Fiber fair dazzles in Delmont
When Dorothy Gallagher was a teacher in Poland, she took up knitting as a side hustle. “Making one sweater bought me a kilo of sausage,” she said. “Now I hand spin silk, cat fur, alpaca — all for the mental clarity and dexterity benefits.” Gallagher was among 20 or so...
Local teachers benefit from Seton Hill program on Holocaust, genocide education
For Leticia Fournier, the religious affiliation of Christ the Divine Teacher School in Latrobe makes education on the Holocaust even more important. Fournier has taught the school’s Holocaust studies course for eight years. First launched in 2004, the class was a partnership with nearby Beth Israel synagogue, which closed in...
Eminent domain may be next for flood control project in Greensburg’s Northmont neighborhood
Greensburg may use eminent domain to acquire the remaining easements needed to complete a flood control project in the Northmont neighborhood. City council Monday introduced a bill that, if approved, would give Solicitor Zachary Kansler the authorization to file a declaration of taking at the Westmoreland County Courthouse. But Kansler...
‘More people are leaving than coming’: Charleroi’s Haitian community withers under federal pressureVideo
The shelves at Queen’s Market still hold bags of corn millet and leafy Haitian lalo, but the customers who buy them are vanishing from the streets of Charleroi. As the Trump administration ramps up pressure on immigrants with Temporary Protected Status to “take advantage of the department’s resources for departure,”...
Jury verdict: 2 guilty of first-degree murder in St. Clair woman’s shooting death
A Westmoreland County jury convicted Melissa Fox-Beacom and Matthew Bates of first-degree murder Friday in the 2023 shooting death of her mother. Jurors decided that even though Fox-Beacom and Bates didn’t fire the shots that killed Alice Robson on Dec. 11, 2023, their actions leading up to the shooting made...
Westmoreland happenings: Mardi Gras pancake dinner, Lenten services, meetings, more
Church news Zion’s Lutheran Church, Greensburg, will have services at 12:05 p.m. Thursdays during Lent at the church, 140 S. Pennsylvania Ave. Lunch will be afterward. Lunch cost: $5. Fundraiser Harrold Zion Evangelical Church youth group will sponsor its third annual Shrove Mardi Gras pancake dinner from 4 to 7...
3 arrested in retail theft scheme from Lowe’s, including Hempfield, Monroeville and Frazer stores
Three people are accused in an organized retail theft scheme at local Lowe’s stores that ultimately led to them sending money to the Dominican Republic, according to police. The trio used credit cards belonging to other people to make purchases in five counties and then pick up the ill-gotten goods...
Father, 2 children killed in Indiana County fire
A father and his two children were killed in a fire early Friday morning that destroyed their home in the Indiana County town of Clymer, the coroner said. Keith Lee Fabiszewski, 34, and the children were trapped by the fire in their home along the 400 block of Hancock Street,...
Penn Township accuses The Club at Blackthorne of violating the municipality’s zoning ordinance
The Club at Blackthorne, a private event and wedding venue, is in violation of Penn Township’s zoning ordinance, the municipality’s solicitor said Thursday. The 36,000-square-foot Club at Blackthorne is located off of Harrison City-Export Road in the township’s Blackthorne Estates housing community, which is accompanied by a golf course. The...
Here are 5 things to do in Westmoreland County: Valentine’s Day options galore
Valentine’s Day falls on a Saturday this year, which is good news for some — but bad news for the procrastinators among us. Did you forget to make a reservation or buy a gift? Don’t worry. You can take your valentine to one of these events instead. ‘Rhapsody in Blue’...
Paper ballots OK’d for Westmoreland voters at $18K price tag
Westmoreland County voters will again be able to cast paper ballots at the polls during this year’s primary and general elections. Republican commissioners Sean Kertes and Doug Chew on Thursday approved a contract with an estimated price tag of $18,275 to supply paper ballots at each of the county’s 306...
Game commission releases ‘bonus’ pheasants across southwestern PennsylvaniaVideo
Five minutes after the Pennsylvania Game Commission released a couple hundred pheasants into the wild near Loyalhanna Creek on Thursday morning, the crack of the first gunshot echoed across the meadow. Each year, commission staff release “bonus” pheasants, left over from their annual breeding program. In anticipation of losing pheasants...
Westmoreland commissioner calls sheriff’s partnership with ICE invalid
An agreement signed last year by Sheriff James Albert that allows his deputies to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is invalid and cannot be enforced, a Westmoreland County commissioner said Thursday. “Did the sheriff have the authority to do this unilaterally? The (answer) is unequivocally no. He did...
Gunman in St. Clair woman’s slaying testifies ‘a light switch flipped inside me’, saying others convinced him to kill
Robert Jack was standing in the driveway of a St. Clair home when he was asked to kill the woman who lived inside. The request from friend Matthew Bates caught Jack, 20, by surprise, he testified Thursday. Jack thought he was at the Furnace Lane home to hang out with...
Here’s where to satisfy your Lenten fish cravings in Western Pennsylvania
All menus are subject to change and availability. Events begin either Feb. 18 Ash Wednesday or Friday, March Feb. 20. To have your nonprofit’s fish fry added to this listing send complete information as soon as possible to vndnews@triblive.com. Allegheny County Collier Township Rennerdale Volunteer Fire Department, 30 Suburban Ave.,...
Delmont police chief will retire in April
Longtime Delmont Police Chief T.J. Klobucar said the day he worked his first Apple’n Arts Festival, he could tell that Delmont was the right place. “I knew this community was for me,” said Klobucar, 50, who announced his pending retirement from the police department at Tuesday’s borough council meeting. “It’s...
Westmoreland happenings: Pancake and sausage dinner, art reception, bingo night, more
Art A closing reception in memory of artist Tony Naponic and a display of some of his paintings will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday at You Are Here Gallery, 406 Clay Ave., Jeannette. A native of Adamsburg, Naponic died in 2003. Details: yah406clay@gmail.com. Fundraisers • A bingo...
Greensburg native excited to be back in Pa. as principal of Quaker Valley’s Osborne Elementary School
Joshua Ringling said his first order of business as the new principal of Osborne Elementary School is building relationships with students, staff, administrators and Quaker Valley-area families. Welcomed with cards, posters, a paper hat and other odds and ends, the Greensburg native recently moved back to the area to start...
Solar power project proposed for Palmer Regional, Rostraver airportsVideo
The Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Unity could become the first Pennsylvania airport of its size to install a solar power array and generate revenue. Solar power company representatives touted the proposal this week as a money-saver and revenue generator. Palmer Regional and Rostraver airports could be the sites of...
Overlay districts could expand possible uses of former fire stations in Hempfield
Minor renovations at a building in Hempfield that once housed fire trucks have allowed Mutual Aid EMS to turn it into a new ambulance base. Ambulances have been responding since November from the former High Park fire station on Baughman Avenue, close to Route 30 in the western part of...
Ex-boyfriend testifies New Florence woman ‘despised’ her mother, discussed wanting to kill her
Melissa Fox-Beacom regularly brought up her hatred for her mother in conversations with her daughter’s ex-boyfriend, he testified Wednesday. She never referred to Alice Robson as mom. “ ‘My mother’ — she’d say it with an attitude,” Ace Vavrek remembered. “ ‘My mother.’ It’s like she despised her.” Even so,...
Verdict: Thomas Stanko guilty in murder of Cassandra GrossVideo
Kathe Gross let out a fist pump and a cheer in a Westmoreland County courtroom Wednesday as a jury convicted Thomas G. Stanko of first-degree murder in the 2018 disappearance of her daughter, Cassandra Gross. The verdict, delivered after four hours of deliberation, concludes a nearly eight-year legal saga for...
Lancaster man pleads guilty for shooting truck at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport
A Lancaster County man was sentenced this week to serve up to five years in prison for a 2024 shooting at a truck as it left the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport near Latrobe. Tyler J. Mieczkowski, 24, pleaded guilty Tuesday to felony counts of aggravated assault and fleeing from police...
Greensburg proposing fines up to $600 for throwing snow onto streets
The Jan. 25 storm that dumped about 10 inches of snow on Greensburg helped officials learn they were missing something: an ordinance that addresses snow being thrown onto plowed streets. Streets superintendent Tom Bell said he reported a couple of situations to police where residents had thrown snow into clear...
‘Game jam’ puts Westmoreland County gifted students’ creativity to the testVideo
Cameron Yourema’s method to create a board game was literally mayhem. “We were trying to follow the mayhem rule as much as we could,” said Yourema, a Valley High School sophomore, of the “Game Jam” board game design competition held Tuesday. “We tried to make a more chaotic game. “What...
