Westmoreland category, Page 812
Dress rule dropped: Norwin girls can wear pants to graduation
Norwin school officials backed down from a standing graduation guideline suggesting senior girls wear dresses under their gowns for the ceremony. Female grads now will be allowed the option of wearing dress pants, like their male classmates, beginning with the commencement ceremony May 24. In what could be considered equal...
Shalimar Bazaar to close after 25 years in GreensburgVideo
Shalimar Bazaar, a Greensburg boutique specializing in eclectic home decor, plans to close after 25 years in business. Owner Karen Barns said she’s retiring to spend time with her family. Though she hasn’t set a final day, plans are to close the East Otterman Street store in late May or...
Westmoreland County schools score nearly $1.4 million in state security grants
Pennsylvania awarded $40 million in new school safety grants, with 10 Westmoreland County school districts, two Career and Technical Centers and the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit among 234 recipients sharing in the largesse. State lawmakers established the competitive grant program in the wake of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas school shooting...
Police: Latrobe man killed in motorcycle crash
A 51-year-old Latrobe man was killed Thursday afternoon after a motorcycle crash, police said. Kevin Seremet was taken to Excela Latrobe Hospital where he was pronounced dead after officials responded to the intersection of Depot and Alexandria streets for a crash between a motorcycle and a car. According to Westmoreland...
Westmoreland County Food Bank honors its volunteers of the yearVideo
Even in the midst of personal tragedy, Robbyn Slavin did not miss a beat as volunteer coordinator for the Charter Oak Church Food Pantry. “It’s important to me to keep with the commitments I agree to,” Slavin said. In December 2016, Slavin, 46, and her husband, Ron, were at a...
Westmoreland ambulance personnel work to get those with addiction problems help
When paramedics leave the scene of a drug overdose where the patient refused to be taken to the hospital, it can weigh on their minds. Could they have helped more? What happened to the patient? A new partnership in the North Huntingdon and Rostraver areas is finding success in helping...
Shawnee re-enactor to speak at Bushy Run Battlefield
A Native American re-enactor will portray a Shawnee warrior of the 1700s and discuss Shawnee culture at 7 p.m. May 15 at the Bushy Run Battlefield Museum, Route 993, Penn Township. Thomas Vecchio, of Shaler, will present a first-person program detailing the Shawnee’s way of life. Vecchio has studied the...
Cops: Fugitive, girlfriend discovered inside tent in Unity with meth
A search Thursday for a 29-year-old Latrobe area man wanted for failing to comply with court-mandated drug tests as part of his probation led the Westmoreland County sheriff’s deputies to a tent in Unity Township. Inside the tent behind a residence on Dogwood Lane, deputies Robby Orbin and Frank Neal...
Mt. Pleasant driver arrested in connection with South Greensburg fatal hit-and-run
A stroke of luck led investigators to an East Huntingdon car dealership last week where they stumbled upon a car they believe was involved in a fatal hit-and-run of an elderly man in South Greensburg last month, according to police But Lauren Gerritsen thinks her grandfather, Clarence Wolff, had something...
Former Irish running back Reggie Brooks to speak at Notre Dame Club of Greensburg event
Reggie Brooks, a former Fighting Irish All-American running back, will be the guest speaker at the Notre Dame Club of Greensburg’s annual Notre Dame Celebration. The May 28 event at Christ Our Shepherd Center, 2900 Seminary Drive, Unity, begins with a 6 p.m. reception, followed by an interactive presentations by...
Safety program for children planned in Penn Township
Youngsters can learn about basic safety measures, tips and awareness lessons that promote personal and community safety during a Safety Township program next month in Penn Township. The program, taught by police, firefighters and other emergency responders, will be held from 9 to 11:30 a.m. June 17-21 at the Level...
Trout Unlimited to aid disabled vets in fly fishing at Foggy Mountain Lodge
A group of about 45 disabled veterans are expected to test their fly casting skills during a fishing outing on May 11 at Foggy Mountain Lodge Lake off Route 130 in Cook Township. The disabled veterans will have the opportunity to enjoy fly fishing as a way of relaxing and...
Penn-Trafford Community Band to help Lamp Theatre with concert fundraiser
The Penn-Trafford Community Band and its jazz band, the Jazz Warriors, will hold a fundraising concert for The Lamp Theatre in downtown Irwin with a performance there on Sunday. The recently restored theater at 222 Main St. has become one of the best concert venues in the area, said Ron...
Westmoreland County prosecutors dispute defense claims in 30-year-old rape case
Westmoreland County prosecutors said defense arguments to dismiss a nearly 30-year-old rape case should be rejected because they are based on misrepresented facts. In court documents filed Wednesday, prosecutors said there is sufficient evidence to convict John Kunco, 53, of Harrison of the brutal rape of a woman in her...
Plea deal rejected in Walmart parking lot wreck that injured East Huntingdon store employee
A Mt. Pleasant woman charged in a with a injuring a woman stacking carts in a Walmart parking lot last year rejected plea bargain deal that would have required her to spend three days in jail. Ronalee Bailey, 40, through her defense attorney, told a Westmoreland County judge she would...
Protect PT to hold pollution monitoring workshop
Penn Township environmental group Protect PT will hold a pollution monitoring workshop at its offices May 16. The workshop will cover ways residents can monitor air quality and noise levels around their home. The organization will introduce new air particulate monitors it purchased from the company PurpleAir. Protect PT began...
Florida university administrator named president of Pitt-Greensburg
Robert G. Gregerson, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and senior advisor to the provost at Florida Gulf Coast University, will become the fifth president of the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, effective July 1, 2019, Pitt officials said Wednesday. Pitt officials launched a search for a new...
Search continues for cows roaming southern Murrysville
The search for a group of black Angus cows roaming southern Murrysville continued Wednesday. “We’ve been getting one or two calls per day,” said Officer Christer Smith of the Murrysville Police Department. “It’s been ongoing for about the past week.” On Wednesday, the Westmoreland County Animal Response Team, or CART,...
Officials: Oil leak spreads to Youghiogheny in South Huntingdon
About 20 gallons of oil spilled into a tributary of the Youghiogheny River in South Huntingdon Township Monday evening, according to the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. A heating-oil tank officials thought to be empty was in the basement of a home being demolished along Fitz Henry Road, said Mike...
Police: Hempfield man was drunk following crash, assault on trooper
A Hempfield man allegedly put his hand around the throat of a state trooper who was trying to arrest him for driving under the influence after a one-vehicle crash in January, according to court papers. Peter Billey, 78, was charged Wednesday with aggravated assault, driving under the influence, resisting arrest...
Kid literature experts to speak at Pitt Greensburg conference on Friday
University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg will host its 23rd annual Children’s Literature Conference Friday, inviting librarians and educators to spend a day learning more about what gets kids reading. There are two featured speakers this year. Ellen Oh will kick off the conference at 8:30 a.m. Friday. She’s the co-founder...
Western Pa. nursing home staff to be recognized at awards ceremony
Several nursing facility staff members will be honored at the annual Bravo! Awards hosted by Grane Healthcare. Staff from the Greensburg Care Center, the LaurelWood Care Center, the Highland Park Care Center, the Cambria Care Center and the Harmon House Care Center will be recognized May 16 at an awards...
Michigan men arrested in Virginia linked to $5K electronics theft at Walmart near Delmont
Murrysville police have obtained arrest warrants for three Michigan men they claim stole more than $5,000 worth of electronics at the Walmart store near Delmont in January. Shawn T. Acklin, 27, and Adarius D. Ferguson, 28, both of Benton Harbor, and Brandon L. Franklin, 23, of Detroit, are charged with...
Bridge ordered closed in Unity Township
Unity Township Supervisors Tuesday closed a bridge that carries Buffenmeyer Road over the Norfolk Southern Railroad for motorist safety. The emergency closure of the bridge followed a result of a recent inspection. PennDOT reported that the road will remain closed until further notice. The detour uses Route 1026, also known...
Bail set at $100K in 2 new cases against Unity man linked to woman’s disappearance
Bail was set Wednesday at $100,000 in two new cases against a Unity man who has been linked to the homicide investigation of Cassandra Gross, a woman last seen more than a year ago. Thomas Stanko, 48, was arraigned on new solicitation allegations filed by state police. He remains in...
