Westmoreland category, Page 785
Donation helps Sewickley recreation group fix ballfield
The Sewickley Area Athletic Association improved its pony league ballfield in Herminie, thanks in part to a $5,000 donation from a Texas-based energy company. Before the baseball season began the spring, the athletic association made long-term major field improvements to the baseball field, including grading the field and installing French...
Crash on Interstate 70 cleared
A two-vehicle crash on Interstate 70 that caused backups eastbound was cleared by 9 a.m. A Westmoreland 911 dispatcher said one person had a minor injury in the 7:33 a.m. crash in South Huntingdon Township. The crash happened in a work zone between the West Newton and Yukon exits....
Uniontown man wanted in East Huntingdon girl’s death arrested in Ohio
A Uniontown man wanted in the killing of an 11-month-old girl in East Huntingdon Saturday has been arrested in Ohio, according to state police. Derrick “Hector” A. Bass, 29, was arrested Monday afternoon in Cleveland without incident, Trooper Steve Limani said. Bass is charged with homicide and related offenses in...
Troopers looking for possible Salem Township tanning salon theft victims
State police are looking for potential victims of a former Salem Township tanning salon worker who they said stole money from customers. Three customers reported the 21-year-old Greensburg woman took money from them at Tropical Sunsations, according to troopers. Police said the suspect entered rooms while customers were tanning between...
Great blue heron dazzles at Keystone State ParkVideo
Sightings of a pair of bald eagles have created the latest sensation among admirers of wildlife at Keystone State Park. An equally impressive and more frequently seen member of the Derry Township park’s winged denizens is a great blue heron that plucks daily meals from the stocked Keystone Lake. Regular...
Resurgent bald eagles spotted in Derry, Unity townships
Add Keystone State Park to the sites in Southwestern Pennsylvania occupied by the resurgent bald eagle. Park naturalist Jean H. Keene has seen two eagles in the Derry Township park since last year and recently led a group of 11 registered participants on a paddling excursion on the park’s central...
Joy Riders kick off biking program at Cedar Creek Park for people with limited mobilityVideo
Carol Storez of West Newton gets out of the house often enough. But at 87 years old, she’s not exactly ready to hop on a Huffy and pedal around Cedar Creek Park in Rostraver. “I can’t ride a bike myself anymore,” she said. Now she doesn’t have to: Storez was...
Bethany United Methodist Church thanks police, firefighters with fundraising mealVideo
It’s been more than 50 years since the Latrobe Fire Department Good Friend’s Hose Company No. 5 served as a temporary home to the Bethany United Methodist Church during a long-ago renovation. But members still recall the advice from firefighters. “They told us that if the fire whistle went off,...
Infant girl found dead in East Huntingdon under ‘suspicious’ circumstances
State police are investigating the “suspicious” death of an infant girl Saturday night at an East Huntingdon housing complex. Officials said police responded to a housing complex at Gurley Drive and found an unresponsive child. She was pronounced dead at the scene. State police spokesman Steve Limani said the infant...
Lower Burrell woman’s story personifies failures in Medicaid waiver program
Fran Morgante brushed back her mother’s hair tenderly as she offered the tiny elderly woman a drink of water on a hot June day. Vilma Morgante, who celebrated her 100th birthday June 21 in her Lower Burrell home, never asked much of the world. Her one desire: to die in...
Brownstown Road in North Huntingdon reopened
Brownstown Road in North Huntingdon was reopened Saturday afternoon. The roadway had been shut down for two days as cleanup crews worked to repair damage caused from a tree felled during Thursday’s heavy rains. Township officials said a portion of the road was closed off to traffic near the municipal...
Ligonier Wiffle Ball tourney raises thousands for diabetes research
Joe Ladisic knew he had to be in Ligonier on Saturday to pay tribute to his wife, Rachael, who died in May after a lifetime battle with Type 1 diabetes. With his wife’s name emblazoned on his chest, Ladisic, 35, of Greensburg threw the first pitch in a fundraising effort...
Summerfest will offer horse rides, music, kids’ carnival in Cook Township
Live music, a petting zoo and activities for kids are planned at the annual Summerfest, scheduled for Aug. 3 at an equine-assisted therapy center in Cook Township. The event is set to run from noon to 7 p.m. at the Ligonier Therapeutic Center, 24 Stom Road. Horse rides and hay...
Greensburg group holds protest against planned ICE raids on illegal immigrantsVideo
As she stood at a candlelight vigil in Greensburg on Friday to protest the treatment of immigrants in detention centers along the Mexican border, Sister Colette Hanlon recalled seeing federal agents dropping off busloads of exhausted parents and young children at the pastoral center in El Paso, Texas, where the...
Westmoreland food bank seeks to expand ‘senior food box’ programVideo
Hunger-Free Pennsylvania Executive Director Sheila Christopher is happy 1,300 Westmoreland County seniors take advantage of the food boxes available each month through the group’s Commodity Supplemental Food Program, or CSFP. Unfortunately, it represents only 10% of the county’s eligible seniors, and Christopher, along with county food bank CEO Jennifer Miller,...
French connections abound in Southwestern PennsylvaniaVideo
On Sunday, when France celebrates its day of independence, Bastille Day, it’s a good time to acknowledge the strong influence that country and its people have had on Westmoreland, Allegheny and surrounding counties — beginning before the United States existed. A number of Southwestern Pennsylvania communities have names that reflect...
Van fire, crash, jam I-70 eastbound in Rostraver
The eastbound lanes of Interstate 70 in Rostraver were backed up Friday afternoon because a van caught fire along the highway, then an accident occurred in the traffic backlog, a Westmoreland County Department of Public Safety supervisor said. The van caught fire around 5 p.m. on the interstate between Routes...
WCCC to offer Culinary Quick Start program
Aspiring chefs can dip a toe in the water at Westmoreland County Community College next month. Citing “hundreds of immediate openings for line and prep cooks in professional kitchens,” WCCC officials announced they will offer a Culinary Quick Start program, encompassing three weeks of evening classes, beginning Aug. 19 at...
Unity man arrested in alleged sexual assault of 13-year-old girl
An 18-year-old Unity man was arrested Friday after he was accused of having sex with a 13-year-old girl. Micah J. Romanelli was charged by state police in Greensburg with statutory sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault and corruption of minors. He was arraigned before District Judge Chris Flanigan and...
Former North Huntingdon doctor pleads guilty in 2 patient overdose deaths
A former North Huntingdon doctor pleaded guilty Friday in connection with the 2016 drug overdose deaths of two patients. Michel Toret, 73, of Jeannette, entered a general plea to two counts of drug delivery resulting in death and two related charges, all felonies. Prosecutors did not make a sentencing recommendation....
Motorcyclist injured in South Huntingdon crash, dispatcher says
A motorcyclist was reportedly airlifted by medical helicopter to a hospital Friday after crashing in South Huntingdon Township, according to a Westmoreland County 911 dispatch supervisor. The dispatcher said the crash occurred about 1:10 p.m. along Mt. Pleasant Road. State police were investigating. No further details were immediately available....
Western Pa. residents grow weary of rain, flood cleanups
Thursday’s torrential rains may have been the final straw for Janet Seman. After six floods since moving to her North Huntingdon Township home in 2004, Seman doesn’t know if she can clean mud out of her basement one more time. “I have sump pumps, I have what I’m supposed to...
Woman charged in connection with stabbing in Murrysville
A woman was arrested early Friday after being accused of stabbing a Murrysville man during an argument inside his home. Shalonda White, 43, who lists addresses in Murrysville and Homestead in court records, was arraigned on charges of aggravated assault and simple assault in connection with an incident that occurred...
Pipe replacement closes Skidmore Road in Hempfield
A section of Skidmore Road in Hempfield is closed while PennDOT crews replace a 36-inch pipe that crosses beneath it. The closure is in place between Mourning Dove Lane and Tall Oaks Trail, tentatively through July 19. Traffic is being detoured along Reamer Avenue (Route 819), Main Street (Route 119),...
Flooding recedes in Westmoreland Co.; roads reopened
Flood waters have receded in Westmoreland County after a day of storms that pushed the Pittsburgh area ahead of 2018’s record-setting precipitation. Roads that were closed by flooding Thursday had reopened by Friday morning, according to a Westmoreland 911 dispatcher. A section of Guffey Road in the southwestern part of...
