Westmoreland category, Page 799
Route 28 reopens, flood watch remains
Route 28 in Pittsburgh reopened early Thursday morning after it was closed due to flooding, according to Allegheny County 911. Most of Western Pennsylvania remains under a flash flood watch until 11 p.m. Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. Much of Beaver County is under a flood warning. Showers...
Jeannette woman accused in boyfriend’s 2016 death wlll stand trial in October
The murder trial of a Jeannette woman accused in the bludgeoning death of her 19-year-old boyfriend will be held in October. Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Christopher Feliciani this week ordered jury selection for Crystal Belle’s first-degree murder trial to be held Oct. 2 with the trial to start...
New Florence Borough planning for sesquicentennial celebration
The New Florence Borough Sesquicentennial Committee will hold an informational meeting at 6 p.m. Monday in the New Florence Borough Building, 146 7th St. The borough in northeastern Westmoreland County is getting ready to celebrate its 150th anniversary with a one-day event on Aug. 17. The borough building is located...
Hempfield takes first step in creating 1 fire department
Hempfield officials are taking initial steps toward implementing a single reporting number for 12 fire stations — a move that could help improve results in an upcoming review. Supervisors this week voted unanimously to move forward with an application that would make the stations fall under one department in the...
West Newton family thanks Westmoreland dispatcher for emergency ‘delivery’
Russ Mitchell said Wednesday that he was not looking forward to listening to 18 minutes of the “most stressful time in my life” delivering his 6-pound, 2-ounce daughter on April 27 along the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Penn Township. Mitchell, of West Newton, said he was eager to meet the Westmoreland...
2 Westmoreland municipalities awarded funding to improve intersections
Hempfield and Sewickley townships are receiving funds as part of Gov. Tom Wolf’s Automated Red Light Enforcement funding, money that will go toward 50 safety projects across the state. The $15.4 million project impacts 38 municipalities across the state, aimed at improving safety at intersections by upgrading traffic signals and...
Greensburg Navy vet helps sweep for mines in the Pacific Ocean
Marc Hoffman of Greensburg wanted travel and see the world, so he joined the Navy. These days, he helps patrol a 124-million-square-mile area stretching from the International Date Line to the India/Pakistan border, and from the Kuril Islands near Japan and Russia all the way to the Antarctic in the...
Hempfield man accused of beating elderly father to death ruled competent for court
A Hempfield man accused of beating his 92-year-old father to death last December before setting the house on fire has been deemed mentally competent to proceed to court on homicide and related criminal charges. Douglas F. Novak, 41, appeared in court Wednesday, his hands and legs shackled and wearing a...
Greensburg nursing home tested after resident contracts Legionnaires’ disease
Redstone Highlands in Greensburg continues to implement emergency procedures after a resident tested positive for Legionnaires’ disease last week. The skilled nursing facility is using bottled water and suspending showers until it receives test results, said John Dickson, CEO and president. Results are expected soon. “We take the health and...
Family wants to use Hempfield farm to support those with disabilitiesVideo
Jenna Farmerie, an autism support specialist at Children’s Behavioral Health in Greensburg, has seen firsthand what can happen when the proper support is not in place for a child or adult living with a developmental disorder. “A child I was working with was going to attend a YMCA camp, but...
Looking for farmers markets? Check out this map
Fresh fruits and veggies, tasty baked goods and colorful flowers await in farmers markets across the region. Whether you always stop at your favorite market or like to hit up a new one each week, this interactive map shows the details. Market organizers are welcome to submit additions to the...
Stage Right students tackle ‘Into the Woods,’ ‘West Side Story’
It’s show time for more than 100 preteen and teen musical theater students at Stage Right School for the Performing Arts in Greensburg as the school year draws to a close. Tony Marino, Stage Right artistic director and acting instructor, is pushing the two groups to give their best effort...
Westmoreland County among Pennsylvania’s best places to retire
Ready to retire? Westmoreland County is a good place to do it, according to SmartAsset, a company that provides online advice on personal finances. According to the company, Westmoreland County ranks among the top 10 Pennsylvania places to retire based on Social Security income, cost of living and taxes. SmartAsset...
Greensburg Fire Department to host June youth camp
Greensburg-area kids have the opportunity to learn what it takes to be a firefighter while getting a glimpse into different areas of the first responder profession. The Greensburg Volunteer Fire Department will partner with the Greensburg Police Department and Mutual Aid Ambulance to hold the second annual Chief John Edward...
Latrobe gets temporary help with bulk refuse collection
Latrobe will pay Allied Republic to help collect bulk refuse while the city waits for a truck to arrive so it can do the chore itself. City council approved a non-exclusive, temporary agreement through the end of the year for Allied Republic’s on-call, roll-off truck services to assist Latrobe’s refuse...
WWII combat medic, 95, honored for his heroic service
Three quarters of a century ago, Felix Lisovich was living day-to-day as a World War II combat medic tending to wounded soldiers in the Philippines, dodging kamikaze attacks from Japanese fighter planes, joining in jungle patrols. For his distinguished service to his country, the 96-year-old Lisovich on Tuesday was awarded...
Former ‘Dance Moms’ studio wants to relocate to Carbone’s building in Unity Township
Appolonia Leake is hoping to move her dance studio from Penn Hills to a portion of the former Carbone’s Restaurant in Crabtree if the Unity Township supervisors approve. Lou Demosky, Leake’s mother and business manager for the studio, said they’d been looking to make a move for about nine months...
Central Westmoreland Habitat breaks ground for new house in Greensburg
When excavators arrived Tuesday at a vacant lot on Harrison Avenue in Greensburg, it marked the beginning of a construction project more than a year in the making. By fall, a two-story, three-bedroom home designed to fit nicely in the well-kept residential neighborhood that backs up to the Coulter Playground...
Cops: Greensburg man confesses to robbing downtown Sunoco twice in March
A Crime Stoppers’ tip led police to a 29-year-old Greensburg man who admitted robbing a Sunoco convenience store-service station downtown twice in March, according court documents. Brad L. Smith, 29, was arrested Monday on two counts each of robbery and receiving stolen property in connection with the holdups that occurred...
Westmoreland County may pay $85K to settle reservist’s lawsuit against sheriff
Westmoreland County commissioners appear ready to settle another discrimination lawsuit filed against the county and Sheriff Jonathan Held. The settlement calls for a payment of $85,000 to part-time sheriff’s Deputy Jonathon Sutton, who filed the federal lawsuit in March 2018. Commissioners could approve the deal at their Thursday meeting. Details...
Activist group to discuss Green New Deal in Delmont
The proposed economic stimulus package dubbed the Green New Deal will be discussed at public forum at 6 p.m. Wednesday at The Lamplighter, Route 22, Delmont. Local activist group Voice of Westmoreland is hosting the town hall forum for residents to learn how to make the Green New Deal —...
Crews extinguish Derry Township trailer fire
Remnants of a Derry Township mobile home caught fire Tuesday as a crew worked to demolish it. Owner George Nuttall, who lives next to the property on Chestnut Ridge Road near Route 217, said workers took a break from cutting part of the trailer’s metal frame before the fire started...
Unity man awaiting retrial decision on rape accusation released on electronic home monitoring
A Unity man who had his conviction of raping a teenage girl overturned will be released on home electronic monitoring while waiting to see if a state appellate court will make him stand a second trial. In August, a Westmoreland County jury found Bruce J. Palmer, 34, guilty of rape,...
Unity Army veteran: Talking helps war trauma survivorsVideo
Thomas Abraham knows intimately about the psychological costs of war. As a young man, the Unity veteran led even younger men, many still in their teens, while serving as a captain in the Army’s 173rd Airborne Battalion in Vietnam. After the West Point graduate was transferred within the battalion, “most...
Excela, Saint Vincent, Seton Hill team up to provide grief counseling for children
Childhood and death shouldn’t go together, but they often do. That stark reality is prompting a movement within Westmoreland County to increase services for children grieving the death of a loved one — whether from suicide, an opioid overdose or natural causes. “Our community was in great need,” said Maureen...
