Westmoreland category, Page 883
Greensburg Salem votes to keep any tax increase below state limit
In a ritual that marks the beginning of budget season, the Greensburg Salem School Board voted unanimously Wednesday to keep any tax increase for 2019 to the limit set by the state. This limit, established by the state’s Act 1 Index, prevents the board from raising taxes more than 2.72...
North Huntingdon to hire 4 cops to replace retirees
North Huntingdon is looking to hire four police officers, a move that will cost about $227,100 in salaries to replace several officers who retired in the past two years. The hirings will return North Huntingdon’s police force to its full complement of 30 officers, said Jeffrey Silka, township manager. He...
Family, 7 pets escape from Jeannette house fireVideo
A family of three and their seven pets were temporarily displaced when an electrical fire damaged their Jeannette home Wednesday evening. Robert Rundle said he’d been gone just 15 minutes from the home in the 300 block of Margaret Street when his wife, Magi, called at about 7 p.m. with...
Derry Township’s Torrance State Hospital marks centennialVideo
Patients, staff and retirees from Torrance State Hospital gathered in the public mental hospital’s once grand auditorium Tuesday for a worship service to mark the beginning of the institution’s centennial year. Torrance chaplain, the Rev. Cletus Hull, led the group of about 150 in a service of prayer and thanksgiving...
Judge gives Pershing Square hi-rise owner time to make elevator repairs
A judge on Wednesday gave the owner of Pershing Square Apartments in downtown Greensburg until July to repair or replace two unreliable elevators that have left several elderly residents trapped. “Why is this taking so long?” District Magistrate Chris Flanigan asked Greensburg attorney Matt Schimizzi at a brief hearing. “It’s...
Mt. Pleasant man charged with selling fatal blend of heroin, fentanyl
State police have charged a Mt. Pleasant man with selling a fatal blend of heroin and fentanyl. Ricky Fosbrink, 34, allegedly sold the drugs that killed Christopher Phillip Biller, 35, on Jan. 22, 2017. Biller was found dead in a friend’s apartment, according to court papers. Investigators found a syringe...
Blackburn Center, Murrysville library to host program on human trafficking
It might be hard to imagine that something like human trafficking goes on in Westmoreland County. But human trafficking cases do not always involve international intrigue, with mysterious shipping containers hiding women who will be delivered into the hands of U.S. sex traffickers. Sometimes they are much simpler, though no...
Lawyer for Westmoreland County doctor says feds cherry picked prosecution, conviction
The attorney for a Harrison City doctor convicted this week on charges he illegally distributed controlled substances said the government is “cherry picking” cases involving physicians who prescribe opioid painkillers. “The manner in which the government is (prosecuting such cases) is like throwing darts blindfolded at a dartboard,” said Pittsburgh...
Police: Greensburg nurse diverted fentanyl, other medication from hospital
A Greensburg registered nurse was arrested Tuesday for allegedly diverting prescription medication while she worked at Excela Health Westmoreland Hospital, according to court papers. Julie Dawn Zetkulic, 43, is accused by the state Attorney General’s Office of taking narcotic pain relievers from the hospital’s pharmacy over a four-month period. She...
1 hurt when PennDOT truck, passenger vehicle crash on Route 30 in Ligonier Township
One person was hospitalized after a crash involving a passenger vehicle and a PennDOT plow Wednesday afternoon in Ligonier Township, according to PennDOT. Route 30 eastbound was closed for about 40 minutes as firefighters worked to free one person who was trapped in a vehicle, according to a Westmoreland 911...
Police: Ligonier Township homeowner admits to setting own house on fire
A Ligonier Township man told authorities he smoked methamphetamine before allegedly setting fire to his rented home, according to court papers. Brian W. McVicker, 54, had a lighter in his hand when authorities arrived after 11:30 p.m. Tuesday at the house, located behind the Washington Furnace Inn along Route 30,...
Monessen shooting case begins despite defense claims of misconduct
A Westmoreland County judge refused to grant a mistrial or dismiss the cases against two men charged in connection with a shooting on a Monessen street despite defense attorneys alleging a clear case of prosecutorial misconduct. Testimony in the attempted murder and conspiracy case against Joseph Heath, 29, and Rashawn...
Joy Riders program will provide bike rides to people with limited mobilityVideo
As soon as Karen Primm of Smithton saw the video — about an Australian man who designed a tandem bicycle with a wheelchair in the front, so that his disabled wife could go out on rides with him — she knew she needed to bring something similar to Pittsburgh. Luckily...
Police: Driver was drunk during head-on crash in Murrysville that left man seriously injured
A Delmont woman is accused of being drunk at the time of a head-on crash Friday in Murrysville that left a man seriously injured. Lane J. Weiner, 56, had two cold 12-packs of Bud Light that had been opened in the back seat of her car at the time of...
Westmoreland happenings: Jan. 16 and beyond
Classes/programs • Saint Vincent College, 300 Fraser Purchase Road, Latrobe has planned days of observances to commemorate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: — Mass of Celebration will be held 12:05 p.m. Monday in the Mary, Mother of Wisdom Chapel. Following the Mass, a dream center...
Westmoreland County seeking 30 participants for citizen workshop
The Westmoreland County Department of Public Safety is looking for 30 citizens to participate in a workshop aimed at mitigating hazards. The workshop will be held Feb. 19 and March 19 from 7-9 p.m. at the University of Pittsburgh’s Greensburg campus. Citizens will only be required to attend one of...
Severe weather in 2018 leads to increased Latrobe fire calls
Latrobe firefighters responded to a near record 1,018 alarms in 2018 — second only to a record 1,101 calls the volunteer department answered in 2004. “We got through it, but I hope it slows down a little,” fire Chief John Brasile said of last year’s emergency volume. In each of...
Greater Latrobe eyes 2.36-mill cap on potential tax hike
Greater Latrobe School Board is considering setting a 2.36-mill cap on a potential property tax increase for the 2019-20 school year. That maximum hike, which would raise an estimated $802,400 in additional revenue for the district, is in line with an adjusted 2.9 percent Act 1 index limit determined by...
Judge says Norwin school board member chosen without influence
A letter sent by a current Norwin school board member to the Westmoreland County judges did not influence their choice to fill a vacant seat on the panel, the president judge said Tuesday. President Judge Rita Hathaway said the nine judges did not consider the letter sent by a school...
Westmoreland drug court participants will receive life-saving kits
Westmoreland County’s drug court participants will receive a kit with a life-saving dose of naloxone as part of a grant received Monday. Tim Phillips, executive director of the county’s Drug Overdose Task Force, said the county received 65 doses of the drug as part of program from the pharmaceutical company...
Jeannette man gets up to 23 months in jail for stabbing man in chest
A Jeannette man will serve up to nearly two years in jail for assaulting another man on the porch of his home last spring. Marlon C. “Star” Williams, 40, pleaded guilty Monday to charges of aggravated assault and reckless endangerment for the stabbing. Police said Williams used a three-inch knife...
Police say former inmate was on drugs when he carjacked woman outside jail
Police say a Philadelphia man was under the influence of anxiety medication, marijuana and opioids on Dec. 4 when he carjacked a West Leechburg woman and sped away with her infant grandson in the backseat minutes after being released from Westmoreland County Prison, according to new court documents. County park...
Troopers: Former inmate was on drugs when he carjacked woman outside county jail
A Philadelphia man was under the influence of anxiety medication, marijuana and opioids on Dec. 4 when he carjacked a woman and sped away with her infant grandson in the backseat minutes after being released from the Westmoreland County Prison, according to new court documents. County park police already had...
Bon Journey to headline Norwin Relay for Life event
“Don’t Stop Believin’” will help ring in the first fundraiser of 2019 for the annual Relay for Life of Norwin. On Feb.1, Bon Journey, a Bon Jovi and Journey tribute band, will take the stage at Antonelli’s Event Center in Irwin, raising money for the fight against cancer. Safety Last,...
Murrysville, state forestry service will partner on backyard sustainability workshop
When state forestry officials piloted a 2018 workshop showing people how to maximize the natural use of their property, they were impressed with the results. “We had a great turnout with more than 200 people at Butler County Community College,” service forester Celine Colbert said. “The feedback we got was...
