Westmoreland category, Page 829
Summer concert series announced for Hempfield Park
Hempfield officials are already planning events for the new Smail Auto Group Amphitheater at Hempfield Park this summer. During Monday’s public meeting, township supervisors approved agreements with eight bands and musicians for five concerts this summer, starting with the ribbon cutting event for the amphitheater at 220 Forbes Trail Road...
Suspect in North Belle Vernon stabbings jailed without bond
A man wanted for stabbing three people in a North Belle Vernon bar is being held without bail in the Westmoreland County Prison after turning himself in to police. After a three-week investigation, county detectives and borough police obtained an arrest warrant for Eric D. Cook, 43, of Donora, Washington...
Fontana appointed new chief of Westmoreland park police
Veteran officer Henry Fontana is the new chief of the Westmoreland County Park Police. Fontana, 56, replaces Kirk Nolan, who left to become chief deputy to Coroner Ken Bacha. Since 2014, Fontana has served as a park police lieutenant, overseeing patrols at Westmoreland County Community College and the complex that...
Police: Philadelphia man hid 20K stamp bags of heroin in SUV on Pa. Turnpike
State police found 20,000 stamp bags of suspected heroin Wednesday hidden in a sport utility vehicle heading east on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, according to court papers. Troopers pulled over Cristobal Rosa-Robles, 48, of Philadelphia, for a traffic violation at 1:30 p.m. near mile marker 78 in Mt. Pleasant Township. Police...
Westbound Pa. Turnpike reopens in Westmoreland after crash cleared
A portion of the westbound Pennsylvania Turnpike in Westmoreland County reopened Thursday morning after a tractor-trailer crash was cleared, according to a Westmoreland 911 dispatcher. The truck reportedly overturned at 8:43 a.m. near mile marker 86 in Mt. Pleasant Township, shutting down the westbound lanes between the Donegal and New...
Banana Split Princess to be selected during pageant prior to Latrobe festival
A pageant will now be part of becoming the Banana Split Princess, who will reign over Latrobe’s annual Banana Split Celebration. The pageant on June 2 at Latrobe Elementary School is open to any Derry, Latrobe or Ligonier student between ages 9 and 11, according to the Greater Latrobe-Laurel Valley...
County to display plans for Latrobe Brewery Bridge replacement
PennDOT and Westmoreland County officials on April 4 will present plans for replacing the county-owned Ligonier Street bridge over the Loyalhanna Creek in Latrobe. A public open house meeting, including a display of project plans and a detour for southbound traffic, is set for 5-6:30 p.m. in the city municipal...
North Huntingdon donates used police car to Norwin
The Norwin School District’s police officer has a police vehicle to drive between the district’s seven buildings — not a new one, but a used one from the North Huntingdon Police Department. The township commissioners unanimously approved a request on March 20 from Norwin to donate a 2014 Chevrolet Impala....
Saint Vincent-Harvard education partnership to focus on adult-child interactions
The Fred Rogers Center at Saint Vincent College is working with Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education to promote adult-child relationships in early learning. The new three-year collaboration continues a partnership between Dana Winters, assistant professor of child and family studies at Saint Vincent, and Junlei Li, former co-director of...
3 to graduate from Westmoreland drug treatment court
Three people will be recognized Thursday for graduating from the Westmoreland County Drug Treatment Court. Westmoreland Judges Christopher Feliciani and Megan Bilik-DeFazio will preside at the graduation ceremonies at noon Thursday in Courtroom 5 at the Westmoreland County Courthouse on North Main Street, Greensburg. The diversionary court program works to...
Hempfield gets 2019 Governor’s Awards for Local Government Excellence
Hempfield was awarded the 2019 Governor’s Awards for Local Government Excellence for their work to sustain volunteer fire departments by applying for, and receiving, a federal grant. The Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response, or SAFER grant, which was awarded in Sept. 1, 2017, by the Federal Emergency Management...
Finalists for Norwin superintendent’s job address school officials, teachers
The Norwin School Board has narrowed its choice for its next superintendent to two experienced administrators — the Mars Area superintendent and a North Hills assistant superintendent. Both finalists for the job — Wesley Shipley, 52, a Scottdale native, and Jeffrey Taylor, 46, a Canonsburg-area native — told the school...
Lawyers for Hempfield murder suspect claim confession was illegally obtained
The lawyers for a Hempfield man awaiting trial on charges that he killed his girlfriend claim a confession made to police hours after the murder was illegally obtained. Defense attorneys Donna McClelland and Eric Hoffman contend police handcuffed and placed Allen Eugene Trent in custody and improperly elicited statements in...
Commissioner Cerilli to donate campaign money from man tied to human trafficking case
Westmoreland County Commissioner Gina Cerilli said she will donate money given to her campaign by a man investigators contend was linked to a human trafficking and prostitution ring before he committed suicide last year. In a post made on her private Facebook page late Tuesday, Cerilli said she was “outraged...
Hempfield creates citizens task force to help with fire department changes
A five-person citizens task force will soon help Hempfield officials make important decisions for fire and emergency management services. With several big decisions on the horizon in regard to the township’s 12 fire departments, the committee will be tasked with studying policy, discussing funding, examining coverage areas and reviewing the...
Sewickley Township to build new $3M library, rec center
For decades, the Sewickley Township Recreation Center and the Sewickley Township Public Library have shared a space in the old Sewickley Area High School building on Highland Avenue in Herminie. They’ve been through thick and thin, including torrential rains in August that caused an estimated $20,000 in damage to the...
Units responding to Washington Township barn fire
Firefighters from multiple departments were responding to a barn fire in Washington Township Wednesday afternoon, the Westmoreland County Department of Public Safety reported. Several tankers were dispatched to the fire at 260 Echo Ridge Road. It was reported at 3:40 p.m. Additional details were not immediately available....
Washington County man accused in North Belle Vernon bar stabbing
Three people were stabbed at a North Belle Vernon bar this month after an off-hand comment was made about a man’s recent release from prison, according to court documents. On Wednesday, Westmoreland County Detective Randy Gardner and borough police Lt. Ronald VanScyoc obtained an arrest warrant for Eric D. Cook,...
Seton Hill students to pitch shoe concept at national entrepreneurship competition
When the call went out for innovative concepts that could change the way America lives and launch an entrepreneur into the stratosphere, a team of Seton Hill University students jumped. The five students came-up with a concept they dubbed U-TREKS, an athletic shoe with retractable spikes that could take trail...
Chase the Wolf 5K set for June 1 at WCCC
Registration is open for the Chase the Wolf 5K race at Westmoreland County Community College on June 1. Proceeds benefit the Council on Undergraduate Research, which has helped students with travel expenses to a national conference where they represent the community college. The race is a run or walk with...
Unity dairy farm gets grant funding for expansion into cheese production
A Unity dairy farm is one of the beneficiaries of a new grant program designed to help Pennsylvania dairy farmers thrive at a difficult time for the industry. Pleasant Lane Farms, near Pleasant Unity, received $364,082 in grant funding from the new Pennsylvania Dairy Investment Program — $286,744 to build...
Longtime Latrobe hardware store to close as owner retires
Like many customers, Alex Cairns has mixed feelings about the impending closure of Petrosky’s Pro Hardware in Latrobe. “I just wish them a happy retirement,” Cairns, of Ligonier Township, said as he shopped the retirement/closing sale over the weekend. “That should be good for them. Then I’m sad because it’s...
Annual TakeOff Race honors fallen Trooper Iwaniec at Saint Vincent College
The 10th annual TakeOff Race in memory of Trooper Kenton Iwaniec will be held April 13. The charity race raises money for a nonprofit foundation Debby and Ken Iwaniec, of Cook Township, created after their 24-year-old son died after an impaired driver hit his vehicle in Chester County. There are...
Jeannette microbrewery seeking volunteers for cleanup day
A lot of junk inside an old building in Jeannette needs to be cleared out before craft beer can be served there. Sobel’s Obscure Brewery is hoping for some volunteer help this weekend. The craft beer community “likes being involved in the start-up in breweries,” said owner Jackie Sobel. But...
UPMC opens Health Plan Connect Center in Westmoreland Mall
UPMC customers now can receive health care and insurance information at Westmoreland Mall. A UPMC Health Plan Connect Center is now open across from Kay Jewelers on the lower level. It’s the first such center in Westmoreland County. Health plan members can use the center to make monthly payments, learn...
