Westmoreland category, Page 8
Traffic signal replacement begins at Main and Clopper streets in Greensburg after windstorm
Motorists will have to obey stop signs for the foreseeable future on Greensburg’s Main Street after a traffic light blew over in high winds last month. Superintendent of streets Tom Bell said the mast arm that held up the traffic light at the three-way intersection with Clopper Street was damaged...
Rising utility costs cause record demand for assistance
A record number of requests has been made this winter to a Pittsburgh nonprofit that doles out funds to help people pay their rising utility bills. As of late December, Dollar Energy Fund had processed $2.5 million to 6,100 Pennsylvania households since October — a 131% increase over the same...
Here’s how to shop for lower utility costs
For Western Pennsylvania consumers worried about the costs of heating their homes this winter, there are options. Customers could find some relief on the marketplace, but it’s not entirely without risk. Pennsylvania Consumer Advocate Darryl Lawrence said shopping for better rates on the Pennsylvania Utility Commission’s PaGasSwitch and PaPowerSwitch web...
Judge OKs prosecution alleging woman’s messages led to boyfriend’s suicide
Prosecution of a South Greensburg woman on allegations that she bullied her former boyfriend to kill himself in 2021 can continue. In a 20-page opinion, Westmoreland County Judge Scott Mears said a series of demeaning messages sent by Mandie Rose Reusch provided sufficient evidence to allow a jury to consider...
Prosecutors: Monessen parents left 2-year-old twins in squalor
Two Monessen parents broke the law when they left their 2-year-old twins trapped in a bedroom strewn with feces and infested with insects, a Westmoreland County prosecutor told jurors Tuesday. Felicia Dugan, 31, and Jerimiah Roberts, 32, are on trial, accused of felony child endangerment. Prosecutors allege the children were...
Weekend could bring record-high temperatures
It’s supposed to be the dead of winter, but the Pittsburgh region could be on pace to break a record high temperature this weekend. “We’ll be above average on Wednesday with highs forecast in the mid-40s, and this weekend we’ll be approaching some record highs,” said National Weather Service Meteorologist...
Volunteers place wreaths to honor generations of Jeannette veterans
David Holtz and his 7-year-old daughter, Nyla, saluted as they laid a wreath before the headstone of World War II Army veteran Richard H. Irwin at Jeannette Memorial Park. It was the Jeannette girl’s first year as a Cub Scout and her first time taking part in an annual December...
Central Pa. man charged in Trafford power substation explosions
A Central Pennsylvania man was jailed Tuesday in connection with two explosions in 2025 at a Duquesne Light substation in Trafford. Derrick W. McCarty, 32, of McVeytown is accused by borough police of trying to cut high-voltage lines Feb. 1 at the substation near the Trafford Commerce Center, according to...
Jeannette accepting applications for vacant council seat
Letters of interest are being accepted by Jeannette for an open seat on council. The deadline is Jan. 23 at 4 p.m. The open seat was created when one candidate won two seats on Jeannette city government during November’s election. Michelle Langdon was sworn in Monday as mayor, which created...
Greensburg questions traffic flow for proposed Sheetz site on East Pittsburgh Street
Greensburg Mayor Robb Bell and Councilman Randy Finfrock have traffic-related safety concerns about an updated plan for a long-awaited Sheetz gas station and convenience store on the eastern edge of the city. Those concerns center around traffic going in and out of the proposed location at East Pittsburgh Street and...
Delmont will accept letters of interest for mayor’s seat
Borough reorganization meetings — where the council swears in new members and handles a few appointments — don’t generally draw much of a crowd. But it was nearly standing-room-only at Delmont’s reorganization meeting Monday night, as a sizable number of residents came out to see what would happen with the...
Steelers fans revel in ‘nail-biter’ victory over Ravens, berth in NFL playoffs
Knicky Nelson was dressed head to toe in Pittsburgh Steelers gear, but that didn’t stop her from perusing the merchandise at Dick’s Sporting Goods in the Waterworks on Monday in search of a deal. Nelson was still smiling from the Steelers’ improbable, heart-stopping 26-24 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on...
Westmoreland slashes benefits for retired workers
Westmoreland County’s salary board on Monday rescinded a policy that allowed nonunion employees to receive health benefits after retirement, a move officials said could save taxpayers up to $3.5 million annually. The three commissioners and Controller Jeffrey Balzer voted unanimously to eliminate the program, which allowed retirees to buy into...
North Huntingdon police cruiser rammed head on during pursuit of stolen vehicle
A North Huntingdon police cruiser was damaged in a pursuit Saturday after authorities said a fleeing suspect rammed it head on, according to court papers. Police attempted to stop a stolen Hyundai Elantra they said was driven by Julian Jamar Johnson, 39, of Pittsburgh, on Route 30 in the township...
Westmoreland developments: Manor restaurant revived, Hempfield welcomes secondhand clothing store
It’s safe to say Julia Gutkowski was born into the restaurant industry. The 19-year-old Irwin resident made her debut in the food business as an eighth grade student in the Penn-Trafford School District while waitressing at Manor Grille — the restaurant her parents, Derek and Megan Gutkowski, operated for more...
Derry plans to spotlight Bigfoot at proposed new borough park
Derry is planning to make a new home for its resident Bigfoot before the tall creature gets too attached to its setting at the town’s Mossback Park. The carved-wood rendering celebrates the legendary hairy biped said to frequent nearby Chestnut Ridge. It made its debut in September 2024 as a...
Latrobe nonprofit makes bid for former movie house as theater company undergoes bankruptcy
The fate of Latrobe’s former Manos Theatre building has been in limbo for years. It could enter a new chapter as a result of an ongoing bankruptcy proceeding and a purchase offer from the nonprofit Latrobe Community Revitalization Program. The one-time movie house at 227 Main St. most recently was...
Incoming Scottdale mayor embraces chance to ‘help in the best way possible’
Before entering the race for Scottdale mayor, Lindy House said she never saw herself as a leader. But as she prepared to officially assume her role Monday, Jan. 5, the mayor-elect said she has one goal: to build a stronger link between the community and its government. “Our best leaders...
Franklin Regional Marching Band dons Disney costumes for trip fundraiser
Disney princesses and Mickey and Minnie took over the Murrysville area Saturday morning for “A Royal Pancake Feast,” a fundraiser benefitting the Franklin Regional marching band. Members are set to travel to Walt Disney World in Florida in March, a trip the band takes once every four years. Nick Nutter,...
WVU Health System’s takeover of Independence Health reflects aggressive expansion spree
Every hospital bought by West Virginia University Health System is photographed, framed and hung on a Mountaineer Blue wall at the nonprofit’s headquarters. The effect is a visual timeline of the system’s rapid growth since its founding in 1996 as a partnership between two of the state’s premier hospitals. WVU...
Ligonier Township native winds up 45 years of trimming hair in BlairsvilleVideo
Butch Rabic still gives his customers a trim in the same early 20th-century chair he inherited from his predecessor when he took over a Blairsville barber shop in 1980. Though he doesn’t ring up bills on it, he also uses a vintage cash register that can key in a top...
A less-deadly year: In 2025, Pittsburgh notched fewest killings in decades, mirroring national trend
The gunfire didn’t stop in 2025, but it quieted, more than it has in years. Pittsburgh recorded 35 homicides last year, the fewest since at least the turn of the century, part of a broader regional and national downturn in violent crime. From New York City and Los Angeles to...
Another turnpike toll hike takes effect. Here’s why and what it will cost you
John Brady can’t figure out why the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission keeps raising tolls. “It’s just hard to justify the hike every single year. You would think they would do it every other year,” said Brady, of Hampton, who travels with his wife, Deb, from the Butler Valley exit to the...
Former Greensburg man receives 2 years in probationary program for 2013 assault
A former Greensburg man was sentenced Friday to two years in a probationary program in connection with the 2013 sexual assault of a child in New Kensington. Nicholas Thomas Sales, 27, now of Connellsville, was accepted into the Accelerated Rehabilitation Disposition program for first-time, nonviolent offenders on aggravated indecent assault...
2 guards injured in attack at Westmoreland jail
Two guards at the Westmoreland County Prison were hurt after authorities said they were attacked by a man being booked into the facility on terroristic threats charges filed by Greensburg police, according to court papers. Javaun M.A. Miller, 26, of Greensburg was arrested Sunday after witnesses at an East Pittsburgh...
