Westmoreland category, Page 811
Rustic Ridge Mine seeks to hire, move toward full production
A Cambria County mining company has put out a “help wanted” sign for its Rustic Ridge Mine that lies underneath parts of the Donegal area. LCT Energy LP of Armagh is seeking to increase employment at Rustic Ridge Mine from 37 to about 100 miners as it moves toward full...
Here’s how much school superintendents make in Westmoreland County
The Tribune-Review examined Department of Education data to gauge what our local school districts are paying their superintendent. Below is a look at how superintendents are paid in Westmoreland County....
Election forum planned for Westmoreland commissioner, judge candidates
Candidates for Westmoreland County commissioner and judge seats are expected to attend a question-and-answer forum this month in Greensburg. The May 14 event is sponsored by the Smithton-based 1776 Freedom’s Calling political action committee. It will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Greensburg Civic Garden Center, 951...
Ligonier native spends summers in Yellowstone National ParkVideo
Leslie Giesey doesn’t remember when she first traveled to Yellowstone National Park with her family, but she knows she was young, and knows she went fishing for wild trout that fill the streams. Now, decades later, she returns each summer to work as a nurse and spend her free time...
Norwin grad becomes boutique owner, Miss Pennsylvania contestant
Victoria Piekut received a phone call from her father, Jeffrey, in August 2016 with unexpected news — she was a business owner. The 22-year-old Norwin High School graduate had toyed with the idea, knowing both her parents had retail backgrounds, but never thought it would come to fruition. Working a...
Westmoreland sheriff candidates weigh in on office, what changes they’d bring if elected
Three Republicans are seeking to oust two-incumbent Westmoreland County Sheriff Jonathan Held in the May 21 primary. Held is being challenged by two current deputies Steve Felder, 55, of Penn Township, and Sam Pilato, 56, of Hempfield; and retired police officer Eugene Zulisky, 52, of Greensburg. Democrat James Albert, a...
Westmoreland sheriff faces crowded field in GOP primary election
As public corruption charges await a potential retrial, two-term Republican incumbent Westmoreland County Sheriff Jonathan Held insists he’s the best-suited candidate to head the department that has been besieged with current and former staffers charged with crimes, a dozen lawsuits that alleged mismanagement and operational squabbles with county leaders. “I...
Hempfield Area High School prom 2019
Hempfield Area High School had its prom Saturday night. Here is a photo gallery of the highlights from the grand march....
Westmoreland County Special Olympics celebrates 50 years at competitionVideo
Skyler Wood is an Olympian. Wood, 10, a fourth-grader at RK Mellon Elementary School in Bolivar, flashed a big smile as he was presented with a gold medal for winning his heat in the 50-meter dash Saturday morning at Westmoreland County’s Special Olympics track and field event. “I’m going to...
Penn-Trafford High School Prom
Penn-Trafford High School had its prom Friday night. Here is a photo gallery of the highlights from the grand march....
Mount Pleasant Senior High School Prom
Mount Pleasant Senior High School had its prom Friday night. Here is a photo gallery of the highlights from the grand march....
Pa. senior centers get grants to improve buildings, programs
Several Westmoreland and Allegheny County senior centers are receiving grant money that will help modernize buildings and expand programs. As part of the Pennsylvania Department of Aging, almost $2 million in grants was given to almost 50 senior centers across the state. In Westmoreland County, the New Kensington Center for...
E-ZPass penalty charges irk Pennsylvania Turnpike drivers
Patty Wolfe was browsing Facebook when she saw a friend’s warning: Check your E-ZPass statement for higher-than-usual toll fees for trips on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Wolfe heeded the advice. “The very first statement I looked at showed me getting on at Irwin, for $10, and me getting off in Monroeville,”...
Murrysville’s massive voting precincts to be split after court grants petition
When the 2020 election rolls around, more than 7,000 Murrysville residents won’t have to wait nearly as long to cast ballots. A county judge on Friday signed off on a petition brought by Murrysville’s two major political committees, which seeks to break up two massively oversized voting precincts. Lines at...
Greensburg Police allege woman bilked 14 customers in firearms sale scheme
Greensburg Police accused an Allegheny County woman this week of bilking $15,235 from 14 customers in an online firearms sale scheme. Jennefer Bittner, 24, of Monroeville, was charged by city police with 14 counts each of theft, theft by deception and receiving stolen property before District Judge Chris Flanigan. Det....
Project Day caps school days for Greensburg Salem seniorsVideo
As the school year was wrapping up last spring, teachers at Greensburg Salem Senior High School distributed more than 200 three ring binders — one to each member of the outgoing junior class. The students would have the summer to consider the senior projects that they are required to document...
Proposed bill would waive Pennsylvania Turnpike tolls for police, first responders
Robert Stafford, captain of the Greensburg Police Department, admits scratching his head last year after a bill crossed his desk from the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission requesting a toll payment for a city patrol car that entered the Amos K. Hutchinson Bypass during a pursuit. “They sent a a picture of...
Hempfield students to participate in Remake Learning Days
Some Hempfield students are taking a step back from the curriculum for a day as they prepare to present projects they have been working on as part of the Remake Learning Days Across America. The day, which focuses on science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, allows students to pick...
Accused Murrysville massage parlor operator to stand trial on human trafficking, prostitution charges
A Flushing, N.Y., woman accused of owning and operating the now defunct Judy’s Oriental Massage Parlor in Murrysville waived her right to a preliminary hearing Friday on charges the business was actually part of a human trafficking operation where prostitution was occurring. Huican Wei, 47, will now proceed to trial...
Trafford woman accused of prostitution
A Trafford woman is facing prostitution charges after witnesses told police they watched men going in and out of her apartment at least 16 times between January and April, according to court papers. The men would stay for 30 minutes or less at the apartment of 30-year-old Sarah Angela Frye,...
Hempfield’s former Toys R Us to sparkle again – as a fireworks store
A changing retail market and change to Pennsylvania law helped pave the way for a Hempfield building that until recently was filled with plush dolls, binkies and countless nursery must-haves to seeing its shelves stocked with bottle rockets, Roman candles and other popular pyrotechnics. The former Toys R Us on...
Fatal overdoses in Westmoreland continue to plunge in 2019
Overdose deaths in Westmoreland County this year are on pace to fall short of 100 for the first time since 2014, according to Coroner Ken Bacha’s office. Overdose deaths drastically fell in 2018 by 37 percent from a record 193 in 2017 to 122 last year, and the number of...
Monessen man pleads guilty to weapons violation in 2017 shootout
A Monessen man was sentenced to two to four years in a state prison Thursday in connection with a shootout on a city street nearly two years ago. Delaney Dionte Huggins, 31, pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm. He originally was charged with attempted homicide and other offenses...
Playground installed in place of blight in Sutersville; donations still needed
Children in Sutersville have a new playground to climb on after a park expansion, according to the Westmoreland County Land Bank. The “Play Express” is a four piece train set that includes a tunnel and small slide at the town’s community park on First Avenue, the land bank announced this...
Firefighters responded to Unity Township silo fire Thursday
Officials responded to a working structure fire at Gutchess Hardwood in Unity Township Thursday night, according to a Westmoreland 911 operator. Firefighters responded to the Devereux Drive company shortly after 8:30 p.m. for a sawdust silo on fire. No injuries were reported. Further information was not immediately available....
