Westmoreland category, Page 801
Slightly more Dems voted in Westmoreland primary election than Republicans
About a quarter of all Westmoreland County’s registered voters cast ballots in Tuesday’s primary election. County elections officials said turnout among Democrat and Republican voters was a bit higher than the overall total suggested. The 25% that was reported included nonpartisan and independent voters not permitted to cast ballots. Elections...
Greensburg cops seek man who stole crossbow, ran into woods
Greensburg Police are asking the public’s help in identifying a man who stole a crossbow from an outdoors store and fled into the woods Wednesday. Police said the theft occurred about 3:45 p.m. when the suspect entered the store and removed a crossbow from a box, then ran into a...
Delmont Visionary Committee works with IUP students on possible Heritage Trail routes
Members of the Delmont Visionary Committee would like to bring the Westmoreland Heritage Trail as close to the heart of the borough as possible. Whether that is the trail, itself, or a spur that connects to Delmont’s downtown area, was the subject of a project that saw committee members working...
Police accuse Greensburg man of hitting state police car during chase
A Greensburg man is accused of using his car to hit a state police cruiser Wednesday evening during a chase that ended with the man in handcuffs, according to court papers. William John Binnall, 38, is charged with fleeing from police, resisting arrest and several misdemeanors and summaries. He was...
Greensburg’s Offutt Field receives grant for new turf field through Steelers, NFL
Greensburg’s Offutt Field will get new turf after the Greensburg Salem School District was awarded a $150,000 grant from the Pittsburgh Steelers through the NFL Foundation Grassroots Program. The century-old stadium was chosen by the Steelers, the NFL Foundation and and Local Initiatives Support Corporation as part of $3 million...
Defense attorney hopes to resolve theft case involving Jeannette school director
The attorney for a Jeannette City school director accused of taking thousands from the district’s band parents association said Thursday she will continue to discuss repayment options with prosecutors. Patricia Elliott-Rentler said Karen Ann Welshons, 56, waived her right to a preliminary hearing without a plea agreement with prosecutors. “Ms....
Jeannette man accused of setting April house fireVideo
Jeannette police were looking for a city man who is accused of setting an abandoned North Third Street home on fire last month. Jason Anthony John, 40, was charged this week with arson and related offenses in connection with the April 2 blaze after witnesses saw him near the home...
Jeannette man charged with raping girl over 8 years
A Jeannette man was arrested Thursday by Westmoreland County Detectives and charged with raping a girl over the past eight years. Ronald Lee Rice, 59, was arraigned before Washington Township District Judge Jason Buczak on charges of rape, aggravated indecent assault on a person less than 13 years old and...
Eastern Westmoreland tech center to offer free machinist training
Eastern Westmoreland Career and Technology Center wants to reintroduce adult education courses, beginning with a tuition-free machinist training program this summer. The Derry Township technology center is the latest site for the grant-supported Manufacturing 2000 training program, offered in partnership with Pittsburgh’s New Century Careers workforce development organization. June 10...
Pittsburgh firm to study potential Eastern Westmoreland tech center update
Officials at the Eastern Westmoreland Career and Technology Center hope by early winter to have a firm idea what needs to be done to bring their 43-year-old building up to date. To get to that point, the Derry Township-based school’s joint operating committee this week voted to pay HHSDR Architects/Engineers...
Hempfield road reopened after bridge construction
A Hempfield Township road was reopened Wednesday after being closed since February. Route 3101, also known as Keystone Avenue, closed Feb. 7 so a bridge running over Jack’s Run could be replaced, according to PennDOT. A posted detour took drivers from Route 119 South to Route 3099, or Willow Crossing...
Greensburg man’s shooting death ruled suicide
The Westmoreland County Coroner’s office reported a man who was shot and killed in his Greensburg home Tuesday took his own life. Deputy Coroner John Ackerman said the death was ruled a suicide following an investigation by the coroner’s office and city police. An autopsy was performed Wednesday by forensic...
Police: Man awaiting trial in cocaine trafficking case tried to break into Greensburg apartment
A Fayette County man already charged in connection with one of the largest cocaine trafficking organizations in the region’s history was ordered held in the Westmoreland County Prison without bail Wednesday after, police say, he tried to break into a Greensburg apartment. Tyler M. Benefield, 34, of Connellsville was arrested...
Delmont Pilgrimage officials seeking more volunteers, sponsorships
Clancey the camel doesn’t come cheap. “It’s about $1,000 per night for the camel and the donkeys,” said Denni Grassel, a member of the group that took over the former Christmas in Salem Crossroads Pilgrimage and is seeking sponsorships to help fund the annual holiday event. Rechristened the Delmont Pilgrimage...
7 of 9 Norwin School Board candidates headed to the November general election
Editor’s note: This story has been updated since it first appeared to correct errors regarding which candidates received nominations for the November general election. Norwin School District voters will choose from seven candidates who will battle for five seats on the school board in the November general election. Challenger Patrick...
Unity man sentenced to state prison in large crystal meth bust
A Unity man was sentenced to state prison this week in connection with a large crystal methamphetamine bust at his home in April 2017. George Kenneth Wurthman, 59, was ordered to report to the Westmoreland County Prison on July 22 to begin serving a sentence of four to 10 years....
Norwin Historical Society plans Memorial Day ceremonies at cemeteries, monuments
The Norwin Historical Society will hold its annual Memorial Day observances Sunday at area cemeteries and war memorials. The historical society will place a wreath at 1 p.m. at the Monument to the Fallen at the Penn-Lincoln Memorial Park, North Huntingdon. Ceremonies will include a 21-gun salute and the playing...
Penn Area Library plans summer reading programs
The Penn Area Library will “explore the universe” with its summer reading program, running from June 3 to July 27. The summer reading program is open to anyone with a library card, or whose parents have a card. It is divided into four categories: • Read to Me Club, for...
Mike O’Barto gets GOP nod in quest to return as Unity supervisor
Unity’s Republican voters Tuesday gave former township supervisor Mike O’Barto a vote of confidence for returning to the role he left less than two years ago. O’Barto believes his 24-year history as a supervisor is a main reason why he led the field of three GOP candidates in a primary...
Woman charged in Steelers-related attack OK’d for trial
A Youngwood mother on Wednesday was ruled competent to stand trial for her alleged role in her own mother’s assault that occurred as she attempted to watch a televised Pittsburgh Steelers preseason football game two years ago. Delores Amorino, 42, told a Westmoreland County judge she wants a trial for...
Westmoreland County faces potentially heated fall contests after primary election
This week’s primary victory for Westmoreland County Sheriff Jonathan Held sets up a race in November between an incumbent awaiting retrial on public corruption charges and a retired district judge. But the two-term Republican’s pending legal woes won’t be a campaign issue, Democrat James Albert said Wednesday. “His legal issues...
Franklin Regional student documentary earns national award
When Colten Oakes, a member of Franklin Regional Senior High School’s broadcasting and video production class, got his camera out at the traveling Vietnam War memorial in Murrysville Community Park, he couldn’t help thinking of his grandfather, whose dog tags were hanging around Oakes’s neck. “We were there to do...
Hempfield, Greensburg Salem, Aquinas 3rd-graders reach spelling bee final
After months of preparation, area third graders will meet Thursday at Stanwood Elementary School in Hempfield for a battle of wits and words. The 13th annual Rotary Club of Greensburg Spelling Bee will feature students from Hempfield Area School District, Greensburg Salem School District and Aquinas Academy. “It’s just so...
Westmoreland County fire departments get $43,000 from SAFER grant
More than $43,000 was handed out to nine Westmoreland County fire departments Saturday in the form of new turnout gear, college tuition reimbursement and physicals. Part of the $4.3 million Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant, or SAFER, which was awarded to Westmoreland County fire departments in September...
Coroner, police remain mum on Greensburg death investigation
An autopsy was performed Wednesday on the body of a Greensburg man who was shot and killed a day earlier inside his home, but investigators still refuse to identify him or provide details of the investigation. The Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office confirmed that forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril H. Wecht conducted...
