to be on a board forever. Yes, he has knowledge and experience, but the board, as a recommendation,...
