Westmoreland category, Page 784
Zoning decision pending on Faith Forward’s plan for new Latrobe office space
Faith Forward Ministries, a Latrobe nonprofit that offers counseling services, will have to wait until August to see if city officials will allow it to expand its offices to a residential section of Depot Street. Martha Faust, who heads the faith-based organization’s board, told the city zoning hearing board Tuesday...
Firefighters respond to fire in Unity home
Firefighters responded to a fire in Unity Township Tuesday evening, a Westmoreland 911 dispatcher confirmed. Located at 3400 Route 982, the fire started in a garage and spread to a house. Officials at Trauger Fire Department confirmed no one was in the home at the time of the fire. Fire...
Penn Township could get turnpike ramp on Route 130 following commission’s approval
A turnpike interchange could be coming at last to Penn Township, though advocates likely still have a while to wait. The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission voted Tuesday to allocate $30 million to build a cashless tolling interchange at state Route 130. The project was added to the commission’s 10-year capital plan....
North Huntingdon woman remembered for love of knitting, family
Everybody wanted Betty Keim’s hand-knitted dish cloths, and they’re still asking for them today, her daughter Sherry Dalrymple said. “My mother made dish cloths like nobody’s business,” Dalrymple said, laughing. An avid member of a knitting club held at the Norwin Public Library each week, Mrs. Keim took pride in...
Parents detail family injuries during trial of Mother’s Day 2016 wreck in Youngwood
William Schuler remembers the sounds of a helicopter as it flew him to a Pittsburgh hospital three years ago following a Mother’s Day crash on Route 119 in Youngwood in which he, his wife and two young children were seriously injured. He told jurors Tuesday — the first day of...
Lawyer for Ligonier psychologist denies he molested girl
The lawyer for a Ligonier psychologist told Westmoreland County jurors on Tuesday that the prevalence of sexual assault allegations around the country has become too much and in some cases cannot be properly defended. “In today’s world, if they say it happened, it happened. It could happen to any of...
Jeannette residents work to recover after heavy rains flooded basements with wastewater
Toni Crawford’s new washer and dryer were destroyed Thursday when 4 feet of sewage and water flowed up through a drain in her West Jeannette basement. By Tuesday, her basement had been scrubbed clean three times, but her anger had not subsided. “I’m disgusted with this sewer system,” she said....
Westmoreland Fair ‘the only place we have to showcase our products and educate people’Video
Pennsylvania’s top industry is still agriculture, but that’s little consolation to farmer and Westmoreland Fair President Craig Lash. “This fair is the only place we have to showcase our products and educate people about where their food comes from,” Lash said. Lash, the sixth generation of his family to go...
Firm wants to open marijuana testing lab in Trafford — Western Pa.’s first
A Michigan-based firm wants to open Western Pennsylvania’s first medical marijuana testing laboratory, which would move from Clearfield to Trafford. Lansing-based ACT Laboratories Inc. is seeking a variance from Trafford Borough to operate the lab at 109 Brinton Ave., in a building owned by Trafford Emergency Medical Services Company No....
Crews repair massive sinkhole near Route 30 at Hempfield/Greensburg borderVideo
Crews worked Tuesday to fill a sinkhole encroaching on Route 30 at the border of Greensburg and Hempfield as more rain moved toward the area. Fencing and orange cones blocked off the gigantic hole on a hillside along the highway next to Towne Square and Greensburg Commerce Park, which houses...
North Huntingdon fireworks store sparks debate over building design
A newly constructed fireworks store off Route 30 in North Huntingdon may have to close because of a dispute with the township over the company’s failure to construct the metal building’s facade according to the approved land development plan. Township officials told Wholesale Fireworks representatives the Hubbard, Ohio, firm must...
MAWC warns of low water pressure during upgrade in Herminie area
Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County customers in the Herminie area may experience low water pressure Wednesday while crews perform a system upgrade. The work will start at 8 a.m. and could last for six to eight hours, the authority said in a post on its Facebook page. A water buffalo...
Thousands of Westmoreland case files to be digitized
Thousands of decades-old criminal case files at the Westmoreland County Clerk of Courts office soon will be available electronically. County commissioners this month approved a proposal from Ford Business Machines Inc. to scan and index 6,000 files by Aug. 31. Clerk Bryan Kline expects that to equal about 360,000 images...
Man flown to hospital after bicycle crash in Mt. Pleasant
A man injured in a bicycle crash in Mt. Pleasant early Tuesday morning has been flown to a hospital, a Westmoreland County emergency dispatcher said. The man, who was not identified, was hurt in the 700 block of Armbrust Hecla Road, the dispatcher said. It was not immediately clear if...
Questions remain in death of North Huntingdon teen in fall at YMCA camp
Family and friends are mourning the death of a North Huntingdon teen while questions remained about his death Monday after a fall from a remote Somerset County rock outcrop. Nathan Kanczes, 15, fell more than 40 feet while attending a teen wilderness camp at YMCA Deer Valley Camp in Fort...
Irwin Borough seeks solution to fire siren, leaky roof
The buckets that catch rainwater inside Irwin Borough’s offices will have to remain in place as borough officials try to solve a recurring problem — what to do with the town’s fire department siren atop the borough building roof, where water continues to leak inside the structure. Borough officials last...
Hempfield band to host first car show to raise money for London trip
Hundreds of cars soon could line the parking lot at Hempfield Area High School as members of the band work to raise money for their London trip, where they will perform in the New Year’s Day parade. On July 27, the band will host their first car show, which will...
Members of Sewickley Grange take part in tractor pullVideo
Almost 100 people gathered at the Sewickley Township Community Fair on Monday night hoping to see one thing — teams pulling a 5,000 pound tractor. “I’m expecting people to be sliding, falling on their face. … I’m expecting a lot of laughing,” said Pam DeMaglio, 60, of West Newton, who...
Civil War photography talk prelude to Hanna’s Town encampment
Local expert Eric Wible will discuss the history and significance of Civil War photography in a July 25 program at Historic Hanna’s Town. The presentation is set for 7 p.m. in the Westmoreland Historical Society’s History Education Center at 809 Forbes Trail Road, Hempfield. It is linked to an ongoing...
Library to host French and Indian War speaker
A member of Fort Ligonier’s education department will discuss the French & Indian War and the role Western Pennsylvania played in that global conflict during a program at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Norwin Public Library, Caruthers Lane, Irwin. David Gerstel, an educator at historic Fort Ligonier, will provide the...
Westmoreland receives grant to rehab blighted homes
Westmoreland County got a $100,000 state grant to rehabilitate blighted homes and to install modifications to assist disabled residents. The Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement Fund grant will provide money to the county Redevelopment Authority and Lank Bank accessible housing program for low- and moderate-income residents. Officials said previous...
Jury selection concludes in Scottdale man’s assault trial in connection with May 2016 accident
Jury selection ended Monday for the trial of a Scottdale man accused of injuring a young family of four three years ago in a Mother’s Day car wreck near Youngwood. Matthew Murphy, 27, is charged with 13 counts, including three felony offenses of aggravated assault by vehicle, in connection with...
Trial to start for Ligonier Twp. doctor accused of child sexual assault
Testimony is expected to begin Tuesday in the sexual assault trial of a Ligonier Township doctor charged with having improper contact with a teen. Prosecutors contend Dr. Roy C. Monsour, 65, had repeated sexual contact with the teen between 2009-14. Jury selection was completed Monday for the trial before Westmoreland...
Southwest Greensburg seeks council member for five-month term
Southwest Greensburg is looking for a new council member to serve a five-month term to replace Jeanne Davis, who resigned effective July 10. Davis was about a year and a half into her second consecutive four-year term, said borough Manager Corry Sheffler. The borough will accept applications for her replacement...
New Westmoreland Cultural Trust director has busy first week
April Kopas said she spent about 20 minutes last week ticking the boxes on the typical new job checklist — moving into her office and setting up her email — before the real work began. “Ever since then, it’s just been diving into the projects we have going on here,”...
