Westmoreland category, Page 808
Hempfield man accused of threatening church leader asks for bond reduction
A Hempfield man jailed on charges that he made threatening, racially explicit telephone calls to a Penn Township church wants a Westmoreland County judge to make it cheaper for him to be released from custody. Mark Eugene Ray, 59, contends the $50,000 bail that is keeping him behind bars should...
Elderly contractor wants charges dropped in Greensburg apartment rehab case
The lawyer for an 85-year-old contractor awaiting trial on charges that he accepted money to rehabilitate a Greensburg building three years ago but did not finish the job said in court on Thursday that the criminal charges should be dismissed. “This is basically a civil dispute. He lost his zoning...
Hempfield Towers residents heated about going days without air conditioning
The thermometer that sits on Gioia Schreckengost’s television stand in her fifth-floor apartment read 82 degrees, inching close to the 86-degree temperature outside. Residents at Hempfield Towers on South Grande Boulevard have been without air conditioning since June 21 after a mechanical failure with the unit, according Michael Washowich, executive...
Police: Jeannette man accused in Hempfield rape of 14-year-old girl fled to Kentucky
A Jeannette man fled to Kentucky in an effort to avoid being arrested on allegations he raped a 14-year-old girl, according to state police. Steven Alan Deluke, 40, was identified as the suspect in the Hempfield case through bodily fluids collected in a rape kit, according to court papers. Deluke...
Westmoreland County judge OKs new voting districts in Upper Burrell
A Westmoreland County judge has approved a new voting redistricting plan for Upper Burrell that more evenly divides the number of voters in the township’s two precincts. Judge Harry F. Smail Jr. on Tuesday approved the new voter precinct plan that had been submitted by residents as well as township...
Flames rip through Irwin house under renovationVideo
Firefighters battled flames and heat exhaustion Thursday morning at a house fire in Irwin amid summery temperatures. They rotated between the blaze and shade at the two-story structure under renovation along Eighth Street after the 8 a.m. fire call. “We arrived to find the house fully involved as soon as...
Police: Greensburg man pulled woman out of wheelchair, punched her
A Greensburg man is free on bail after police said he pulled a woman from her wheelchair and attacked her, according to court papers. Todd James Slate, 32, is scheduled for a preliminary hearing July 25 in connection with the accusations. Police reported that Slate was fighting with the woman...
5 things not to miss at the Westmoreland Arts and Heritage Festival
Westmoreland Arts and Heritage Festival reaches a major milestone this year as it celebrates its 45th anniversary from July 4-7 at Twin Lakes Park. Diane Shrader has worn many hats at the festival, as a visitor, craft vendor, volunteer, administrative assistant and assistant executive director before taking on her current...
Hempfield’s $4.3 million SAFER grant to be managed by outside organization
Hempfield now has an outside organization dispersing and directing funds from a $4.3 million grant awarded to Westmoreland County fire departments in 2017. Awarded Sept. 1, 2017, by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response, or SAFER, grant provides money to departments for recruiting...
Run/walk to set stage for Latrobe Fourth festivities
Preliminary activities for the annual Latrobe Fourth of July Celebration will head into the home stretch Friday, with the event’s 5-mile run and 2-mile walk. Beginning and ending at Latrobe’s Memorial Stadium, the event is set for 7 p.m., rain or shine, with registration starting at 5 p.m. along Irving...
Route 30 reopens in Unity Township after crash Wednesday evening
Both lanes of Route 30 eastbound at St. Vincent Drive were shut down Wednesday shortly before 5:30 p.m. after a motorcycle and car collided, a Westmoreland County 911 dispatcher confirmed. According to the dispatcher, the driver was ejected from the motorcycle. Marguerite Fire Chief Scot Graham said one person was...
Westmoreland GOP commissioner candidates to keep separate campaigns
The two Republican candidates for Westmoreland County commissioner have not agreed to unify their campaigns but will maintain a dialogue as they take on incumbent Democrats Gina Cerilli and Ted Kopas this fall. Republicans Sean Kertes and Doug Chew met for two hours Tuesday night with county GOP officials. They...
Copper stolen from Saint Vincent construction site
State police in Greensburg seek information about the theft of copper pipe and fittings from a construction site on the Saint Vincent College campus. Police said between June 19 and 20 one or more people accessed a storage container belonging to Ligonier-based John Hall Inc., taking several hundred feet of...
Prosecutors: Charges should stand in alleged attack over Steelers game volume
Westmoreland County prosecutors said that criminal charges should stand against a Youngwood woman because she actively assisted her daughter in a brutal multi-day attack against her elderly grandmother as they fought over the volume of a Steelers’ broadcast. In court documents filed Wednesday, Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Dupilka argued that...
Cops: Man threatened girlfriend with loaded gun for grabbing TV remote
An East Huntingdon man became so angry at his live-in girlfriend for grabbing the television remote earlier this month he threatened her with a loaded handgun and then cut off his electronic home monitoring device before fleeing to Fayette County, according to state police. Samuel A. Clark, 34, formerly of...
Police: 5 shots fired in residential area of Fairfield, suspect arrested
A Fairfield Township man was jailed Wednesday on $500,000 bail after state police said he directed a passenger in his car to fire five shots out of the window Tuesday. Darion Andrew Martin, 21, is charged with firearms violations, simple assault, reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct. Troopers were called to...
Youngwood Park & Pool summer concert series returnsVideo
The Youngwood Park & Pool’s “moonlight swims” and summer concert series, “Battle of the Bands,” kicks off Wednesday night with a concert by the Loose Change Band. Gates open at 7 p.m. The schedule for the rest of the summer will be: • July 3: Caught on Sight • July...
Fullwoods leaving Greensburg Salvation Army for Pittsburgh corps
For Majs. Earnest and Vanessa Fullwood, there’s more than one way to preach the gospel. Inviting people to Sunday services at the Greensburg Salvation Army is one. Feeding them on Monday is another. “A lot of people do not identify us with being a church. … That’s our primary job...
Missing teen girl from West Newton safe, found with man in New Jersey
A teenage girl from West Newton reported missing Tuesday was found in New Jersey on Wednesday in the company of a 23-year-old man. Donna Long, 16, wasn’t harmed and was in the custody of police in Middlesex County, N.J., Wednesday afternoon, according to Officer Michael Stefko of the West Newton...
River search for missing West Newton teen called off after no results
A search of the Youghiogheny River near West Newton was called off late Tuesday night after crews did not find a teen who ran away from her home in the borough that afternoon. Firefighters from West Newton and Collinsburg deployed boats to the river after dogs from the Greensburg bloodhound...
Giant Eagle proposes expanded Unity GetGo with beer sales, car wash
Giant Eagle wants to sell beer and wine as well as add a drive-through car wash as part of an expanded GetGo convenience store proposed in Unity. Supervisors likely will vote on a conditional-use zoning approval at their July 18 meeting, township solicitor Gary Falatovich said. Giant Eagle made the...
Westmoreland judge defends ruling overturning rape conviction
A Westmoreland County judge Tuesday defended his decision to give a new trial to a Unity man accused of repeatedly raping a teen-aged girl for three years. Common Pleas Court Judge Tim Krieger issued a three-page opinion in which he said evidence presented against Bruce Palmer, 34, during trial last...
Leechburg man pleads guilty to forcing boy to watch sex act
A Leechburg man pleaded guilty Tuesday to one felony offense for forcing a teen-aged boy to watch him and an adult woman have sex two years ago. Mark Leone, 50, formerly of Allegheny Township, was sentenced by Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio to serve up to 23 months...
North Huntingdon woman sues Wendel-Herminie club over charity motorcycle wreck
A North Huntingdon woman who was injured when she was thrown from the back of a motorcycle last summer during a charity event contends a local social club that sponsored the benefit ride was at fault. According to a two-count lawsuit filed in Westmoreland County, Kelly Franz said members of...
Greensburg Salem pays $140K to ex-high school principal who claimed he was ‘blackballed’
Greensburg Salem School District will pay a $140,000 settlement to an ex-administrator who claimed he was discriminated against because of his involvement in an earlier staffing controversy. Former high school Associate Principal Joey L. Maluchnik sued the district in May 2017, claiming district officials blackballed him by refusing to promote...
